Jay-Z is killing off Glastonbury festival

[mms]

This is more than a fair point but the issue here is a mainstream argument against the attitude of people like gallagher and the ridiculously narrow mindset that indie music is installing across the media.

I though the set was ok for what it was- more energetic in the first half, the oasis thing was nice but did go on too long and seemed to slightly backfire but that's more down to the dickheads in the crowd who sang along.

I guess what's sad is that this discussion ever had to take place and that every utterance issued by the cretinous brothers grim is still seemingly of interest to the media.

well rule of thumb is anything they dislike is likely to be worth checking.

oasis really are the absolute nadir aren't they, they came up at such an exciting and interesting time for culture and music, just to remind people that at the heart of it , Britains still a country of reactionary comfort loving, wanting-nothing-more-than-absolute-average drunks.

 

[gumdrops]

Would've loved to see a light hearted version of Takeover too, with Nas replaced by Noel ha ha.

haha that would have been good.

i still think it was a strangely muted performance from jay-z. i know he was prob trying to turn the bravado down (not a bad thing, i find a lot of his constant self-praise quite witless) but to not even do takeover is bizarre - it even has a glasto sample to win some rock/indie points.

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

According to the journalist BBC News sent to cover the festival for Breakfast and the bulletins, Jay-Z's performance marked THE FIRST TIME THERE'S BEEN HIP HOP AT GLASTONBURY. If they're wrong about that, what else are they wrong about!?!

 

[gumdrops]

every critic ive read has been wrong about the jigga man.

they all seem to be giving him the nice liberal reviews or maybe just happy something other than average performances from mor indie types (a lot of critics being self hating indie kids in denial of course) was at glasto.

 

[mos dan]

lol at the takeover idea: 'and to all the rest of britpop taking shots at jigga, you only get half a bar...'

i didn't see any of glasto but it sounds like he did the business.

I remember when hip hop meant something other than production values and one gag.

nostalgia ain't what it used to be. would the hip hop that you remember be headlining glastonbury festival?

 

[mos dan]

ps i told u so innit http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/04/gallagher_knows_nothing_about.html

 

[stelfox]

i don't know how anyone in their right mind, who doesn't just want to complain for complaining's sake, can possibly find anything wrong with this performance. he addressed the stupid, media-manipulated controversy surrounding appearance, the wonderwall thing wasn't a pandering cover — it was smart, multilayered and, most importantly, worked — he looked great, was charismatic, stood tall and won the crowd over in minutes. whatever your feelings about jay-z, and i'm no big defender after the few years, "The State Of Hip-Hop Today" or anything, it was a pretty heartening moment, both in terms of jay showing that he still has what it takes when necessary, and in terms of the Glastonbury crowd (and, by extension, British people in general) proving that they're not the idiots many people had written them off as.

 

[petergunn]

i thought the set didnt really build up to much. and all the 'guest verse' cameos he did just looked like he included them to kinda coast off those songs appeal. who the fuck really cares about jiggas verse on umbrella? most people would prefer if it wasnt even on there. but he included it cos he knew the crowd knew that better than most of his songs. lame, imo. IMO the set just didnt have much momentum, too much start-stopping and odd selections (too much from the last few albums instead of older hits)/changes in pace. who would ever think excuse me miss would be a good song for glasto? lol. should have just been a non stop string of bangers (ride with me, roc boys, money aint a thing, do it again, dope man, snoopy track, girls best friend, its alright - this should def have been done - talking heads sample and bleek was with him so they could have traded verses) with occasional slower material. the u2 and linkin park mashups at the end just seemed a bit corny/desperate.

and i might be alone but i thought the band sounded a bit weedy. half the set they didnt even seem to be playing!



a half sarcastic/half pandering cover isnt really 'co-opting' imho, lol. he was in a tricky position, not wanting to offend 1000s off indie kids or their patron saint, but trying to do what he does - not sure he pulled it off. i find him quite dour/expressionless as a performer. hes not exactly a dmx or busta.

gumdrops, you are killing this thread...

yeah, a set of bangers would have been the move... just let them know how hard you can hit and not let em catch their breath...

and yeah, doing the ENTIRE song of "wonderwall" w/ the OG playing in the background was weak sauce... should have just went up there Biz Markie style and sang like 30 seconds worth by himself...

 

[Buick6]

i don't know how anyone in their right mind, who doesn't just want to complain for complaining's sake, can possibly find anything wrong with this performance. he addressed the stupid, media-manipulated controversy surrounding appearance, the wonderwall thing wasn't a pandering cover — it was smart, multilayered and, most importantly, worked — he looked great, was charismatic, stood tall and won the crowd over in minutes. whatever your feelings about jay-z, and i'm no big defender after the few years, "The State Of Hip-Hop Today" or anything, it was a pretty heartening moment, both in terms of jay showing that he still has what it takes when necessary, and in terms of the Glastonbury crowd (and, by extension, British people in general) proving that they're not the idiots many people had written them off as.

It proves that Jay can play guitar as good as fucking Noel, can sing better than his retarded brother and writes better songs too..

It's Jay-Z singing 'there goes the neigbourhood!'

Noel should be killed. Violently and with extreme prejudice.

 

[simon silverdollar]

i don't know how anyone in their right mind, who doesn't just want to complain for complaining's sake, can possibly find anything wrong with this performance.

definitely. as a headline set at a big festival, where the performer's job is basically to make sure that tens of thousands of curious floating voters are won over and have a great night, this was pretty much peerless.

and that was a very dashing outfit. particularly the scarf.

 

[jonny mugwump]

i dunno- i thought the glasses had the edge over the scarf

 

[Client Eastwood]

more hating . .

