Lollapalooza: Chile

Last summer I was lucky enough to be able to attend Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park during the first weekend of August, and I have to say that it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I got to spend 3 days hanging out and listening to music, discovering new bands like Royal Bangs, Skybox, and even MyNameIsJohnMichael, as well as getting to see other acts that I never thought I would get to see, like Arcade Fire and The Strokes. I even got to touch Lady Gaga when she did a stage dive directly on top of me during Semi Precious Weapons' set.

So, in hopes of going again next year, I got on Lollapalooza's website over the weekend to find out when tickets go on sale this Spring. I was surprised to find out that Perry Farrell (the creator of Lollapalooza as well as lead singer of one of my favorite 90s bands, Jane's Addiction) is putting on Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago in April. With headliners like The Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kanye, Fatboy Slim, The Flaming Lips, and (of course) Jane's Addiction, as well as about 40 other bands, including many South American bands and artists, it looks like the Chileans are in for a real treat.

It struck me as I read about the festival, though, how rarely bands trek down to South America. It was a really big deal when The White Stripes played nearly every country on the continent after their release of "Get Behind Me Satan" in 2005 (MTV even did an hour long special from Manaus, Brazil). Then I thought about how incredibly different music is in that part of the world. I never hear about any pop artists from South America (other than Shakira, of course), and I wonder if the people in Chile have even heard of some of these smaller bands on the line-up, like Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Granted, I hadn't heard many of the bands at Lolla last summer, but I had at least heard of them and therefore knew who I wanted to go see.

Then I began to think about European music and festivals. It's not uncommon for me to hear about artists from Europe. In fact, a lot of music from Europe is far superior to the crap that comes out of the U.S. pop charts these days (I'm looking at you, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars). Why is it that most of the world's most popular music comes from just two countries, the U.S. and the U.K.?

It didn't take me long to figure out an answer to that question: in regards to culture and what's "in" right now, the U.S. and the U.K. are where it's at and where everything comes from. With all of the money in those two economies, as well as widespread access to the internet and other media outlets, it's no surprise that bands that aren't U2 or the Rolling Stones don't tour to countries that are that far out of the way. It's kind of a shame, really.