Lollapalooza and paint-by-numbers dance wallpaper

A display of traditional power at a festival that's supposed to celebrate rebellious music [READER]( Lollapalooza organizers announced the lineup for the city's largest festival Tuesday. The names of all the performers are crammed onto the fest's poster like an eye examination chart populated by an address book. It'll take a little while to digest the 170 acts spread across 23 lines—well, 24 lines if you count the banner for "special guest" Jane's Addiction at the bottom of the poster just above a drawing of a guitar-wielding ape covered in what looks like green vomit. Three fourths of the headliners are reruns: Metallica (last headlined in 2015), J. Cole (2016), and Green Day (2010). There are enough good acts to interest a lot of people, which all together makes the lineup look like an indiscriminate slush puddle. Out of this mess, one act in particular, sitting way down on line number 20, [has already]( [captured]( [a lot of]( [attention]( Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. I'm certainly guilty of diminishing Solomon's musical pedigree because of his day job in Twitter shitposts, but I think it's worth exploring a little more why it bothers me. I often find myself caring deeply about music made by people who record their art as a hobby. One of the many reasons I love music is that it is accessible—not just for listeners, but for the people making it. You don't need expensive film equipment or a studio space to belt out a melody; hell, you don't even need to sing in key in order to express yourself through music. Solomon was spinning dance music a little before he got his plumb gig at Goldman Sachs in the fall of 2018. By all accounts, Solomon really enjoys making and DJing dance music, which is neat. We should encourage more people to express themselves creatively, even if it means streaming services get inundated with more tepid, paint-by-numbers dance wallpaper like the kind Solomon has recorded and released. Sure, Solomon's 2020 single "Someone Like You" peaked at number four on the Billboard dance charts, but success isn't a guarantee that a song is actually any good; the single sounds like it'd fit right at home on a Spotify-curated mood playlist that I would forget as soon as the following track begins. Most of the musicians I know who record, perform, and tour "as a hobby" do so because they can't support themselves financially with their art. Music is so devalued in our society that the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers [mobilized to demand Spotify]( pay artists a penny every time a user streams a song they made. I can't speak for Solomon's interests in UMAW's efforts, since the few stories about his musical career I've read prioritize [yoking his day job for jokes](. But he doesn't have to grapple with the need to make a living off of music, and very kindly donates all the proceeds from his dance career to charity. His day job gives him that big financial cushion most musicians will never have. And his job very likely played a role in legitimizing his hobby where so many other artists have struggled to get heard. How many other DJs who perform [six times a year at most]( manage to link up with a major label to form their own imprint ([Payback Records]( which is run through Atlantic/Big Beat) and get booked for one of the country's biggest music festivals? I am not quiet about my criticisms of Lollapalooza and its position as a feather in the cap of promoter C3 and its parent company, Live Nation. I'm even more wary of Lolla since its umbrella has expanded to include another Grant Park festival debuting Memorial Day weekend, [the Latin music festival Sueños](. The corporate interests this city's independent music ecosystem has worked hard to combat have gained more ground with this new festival. But I also can't deny that for a lot of musicians Lollapalooza is a windfall, in part because of the same forces that I am wary of working behind the scenes. If you're in an emerging band, playing the largest festival in Chicago can go a long way to legitimize you—and that's not even to mention the money that comes with it. And as much as I criticize Lollapalooza for existing, I also want more out of it because it's here. I want it to do more to serve the teenagers who make up its target audience, I want it to do more to show it is invested in lifting up musicians who make compelling art, and I want it to do more to highlight local voices. This year's Lolla lineup is particularly weak when it comes to showcasing Chicago acts. [The Tribune took note of five local acts on the bill]( with an incomplete list that left off Chance the Rapper collaborator Peter Cottontale but included 100 gecs—the duo's Laura Les left Humboldt Park for Los Angeles a few years ago. I haven't done a full inventory, but the five acts I've noted account for a whopping two percent of the festival's lineup. So, when I see Solomon's name on the lineup, it's hard for me not to get a little upset. And it's not because of who Solomon is, but what he represents: a display of traditional power at a festival that's supposed to celebrate rebellious music. Sincerely, [Why did blues singer Lil Green end up forgotten?]( She was a star in the 1940s, but even her biggest hit, “Why Don’t You Do Right?,” suffered from segregation—it was eclipsed by a cover by white singer Peggy Lee. by [Steve Krakow]( [Heavee knows the code to bind footwork and video-game music]( by [Leor Galil]( [A new home for American Blues]( The company plans to finally own a building; plus changes at Marriott Theatre by [Kerry Reid]( [Issue of March 17 - 30, 2022 Vol. 51, No.]( [Download Issue]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2022 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616