Valentine’s Day stinks. It makes us think of all the relationships of the past that didn’t work out. In the music world, that doesn’t just mean your relatively meaningless Facebook-official dating relationships, but the break ups of our true heroes. Here we commemorate the endings and mistakes that we regret most, even though they weren’t ours.
#5: REM
What will the world do without its premier, rockin, nerdy, middle-age band. Where will modern alternative bands look to for their humble college, garage rock band roots? These are the questions that troubled me when the band broke up in November of last year after 31 years of rock excellence.
#4: Nirvana
We have whole genres that are basically just Nirvana spinoffs, and it only took three(ish) albums (and some would argue just one song) to do it. Cobain’s relapse into drugs and suicide stands as one of the most devastating events in music history, not only to the youth of back then, but to every youth who discover Nevermind only to find out that he is dead after such a short, yet powerful career.
#3: The Pixies
Although I don’t want to see you guys tour as your modern selves, I would want nothing more then to see you in your beautiful prime. I want it to be 1989 so I can jam out to Doolittle and dance around with my boyfriend to “Debaser” and “Here Comes Your Man” in an intimate venue, smoking cigarettes. WHY did 1993 have to ever happen?
#2: The White Stripes
It’s been over a year since the group broke up and I’m still pretty angsty. Do I need to even get into what Jack and Meg did for me?! Do I need to say it!? 2003’s Elephant and 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan are two of the most influential albums that have ever happened to me, ever. It’s upsetting but it is allowing Jack to work on his own things, including his solo career. Yes, I’m counting down the days until Blunderbuss comes out but still…..White Stripes, where would rock ‘n roll be without you?
#1: The Beatles
I don’t want to sound too far out there, but every Valentine’s Day I think about love, and naturally of the band that told me that was all we needed, yet, not enough love existed to keep together four of the most human humans since Shakespeare. As so many people celebrate how awesome their love is, I’ll be shedding a tear that something (or someone (I’ll still never forgive you Yoko)) tore apart not only the best band we’ve heard yet, but the world.
Collaborated by Joe Winner, Natalie Wontorczyk, and David Christians.
