It's 1994?!

Asa Phelps: It's 1994?!

At first I was really disappointed by the headliners (headline fails to mention the Killers, which is fin because I wouldn't want the Killers headlining a state fair), but then the long list of "totally kick ass" which are the daytime acts totally makes it worth going.

thanks for your headliner selections, lolla. it will be nice to beat the crowd to the red line this year.

The only way to sell tickets to any of these kinds of concerts is to use bands who made a name for themselves in the nineties and then throw in some of your new flavors of the year.

*sells soul for tickets*

jaylectricity: made a name for themselves in the nineties

Lou Reed made a name for himself well before the 90s. And Depeche Mode and Beastie Boys made good names for themselves in the 80s.

Christi: *sells soul for tickets*

I'll join you in that.

I'm soooo happy that I got my early bird tickets. And for those of you whining about the line-up....GOOD! A shorter line for the port-o-potty for me!

WhyteRaven74: jaylectricity: made a name for themselves in the nineties

Lou Reed made a name for himself well before the 90s. And Depeche Mode and Beastie Boys made good names for themselves in the 80s.

OK, I'll give you that, especially since my first cassette tape was Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill...my point was that there are no new attractive bands.

Lame. Lamelamelamelame.

I've gone for three years straight, and it's slowly gone from great emerging acts for a reasonable price, to washed up crowd pleasers for ridiculous amounts of money. I will not be going this year.

They've shifted their demographic target. They're going for Xers with money and a sentimental streak.

Chicagoans, everyone else, save your money. Go to Pitchfork, or even better, the Hideout Block Party.

GrooveMonkeyZero: They're going for Xers with money and a sentimental streak

Seems to me more like they're going for people with broad tastes in music. Aren't going to be that many people who want to see Lou Reed and Depeche Mode and Tool.

WhyteRaven74: Aren't going to be that many people who want to see Lou Reed and Depeche Mode and Tool.

that's a pretty silly notion....

The lineup is awesome. The 3rd and 4th set of performers is a pretty amazing lineup IMO.


* Depeche Mode
* Tool
* The Killers
* Jane's Addiction
* Beastie Boys
* Kings of Leon

* Lou Reed
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation
* Snoop Dogg
* Rise Against
* Andrew Bird
* TV on the Radio

* Vampire Weekend
* The Decemberists
* Neko Case
* STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
* Animal Collective
* Band of Horses
* Of Montreal

* Arctic Monkeys
* Coheed and Cambria
* Ben Folds
* Fleet Foxes
* Silversun Pickups
* Kaiser Chiefs
* Crystal Castles
* Bon Iver
* Santigold
* Atmosphere
* Dan Auerbach
* Cold War Kids
* Deerhunter
* Lykke Li
* Robert Earl Keen
* Peter Bjorn and John
* Heartless Bastards
* Gomez
* Glasvegas
* Federico Aubele
* Dan Deacon
* Passion Pit
* Zap Mama
* The Raveonettes
* The Gaslight Anthem

* The Airborne Toxic Event
* White Lies
* Ra Ra Riot
* No Age
* Asher Roth
* Los Campesinos!
* Bat For Lashes
* Chairlift
* Gang Gang Dance
* The Virgins
* Amazing Baby
* Portugal. The Man
* The Knux
* Ida Maria
* Delta Spirit
* Friendly Fires
* Manchester Orchestra
* Constantines
* Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
* Hockey
* Miike Snow
* Alberta Cross
* Hey Champ
* Sam Roberts Band
* The Henry Clay People
* Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
* Cage the Elephant
* Living Things
* The Low Anthem
* Blind Pilot
* Langhorne Slim
* Other Lives
* The Builders and The Butchers
* Eric Church
* Joe Pug
* Kevin Devine
* The Greencards
* Carney
* Thenewno2

And spinning at PERRY'S

* Bassnectar
* MSTRKRFT
* Simian Mobile Disco
* Deadmau5
* Boys Noize
* KiD CuDi
* Crookers
* A-Trak
* Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
* The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
* LA Riots
* Kaskade
* The Glitch Mob
* Hollywood Holt
* Rye Rye
* He Say, She Say
* Car Stereo (Wars)
* Dark Wave Disco
* Moneypenny
* Yello Fever
* Animal Collective (DJ Set)

WhyteRaven74: Seems to me more like they're going for people with broad tastes in music. Aren't going to be that many people who want to see Lou Reed and Depeche Mode and Tool.

