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Chrizwald t1_jd4jofn wrote

So alternative

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salomey5 t1_jd4wiot wrote

Yeah, to me, Lollapalooza means 90s grunge, alt-rock... I've nothing against Lamar, Eilish or Del Rey, but this is the kind of headliners I'd expect to see at Osheaga, not Lolla.

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Chrizwald t1_jd4xu6g wrote

I would like to think festivals could be aimed at a specific demographic

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salomey5 t1_jd50uqi wrote

Not even so much a specific demographic as a certain genre of music. Give me current rock, punk, garage, alternative bands, that would be much closer to the original spirit of Lollapalooza than a global pop/electro star like Billie Eilish.

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Title26 t1_jd5g3zi wrote

There are plenty of those in the lineup

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salomey5 t1_jd5mdt3 wrote

Still. Lollapalooza started as a rock affair. Book rock bands. I dunno, the Black Keys, the Strokes, the Offspring, hell, give me the Killers. It'd still make more sense than Billie Eilish or Kendrick Lamar.

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Title26 t1_jd5qyju wrote

Even the very first lollapalooza had Ice T performing.

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salomey5 t1_jd5yar0 wrote

I don't hate it. Ice T and the Bodycount could rock with the best of them. Musically, still makes more sense to me for a festival like Lollapalooza than any of this year's headliners.

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MF_Bfg t1_jd6s8w7 wrote

Kendrick makes sense to me - Cypress Hill were strongly associated with Lollapalooza (and Homerpalooza ), I think you need that hip-hop element.

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helmvoncanzis t1_jd61858 wrote

first one i went to was in 1997, Virginia Beach.

Headliners were Orbital, Devo, The Prodigy, The Orb, Tool, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tricky, Korn. So, very electro-pop heavy.

That said, Tool fucking killed it.

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memphiscool t1_jd63irg wrote

That was also the last one. Till this festival started back in Chicago.

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night_dude t1_jd630rn wrote

There are ever-fewer good rock bands in the world though. Genre is kind of breaking down.

Like, who are the biggest rock bands in the world right now? Everything I hear on rock radio is either classic hits (yes, 90s is now "classic hits" according to radio programming conventions) or some unimaginative commercial garbage like Royal Blood that sounds like Wish QOTSA with the guts ripped out.

(small edit: i know I'm an old man yelling at musical clouds here - the first sentence is a sincere question!)

There are some phenomenal indie rock groups out there, but even modern vets like Courtney Barnett and Mac DeMarco feel like they are past their best already, and you can't fill an entire bill with Parquet Courts and Boygenius members.

The Strokes, actually, are a great example you gave of a rock band still making awesome music, but I feel like they're the exception. The fact that Red Hot Chili Peppers are headlining - a band formed in the 80s that haven't had a hit album since Stadium Arcadium - should tell you all you need to know about the dearth of big-ticket modern rock acts that are actually worth listening to.

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muzukashidesuyo t1_jd63k1h wrote

I will die on the hill that says classic rock is a set time frame from the late 60s to the early 80s. It’s not an ever expanding thing that bands move into when their music is 20+ years old.

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night_dude t1_jd64cop wrote

Yeah, actually, you're right. I should have specified that I meant "in terms of radio programming" not in strict genre terms. I was trying to highlight how old most "real" rock music is, even the stuff I (early 90s baby) might still consider contemporary. Also a sneaky little reference to this, well, classic.

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salomey5 t1_jd68aos wrote

You're not wrong. Rock is more underground these days, and it's mostly nostalgia acts that bring the masses to venues nowadays. Most of the contemporary rock acts I'm aware of play small to medium size venues now.

That said, and it may just be me being an old fart who's averse to change, but I'd rather see an old rock act, nostalgia be damned, than global popstars at Lollapalooza.

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rabidelfman t1_jd6hi6c wrote

There's actually a damn good Japanese rock band playing Lolla this year - BAND-MAID. Check em out. For other rock bands, the big ones that come to mind are Volbeat, Ghost, Maneskin... Which is about all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm more into hard rock, metal, and synth pop these days... Tons of great bands abound in those genres.

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night_dude t1_jd6nd08 wrote

We truly live in the golden age of synth pop and disco revival. I'm a ginormous Lorde and Carly Rae Jepsen fan. Doja and SZA are awesome too, even though they're further toward hip-hop than synth pop.

Maneskin are a great example of the problem, IMO - I mostly like this review because it's OTT but it points to a broader point about modern rock, that basically since Jet came on the scene in the 2000s, most mainstream rock bands have been tributes to older, better music.

The alternative rock genres (like post-hardcore and emo in the 90s-2000s) and indie rock scenes (King Gizzard, Lucy Dacus, Courtney Barnett etc) have been making fantastic music in that time, but everything from the Darkness (who I love, don't get me wrong) to Greta Van Fleet is basically one giant Zeppelin, Queen and AC/DC tribute act, with a couple of bad Pearl Jam cover bands (looking at you, Nickelback) thrown in there for good measure

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rabidelfman t1_jd7xzan wrote

I absolutely love CHVRCHES and VNV Nation. I have Screen Violence on vinyl and I love every second of it. It sits right next to my Arch Enemy and Spiritbox vinyls, heh.

