The reunion has been an integral part of music since the beginning of time. The first people to ever bang rocks and sticks together, and then break up over creative differences probably had a reunion show in the original cave where they started. Some reunions are epic and some tend to be better in theory. Typically the yearning to see a band one last time is actually more satisfying than the reality of seeing said band play one last time, but there are those select few that bring bands and fans together in a glorious assembly of nostalgia. Late 2009 and the entirety of 2010 have seen a wild blossom of reunions. Chalk it up to the bad economy/need for money or the nostalgia of making it through the first decade of the new century, whatever the reason, there have been a remarkable number of bands that have decided to give it another go.

Bush

Starting with the most recent reunion, Gavin Rossdale announced this week that Bush would reunite for the Epicenter festival in Fontana, California. The band called it quits in 2002, working on various unremarkable projects ever since. Now with reunions being the theme of 2010, Bush has jumped on the bandwagon. Rossdale announced their first new song since 2001′s “Golden State” titled “Afterlife” in an interview on KROQ. You can hear the new song here, and there’s little doubt that fans will have to wait long for a reunion tour.

Soundgarden

In March of this year another ’90s grunge reunion brought the flannel-clad masses to their knees when it was announced that Soundgarden would play this summer’s Lollapalooza festival. The band officially reunited at a secret show in their hometown of Seattle, Washington in April. Check out a video of their performance here:

Pavement

The band that would never reunite decided to do so this year. Pavement was the most unlikely of reunions anyone could have guessed. The band met a tumultuous end, and the members seemed quite happy with their paths ever since. Originally announcing a single show at New York’s Central Park SummerStage Festival, the overwhelming response by fans pushed the band to add several more festival dates as well as a brief world tour, including their first ever hometown show at the Bob Hope Theater in Stockton, California. Here’s one of their first reunion shows in Dublin, Ireland:

Hole

This might not be an objective statement, but nobody seemed to be too devastated when Hole disbanded in 2002. It seemed inevitable. They had a rocky career with near break-ups, fighting, constant line-up changes, and well, Courtney Love. After some time apart and Love’s not-so-successful jaunt into acting, Hole, or at least some variation, has reunited – though not without drama, of course. Original co-founder, songwriter and lead guitarist, Eric Erlandson, has voiced heavy disapproval stating there cannot be a Hole reunion without his involvement. Nonetheless, with Love as the only original member, Hole has performed several shows including SXSW and on a handful of TV show appearances such as this one on Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Sublime (with Rome)

So this is not a real reunion, but it’s worth a mention. The two remaining members of Sublime have struggled since the death of their lead singer and guitar player Bradley Nowell. They tried touring as Sublime with some dude as their lead singer shortly after Nowell’s death, then formed Long Beach Dub Allstars which transitioned into the even less successful Long Beach Dub Shortbus. Drummer Bud Gaugh also started a couple of bands, but now they seem to have struck a chord with their newest incarnation, Sublime With Rome, which is the name agreed upon after lengthy legal battles with Nowell’s family. Rome Ramirez is said to sound remarkably like Nowell, and the band has found a happy medium without completely desecrating the name Sublime. The band embarked on a brief US tour, and is now recording an album. Check out a live performance of Sublime featuring Rome here:

Cap’n Jazz

You may file this one under who-gives-a-shit, but that would make you an idiot. Cap’n Jazz was a highly influential avant-indie rock group formed in Chicago in the late ’80s. They had a strong cult following throughout their short career, but the aftermath of their break up lead to the formation of The Promise Ring, Joan of Arc, Owls, and American Football just to name a few. The band played a reunion show in Chicago for the re-release of their anthology album “Analphabetapolothology” which sold out in two days, prompting them to embark on a reunion tour around the US. Here’s a song from their reunion show:

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Now that we’ve taken care of the recent reunions, here’s a list of bands that should reunite (but probably never will).

The Smiths

The Morrissey/Marr feud was a legendary one and will most likely never be resolved. It was simply too much genius for one band, and it eventually drove the band apart. Both have found highly successful careers since The Smiths split in 1987. A reconciliation is extremely unlikely, but we can always dream, can’t we?

Fugazi

The band has been on “hiatus” for 8 years now. The members have managed to keep busy in various facets of music, but the lack of an “official” break-up has left fans believing a reunion is possible. It could be likely since there wasn’t any internal drama (or from what we know) or unfortunate deaths. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see on this one.

