Daydreaming

January 5, 2017 11:08 AM

Originally from Afropunk: Coachella , the über-fest hailed by music's intelligentsia and many progressives, set to take place in April has been making headlines (but not at music's most revered places) for its owner Philip Anschutz, "a climate change denier ... who has donated some of his billions to anti-gay organizations."
posted by kevathens (17 comments total)

Stereogum's item
posted by kevathens at 11:23 AM on January 5, 2017

I'd hate to see what Anschluss Entertainment Group contributes to
posted by thelonius at 11:25 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

Rich influential people continue to suck
posted by saturday_morning at 11:25 AM on January 5, 2017 [8 favorites]

I'm interested in researching a theory that many times, a wealthy person becomes so not from empowerment of others, but from oppressing those around them.
posted by alex_skazat at 11:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

Well, it's nice to know that the camps the Koch brothers want to put us in will have a decent entertainment lineup.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:55 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

I was never going to attend Coachella, due to a combination of needing to travel across the country, rent a hotel, and pay out the nose for three days music with a lineup where 90% of the bands I have either never heard of or don't like. Fortunately, for the acts I do want to see, there's usually been livestreaming for the last few years.

This year, I think I shall skip even the livestream. There's only one band I'd want to see on this year's lineup I care about anyway (New Order), and if skipping it takes some money out of this fascist's hands, it's worth it.
posted by SansPoint at 12:01 PM on January 5, 2017

Who could ever have predicted that so many rich business owners would turn out to have terrible politics! It's almost as though there is some connection between one's role in the production process and one's political interests.
posted by enn at 12:09 PM on January 5, 2017 [13 favorites]

To me, the notability of this runs sort of the opposite direction. Like, how much of the anti-gay (and anti-public-school and so on) agenda is really about making sure that conservative votes line up for pro-business interests. You can't say that this is all about his genuine conservative Christian beliefs when he's okay with profiting off of this kind of entertainment. This is evidence that his religion is money; he's anti-gay because being anti-gay keeps the regulations away. But all the more reason not to financially support anything affiliated with people who do this, because they will understand no other message.
posted by Sequence at 12:31 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm interested in researching a theory that many times, a wealthy person becomes so not from empowerment of others, but from oppressing those around them.

It's well-documented, and it's called capitalism. (Well, exploitation of workers is not unique to capitalism, but slavery and feudalism are more obvious in their exploitation of laborers to benefit the owners.)

Snarky comments aside, Coachella can be a blast. I really enjoyed the first few years, but I'm not sure it holds any particular place above other festivals. Sure, it's had mega-headliners for a while, but you're still getting an abbreviated show (maybe an hour long set from headliners, 45 minutes for some earlier groups, etc.), plus getting and staying there can suck a lot of the fun out of the experience. And it's the frickin' desert, people - why not hold it in February or March, instead of the end of April, when you're likely to get well into the 90s?

My favorite festival is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free festival in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. Instead of tromping around a beat-up patch of polo field, you wander through pines to see the shows. Treasure Island Festival, on Treasure Island, SF, CA, is also fun, in part because it's so much smaller.

For me, festivals are fun because I get to see live groups I wouldn't otherwise see, and Coachella was the first big one in my area of California, which made it worth the drive. But I was young and foolish, when driving through the night after running and dancing in the desert until midnight seemed like a good idea.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:31 PM on January 5, 2017

I'm the opposite, as I have always hated festivals. The sound sucks, you can't see the band at all, everything is overpriced, and I hate being surrounded by giant throngs of sweaty assholes. I don't mind smaller throngs of sweaty assholes in clubs where the sound rules and the band is right fucking there.

The "owner of Coachella" thing is a weird lede; to my mind it creates a vision of someone involved at the ground floor, building the festival and artistic vision, rather than the owner of an entertainment conglomerate that also owns a company that owns Coachella. It's gross, but not especially surprising, I guess.

One more reason to go see small tours and local acts! Fuck off, Goldenvoice.
posted by Existential Dread at 1:24 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

Subhead: Cocteau Twins find new excuse
posted by Sys Rq at 2:02 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

For me, festivals are fun because I get to see live groups I wouldn't otherwise see, and Coachella was the first big one in my area of California, which made it worth the drive. But I was young and foolish, when driving through the night after running and dancing in the desert until midnight seemed like a good idea.

Also, back in the day, you could just buy a single-day ticket, which at least spared me the trouble of getting a hotel or a campsite or anything. I drove up in 2004 from San Diego on the day Radiohead, Trail of the Dead, and the Pixies played, and then drove home that night and it was fine (although I didn't get home until ~7am). But yeah, well over 100 degrees that day - it's really a dice roll with the weather.
posted by LionIndex at 2:30 PM on January 5, 2017

Finding out AEG was behind Goldenvoice was a bit of a bummer, given that it means FYFest is also an AEG production.
posted by klangklangston at 3:37 PM on January 5, 2017

And it's the frickin' desert, people - why not hold it in February or March, instead of the end of April, when you're likely to get well into the 90s?

I went to the first one in October 1999 and the weather was MISERABLE. April is a vast improvement... but you're right, having it in February or March (maybe a week or two before or after SXSW) would make a lot of sense.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:54 PM on January 5, 2017

fork
posted by kevathens at 4:56 PM on January 5, 2017

Stone
posted by kevathens at 5:06 PM on January 5, 2017

(From the Rolling Stone article)

"Recent claims published in the media that I am anti-LGBTQ are nothing more than fake news – it is all garbage," he wrote. "I unequivocally support the rights of all people without regard to sexual orientation. We are fortunate to employ a wealth of diverse individuals throughout our family of companies, all of whom are important to us – the only criteria on which they are judged is the quality of their job performance; we do not tolerate discrimination in any form."
He also claimed to endorse foundations that supported gay and lesbian rights. "Both the Anschutz Foundation and I contribute to numerous organizations that pursue a wide range of causes," he wrote. "Neither I nor the Foundation fund any organization with the purpose or expectation that it would finance anti-LGBTQ initiatives, and when it has come to my attention or the attention of the Anschutz Foundation that certain organizations either the Foundation or I have funded have been supporting such causes, we have immediately ceased all contributions to such groups."
Asked about giving to those specific groups, a rep for Anschutz said, "We have immediately ceased all contributions to such groups."

So either it's "fake news," or it's real news (possibly, but improbably, even to him) and reporting it had a positive effect.

But, hey, how about the climate change denial, buddy? No word on that.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:48 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]