To be honest, I've only ever heard one or two tracks from Maneskin, and I thought they were alright. As long as it was rock, I was happy hearing it mainstream. But, I agree that a lot of the more popular rock bands these days are simply just mimicking 60s and 70s rock trends, it's one of the reasons I've been looking outside of the Western world for rock. Apparently, Japan has a massive rock band population, and it's pretty amazing. Like I said in my response above, BAND-MAID is playing Lolla - if you haven't heard them, check them out. They're excellent rock and hard rock, and sound phenomenal live. Definitely check out the JP rock scene, there are a ton of gems in there.

I, honestly, haven't heard of any good straight up rock bands come out of the West outside of Volbeat and Ghost (and I love both, though Ghost is its own genre, imo). It's to the point where I don't really actively search out new rock bands and stick with metal, synth pop, and industrial (Covenant is touring the US!).

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Jwishh t1_jd9ibv1 wrote

Ghost is making waves, I can see them being a rock staple for years to come.

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bohanmyl t1_jd6ycii wrote

The only festival ive been to was Day N Vegas and it was amazing just because it was basically strictly rap and when looking at other line ups it just always seems like id actually go see maybe 8 people across 3 days. DNV i wanted to see over half

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SparkyPantsMcGee t1_jd6lr0m wrote

Alright, give me a handful of current rock and alternative bands that would sell out a festival. Current being the key word here. I’ll even be nice and let you work as far back as 2017.

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paul-cus t1_jd5hodd wrote

Lollapalooza jumped the shark years ago when Lady Gaga headlined one of the nights.

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salomey5 t1_jd5m0kk wrote

I didn't even know Gaga had headlined Lolla!

I'll be honest, i would have been thrilled just because i like quite a few of her songs (her early dancey stuff was great) but i must admit it's an odd choice for Lolla. I guess they just want to make bank now, so might as well book huge international stars because that means a big draw.

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Jwishh t1_jd9ijvr wrote

I know a lot of fellow rock fans who fuck with Lady Gaga and not other pop artists

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blurrrrg t1_jd66m27 wrote

That's more RiotFest in Chicago these days

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salomey5 t1_jd68hh9 wrote

I seem to remember seeing an ad for a festival that was in Chicago, and the line-up was absolutely sick. It must have been that one.

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blurrrrg t1_jd68nrg wrote

Yup, RiotFest is where sick bands play. Lollapalooza is for rich high schoolers from the suburbs.

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salomey5 t1_jd6983n wrote

Then RiotFest needs to go on tour and come to Montreal, because we lost our metal festival a few years ago and I miss it. :(

Plus that line-up was fire.

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fleetber t1_jd5np9r wrote

Saw it in '92 (I think)

​

it rocked

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STM4EVA t1_jd4oq5a wrote

Haha, it's fallen a long way since I seen the Beastie Boys and Smashing Pumpkins as twin headliners.

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briansonlyfriend t1_jd4r8bj wrote

Omg right?!

It’s almost like music has changed over the course of 30 years and people have different tastes in music than you.

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patman990 t1_jd4vvlf wrote

There are dozens of other huge venues for these type of acts. Lollapalooza was founded as an alternative music fest. People are allowed to be disappointed that it turned into a generic pop fest like all the others.

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goodusernamegood t1_jd6r9wh wrote

Kendrick and Billie may be huge artists, but their music is forward-thinking and "alternative" in a lot of ways. I mean, a quick look at 1996 shows that Metallica and Soundgarden headlined that year, both of which had massive number 1 albums at that point, so it's not like they've ever been averse to booking mainstream headliners.

I think the issue is people are looking at "alternative" and thinking "alternative rock." New alt rock bands aren't headlining nowadays because rock isn't as popular. But Billie and Kendrick are great examples of hugely popular stars that's still doing something alternative, quite frankly a lot more alternative than most of the cookie-cutter alt rock bands of the 90s. It's just that rap and pop artists don't tend to get credit for being forward-thinking in the same way rock acts do.

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Tusken_Raiders t1_jd52d23 wrote

Yeah this is a pass. It's been a long time since I went to lolla but I feel like I went for one of the best years. '08 had Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, RATM, Wilco, and Kanye as the headliners. Maybe I'm just getting old!

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batmangle t1_jd54zbh wrote

I mean Kanye headlining that year was a sign of things to come.

Rock is kinda dead. There are tons of small groups doing great stuff but there are few quality rock headliners these days.

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Tusken_Raiders t1_jd555me wrote

Oh for sure, I always just chalked it up to him being insanely popular at the time and a local. I was over at NIN during his show.

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finnjakefionnacake t1_jd64x68 wrote

didn't people like Snoop and Ice-T headline long before Kanye came along?

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batmangle t1_jd6go05 wrote

Sure but I feel like they fit the vibe of the festival more than Kanye does. Maybe I’m wrong though

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imdstuf t1_jd5hb5v wrote

Music where people can, you know, actually play musical instruments or know any music theory is dying.