Yes, they covered their bases genre wise. They usually do. But lets take a look at the top six headliners past:

'09
Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane's Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon

'08
Radiohead
Nine Inch Nails
Rage Against the Machine
The Raconteurs
Wilco
Kanye West

'07
Pearl Jam
Daft Punk
Ben Harper
Muse
Iggy & The Stooges
Modest Mouse

'06
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kanye West
Manu Chao
Wilco
Death Cab For Cutie
The Raconteurs

Compared to last year, especially, this is mega-weak. And more expensive. Depeche Mode, fine. But when was the last time they put out a decent album? Tool, Ditto. The Killers? Couldn't get Interpol, eh? Janes Addiction? One good track of their last album and that was like six years ago. Beasties? I'd love to see them, but again the lack of good recent material bothers me. Kings of Leon? As a middle of the pack band, great. A headliner, though?

And here's Pitchfork's top six, as I deem them:

The Flaming Lips
The National
Built to Spill
Yo La Tengo
Yeasayer
Grizzly Bear

Not as much name recognition, but damn if most of them aren't active, working bands who aren't on end of career best-of tours. Oh, and it's only $75 for 3 days.

As far as the Hideout? I have to go on last year, because it's not until September and there's no lineup yet. Top Six of '08:

New Pornographers
Neko Case
Ratatat
Black Mountain
Monotonix
Plastic People of the Universe

Four great current bands, an insane Israeli punk bad which did not disappoint, and a classic Czech group that was jailed in the 60s for playing Western (Zappa-influenced) rock and roll. $45 for two days.

Lolla is an effing ripoff this year IMO. NOTE:I don't really want to demean other peoples musical choices, because I hate when people do that, it just feels like they're phoning this one in, and charging more for it.

GrooveMonkeyZero: But lets take a look at the top six headliners past:

My favorite lineup from the past, 1993.

Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Tool, Rage Against the Machine

the_cnidarian: Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Tool, Rage Against the Machine

See? That is effing sick.

TOO - frkkin' - OOL!!!

Thenewno2, huh?

All that win... and TOOL. i'm conflicted. Most of those would be great to see live again (i've seen a number of them), but the thought of the assholes of TOOL getting any of my money turns my stomach.

GrooveMonkeyZero: Lame. Lamelamelamelame.

I've gone for three years straight, and it's slowly gone from great emerging acts for a reasonable price, to washed up crowd pleasers for ridiculous amounts of money. I will not be going this year.

They've shifted their demographic target. They're going for Xers with money and a sentimental streak.

Chicagoans, everyone else, save your money. Go to Pitchfork, or even better, the Hideout Block Party.

I'll be going to all 3. It's interesting to note that you won't be going, even though some Pitchfork and Hideout acts will be playing, just not at 8 pm.

/saw Andrew Bird at hideout a couple years ago
//must be a washed up crowd pleaser now?
///not a big fan of Bird anyway

I'm going to see Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails in a couple of weeks. You know you are old when the cutting-edge bands you used to love are out on a nostalgia tour, and you decide to go.

i'm going!

WaltzingMathilda: I'll be going to all 3. It's interesting to note that you won't be going, even though some Pitchfork and Hideout acts will be playing, just not at 8 pm.

/saw Andrew Bird at hideout a couple years ago
//must be a washed up crowd pleaser now?
///not a big fan of Bird anyway

Well, I love a lot of the bands playing Lolla, further down the list. But there are only three playing that I have not seen and would like to: Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, and Los Campesinos!. I'm not going for three bands. Not to mention they may very well be playing side shows in Wicker Park or Uptown that weekend, which would be much cooler, much cheaper, and have a much better beer selection.

As far as Andrew Bird, I love him. He was my #2 show at Lolla a couple of years ago. I loved him at the Hideout also a couple of years ago. But he's lives here, he plays all the time. So, not seeing him at Lolla (again) is no big deal. The washed up comment was more for the bands on top of the list.

GrooveMonkeyZero: WaltzingMathilda: I'll be going to all 3. It's interesting to note that you won't be going, even though some Pitchfork and Hideout acts will be playing, just not at 8 pm.

