[list] 15 bands that need to reunite right now

ho cares what great music is being written now? Now sucks. Now is a thing people pretend to live in when secretly wishing they’d told Sasha how they feel because now they’d be together and everything would be great. Open your wardrobe: The past is where it’s at. And it stings when a band calls it quits before we get a chance to see them live, or before we feel they’ve completed their journey, or sometimes years before we even learn of their existence. So here’s our list of the musical giants that left before (we feel) their time, and should return soon so we can stop pretending to know what a Skrillex is.

The Smiths

Coachella has done everything outside of physical touching to get Johnny Marr and Morrissey to reconcile, but no bites so far. And if pledging to make the entire festival a hell on earth (read: vegetarian) and paying them the gross national product of a small Eastern European country doesn’t do it, it’s safe to say that their pride probably can’t be bought. So we can say goodbye to ever seeing this again:

The Firm

Yeah, no one’s exactly missing the Dr. Dre produced supergroup (their only album flopped), but Nas is on a hot streak, AZ, Foxy Brown and Nature are all due for comebacks, and Dre probably learned from his mistakes. One more go around?

Slowdive

Now that Slowdive’s shoegaze-y dreampop sound can be heard in a healthy percentage of indie bands, do we really need them back? And the answer is yes, so they can a) show them how its done and b) maybe shame the dispensable ones into silence. Also, they wrote an album called Soulvaki, and spiritual chicken-based puns are my shit.

Felt

Sure, after a ten album spanning career, the Britpop forebears probably said all they could with the project. But I think that even repeating themselves this band would sound more innovative than most.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Almost more myth than band, just saying “Neutral Milk Hotel” fills you with the scent of a haunted barn filled with mildewed instruments and secrets. Though Jeff Mangum is touring again, it’s not the same.

The White Stripes

Jack White’s great and all, but his solo stuff will never compare to his offbeat (literally!) chemistry with Meg White. By the way, if you’ve ever complained about Meg White’s drumming, you never deserved this band.

LCD Soundsystem

When James Murphy bid his electro project adieu, he left a gaping void in the genre that has yet to be filled. Like any break-up you weren’t not ready for, the pain is still fresh. Also, I didn’t get to see their reportedly amazing farewell gigs, and my bitterness seems to be festering exponentially.

The Fugees

Lauryn Hill is (according to her bandmates) a crazy person, Pras’ solo success is limited to one song, and Wyclef Jean basically defrauded an entire country post natural disaster. What’s the best way for each of them to find redemption? By reuniting one of the best rap groups of all time! And in Clef’s case, probably a heavy fine and a stiff jail sentence as well. Because that is really fucked up.

Black Flag

Sure, it might be weird hearing “Nervous Breakdown” performed by middle-aged men in what almost certainly would be a cash-grabbing reunion, but maybe it would help heal some damaged feelings as well as bank accounts. Right, Refused?

The Beta Band

If you miss this truly incredible experimental pop band, maybe go buy some of their albums, since commercial failure made their existence untenable. Buying music is an investment, people.

The Unicorns

No teenager should have to go through high school without one of the best Canadian indie bands soundtracking every weekend.

Spaceman 3

Indeed, Spiritualized is great, but you gotta admit, nothing quite compares to the band that brought back psychedelic rock when baggy was king.

Galaxie 500

I’m going to take off my cool dude fedora and put on my old man hat for just a second, to say this: Galaxie 500 needs to come back and show these punk-ass kids how to write emotional alternative rock without sounding whiny, how downbeat doesn’t have to mean lifeless, and why being indefinable can secure a legacy more than any trend-baiting. Also, no shoes on my lawn, or something.

Cocteau Twins

Undisputedly, this band ushered in an era of ethereal pop music. My question is: did they know exactly what they were doing when they were writing these masterpieces, or were they just farting around, and which would be more impressive?

Broken Social Scene

I’m glad they called it in (temporarily at least) before putting out any mediocre records, and I wouldn’t disagree that it would be near impossible to come up with another You Forgot It In People. But all that considered, this band has far too much collective talent to leave after only four full-lengths.