I slogged through the first half of last night's main-stage-closing set by Roger Waters—which was billed as "Roger Waters
Dark Side Of The Moon"—partially out of masochism, partially in the interest of sociological research, and partially because I didn't feel like dragging my ass over to the stuffed-to-capacity-all-weekend dance tent to see Modeselektor, who were the only other act playing for the first portion of Waters' set. While it was interesting in a "so
this is who he lured out to the desert" sort of way, it was also infuriating, and at one point a friend said to me, "I can hear your eyes rolling back from here." But no portion of the evening filled me with more rage than the pre-show, which had as its visual an old-timey radio, a model airplane, and a tumbler of whiskey; every so often, a hand would reach into frame to change the station and/or refill the glass, and the stations that the hand hit on, for the most part, had a playlist that lulled the classic-rock fans in attendance into a state of self-righteousness: Bob Dylan, "Hound Dog," and "My Funny Valentine." There was also a "humorous" bit when the radio somehow was all-ABBA, all the time, and hand man couldn't escape from the tyranny of radio! ABBA! I mean, could you believe the nerve!
More »
Idolator
Supermarket shelves in other parts of the world (and at certain specialty shops in the US) contain a food product called Marmite, which is basically a bread spread made out of yeast extract. I personally tried it when I was 16, after an Australian pen pal sent me a few packets, and my Cool Ranch and Domino's-trained palate found it absolutely repellent; I haven't tried it since, because the thought of doing so makes me shiver. But apparently it's pretty divisive in the UK, to the point that the product name is actually being used by some music-biz insiders to describe certain artists who have a love-'em-or-hate-'em appeal. The musical omnivores at Popjustice explain: "the phrase describes the sort of band or artist which divides opinion as strongly as the disgusting/delicious yeasty food product Marmite. It is not a phrase used to describe how good or bad something is—there's no value judgment involved." Popjustice says that Alphabeat, the Scissor Sisters, and Bob Dylan are all "Marmite artists"—although a shitty band being pushed by a publicist to no avail is not, so don't try it next time, publicists. Confused yet? Well, in keeping with our English-class form, the term is used in context after the jump!
More »
Roger Waters' post-Coachella 
