The reunion pt. 2

What is the true value of the reunion?

The notion of what could have been is as powerful as what already has been.

Recently, the Police reformed to take on a world tour that netted record profits. All of the original members got back together and they put together a solid nostalgia set for their long lost fans to reminisce to. Despite the astronomical ticket prices, I support this effort. Yes, it was a ploy to make some money, but the bulk of their audience is middle-aged people that are obviously willing and able to dish out a few Franklins in order to relive that 80’s vibe. The expectations were clear from the beginning; pay us lots of money and we will give you what you want. They did their tour and have once again, gone their separate ways. Their legacy is left intact. People still don’t know what more they could have offered.

There are acts that start like this, and then try to take it further. These are dangerous waters. Fleetwood Mac and The Bauhaus went out as legends with solid legacies. Each of these acts reformed in the late nineties for tours much like The Police (minus the outrageous ticket prices). Each then put out a live disc documenting the tour. Great! I love them both. That was great, but then they gave in to the temptation to add a new chapter to each of their stories. A comeback is a dangerous thing. A mediocre comeback can scar your reputation in the eyes of history. Fleetwood Mac’s Say You Will maintained and lived up to their reputation. Bauhaus’ Go Away White, written as a long overdue swansong, really brings their integrity into question.

When you are part of a disbanded legend, there is an unspoken expectation that whatever you were doing that was so great was going to get even greater. If you reform and put out an album that is just as good as the one that people remember you for, then that is the least that people expect. That is a very high and impractical standard to meet. From what I’ve heard of comeback discs, the ones that hold up the best are often the ones that take the music somewhere it hasn’t gone yet and often are met with skepticism by die hard fans.

How to make it work:
Say You Will blended classic Mac type songs that sit perfectly next to their songs from 20 to 30 years ago with songs that sound new. There is some real poppy stuff as well as some noisier stuff that reflects what Lindsey Buckingham has been up to on his own. It is a solid record that maintains their reputation and puts them in a position to either move forward or call it a day again without marring their place in rock history. Moving forward and adding new elements is key. Skinny Puppy broke up in the mid nineties under the duress of drug addictions, a tragic death, and a record label that abandoned them. The two remaining members went their own ways and grew artistically through their own projects. When they reformed in 2004 and brought all that they have learned over the past decade to the table, they created the most focused and brilliant record of their career.

How not to make it work:
Go Away White sounds remarkably like what the Bauhaus were doing during their short career in the early eighties. This would have been great if it were 1983. I like it, but it answers the question, “what more could they have done?” with a less than stellar answer: not much. Jane’s Addiction did the same thing. They retired as alternative rock gods. When they reformed and recorded a new record that was ok, it left the listener thinking, “Oh, I guess that was all they had to offer.” The question of what could have been is answered with a definitive answer, which is never a good thing. The Eagles also recently reformed and recorded an album of songs railing against the trappings of corporate America. And they released it exclusively through Wal-Mart. The fact that their comeback is a faux stand up to the man effort completely shatters their reputation in my eyes. It could be two discs of the best songs ever written, but it will still be a zero for its lack of integrity and sincerity.

The Beatles, Nirvana, The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley and the Wailers, etc. These are all groups that will never reunite due to a lack of key members that are living. Because of this, their reputations are all the stronger. They are not only maintained by what they have done, but they are further immortalized by the notion of what they might have gone on to do but never will. They have never had to reach the point of revealing the fact there was nothing left to offer. If Curt Cobain had not killed himself and put Nirvana back together for a new album, I don’t think that his reputation as a genius would hold as well as it has and is set to.

As a general rule of thumb, the reunion isn’t a good idea long term. A band is really a complex relationship. When that relationship goes bad and you break up, it is kind of like milk that has soured. When it is bad, you throw it out. You don’t put it back in the fridge and hope that it will be better tomorrow.

Two Worlds Collide

It isn't often that I find connections between my professional life and my personal interests (music especially). I work in the land of The High School Jonas Montanas Musical. It's a far cry from what I tend to prefer.

