An article from yesterday's NY Times seems to take a rather snotty attitude towards Big Black brief reunion on Saturday, repeatedly quoting Steve Albini's remark "This was a lot cooler in the 80's" as somewhat of a slogan for the entire thing.

I wonder, did anyone else actually find this comment all that offensive?
It seems to me you need to be rather desperate in order to deduce this stupid article from a sentence that was at best a self-imposed joke and at worse some sort of an acknowledgment of mild embarrassment.

Then again - seems this guy was only watching the Big Black reunion from the comfort of his youtubed home, while reading “The Psychic Soviet” book.

And none of these reunions drew much criticism

Come on… can you truly put this Big Black (and Scratch Acid, and Negative Approach and Killdozer and all the other bands reunited for a one-off celebration of a legacy they were a part of) in the same context as a reformed Dinosaur Jr? or... god forbid... a suck-all-the-money-we-can-get-until-we-drop Pixies reunion? Or, on a totally different note, a we-can-still-kick-ass-and-make-glorious-records Mission of Burma reunion?

Here’s to Dischord celebrating their 30th anniversary in 4 years, and may the Nation of Ulysses reunite for that one, if only to spite him.

I don't agree with everything in that article myself, but if you think it's meant to be "snotty towards Big Black's reunion", you should read it again.

Not towards Big Black's legacy, but towards them reuniting, against all odds and interviews.

As you can tell from Mr. Albini’s comments, some mixed feelings remain. If he’s conscious of the way “history talks about rock music,” then maybe he’s also nervous about how history will judge the four-song reunion; certainly he has talked, in earlier interviews, about not wanting to besmirch Big Black’s legacy. (The band released its final album in 1987.) What, exactly, was cooler in the 1980’s? Big Black concerts? (Certainly; the live album “Pigpile” offers proof.) Music? The world?

The language sounds a lot like Mr. Albini’s surprisingly fulsome tribute to Touch and Go; neither of them can pretend he doesn’t miss the good old days. But we probably won’t be getting a Nation of Ulysses reunion anytime soon. Mr. Svenonius has found a different way to acknowledge that things seemed “cooler in the 80’s,” and even in the 90’s

To me that sounds like the author is taking sides, but maybe it's just me taking the other side too fiercely.

I really wouldn't put too much stock into what the New York Times says about anything ever.

whatever man. that parking lot was most packed for Big Black and Scratch Acid. Those 4 Big Black songs were more fun than any other recent reunion show of late. Mostly because reunions are the worst possible thing to ever happen, especially when the band stays together.

I take it back...what is the worst is the comeback album!

El Protoolio wrote:I really wouldn't put too much stock into what the New York Times says about anything ever.

I would change the words "New York Times" to "Kelefa Sanneh" and agree with you.

blah blah blah
Super fucking yawn, man.

Marsupialized wrote:blah blah blah
Super fucking yawn, man.

Dude, I saw Super Fucking Yawn back in the 80s, and they weren't any cooler.

Maurice wrote:

Marsupialized wrote:blah blah blah
Super fucking yawn, man.

Dude, I saw Super Fucking Yawn back in the 80s, and they weren't any cooler.

Super Fucking Yawn, the darlings of the new york post-cock scene.
You HAVE heard of the post-cockers right? They are doing groundbreaking stuff, man. Lots of standing there and looking cock-ish.

Marsupialized wrote:Super Fucking Yawn, the darlings of the new york post-cock scene.
You HAVE heard of the post-cockers right? They are doing groundbreaking stuff, man. Lots of standing there and looking cock-ish.

Cocklessly, of course, since they're all post-cock.