Re-distilling an essence rare: Gang Of Four are back.

I'm extremely happy to hear that the original Gang Of Four lineup are back together...at least for now, anyway. They're going to be playing Coachella, which I suppose is way cool but since that area gets oven-hot by the time the festival happens I don't think I'm going to want to go.

Much is made of their current ages: all somewhere in their late 40s. Give me a break. They are young bucks compared to the original core of Saccharine Trust, to Chuck Dukowski, to Mike Watt, hell, to my husband Richie who is in multiple projects and is 11 years my senior. (do the math!) Yeah, they all have day jobs now...if you are David Bowie and made your fortune already or if you are already rich or if you are the Flavor Of The Month, you can bear not having a job. But if you were in an avant-punk band that had a few KROQ hits, damn right you're going to have to get a day job. Hugo Burnham's a College Professor at New England Institute of Art in Massachusetts. Jon King is the CEO of a news video company in London. Dave Allen is a graphic artist and web developer and has a digital music distribution firm. Andy Gill stuck to his music and is now a producer and composer of soundtracks...perhaps you can say he's the anti-Danny Elfman now. And Morrissey is still working for the LA Chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals...yes, Morrissey has a day job, imagine that!

The Pixies are back, complete with the ravenous Frank Black (or is he back to calling himself Black Francis?) out in front. Mission of Burma is back. Anthony Kiedis recently wrote his autobiography, dredging up old shit (literally and figuratively) from the first album sessions that Gill produced. Franz Ferdinand put out an album that sounded to me an awful lot like "Solid Gold"-era GO4.

It's feeling an awful lot like 1982 again...what a time to be wrapping up the AA degree I should have finished in the '80s. Maybe I should form a fucking punk rock band again. I'm certainly going back to some of the other stuff I was doing back in the day. Oh yeah, and there's another insane guy in the White House, and another in the Kremlin. Plus ca change.