Note: Matt is not a music expert and he will never claim to be. He doesn’t appreciate music like you do, he doesn’t comprehend things like chord progression and his sensibilities are likely more influenced by pop than he would ever admit. So although it seems like “so-and-so sucks” is a logical, mature response to any of the below, please know in advance that your opinions mean as much to Matt as the proper application of the word “musicality.”
This weekend is the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago’s Grant Park, the city’s sixth and my third. Besides the big-picture griping about radius clauses and such, I’ve seen some other complaints that this year’s lineup is a little weak, a complaint that is completely lost on me. 2010’s headliners (Soundgarden, The Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Lady Gaga, Green Day, Phoenix) don’t have the same across-the-board wow as 2008 (RATM, Wilco, Radiohead, Kanye West, NIN), but they also aren’t forcing me to make a “meh” decision like last year (The Killers vs. Jane’s Addiction, Kings of Leon vs. Depeche Mode, Yeah Yeah Yeahs vs. Tool). I’ve got one headliner I’d like to see each night with no complaints.
But this year’s three-day event is more exciting to me than previous trips because the thing that Lollapalooza excels at is taking acts with pre-existing national buzz (a level or two above “indie”) and stacking them together. I can’t say the fest has ever “made” somebody, but it offers a great opportunity to see a lot of good bands in a single weekend.
I’ll do my best to write up thoughts from each day to the best of my musical limitations as noted above. Please remember I’m not a critic, I’m just a guy who doesn’t like stuff.
Matt’s Lollapalooza Preview In List Form:
Six Sets I Will Enjoy But Couldn’t Fit Into Better Categories Below:
– Frightened Rabbit
– Arcade Fire
– Phoenix
– Metric
– Jimmy Cliff
– Yeasayer
Five Acts I’m Looking Forward To The Most:
– The Black Keys
– Mumford & Sons
– Spoon
– Against Me!
– The National
Four Acts I Have To Miss Because Of Schedule Conflicts That I’m Still Kinda Pissed About (And The Band I’m Seeing Instead)
– Jamie Lidell (The Black Keys)
– Dirty Projectors (Matt & Kim)
– Freelance Whales (Mumford & Sons)
– Wolfmother (MGMT)
Three Acts I Didn’t Know About Until I Spent Quality Time With Their Samples On The Lollapalooza Website That I’m Interested In Seeing Now
– The Band of Heathens
– Jukebox The Ghost
– Harlem
Two Acts I Want To See Live For Entirely Different Reasons
– Gogol Bordello
– The Antlers
One Song I’m Really Looking Forward To Hearing Live:
– Mumford & Sons’ “Sigh No More”
gonzogeek.wordpress.com 
Will be there Sunday – primarily for Frightened Rabbit and Arcade Fire. Will keep an eye out for you.
Frightened Rabbit and Arcade Fire are both on my game plan! Hopefully I’ll run into you out there.
very nicely done Matt. Love the approach, the categories, the disclaimer, and agree with the analysis.. You’re already doing a better job than most ‘music journalists.’ (aka ooooh look at me, I’m so clever, biting, droll, bored, and insightful all at once-ists).