/saw Andrew Bird at hideout a couple years ago
//must be a washed up crowd pleaser now?
///not a big fan of Bird anyway

Well, I love a lot of the bands playing Lolla, further down the list. But there are only three playing that I have not seen and would like to: Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, and Los Campesinos!. I'm not going for three bands. Not to mention they may very well be playing side shows in Wicker Park or Uptown that weekend, which would be much cooler, much cheaper, and have a much better beer selection.

As far as Andrew Bird, I love him. He was my #2 show at Lolla a couple of years ago. I loved him at the Hideout also a couple of years ago. But he's lives here, he plays all the time. So, not seeing him at Lolla (again) is no big deal. The washed up comment was more for the bands on top of the list.

i figured as much.

off the top of my head without looking back at the list, here are the reasons I'm going, because it works out to about 17.50 per band and i'm ok with that.

thievery corporation
fleet foxes
animal collective
federico aubele (seen twice in chicago, will see again)
dan auerbach
lou reed
tv on the radio
vampire weekend
cold war kids (who i just saw last weekend)
ra ra riot (just saw last weekend)

some of the others i'll be happy to see, like the beasties and jane's, even though they're old as shiat, and if it's like last year, some bands i haven't heard of will surprise me

it's not perfect, but it's a lot of music for $175. i am excited for hideout and pitchfork though. and even though i've seen a lot of those bands, i have no reason not to see them again. if i like a band, i want to see them a lot, or at least more than once.

That lineup made me pee a little. Living off the red line is gonna make getting there that much sweeter!

the_cnidarian: GrooveMonkeyZero: But lets take a look at the top six headliners past:

My favorite lineup from the past, 1993.

Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Tool, Rage Against the Machine

I went that year. Primus was amazing.

GrooveMonkeyZero: The Flaming Lips
The National
Built to Spill
Yo La Tengo
Yeasayer
Grizzly Bear

You couldn't pay me to watch any of those bands other than Flaming Lips.


Hey, that was fun to do!

I listened to the new Depeche Mode album today (Sounds of the Universe)...and cried. It's awful. I loved Playing The Angel. This new one is horrid.

the_cnidarian: My favorite lineup from the past, 1993.

came in here to say the same thing. Tool was on the second stage. Dinosaur Jr. opened, then came alice in chains. Rage was awesome. Back then it was my first exposure to most of those bands, I discovered a lot of new bands that to this day I still love.

One of the best festival type shows I've been to. Except maybe Bumbershoot, followed Blues Traveller up there after seeing them in Portland. David Byrne was aaaaaaaaaaawesome.

Lou Reed, Beastie Boys, The Gaslight Anthem, The Decemberists, and Atmosphere are the only ones that spark my interest. I'll save a lot more money and go the the Windy City Sound Clash instead.

Kind of looks like a mash up of Coachella and All Points West this year. I do want to make it out to Chicago one year for Lolla and Pitchfork, but this is not the year, mainly becase I'll be seeing many of these bands this summer anyway.

/why, yes, i do think this lineup is pretty good
//minus Kings of Leon and the Killers. Ugh.

WhyteRaven74: jaylectricity: made a name for themselves in the nineties

Lou Reed made a name for himself well before the 90s. And Depeche Mode and Beastie Boys made good names for themselves in the 80s.

And Lou Reed decided not to come to the Beale St Music Festival this year so I'm pretty sad, as I cannot make it up to Lollapalooza.

/saw Lou there last year, assumed he would die before I got the chance

I'd be there for Tool and Jane's Addiction. I really would.

Yup, it's suckapalooza.

My favorite lineup from the past, 1993.

Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Babes in Toyland, Tool, Rage Against the Machine

I saw that show too in the L.A. area (Hansen Dam?)

Primus - when they played Metallica the place went nuts
AIC - Layne
Dino Jr. - don't like them...
Fishbone - biggest mosh pit I've ever seen in my live. Scary shiat.
Arrested D. - don't remember them
Front 242 -....
Babes - OK, maybe I saw a different line up, don't remember them either
Tool - awesome, this was from their first album and they were still pretty unknown
Rage - pretty cool, also on their first album and opening! Best part was Maynard came out and sang that song he did on their album.

I refuse to go to concerts without seats anymore. Those mosh pits are nasty.

The Low Anthem FTW.

If you go, don't miss them.

