Why did Zoomers fall so hard to Deftones yet neglected Smashing Pumpkins?

Why did Zoomers fall so hard to Deftones yet neglected Smashing Pumpkins?

DESPITE ALL MY RAGE

I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAGE!

Billy sounds like a cat being raped.

This plus he's bald. Chino Moreno is fat, but his voice is sensual and erotic, and this is something Billy just can't pull off.

cant be nostalgic for an era they didnt live in

The stark generational divide in Zoomers’ embrace of Deftones over Smashing Pumpkins can be explained through a mix of sociocultural shifts, generational identity formation, and musicological evolution. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Sociological & Generational Factors
Nostalgia for a Time They Never Lived

Gen Z didn’t experience the '90s alternative explosion firsthand, so their attachment to music from that era is selective.

Smashing Pumpkins (SP) were tied to Gen X disillusionment—lyrically dense, introspective, and rooted in pre-internet alienation. Zoomers, raised in a post-9/11, hyper-digital world, don’t resonate as deeply with SP’s themes of existential pre-millennial dread.

Deftones, while emerging in the same era, transcended their time—their sound wasn’t as locked into a specific cultural moment.

The Rise of "Sad Boy" Culture & Online Aesthetics

Deftones’ ethereal heaviness aligns with Zoomer melancholy—think "digital dread," doomscrolling, and the "sad girl/sad boy" aesthetic (e.g., TikTok’s obsession with "Change (In the House of Flies)").

SP’s Billy Corgan was a polarizing, neurotic frontman; Chino Moreno is seen as mysterious, effortlessly cool, and more meme-able (e.g., "Deftones type beat" culture).

Algorithmic & Subcultural Reinforcement

Deftones’ heaviness + dreaminess fits neatly into modern microgenres (shoegaze revival, post-metal, hyperpop adjacent).

SP’s prog-tinged alt-rock doesn’t slot as easily into Gen Z’s genre-fluid but algorithm-driven listening habits.

2. Musicological Factors
Deftones’ Sonic Versatility vs. SP’s Time-Locked Sound

Deftones blend nu-metal aggression, shoegaze textures, and trip-hop vibes—a proto-DJENT, ambient-heavy style that feels modern (see: Loathe, Spiritbox).

SP’s sound—while innovative—is distinctly '90s: layered guitars, Billy’s nasal vocals, and grandiose arrangements that feel of their time (e.g., "1979" is iconic but sonically dated).

The "Vibe" Over Lyrics Phenomenon

Zoomers prioritize mood and aesthetic over lyrical depth.

Deftones excel at atmosphere—songs like "Digital Bath" and "Sextape" are sensual, hazy, and immersive.

SP’s lyrics are more cerebral, abstract, and tied to Corgan’s personal angst, which doesn’t translate as well to short-form, vibe-centric consumption.

Conclusion
Deftones accidentally future-proofed their sound, while Smashing Pumpkins—despite their brilliance—remain a '90s artifact. Zoomers don’t reject SP entirely ("Bullet with Butterfly Wings" still pops off), but Deftones’ blend of aggression and dreaminess simply fits the 2020s emotional palate better.

Deftones

Decent music, awful singing. Many such cases

awful singing

it makes zoomettes pussies drool, though.

He's an autistic faggot and a horrible wrestling booker too

Muse and Foo Fighters are both post-alternative mainstream and not as good as most of the good bands from that era

billy corgan is a bald faggot

Deftones is sexy youthful music. Smashing Pumpkins is made by and for dorks.

Will Anon Babble ever shut up about the Deftones meme or will crusty old ass boomers continue to write out their fantasies about how they seduce zoomer whores with their music?

Also, both Deftones and Smashing Pumpkins have the same number of listeners on Spotify but Deftones is a bit higher

Thanks ChatGPT or DeepSeek or Grok

dude Deftones are le sensual shoegaze and not le icky nu-metal

youtu.be/Q28AsaJqRic

its of course deepsneed, the superior model

Every popular Foo Fighters song sounds exactly the same

+ 1979 is a viral song both on Spotify and Youtube

Not really. Especially not those from the 90s.

fwiw sp > deftones

They all sound the same. His voice is so annoying too.

I don't even like most of the shit Foo Fighters make, but it doesn't all sound the same.

I don't know what Zoomers listen to, but for me I listened to Deftones more in high school because portable mp3 players were becoming more popular and pretty much any Deftones album at the time was mixed more evenly with other music I listened to, whereas Smashing Pumpkins' albums were all over the place in terms of volume and style of music. If I listen all the way through, I enjoy Siamese Dream's overall sound, but it doesn't mix well in playlists with a lot of other albums I enjoy. There were a handful of tracks from Mellon Collie that were played on the radio often, in my region. I enjoyed those, but I don't enjoy the entire album as much on a straight listen. Most of Deftones' albums, on the other hand, have a very consistent sound, so if you enjoy one song you'll probably be able to tolerate most of them. I haven't listened to either in a long time. I really didn't enjoy Zeitgeist at all and haven't investigated anything from SP more recent than that. I'm considered Gen Y, I think.

Hardly listened to anything from them except their big songs. Last night Cupid De Locke came on and I really like it so I'll probably listen to rest of the album sometime next month.

we like both

Dude's voice is a hard sell.

everyone ITT is a zoomer for not calling out that Deftones were never even on the radio or MTV
you can't compare them to Smashing Pumpkins, they are nobodies and SP were the biggest band in the world

deftones are propped up by mexicans and we all know it, but I'm the only man brave enough to say it.
he has some truly shitty and horrible music industry people on his youtube to show what its really like while humoring them.
foo fighters are fake dive bar buttrock background music.
deftones had videos in the late 90s on mtv.

Emptiness is loneliness
And loneliness is cleanliness
And cleanliness is godliness
And God is empty just like meeeeee

i wonder why