Which legendary alternative band would you want to see get back together most?

The only one of these bands I think have even a slim chance of making an interesting record in the present day is Talking Heads.

Modern Lovers would come in second, but really how different would that be than an ordinary Jonathan Richman album with a few more guitars?

I clicked this thread really excited to say early 90s GBV but then I realized it was multiple choice.

i don't think any of these bands could make a particularly great new record ... but i'd buy tix to see the modern lovers.

None of these, tbh

Fugazi.

I'd go see the Modern Lovers for sure

had a long paragraph about why the others are all more problematic but it seemed like stating the obvious

Yeah I don't think this thread is really about any of these people making another record necessarily.

"alternative"?

Morrissey's been making progressively watered-down Smiths albums for 22 years now; a reunion wouldn't change much. Husker Du wouldn't likely have the same *fire* that was all over New Day Rising, Zen Arcade, Flip Your Wig... it'd likely sound like a Mould solo album with more rawk. And I was never much of a Modern Lovers or Jam fan, could do without those bands to begin with. Which leaves Talking Heads all alone. And, honestly, I could probably go for a Talking Heads reunion.

I'd go see Talking Heads for sure, Byrne's half-dance show last year was great. If The Smiths didn't hate each other in varying directions for two decades it would be fun to see those musicians play those songs, but the degree of fantasy to pretend that this could ever happen is too much of a stretch. Would much much rather see Marr rejoin The The and tour and record.

(Also IRL would happily add a Tom Tom Club tour to the memory of Songs Of Byrne & Eno and be done with it but)

If The Smiths Pavement didn't hate each other in varying directions for two decades one decade it would be fun to see those musicians play those songs, but the degree of fantasy to pretend that this could ever happen is too much of a stretch.

Yet it happened. And yet people buy tickets.

candlebox

wait..nm. according to wikipedia they're still around

lol

i keep looking for all these shitty old bands to make a lame joke about and they're all still together and touring, apparently!

Yet it happened. And yet people buy tickets.

I think a lot of what people "know" about how the guys in Pavement feel about each other is based on gossip from 15-year-old zines tbh

shit, even stiltskin xpost

Modern Lovers would come in second, but really how different would that be than an ordinary Jonathan Richman album with a few more guitars?

don't even know where to begin with the rongness here

iow: modern lovers

i keep looking for all these shitty old bands to make a lame joke about and they're all still together and touring, apparently!

― LOS CATIOS (latebloomer), Monday, June 21, 2010 11:12 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

Not too long ago I was delighted to find out that Sponge were still around and kicking. Sponge/Candlebox double bill is overdue imo. Anyway . . .

Out of those listed The Modern Lovers mainly because I can't immediately come up with a number of reasons a ML reunion would suck whereas I can do that with the others.

write-in vote for French Frith Kaiser & Thompson

do the du

I would love to see Talking Heads perform the revisionist version of their "hits" (ie, stuff from their first 5 albums and not their actual hits from later on), and perform exactly zero new songs, and not record a new album, and make a bunch of money off of selling $50 tickets to suckas like me.

I'd like to see a Smiths-Talking Heads twin bill, but with the Smiths doing Heads songs and T.Heads doing Smiths songs. I'd pay real money for that ticket.

i actually saw the Smiths three times. so them because those shows were some of the best shows i have ever seen. plus i haven't seen any of the other ones in this poll.

If The Smiths Pavement didn't hate each other in varying directions for two decades one decade it would be fun to see those musicians play those songs, but the degree of fantasy to pretend that this could ever happen is too much of a stretch.

Yeah, these are not comparable situations. And the Smiths would sell approx eighty zillion more tickets than Pavement, that doesn't even come into it.

Big Black. not trying to be a dick, but i also did not know this was a poll.

also not sure i would want to see any of the poll options tbh.

would have voted "all of them for the sole and noble purpose of laughing at entitled, bitter middle aged fandork idiots wanking on about their precious memories being tainted", had it been an option

I've seen three of the five bands listed here and honestly I'm fine without seeing any of them again in 2010 or later.

Points off for not mentioning Spacemen 3 or Karl/Kendra lineup of The Dream Syndicate.

