The Comeback Kids: Star Trek, Blink-182, Green Day and More

Last night, I went to go see Star Trek and I must say that it was a pretty awesome movie . The funny part about that is that I was never was a Star Trek fanatic. In fact, I don't think I've ever sat through a full length episode of Star Trek. I've personally always preferred Star Wars over Trek and when I was growing up it was Captain Picard, who was running the ship, not the great Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. However, there is no need to go pick up and watch the original series because the film is done a way where die hard fans will smile when they meet and hear familiar characters and new fans will be able to be introduced to the series as if Star Trek had been introduced to us for the first time. Knowing that J.J. Abrams was doing this i knew it was going to be amazing and the cinematography is no disappointment and Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto make a fantastic Kirk and Mr. Spock. I'm not going to go into further detail about the film because this is not a movie review. The rebirth of the golden age Star Trek is not the only comeback that has arrived for 2009. While last year, we saw the return of Robert Downey Jr. and Hollywood's recognition of Mickey Rourke's comeback (Sin City was his actual comeback.), this year it appears to be the music groups and rappers, who are making a comeback, some of them whom a reunion seemed indefinite. Let's see who's back and worth the wait.

#1 - Blink-182 - After the falling out between Mark and Tom, a reunion between Blink seemed as likely as a Pink Floyd reunion. However, Pink Floyd did reunite even if it was for one night only and so if Waters and Gilmour could bury the hatchet then so could these guys. Unfortunately, no new material has been released yet so nobody really know what the new blink will sound like. I don't really see them going back to their early days and the stuff will probably be more like their last self titled album. I'm expecting to see some fun songs on the album as well as some really serious ones. A four year hiatus usually brings inspiration for good writing material and be prepared for a lot of personal songs when their new album comes. They're kicking off a tour this summer although no tour dates have been set yet. We'll just have to wait and see, what Blink-182 has got in store for us this summer.

#2 - Eminem - I'm actually really disappointed with the tracks I've heard so far off of his new album, Relapse and this is the most immature that he has ever been. Hearing that he had spent some time in rehab, I was expecting a little better from Slim Shady and even the serious 3am is nowhere near as good as "Stan" or "Lose Yourself" although Dr. Dre still provides some good beats. "We Made You" is not even as good as some of his other humorous songs, like "Without me" and "My Name is..." Eminem has to go back to the days of the Marshall Mathers LP when he was angry about a lot of things in his life and just got it off his chest. Here Eminem is just playing off his drug problems like its a joke. A couple of nights ago I watched the video for "Guilty Conscience" and I realized how underrated that song has become today. That's the eminem that I would like to see again.

#3 - No Doubt - I knew that they were playing were bamboozle and i heard that they were awesome, but it wasn't until I saw them perform on Idol that I found myself thinking we're back in 1997? Not only has No Doubt reunited, it's like everything that happened from between rock steady until now had never existed. It's not common to see someone to go from glam back to punk/ska. It's like if Madonna came out wearing her material girl persona. I'm glad to see No Doubt back together, but I'm not as excited as other people seem to be. I've heard their new single, "Stand and Deliver" which is a cover of an Adam and the Ants song and it's alright. I would've rather heard a new song instead of a cover. However, after this tour and new album, i have a feeling we could be seeing another short hiatus, but let's be more than optimistic about it.

#4 - The Dead formerly known as the Grateful Dead - They actually reunited last year but it's this spring's tour that has the buzz. I guess that when the remaining member of the Dead figured out that The Who still sells out stadiums and people are running in groves to request Freebird at a Skynyrd concert, The Dead could still go on without Jerry Garcia and that's what they have. If you love the Grateful Dead then the new band will be just the same as the old one, but if you never got into them then honestly it's not worth it.

before i get to #5, there have been a few other small get togethers and comebacks, Hilary Duff is planning a comeback but I don't care and I'm not sure that many other people care either. Apparently Sublime played a show in March of course with a different lead singer and there are rumors of a tour. Also, Natalie Imbrugulia is making a comeback. Who? She's the girl who wrote Torn> I like that song but it's probably gonna remain a one hit wonder.

Finally #5 - Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown - Green day never went on hiatus, yet they remained very quiet over the past few years, similar to the gap between Warning and American Idiot but now they're back.
Last year, Green Day contributed a song to the Instant Karma: John Lennon tribute album for Amnesty International. Now they could have picked any song from the Lennon catalog from Imagine to Give Peace a Chance, yet they went with the deeply political "Working Class Hero."
We should have known right then and there of the things to come from Green Day. For those that are unfamiliar with the song it deals all of the social unjust that took place during the era of LBJ and Nixon Administration and features powerful lyrics such as "When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years. Then they expect you to pick a career, when you can't really function, you're so full of fear." Apparently Billie Joe sees society's current problems as a repeat of his childhood, when America was fighting a war in Vietnam and he's frustrated about certain things that he just wants to get off his chest and the result is 21st Century Breakdown. I listened to the full length album and I've got lots of good news. First, there are no "Boulevard of Broken Dream" type songs which can be killed by overplay from radio stations, in fact many of the tracks are rebel songs. Second, punk may never go back to the way it was in the 1980s but its certainly not dead and with that I give an extra round of applause to Green Day for being one of the only bands in a world full of so called punk rock bands, who hasn't forgotten about the Clash and the Sex Pistols. The band's first single "Know Your Enemy" has a Sid Vicious feel to it and a little bit of "White Riot" and it's sick. The album is pretty good and probably they're best to date. There is nothing mindblowing or really different from Green Day on the new album in fact they sort of went back to Warning album, which I felt was a good move. In fact, the album is a mix between classic 70's punk, a little bit of John Lennon, and late 90s Green Day and you should check it out. Other people are saying there is a Bruce Springsteen influence also but I'm not a big fan so i can't comment on that. So check out the new album as well some of the other artist i mentioned. You might even like Eminem's new stuff.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.