Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is the sixth studio album by the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released for free on the Internet on September 5, 2000. Plans for a standard physical release, bundled with the first part Machina/The Machines of God, were revealed to happen sometime in 2013, but was postponed due to legal setbacks. In an Instagram Q&A in 2018, the band’s frontman, Billy Corgan, revealed that all legal issues had been resolved. The two albums have been remastered and are scheduled for release as a deluxe box set on September 5, 2025.
The album itself, a double LP, was packaged with three EPs full of B-sides and alternate versions. The album’s artwork was created by Carlos Segura. Both Machina albums are loose concept albums telling the story of “a rock star gone mad”. Machina II was the last Smashing Pumpkins studio album until the band reformed in 2006, their final studio album to feature guitarist James Iha until his return in 2018, as well as the final album to feature their original line-up, as bassist D’arcy Wretzky departed during the recording of both Machina albums and didn’t return when the band reformed.
Near the conclusion of the Machina sessions, it was Billy Corgan‘s wish to release a double album of material, but Virgin Records was unwilling to do so following the disappointing sales of Adore. After the release and poor sales of the single-disc Machina/The Machines of God, Corgan then wanted to release the second Machina album separately, but Virgin declined this as well. The band nonetheless returned to the Chicago Recording Company in July 2000 to finish what would become Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, which was subsequently released on Corgan‘s own Constantinople Records label. Only twenty-five vinyl copies were made, and were given mostly to friends of the band in addition to radio station Q101. A few of the 25 copies were shipped to prominent fans in the online community with instructions to rip and redistribute the album on the Internet free of charge. Because of this, all publicly available digital copies of the album are vinyl rips.
Tracklist:
- Glass’ Theme
- Cash Car Star
- Dross
- Real Love
- Go (James Iha)
- Let Me Give the World to You
- Innosense (Corgan/Iha)
- Home
- Blue Skies Bring Tears (Version Electrique)
- White Spyder
- In My Body
- If There Is a God
- Le Deux Machina
- Here’s to the Atom Bomb (New Wave Version)
Credits:
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano
James Iha: guitars, bass, vocals on “Go”
D’Arcy Wretzky: bass guitar
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums, percussion
