This forum (tastes, expectations etc)

[Monkismo]

From reading all the opinions on Arcade Fire, Kasabian, Prince, Daft Punk, Metallica, Elbow and now Foo Fighters, it's got me thinking about exactly who we all are, what we expect from Glastonbury and it's line-up and why.

Every year it seems like a majority of people on here are into the more dance orientated stuff which is obviously fine but, whilst dance, roots, soul, funk etc do play a big part in making Glastonbury stand out from the other festivals, is it really the main element of the festival to the point where three "white guitar bands" headlining is seen as a let down? It seems to me that the vocal majority on here are those that spend most of their festival flitting between West Holts, the dance village and the south east areas, when the reality is that probably more than half of the people at the festival spend very little time whatsoever in any of those areas. Hence this board can hardly be seen as a good indication of the feelings of the average Glasto goer.

It also seems that people have expectations of Glastonbury to put on something a bit different/older than all the other festivals. Sure the history of the festival means that we're more likely to see Neil Young here than at T in the Park but the Dolly Parton, Prince, Elton John and Fleetwood Mac fandom reaches fever pitch on here. I know about 50 people who have been to Glastonbury in the past who would turn their noses up at all four of these and most "young" people (who Eavis has stated many times that he needs to focus on and, let's be fair, are the ticket buyers of the future) would laugh at at least two of them (Elton and Dolly). Should we really expect a massive "heritage" act every year and, if so, what are you all going to expect in 30 years time when all these supposedly classic acts are no more - are we all going to be looking for an ageing Arctic Monkeys to headline? Or a balding Chris Martin flapping round the stage?

I don't know. If Arcade Fire are big enough to storm the biggest music awards in the world (the Grammys) and manage similar acclaim over here then surely they're big enough to headline Glastonbury? If Kasabian and Foo Fighters are big enough to headline every other festival in the UK, then surely they're big enough to headline Glastonbury? You may not like the fact that Prince and Daft Punk are unlikely but does the average Glasto goer (and by that I mean the 80,000-100,000 people who cram into the Pyramid and other fields) really care? And wouldn't those of you who want to see the likes of Outkast and Kanye be better off in West Holts appreciating that that sort of music is catered for at Glastonbury rather than moaning that soul/rap/hip-hop isn't dominating the one stage that needs to cater to the masses?

Maybe we need to step back a bit and just ask ourselves what Glastonbury's target market is. Of course there's enough to cater for almost everyone and the diversity is what makes Glastonbury special but if you're one of those people who stays away from the Pyramid for the whole five days, you're probably not the festival's core demographic. One thing's for certain and that's that the Eavii have got a bloody hard job pleasing all of us!

We all like Glastonbury for different reasons but the festival has a future as much as it has a history. Music is changing, culture is changing and the festival is changing with it. If it was the same every year it would be as dull as an xx record.

[Yesiamaduck]

*shrugs* I like variety

I guess that's all I can say.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

Do you believe that Arcade Fire, Elbow, Foo Fighters and Kasabian have more of a mainstream appeal than Kanye, Outkast, Prince and Daft Punk?

[Yesiamaduck]

Do you believe that Arcade Fire, Elbow, Foo Fighters and Kasabian have more of a mainstream appeal than Kanye, Outkast, Prince and Daft Punk?

Edited January 22, 2014 by Yesiamaduck

[CHRLY]

Let me try and rank them in terms of size and mainstream appeal

Prince

Kanye

Daft Punk

Kasabian

Foo Fighters

Outkast

Elbow

Arcade Fire

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

It's really amused me, the thought that nobody cares if Daft Punk play Glastonbury or not. Those 60,000+ who went to Arcadia last year must have been massive Chase and Status DJ set fans.

[Yesiamaduck]

Foo's are definitely above kasabian, still massive over here

[CHRLY]

HMMM in the UK and MAINSTREAM appeal I'm not entirely sure.... I mean you wouldn't expect people your chain pub singing along to Foo Fighters in mass.

[Yesiamaduck]

I'm not sure about this but I bet they had a bigger crowd at R+L the other year

[eFestivals]

It's really amused me, the thought that nobody cares if Daft Punk play Glastonbury or not. Those 60,000+ who went to Arcadia last year must have been massive Chase and Status DJ set fans.

yeah, but Daft Punk was just sooo last summer maaan.

Personally, I've not been able to think of them without laughing since that iPhone advert: "play some Daft Punk". But then again, listening to their music has had much the same effect the more that time has gone on.

Edited January 22, 2014 by eFestivals

[CHRLY]

But R+L appeals more to the alternative rock crowd of which case Foo Fighters would be held in higher regard.

[LondonTom]

Nope your getting mixed up that various people on here have various wants/dislikes. Some acts attracts more fanfare in both good ways and bad ways than others. It's nothing really to do with genre, its just people being people.

Sure some have a few unrealistic expectations of something massive and different every year being able to be booked when the truth is the mostly like acts to get booked are those tour everywhere often because they are easier to book and shift tickets rather than acts that rarely do shows /festivals.

For the most part as Mardy put it to me on twitter the other day, its a cold January, people are miserable and back at work. What else do they have to do but have a moan on here?

[grumpyhack]

You kick off your post with the assertion that most people on here are predominantly into the Dance Areas.

Not sure I'd agree with that. I'm not remotely interested in Dance.

For me it's the Green Fields, the Acoustic Tent and general chilling.

I don't care in the slightest who will be headlining. I'm sure there will be some interesting bands to see and, hopefully, lots of surprises.

Glastonbury hasn't disappointed in 40 years. But there again I'm a proud member of the Old Gits and Hags brigade these days.

Edited January 22, 2014 by grumpyhack

[Guest]

You kick off your post with the assertion that most people on here are predominantly into the Dance Areas.

Not sure I'd agree with that. I'm not remotely interested in Dance.

For me it's the Green Fields, the Acoustic Tent and general chilling.

I don't care in the slightest who will be headlining. I'm sure there will be some interesting bands to see and, hopefully, lots of surprises.

Glastonbury hasn't disappointed in 40 years. But there again I'm a proud member of the Old Gits and Hags brigade these days.

[JoeyT]

I don't go in with any expectations. When I first went in 05 I was 16 and although I was "aware" of music I certainly wasn't as wise to it as I am now.

I've tried not to change how I view the festival from that point. With expectation comes disappointment and I don't know how I could feel that towards a festival which offers so much!

[TaBoosh]

For me Glastonbury is a festival for all genres, which is what makes it unique.

Personally I'm into rock (nothing majorly heavy) and for me the Other stage was the place to be, however in recent years (except Pumpkins last year) it's been a bit disappointing.

I still find something to watch regardless, but would love to see some heavier acts on stages other than the Pyramid.

[G1T]

I only go for the tartiflette from La Grande Bouffe tbf.

[Alcatraz]

It's really amused me, the thought that nobody cares if Daft Punk play Glastonbury or not. Those 60,000+ who went to Arcadia last year must have been massive Chase and Status DJ set fans.

[Guest]

60,000... where? Arcadia?

Yea, right

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

60,000... where? Arcadia?

Yea, right

[Guest]

60,000... where? Arcadia?

Yea, right

[Guest]

You realise Arcadia is now in the Other stage? It's also visible in the pictures.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

it's at the back of the other stage isn't it?

[Guest]

It's on the right hand side of the Other. They had to close the area off because so many people came.

Edited January 22, 2014 by tonyblair

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

I can't imagine anything close to 60,000 in that space. But here I am, nit picking again