Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Bands reuniting. The Pixies reunion brought out the curmudgeon in me, though I felt a bit of a prick for feeling that way. Despite my friends' excitement, I couldn't forget that in '92 I left what turned out to be their "final" show early, bored by their "paying the bills" live act and turned off by frat boys in the crowd high fivin' to "Debaser" and other hits.

I have nothing against the concept of bands cashing in on their legacy. Indeed, it's their right, especially in an era where a musician's right to control the presentation of his/her art is nonexistent. About the only thing a band can control these days is its very existence as a band.

So yeah, I'm all for bands sticking it to the audience and capitalizing on their sense of entitlement by giving them what they can't pirate—the group's corporeal selves, live on stage. Whether or not I participate in the reunion as an audience member depends on the band.

Two reunions that I care about: Slint and Van der Graaf Generator. I'd be just as happy to see The For Carnation and Peter Hammill again, but if they're going to fly their respective motherships anew, I'll fork out. Live CD? DVD? T-shirt? Send me the frigging order form.

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