Top 10 Bands That Should Reunite, but Probably Won’t

Ahhh, band reunions. There has been a flurry of them in the past few months, from beloved bands we listened to in high school (Blink 182 and No Doubt) to bands everyone hated but listened to in secret during high school (Limp Bizkit). These bands, whether we like it or not, have decided to let bygones be bygones and overcome their own self-inflated egos (*coughTomDelongecough*) and return out of their sheer love for music and creative expression. Oh, and probably also because they would prefer to make more income besides just royalty checks. I mean, we are in a recession.

With all this reunion news also comes the threat of something no one would wish on their worst enemies (namely, a potential Creed reunion. Alter Bridge and Scott Stapp’s solo debacle weren’t enough? Seriously??!!) And with that, comes the issue of what bands  should reunite.

What follows is a list, in no particular order, of 10 bands I (and I’m sure others) would like to see reunite. Sadly, the chances of these bands reuniting is probably slim to nil. Regardless, here we go:

1. Soundgarden

Soundgarden burst out of the much-ballyhooed Seattle ‘grunge’ scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s to dominate the airwaves of modern rock. Chris Cornell’s unique voice and Kim Thayil’s sludgy and dissonant guitar work created an identifiable sound that defines 1990′s alternative rock, during and after the Kurt Cobain era. Since Soundgarden’s breakup in 1997, rumors have swirled constantly about an impending reunion, but that does not seem likely, due to Cornell moving on to bigger and better things, such as using Timbaland’s leftover GarageBand dance beats to create hideous hybrid albums of insipid dance-pop.

Just last week, however, the members of Soundgarden reunited at a Tom Morello solo show in Seattle, with Tad Doyle (formerly of Seattle band Tad) on vocals. Since Cornell was not involved, this was not a true Soundgarden reunion (and given Doyle’s infamous girth, could be called a Roundgarden gig…har-har) but it was still received very warmly.

Soundgarden may reunite at some point, which would be amazing, but it does seem as if Cornell truly thinks he has moved on to bigger and better pastures. Sigh.

2. Smashing Pumpkins

This one is pretty obvious. Billy Corgan is being a self-indulgent narcissist by calling what is now basically his solo career “Smashing Pumpkins”. Everyone else in the band has already given up on him, with original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin the last one to jump ship a few weeks back. Even the fans seem to be turning on Corgan, such as when in New York back in November a fan berated Billy onstage.

Billy Corgan vs. Fan

As with most of these bloated 1990′s rock bands, the other members of SP have seemingly moved on. James Iha is now with the power pop super group Tinted Windows, whose album will be released next month. Corgan, however, vows to carry on with ‘Smashing Pumpkins’, which of course now is merely a  grandiose self-centered solo project. The chances of a full-fledged Smashing Pumpkins reunion is so bad, it’s probably in the red.

3. Guns ‘N Roses

I know what you’re thinking. “But GNR is back!” No, Axl, they most definitely are not. Chinese Democracy, the ridiculously anticipated (and widely panned) album was finally released in 2008, to lukewarm (at best) fanfare. Best Buy shipped so many copies of the album to stores and sold so few of them that the remnants are probably stacked in mountainous piles in the warehouse. The album was offensively self-indulgent and glossy, a product of Axl “working on making it perfect” for the past fifteen years. Alas, even the replacement band members grew tired of him during that span and quit and bailed while the getting was good (I’m looking at you, Buckethead).

Much has been made over the years of Axl and Slash not inviting each other to their July 4 BBQ’s or being friends anymore. I doubt they even follow each other on Twitter. Axl has made it very clear time and time again that the original GNR will never get back together, and instead we are forced to deal with the Axl Rose Blonde Dreadlocks Ego Experience.

Seriously???

4. The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses, the Manchester band who helped bring about the so-called BritPop movement in the early 1990s in England, have also recently been rumored to be reforming. However, guitarist John Squire has vehemently denied such talk, recently stating that “I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses”. Squire has made it pretty clear a reunion is not in the works, especially since he isn’t even on speaking terms with frontman Ian Brown. Despite all these reports being shot down, the rumors continue to swirl. They were even supposedly being added to this year’s Coachella Festival, but that was also nixed.

The Stone Roses are loved by many for their contributions to the ‘Madchester’ movement that helped bring about Britpop and the rise of bands such as Blur, Oasis, Suede and Pulp, but it would appear that the chances of a Stone Roses reunion would be about as good as Oasis becoming relevant in the US again. So it ain’t gonna happen.

5. Jurassic 5

Jurassic 5 were an underrated hip/hop group based in LA and formed in 1993. They broke up in 2007, although reasons why were unknown. The group’s hip hop sound was fresh and was propelled by their DJ’s Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist. Cut Chemist has gone on to forge a pretty successful solo DJ career, and founding member Chali 2na also spent some time with Latino funk/rockers Ozomatli.

No one really knows if they will reunite; there hasn’t really been much in the press about a reunion anytime soon. Since they have been missing from the scene, rap music has hit a steady decline, with artists such as T Pain, Soulja Boy, and the much-heralded (yet utterly disposable) Lil’ Wayne ruling the charts. J5, on the other hand, was a group with vision and artistry that showed in their songs, which were filled with positivity and integrity. J5 was a real hip hop group, unlike these meaningless novelty acts that now pass as ‘hip hop’, and for that, J5 is sorely missed within the mainstream rap world.