Voted Talking Heads, although I think if the Modern Lovers did a live show today it would be great fun.

"alternative"?

― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res), Tuesday, 22 June 2010 02:44 (6 hours ago)

Particularly w/r/t The Jam!

I mean, yes they got played on college radio, but they were just there cause they were ska or something, right?

I would love to see Talking Heads perform the revisionist version of their "hits" (ie, stuff from their first 5 albums and not their actual hits from later on), and perform exactly zero new songs, and not record a new album, and make a bunch of money off of selling $50 tickets to suckas like me.

Yes! Kinda like the Pixies thing.

The Smiths reunion WILL happen, it's just a matter of time.

Points off for not mentioning Spacemen 3 or Karl/Kendra lineup of The Dream Syndicate.

(and yes, points off for not mentioning them, they are my #1 choice)

The Smiths reunion WILL happen, it's just a matter of time.

• my favorite act ever.
• i hope you're wrong.

Another vote for the Heads. Saw Byrne at the Big Chill last year and he put on a great show.

I would've thought of the choices a Smiths reunion is the least likely of all of them, Mozza's not one to forgive and forget. Jam reunion is now more likely as Foxton worked on the last Weller album, don't know how close he is to Rick Buckler. I can see them all working together again but not under 'The Jam' moniker.

They already tried for the Jam reunion with From The Jam a couple of years ago, Weller wasn't interested - "Me and my children would have to be destitute and starving in the gutter before I'd even consider that"

x-post Big Black at the Touch & Go fest a few years back was just OK, not as good as the Scratch Acid set (or subsequent Jesus Lizard shows, for that matter). Du would be toothless, and the Smiths pointless (since Moz plays 30% Smiths stuff, anyway). Jam could be interesting, tbh, but Talking Heads is most likely to be really really good. Admittedly, Byrne and band were awesome playing Eno-era Heads, so I'm not sure what else the rest of the old band would bring, but the more TH songs the better. Really don't need a Modern Lovers reunion any more than we needed a New York Dolls reunion.

xpost
Yes, but there's been a rapprochement between Weller and Foxton following Foxton's wifes death last year. Only last month they were together on stage for the fist time since the Jam split up.

What's stopping a Talking Heads reunion then? Do they hate each other, and if so which ones?

I think three Heads had just about enough of the other one is the word

I don't know if the Heads "hate" each other, per se, but yeah, I think they've had their fill. Then again, Byrne supposedly had his fill of Eno, but Eno/Byrne were rarely in the same room for their last record.

Definetely the Modern Lovers as long as it was the Asa/D Sharp/Leroy line-up or the mid-80s version with the Rockin' Robins. The idea of the line-up from the first album playing together again seems quite absurd.

there should have been a nominations thread for this poll. there are any number of alternative bands I would like to see get back together, but these five aren't among them

the smiths are my favorite band on the list + also the only one that I hope don't get back together

(voted talking heads)

talking heads show would probably cost a lot more than $50! don't know if it's impossible. when i saw byrne during the "eno" tour, he said, "we're playing songs that I wrote and recorded with Brian Eno ... and some other people." i do think I've read an interview where he says he sees jerry harrison regularly ...

Well, Jerry would be easy to track down - presumably he'd be rehearsing with the reformed Modern Lovers, right?

This thread is bullshit! No Human Switchboard, No credibility.

And for the record, all these bands blow. Barf out people.

Write-ins for Ride & Galaxie 500 (no Damon & Naomi, no cred)

Along the same lines: Spacemen 3, Pale Saints, Loop

I just want Urge Overkill to release the fucking new album that they've been promising for years...

I think three Heads had just about enough of the other one is the word

it's the other one who split the band, has refused entreaties since, and tried to block them from doing No Talking Just Head tho

they played the RNRHOF with Worrell and Belew I think. one imagines that if they had the same financial imperatives as half the Pixies did, differences could be set aside, but no-one needs it enough to bother

yeah, weymouth and frantz are probably (hopefully) cruising on mariah carey royalties.

(the whole heads thing was pretty stupid, tho, i can see why it would irritate byrne)

I feel like I'm the only person who thinks broken-up bands should stay broken up.

