2023 Festival

[NorthernSoul52]

Makes sense. Yungblud popped up last year with BMTH at Leeds.

[Benj]

8 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Makes sense. Yungblud popped up last year with BMTH at Leeds.

Hard to see where Yungblud would fit on the bill now

You’d assume in the current format he’d be at least 3rd on the bill, so who gets pushed down?

I think they may save him to be MSW headliner next year

[NorthernSoul52]

Just now, Benj said:

Hard to see where Yungblud would fit on the bill now

You’d assume in the current format he’d be at least 3rd on the bill, so who gets pushed down?

I think they may save him to be MSW headliner next year

That's a consideration. He's on arenas shortly, isn't he? Unless I've drunk something suspicious.

[Andre91]

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Andre91

[Newjem]

52 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

Does their target audience even know what Facebook is?

[justanothername]

54 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

Just answered your own question right there mate.

[stanh]

1 hour ago, Andre91 said:

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

On Insta it has 12.6k likes and 138 comments, majority of the comments for her seem favourable tbh.

[Benj]

3 hours ago, Andre91 said:

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

As I keep saying, the ‘Festival’ is dead, it’s just kids who go once so they can get pissed up in a field now

No one is going for the music

Edited February 9, 2023 by Benj

[Chad888]

9 hours ago, Andre91 said:

Just seen a post on Facebook from R&L bigging up Billie Eilish and it’s only got 34 reactions and 6 comments (none of them being overtly positive). That’s your biggest headliner. Does nobody care? 

Manufactured and manipulated LA output, from rich parents hooking up all the connections. I first heard her doing an interview with Clara Amfo on R1, everything about her was completely staged, as if she was raised on stage, everything about her was scripted.

The jist of the interview is you're throwing a party and you talk about what the party looks like, who's there, why you're there, and the banging playlist to get the party started.

Everybody comes on and speaks about a mates birthday they're DJing, or it's their house party etc. They kick it off with a J Hus, LMFAO, Black Eyed Peas. 

Hers was like a music video, everybody she would invite would be her producers, choreographers, dancers. It would be a big hangar style garage with lamborghinis and ferraris around. And all the music for the 30 minutes was just hers.

Now R1 do listening parties for her new albums, even when she doesn't hit the top 10, the radio gaslights the audience in to believing the songs are doing bits.

 

British R&L goers are kind of good at seeing through the bullshit. I'd say the Facebook responses are accurate.  Instagram algorithms will be taking that post to USA with the LA hipsters "hey that Billie Eilish is on Instagram [like] do you want to try that new vegan restaurant [hits vape] it's only $100 a plate [snorts line of coke] the Imagine Dragons concert was so rad last night, I almost got out my seat to applaud them.

[Andre91]

38 minutes ago, Chad888 said:

Manufactured and manipulated LA output, from rich parents hooking up all the connections. I first heard her doing an interview with Clara Amfo on R1, everything about her was completely staged, as if she was raised on stage, everything about her was scripted.

The jist of the interview is you're throwing a party and you talk about what the party looks like, who's there, why you're there, and the banging playlist to get the party started.

Everybody comes on and speaks about a mates birthday they're DJing, or it's their house party etc. They kick it off with a J Hus, LMFAO, Black Eyed Peas. 

Hers was like a music video, everybody she would invite would be her producers, choreographers, dancers. It would be a big hangar style garage with lamborghinis and ferraris around. And all the music for the 30 minutes was just hers.

Now R1 do listening parties for her new albums, even when she doesn't hit the top 10, the radio gaslights the audience in to believing the songs are doing bits.

 

British R&L goers are kind of good at seeing through the bullshit. I'd say the Facebook responses are accurate.  Instagram algorithms will be taking that post to USA with the LA hipsters "hey that Billie Eilish is on Instagram [like] do you want to try that new vegan restaurant [hits vape] it's only $100 a plate [snorts line of coke] the Imagine Dragons concert was so rad last night, I almost got out my seat to applaud them.

I think they nailed it above by pointing out to me that it was because it was on Facebook. 

[Alex DeLarge]

I miss the days of plucky working class underdogs like Bruce Dickinson, Blur and The Strokes.

[gfa]

3 hours ago, Andre91 said:

I think they nailed it above by pointing out to me that it was because it was on Facebook. 

Let Chad have his fun don't be a killjoy!

