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Everything Old Under the Sun...
“Think of the worst song you ever heard in your life … . Somewhere somebody got drunk for the first time, lost their virginity – or both – while that song was playing, so that's their favorite song,” my old pal Emmis always used to say whenever I'd be goin' on about the latest, back-from-the-dead and (inexplicably) bigger-than-ever act currently selling now-stalgia for a used-to-be-that-never-was on the never-ending, “reunited and it pays so much better than it did back in the day” touring circuit.
Emmis might've reissued seminal tracks by then-future garage-rock legends the Sonics on his own indie label back in '73, and, while at least one crazed blogger recently cranked out a 5,283-word encomium to Em's pioneering fanzine, Flash, this semi-legendary, but very real, character hasn't bothered to listen to much of anything except contemporary black music for the last 27 years. But then Emmis has always taken a “jest the facts” approach to the pretensions surrounding popular culture.
Of course, I'd counter that, in certain cases, the increased attention is merited – mostly 'cause the Stooges or the Pixies were tragically ahead of their time – and years of word-of-mouth have created an audience that's more open-minded to their artistic visions. (Plus a whole lotta people who were simply too young to witness these semi-legends when they trod the boards the first time 'round.) And I've got no problem with any of that.
Since then, the festival has resurrected Siouxsie & the Banshees (vocalist Siouxsie Sioux, bassist Steven Severin, drummer Budgie, and some makeweights) after a five-year layoff in 2002 … three-quarters of the original line-up of Iggy & the Stooges (with veteran punk flamekeeper Mike Watt replacing long-dead bassist Dave Alexander) after a 32-year absence in 2003 … and the all-original-members Pixies (who'd disbanded 11 years earlier) in 2004.
The following year brought back the original lineups of Bauhaus, who – despite vocalist Peter Murphy having left the “Godfathers of Goth” early on – initially called it quits in '83 (and first reunited, to substantially less acclaim and enthusiasm, in 1998) and Gang of Four, who – despite wholesale changes in the rhythm section, including replacing sticksman Hugo Burnham with a drum machine – had given up the punk-funk, lo, some 18 years earlier.
These days, Coachella sells out months in advance, but – 'cause there are only so many “heritage” alternative-rock acts who aren't A) still dragging their bloated selves around whatever stage is available, B) missing key members who've long since shuffled off this mortal coil, or C) still at each other's throats over past perceived financial inequities – there were no reunions on tap last year.
This weekend's festival, however, offers a fearsome foursome of reunions, notably Rage Against the Machine. Anyone cynical enough to believe this might've been inspired more by the less-than-stellar sales of the second album from Audioslave – the three instrument-playing members of RATM with ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell replacing vocalist Zack de la Rocha – than anything in that righteous, rabble-rousing press release about wanting to raise awareness of the unmitigated disaster that's been the Bush 43 regime, certainly has – at least for now, anyway – a U.S. Constitutional right to his or her opinion. Either way, it's RATM's first gig in seven years.
“Why the fuck would anyone call themselves Rage Against the Machine?” asks the increasingly agoraphobic (he prefers the term “reclusive”) Emmis, when the latest of our semi-annual, late-night phone conversations takes a sudden musical turn.
“Emmis, it's a three-day festival. There's all kinds of great acts from all across the sonic spectrum. I've seen a bunch of 'em before. Björk. Roky Erickson. Fountains of Wayne. The Roots. The Kaiser Chiefs. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Decemberists. Arcade Fire. Kings of Leon. Travis. Sparklehorse. The Nightwatchman. Cornelius. Andrew Bird. Ozomatli. Gillian Welch. Sonic Youth. DJ Shadow. Interpol. Peaches. Rufus Wainwright. Placebo. The Lemonheads.
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