Archive for the Bonnaroo 2008 Category
Aimee Mann Interview – Bonnaroo 2008 from E.J. Friedman on Vimeo.
Some things happened over the summer. Some things I did at Bonnaroo for another publication have gone unused and, honestly, I don’t know or care why. After all, Bonnaroo happens in June and this is almost October. In this high-speed webmatic world of ours, some of that content is starting to collect cobswebs; however, I’m going to try and put as much of it up as I can & if anyone has a complaint, they can find me. I’m still here. I value my work and so do you, my readers. For that, I thank you.
I really want people to maintain their awareness of Aimee Mann’s stellar 2008 release, @#%&*! Smilers
“JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, ‘KANYE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT GIVING A GOOD PERFORMANCE.’ CAN ANYONE HONESTLY SAY THAT ?????????”
To the best of my knowledge, nobody with any sense is ever going to say that, and for the record I’m pretty sure Kanye West wants to give the best performance every time he takes the stage. Being on top of the world of music, there’s nothing but people trying to come down on you and, and people will take any opportunity to lash out at you when you’re flying high.
Now, I don’t want to take any credit for pushing the issue, but my posting on Monday asking Kanye what the deal was seems to have reached its intended recipient. In his personal blog, Kanye West himself has finally responded (in appropriate Kanye fashion) to the massive outpouring of criticism towards his appearance at Bonnaroo from all areas of the media. In his response, Kanye holds both Bonnaroo festival organizers and Pearl Jam (who stayed nearly an hour past their scheduled time) for the edited and delayed show. Kanye’s furious response and enthusiastic apology to the fans, frequently in all caps, is littered with an intense anger.
The next time one of your blogger friends tells you that “blogging aint easy”, take their word for it and give them a hug. From time to time, we need hugs to keep us focused on doing what we do — delivering the goods to all of you music fans out there.
In answer to the questions posed by three of our readers, I’ll attempt to make an answer by sort-of not answering directly. “We’re working on it”, is the most honest answer to the question at hand. We have been working with the wonderful people at Idolator to generate stories and, so, the coverage we’ve generated will be appearing there once it’s ready.
We are aware that people like the “instant gratification” of regular updates via Twitter or tiny updates, but this year we’re trying to do something of greater quality and vision for all of you. We went to Bonnaroo looking to talk to all of you, the music fans who make the festival a reality, to ask what you think about various topics. What we learned is the basis for something much bigger than what we originally planned on doing.
Much thanks to everyone who we met at Bonnaroo 2008 — artists, fans, workers, volunteers — for making the experience memorable. We’ll tell you all about it really soon. Promise.
See you @ the roo very soon!!!
Hey everyone — it’s finally here!!! The excitement of Bonnaroo 2008 has arrived and everyone is buzzing madly, ready to spend four days together camping at one of the largest and most beloved music and arts festivals in the U.S. Bonnaroo brings 100,000 people annually to Tennessee, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue to the state and, not unsurprisingly, bringing together people from a wide swath of social groups. The potential change in social dynamics of the festival has been criticized by long-time fans of this year, in part due to the inclusion of Metallica as headliners.
The main reason: Metallica has, in recent years, been more widely recognized by young fans for their off-stage activities, like suing file sharers and trying to control their presence on the internet by going after music bloggers — activities which have not warmed them to a generation whose internet activity has increased daily since well after Metallica released their last culturally relevant album.
Given the disillusionment of Bonnaroo’s stronghold of steady fans, advance general admission sales have dropped slightly this year. However, V.I.P tickets for this event have been sold out since last week. As in years past, the festival’s many strong smaller acts — including MGMT, Tegan & Sara, MSTRKRFT, Broken Social Scene, and M.I.A. — are expected to draw thousands more regular fans from around the area over the weekend. Mainstage performances from Chris Rock, blues legend B.B. King and the recently-announced late night performance from kanYe West will likely bring the festival to an expected sold-out crowd.
Nathan and I are looking forward to seeing you all out and about at the festival. Be sure and check Idolator for our festival updates, interviews and video footage. Manchester, HERE WE COME!!
Bonnarooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
This just in from Bonnaroo 2008 — kanYe West has moved his Bonnaroo 2008 set time to the late night Saturday slot! This is very exciting news for everyone attending.
The speculation: Could there now be a surprise appearance during kanYe’s set from Daft Punk as well??? I’m not doing anything to quell these rumors, but either way it’s sure to be an amazing light show.
We are excited to announce that Kanye West will now be performing a late night show on the Main Stage on Saturday, June 14th instead of the previously announced time! This scheduling change is being made to allow Kanye to fully present his critically acclaimed “Glow In The Dark” show.
This show marks the first time that anyone has played a late night set on the Main Stage, and it promises to be one of the festival’s many highlights.
We have also shifted a few other artists, so make sure to check the schedule for updates!
The Onitsuka Tiger Bonnaroo 2008 Official Kickoff Party is happening on Wednesday night at Mercy Lounge in Nashville with a special appearance by LEZ ZEPPELIN! If you want to RSVP, just click on the poster below and have fun!! We’ll be seeing you at the ‘Roo!
While combing through archives of last year, I came across a minor treasure trove of short interviews I did with various concert goers at Bonnaroo 2007. I can’t remember these guys’ names (they say them in the interview), but I sure hope they’ll reconsider and actually come back to Bonnaroo 2008 next week. Maybe this year, they should consider sticking with beer, nahh mean?
This little tidbit came in from Popbitch this morning and reminded us to remind you about the always hilarious (and very good-sported) Chris Rock’s full-sized comedy experience this year at Bonnaroo. Ever the sport, he stopped by the Rough Trade record shop in London and wowed the shop keeps by leaving a permanent mark worth mentioning.
Chris Rock has been enjoying his time in
London, and popped into Rough Trade records
to do some shopping. Staff were so excited
they asked him to sign the ceiling.He wrote “I love crackâ€.
As we mentioned back in early April, Los Angeles-based Aimee Mann has a new record worth checking out. The opening haunts of bass and tambourine on “Freeway”, the opening track on Aimee Mann’s @#%&*! Smilers have a familiarity to it that quickly pave the way for a series of welcoming new songs. After taking adventurous offshoots with the concept album The Forgotten Arm and her Christmas album, Mann has turned back to the simple introspection borne of her signature tunes. The results are magnificent: soul-searching revelations in short form that are as instantly inviting as they are memorable.
The album hearkens ghosts of 70’s soft-rock genius, peppering the landscapes of each song with Fender Rhodes keyboards, tiny drums and layered, angelic harmonies. Mann’s lyrical prowess, while depth-laden, is never too calculating or too high-brow, always giving the listener a completely relate-able glimpse into the lovelorn meanderings and life machinations of the characters her songs present. @#%&*! Smilers is an exceptional disc from beginning to end with something to entice long-time fans and new.
You can purchase @#%&*! Smilers from from Amazon [mp3|cd] by clicking here.
