With so many bands breaking up and making up, it is hard to keep up. Some split up way before their time and others maybe milking it a little too much, it had us thinking. Here are just some of the bands we think should just bloody reunite and stay that way.
With Guns n’ Roses back together, we feel like anything can happen in the world of music reunions. Here are 6 we really wish would happen right now.
The Smiths
A list of bands that should definitely get back together would be utterly incomplete without mention of one of the most influential bands in alternative rock. First introduced at a Patti Smith concert, the song-writing duo of Morrissey and Johnny Marr forged together in the eighties to produce an independent post-punk sound with enchanting vocals about ordinary people in despair. Sadly though, all good things come to an end, The Smiths breaking up after only six sweet years.
Creative differences, band bitterness split the band and then later a lawsuit filed by drummer Mike Boyce sealed the deal of no reunion. Morrissey saying in a 2006 interview, “I would rather eat my own testicles than reform the Smiths.” Guess we’ll just keep on dreamin’.
Rage Against the Machine
Who knew that before RATM became a band in 1991 that politically fuelled fusion of rap and heavy metal could work so damn well together? The band was known for wild antics, causing the doors of the New York Stock Exchange to be closed in 2000. The band did get back together seven years later after a nasty break up later in 2000 and toured till about 2010 but have been stagnant since. 2016 might just be there year to start getting angry again. Hopefully we see the boys banding together to produce another album all about the sun-dried white turd that is Donald Trump. Where are RATM when we need them?
The White Stripes
There is nobody that doesn’t know the iconic guitar riff to the White Stripes‘ Seven Nation Army. Coming out of Detroit, Michigan in the late nineties, the then-married couple rose to prominence in 2002. With their distinct melding of blues and garage rock, raw live performances and a simple band aesthetic of red, white and black, Jack and Meg became leading names in the alternative rock scene.
Even the weird mystery of whether or not they were siblings or a married couple and their eventual divorce was not the reason as to why the duo stopped playing. Calling off a string of shows in 2007 due to her ‘acute anxiety’, Meg White soon remarried, had a child and fell off the grid. Their long hiatus finally was announced as the band’s split in 2011, Jack White moving on in his musical career and Meg having no interest in returning to the spotlight.
Bikini Kill
Forget about the Spice Girls reunion, here’s a band that really fucking speaks of girl power. The all-girl punk band, forming in 1990 out of Olympia, Washington are the pioneers of the riot grrrl movement. Notorious for being abrasive, radical and fiery, the women mixed highly politically charged feminist views with the realities of their own lives in their lyrics as a way to inspire more girls to participate in the music scene.
Despite shunning major labels and wanting to blackout mainstream media, they still were able to gain major success. The group disbanded on friendly terms in 1997, with all the members forming other bands, most notably lead singer Kathleen Hanna creating Le Tigre. With songs like Suck My Left One and Rebel Girl Bikini Kill should get back together to detonate some female passion back in the music scene. Come on, it’s what we really, really want.
Powderfinger
With Bernard Fanning joining Boy and Bear for a few songs during Triple J’s One Night Stand this year, sparks of sweet, sweet nostalgia rose up for any Australian listening. Who doesn’t love Powderfinger? From 1989 till 2010, Bernard Fanning fronted the band to become the nicest guys in Australian alternative rock and produced plenty of popular, radio-friendly tunes such as These Days, My Happiness and On My Mind. Sure, Powderfinger had a great run, but couldn’t they stay just a bit longer?
Bluejuice
It was a black day when Sydney boys Jake Stone and Stavros Yiannoukas announced the end of Bluejuice. From running around Pitt Street Mall pretending to be a white robed cult to fondling and pashing an elderly lady kept their indie rock with a twist of funk outrageously entertaining to the very end. At first claiming the split was to get out while still riding a career high, Jake Stone later revealed in interviews that he didn’t want Bluejuice to end. Stating that it was fellow vocalist Stavros who lost enthusiasm and wished to sort out his personal life. Here’s hoping Stravos soon misses the neon body paint, flashing stage lights and dancing mosh very soon.
