Gallery: 10 Band Reunions We'd Like to See at Coachella
01pink-floyd-3
The just-announced [2012 Coachella lineup](http://www.coachella.com/lineup) is loaded with big names like Radiohead and The Black Keys, but it's also stacked with reunions. Some will bolster the music festival's street cred (Company Flow, Firehose), while others will fortify ticket sales (Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, At the Drive-In). The annual music festival, which takes place over two consecutive weekends this spring (April 13-15 and 20-22), has a long history of reuniting bands, from the Pixies and My Bloody Valentine to Jane's Addiction and Rage Against the Machine. And the prospect of seeing esteemed, estranged musicians getting back together got us thinking about who we'd like to see reunite for a blistering Coachella set at some point in the future. (We left out R.E.M. and Sonic Youth, two bands that recently fragmented to the dismay of both longtime fans and the decreasingly relevant music industry.) Read Wired.com's wish list for Coachella reunions, consisting almost exclusively of bands that have played the festival in the past or have been rumored to get back together in Indio, in the gallery above. Then leave your own picks for a Coachella reunion in the comments section below. __Above:__ Pink Floyd ---------- [Pink Floyd](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_floyd)'s back catalog needs no introduction, especially to Coachella's high-desert dosers. But that is not why the band would be the crown jewel for music-reunion miners. Bassist [Roger Waters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Waters) and guitarist [David Gilmour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_gilmour) have reunited only once since acrimoniously splitting (after barely working together on The Final Cut) in 1983, and that was at Live 8 in 2006, before soft-spoken keyboardist and vocalist Richard Wright passed away. Getting Waters and Gilmour together again onstage, a near-impossibility, would be a Coachella coup, especially if the band played deep cuts like "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" and "The Nile Song," which are perennially overshadowed by songs that we've all heard on repeat for years. One can dream. http://www.youtube.com/embed/hSsjxbRxgqY *Image courtesy EMI/Hipgnosis*
02sleater-kinney
Sleater-Kinney -------------- We already heard good news on the [Sleater-Kinney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleater-kinney) front when guitarist Carrie Brownstein, currently starring in Portlandia's second season, told us a reunion is just a matter of merging timelines with vocalist and guitarist [Corin Tucker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corin_Tucker). (And it's about time.) "Corin and I are still the best of friends, and we have been [talking a lot about Sleater-Kinney as something to do again](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/01/carrie-brownstein-portlandia)," Brownstein told Wired.com. "I'll try to squeeze it into the one day I have free in 2012!" When she does, a reunion kickoff at Coachella would be a firestarter for a fierce power trio whose incendiary rock dropped its last bomb with 2004's deafening The Woods. But one expects the Portland, Oregon-based band would loyally rep its home front, rather than the Cali desert, so you can probably expect a blast at [MusicNW](http://musicfestnw.com/lineup) first. http://www.youtube.com/embed/MbxRu7fwR24 *Image courtesy Sub Pop*
03talking-heads
Talking Heads ------------- The reformation of [David Byrne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Byrne)'s not-so-merry band of legendary beat brainiacs would be welcome news, should it come to pass. But since merging pop, punk and funk throughout the '70s and '80s on classics like Fear of Music and Remain in Light, Byrne has chosen to follow his musical muse alone, while [Talking Heads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_Heads) drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth continue to tour with their proto-hop band [Tom Tom Club](http://www.tomtomclub.net). Rewiring Talking Heads' estimable legacy with a Coachella set would work wonders, even if it were just a [once in a lifetime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_in_a_Lifetime_%28Talking_Heads_song%29) reunion. http://www.youtube.com/embed/I1wg1DNHbNU *Image courtesy Warner Bros. Records*
04velvet-underground
The Velvet Underground ---------------------- Like Pink Floyd, foundational art-pop band [the Velvet Underground](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_underground) is one of the last of the broken titans of the '60s, and a post-millennial reunion could galvanize the world (even though founding member Sterling Morrison has gone on to the great gig in the sky). The band's chief creative forces, [Lou Reed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed) and [John Cale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cale), are thankfully still with us, which makes the Velvet Underground a reunion holy grail. 2012 would have been an excellent window, given that the band last reformed with its core lineup of Reed, Cale, Morrison and drummer [Mo Tucker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Tucker) 20 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/embed/0cWzxJvgWc8 *Image courtesy [Jawbone Press](http://www.amazon.com/White-Velvet-Underground-Genuine-Jawbone/dp/1906002223)*
05cocteau-twins
