Jesse Rutherford from The Neighbourhood | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
3/25/20261 hr 27 min
Billy Corgan sits down with Jesse Rutherford for a candid look at fame, creative identity, and the unexpected journey from child actor to frontman of his ground-shifting band, The Neighbourhood. Jesse reflects on being ‘discovered’ at just five years old, growing up in Hollywood, and the moment everything clicked—picking up drums to a Nirvana track. The conversation dives into how the industry has shifted—from the raw individuality of the ’90s to today’s algorithm-driven sound—touching on using Auto-Tune, perfection as a guiding aesthetic, and why imperfection in and of itself might be what audiences connect with most.
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First 90 secondsJesse Rutherford· Guest0:00
The band, which we get into, into that story, just kinda swept me off my feet.
Billy Corgan· Host0:04
Yeah.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest0:04
And, and it turned into what it did.
Billy Corgan· Host0:06
Yeah.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest0:06
And even that I kinda fought against up until, like, 30 minutes ago. [laughs] You know what I mean? Like, it becomes something that's almost, like, nostalgic. Everybody's like, you know, drooling for 2016 right now. [laughs] And it's, and, and I'm like- That's so funny to me ... I know. It's funny to me too.
Billy Corgan· Host0:21
Don't worry about how it falls ap- falls apart or falls together.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest0:24
I wanna ask you about that too- Sure ... if I can.
Billy Corgan· Host0:26
Yeah, go ahead.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest0:27
So when you first shaved your head- Are you still chronically online? Yeah. Social media and auto-tune are my favorite drugs. [laughs] But, um, uh- Jesse, welcome.
Billy Corgan· Host0:38
Thank you for being on my show.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest0:39
Thanks for having me, dude.
Billy Corgan· Host0:40
So, um, I'd love to get a snapshot because growing up in Chicago, we have an idealized concept of California life. I, of course, we're different generations, but, um, growing up in the '70s like I did, you know, Calif- the California dream, whether it was Disneyland or... You know, it, it seems so idyllic, and obviously a lot of what the, the music business propagates in- into entertainment business is the idea that California is the American lifestyle. So growing up here, give me the reality of your circumstance.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest1:14
Yeah, I mean, I think, uh, the older I get, the more I, I see how just idealistic it, it, it really was. You know, once you, like, get out and you experience other- [laughs] ... places.
Billy Corgan· Host1:27
Yeah, middle America is very sobering.
Jesse Rutherford· Guest1:28
[laughs] Yeah. Well, and