Also, it might help if people could stop projecting onto their VERY FAVORITE artists of old and just let them fucking get on with their lives. Like, personally, I do not want to remarry my ex-wife -- or even really talk to her (and yes the feeling's mutual). sometimes people and bands break up for a good reason.

...Or at the very least if folks could not bribe the shit out of them to replay a goddamn record that you like that they made 30 years ago, that would be nice.

Wishing is not forcing, Mike.

Morrissey Marr Rourke Joyce

Underrated lyricist: Geezer Butler. The lyrics on Master of Reality are some kind of stoner genius. Great stuff.

wrong thread, sorry

Reunions are just a terrible idea in general.

"I feel like I'm the only person who thinks broken-up bands should stay broken up."

you are not alone.

It's just embarrassing and sad for everyone involved.

I've said this before, but I don't know why people thinking a band breakup is or should be some kind of permanent line in the sand. It just means they don't want to be making records or touring together at that moment, and the idea that those people should avoid making music with each other or playing their old songs, whether for business or pleasure, for the rest of their lives to satisfy some weirdly dogmatic or idealistic fans who like the idea of their career having a firm cutoff point, is kind of nuts.

It's not dogma, there's just something really sad about dudes who hate each other getting back together because they need money. I won't stop them from doing it, but it's not something I would ever want to see.

Speaking of legendary alternative bands, did y'all know Bush is back together?

I don't think it's a given that bands who have broken up hate each other and/or are not capable of resolving any differences they had years ago.

I am generally in favour of all and any reunions though. I love seeing bands play live and I don't care much for mythologies and whether or not they are ruined. I agree if a band reforms and they suck, it's a bit of a shame, but tbh I haven't seen many band reformation gigs that I haven't enjoyed.

yeah, when bands that had deep rifts for years and years actually repair their friendships, like Dinosaur Jr. for instance, it can be really sweet and inspiring.

a husker reunion would be unreal, i can't even imagine that.

though i did see the grant and greg play together with mike watt's band at the 7th st entry last year

Is New Order officially broken up? Because if so, them more than any of the other ones above.

They only officially broke up a year or so ago. Hookie is currently embarrassing himself and the rest of humanity by playing Unknown Pleasures live with a bunch of guests :-(

"I feel like I'm the only person who thinks broken-up bands should stay broken up."
you are not alone.

Thirded. I can't imagine any of these bands ever making music I remotely cared about again. (Last album I loved by any of them, or even anybody who was a member of any, was maybe a quarter century ago.)

xhuxk otm about everything ever

I would have voted for the Birthday Party until Rowland passed.

I think vote for Uncle Tupelo, if the choice was given.

Seeing the Afghan Whigs again would be pretty cool too.

It's kind of ironic that Paul Weller just put out possibly one of the best albums of the year. I've come to the conclusion that xhuxk and I are about 180 degrees out of sync on most things, but wonder if you've actually heard Wake Up The Nation.

Anyway, the Undertones reunion results (without original singer, no less) make me hopeful for just about anyone...

wonder if you've actually heard Wake Up The Nation.

Nope. Given that I haven't heard an album I've cared about from him since All Mod Cons (and wasn't even much of a Jam fan in the first place, tbh), a Paul Weller album 32 years later isn't something I'd make a point of seeking out. But I noticed on another thread that you called it the best Bowie album since Scary Monsters, so who knows? I'm still way, way skeptical, but if a copy falls into my lap, I promise I'll listen to it until I get bored by it and turn it off.

I'd give it some open ears. It's pretty unrelated to anything he's done previously, and I've got zero interest in Teh Jams.

I like reunions when it's kind of a feel good story - like the band had a really short career and were kind of got way bigger in the years after they split - like the Vaselines or The Monks. Even NY Dolls reunion was kind of sweet that way at first, at least in that Killer Kane doc.

did young marble giants ever reunite? someone could make a buck off that, and they could play that shit as oldies without looking like idiots, they don't need to do scissorkicks or pogo or anything

I always thought that the best reunion was the Can one in 1999 where each member of Can played a set of their own material, but not together.

Second favorite one was Ride's Coming Up For Air reunion

did young marble giants ever reunite?

Where have you been? They reunited in 2007 and have been playing shows pretty steadily - no big tours but definitely some ATPs and Primavera Sounds.

