Could Creed Be The New Journey?

When the band Creed announced that they were reuniting and going out on tour with a new album (finally, I can stop lighting all those candles in church) a magazine article wondered if they were underappreciated the first time around. Now, I can't find the article online so I can't give proper credit to the writer, but basically they were wondering if Creed, like the band Journey before them, would rise from being dismissed when they first came out, have a resurgence in a couple decades and be considered cool amongst the next generation. First off, my kids will already be listening to Journey, so not in my house, dammit.

I also don't think it's possible due to one key factor: Journey songs are light, airy and perfect for karaoke, which makes Journey just that much more accessible to a new audience. Every one sings along with 'Don't Stop Believin'', even me. In fact, Journey was the band of choice the one and only time I ever did karaoke. On the other hand, Creed songs are what kids will listen to when they are 14, angst-filled and sitting in a darkened room wondering why their life is so hard. In other words, the best Creed could hope to be in 20 years is The Smiths (seriously, don't listen to 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' on a cloudy day, you'll be in a funk the rest of the week).

But, what musical act could be the one to rebound and be cool for another generation? Ok, here are the criteria: we're not talking about a band that every agrees is great and are classic - they need to be dismissed right now as no one takes their music seriously, but have enough catchy tunes, relative hits and airplay to keep them relevant. Also, it can't be some musical fad that didn't stick around, like the hip-hop/rock stuff that brought Limp Bizkit to our lives. Because of that I'm sticking with rock, or at least pop. With that in mind, here are the five I came up with, going from least to most probable.

5. 'Weird' Al Yankovic. Of course no one takes him seriously, he's not meant to be taken seriously. However, that doesn't mean he won't still be out there making fun of the latest music when he's 70.

4. *NSYNC. I'm sad to say that Timberlake may have enough musical chops that they end up being considered a real musical act one day. But, I'm hoping a reunion tour during the next boy band craze (scheduled for around 2015) will destroy any credibility he may have built up. If New Kids can reunite, then this is extremely possible.

3. Cake. Had a couple mini-hits in the early '00s, but stayed underground enough I can absolutely see a kid thinking he "discovered" them in a decade or so. Also the were hurt by the fact that they were lumped in with several bands of the same indie genre making it big at the same time. (None of which I can think of now, because they all sucked, had one hit and were forgotten. If they could just have formed together, like an idie super group, you could have gotten one complete good album out of the genre.) I was going to go with Weezer here, but music snobs hold them in too high a regard for them to ever be dismissed like Journey was.

2. Hootie & The Blowfish. No one wants to admit it, but everyone loves this band, just like Journey. Trust me, I saw Darius Rucker live earlier this summer opening for Rascal Flatts and people lost their shit when he broke into old Hootie songs. Also, Rucker's solo career will keep the band on people's minds. Plus, is there a better karaoke song than 'Only Wanna Be With You'? (Yes, but it's 'Don't Stop Believin' and since that was the basis of this post, it is disqualified.)

1. Nickelback. Seems almost certain. Go ahead, bring this band up around a music snob - they freak. But, damn, "Rock Star" and "Far Away" are great for karaoke and their Canadian fans will never let them die. Book it - in 20 years your kids will have Nickelback as their ringtones.