6. Refused

Refused, the Swedish hardcore/rock band that proved hugely influential for tons of copycat bands that emerged out of its wake, does not seem likely to ever reform. The band’s 1998 opus, The Shape of Punk to Come was their final record, a blistering commentary on the ‘punk’ scene at the time.

The band felt that mainstream hardcore/punk music was a joke, and thus they crafted a record that was intended to truly be considered ‘punk’ and anti-establishment. The record has been widely hailed as a masterpiece of hardcore/punk music. The band called it quits shortly after releasing the album, and has made it abundantly clear that they will never reunite. Frontman Dennis Lyxzén has gone on to form The (International) Noise Conspiracy, a band that still records and tours, so he is keeping busy in the aftermath of Refused’s dissolution.

Refused have made it clear they will never reform, even though punk music aficionados the world over would love it if they did. It’s too bad, really, as they were quite special.

7. Mr. Bungle

Mike Patton is a crazy individual. All his bands and artistic works have proved to be irresistibly unique and schizophrenic, none more than Mr. Bungle. The band, which formed in 1985 and broke up in 2004, was a bizarre hybrid of funk, jazz, metal, pop, disco, glam, new wave, and many other genres of music all combined into one spastic conglomeration of noise. It was pretty intense stuff. They have become a big cult favorite, as they were more of an underground band during their heyday.

Patton has kept ridiculously busy since the breakup, working with his other bands, such as Fantomas and his solo project Peeping Tom. He will be collaborating with beat box man Rahzel at Coachella this year, and has recently reformed seminal rock band Faith No More, at least for some UK concert dates.

There hasn’t really been much discussion about a Mr. Bungle reformation, but Patton seems busy enough to put that possibility on the backburner for a while. It would be great if they decided to try it again in the future, but as for right now, chances appear to be slim.

8. System of a Down

System of a Down hasn’t officially ‘broken up’, but they have been on ‘indefinite hiatus’ ever since their 2006 tour ended. The band released two albums in 2005, Hypnotize and Mezmerize, albums that, when combined, form a double disc set. The band rose to mainstream fame with 2001′s Toxicity, and became the leaders of the hard rock/metal circuit in the United States.

Since they went on hiatus, guitarist Daron Malakian tried (and failed) to form another band, Scars on Broadway. The band broke up without ever really touring. SOAD frontman Serj Tankian released a solo record Elect the Dead in 2007, which received mixed reviews, since it was basically a re-hashed System record with less creativity and unmemorable songs.

Tankian recently stated the band is on ‘permanent hiatus’, whatever that means. It might mean broken up for good, which would be very unfortunate, as System of a Down were a prolific, creative band that helped infuse the rock music arena with some much-needed passion. It would be really great if they decide to reform sometime soon, but the jury is still out right now.

9. Pink Floyd

The members of Pink Floyd have had to deal with reunion murmurs for years. They have reunited for a one-off engagement a few times, the last of which being the Live 8 concert in London in 2005. The band reportedly turned down a huge offer to do a world tour after that appearance, indicating their lack of desire to continue on with the Pink Floyd name. Gilmour has stated that he would be interested in another one-off event, but not a full-fledged Pink Floyd tour.

The band has become legendary in the history of rock music, as their seminal albums The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon continue to find and inspire new audiences. Roger Waters still tours, and plays the entire Dark Side album at his shows, which is quite magical to behold. He did this at Coachella last year.

As evidenced by the quotes by Gilmour, a full-on Pink Floyd reunion doesn’t seem likely for anything other than a one-off show.

10. Kyuss

Stoners the world over would rejoice if the desert-rock kings Kyuss were to reform. The band, which  included Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, who went on to form Queens of the Stone Age, is widely considered to be an influential band for the ‘desert rock’ genre.

There have been rumors of a reunion over the years. In 2005, Kyuss singer John Garcia joined Homme onstage at a Queens show in LA, and they played three Kyuss songs during the encore.

Since then, the band has been made a lot of offers to reform, but they have turned them down every time. Homme is very busy with Queens of the Stone Age, so a reunion does not seem likely, even though there seems to be heavy interest in such an event. If they do someday decide to reunite, it would be pretty great, as the band was widely overlooked during its career in the early and mid 1990s.

Honorable Mention:

• Led Zeppelin – The insanely high amount of rumors about a Zeppelin reunion seem to constantly be in the news, even though Robert Plant is content playing adult contemporary folk music with Alison Krauss. The other members of the band who are still alive, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, even leaked plans to tour and play Zeppelin songs, but even that didn’t persuade Plant to get on board. He has made it very evident that a Led Zeppelin reunion will not happen, and that’s too bad for those of us who would love to experience the band live, even if they are all pushing 70 years old.

Note: Zeppelin wasn’t included in the Top 10 list above because of the exhaustive amount of news regarding a potential reunion already circulating over the past few months.

• Journey with Steve Perry – Journey has experienced a renaissance of popularity over the past few years. It’s almost impossible to go to a karaoke bar and not hear someone sing Don’t Stop Believing. Yes, Journey found a replacement singer and has toured recently with him, but let’s be honest: Journey is Steve Perry. The hilarity that would ensue with a Perry-led Journey tour is too much to fathom, and for that reason it would be a lot of fun if he was able to get over his ego and head out on a full-fledged Journey tour, if not for simple nostalgia’s sake.

• Pavement – This band has had reunion rumors swirl about for years, and yet they still haven’t reunited. The band was in heavy rumors for this year’s Coachella festival, but it doesn’t look like that will be happening. However, they do seem agreeable about a reunion, so it would not be far-fetched to expect one in the next couple of years.

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