Attention. That's what's on my mind right now, sitting in the grass in Union Park at the Pitchfork Music Festival. What am I here to devote my attention to? How do I decide how to use my attention? Is attention the most important thing at an environment like this? Or is it best to have divided attention?
Are we here for art or diversion? Or other? (commerce)
Bully from Nashville starts. I'm still sitting. There's a decent crowd for the early side of the day on the smaller stage. Various forms of attention are around me. People totally focused, me with divided attention, as my attention is primarily on my thoughts. But I'm also processing the music.
If what and how we consume is dictated by marketing, is what and how we create also a product of that same marketing? Does the "I" ever have a say in creation? Is creation just an expression of consumption?, ie, what am I doing here? Is there an "I" here? Or is my "I" just someone else's creations that I've consumed? And if I've never decided what I've consumed, then how can I say I've created anything? And what have I consumed to have made me think these thoughts?
So why am I here? What's the difference between habit and ritual? There's supposed to be something sacred about ritual, right? (I may just be thinking that because a church is looking down at me) But what if you hold nothing sacred? Can that be true though, literature, the Clash, the simple act of helping someone up off the ground.
Resist the urge to check social media as a music festival. That wasn't even a concern at my first Pitchfork in 2006. What will I worry myself with at music festivals in 2025? Will I still attend music festivals?
I should call out the dudes I've seen actively littering. Or the woman behind me who called the singer's non-singing voice "cute" and "little."
Ryley Walker, Netherfriends, Jimmy Whispers. Three Chicago associated acts I've seen this weekend. So much weirdness in this city it's amazing the rest of us don't try harder.
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So the weekend wasn't totally filled with these existential ramblings. I saw a lot of artists that I'd never seen before. Ought, Bully, Ex Hex, Shamir, Sleater-Kinney, Mourn, the Julie Ruin, Courtney Barnett, and Caribou were all tops. Not to mention the surprise set by Towkio, the chill out vibes of Bitchin Bajas, hearing 'Sing Me Spanish Techno' from a distance, and Chance the Rapper who we already knew was going to put on the show of the weekend (OK, but I do regret missing the middle of Run The Jewels set to see a bit of Todd Terje and the Olsens; yeah, they're good, but RTJ is just fucking great). I bought a book from 7Vientos at the Book Fort and ate a hot dog with potato salad on top of it. And
the even better way to close out the festival after Chance finished?
Watching Velcro Lewis karaoke Stone Temple Pilot's 'Plush' at Cafe
Mustache.
The frustrating thing about reading other writeups from the weekend is the focus on the same artists over and over, even with multiple writers from the same outlet. Do four people from the same outlet really need to cover Wilco's set? Did anybody see How To Dress Well or Iceage or Future Brown? Or does Wilco get you more hits than those other artists? Blah, cynicism. I'll stop. My one other regret is not spending more time at the Book Fort. And I probably should have spent less money on beer and more on records. Oh well. There's always next year, right?
The frustrating thing about reading other writeups from the weekend is the focus on the same artists over and over, even with multiple writers from the same outlet. Do four people from the same outlet really need to cover Wilco's set? Did anybody see How To Dress Well or Iceage or Future Brown? Or does Wilco get you more hits than those other artists? Blah, cynicism. I'll stop. My one other regret is not spending more time at the Book Fort. And I probably should have spent less money on beer and more on records. Oh well. There's always next year, right?
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