Instagram response generally seemed positive and despite popular belief everyone commenting is british

[BenG92]

Same people who get mad at Fred Again because Brian Eno's his godfather, like the guy who wrote Music for Airports taught Fred exactly how to make Boiler Room anthems with Skrillex

[Benj]

1 hour ago, BenG92 said:

Same people who get mad at Fred Again because Brian Eno's his godfather, like the guy who wrote Music for Airports taught Fred exactly how to make Boiler Room anthems with Skrillex

It’s the connections and leg up you get, as opposed to the talent you may or may not have…

Theres thousands of people who could make boiler room anthems with Skrillex. Yet he gets the gig…

Do you really think he’s not have had introductions made, strings pulled with the media?

https://www.vulture.com/article/what-is-a-nepotism-baby.html

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Benj

[Benj]

14 hours ago, stanh said:

On Insta it has 12.6k likes and 138 comments, majority of the comments for her seem favourable tbh.

Problem is most of the likes will have come from her stans who like everything she’s liked with

If reading put up a Black Pink insta hinting at a headline gig next year they’d be billions, with perhaps .0001% considering attending reading

[BenG92]

6 minutes ago, Benj said:

Theres thousands of people who could make boiler room anthems with Skrillex.

And yet, where are they? Pretty sure Skrillex has the reach to find these apparently thousands of people worth collaborating with. 

Fred's talented just like Billie's talented. This constant mental gymnastics to justify not liking lineups is borderline schizophrenic now. It's fine to just not like the lineup. Pretending Billie Eilish hasn't got enormous appeal outside of a leg-up is just wild, it's not like her and Fin didn't write 95% of the songs. Apparently Glastonbury didn't get the memo about her being a plant and everyone who attended didn't "see through the bullshit". 

[Benj]

1 minute ago, BenG92 said:

And yet, where are they? Pretty sure Skrillex has the reach to find these apparently thousands of people worth collaborating with. 

Fred's talented just like Billie's talented. This constant mental gymnastics to justify not liking lineups is borderline schizophrenic now. It's fine to just not like the lineup. Pretending Billie Eilish hasn't got enormous appeal outside of a leg-up is just wild, it's not like her and Fin didn't write 95% of the songs. Apparently Glastonbury didn't get the memo about her being a plant and everyone who attended didn't "see through the bullshit". 

Undiscovered because uncle Brian didn’t push them to the front of the queue

I’m not suggesting he/ they’re not talented, just that to think that they may not have had a leg up that others will not have is ridiculous.

Its the natural way of the world and nothing slightly new.

They still have to be good and Eilish (esp Fineas too) are clearly very talented and would not have got the leg up they did without it, leg up they got though, somehting that thousands with similar talent do not get…

 

[BenG92]

Just now, Benj said:

Undiscovered because uncle Brian didn’t push them to the front of the queue

I’m not suggesting he/ they’re not talented, just that to think that they may not have had a leg up that others will not have is ridiculous.

Its the natural way of the world and nothing slightly new.

They still have to be good and Eilish (esp Fineas too) are clearly very talented and would not have got the leg up they did without it, leg up they got though, somehting that thousands with similar talent do not get…

 

Was it worth the other miseryposter going on a 6 paragraph rant when the answer was clearly that the mums and/or dog mums on Facebook don't give a toss about RNL posts? 

It's just tiresome, I get it's far from the greatest lineup RnL has ever seen but in a year where most other festivals are equally underwhelming it's whatever. Will still sell just fine even if the price hike slows it down. Might as well close this thread if it's just gonna be 7 more months of whining. 

[Benj]

1 minute ago, BenG92 said:

Was it worth the other miseryposter going on a 6 paragraph rant when the answer was clearly that the mums and/or dog mums on Facebook don't give a toss about RNL posts? 

It's just tiresome, I get it's far from the greatest lineup RnL has ever seen but in a year where most other festivals are equally underwhelming it's whatever. Will still sell just fine even if the price hike slows it down. Might as well close this thread if it's just gonna be 7 more months of whining. 

May as well shut it down as no one (on here at least) gives a fuck about it any more.

It’s of no interest anymore as it’s now a shit festival with nothing to talk about.

There are no more clashes, there are no more interesting, niche acts booked as there are no slots for them

The next line-up release will be met with a shrug of the shoulders, the usual ‘this is shit’ cries on twitter and beyond, the kids will still buy tickets to get pissed up in a field popping in for the odd TikTok meme chorus, before heading back to get pissed up while Turnstile play to a 1/4 full field at 2:30pm.

The rest of us will slowly move on and the Reading threads here will die. It’s already dead bar the odd negative rant by me and Chad tbf.
 

TLDR There is nothing to talk about because the festival is now boring, not the acts necessarily, the festival

[gfa]

5 hours ago, Benj said:

Problem is most of the likes will have come from her stans who like everything she’s liked with

If reading put up a Black Pink insta hinting at a headline gig next year they’d be billions, with perhaps .0001% considering attending reading

Your argument seems to be that Billie Eilish, glastonbury headliner, award winner, huge arena tour uk artist doesn't have fans that are Reading festival age?