Good things highlighted:

* Depeche Mode
* Tool
* The Killers
* Jane's Addiction
* Beastie Boys
* Kings of Leon

* Lou Reed
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* Thievery Corporation
* Snoop Dogg
* Rise Against
* Andrew Bird
* TV on the Radio

* Vampire Weekend
* The Decemberists
* Neko Case
* STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
* Animal Collective
* Band of Horses
* Of Montreal

* Arctic Monkeys Maybe. They're kinda boring live
* Coheed and Cambria Maybe. They sucekd last time i saw them :(
* Ben Folds
* Fleet Foxes
* Silversun Pickups
* Kaiser Chiefs
* Crystal Castles
* Bon Iver
* Santigold
* Atmosphere
* Dan Auerbach
* Cold War Kids
* Deerhunter
* Lykke Li
* Robert Earl Keen
* Peter Bjorn and John
* Heartless Bastards
* Gomez
* Glasvegas
* Federico Aubele
* Dan Deacon
* Passion Pit
* Zap Mama
* The Raveonettes
* The Gaslight Anthem

* The Airborne Toxic Event
* White Lies
* Ra Ra Riot
* No Age
* Asher Roth
* Los Campesinos!
* Bat For Lashes YAY!
* Chairlift
* Gang Gang Dance
* The Virgins
* Amazing Baby
* Portugal. The Man
* The Knux
* Ida Maria
* Delta Spirit
* Friendly Fires
* Manchester Orchestra
* Constantines
* Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
* Hockey
* Miike Snow
* Alberta Cross
* Hey Champ
* Sam Roberts Band
* The Henry Clay People
* Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
* Cage the Elephant
* Living Things
* The Low Anthem
* Blind Pilot
* Langhorne Slim
* Other Lives
* The Builders and The Butchers
* Eric Church
* Joe Pug
* Kevin Devine
* The Greencards
* Carney
* Thenewno2

And spinning at PERRY'S

* Bassnectar
* MSTRKRFT
* Simian Mobile Disco
* Deadmau5
* Boys Noize
* KiD CuDi
* Crookers
* A-Trak
* Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
* The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
* LA Riots
* Kaskade
* The Glitch Mob
* Hollywood Holt
* Rye Rye
* He Say, She Say
* Car Stereo (Wars)
* Dark Wave Disco
* Moneypenny
* Yello Fever
* Animal Collective (DJ Set)

Wow, no current bands for headliners huh? Looks like I'll be skipping this one.
For that matter, the only band that actually gets me excited on the entire list is Silversun Pickups and they'll probably play closer this summer anyway.

Okay, I hate to take subby's troll bait but . . .

You're an idiot. Why would you feel it is neccssary to deride the tastes of others in order to feel like you are superior? You are lazy and weak. Lazy because you don't even know what you are talking about- half of those electronic acts are live bands that have nothing to do with records (and dj's themselves rarely actually spin vinyl these days, more often it's digital tracks manipulated by control records). I'd like to hear you beatmatch 2 straight forward house records, simpleton. It would take you a couple years of practice to do smoothly, and that's without any kind of creativity or crowd control.

You're probably the same kind of idiot that foams at the mouth for a good soccer vs. football jerk fest. Why do you find it necessary to cultivate disdain and resentment for a scene, art form, and crowd that you are not involved in and don't like? That must get very tiring.

Beastie Boys? Is it sponsored by AARP?

GrooveMonkeyZero: WhyteRaven74: Depeche Mode, fine. But when was the last time they put out a decent album?
Yesterday.

GrooveMonkeyZero: I don't really want to demean other peoples musical choices, because I hate when people do that

You just did, dillbag.

"WOW a really AMAZING israeli band that is so cool they haven't formed yet"

Aren't you superior.

modesto: It would take you a couple years of practice to do smoothly, and that's without any kind of creativity or crowd control.

Yeah, you pretty much nailed Subby's point.

That's like saying I coded the computer game I installed on my machine last night. I installed it on an extra drive I put in, which makes me a great artist in your book. Let's see YOU install a FAT32 drive on NTFS system!

Birth Control 2 Major Tom: modesto: It would take you a couple years of practice to do smoothly, and that's without any kind of creativity or crowd control.

Yeah, you pretty much nailed Subby's point.

