Billy Corgan should have done something.

Since the Smashing Pumpkins' new album, Zeitgeist, hit stores in July, fans have been "treated" to multiple retail-exclusive versions containing different tracks, depending on where one buys the disc. Rather than track them all down and pay money like some sap, I dug up the info on Wikipedia. I did this also because I'm too lazy and mad to look for a more reliable source right now.

In all, there are six different album covers: red, yellowish, green, blue, grey, and purple, plus a red version with a 76-page red book.

The regular, 12-track, red and red book versions contain the following tracks:

"Doomsday Clock," "7 Shades of Black," "Bleeding the Orchid," "That's the Way (My Love Is)," "Tarantula," "Starz," "United States," "Neverlost," "Bring the Light," "(Come On) Let's Go!," "For God and Country," "Pomp and Circumstances"

The yellowish Best Buy version includes a track called "Death From Above," at either track 9 or 13.

The green version is exclusive to HMV stores throughout the UK, for some damned reason, and includes no different music.

The blue version is exclusive to iTunes, and contains a track called "Stellar" at track 11. If you pre-ordered, you got a track called "Zeitgeist." But only if you pre-ordered.

The Target version contains "Zeitgeist" at track 13. So if you were good enough to pre-order from iTunes, you got nothing tangible but you got an extra song. And you didn't get "Death From Above" no matter what.

Confused yet? Don't worry. Best Buy is selling an exclusive, expanded edition of the album with an alternate track listing (as if the muddled bonus tracks from the other stores weren't enough to negate any semblance of album continuity).

The Best Buy version will contain the initial 12 tracks in a slightly different order, plus the following inserted:

"Death from Above," "Neverlost," "Stellar," "Ma Belle," "For God and Country," "Pomp and Circumstances"

So pretty much, if you bought the album somewhere, you not only got hit with the realization that there are alternate versions with exclusive tracks and that album continuity means nothing anymore, but also we're getting an extended version with all those same tracks (except, inexplicably, the title track).

Oh, and we're getting a DVD, ostensibly featuring Billy Corgan explaining why he allowed his record label to give the record-buying public such a solid rogering.

Artists wonder why people steal music. See above.