Jurassic 5

This mammoth group featuring four soulful lyricists, and two blisteringly fast DJs was an alternative hip-hop crew who defied genres and blew minds. Touring with other hip-hop groups as well as being included in the Warped Tour (which was underrated in their time) may have contributed to their mysterious break-up. The members have stayed active, most notably their DJ Cut Chemist, who has found a successful solo career since leaving the J5.

Talking Heads

The seminal new wave band left with a lot of bad blood, though a reunion may not be completely out of the question. The band played a handful of songs in honor of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they have since continued to be critical of one another.

Operation Ivy

Operation Ivy was one of the most short lived, yet influential bands in the punk/ska community. While the genre has faded, the legacy that Op Ivy left still carries on. The break-up of the band led to the formation of Rancid and lead singer Jesse Michaels has since formed several side projects as well as a sturdy solo career. All members of the band have voiced sentiment for their past lives, but have also stated that a reunion is highly unlikely.

Make predictions on the next reunion or reunions you would like to see in the comments section. Let us know if there are any recent reunions we need to add.

Ah, the radio station sponsored summer festival. The show where everybody and their little sister is there. Walking into Shoreline Amphitheater for this year’s Live 105′s BFD I had the same pout as everybody else (besides the crazy FlyLeaf fans) that the lineup was less than desirable. This however, turned out to be a reasonably decent show, despite the mass amounts of hackeysack games being played (poorly) around the venue.

With two stages and a tent, there’s something for everybody, however most people I asked who they were there to see, they just gave me a blank stare and said “uhm, everybody.” This makes for a boring crowd to say the least. Unenthusiasm was abound for some of the best sets. Spoon played an incredible set (as usual) yet the crowd stood there and only slightly moved around for “I Turn My Camera On.” Brit Daniel’s voice live never ceases to amaze me, but I suppose that’s just not good enough for everybody else. The Temper Trap also fell to the radio-friendly crowd while playing one of the best sets of the Festival stage. Every single member played with extreme vigor and the switches between guitar and high hat and drum shows how versatile frontman Dougy Mandagi is. The crowd of course, was relatively dead for most the set, although they did know the words to (only the chorus) of “Sweet Disposition.” Typical.

The general ambiance of the Subsonic tent was very sweaty and dancey, even the Shoreline security got into the DJ sets by Dyloot and BT. The Limousines, subsonic tent alumni and local favorites, played harder and louder than I have ever seen them. Along with new material, iPad fingerbanging, and confetti – they also announced that their first full length album is due out next month. The headliners for the tent were the mind blowing Matt & Kim. There are very few bands who sound better live than recorded, and they are one of them. The pair’s stage presence is phenomenal, full with climbing on top of speakers, drums, and even booty dancing on top of the crowd. Kim hits her drum kit faster than anybody, all with a huge smile on her face while Matt compliments it with another smile and charming vocals and keys. There’s more to them than the cute factor, their live set can surely turn any cynic into a super fan.

Hole started the 90s flashback at the main stage, and surprisingly better than I expected after seeing them a couple months back at Terminal 5. I could go on about the shouting instead of singing or how Courtney Love just isn’t how she used to be, but that’s a tired concept and she knows it, stating “I’m old and I can’t sing, so give me a fucking break.” The fact is, although the quality isn’t the same, she’s an icon whether you want her to be or not. She knows what people think, but she doesn’t care. She continues to make new music whether you want to hear it or not, (she begged the crowd to let her play new songs with rewards of playing tracks off Celebrity Skin “for you fuckers that can’t get out of the nineties” ) Surprisingly, the best of the set were the two covers they played. The first being Leonard Cohen’s “Take this Longing” which put the entire amphitheater in a complete silent awe which Courtney later thanked them for. The set closed off with a cover of Alex Chilton’s “Big Star” which she showed some humbleness and took a step to the side for the guitarist, whom she had earlier yelled at on stage about the set list, for his solo. While her crazy antics have toned down, her boobs “stay in these days, but they’re still perky!” as she explained to a fan, this is the perfect analogy for herself.

