Pitchfork Music Festival Recap / Hipster Pick of the Day: Beach Fossils / Staying Cool at the Jones Pool

We didn't attend the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this weekend and we don't regret it at all. Spending three days in the baking heat with thousands of hipsters sweating PBR from every pore sounds like a punishment worse even than Bonnaroo (at least the hippie-fests are attended by many pretty women). But naturally we kept up with the festivities through various blogs. Let's look at some excerpts from a Chicago Tribune blog regarding yesterday's uber-hipster line-up of Surfer Blood, Sleigh Bells, and (yes!) the reunited Pavement.

"...much like a wave building to prominence as it nears the shore, the group finds its footing midway through its performance with a twitchy, reverb-laden "Twin Peaks." "Swim (To Reach the End)" follows, Surfer Blood transforming the lo-fi garage nugget into a celebratory call-to-arms."

Richard: "I wonder if this is the first critic to use a 'wave' comparison for Surfer Blood? Saw them at the Replay for three bucks. Next."

"[Sleigh Bells'] Krauss is determined to explore every inch of the stage. She crawls out to the edges, perches like a cat ready to strike its prey and wades into the front row. Her vocals — a miasma of bloody shrieks, bubblegum-sweet coos and wordless utterances any man would yearn to hear in bed — match the music's dynamic pizzazz."

A chorus of feminist readers: "Typical male music blogger: more focused on wanting to 'bed' the singer than offering an honest assessment of the music."

Chip: "I get such a boner from 'wordless utterances.'"

And what of Pavement?

"While Malkmus scored big points in the '90s for his sense of irony and clever wordplay, the Malkmus I love is the wistful, melancholy one who plays "Here."

Richard: "Fuck off with your wistfulness. We all know that you'll cheer loudest for the sneering irony of 'Cut Your Hair.'"

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Yet another Pitchfork-approved band (a 7.8) makes a stop in Larryville tonight: Brooklyn's Beach Fossils. However, Pitchfork levels some pretty harsh criticism even while praising the band's self-titled debut as a lovely summer soundtrack:

"...the mundanity of Beach Fossils can be deflating, and you don't catch much on the fifth listen that you didn't on the first-- a song called "Vacation" is about taking a bus out of town, while "Golden Age" and "Daydream" are nearly every bit as literal."

Yes, we all hate it when songs are actually about what their titles suggest.

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InkKC offers up yet another photo-slideshow of an afternoon at the Jones Pool. In this one, two ladies demonstrate the fine art of "water-humping" to a few "bros" standing nearby.

Ah, the Jones. We want to go to there.*




















*Outdated 30 Rock reference.