CHOON

When The Music Stops

‘The Libertines to reunite!’ The media whips itself into an instant frenzy. Fans rejoice. But why? Do they honestly want to see the band reunite? Or are they simply trying to recreate the past? I believe it is the latter.

When The Libertines came onto the scene at the dawn of the new millennium they captured a new spirit in British music and brought a new zest to the industry however could such a moment be recreated? The simple answer is no, something which Carl Barat appears wise to, but who knows how long this sense will last with the sums offered for a much feted reunion gradually continue to grow.

Part of the appeal of The Libertines is their brevity, they ended on a high leaving their fans wanting more, something which more and more bands are finding difficulty doing today for example The Jam were considered to have broken up in their prime leaving countless fans pining for a reunion unfortunately in 2007 they decided to cave to this pressure and boost to their finances albeit minus frontman Paul Weller making the reunion a complete farce and forcing the two remaining members Buckler and Foxton to rename the group From the Jam, taking to the road to try and recreate the magic of their hey-day and instantly lost severe degrees of credibility I feel.

If we are to look at some of the icons of music today we might notice a pattern, they have all generally suffered the James Dean effect. ‘Their live fast, die young’ legacy is what makes them and their music so popular still today.

If Sid Vicious had grown into an old man would he the poster bad boy of punk, would his face be so synonymous with a movement that defined a generation as well as changing the face of music, if John Lennon was still alive today would he be so revered as a humanitarian and one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century or would he be slated by the media the way the likes of Bono who just refuses to retire so often is, would the name Kurt Cobain define the 90’s and teenage angst, would Tupac and Biggie have lost their souls and descended into making 50cent style rap records. The answers to all the above-No, No, Probably; No, and most likely.

It is for this pragmatism that I find it sincerely hard to believe when people pine for a band to reunite or an artist to return from the dead, that they really want it to happen. While they are lamenting the loss of a musical talent they’re also mourning the loss of a period in their life that was complimented by great music.
Now don’t get me wrong there’s a part of me who wishes I was around to see the likes of The Beatles and Sex Pistols perform in their hey day or that perhaps my six year old self would have made it to one of Tupac’s concerts before he passed but I do believe part of their appeal is that they are inaccessible to a certain extent. They allow you to imagine the possibility of what could have been.

In recent years countless artists have responded to the apparent desire of fans for them to reunite and have taken to both the stage and recording studio for ‘old times (and bank balances) sake’ Everyone from The Police to The Smashing Pumpkins to Duran Duran to Rage Against the Machine, even The Backstreet Boys have jumped on the bandwagon. Just this month Blink 182 announced that they were back together at the Grammys and the White Stripes after just a two year hiatus are expected to release their seventh studio album this Summer and The Kinks are currently recording music with the view that if these sessions prove successful the onslaught of a reunion tour is nigh. It seems the lure of re-tasting the sweet success they once had is just too alluring. It appears more and more often artists just can’t resist the temptation.
This in general has been well received by many fans but has severely damaged their legacy; can you honestly say you would have the same respect for an artist who turned their back on retiring in dignity in favour of vast sums of cash?

And while the loss of talent in their prime is tragic perhaps it is their saving grace as who knows what they would have become; take Michael Jackson, had he died in the 80s amidst his thriller glory he probably would have gone down in history as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century instead now, well I think you can fill in the blanks on that one, his name is forever tainted.

We all know one of the main reasons the Beatles broke up was due to a severe writers/musical block amongst the band. They recognised the importance of quality over quantity. Now that’s not to say they didn’t have lucrative solo deals waiting for them and the in group fighting wasn’t a contributing factor but they understood less is more. If only Madonna would take note, she I feel is fast if not already has lost her pop icon status, her music is no longer fresh and new, or daring in the slightest instead her melodies have grown stale, her act has become old and her once respected position in the music industry has diminished. She has effectively been her own kiss of death.

Which leaves me to pose the question to you does there not come a point in every artist’s life when the music should stop?

Lets just hope the current and up and coming artists of today learn from their predecessors the importance of the first rule of showbiz ‘Always leave them wanting more’

By Susan Walsh