VCK

Glad to see these puns have struck a chord with you, and that you're taking notes.

Yeah, I won't fret about it, it was a minor thing really.

QOTSA were AOTY by a mile.

I once got called pentatonic. Never heard anything like it, I though such an accusation was off the scale!

Having had a look I can see why you're using 400 million specifically as a barometer. She has a few songs that have hit 300 million streams on Spotify, which is still an awful lot, and certainly doesn't prove this notion that she's some washed up hasbeen who no one under the age of 40 has heard of. Like I said, this is a platform which is way more popular among younger people. She has more streams than a good number of artists who have predominantly younger fanbases. But then like I said Glastonbury attracts a partial older demographic which is reflected in the line-ups. But there will be younger people in the crowd who will be very familiar with her stuff through their parents playing her music growing up. Pair her up with Dua Lipa who is one of the biggest names in music currently, and Coldplay who are always a huge crowd pleaser, and it's hardly a weak booking. On a side note Bad Bunny is the second most streamed artist in the world after Drake, with 10+ songs being streamed over a billion times. By your logic he would be a brilliant headliner, one for the ages.

Not really, just an unusual take given the festival has always catered to an older crowd much more so than the other major UK fests.

Come on mate, you know that's not true. She has tonnes of bangers. If you look at the list of the most streamed artists on Spotify, how many of these artists released their debut single/album before this century? Spotify is a Millennial/Gen Z phenomenon and doesn't always accurately reflect the popularity of older artists. Yes, the Beatles have had over 400 million streams, but it's the Beatles! Why not look for streams for other older Glasto headliners down the years, such as Springsteen, GNR, Rolling Stones, The Cure, The Who, Metallica, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, et al and draw a comparison there? Also you're right, she laid the foundations for pop music. She is arguably the most influential artist in the genre. No Madonna, no Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Rihanna, I could go on. That's like saying The Stone Roses shouldn't headline because Britpop artists took what they did and made it bigger and more successful.

Wait, are people now questioning the idea of booking older headliners? At Glastonbury?

Ah, I forgot about that. Maybe Green Day can play a Foos type slot then.

If the other two headliners are Madonna and Dua then they would be a good shout for the rock headliner to balance it out. Never played before, somewhat unconventional as far as Glasto rock headliners go, but have so many hits and crowd pleasers, and they always put on a show.

If only Glastonbury did day tickets, because I would get one for that Friday in a heartbeat. PJ, Pulp, Weezer, Garbage and Mondays. Would be superb.

Solid, that. A bit of something for everyone, and enough I'd personally go watch. Coldplay headlining for the fifth time isn't the most inspiring of prospects, but it's inevitably going to happen at some point anyway.

There's a real paradox about the promoters nowadays just booking en masse whatever's trending on TikTok, but then also going for two headliners who peaked in like 2001.

We've had some who potentially could have pulled it off but missed the boat, such as The Black Keys and Royal Blood. Others that definitely would have done but the best they managed was co-headline, such as Foals and BMTH.

I've said it before, there is definitely a market for rock music among young people. Just look at Sam Fender's upward trajectory, for example. Although a little older, the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, et al always go down a storm with younger crowds. When I was at Download a few years back, I saw young people wearing t-shirts of contemporary acts like IDLES, The Chats and Slaves. However, as always, what is popular in music is always dictated by the press, and at the moment the music press in this country assumes that young people are only interested in pop and rap music, and maybe the occasional bit of EDM, and they push the idea that rock is too old fashioned and regressive. Just like how in the 2000s, they assumed that they were mostly interested in indie rock. Why not have it like it was in the 80s and 90s where every style of music imaginable was promoted across the board, and they all had superstars to emerge from each genre? I feel there's an irony that, despite all this recent talk of how music is a lot more transcendental of boundaries, musical discourse is a lot more segregationist than before.

Isn't this new song basically just a re-recording of an old John Lennon demo and essentially a cover?

This is true. They'd have a day for indie type acts, a day for heavier punk/emo/metal type acts, and then a mixed bag of a day. See 2008's line-up as a prime example of this.

Absolutely no chance. I know R&L have gone a bit "V Festival" in recent years but even that would be a real stretch.

If they get Post Malone yet again that would confirm that the festival organisers have run out of ideas, once and for all. If they want a rap headliner, there is plenty of choice that doesn't involve someone who has already done it twice in the past five years.

The word 'hiatus' has such negative connotations, and fans of an artist freak out because they think it means they're splitting. When bands go on "hiatus" all the time which is usually just a few years out. Manics have been on a few hiatuses before for example, same with Radiohead.

I thought it was bland, weak and predictable at the time, but it's light years ahead of the dross we get now. Any other line-ups that were poorly received when they were announced but looking back seem really strong? 2011 comes to mind for me. Imagine the likes of The Offspring, Deftones, Pulp and Madness being announced for R&L in this day and age.

Weren't some people on here tipping them to headline R&L circa 2017/2018?

QOTSA's last album absolutely knocked it out of the park, probably up there with their best stuff, and I would gladly have them back at R&L. I'm also pretty sure they have female fans too.

Someone like Olivia Rodrigo would have been a clear cut V Festival act back in the day and R&L wouldn't have touched her. But the market has changed and with V now gone, as I've said, R&L have been trying to fill that void. I also don't think her music has much of an "edge", it's just pretty typical mainstream pop with guitars. About as edgy as Busted or McFly, basically.

I dunno, her music to me just sounds like a boardroom executive in a suit's idea of what rock music is. It just feels a little superficial, is all. But I agree she would only headline and would go down a storm with the crowd.