am i really the only person who doesn't care about reunions/reunitings/new music by old bands, like, at all? is there something wrong with me?

i have never been compelled to see carcass or buddy guy but i would see them if they played together.

that mott the hoople reunion i travelled for was so heartwarming. i think back to that all the time. just seeing the marquee out front that said "mott the hoople."

there weren't mobs of kids ripping the seats up but we are all at different stages of our lives.

I went to a reunion show for one of my favourite groups last year, and yeah it was wonderful, but I went to see them several times when they were originally together and it was better then because there would always be some new music in the set. when I go to a gig I want to hear musicians playing music that's fresh to them, not the same songs they've been playing for decades. but I guess most of the audience just want the hits, so that doesn't make sense financially.

also feel like reunion gigs are kind of like fan conventions now. and fan conventions can be fun! but not the same as a great gig.

yeah this is why I've really dug some recent shows I've been to - Sparks, Todd Rundgren, They Might be Giants, all over whom are known primarily for that one era like 3-5 years in but have been writing and performing for way longer than that. they'll play a few hits of course but otherwise can bounce all over from like 4-5 decades of work, including some new stuff that's generally well-received, it gives you a level of appreciation for them that you don't get from bands that are just permanently trying to relive a certain era

I think in general, a lot of Gen X bands figured out a playbook to age/reunite gracefully. The Pavement reunion show I went to in DC last year was an absolute blast. Also, as cited above, Mission of Burma, Slowdive, Dinosaur Jr. have all done it.

I guess we'll see about acts that had their heyday in the 2000s/2010s. Aside from the White Stripes I don't think there's many in that crop for whom reunions would even be a big deal. The Knife?

it depends I mean - I don't think it diminishes a band to stick around/reunite and not release any new material. the constant release of new material is a capitalist pressure that bands often have to do but if they're well-off financially and don't feel the need or desire to put out new material, more power to them.

If they do put out new material and it's good to great, that does usually make me happier, but not a requirement, and I definitely don't want them to put out anything outright embarrassing.

i love it when a band with a relatively small discog reunites years later and puts out new music that's equal to or even better than their old stuff, it's like oh man i finally have more of this sound... thinkin about quicksand here

in general if there's an artist or group of artists i connected with at any point, i love getting to hear what their art is like later in their lives, bc there's always like a subtle perceptual shift, even when they're picking up where they left off

the only band i can think of that completely fucked this up was smashing pumpkins

just spitballing on bands who have released albums I think are incredible or at least pretty great in their 'second life':

Angel Witch
Satan
A Tribe Called Quest (RIP Phife)
Carcass
Black Sabbath (fuck u 13 rules)
Suffocation
Convulse
Diamond Head
Descendents (I'm talking Everything Sucks here and I know half this board will disagree)
At the Gates
Celtic Frost (yeah I've finally warmed up to Monotheist)
Skinny Puppy

there's obv more than that I'm just terrible at insta-recall

"but I figure it's more constructive to support these people today than to give them props on the internet for making a good album 25 years ago."

i dig this. its a victory lap for the artists and a way for fans to show their appreciation. it totally makes sense to me.

Magma are a pretty good example of this, arguably their two best studio albums came since reuniting

i love a 1999 album by Faust. Ravvivando. as much as i like any Faust. don't know if that's a reunion effort or what though.

I saw Faust at a mid 90s reunion concert. I don't remember much about the music, but they set off road flares inside the club and that was some of the thickest, nastiest-smelling smoke I've ever experienced in my life.

When I was 16 and Dinosaur Jr reunited it blew my mind that I was able to catch a band I (at the time) loved whose good part of their career was concurrent with me being an infant. Then the next year Slint reunited and I had the same feeling. A year or so later I caught Simply Saucer’s reunion and by that point I was on the path of never wanting to miss a reunion… after seeing a bunch of them and realizing how hit or miss they can be, though, I started skipping the ones that I thought might not be all that great and these days I’m rarely motivated to see any kind of reunion act at all. As has been suggested above, I have zero interest in seeing a greatest hits tour of anyone, but if they do a rotating selection of deep cuts (Ween) or play the songs differently and/or improvise then I’m more likely to at least think about it.

Sometimes I feel bad about this, but I generally not compelled to see a band more than two or three times. Like, outside of local favs who always play and it's low effort and cheap and fun to see them a tenth time, I've passed up a lot chances to see deeply beloved acts, especially if I saw them at "my peak" with them.

The only time I saw the Pixies was before they put out records, opening for the Throwing Muses, and they already had a huge presence and the crowd was very worked up about them. This was a cherished memory of being *there*, man! But then a few years ago, I decided to see if there were any bootlegs of the gig, and going over gig histories in Boston, it was clear that this show was at The Rat in December 1986. Yet my memory is clearly placing them on the stage of The Paradise club. So the memory feels kinda useless now. Maybe I should have tried to see them again before it went to crap.

