Oct

7

Reunited!

Filed Under Updates 

I’ve been mulling this over for some time, but never has it been more timely than this week. On Friday, I’ll watch 70’s prog rock giants Kansas. Next week I’ll see the recently reunited “emo godfathers” Sunny Day Real Estate. Technically, Kansas never broke up, but they’re so past their prime, most of us just assume they have. Not only that, but up until a few years ago, reunion tours were viewed only as cash grabs for bands long past their prime. In the eyes of most people, they still are. Even mention “reunion tour” in relation to a legendary band like The Who and eyes roll and statements like “there’s no Keith Moon” hang in the air. State fairs gotta find their entertainment somewhere, though, right? Who doesn’t want to watch Steve Miller play “Jungle Love” with their crazy uncle? Reunion shows are ones we reluctantly agree to, but enjoy once we’re there, much like begrudgingly approaching the dance floor at a wedding, only to shake it next to your second cousin during “Love Shack” a song or two later.

The state fair, guilty pleasure-nature of the reunion show has begun to shift. The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine, and now, even Pavement are back together. These are card-carrying indie legends and bands that aren’t rocking the fairground and casino circuit. Pavement’s four shows in NYC sold out within minutes of announcement. Doesn’t the idea of indie reunions undercut the underlying idea that indie is about artistic innovation? A reunion tour is, in and of itself, about nostalgia and not creativity.

While I don’t think this has any real weight for music fans (meaning people who don’t base their lifestyle on a music genre), for the indie that takes itself seriously, their own credibility is on the line. Indie prides itself on originality and there’s nothing original in a band that’s past its period of virility playing old songs. The Pixies didn’t do anything new on their reunion tour. They just played their old stuff and they played it very well. From what I hear, Sunny Day’s doing the same. Most of these bands need some extra money, are doing it for fun, or promoting the reissue of some back catalog. They’re not, as the indie genre would have, doing it for artistic originality. So far, the only band that’s reunited and put out more than one song of new material is Dinosaur Jr. The real question is, will indie acknowledge this conflict of self-interest? I really doubt it. Too bad they’ll miss out on seeing Kansas and Sunny Day within a week of each other.

Will Thompson enjoys putting somewhat carefully chosen words in relatively meaningful order.

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