Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza

Last year was my first time at Lollapallooza so I wanted to know more about its history, I find this doc very interesting but.... I don't know WHY it was made all about Perry Farnell, someone who's only contributions is to be the singer of a forgotten band and who succeeded (by accident) in the first festival, but he actually thinks he is something of a "Rock Jesuschrist" when in reality, the festival DID DIED during his ownership and was only resuscitated and make the success there is today thanks to an external company that managed many other music festivals.... still... great documentary!!!

I'm a late Gen-xer, junior high in the early 90's, but damn did that music move me! Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, Rage, Ice Cube, the entire Grunge era!! My god, how lucky I feel to have been a teen at that time... Fast forward to today, I'm not sure what this says about society or young folks now, but when the documentary starts to show the Lollapalooza lineups of recent years, I can't help but wonder if we had it rough, or do they have it too easy now? Because the stark difference in not only genres from today and 30 years ago, but the messages that are conveyed in the music have flipped 180. Before it was, well, literally rage against the machine. Now it's love songs(Miley Cyrus), shake your ass songs(Sza, Ice Spice) or straight up pop music/top 40 (Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish)... I'm not meaning to judge better or worse, I'm wondering why this type of music resonates with young people now? Has life become too easy? To me, it seems like young people should be MORE angry than we were, yet their art doesn't seem to reflect that.

Also, there's seems to have been a shift in political alignment and musical taste. The younger folks I've met who are into more heavy, rock, Rage-type music now seem to lean more conservative, whereas the "activist" type, with liberal leaning seem to enjoy more of the pop, light, "fun" styles of music. 30 years ago, we were liberal but angry as f@*k. Hmm just my observation, especially watching the last episode of this mini-doc series. It really made me take notice, the stark difference.

Also, whatever. Music is awesome, and wholly subjective, so whatever gets you going is great music to you.

But, TOOL, NIN, Nirvana, Cypress Hill, Ice Cube forever, man! God I'm getting old.

Where's the sound? Watching on Paramount Plus and the commercials are nice and loud but this documentary itself is extremely quiet. I have the sound on 100 and I can barely hear it. Horrible production.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

I stopped watching this after Flea, and Matt said that Jane's Addiction were game changers! Iggy Pop and the Pixies did it first and better. Jane's Addiction is a ok band that started a concert that celebrated bands with way more talent than they had. Perry Farrell does not deserve the celebrity he has received. I would love to watch a documentary about lollapalooza but not if it means suffering through a fool acting like he had any real substance to add to the music seen! We won't make great pets and he won't make great music! I do appreciate that this was a huge festival, but we need to understand that big doesn't equal quality. There is something to be said for a concert with an opener and a headliner. Keep it simple stupid!

A documentary detailing the death and commercialization of a truly unique idea to bring people together.

The original idea - bring culture and alternative music to rural areas where people are never exposed to such a thing, keep ticket prices low so "the kids can see it" - Rebellion is a thing for the youth.. and Lolla started that way. Showcasing bands many may never have heard of. TRAVELING within the US to expose the country's youth to art and music which was DIFFERENT than the mainstream media was pushing. Episode one lays out the original mindset very well....

But it all devolved. "Grammy" should never be a phrase heard regarding any Lolla act.. but that's what it is today. F

Lolla no longer brings music to rural areas where kids can afford to go see it.. now they book big label backed pop stars (what's "alternative" about that?) and ONLY play Chicago, Lolla doesn't bother touring within the US at all, and Lolla then travels the world in a quest for more money, ... it's all about the dollar, not art.

This entire documentary builds to an excuse and justification for the commercialization. If Farrell can not see how Lolla has COMPLETELY lost the message, he's blind, or just lying to the audience or perhaps himself. Ferrell got old and sold out and Lolla devolved into a commercialized money-maker. Nothing wrong with selling out.. but at least own in.

Ferrell is kidding himself if he thinks it's still "about the music" it CLEARLY is not. With acts such as Lady Gaga, Chance the Rapper, and Miley Cyrus.... Music is CLEARLY unimportant and merely the vehicle to profits.

What a pathetic thing Lollapalooza has become. It is absolutely NOTHING special now and only serves as a profit machine.

I don't know how ANYONE can watch episode 1 of these series, then watch episode 3.. and think Lolla is anything other than a money-grubbing venture today.