The Simpsons: 10 Guest Spots That Almost Went To Someone Else
6. Billy Corgan in “Homerpalooza”
"Homerpalooza" from Season 7 is one of the great guest star episodes of The Simpsons. Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill both shine as themselves, as does Peter Frampton who steals the show as the uptight, inflatable pig-obsessed rock star. But the focus of this entry is alt-rock icon and professional wrestling magnate, Billy Corgan.
Corgan and his band, The Smashing Pumpkins, are delighted when Homer joins their tour with his cannonball catching act. When Corgan introduces himself as "Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins", Homer replies with "Homer Simpson, smiling politely". Great stuff.
The nineties band originally slated to appear in this episode was Hole, fronted by ex-wife of Kurt Cobain and all-round interesting character, Courtney Love. The writers wanted Love for one particular joke; it was basically the same as the one Corgan would end up saying, but the punchline would be Courtney introducing herself as "Courtney Love" and Homer replying with "Homer Grateful!".
In the end, Sonic Youth threatened to pull out of their guest appearance if Love ended up on the show, so Courtney's cameo was cut. Perhaps they thought Corgan's version of the joke worked better and, to be fair, they weren't wrong.