Cocteau Twins ------------- An annual reunion wish-lister, Cocteau Twins captivated hearts and minds throughout the '80s and '90s with movingly ethereal soundscaping, before the merge of family and business proved too heavy a burden for singular vocalist [Elizabeth Fraser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Fraser) and atmospheric guitarist [Robin Guthrie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Guthrie). Nevertheless, together with bassist [Simon Raymonde](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Raymonde), who runs the presciently indie [Bella Union](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Union) label, Cocteau Twins created some of music history's most unclassifiable songcraft, and would still be openly welcomed at Coachella (or anywhere else they decided to reform). How long that welcome would extend is an interesting point, as those who have seen Cocteau Twins live can tell you. It's not easy for the band to replicate their sonic explorations in the flesh, especially for Fraser, who often sang in three or four different styles in the space of a single song. But for those of us whose lives have been changed by their music, we'd probably be happy just to see them happy again. *Image courtesy Steve Pike/4AD* http://www.youtube.com/embed/h\_ICl20EJjY
06the-smiths
The Smiths ---------- Iconic front man [Morrissey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrissey) has so far chosen to forge ahead into the new millennium without [Johnny Marr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Marr), whose ax mastery made [The Smiths](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_smiths)' music sublime. Coachella reunion rumors arose in 2009 and doubtless will again as the list of artists inspired by Morrissey and Marr's musical mind-meld grows. [What difference does it make](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5DE8UQnM5Y)? Limitless. http://www.youtube.com/embed/eHvbbJ0Sspc *Image courtesy Rhino*
07fugazi
Fugazi ------ The fearless and resolutely independent musical explorers of [Fugazi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi) remain without peer in punk rock. On indefinite hiatus since releasing its last effort, The Argument, barely a month after 9/11, the Washington, D.C.-based quartet has been way too quiet for way too long. Don't get us wrong: We're stoked that [Fugazi released a massive online archive](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/fugazi-live-series) of more than 15 years of epic live shows. But if you've ever seen Fugazi live, you know there's nothing like the real thing. (Check out the [classic video for "Waiting Room"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJFWirQ3ks) below.) Even if — let's just say "when" to feel better about it — Fugazi reforms and tours, there's practically zero chance the band would play an event as corporate as Coachella. But who cares? We'll take a reunited Fugazi and run with it. *Image courtesy Dischord* http://www.youtube.com/embed/SGJFWirQ3ks
08eric-b-rakim
Eric B. & Rakim --------------- Sure, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre are cool for hip-hop's comparatively new school, but when it comes to highly anticipated hip-hop reunions, even they would probably agree there's really only one lasting holdout worth the hype: [Eric B. and Rakim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_B._and_Rakim). Both artists are still alive and more relevant than ever. Eric B.'s kinetic beatcraft, which recombines the timeless funk of [James Brown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_brown), has been copied far and wide. But for all his cerebral explorations and laser-like deliveries on "Follow the Leader" and other tracks, [Rakim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakim) has yet to fully receive his due from the new millennium's easily distracted mainstream. A Coachella reunion could fully school the noobs, and they would love every minute of it. http://www.youtube.com/embed/95gP3m-uBHA *Image courtesy Universal*
09husker-du
Hüsker Dü ---------- Minneapolis' finest punk export, [Hüsker Dü](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCsker_D%C3%BC) crossed alternative music over to the mainstream under the stewardship of guitarist [Bob Mould](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Mould), drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton. But even though all three members are still musically productive — including Mould, who has recently been pounding out Hüsker Dü tracks with Los Angeles-based punk heir [No Age](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2010/09/no-age) — the wished-for reunion has yet to materialize. Yet it seems almost inevitable, as everyone ages and their creative and other differences dissipate in the smoke of a sure-fire reunion payday. As more and more bands reunite, you almost root for Hüsker Dü's insistence on separation, because what could be more punk? *Image courtesy Mark Peterson/SST* http://www.youtube.com/embed/Lq\_TowFGLU8
10pavement
Pavement -------- Although this Stockton, California-based band never fully crossed over from the independent scene to the bloated '90s mainstream, it has still achieved a lasting credibility that would likely remain intact if it decided to reunite at Coachella. It might seem weird for [Pavement](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavement_%28band%29) front man [Stephen Malkmus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Malkmus), who has had zero problems on the credibility front as a solo or collaborative artist, to toss that out at this stage of the game and reunite to help Coachella sell tickets. Except that the band already did that in 2010, and while that brief reunion generated healthy earnings, it seemed to do little to repair Pavement's fissures. So for now, Malkmus and company belong in the reunion barracks with recently fragmented supergroups like R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. Let's let them rest there in peace for a while. There's always another year, and another Coachella. *Image courtesy Masao Nagasaki/Creative Commons* http://www.youtube.com/embed/mOwrbdKQ08o
