So I tuned pop music out for a minute, preferring a steady playlist of ’70s glam rock, Willie Nelson and Black Sabbath to the sugarhooks and fashionable looks populating the TRL world, and by the time I start paying attention again, I am flooded by constant blogs and article about folks like Jeffree Star, Trace Cyrus, Ronnie Radke… Not their music, but their fascinating drama. For a second I wondered why it’s more interesting for folks to talk about their feuds than their actual music. Then I listened to their music…

Egad, no wonder. Side note: it sounds a lot better when you listen to all three simultaneously than one at a time. Just open their My Space Pages in your tabs. See? Way better.

A plausible solution:

[The following words and photos have been submitted by Synthesis contributer Karen Dunbar, who recently attended the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.]

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Manchester, TN
Thursday, June 12th – Sunday, June 15th

Bonnaroo isn’t just a music festival—it’s a mindset. This was the seventh year the tiny town of Manchester, Tennessee—a small, rural town 65 miles outside Nashville with a population of 9,500—was converged upon by 70,000 people. Arriving is a bit surreal; almost magically and suddenly the event explodes in front of you as you’re still driving through corn fields and family farms. The four days of Bonnaroo seem to meld together into an even more surreal, yet shared experience.
The event organizers seem to have thought of almost everything. Shuttles run from the airport on an almost continual basis as plane after plane empties music fans from all over the country. If you weren’t up to sitting in the hot sun watching one of the 158 bands, you could have your hair done, get a massage, go online or eat from a huge variety of choices, after you of course visited one of the many ATMs conveniently located throughout the festival. In the evening, the Silent Disco is better than many drugs: the aptly-named Ferris wheel offers a view of the entire site, and if timed properly offers the best views and sounds from either of two nearby stages. Speaking of drugs…Tennessee is an odd state. Possession of anything is still illegal, but if busted (and you don’t have a State sold tax sticker) you face tax evasion charges on top of the possession charge. Bonnaroo upholds all State laws. The price of this stamp is $3.50 per gram of pot and $50. per gram of cocaine. Bought anonymously, of course.

Almost every music genre was represented. You could watch Willie Nelson and then catch Metallica…on the same day. Dweezil Zappa performing his dad’s songs, Vampire Weekend, My Morning Jacket…the list went on forever. Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Jack Johnson, the Raconteurs, The Coup, BB King followed by Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam ripped Kanye West a new one, and then watched as Kanye ripped himself one. (Kanye had a bit of a prima donna thing going; Eddie Vedder had a bit of an anti-Kanye thing going. Vedder’s fuck you to Kanye included beginning to promote Kanye’s performance and stopping mid-sentence, saying, “I just can’t do it,” then continuing to play for an additional 50 minutes and asking the crew for a slow load-out. Kanye’s stage needed three hours for production; he didn’t go on until 4:30 AM and only played an hour without a word of apology or explanation. Let’s just say the chant of “Kanye sucks” was a unifying theme through the remainder of the event, shouted at several sets during the rest of the weekend.

More after the jump (more…)

Last week when I wrote about “Pancho and Lefty” I hadn’t realized that the man who made that song famous was having his birthday right around the corner. Today, American songwriter and Outlaw Country Music King Willie Nelson turns 75. NPR’s Fresh Air did a nice piece on Willie today, you can check it out here (audio available after 3 PM EST). They also played a portion of an interview and live set he did with Terry Gross from a few years back, and you can hear the whole thing here.

Willie Nelson will release a live album with acclaimed jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis on July 8th on Blue Note Records. Entitled Two Men With The Blues, the album was compiled from a two-night stand at the Lincoln Center in January of 2007. I got my advance press copy last week, and while the blues ranks kinda far down the list of my favorite genres, the disc is legit, showcasing two masters of American music. Here’s a teaser:

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