[Benj]

2 hours ago, gfa said:

Your argument seems to be that Billie Eilish, glastonbury headliner, award winner, huge arena tour uk artist doesn't have fans that are Reading festival age?

My argument is that there’s not many people who like content for “Reading’s sake”

Shes perfect for the festival demographic

The fact she’s played everywhere under the sun in the last 24 months is why people aren’t that excited about her headlining

Last year it would’ve been a big deal, this year it’s ‘meh’

As covered infinitum, I have no issue with who’s booked, just the fact that there is no one else to see while they’re on anymore…

As someone who has zero interest in Arctic monkeys (Live anyway), my only alternatives last year were Wilkinson or Krept and Konan.

In 2021 the Saturday was Post Malone or Solardo. 2 choices. Two

2017 the Saturday had Eminem, Flume, Andy C, While she sleep, Black lips

My problem is not Billie Eilish, it’s that it’s Billie Eilish or NOTHING

The days where you had to choose who to see have gone and it’s shit

[Benj]

The Friday in 2017

Kasabian, YMAS, Fatboy Slim, Billy Talent, Bear’s Den, Danny Brown

The Sunday

Muse, Haim, Marshmello, Neck deep, The Hunna, Bugzy Malone

I’m 2021 we had 2 headliners one night TWO! 🤣

[Chad888]

21 hours ago, BenG92 said:

And yet, where are they? Pretty sure Skrillex has the reach to find these apparently thousands of people worth collaborating with. 

Fred's talented just like Billie's talented. This constant mental gymnastics to justify not liking lineups is borderline schizophrenic now. It's fine to just not like the lineup. Pretending Billie Eilish hasn't got enormous appeal outside of a leg-up is just wild, it's not like her and Fin didn't write 95% of the songs. Apparently Glastonbury didn't get the memo about her being a plant and everyone who attended didn't "see through the bullshit". 

Are you really pretending nepotism doesn't exist?

 

It's not about how much talent you have, it's about being in front of the right person that can put you up. And to get in front of the right people it really helps that you have people related that have the pull to put you in front of somebody that can put you up.

 

People like Billie, Fred Again, Jaden Smith, Willow, Beckhams kids etc - they only get where they are because they had somebody around them that could get them on that stage.

 

Billie is talented, sure. Was she talented enough to have a Jamea Bond theme? Given all the people that went before her, absolutely not and it was clear that it was because she had people around her that could pull strings, and it was her family that put her there.

 

Teenage girls with a soft and whisky voice are ten a penny.

It's all about who you know, so let's stop pretending she got there on the same talent that millions of other girls have who never made it.

[BenG92]

Just now, Chad888 said:

Are you really pretending nepotism doesn't exist?

It's not about how much talent you have, it's about being in front of the right person that can put you up. And to get in front of the right people it really helps that you have people related that have the pull to put you in front of somebody that can put you up.

People like Billie, Fred Again, Jaden Smith, Willow, Beckhams kids etc - they only get where they are because they had somebody around them that could get them on that stage.

Billie is talented, sure. Was she talented enough to have a Jamea Bond theme? Given all the people that went before her, absolutely not and it was clear that it was because she had people around her that could pull strings, and it was her family that put her there.

Teenage girls with a soft and whisky voice are ten a penny.

It's all about who you know, so let's stop pretending she got there on the same talent that millions of other girls have who never made it.

No, I'm just sick of people talking about it as if it invalidates the artist. 

You live in your own weird little narrative bubble where tens of millions of people don't love Billie Eilish because of the music she writes and sings. They're not ten a penny. You literally just listed Jaden Smith, a guy who came from a net worth of about $400,000,000 and has 1/10th of the monthly Spotify listeners Billie does because he's w*nk. 

Of course people get leg-ups even if it's not in the industry. Who cares? If Tom Morello from RATM wasn't born to a masters-degree teacher and ambassador he might not have gone to Harvard and moved to Hollywood to end up meeting Zack. He wasn't born busking in a gutter. Didn't see you whinging about RATM. 

[gfa]

14 hours ago, Benj said:

My argument is that there’s not many people who like content for “Reading’s sake”

Shes perfect for the festival demographic

The fact she’s played everywhere under the sun in the last 24 months is why people aren’t that excited about her headlining

Last year it would’ve been a big deal, this year it’s ‘meh’

---

The days where you had to choose who to see have gone and it’s shit

Billie has done a uk tour and played at glastonbury (which went on sale in 2019 originally so very few 16-20 year olds would have tickets for that anyway). Thats pretty standard for a headliner?

Her tour was far smaller than The Killers and Sam Fender played at every festival under the sun last year along with doing tons of dates + has stadium shows this year. Lewis Capaldi and Foals also everywhere for MSW

--

second point is a different conversation altogether