Let the Dead Rest in Peace

Stiffy Biceptz is disgusted, has had enough, and must speak out on a topic that has burned me up for awhile now.

Some bands are completely defined by their key members. If that key member leaves the band or dies, the band dies with them. That's not an opinion, it's an immutable fact, like gravity, or death. Whether or not the other members of the band want to continue on or not is irrelevant. The band as it was known, the synthesis of all the parts that made the band what it was is dead and gone forever and cannot be reproduced; to try to do so is a complete fraud and a complete disgrace. Any true fans of the real band, the original, one and only authentic incarnation would NEVER accept a cheap imitation of something they professed to love so much.

Yet people are weak. Nostalgia for the past, and the desire to recapture long gone glory days makes ex-band mates do awful things. They compromise their souls for some money and recycled fame. And fans, desperate to see something they loved once again, convince themselves that they new guy is the original. And the art is tarnished.


There have been a number of band resurrections in the last few years that defy good taste, logic or reality. In each case, a band whose soul, sound and reason to be was in fact because of the dead performer is revamped with a replacement and passed off as the original. But it does not live. In most cases there has been an attempt to replace the voice of the band, the one part that can never be replaced, because that voice defines the heart and soul of the band.

Imagine the Beatles deciding to reform, with someone standing in for John Lennon and George Harrison. Paul McCartney strutting around singing those holy harmonies with--Joe the Plumber.

The latest offenders are the surviving band members of Sublime. Sublime. This band was solely defined by the voice and presence of Bradley Nowell,whether or not the "other" two guys like it or not. Bradley Nowell is dead. He was Sublime, even though he wasn't the band. Perhaps it's not fair to the two other guys, neither of which anyone knows, but it is what it is. Art is not linear, it's not logical, it is art. No Bradley, no Sublime.

Another recent stomach turner is the "New" Alice In Chains. Again, the iconic and defining lead singer of the band was, is and will always ONLY be the very dead and gone Lane Staley.

Journey without Steve Perry? Come on. I never cared much for Journey, but there is no question his presence made Journey what it was. And yet the other members of Journey continue to go out and fake it with some doppelganger. I don't know what's more pathetic, the band pretending to be something it isn't, or the fans who pay good money to see a fake.

Top of the offender list? How about the nauseating Frankenstein that has called itself the Beach Boys for the last thirty years. Read my lips, no Brian Wilson, no Beach Boys.

Van Halen without David Lee Roth is pretty close. Van Hagar never fooled anyone.

On second thought, the fake Queen with what's his face replacing Freddie Mercury is pretty distasteful.

The one band that could have gone on with a replacement in the original line-up but didn't was Led Zeppelin. At the time of the death of John Bohnam, Led Zep was arguably the biggest, most powerful band in the world. But when asked whether they would continue on, the remaining members said simply," You don't replace anyone. Led Zeppelin existed only with John Bohnam, and without him there is no Led Zep."

Pete Townshend should have pulled the plug on the Who when Moon died. They didn't last long afterwards anyway.

I can understand that musicians/artists want to continue on making music. But they have to have the good sense to realize that something they were a part of is gone forever, and that they were not the defining part. They have to have the courage to create something new, with a new soul and let the past go, because it's gone forever.

Imagine Dave Grohl deciding to go on with Nirvana. How ridiculous does that sound? He was wise enough to see that without Kurt there was no Nirvana. Kurt WAS Nirvana. So Dave went out and became the soul of a new band called the Foo Fighters.

Now it is certainly true that some parts of a band can be replaced without the living essence of the band being compromised--too much. The Ramones were still the Ramones after Tommy left, but much less so after Dee Dee quit in 1989. After all, he wrote most of the classic songs. Had Joey left, it would never have worked. For the Chili Peppers, the loss of Hillel Slovak wasn't terminal because the energy of the band was with Anthony and Flea. But when Frusciante left, it was shaky, as he had been their when the band was born into it's identity. No Anthony, no RHCP.

The Pretenders lost two of the original members, yet the Pretenders still lived because of Chrissie Hynde, though a bit diminished I'll admit.

The Stones were still largely the Stones after the death of Brian Jones, but I know some will argue that point, and I agree it's debatable. But without Mick Jagger? Forget it.

Sometimes musicians come together and magic happens. The right people at the right time in history cross paths and they create something above and beyond the sum of their parts at a time the public is ready to embrace it. We've all seen it and heard it and loved it many, many times. But it's not explainable and can't be calculated. It just happens. And without the special ingredients coming together at the right time, it's just a lame cover band. Some of those parts are very special, and cannot be replaced. And shouldn't.

Art is creation, art is magic. Art is born from struggle and suffering. When your band dies, mourn it and bury it. Then go out and start a new band, with a NEW name and a new soul and make magic happen again.