A lot has changed in the past 10 years. Economies have collapsed, barriers to overcome bigotry have broken down, technology has advanced beyond our wildest dreams. But has Wolfmother’s eponymous 2005 debut aged into a work that deserves a deluxe edition? Many people would probably say no. The album may have won a Grammy, but surely the addition of bonus B-sides, unreleased demos, live tracks and remixes won’t change the way we think about the Aussie rock band responsible for such hits as Woman and … Woman.
It is easy to be sniffy about seemingly inessential musical celebrations, perhaps because 20 or even 15 years seems like a better time frame for an artist or album to become relevant again. But the rise of the reissue runs parallel to two other shifts in the media and music industry: artists who need cash, and the increased demand for web content. It is symptomatic of the times.
Nobody needs a blog on 10 reasons why Vampire Weekend’s 2010 album Contra Changed the course of music just yet, but it is important to herald the output of a new generation. Veteran artists such as the Who or the Rolling Stones already top festival bills and fill arenas, and in some instances, the charts. So bands who have dropped out of fashionmay require a little marketing muscle behind them need to get exposure. Now that all music is free, why shouldn’t Razorlight pocket a bit more cash from the 10th anniversary of their Up All Night tour? Of course, Art Brut’s 10th anniversary should welcome a “best of” collection! The Futureheads were absolutely right to have marked their 10th birthday with an event and an art project (proceeds of which went to the Newcastle upon Tyne charity St Oswald’s Hospice).
Birthdays aren’t just for the bastions of rock’n’roll, despite how influential their music has been. The endless carousel of anniversaries are an opportunity for a new generation to celebrate the sounds that scored their childhood. This sentiment was touched on by Carl Wilson, who wrote a piece for the New York Times about the cycles of nostalgia and the “20-year cycle of resuscitation” pegged to the anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind in 2011. “Just as the previous generation’s inexhaustible demand has kept the Eagles and the Stones in stadiums,” he wrote, “our more modest numbers (and slimmer disposable incomes) are enough to coax the Pixies and De La Soul into midsize venues on a semiregular basis.”
I turn 30 next year, and have started to enjoy the first influx of albums and bands that were around when I was younger and are now being reprised for reissues or taken on new tours. While I can appreciate the 50-year anniversary of when Bob Dylan went electric, or the thrill of hearing David Bowie’s Fame for the first time 40 years ago, these aren’t events I share an immediate emotional connection to. I look forward to cheering on the albums I can recall buying when they were first released and revisiting the songs Iheard when they were conceived, even if they were not as groundbreaking as others that came before. A lot of the pleasure of music comes from the memories it creates. So here’s to another decade of hypothetical party poppers and bonus B-sides. And who knows, maybe in another 10 years Wolfmother’s eponymous 2005 debut might have aged into that seminal work of art. Maybe.