That's like saying I coded the computer game I installed on my machine last night. I installed it on an extra drive I put in, which makes me a great artist in your book. Let's see YOU install a FAT32 drive on NTFS system!

I don't know what you are talking about.

My point was that while it is true that it does not take a good deal of talent to become a very basic and rudimentary DJ, the professionals are greatly nuanced in their style, and most importantly, they know how to control a dance floor, with the right tracks, mixed with both technical ability and creativity, at the right time. Just as a dozen bands playing the same song will have different takes and sounds, a dozen dj's playing the same track will do so in a different way and with a different mood given the musical context.

I don't really have any interest in arguing semantics with you. Whether dj's are 'musicians" per se is about the least consequential thing in the world. However, to dismiss talented artists because you don't understand the work process and don't like the final product is juvenile.

Consider Kate Simko (new window), a classical pianist from Chicago turned minimal producer and DJ. Her music is extremely complicated and influenced by classical music theory. Failed musician? I guess, if you consider touring the world to play 1.5 hours a night for a couple grand is failure.

I'm not wild about the headliners either, but who cares? I go to these big mega-fests for the undercard anyway. And the middle of this pack is looking pretty awesome to me.

Hopefully, I won't get so farking blitzed this year.

modesto: I don't really have any interest in arguing semantics with you. Whether dj's are 'musicians" per se is about the least consequential thing in the world.

Can you play a C major scale on a turntable?

No.

Can you write a lyric on a turntable?

No.

Can you do...anything...on a turntable that someone hasn't recorded months or years ago?

Hell no.

It's like saying changing the spools at the cinema makes you a director. It doesn't. Just because an activity is challenging doesn't make it art.

Birth Control 2 Major Tom: modesto: I don't really have any interest in arguing semantics with you. Whether dj's are 'musicians" per se is about the least consequential thing in the world.

Can you play a C major scale on a turntable?

No.

So drummers are not musicians either?

Can you write a lyric on a turntable?

So "real" music must have lyrics? Beethoven and Mozart are devistated.

Can you do...anything...on a turntable that someone hasn't recorded months or years ago?

Hell no.

Yes. I can mix it with another track to make an entirely new and never before heard product. I can take out the hi's or the low's, to create an atmosphere of anticipation and slam in a new sound. I can sample a small portion and loop it, making my own new product to manipulate.

It's like saying changing the spools at the cinema makes you a director. It doesn't. Just because an activity is challenging doesn't make it art.

Why does it have to be "like" this example or "like" your video game example for us to talk about it? Why can't it just be what it is? Maybe it is because you understand these examples and the components that go into them, whereas you are not familiar enough with what we are actually talking about and what goes into it, so you have to argue by analogy?

GrooveMonkeyZero: Chicagoans, everyone else, save your money. Go to Pitchfork, or even better, the Hideout Block Party.

...or be like me and go to all three. A music festival is what you make of it. Sheer statistics tell me that someone worth seeing will be playing at any given moment.

schattenteufel: I listened to the new Depeche Mode album today (Sounds of the Universe)...and cried. It's awful. I loved Playing The Angel. This new one is horrid.

I actually hesitated to download a copy last night. I usually buy tracks or albums off itunes if I think its worth the purchase. But this time around, I was looking around the torrents to score a copy, cause I got that feeling that the album isn't that good.

modesto: Birth Control 2 Major Tom: modesto: I don't really have any interest in arguing semantics with you. Whether dj's are 'musicians" per se is about the least consequential thing in the world.


Moonlighting musician and DJ. Modesto, you're being a prick. There's a huge gap between musicians and DJs, and that gap is...effort. Musicians, by the nature of what they are doing, must put effort into everything they play. And I don't mean thinking about it. I mean literally filling up your lungs and blowing air through your horn or playing till your shoulder cramps. No one is saying there's anything wrong with globetrotting and spinning a set for a ton of money, but to compare that to getting a band together and doing the same thing, the effort put in and the product put out pale in comparison. You think you work hard as a DJ for crowd control and creativity? Go see a dance band sometime and tell me you're working as hard. When it takes you three months of daily practice to get a clean sound out of your turntable, then you can complain that musicians aren't giving DJS their fair due. Recognize it for what it is - a somewhat creative endeavor which uses previously recorded sounds to create a new experience. It's the difference between collage and oil painting. Both can be impressive, but one took a lot more work.