Lollapalooza, the festival I remember as a child as the “Red Hot Chilli Peppers play with their willies out” is trying its damndest to make me forget all about that. On April 7th, in the wee hours of the morning, the most fantastic lineup has come about, one to make Coachella would be attendees rethink Indio, and possibly move along the greater Chicago Area for a few days. The festival takes place August 1st - 3rd at Grant Park in Chicago, and though the early bird tickets are sold out, the $190 advanced passes are making this seem like the best deal since Radiohead released In Rainbows for ‘whatever the heck you want to pay.‘

Headling, as you may know, will be the noted Radiohead, last years Coachella closer Rage Against the Machine, Trent Reznors Nine Inch Nails and ‘‘George Bush still doesn’t care about black peoples,’ Kanye West. Other extreme notables are Gnarls Barkley (The Odd Couple released on March 18th), Brand New, The Gutter Twins, Grizzly Bear, personal favorite Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, as well as The Ting Tings (KEXP song of the day April 3rd). If you’re still up in the air about what festival to attend this year, time to make up your mind. I figure with 115 bands, you’re roughly paying $1.75 per act. That’s fantastic.

Download your copy of the festival line up here.

Genre: indie rock, alternative, acoustic

Why we like it: Any band that can pull off a cd with 8 members without it sounding like trash day is alright by us. Lead singer and mastermind of MNSS, Richard Andrews, writes beautiful lyrics you could possibly never relate to, but really want to. This is one cd that didn’t leave our player for at least a month, and frequently makes return trips. New release slated for 2008, and we can’t wait.

Why we don’t: The Cat song. We have no idea what Andrews is talking about, and the chorus ‘meow, meow, meow,’ is a sore listen for any cat hater. If you love cats, be our guest to love this song. Production is a bit lo-fi at times, and isn’t the same throughout all of Dust of Retreat.

Like Artists: The Format, Archer Avenue, Damien Rice