Thursday, March 16, 2006

Fuzzy Bits: March 16, 2006 (The Big One!)

Sorry for the long delay, but at least I'm back with great news. I've got the lineup for Lollapalooza 2006, and this will be by far the best show Chicago will see this summer (and could be arguably better than every other summer festival going). So first, let me get to that and then I will give my long-overdue award show recap.

Breaking News! Lollapalooza 2006 Lineup Released
With over 130 bands on 8 stages, it's impossible to get the entire list down without dizzying you, so if you're interested in the full listing please visit the webpage. Here are some of the bigger headlines:

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kanye West
Wilco
Death Cab for Cutie
The Raconteurs
The Flaming Lips
The Shins
Common
Ryan Adams
Queens of the Stone Age
Matisyahu
Thievery Corporation
Sleater-Kinney
Blues Traveler
Broken Social Scene
Iron Wine
The New Pornographers
Eels
Andrew Bird
Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo Danger Mouse)
Stars
Of Montreal
and many, many, more...

So long story short, there's absolutely no reason not to go unless you just don't like music-- even if you can't afford it, just volunteer and get in for free. Thankfully we can put the Smashing Pumpkins rumors to rest, although you never know with them, it is good to see though that there have been so many Chicago acts picked up this year as I think that was one of the weaknesses last year. For those that don't know some of the more famous Chicago artists that will be here are: Kanye West, Common, Wilco, and The Redwalls. I'll be sure to let you know if any more developments take place.

Additional Details on DMB/Sheryl Crow Fenway Park show
There are two options available as far as tickets are concerned: for those willing to spend the money you can get a VIP Reserved pass for $250 while reglar priced tickets will be $65. The shows once again are July 7 and 8 at 8pm. Ticket reserves are available now for Warehouse members, while the general public will be able to get their shot at tickets starting April 8.

Oscar Briefs
Yeah, it was a while ago, but I still wanted to make a few points. First off, Jon Stewart must've thought that it was amateur night-- he was so nervous in his delivery you would've thought he was at the Source Awards. For those unfortunate souls that had never experienced Jon Stewart, I direct you to the incredibly famous The Daily Show which comes on nightly on Comedy Central and really shows off Stewart's comedic genius. George Clooney's acceptance speech was awesome, and it's really too bad he didn't get anything for Good Night and Good Luck, because that really was an incredible film. Whether or not they deserved it is up to you, but I was quite happy that Three 6 Mafia won the oscar for best song, which has the thoughtful title of "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp." Now, I've personally never been a fan of the song, much less would think of it as being Oscar-worthy, but I have to hand it to the Oscar committee for at least attempting to make people think that they're hip. Kudos to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon as well for their well-deserved wins. When things started going downhill though is when Crash won for both best screenplay and picture of the year. Outside of possibly Match Point, I don't see how Crash could've beaten all those movies for best screenplay, and I had pretty much given up hope that a movie other than Brokeback Mountain would win for best film, so that was a huge surprise to me as well. My main problem with the Oscars this year was that they were acting like films like Brokeback Mountain and Crash were envelope-pushing movies. Hate to break it to everyone, but they're not, they're both "safe controversial" movies in that they've been presented in such a manner that anyone can relate to them. However, because they feature a couple of gay characters or a "diverse" cast that are all equally racist, we immediately want to say that the movies stand for something. Spike Lee has been making stimulating race movies for years and no one has handed him an award. There have also been a number of other movies that have dealt with the issues of homosexuality more directly than Brokeback Mountain as well, and none of those have been embraced either.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tommy,

I'm sure Dad told you, but I'm coming to Chicago for Lollapalooza this year. Sound like a lot of fun.

Love,
Sherromba