The headliners were Sublime with Rome. Now, I went into this set with a bad attitude and expecting it to be terrible. Now take note because I don’t swallow my pride often, but they were actually pretty decent. They had a weird set up that was less Sublime with Rome and more Rome with Sublime, as he way up front and everybody else in the back, despite this everybody but Rome provided a quality performance. Drummer Bud Gaugh made the show worth seeing, while Rome’s vocals were decent as a lead to massive sing-along’s to old favorites (he’s still no Bradley though) and his guitar playing lacked luster. Fortunately, I doubt anybody noticed what with the massive smoke cloud hovering over the amphitheater.

BFD lessons learned: nostalgia does wonders for filling a show and there’s always some shining gems in a not that great lineup.

This week we contacted a few of our writers to chime in on what they thought was hot, and what they thought was not. Without further ado, in order of coolest album art (click covers to preview):

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to check out Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights in a nearly empty Boom Boom Room here in San Francisco. Their bass player Nick let me check out the latest release Pardon Me beforehand and this is a sonically brilliant album. It’s a little bit country and a lot rock ‘n’ roll. If you ever needed some down home southern rock in your life, it’s right now. (Dustin Shey)

It’s tinged with spacey vocals and ’60s era flower-punk meanderings, White Fence tip-toes an uneasy acid-soaked, lo-fi pop bender.  (Carnie Fulton)

From across the pond this week we get a real treat in the latest lo-fi release from the boy least likely to with a fairytale ending. The English duo of Jof Owen and Peter Hobbs have put together a fun indie pop set of four songs for your collection, including a pretty sad cover. (Dustin Shey)

In their fifth full-length album, Hole is back with Nobody’s Daughter, the band’s first release in 12 years. 1998′s Celebrity Skin took home mostly rave reviews as a notable comeback for Courtney Love and we all hope the second coming of Hole is just as refreshing to a world still lacking in real rock. (Briana Hernandez)

Avi Buffalo is a band of where the average age is about 19. It truly reflects in this super noisy lo-fi recording from Sub Pop simply titled Avi Buffalo. The songs are about sex, love and, well, sex. A lot of other music blogs are hyped up about this one. I just think it’s a more upbeat version of The XX. (Dustin Shey)

Peter Frampton‘s 14^th studio album is available in both CD and vinyl, of course. The explosive single “I Want It Back” is a back-to-roots rock track that hopefully paints the picture for the rest of Thank You Mr. Churchill. Frampton is most commonly known for his guitar talkbox effects as heard in 1976′s Frampton Comes Alive! (Briana Hernandez)

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t tell the difference in any Gogol Bordello album. It’s Russian gypsy punk music, and yes, that sounds as awkward as it really is. It also can be really fun if you see them live and, well, if the gypsy in you needs a fix, check out Trans-Continental Hustle. (Dustin Shey)

Make no mistake: Emily Jane White writes sad songs. It’s what she does and she does it well. Now with her sophomore album Ms. White shows that she’s more than just a pretty voice. Victorian America has all the melancholy of her first album and this time the songs are backed with rich, powerful, orchestration. (more from Spencer Crooks)

Bret Michaels, lead singer of ’80s hair metal favorites Poison and reality t.v. star, was hospitalized late last night after he was rushed to the emergency room with a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of the brain stem. Michaels, 47, was in critical condition, but has now stabilized.

And in completely different, happier news, Courtney Love and her band Hole are streaming the entirety of their new album Nobody’s Daughter on their Facebook page before its release next week. As we’ve said before, we are so happy to see love not being a hot mess and putting out good tunes again: the proof is in the new album.

The passing of punk rock legend Malcolm McLaren, who died earlier this month, was marked yesterday with a “Minute of Mayhem” in accords to his last wish. Across the world, punk fans did as they were told by McLaren’s son Joseph Corre: “In celebration of Malcolm’s life we are asking people to observe a MINUTE OF MAYHEM at midday on 22nd April. Put on your favorite records and let it RIP!” We want our deaths to be so fantastic.

When Courtney Love took the stage with Hole in London, the blogs lit up with how triumphant her return to the stage was. So triumphant, in fact, that Spin added the once-hot-mess to their 10 to Watch in 2010 SXSW set.

Love, who has had more than a couple major image makeovers, will take the stage March 19 at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, Texas. This will be her first show in the U.S. in more than a decade. Mercury/Island Def Jam will also release Nobody’s Daughter April 27.