Band Reunions, Opinions on Vampire Weekend

replacements

Summer is coming…and that means a slew of music festivals and arena concerts around the country. Many bands hit the road for reunion tours, often times without all their original members. Jim and Greg explore whether or not it's sacrilegious to see a band missing its key original members. They'll also share some of their favorite band reunions, ones that lived up to or even surpassed the originals. Plus, a review of the latest from Vampire Weekend.

Download Subscribe via iTunes

Father of the Bride Vampire Weekend

vampire

Vampire Weekend is back with its fourth album, Father of the Bride, after a six year hiatus. The group of then-Columbia University students put out their debut, eponymous album in 2008 to a lot of critical and commercial attention. That debut leaned on South African rhythms drawing comparisons to Paul Simon's Graceland. This new album doesn't stray too far from that original sound. Jim has never been a fan, even though he admits that listening to the band's rhythm section at music festivals is fun. He says he doesn't care for the band's pretentious lyrics and vocal inflections, feeling like they lean too much into cultural appropriation. Greg argues the album is catchy and pleasant and features lots of guests, including HAIM and Jenny Lewis. Ultimately, Greg isn't bothered by the record, but it doesn't inspire him either.

Reunions

reunions

Summer is coming, and along with the sunshine and warm temperatures comes a miriad of music festivals and big arena tours. This summer we've got Mott the Hoople, Heart, Wu-Tang Clan and Hootie and the Blowfish reuniting. And then there are the 'reunited' bands who are always playing like Styx and Foreigner. However, many original members of bands like these have either died, become estranged or are afflicted with health issues that prevent them from performing. Sometimes there might only be one original member in the group, and it's not even the lead singer or guitarist. Jim and Greg wonder: is it sacrilegious to attend a "reunion concert" if it's not really one?

They talk with music journalist Rob Tannenbaum about his article in the New York Times on band reunions. (Artwork by Mark Pernice for the New York Times)

Jim and Greg also each pick two of their favorite reunions and one that they hope for.

Jim:

  • Patti Smith Group
  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse
  • Wishlist: ABBA

Greg:

  • A Tribe Called Quest
  • Mission of Burma
  • Wishlist: Talking Heads

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!