Prompted by Pavement's reunion, Sasha Frere-Jones and his New Yorker music critic pal, Kelefa Sanneh, weigh in on the the last five years' rash of them, and firmly come down on the side of bands that stick to the hallowed back catalogue. Sanneh says Dinosaur Jr. was "revelatory" when it reunited for a string of shows in 2005, but now, after two new albums, "is a band in a more traditional, less thrilling, and probably more sustainable sense: three guys with a strong track record and a new CD to flog."
Again, I don't see what's wrong with reconvened bands putting out a new record. Why not exercise your talents? Of course, the point it moot if time has eroded a band's skills so much that version 2.0 is embarrassing to watch. But, come on: Why not smoke 'em if you got 'em (as I'll never forget a referee saying to me and several others on the foul line during a rec-league game in sixth grade or so, as we waited for a player to shoot two free throws)? I find the reunion tour a crasser way to cash in on one's legacy than an album.
As further proof of Frere-Jones' skills, read the wonderful quips he placed next to readers' suggestions for other band reunions here and here. He must breathe witty insights into pop. I can't quibble with the lists he compiled, though perhaps will add Whiskeytown, the Dismemberment Plan and a circa 2002 concert of the classic Startime International lineup -- the Walkmen, the French Kicks and the Natural History. Not that any of those bands rank close to being my favorites, but it would recapture a certain mood. But there I go lusting after a concert...
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