Two studio albums were enough for Jane’s Addiction In the late 80s, ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ (1988) and ‘Ritual de lo Habitual’ (1990) were released to radically transform rock. Inspired by references such as Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Black Sabbath, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Dead Kennedys and The Germs, the Californian band created a completely different style. Music to all of the above, ambitious and reckless, noisy but lustful and a bit of ‘kitsch’ thanks to the mannerisms of Perry Farrell, one of the most exciting soloists in history. Meanwhile, they paved the way for bands known as ‘alternative rock’ and ‘grunge’, such as The Pixies, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and Pearl Jam.
Members of Jane’s Addiction, yes, They couldn’t stand each otherand in 1991 they realized it was time to leave. But instead of doing it loud, they decided to throw a big party, which instantly became a benchmark music festival, a platform for underground art and activism, and an icon of Generation X. The party was presented at the Sundance Festival. ‘Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza’ is a mini-documentary series exploring the origins of this eventthe historical context that conditioned it and its subsequent cultural impact.
Especially Farrell, adapting the model festivals English Like Glastonbury and Reading, he initially envisioned a tour that would be merely a farewell tour for the band, while also serving as a showcase for his favorite musicians of the moment; He also chose the name of the event: Lollapalooza, which at one point in the documentary means “something or someone wonderful… and a giant spinning lollipop.” He recruited the likes of Living Colour, Henry Rollins Band, The Butthole Surfers, Ice T and ‘metal’ band Body Count and Siouxsie and the Banshees to join them on the bill; Pixies declined the offer to participate. “It was something magical, I still can’t explain what it was“, comments Trent Reznor, leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, in the documentary, for whom this first edition was a launchpad into the stratosphere.
Directed by Michael John Warren, he has two documentaries about Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z, and they both narrate. Television snippets and archive footage of live performances Like a succession of talking heads, ‘Lolla’ takes the time to demonstrate the extent to which Lollapalooza also serves to direct anger against institutions and society through a wide repertoire of non-musical proposals and activities against gun control and censorship. The disillusionment felt by North American youth in the early ’90s; and in this process, he implicitly tries to draw parallels between the disappointment experienced by Generation X in his time and the disappointment experienced by Generation Z currently.
The overwhelming success of these concerts made it almost inevitable that Lollapalooza would be turned into an annual event. And by the time the second edition was published, everything had changed. Although the majority of musicians participating in the first one were still unknown, a few months after the celebration the American alternative scene had already emerged and was immediately The festival has become less focused on bringing bands like Rage Against The Machine out of the underground and rather than acting as a showcase for other bands already established in the ‘mainstream’, such as Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers or Pearl Jam, which clearly show scant attention to female and African-American bands.
The poster for the 1994 edition featured well-known names like The Beastie Boys and Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana would have been a part of it too if Nirvana’s leader Kurt Cobain hadn’t refused to do so out of fear. will be accused of selling. He committed suicide a few days after the festival.
That year, voices began to be heard accusing Lollapalooza of subordinating itself to major record labels; In 1996, when it was announced that the repertoire of artists in the sixth edition would be dominated by Metallica – transformed into a radio formula band thanks to their album ‘Black Album’ – they were deafened.
“Too much money destroys art“, you hear Farrell, who put Jane’s Addiction together in 1997 and has continued to release albums and perform gigs leading the band ever since, say at one point in ‘Lolla’, not because he has anything interesting to say but to keep going. taking advantage of the brand. Today, Lollapalooza is a multinational event held annually in Chicago, with various editions also held in cities such as Santiago de Chile, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Stockholm and Mumbai. The 2023 edition will include Billie Eilish, among other artists. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, 30 Seconds to Mars and Shaquille O’Neal attended.