The Offical Line-Up Discussion Thread

[TheUnpolished]

Hewo,

So opinions about the line up? Good, bad, predictable, mediocore, etc!

My question to kick off the thread is: Who's gonna headline the nme (minus lost prophets)! Surely neither glasvegas n gossip could headline!

Also, my other discussion is: Are weezer too big to headline the lock up?

Nathan

[SJH]

Kings of Leon was predictable. I'm pretty happy as I've never seen Arctic monkeys live and are still one of my favourite bands.

I saw The Prodigy last year in TiTP and they blew me away tbh; only bested by Chemical Brothers.

Give us Faithless for NME

[jammy2211]

Pretty good for a first announcement - I'd say I'm looking at about 7 bands currently I'd happily pay to see, with 5 more self-confirmed (and hopefully clash free), with lots more slots to go. Really not sure what I'll do on the Saturday, only like Enter Shikari, but it was the same last year until Thrice saved the day lol.

Biggest issue is the fact only 5 haven't played since I've been going, that's just not good enough. Even for a first announcement that's hard to swallow, plenty of time to address that though .

Bloc Party is a terrible booking though, some bands much higher then they should be, and Deftones set will feel to short I'm sure. I'm optimistic for the rest and ultimately more worried about potential clashes then lack of bands to see - always a positive sign .

[JameSemajj]

I'm fairy pleased with the lineup, I'm not really to fused who plays now, now that radiohead are appearing! The prodigy and Ian Brown will be great! For me though, Reading isn't all about the bands, personally i feel you can't get a better atmosphere on the camp site:)

[Spiky Mike]

Very disappointed by the lack of rock. And was hopeful of maybe Green Day or Offspring. The only band I love on there is Prodigy and am seeing them at Nottingham and Download already. Fingers crossed for a strong Lock Up stage otherwise may sell my ticket.

[beLIEveR]

Okay, if this is the official thread, I'll do my official rant here. Now I sure ain't scouse, and I sure ain't Spanish, but I think I'll go Rafa Benitez here:

Sticking to facts:

Out of the nine top three bands, seven have played at least once in the last three years:

Arctic Monkeys (top three last time they played)

Kings of Leon (top three last time they played)

Kaiser Chiefs (top three last time they played)

Placebo (top three last time they played)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (top three last time they played)

You may be beginning to spot a pattern. But don't worry, the facts do change slightly for the next two:

Bloc Party- SECOND TOP TWO F***ING YEARS IN A ROW!?!

Maximo Park- 4th last time they played. Slightly better, I hear you say? Well... they also headlined the NME in 2006, making this their first high profile appearance in four years.

To be fair, there are two other bands, Radiohead and The Prodigy. However, the latter aren't even an English festival exclusive, courtesy of a Download appearance. What's more, they're lower down the bill at Download than Reading. That might be down to musical tastes, but in my mind that still leaves some questions. Can't fault Radiohead, amazing acquisition (and I presume they're exclusive), but only one band to be excited about so far. However good that band is, for £180ish that has to go down as a slow start.

Continuing the uncharacteristically positive tone, Deftones is an exciting mid mainstage booking, and given that The Stone Roses won't be back anytime soon, I suppose Ian Brown falls into that category as well. So credit where credit is due to FR for those two.

I understand that further down the bill it's slightly more acceptable to have a little bit of repetition. Still, for the first announcement I'm disappointed to see another four or five who've graced the various stages in the last few years. In my opinion recent bands being announced on opening day should be kept to an absolute minimum (unless they're making a big jump up the bill, like Glasvegas). I'm not saying they should automatically not be booked, but the whole idea of the first announcement is to get us excited about bands we haven't seen for a while. Particular gripes:

Vampire Weekend- played last year high on NME. Understandable to see them again and higher up, but it would have made more sense to slip them in a subsequent announcement.

Fall Out Boy- third appearance in four years on the main stage.

Eagles of Death Metal- third appearance in four years (for balance, one of those was in the Carling Tent, but it's still a lazy booking).

Continuing in the Benitez tradition, it's a fact that the R1/NME headliners have provided something alternative in recent years. This year is no exception- I can't deny that Glasvegas and Gossip provide something alternative to any of the headliners. But I'm sorry, I don't care what your taste in music, in terms of broad appeal neither have anything on Babyshambles, MSP, BFMV or Pendulum, an argument that based on last year's crowd could probably be stretched as far as LTJ and Gallows. Frankly I don't see any possibility of either of them clashing with Radiohead, meaning that if there are two exciting R1 headliners to come, one of them is guaranteed to clash with one of the three mainstage bands I've acknowledged as impressive acts.

So, assuming that the Special Guests and the NME headliner who doesn't clash with Radiohead are amazing, that's five bands who truly fall into the "must not miss" category, and even then it's assumed that you like all five. Which I don't.

[t8yman]

the lineup discussion was already "in one place" thanks.

[beLIEveR]

Well hell if I'm posting all that again.

[jammy2211]

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[kaosmark2]

That just looks like you've nicked all the facts I was stating throughout yesterday evening

[beLIEveR]

Jammy, that's still four buttons and four clicks more than I feel the need to do, and I genuinely couldn't find the big "you don't HAVE to be positive about the lineup in this thread" thread.

Kaosmark, you did inspire me with the 12 repeated bands part (although I think it's 13 ) but everything else that's similar is coincidental.

Besides, I genuinely couldn't find the big "you don't have to be positive about the lineup here" thread.

Edited March 31, 2009 by beLIEveR

[jammy2211]

It's the one called "The line Up" I think .

[beLIEveR]

It's the one called "The line Up" I think .

[joshwarrr]

Give us Faithless for NME

[moss265]

What are people's thoughts on Maximo Park? They're starting to become regulars at the festival - a bit like Ash or The Subways. I personally thonk they're a great festival band - and dare I say it deserving of their high placing on the bill!

Edited March 31, 2009 by moss265