One of my favorite pastimes is reminding my friends how old we are all getting, partly because I am cruel, and probably because even I am astounded that actor Steve Guttenberg is now three years older than Wilford Brimley was when they filmed Cocoon together in 1985.
We can all think of things that will officially be old and played out in 2013 — dubstep, the band Fun., whatever PSY is, ironic moustache accessories, high-waisted acid-washed denim — but that would be boring, and probably the job of someone else. Wait for it…
But what about things that officially turn ancient next year? Ancient meaning reaching the age that people can look back at said things fondly as they stroke their beards and watch their children play Angry Birds.
2012 itself was a pretty good year for anniversaries: Rage Against the Machine’s first album, the Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St. (and the Stones themselves), Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Ziggy Stardust, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power… the list goes on.
No doubt Rocks Off wrote about these and many other milestones in 2012. Speaking of No Doubt, they released their first album in 1992.
But what about 2013? What anniversaries are lurking in just a matter of days, weeks and months?
The biggest album anniversaries will most likely by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Nirvana’s In Utero, ZZ Top’s Eliminator and Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). I would like to see something cool for Danzig’s debut solo album, but fuck that guy.
Dark Side has already been feted quite a bit, and Floyd reissues have been legion (most recently in 2011), so unless David Gilmour and Roger Waters wanna do a two-man acoustic tour playing the album in full, I think it will be a quiet year for Floyd fans. Still, expect plenty of virtual ink on the album.
Ace of Base’s Happy Nation/The Sign turns 20 in 2013, which means that those three insipid singles have been rolling around in our heads for longer than Justin Bieber has been alive.
The Stooges’ Raw Power turns 40, but that album doesn’t need a milestone like that to be recommended listening. Viva Hate, Morrissey’s debut solo album. hits 25, and he will be on the road anyway. 2012’s reissue didn’t make fans too happy, though.
I wouldn’t put it past Def Leppard to tour behind 1983’s Pyromania all over again, since they are a perennial summer touring act.
The Pixies’ debut Surfer Rosa can officially rent a car in 2013, too. They toured behind Doolittle for its 20th, but no plans have been made for ’13 as of yet. Pretty big album to not capitalize on, and their track record has shown that they don’t mind giving the fans what they want, at least on their own terms.
Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation is 25, but with the whole Kim and Thurston divorce deal, the band is also largely broken up at this point.
Is Metallica still spry enough to tour the three-decades-old Kill ‘Em All? 1988’s …And Justice for All has its silver anniversary too. More than likely they could be touring behind a new album anyway in 2013. The band’s last set of originals was 2008’s Death Magnetic.
Lulu doesn’t count.
Don’t forget that Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown EP turns 35, way back when Keith Morris was still on vocals.
It seems that a massive Nevermind-style reissue of Nirvana’s In Utero is in the works now. Krist Novoselic has hinted at some things in interviews this past year, and the reissue has already been scheduled by Geffen, but not given a release date. What remains to be released is another story for another blog. And then there is always the 20th anniversary of the MTV Unplugged episode in 2014…
Will there be a special resurgence of admiration for “What Is Love” by Haddaway on the occasion of its also turning 20? Doubtful.
Big album debuts in 1993 came from Beck, Radiohead, The Verve, Tool, 311, Porno for Pyros, Rancid and the Cranberries. Bands celebrating 30 years of existence will be Phish, Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, NOFX and My Bloody Valentine.
Bjรถrk’s debut adult disc Debut hit in 1993. She released an album in 1977 as a child pop star in Iceland.
That’s not weird because it’s Bjรถrk.
On the prickly goth and industrial end of things, Skinny Puppy’s VIVIsectVI and Ministry’s The Land of Rape and Honey are both a youthful 25. Ogre and cEvin are reportedly working on a new Puppy album for 2013.
Of course, this turns ten years old this summer, because we are all old: One of the most beautiful moments of the past decade in music. Shake it, shake it…