"I'm not opeeeeniiiiiin for a cnut like Kanyeeeeee"

about 2 mins in


im not a fan of KW but i reckon his life show might be worth seeing.

 

[gumdrops]

did he REALLY win them over though? i mean, REALLY? i was actually surprised the crowd were kinda warm towards him (which was nice), but i cant help thinking that crowd, at the end of a long day, lagered up and off their nuts, happy to just be AT glasto, would have pretty much welcomed anyone. even 50 and g-unit could have been up there and the crowd would have been up for in the club. the wonderwall surprise was obviously what helped set the tone and get them on his side, but getting them on his side via an indie sing along - kind of an *L* for hip hop/jay-z.

lol@the biz mark approach and mos dan's takeover refix.

"http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/04/gallagher_knows_nothing_about.html"

i read the headline for this and thought immediately of the verve performance i saw last night. they just looked totally lifeless. ashcroft looked fucking DEAD singing bittersweet symphony. just looked really, but strangely *appropriately* pointless up there. like even they were surprised/unimpressed they were one of the headliners at glasto.

i read eavis isnt going to have another rapper next year, a mix of his sleepless nights at the event not selling out and also cos apparently 'there is only one jay-z', like there arent any other rappers they could have put on.

 

[noel emits]

but getting them on his side via an indie sing along - kind of an *L* for hip hop/jay-z.

Yeah I thought his face was a bit like, 'shit, they like this too much, what have I done!'

I'd personally have preferred it if he'd turned it into a bit more of a cheeky Fuck You but I suppose it was a generous move after all. But yes, doing the WHOLE song was wack. Stelfox, 'multi-layered', or a bit confused?

 

[stelfox]

there aren't any other rappers who could have pulled of that show convincingly. i mean tons could get up there and rock it, but not in the context of glastonbury. british people know next to nothing about hip-hop. this is a fact. they only really know about jay-z or fiddy, then a bit of of "old-school" stuff that isn't even that old-school. putting a rapper on to headline glastonbury required a big, big name and i really can't think of anyone else who could have pulled it off. when you're placing a rapper alonside headliners on other nights like kings of leon and the verve, you're not looking for cutting-edge or underground, you're looking for massive and established, a recognisable brand. who else is as recognisable as jay-z in the uk? no one. who else is versatile enough to have taken on that crowd? and, yes, from what i saw, he did win the audience pretty convincingly. obviously not the illustrious and lofty dissensus audience, though. it might be worthwhile to remember that as well as an artist, the dude's an entertainer. as an entertainer, he did his job and he did it really fucking well.

 

[bassnation]

there aren't any other rappers who could have pulled of that show convincingly. i mean tons could get up there and rock it, but not in the context of glastonbury. british people know next to nothing about hip-hop. this is a fact. they only really know about jay-z or fiddy, then a bit of of "old-school" stuff that isn't even that old-school. putting a rapper on to headline glastonbury required a big, big name and i really can't think of anyone else who could have pulled it off. when you're placing a rapper alonside headliners on other nights like kings of leon and the verve, you're not looking for cutting-edge or underground, you're looking for massive and established, a recognisable brand. who else is as recognisable as jay-z in the uk? no one. who else is versatile enough to have taken on that crowd? and, yes, from what i saw, he did win the audience pretty convincingly. obviously not the illustrious and lofty dissensus audience, though. it might be worthwhile to remember that as well as an artist, the dude's an entertainer. as an entertainer, he did his job and he did it really fucking well.

come on thats not true at all, even for indie audiences.

snoop, kayne west or eminem would have had the crossover appeal to have pulled that off, easily. even jurassic five for christs sake. are you really arguing that a mega star like eminem who had a uk number one is marginal for indie crowds? not a chance in hell.

 

[mistersloane]

I posted it in the Kanye thread but have you seen his live show? It looks amazing

 

[gumdrops]

kanye would have rocked glasto, just cos not only is he more loved by people that dont really like hip hop and indie fans, hes just better known in the uk in general. he has more recognisable hits than jay-z has ever had over here. ditto eminem. snoop too yeah - imagine him doing a show like he did at live 8 (which was classic). should also just say that all the people i just mentioned are generally all better than jigga as live acts.

 

[swears]

come on thats not true at all, even for indie audiences.

snoop, kayne west or eminem would have had the crossover appeal to have pulled that off, easily. even jurassic five for christs sake. are you really arguing that a mega star like eminem who had a uk number one is marginal for indie crowds? not a chance in hell.

Maybe Kanye, but I think Eminem's been away too long to really make a big impact, it would be almost like an early 00s nostalgia show. Snoop wouldn't sit right, I don't think he's had enough hits recently in the UK. I think that audience would know him as a "character" rather than for his tunes anyway. One of the reasons Jay pulled it off (arguably) is that he has a certain authority about him, a seriousness.

 

[mos dan]

come on thats not true at all, even for indie audiences.

snoop, kayne west or eminem would have had the crossover appeal to have pulled that off, easily. even jurassic five for christs sake. are you really arguing that a mega star like eminem who had a uk number one is marginal for indie crowds? not a chance in hell.

snoop and kanye - hmm, maybe, i'm not sure either of them would have enough hits that would be known by a british crowd though... eminem doesn't count because he already appeals to rock crowds - i'm sure i saw him at reading at some point in my yoof. jurassic five no way.

given that he was co-headlining with the verve and kings of leon (christ, one of those bands might have been big enough to justify a headline slot ten years ago, the other one might be in ten years' time), jay-z was carrying all of glasto on his shoulders arguably.