Aside from that Nine Inch Nails news that Billboard leaked out a few weeks back, confirmations for this year's festival were largely stray. Aside from a few small confirmations, like Angel Haze and Imagine Dragons, nothing was firmly stamped down.
As per usual, The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot released the fest's first "confirmed" headliners. Previously rumored acts Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend are indeed on the billing alongside The Killers this year. All four performed at the festival in 2009 and 2010, but only The Killers and Phoenix were previously booked as headliners. M&S have obviously exploded since their 2010 appearance, so the headlining spot isn't surprising, but Vampire Weekend booked as an official headliner may be still curious.
Lollapalooza fans will recognize a slight gap in headliners - an electro act. Since 2011, festival organizers have made a large concerted effort to bring more electronica music to the festival, booking Deadmau5 in 2011 and Avicii and Justice last year. With the four new headliners and Nine Inch Nails, only one headlining slot remains. Nothing is confirmed, but expect that final slot to go to a major electronica act.
The four headliners weren't the only acts leaked, however. Previously rumored Postal Service and The National will also be heading to Chicago this August. Expect the full lineup release in the coming weeks.
Lollapalooza takes place August 2-4 this year. Stick here for more updates and rumors.
It's hard. It's hard man. With only a week left before Christmas and another before the new year, the final edge of 2012 is encroaching. And if you're familiar with the internet and all its goodies, this is the most important time of the year for music blogs and legitimate (pfft) publications. Lists matter. Too much, some might say.
So, as it is with every year since B&B has officially begun, it's time for some all too important end of the year album and songs lists. But before we go into the usual Top 25 Albums of 2012, I'd like to take a special note of what albums missed the cut:
Alright, I missed August. If I was searching for excuses I'd say, "Well, I was on vacation and ..." But in reality, there just wasn't a ton that I loved from last month. Is that a good enough reason to skip it? Probably not. But it happened and we all have to deal with it. So lets recap September and act like we didn't miss anything.
3.) Jens Lekman - I Know What Love Isn't
Jens Lekman is one of those names that comes with easy indie music familiarity. He's consistently producing solid records, but never anything that launches his name to the next recognized level. Basically, he's easy to accept and appreciate, but hard to genuinely love.
So does I Know What Love Isn't necessarily separate itself from the rest of Lekman's catalog? Not totally. The songs are serene, thoughtful, and sweet - just as you might expect - and have a warm kitsch to it all. It's a knocking reminder of the tender swill that comes through the best of Belle & Sebastian, hitting notes of gentle strings and full harmony on tracks like "Become Someone Else's." In terms of a grand scope, I Know What Love Isn't isn't flourishing with daring experiments - you can throw this anywhere in the Lekman discography and it'd fit in shockingly well - but that reminds you more and more how consistently good he has been over the years.
2.) The Killers - Battle Born
Shocking? Maybe.
Despite the booming careers of one of the most popular bands in the U.S., I have been shadily disinterested in The Killers. There's a somewhat guilty part in my heart of my profound appreciation of past tracks like "When You Were Young" and "All These Things That I Have Done," but there was never a personal fondness for their albums. Maybe the fact that Battle Born is actually good is more of a relief than anything; a vindication for why the band can be so popular. But I'd like to think that my praise has some sort of merit.
The album's opening half is surprisingly strong. Yes, there's a lofty exploration of unnecessarily big ideas from Brandon Flowers that can come off as vague cliches, but hell, it's being worked into damn good, catchy music. That description is fairly apt for the album's lead single "Runaways," which - just like "When You Were Young" and "All These Things That I Have Done" - reminds you how amazing the band can be, even though a lot of us don't like to admit it.
1.) How To Dress Well - Total Loss
Tom Krell, aka How To Dress Well, usually fit in a comfortable niche of soulful electro. Never terribly profound or otherwise, he fit into an expanding catalog of internet sub-genres that tired of explanation. So it may have been surprising how well Total Loss comes off, despite adhering to those same aesthetics.
The album, up and down, is terrifically engaging. Combing through Krell's light vocals and warm electronics, it's numbing and sweet, but still daring and exploratory. Take "Cold Nites" and "Say My Name Or Say Whatever"; the former acts as a straight up R&B single, but it bleeds into a dreary sample of someone reminding you that, "The only bad part about flying is having to come back down to the fucking world." And then, splash, you're back in Krell's romantic light. Jarred, but loving it that much more when it's there.
Last night, The Killers performed the unabashedly outstanding lead single "Runaways" from their most recent album Battle Born on TheLate Show With David Letterman. Check it out below and assume that Brandon Flowers sleeps in leather jackets like I do.
