Oasis vs Jay Z - Let's Get It On!

I saw this news headline last night and I kept it open in my browser specifically so I could write about it today.

Everyone's heard of the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, right? It's pretty much the world's most famed music festival. In the 1970s, it hosted acts like David Bowie, Joan Baez, and T.Rex. In the 80s, when it became an annual show, it featured headliners like Elvis Costello, The Cure, New Order, and the Pixies. Moving into the 90s saw the Breeders, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Oasia, the Foo Fighters, Page And Plant, and even Dylan.

It's gone from one stage to a half dozen or so and really has become the biggest festival going. It traditionally sells out [well over 150k tickets] every year within a matter of hours, no matter if the lineup has been released or not.

This year? No sell out. In fact, there are about 40,000 tickets left.

Why? Some blame the poor weather for the past four years of the Festival.

Others, including Oasis' own Noel Gallagher blames the decision to make Jay Z one of the headliners.

You have to admit, Jay Z doesn't exactly fit in with the list of names above, does he? It sounds like they mean well by making him a headliner and are really going all out for it. Apparently, he is scheduled to appear at a Nelson Mandela birthday tribute the day before and will accompany Mandela to Glastonbury. Mandels himself will appear during Jay Z's set to address the crowd and the set will also feature guest appearances by Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, and Linkin Park - so there's definitely no lacking star power.

Noel says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you break it, people ain't gonna go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? ... No chance." He also argued that the inclusion of hip-hop at the festival goes against the tradition of the festival saying, "I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. No way. No. It's wrong."

One of the Festival co-organizers, Emily Eavis, argues that the festival has a long history of attracting rap acts citing Cypress Hill and The Roots as examples. Doing a quick scan of the Festival's previous lineups shows a Black Eyed Peas performance as well.

Then she struck hard saying, "There is also an interesting undercurrent in the suggestion that a black, U.S. hip-hop artist shouldn't be playing in front of what many perceive to be a white, middle-class audience. I'm not sure what to call it, at least not in public, but this is something that causes me some disquiet."

Ouch. I hope she wasn't planning on inviting Oasis to appear again anytime soon.

This actually kinda reminds me of the Warped Tour several years ago after a long period of strictly being punk/ska/etc. they invited Body Count and Eminem to appear on the lineup. That show did appear to be at a lower attendance level than previous years and I wondered then if it was a backlash because of the hip hop/rap acts being added. I thought both acts were a nice addition in hindsight but I could understand a lot of fans being upset by them being there.

Same goes with Jay Z. If I'm hoping for a Led Zeppelin appearance or Foo Fighters or R.E.M. and get Jay Z instead, no matter how cool "the moment" will be with his guest stars, I might be less inclined to go as well. And no, I don't think it's a race thing, I think it's a personal music choice thing.