Instant Reactions to the 2014 Outside Lands Lineup

The headliners took most festival watchers by surprise.
The headliners took most festival watchers by surprise.

I took to the internet this morning to start discussing the Outside Lands headliners and lineup with the Bay Area music nerds, and to get some instant reactions from the Spinning Platters staffers. The 2014 Outside Lands lineup doesn’t look like every other festival lineup happening this summer, and that’s no surprise. We’ve always been able to count on the festival to provide different headliners from every other festival. How else can you stand out when everyone else is booking the same ten bands?

Personally, I’m looking forward to the Atmosphere vs. Macklemore fan battle over hip-hop authenticity, to find out if Kanye brings his Holy Mountain stage (if he doesn’t, I’ll meet you at Twin Peaks), and to see a huge crowd bounce around to the best pop song of 2013 — “Safe and Sound” by Capital Cities.  There’s no one in the lineup I’ll be fighting to get to the front to see, and that’s fine by me. There’s also no one I’ve been waiting years to see. Overall, it’s a lineup devoid of “Holy Shit, really?” bands, and I don’t think it’s going to have the same cross-demographic buzz as in years’ past. (Also, they had Huey Lewis do the lineup video, but didn’t book him? HELLO! Who’s filling the Sunday afternoon Hall & Oates good time singalong slot?) It’ll still sell out, though, and everyone I know will be there to complain about the lineup in person. Everyone wins.

Enough about me, though. What about the rest of the Spinning Platters staff? I asked them to “keep it short and no outright band hatred,” and for the most part, I got short responses with no outright band hatred …

Dakin Hardwick:

There are three acts on this bill that I will never miss under any circumstance: The Flaming Lips, Jenny Lewis, and Givers. There are two acts that cause me nothing but pain whenever I hear them: Kanye West and Disclosure. The great thing about festivals is that you usually have three great options for every bad one. The bad thing about festivals is that I may have to do a three way Sophie’s choice with Lips, Jenny, and Givers.

Marie Carney:

Dammit! When am I going to learn to buy the cheaper pre-announcement tickets!

Amber Gregory:

Every year the OSL lineup features 3-4 artists I absolutely LOVE. This year is no exception — Arctic Monkeys, Chvrches, Chromeo, Holy Ghost! — but unfortunately it’s also no exception on the other side of things. The rest of this lineup is disappointing, and that’s how I feel every.single.year.

Stephanie Skidmore:

1st: WHO THE FUCK MADE THIS JOKE LINE-UP, STOP TROLLING TROLLS.

2nd: OMG KANYE AND TOM PETTY. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

Jonathan Pirro:

Despite having The Flaming Lips on the lineup, and a small handful of a few other favorites, this year’s Outside Lands lineup seems lazy, dispirited, and thrown together to fill the space. The pop trifecta of Kanye, Tiësto and Macklemore doesn’t help their case.

Kara Murphy:

Im’ma let you finish but with the exception of one headliner who’s “in Vogue,” the line-up is looking A-OK.

Chris Rogers:

CHRIS ROGERS VS OUTSIDE LANDS 2014

KANYE WEST: Whatever.
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Well, now Mom might want to go. Tom Petty is cool.
THE KILLERS: “Not as good as Duran Duran, those guys are just like ‘Duran.’ Hah!” Sigh.
MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS: They will be booed by the 49er fans in attendance.
ARCTIC MONKEYS: I read once that this band decided to become a band with absolutely no musical experience.
TIËSTO: There’s an umlaut.
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE: I was once given a mix CD of DCfC’s music by a girl who liked me, and the music on the CD was so poor/empty that I never wrote her back.
DISCLOSURE: I like the song “Full Disclosure” by Fugazi.
THE FLAMING LIPS: The Flaming Lips consistently put on one of the best live performances that you will ever experience.
SPOON: Spare deliberately-minimalist hip-shakin’ collared-shirt-wearing rock and roll from Austin. Spoon deserve better than to precede Macklemore.
ATMOSPHERE: Heady white-guy rap for people working through issues.
TEGAN & SARA: If you know their name, you went to college and lived in a dorm.
DUCK SAUCE: Some sort of joke about condiments would go here. Why would you name your band this?
CHROMEO: For those that the 1980s can be sold to.
LYKKE LI: Was this a meme or a band?
CHVRCHES: They were on Reddit this week. That’s all I know.

Gordon Elgart

A music nerd who probably uses that term too much. I have a deep love for bombastic, quirky and dynamic music.

More Posts - Website - Twitter

Author: Gordon Elgart

A music nerd who probably uses that term too much. I have a deep love for bombastic, quirky and dynamic music.

One thought on “Instant Reactions to the 2014 Outside Lands Lineup”

Comments are closed.