Jay-Z at Glasto....

[MK Shrimper]

Personally I think Noel Gallagher is bang on about this bloke playing Glasto - Now don't get me wrong, hip-hop and rap definitely has a place at Glasto, but I'm not sure it should be the chart friendly R&B kind.... yes Cypress Hill, Public Enemy..... no Jay-Z & 50pence.

Thoughts?

 

[Pubey]

i think both Jay-Z and Oasis should never grace Glastonbury... if i can be bothered i'll post my whole spiel about why i'm not going this year.......

 

[Lester Bangs]

To me, the problem isn't that a rap act is headlining (Public Enemy did it superbly at Reading 92) but its the fact that its such a commercial artist. Heck, whats next? Usher? Nelly?

In my opinion Jay-Z has a rather mediocre bank of work behind him and is definitely not worthy of headlining Glastonbury!

 

[EastStandBlue]

Go Away and listen to Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and The Black Album. Jay Z is one of the best ever HipHop artists and remains to this day the best artist i've ever seen live.

Do I think he'll give an excellent show? Yes. Do I think the stuck-up-indie-rock crowd will give the guy a chance? F*ck no,

 

[Slipperduke]

Who is this Jaysee chap? Is he one of those hippity-hoppity types like Dr Drew and Snoopy Doggs?

 

[blues_r_best]

Should've had Kanye as headliner

 

[MK Shrimper]

Who is this Jaysee chap? Is he one of those hippity-hoppity types like Dr Drew and Snoopy Doggs?

So on the cutting edge mate I'm in awe :D

 

[Napster]

Go Away and listen to Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and The Black Album. Jay Z is one of the best ever HipHop artists and remains to this day the best artist i've ever seen live.

Do I think he'll give an excellent show? Yes. Do I think the stuck-up-indie-rock crowd will give the guy a chance? F*ck no,

Absolutely spot on. Any doubt, listen to Excuse Me Miss.

 

[Napster]

Should've had Kanye as headliner

Why? He is more style than substance. He's a producer that can rap, rather than a rapper than can produce, e.g Dr Dre.

 

[Pubey]

Ok, even though I'm pretty busy at work I'll try and outline why I've decided not to go (i've been to every one since 2003).

Most of it comes down to my experiences last year - The mud was just too much in the end, I was at the glasto the year before when there was the really really bad flooding and whilst I fully appreciate that glastonbury (not just Michael Eavis but the whole organisation) can't do everything to plan for the wettest summer in history... I felt that increasing the numbers with no actual increase in the amounts of paths, stalls and market-area meant that it was absolutely mayhem, in the knee deep water and mud and it made a normal 10minute stroll take an hour. for me and my friends it was just too much.

you always hear crazy old hippies saying that the mud is what glastonbury is about.. that's boll*cks. i think Glastonbury was foolish to increase the amount of tickets without really expanding the amenities. it's just too big now IMO and the bubble has burst.

also me and my friends had some drug-related issues that meant that one of my mates had a pretty nasty time for two days and ended up leaving early. the upside is that it's made us all take a long hard look at ourselves.

last year the clientele was dramatically different, with many people who looked like they were just "ticking off glasto from their list of things to do"... we ended up in a 20 man brawl with some coked-up nobs in the middle of The Chemical Brothers... it wasn't pretty and it's the kind of thing that you expect to happen at Reading, not glasto.

Also the line-up for me and my friends does have a big impact, last year the line up had some great stuff on but was pretty thin, it definitely wasnt as good as it has been, and with this years not looking much better then it just doesn't really appeal.

Finally there is the whole issue of cost, and with it now costing £160 quid, it's getting to the stage of being a bit too expensive. I appreciate it has only really increased at the rate of inflation, but with lots of other pressures a the moment it's weird how we worked out it would be a lot cheaper to go to a festival in spain or somewhere. which is also another problem... with more festivals than ever, in both the uk, europe and the world, it means that bands are spread more thinly (especially with this strange exclusivity agreements) and there are many festivals that can truthfully claim to have more of a glastonbury spirit.

I personally don't think Jay-Z is a great choice for headliner, even though i really like him and would probably watch him... however i wasn't surprised and it stinks of both typical Emily Eavis jumping on the bandwagon about 3 years too late, and typical Mean Fiddler for trying to attract all 'the kids'.

I'm sure glasto will recover, it always has done... and part of me thinks that it's a good thing the bubble has burst because there ahve been issues with the lineup and the facilities that just haven't been dealt with is the last couple of years.

 

[RobM]

Problem with 'rap' is - the 'c' fell off!

 

[seany t]

Not got an issue with Jay-Z headlining personally. And I think it stinks too that Eavis is trying to make out he's the reason people aren't going.

I think Noel's being a bit misquoted though. I got the impression he was saying that, to most people, Glasto is a rock festival first and foremost and thats what they go there for. The big names that ONLY Glasto should be able to get to play; Radiohead, Pulp, The Who, Blur, White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, The Stones, etc.

But there are now hundreds of festivals putting these on, residences at the 02, a lack of "greats" left kicking around, etc and so Glasto is suffering.

Everyone seems to have forgotten the other headliners in all this too; "Kings of Leon" - a band that are pretty ok, but hardly sell out the Hammersmith Apollo, and "The Verve", who are back trying to fund their drug habit no doubt and living on past glories. Not exactly like years where we've had Radiohead / Bjork / Pulp is it?

Everything Pubey says above is correct too. I think Glasto was something people did for a while, and as all musical trends are cyclical, indie is now dying a slow death when Scouting for girls / Hoosiers / Fratelli's / The Feeling are considered big name draws. It's a bit like when pop's bubble burst, and we had releases from soapstars and a new boy band each week.

Things change. I guess Glasto has done so, and may have to do so yet again...

 

[BrettieAngell]

Finally there is the whole issue of cost, and with it now costing £160 quid, it's getting to the stage of being a bit too expensive. I appreciate it has only really increased at the rate of inflation, but with lots of other pressures a the moment it's weird how we worked out it would be a lot cheaper to go to a festival in spain or somewhere. which is also another problem... with more festivals than ever, in both the uk, europe and the world, it means that bands are spread more thinly (especially with this strange exclusivity agreements) and there are many festivals that can truthfully claim to have more of a glastonbury spirit.

I worked that out about 5 years ago, I went to Germany 3 years on the trot and the flights and tickets cost me at most £120, and the facilities are better and the beer is better and the food is better and everything was cheaper!

Festivals in this country are a rip-off now, just like everything else I suppose!