Festival Preview: Pitchfork Music Festival 2009 - Page 2

Of course, that volatility is in contrast to the blood and vomit usually associated with hardcore-based Toronto punks Fucked Up, the piss and vomit that frequently makes an appearance at the consistently wild shows of Atlanta’s Black Lips, and the ridiculous punk overdrive of The Mae Shi.

Lest punk danger not be your style, there’s also plenty of softer bands mixed in with the reckless. There’s the National, a band with two fantastic albums that have drawn multiple comparisons to Leonard Cohen. There’s the lo-fi twee pop rock of Slumberland Records’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The Walkmen, a relatively humble New York band, relies on good rock songwriting, rock sensibility, and can only be considered “indie” by default. Blitzen Trapper, a freak folk band that often verges into popular folk, is already being talked about as the indie darling successors to Animal Collective.

To call Pitchfork’s lineup “elitist” would confuse the musical selection’s intellectual and socioeconomic appeal. Yes, post-grunge indie rock is too often reserved for the upper-middle to upper classes, but in terms of indie taste, it’s hard to argue that Lollapalooza bands like Deerhunter, Heartless Bastards, or Of Montreal are any more “populist” than the Flaming Lips or Yo La Tengo. In terms of providing rock enjoyment in a bad economy, it’s tough to argue with Pitchfork Fest’s ticket prices. The traditional complaints against Pitchfork still remain: giving special treatment to bands the site happens to like, providing less support for bands that are less fitting with Pitchfork’s brand, claiming to be humble in scope but no less ruthless in their writing. Even with the snobby associations with Pitchfork’s lineup, the fest has something for everyone who cares about music, which is more than most American summer music fests can offer.

Recommended acts:

Friday

The Jesus Lizard. A band that perfected a subculture makes their first appearance in a decade, and many Pitchfork readers—and writers—still consistently underestimate the band’s significance. The Jesus Lizard’s rabid fans, who will most likely be coming from several continents, will make an interesting contrast with the Girl Talk-loving crowd that generally comes to Pitchfork Fest.

Article Author: Ethan Stanislawski

Ethan Stanislawski is a freelance journalist/critic and new media specialist. He is a regular reviewer and staff writer at Prefix Magazine, and also contributes regularly to Blogcritics Magazine. His interests include theater, film, and pop music …

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