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The Chime In

Which band should have never broken up?

We all have a band that we wish was still together. HEAVE gives you their picks. Some of these bands may get back together at some point and release a crappy live album.

Ryan Peters

It's funny that we should ask this question less than a week before the release of the new Mars Volta album, because my life would be better in an exponential amount of ways if At The Drive-In had never called it quits. Don't misunderstand; I like the proggy, spaced-out, funk-punk jams of the Volta, and the guys in Sparta have never put anything out that I would classify as bad. But for sheer manic energy and ball-bruising catharsis, At The Drive-In simply cannot be beat. The only comparison I might be able to make to illustrate ATDI's significance would be with Mc5, but even that falls short. While the end of "Relationship of Command" hints at what was to come with Mars Volta, the rest of the album hints at what might have been if these guys had been able to go on touring without strangling one another. What a pity.

Wes Soltis

I want to say American Football, but it’s hard to deny the fact that the break up of American Football birthed about six or seven other bands I enjoy. The same can be said for Blur, so they don’t count, either. Sig Transit Gloria was great, but they weren’t around enough to make a lasting impact. I guess the only answer is Guns N’ Roses, but even their breakup was necessary. Part of the mystique of GNR was how stereotypical of a band they were, which meant they couldn’t get along and would have to break up. Grunge was taking over and Axl hated everyone in the band, they really had no choice but to break up – as now we can look back and say, “Wonder what they were going to do next?” That’s much better than them trying to stay afloat and ruin the GNR aura they had in the late eighties and early nineties.

But, I still wish they had stayed together.

Greg Herald

Thinking of a list of bands that should have broken up is easier than coming up with ones that shouldn’t have. I mean, who am I to think that The Pixies should have never broken up (they got back together, anyway). I know I would not want to continue working with people who I wanted to punch in the face every time I saw them. Just like with any job, it’s easy to look at someone else and (in hindsight) say they should have obviously not quit there job. On one hand, I would like to say Creedence Clearwater Revival should not have broken up. But then again, maybe the well was all dried up. You can only take a band so far. On the other hand, from a selfish perspective I will choose Neutral Milk Hotel as a band that could have cranked out more music before their demise. Jeff Mangum has written some of the most brilliant songs around and I could have gone for some more. Who knows, maybe in 2015 Mangum and company will reunite for a sold out world tour.

Lisa White

There are many bands that come to mind that I think should break up, or bands that I believe profited largely from breaking up (either by their own accord or by the death of one of the musicians) and would not be what they are today historically if they hadn't had called it quits. But it's a lot harder to find a band that you wish would have gone on with their career, because a lot of bands typically suck when they go way past their prime (or what I like to call "pulling a Rolling Stones"). The only band that comes to mind for me, is the band Blur. Technically they didn't break up, they just fizzled and stopped, and some amazing things came out of their demise, like Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad, & The Queen. But I think the band still had some good music left in them, and what I would give to be young in some shitty tiny club and to be able to jump along for 2 minutes and 1 second to Song 2 by them. That alone would be my self-indulgent reason for wanting any band to stay together, just so I can experience some of my favorite songs in a live setting.

Joe Roth

I know there has never been an official word from Jeff Mangum on the status of NMH but it's been ten years now so I'm gonna call it. There, now I can officially say Neutral Milk Hotel should have never broken up. Out of all the obvious bands we could think of through the annals of Pop history NMH were the only band I could think of that could still blow our minds today with their genuine heartfelt pop songs. Mr. Mangum had two official releases courtesy of Merge, On Avery Island and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Both portray a guy really making music for himself. After the popularity of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Jeff Magnum retreated back home, safe from a world of people claiming his music "changed their lives." We hear about him popping up here and there to support the Elephant 6 collective and we also hear rumors of a new album and world tour. C'mon Jeff! Stop hanging out with Amelia Earhart and prove me wrong! Please.

Cory Roop

The Smoking Popes. Their long hiatus came after they released one of my favorite albums of all time, Destination Failure. I can only imagine what the Popes would have done if Josh Caterer had not gone off to form Duvall. Now don't get me wrong, Duvall is great but the Popes were on a roll. Their reunion was long overdue when they finally decided to get back together. With the forthcoming release of their first original full length album in ten years the Smoking Popes will show everyone why shouldn't have broken up in the first place.

Leen Morrissey

While I thought about this long and hard, my "real" answer was personal and not necessarily relevant to a wider music audience. There's a specific and significant pain felt when the very first band you saw in concert breaks up, especially when you feel that attending that concert changed your life. While Nifty Fifty was one of the best ska/punk bands in Chicagoland before the turn of the century (that's right, I said it), I guess all ska bands have to break up sometime. Heck, all bands have to break up sometime. People get old, members get sick of each other, and moments of glory pass. So the better question is: what band deserving of recognition was ignored in it's own time? This is a usual conundrum for visual artists, but bands usually need at least a little fame to survive and produce the work - and to have that work circulated is another trip on the popularity train. Therefore, I am avoiding the question altogether and claiming: The world will never know.

Alyssa Vincent

While I feel like I owe it to music to take some time and ponder all of the epic bands that have broken up, but should have stayed together for us kids, I have to go with my instinct. I've had this conversation many times with friends, and I always give the same answer. Needless to say, I always get yelled at for this answer, but here it goes. The break-up of Blink-182 was a complete tragedy in my eyes. It was the first time that I remember actually sitting down and being upset for more than a few days about a band breaking up. Yes, especially near the end, all they could sing about was poop and penises, but for a fantastic couple of years, they were my ultimate soundtrack.

As I listen to +44 and Angels and Airwaves in some feeble attempt to re-create that soundtrack, it just sounds like something is missing from both of their sounds. Personally, I'm hoping for a reunion tour in a few years. We'll see.

Posted by Wes Soltis on Jan 28, 2008 @ 12:00 am