Reunited and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited
'Cause we're reunited, hey, hey
Reunited by Peaches and Herb
Let’s get one thing straight: Faith No More are not ‘funk metallers’. Following their first gig in 11 years at Brixton Academy on June 10th the papers that begrudgingly reviewed it still stuck with the misnomer, or called them grunge. Yes, there are elements of funk in their music, but there’s also thrash, bossa nova, smooth jazz, free jazz, electronica and the rest, which is why that umbrella term ‘alternative rock’ is more appropriate. At least Simon Price gets it.
As well as highlighting the continued (and deliberate) ignorance in the mainstream music press of how and why heavy music continues to thrive and outstrip the creativity in almost every other genre, it also showed the listening public has been overwhelmed by reunions in the past few years and we’re losing grip. How could anyone describe Blur as the most important British band since the Beatles, or Alex James as the coolest man in rock?! (I have read both last weekend) Alex James isn’t even the coolest man in Blur, and he’s an insufferable, floppy haired, cheese-making, Question Time-ruining, faux-English gent who should never have been given a second chance.
The reunion mill has been merciless, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous: Led Zeppelin, to New Kids On the Block.
Even the continuing musicians are looking backward: in the last month, RELAPSE is the best Eminem album in years but only because he’s revisiting the Slim Shady persona in earnest and Manic Street Preachers have roared back to form by plundering Richey Edwards’s notebooks and seeking out Steve Albini,Faith No More are no different, they’re accepting money all over the place to headline festivals across Europe. And given the opportunity to get our heads around them a second time they’re just as challenging as ever.
So who’s ‘Digging the Grave’ and who’s ‘The Real Thing’?
