What's best about this particular breakup is
a) totally intentional on their part; "we've said what we had to say, we're good, thanks"
b) have resisted any and all attempt$ to bring them back/lure them for one-off things or tours
c) they actually did very brief and unexpected "reunion" things of the original four members (playing at a wedding reception; for an episode of Song Exploder; and for one song after being inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame) but have kind of gone back to their civilian lives peacefully.
The best example I can cite of "dealing with fame their way." And staying broken up. Preserving the (considerable) legacy for all time.
Jul 21, 2024
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40 years after "Murmur" was first released
and more than a decade after the so-called "hardest quit in the history of rock" (walked away, no drama)
The band themselves may have nothing more to say
But what they DID say for decades rings in my ears like a bell.
Still the sound of the south ❤️ to me
Feb 18, 2024
They were the best band, and then they broke up. The VU reunion is also the least nostalgia-grabbing, most interesting and rewarding band reunion that I can think of. It burnt out quick but produced some great stuff. Linked “Coyote” above, their only “new” song before they broke up again
Television also broke up too soon.
I also wish Girls could have made more music together… and there are so many others
Jul 15, 2024
đź’”
Talking Heads, XTC, The Replacements, Pulp, Pavement, Big Star, Galaxie 500, Women, NoMeansNo, etc.
It's better to burn out in a blaze of glory than drown slowly and bring everyone down with you. We've all had to witness the last decade or so of Morrissey in pain and horror but at least he didn't drag Johnny Marr's name into the dirt as well. You either die the Beatles or live long enough to see yourself become the Beach Boys c.1980s-90s
Jul 15, 2024
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Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024
“Songs Of a Lost World” coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 🖤
The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for
Sep 14, 2024
I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s.
So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it:
“Unwound is the best band of the ’90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesn’t say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasn’t stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the ’90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.”
R.I.P. Vern Rumsey.
This is their finest song, from their finest album.
I really can’t say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. 🖤
Mar 23, 2024