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batmangle t1_jd5kw2z wrote

Eh, I don't really care about any of that. If the artist is performing something true to themselves and is inspired then it is okay in my books. Knowing music theory is great but sometimes it can get in the way.

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imdstuf t1_jd5nlx6 wrote

Yeah, but eventually it will be people sampling songs that sampled songs..

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batmangle t1_jd5ov0m wrote

That is nothing new. People have been covering each other since the beginning of music just the technology and aesthetic has changed.

As for the sampling you are referencing, that has been happening in hip hop for a very long time. Many people have used the same beats and samples to make songs that are almost identical or entirely different.

a boy is a gun - tyler, the creator

and

Bound 2 - Kanye West

use the same sample but are completely different songs.

Bound - Ponderosa Twins Plus One

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asstro_not t1_jd6jur5 wrote

Even what people would consider to be “classic rap” from the 80s and 90s are just jazz beats of the 60s 70s sampled onto synth decks

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finnjakefionnacake t1_jd64uzi wrote

you might be surprised to know that many hip-hop performances involve live bands

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Jwishh t1_jd9ja5t wrote

They definitely would be surprised lol, they doubt they keep up with rap

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Jwishh t1_jd9j5fd wrote

Nah, if anything it’s bouncing back. I’d say like 2005ish-2015ish was a rough decade stretch of a lot of super manufactured performers, but now we’re seeing a lot more people on stage with an instrument, usually a guitar

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imdstuf t1_jd9o3hy wrote

I guess I'm not noticing them in the pop charts. I still hear manufacturered stuff, which isn't to say I dislike it all, mainly on the pop stations.

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hotehjr t1_jd6ukxw wrote

Oh yeah my #1 concern is an artist’s knowledge of music theory

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imdstuf t1_jd8e4c5 wrote

I just meant knowing something about music, playing instruments, etc. Just pushing random buttons on a synthesizer, sampling and using autotune are fine, but if they were the only skills left music would slowly die.

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Mrfixit729 t1_jd5g1zg wrote

Tell me of the olden days grandfather…

regale us with tales of musicians who wished to fuck you as if you were an animal and would not do what you told them…

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Easy-Divide-578 t1_jd6dy0t wrote

Nothing more jaded than r/music just being a bunch of out of touch people trying to say new artist are bad and what they listened to when they were young is real music. Insert Tool, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins.

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Historicalheight_16 t1_jd6ygq9 wrote

Wait wait wait are you telling me that Tool, Primus, King Crimson, and Mastodon aren’t the most popular bands in the world???

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djwixel t1_jd8gyvq wrote

r/music in a few years will just be a goddamn asylum repeating the same

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ToxicAdamm t1_jd7kibj wrote

I'm nearing 50 and I agree.

Nothing stays the same forever and if you're close-minded about what's happening now, you're just cheating yourself.

The only thing that gives me pause is all these festivals that are 4-day events now. Maybe that's just a sign of me getting old or I've been conditioned to 3 day events. Just seems like too much.

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lol_in_every_post t1_jd780e1 wrote

I agree that the jaded old people in here are annoying, but I also agree that the lineup isn’t as strong as say, Bonnaroo. But I might just be biased because bannaroo has girl in red who I’ve been wanting to see lol

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djwixel t1_jd8h3be wrote

Well then that's personal preference and it's better to go to a festival you truly like

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Coughkaesk t1_jd55st5 wrote

And it will be a very affordable $400 a ticket.

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Jwishh t1_jd9jnsi wrote

For the headliners alone that’s not the worst

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[deleted] t1_jd5kwd8 wrote

DAMN! I’m glad I grew up in the Lollapalooza early days.

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AlbiTargaryen t1_jd5y12a wrote

Lolla has went downhill since they stopped serving lobster corn dogs.

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wc10888 t1_jd5e6ze wrote

Perry Farrel's (the founder of Lollapalooza and singer of Jane's Addiction) infamous quote when selecting acts for the first one... Which of these male acts on this list sucks D

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SleepNowInTheFire666 t1_jd6b1eb wrote

Living Colour, Body Count, NIN, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Jane’s Addiction… Now that was a fucking lineup

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memphiscool t1_jd644wm wrote

Honestly festivals are dead unless you’re going to like Desert Daze or Goner Fest or something like that.

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WTAF306 t1_jd6h7wh wrote

I was actually excited to see one of my favorite artists made the lineup, but she’s really the only one on the lineup that I actually listen to. It was more excited in a “good for her” kind if way not, an “oh wow what a great lineup” kind of way. For the record, I’m talking about Morgan Wade, if you haven’t heard of her, check her out!

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FerdyDurkke t1_jd835pu wrote

Wow, that lineup looks limp. Aren't there any modern acts that better fit the original vibe of this festival?

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Im6The6Night6Owl t1_jd6dij3 wrote

If lipsyncing and pyrotechnics, to distract you from the lipsyncing, are your thing.

−1

Jwishh t1_jd9wnio wrote

Idk about Lana Del Rey but the other two in the title certainly don’t do that

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