Lollapalooza...Still Better Than The Olympics In 2016 But Still Not Interested.

The line up has been released and if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, stop reading and visit Stereogum to find out what you may or may not be missing this year. As for me, it's another year to miss it but I almost came close to saying I'll go.

Nothing against the lineup this year but I'm still not sold on spending almost $200 for seeing only a handful of artists that I really want to see and a few that I'm curious about. On top of that, there's a chance that two of the headliners that you want to see will probably perform at the same time. This is the case every year thus every summer I spend my time doing something else (since it's usually around my birthday, I'm always off doing something cool). This year, however, my pockets were almost emptied by a few simple words: Tool, Jane's Addiction and Beastie Boys will be performing. Those simple words involving three incredible artists made me very, very close to saying yes this year, price be damned. Then, there was the pause which was followed by the inevitable question of who else is playing.

So the list has been revealed and for the fourth year in a row, my wallet can sleep comfortably knowing that it still hasn't become the selling point or draw it used to be for me growing up in the 90's. It's not to say that the list is weak or forgettable. It's nothing like that at all. There's a great deal of diversity in this year's roster. How often will you ever see Band Of Horses share an event with Snoop Dogg or Ben Folds with Bat For Lashes (maybe she'll perform "Brick" with him or he'll perform "What's A Girl To Do" with her)? Also, like every year, there's a huge selection of Indie bands to spend your 20-30 minutes viewing throughout the day watching. That's where my money and I refuse to part from each other's loving company.

This may sound nostalgic or like the rant of an old man angrily shaking his fist at the kids leaving the flaming poop bag on his doorsteps but I really miss the traveling carnival known as Lollapalooza. It was one day, 12 hours, $35 bucks and a lineup of 24-30 bands so tight that it would rival the Fat Boys in Osh Kosh B'gosh overalls. Now there's just too much to see (if you wish to see it) and some strong headliners with 50-60+ supporting acts running all over the place over three days of hot summer heat. On top of that, it's almost $200 bucks. Granted, it would cost more to probably return to the traveling carnival/tour version but it would give the kids something special in their city/state to see that summer instead of treking out here to see it (not that there are many kids, I'd say it's mostly polluting, cell phone chatting/texting adults with cool haircuts, cargo shorts, spaghetti strap tank tops and names like Chad or some normally spelled with a "y" but instead she uses an "i" for personal preference. Who knows now with advent of Twitter?). Although, there are some really awesome acts this year, it's time to return Lollapalooza back to its roots and hit the road. This would mean a smaller, tighter lineup and a chance to have the best day of your life and have cash leftover to buy the music of the new bands you'll see that day. Then again, if that happens Lou Reed would never be able to rock out with Coheed And Cambria...err...let's hope that doesn't happen.