Browsing through people's reactions to the Lollapalooza lineup on Twitter, you'll see a genuinely mixed batch of responses: some enthralled, some disappointed, some indifferent - the usual norm to any situation like this.
However, one reaction garnered a significant amount of attention from Bitchmedia - an online analytical take on feminist pop culture.
After the lineup was revealed, Katie Presley, writer for the site, promptly noted an alarming absence of female acts placed upon the billing, sans a small handful. The response, aptly titled, "Lollapalooza 2011: Dudefest Midwest," which you can read here, noted that on the Lollapalooza official poster, there wasn't a single female act represented in any shape or form until Crystal Castles, the 20th artist on the list.
"The rest of the lineup is more of the same," Presley writes. "Five or ten dudes or dude bands, one lady or lady band. There are 100 acts playing at Lollapalooza this year. 32 of them have a woman in the band. Not at the center of the band, not necessarily the singer. Just in the band, anywhere."
Is her reaction appropriate? Of course. Anyone can read the lineup one time over and notice the overwhelming majority of male-led acts. But the same can be said about any major music festival. In fact, Coachella, which just passed two weeks ago, had even less female participants (but more headlining females at the same time).
So while Presley indeed has a valued point to be made, the frustration is completely misdirected. Before I explain why, I will note that I am a fan-boy of the festival, so take whatever you want from the response.
At the end of the entry, Presley notes her frustration with the festival's organizers, C3. From that, we can logically understand that the deft of the blame is to be put on their shoulders, but is that looking at the situation too narrowly?
Presley notes the frustrations specifically with a lack of female headlining material, but the absence of it never tells a straight-line story. The foot of the blame should be more focused towards the state of females in alternative music in general. The number of females that could realistically headline the festival, or those like it, is incredibly small. Lady Gaga of course headlined last year, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (who originally headlined this year's Lollapalooza Chile) headlined in 2009, but headliners from the previous year never repeat.
That being said, what other options could there realistically be? This is, after all, an alternative music festival footed by immense marketing and investment. To solely blame organizers is to ignore the audience that the event generates and caters toward.
While Presley does indeed have a point that should be addressed, where the reality lies is beyond the organizers of this and other music festivals like it.
available for free stream online. You can listen to the whole monster 16-track LP below, which will be fully available May 3.