That is why I was so excited to discover this article about a new children's book based on a song from one of the best independent albums ever. Good Morning Captain is the closing track to Slint's most notable album Spiderland and now the premise of a children's book.

Spiderland laid the ground work for many art rock acts to follow in nineties. Their minimal sounding production and melodically slow builds to bombastic endings strongly influenced acts like Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Pelican.

Awesome!

The Reunion - pt. 1

I’m reaching a point in my music *fanship where I have not only seen bands come and go, but now I am seeing many of those bands come again. But, to what avail? My feelings on this subject run hot and cold and I would like to come to some sort of conclusion as to the true value of “The Reunion.”

First off, the topic needs to be subdivided. There are various types of reunions.

1.There are the nostalgia reunions: bands that get back together to relive the past either with a tour or one or two special event concerts. These are often accompanied by some sort of live album documenting the incident.
2.There are the reunions where a band actually tries to get back together and pick up where they left off. They record new material and take the music on the road.
3.There are the studio reunions. This is where a band gets back together (either literally or remotely) and records a few new tracks and that’s about it.
4.Lastly, there are the career *reunioners. the bands that seem to be constantly breaking up and reuniting.

I think that this covers most of the reunion scenarios. Let me know if I missed something. I look forward to digging deeper into the specifics of this topic in the days to come.

*Fanship – one’s tenure as a fan
*Reunioners – individuals that take part in a reunion

The Presets - Apocalypso

Prior to my pitchfork, amazon, emusic, and i-tunes days, I used to discover music the old fashioned way. I would go out and find it. I would go to clubs based on the DJ playing that night. I would hang out in record stores talking to people and scanning for interesting cover art. I would sit in the isle at the book store and read the music reviews of all of the music magazines. WestConn had a radio station that turned me on to many great songs and artists. My favorite means of discovering music was to grab a cup of coffee and spend an hour or two surfing the listening stations in a Borders or Virgin Records. A number of factors changed the way in which I find music. The biggest being the internet. Music hunting is now at my fingertips 24/7. The other being that it is hard to justify that time spent browsing for music as a husband, father, and homeowner. Thus, when I have the chance to shop the old way and it produces and great find, the discovery is all the more special.

This is part of why I am so infatuated with this album. I discovered The Presets on a listening station at Virgin Records. The cheesy cover art (reminiscent of Daft Punk) and album title caught my eye and the samples sealed the deal. The Presets sound exists somewhere between Depeche Mode’s more industrial dance music, The Rapture’s style of instigating a party, and The Faint’s Danse Macabre. It is a techno album that throbs and commands movement on the dance floor. Furthermore, they are able to find a happy medium between taking themselves too serious and being too silly. The industrial/dance genre is a tricky area to take part in. Being too serious results in music that sounds way to self important and thus goofy. Even though it can be dark and heavy, it is still dance music. It is not the setting for overtly profound wisdom. On the other hand if it is too light or silly, it comes off, again, as goofy or else just meaningless. The end result is a rockin’ dance party. Get down like it’s 1996!!!

It has been a very long time since I have been this excited by any electronic dance music. In the nineties, I lived on this industrial/dance type stuff, but the genre grew stale almost as quickly as it appeared on the scene. Coming across an album like this that not only rekindles life in the genre, but takes it a step forward is so refreshing.

Enjoy. Play it loud!

On their webpage a window pops up that will play songs and videos. I suggest checking out "My People"

More Free Stuff

It has been a while since I've posted and there is lots to report. In the meantime, we did a little more house cleaning and uncovered some more discs that we are looking to pass on to new homes. It's a free for all, so first come, first serve.

Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X. trip hop stuff

Common Threads - Songs of the Eagles. country covers of Eagles songs

Ten Fold - Bored in Tustin. some of the OC's finest

Sugar - Favorite Thing. single

Winter Solstice On Ice. new age christmas music
anonymous 4. celtic christmas music

Tori Amos - Strange Little Girl. her covers album

Mortal Kombat - Soundtrack. late 90's metal

Lunasa - Otherworld. traditional irish music

Green Day - Dookie. early 90's alternative

Everclear - Sparkle and Fade. early nineties alternative

Garbage - Queer. single

Macy Gray - 4 song sampler. very raspy pop

The Cure - The Head On The Door. The Cure circa 1985. It includes Inbetween Days, A Night Like This, and Close To Me. It's a good mix of their pop and dark capabilities.

The Glove - Blue Sunshine. A side project of Robert Smith and Steve Severin. If you like early Siouxsie stuff, this is not too far off. The woman that they enlisted to sing sounds a lot like she wants to be Siouxsie.

Portishead - Portishead. Trip hop masters!!! Chill, cool, and sexy.

Moby - Play. Whether you think you know Moby or not, unless you have lived under a rock, you are familiar with at least holf of the tunes on this album. It is his best post-rave effort.

Lords of Acid - Voodoo You. Hard rockin' techno with x-rated lyrics. Loud and silly, but not for the faint of heart.

The Cure – MSG 6-20-08

Underneath The Stars @ Madison Square Garden



There is so much to say about this show. Where to start is the dilemma. The performance I guess…

The Cure were at the top of their game. The main set ran for two hours and the three encores stretched the show to run for three hours total. Not one minute was wasted. The show gave The Cure’s career a fair and balanced representation. They opened with a few languid and jangely pieces that claimed all of the space in arena as nothing other than Cure territory. From there they delivered pockets of infectious pop songs, oppressive doom and gloom, more jangely spacious numbers, hard rocking pounders, silly dance tunes, and finally a set of early post punk brilliance. Thirty years of songs and history built to a very strong performance that blended well and still felt vital and new. They played six new songs from their upcoming LP and they not only held their own alongside classic songs, but some of them even stole the show. Robert even let loose a little between songs and talked more than usual, (which is still not much). Normally, he doesn’t say much more than the occasional, “thank you,” or, “thank you, goodnight.” This evening he was feeling rather randy and poking fun at himself for mumbling when he talks to the crowd. He even went so far as to repeatedly mimic himself. He clearly was having as good of a time as I was.

They are playing as a four piece band for the first time in a very long time in their career. For the past 20 years, they have been playing as a five piece band with keyboards in the fifth spot. The keys are gone and all of the keyboard parts have been picked up on guitar. As a result they sound much more raw and lively. This is also the first time that they have toured the US since Porl Thompson returned to the band on guitar. The Cure’s sound definitely missed Porl’s sense of texture during his absence.

I am happy to report that I still have not missed a tour since I first saw them in 1992. Every time I see them I am in awe of just how much I connect to all of their music. Given how good this show was, I plan to continue that streak for as long as they keep coming around.

The set list, care of my friends at ChainOfFlowers:

Underneath The Stars, Prayers For Rain, A Night Like This, The End of the World, Lovesong, To Wish Impossible Things, Pictures of You, Lullaby, Fascination Street, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, The Perfect Boy, Hot Hot Hot, The Only One, Wrong Number, The Walk, Sleep When I'm Dead, Push, Friday I'm In Love, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Charlotte Sometimes, One Hundred Years, Baby Rag Dog Book

1st encore: If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, The Kiss
2nd encore: Freakshow, Close To Me, Why Can't I Be You?
3rd encore: Boys Don't Cry, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Grinding Halt, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab

I'm going...

Sorry for the lack of posts, but it is just that time of year. The good news is that I will be going to see The Cure in New York this coming weekend. I will maintain my track record of having not missed a tour since I first saw them in '92. I lamented the fact that I was going to miss this one for long enough. A week ago, more tickets were put up for sale and I jumped on it. My friend Rob and I will be in the nose bleed seats. The Fuse network is supposed to broadcast parts of the show as it is going on Friday night. If you have Fuse, tune in at 11 and look for me when they scan the crowd. I'll be the one in black. Review to come.