Yeah, man. I feel like the consensus is "Illinois" is his best, but compared to this record that one seems overwrought and overstuffed to me. This one is long and labored-over too, but it breathes. It's not so self-consciously ornate.
Couldn't find a logical place to mention this in the piece, but I saw them live three times in 2003: Cleveland, Wisconsin and Toronto, the last of which was postponed initially due to the Northeast blackout, which in turn necessitated all manner of logistical maneuvers to obtain the reissued tickets from the original eBay seller. Anyway, when we finally made it Toronto in October for the show at Skydome, my main memory of the show is Thom stopping the band in the middle of "Myxomatosis" because a guy up front had passed out. They pulled him up on stage and got him some medical attention. Then Thom's like, "OK, third verse," and they cut back into the song like nothing happened. One of the more badass Thom Yorke moments I can recall.
Also, Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Wisconsin has the steepest lawn I've ever seen in an outdoor amphitheater. I was legitimately concerned about an avalanche. Probably the best set I ever saw them play, though.
Those two could definitely do it. There are still plenty of acts that have headlined one or two of the major festivals but not all of them -- Metallica and Eminem come to mind. Of course, depending on the clout, repeating what somebody else has booked could feel like a retread or a coup. So there's another reason for the festivals to endorse a new generation of headliners OR expand their genre range.
That's a good point about them maybe hoping for Stones/Daft Punk and ending up with Phoenix as their safety pick. I meant to reference that idea in here but forgot to, so I'm glad you brought it up. Now that you mention it, I also tend to think Sigur Ros and New Order both seem more like headliner caliber bands than Phoenix, but again, perhaps this is just Coachella trying to plan for the future by anointing a new generation of headliners now.
The "indie kids" aren't really who I was thinking about when I described The Union's core clientele. I'm generalizing severely here, but the people I'm thinking of are more punk rock/garage rock fans who tend to think of indie rock as too precious or pretentious for their taste. The lineup to this year's Blackoutfest (linked above) sums up the sensibility pretty well. BTW the whole semester thing still weirds me out. How was the adjustment to no more massive Thanksgiving-to-New Year's break?
Guess what I'm saying is you're projecting this "hipster logic" of "older, more obscure bands are better than popular bands" onto sentences that are only intended to provide context.
Not comment baiting. I just couldn't in good conscience rave about Elephant like it's a classic record (or the best White Stripes record, anyway) when I've never felt that way about it. It seems like a slightly neutered, less inspired version of White Blood Cells, an album with better songs and more fiery dynamics. Give me Cells, Icky Thump or De Stijl any day of the week. I do think "Seven Nation Army" is absolute brilliance, though, and my enthusiasm for it came through in the piece. And I appreciate your well-argued alternate take.
Where in the article does it say Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was better than the Stripes? Or cooler? I just said the blues-punk sound had been around, but the Stripes did it in a way that captured people's imaginations. I will concede, though, that I could have said more about Jack's songwriting prowess; they might have become a media sensation without great songs, but they never would have endured like they have.
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