The Rolling Stones Still Life album was a fairly traumatic realization for my 14 year old self that seeing legends wasn't gonna be a legendary experience.

dinosaur, as long as they are able and still get along well enough, can go the neil young route forever. parents take their kids to see them, you know? its a universal guitar noise thing. J. will always be revered. and lou and murph still bash it out like they are kids. i got to DJ a dino jr. show here at a tiny club and all their families were there and it was just so nice.

kids like dinosaurs

There's a theater near where I live that seems to specialize in tribute acts (Jessie's Girl lol), live podcast episodes and old and/or reformed acts. Checking the upcoming shows I see-- Roger Daltry, The Church & Afghan Whigs, The Moody Blues' John Lodge, Justin Hayward & Christopher Cross, 10cc, Little River Band, Big Star Quartet, Jon Anderson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Farewell Tour), OMD, Robin Trower

coming up at Shirley's Bull Run Restaurant near me is Lenny Clarke: the "crazy train" of comedy, The Fools, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Barleycorn Must Live - The Steve Winwood/Traffic tribute band, Steve Forbert, Popa Chubby, Barrence Whitfield, Gary Hoey, Billy Prine sings John Prine, uh, i don't think i can go on.

I wasn't aware of the Big Star Quintet. Apparently it's Jody Stephens, Mike Mills, Chris Stamey, Jon Auer and Pat Sansone.

Aside from the White Stripes I don't think there's many in that crop for whom reunions would even be a big deal. The Knife?

I was going to say the Strokes but I think they are still together

Magma are a pretty good example of this, arguably their two best studio albums came since reuniting

Yeah Magma are the rare example for me where I listen to their latter-day albums as much as the 70s stuff.

Aside from the White Stripes I don't think there's many in that crop for whom reunions would even be a big deal.

My Chemical Romance?

Wire are onto their third "life", although I think they're dormant at the moment.

Mind you, bands tend not to split anymore, they just go on hiatus..

mark that's a good point and another example of how the 'pixies precendent' has affected band reunions. i've long held onto the idea that the only reason outkast was doing live appearances/coachella about a decade ago is because they (specifically dre) saw how lucrative/legacy building it was for the pixies, so figured why shouldn't we get in on that?

i suppose there's no reason to officially split up now unless people hate each other and money can make things like that more palatable too.

I've seen the Breeders 3x now in the past 5-6 years and they are MILES better than they were in the 1994-1995 era.

I think if Sonic Youth got back together that would be a big deal.

I have been wrong about many things but I highly doubt a Sonic Youth reunion will ever happen.

Thurston's health aside, there remains a toxic stain that even a healthy stream of large European/USA/Japan festival offers would not wash away.

i think the white stripes reforming is more likely than sy at this point. not saying that can't/won't change, but that hatchet would require a crater for proper burial.

those canterbury bands seem to keep putting out well-received records even though they have no original members -- soft machine, gong...

mark that's a good point and another example of how the 'pixies precendent' has affected band reunions. i've long held onto the idea that the only reason outkast was doing live appearances/coachella about a decade ago is because they (specifically dre) saw how lucrative/legacy building it was for the pixies, so figured why shouldn't we get in on that?

― interstellar anthropologist+music philosopher, (Austin), Monday, June 3, 2024 1:37 PM (twenty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

outkast taking their cues from the pixies incredibly unlikely

like outkast didn't need some old indie rock band to understand how lucrative an outkast reunion would be, also they are o another plane of popularity, i'm sure there were offers from promoters all the time

I mean, Frank Black did immediately fuck off and play the flute for the 20 years since the 2004 reunion. Imagine if he stuck around and made like four albums that were absolute dogshit

sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad! no doubt were awesome at coachella!

i will say that no matter what, it's always cool to see the actual humans that played on an album you loved play that music live in person with their actual hands and we should support our favorite artists no matter how old they get.

Reunions that would probably be huge--

R.E.M.
Dire Straits
Talking Heads
The Smiths (sadly)
Genesis (w/Peter Gabriel)

a fugazi reunion would break livenation/ticketmaster

ship has definitely sailed on Genesis (Collins can't play or sing anymore) but I did see Steve Hackett decently which I thought was pretty close to seeing PG-era Genesis, probably moreso than what the original lineup could cook up

those canterbury bands seem to keep putting out well-received records even though they have no original members -- soft machine, gong...

partly I think this is because these bands were never huge to begin with, and so they have the luxury of not needing to meet commercial expectations and can rotate in passionate and talented musicians on a regular basis.

I think you get better musicians in bands like that too because it's not like say joining Yes where you know what the repitoire is gonna be and will have to be dealing with a bunch of stubborn vets, Gong never had any 'hits' really but they do have a specific vibe and you can find dudes to capture that vibe

i think i bought the first two frank black albums out of love for the pixies? didn't play them much. he's probably made 20 records since then. i have no idea.

i just played last splash for the first time in decades a month or two ago and i was surprised by how good it sounded to me. though i'm more of a pod person. i didn't hear anything after last splash. and never heard that amps album.

i listened to Belly too! sounded good. i was a huge throwing muses fan. i feel guilty if i think about how much 21st century kristen hersh music i haven't listened to.

Breeders All Nerve and Throwing Muses Sun Racket are both terrific 21st century albums. Worth the time.

Aside, still hoping for another new Loop release.

Yeah. Loved Breeders "All Nerve" - I don't think I saw my purchase of it as a particularly nostalgic one but maybe it was?

As a diehard Pod lover (and indifferent to Last Splash) I think Breeders’ Title TK is their best and All Nerve is superb.

idk how you guys can't believe that the pixies reunion was "influential."

also maybe one for the controp thread but i prefer nubreeders to og breeders/mk2.

(side question: what is the case with them anyway? the biggest hit came shortly after the og lineup was no more)

you know which reunion wasn't great? jafferson airplane. i put it down to the drummer. they used that john mellencamp guy. i know xhuxk likes that guy but he is a clobberer. they didn't need a clobberer. kenny aronoff.

*jefferson*