It has to be The Replacements for me.

My wish was the Velvet Underground, to reunite and play somewhere I could get to.

That happened.

I'd like Blur to get on with it re new album.

Um, that's about it. Re the Jam, I'd like them to reunite in a pub somewhere, have a few beers, let bygones etc, have a good night between them, then go home. They really aren't needed.

The Specials' reunion is good value. I'd have preferred a new album with JDam at the helm, but 1) That's not going to happen and 2) the audience (or, 95% of them) want the goodtime oldies and not new stuff.

I did go to one of the Jam's last gigs, that was more a nostalgiafest anyway.

I'd like Blur to get on with it re new album.

I rly like their approach of "no point doing an album" + "we can stand to be in the same room long anough to do a single once a year so let's do that"

Jonathan Fire*Eater?

Lupton's essentially a real-world version of a Nicolas Cage character, so the unintentional entertainment would almost certainly warrant the ticket price.

My most hoped-for reunion was Swans and that is happening this year so I'm very happy. Just wish the Cocteau Twins had managed to make their reunion happen rather than it crumbling at the last minute. Also would like Natalie Merchant to rejoin 10,000 Maniacs but that's not gonna happen.

I like reunions.

Seeing the Afghan Whigs again would be pretty cool too.

Cosign. Dulli's been making excellent records with the Twilight Singers since the Whigs parted ways, so I have faith he could pull through with a great album. Oh, and Dulli always slays live, too. Which helps.

I don't need a Whigs album (another Gutter Twins would be good, and a reunion of the Dulli-Shawn Smith-Fila Brazilia TS lineup could make five albums please), but would love to see them live once or ten times before I die

i really should investigate post-whigs dulli, never have, what's the first one to get?

I've been thinking about this for days: Jellyfish.

i really should investigate post-whigs dulli, never have, what's the first one to get?

My favorite is Blackberry Belle, but I have some pretty sentimental attachments to it. Others may feel differently. The Gutter Twins album with Mark Lanegan is similarly fantastic.

"I promise I'll listen to it until I get bored by it and turn it off."

hahaha!

yeah, Blackberry Belle, Saturnalia and Twilight As Played By are all different to each other and all good

I felt like Powder Burns was a bit Dulli-by-numbers, but still a few good songs there.

I've been thinking about this for days: Jellyfish.

― kkvgz, Thursday, June 24, 2010 2:58 PM (1 hour ago)

If they still have the high notes then this would be amazing.

oh and Matt, if you liked the Whigs' covers, Twilight Singers have a really good album of just covers of songs originally sung by women, called She Loves You. And for that matter here's the Gutter Twins covering Jose Gonzalez.

You know what? Gimme a fIREHOSE reunion!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

We should do a "most successful reunion" thread.

Or would Pixies/Pavement walk it?

I'd pick X or Devo over both of those bands.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

really, THIS much Talking Heads love? not that it isn't justified, but polls like this remind me that sometimes i PROFOUNDLY misread ILM.

i'm not sure i'd read the poll results as a popularity contest. the smiths are my favorite band ever, but i don't want them to reunite. i'd rather see the talking heads reunite, a band i liked fine, but far -- far -- less than the smiths.

Reunited X are indeed great - saw them last week. Billy Zoom still has that spooky grin.

Cocteau Twins only band I ever want to see get back and do something, because they never ever toured Aus so I never got to see them in their prime at all. But Liz and Robin hate each other so it just isnt gonna happen.

Didn't vote, but would be tempted to say "none" anyway. With a few exceptions (Crowded House, Aerosmith), reunited bands are rarely able to make new music that is up there with the stuff from their heyday. And unless they do, I don't see the point as my world is about albums, not live gigs.

polls like this remind me that sometimes i PROFOUNDLY misread ILM

What is surprising about ILM'ers loving Talking Heads?

ILMers loving the Talking Heads isn't surprising ... i thought that, with this place, they'd lose out to the Smiths.

not that surprised that Husker Du did as well as they did. THAT is pretty consistent with ILM.

Morrissey would do better reuniting with Billy Duffy & Vini Reilley as the Nosebleeds than with the Smiths.

this was a deeply, deeply boring poll