(Font) Size Matters

He may have 5 million followers on YouTube and a Grammy-nominated co-sign from EMINEM, but as far as LOLLAPALOZA is concerned, JOYNER LUCAS was a small-font name on the 10th row of a festival poster. At least until Wednesday, when the Massachusetts rapper took to Twitter to complain about the font size, to sort of threaten one of the pop stars in big type on the second row, and to tell the fest, "take my f**in name off that flier. I ain’t agree to that lineup." Lollapalooza appears to have complied with his wishes. As of Wednesday night, Lucas' name had disappeared from the poster. No such complaints have been heard—yet—from the 100x millionaire investment banker on the 19th row, though it may just be that money buys you the right not to have to complain about anything.

In other words, hi, live music appears to be back, sort of, for now anyway. Caveat masks. Caveat ventilation. Caveat gas prices. Etc. You will not be surprised, I don't think, to hear LIVE NATION CEO MICHAEL RAPINO say, "Tickets seem to be flying out of the door both from the front seat to the back. So we’re looking still for a record ’22 across the globe." Pollstar is reporting that artists like BAD BUNNY, BILLIE EILISH and DUA LIPA are filling up touring calendars particularly early this year and "The Great Glut of 2022" appears to be upon us. Good. Music fans have been waiting a long time. Bands have been waiting a long time. Venues have been waiting a long time. Be careful out there. Be kind and respectful to others. Be smart. Dance.

COACHELLA—the first Coachella since 2019—is in three weeks (!), with HARRY STYLES, BILLIE EILISH and KANYE WEST in the headline slots and a significant change away from the main festival grounds. PAPPY & HARRIETT'S, the iconic site of many a Coachella sideshow, is in the middle of a whopper of a legal fight among the partners who bought the venue a year ago. The majority owners, including the KNITTING FACTORY, sued their partners JOSEPH MORESCO and LISA ELIN, who they say locked them out of the operation soon after the deal closed, mismanaged the business and ruined relationships with artists and promoters, according to this epic account behind a paywall at the Desert Sun. Moresco says he blocked bookings that "either made little economic sense to the partnership and/or based upon my reasonable business judgment did not fit the genre of [Pappy and Harriet's]," and his and Elin's lawyers call the lawsuit frivolous. The room is open in the meantime. Locals and regulars don't seem very happy. Fantastic reporting by Desert Sun reporters BRIAN BLUESKYE and JAMES B. CUTCHIN.

Etc Etc Etc

Speaking of the Knitting Factory, here's a short story about MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, the first woman to serve as secretary of state of the US, who died Wednesday, and JOHN ZORN, LOU REED, LAURIE ANDERSON and Czech President VACLAV HAVEL and his wife (original source: SF Weekly)... And here, apparently, is the holy s*** monetary value of having PUSHA T do a jingle for your fast food restaurant. If you're looking for more background on the iconic, 19-year-old MCDONALD'S jingle that started this fast food jingle war, and who isn't, here's Pitchfork's 2016 account of "The Contentious Tale of the McDonald’s 'I’m Lovin’ It' Jingle," and here's the great podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz on delving deep into "one of the most recognizable melodies in the world."

Rest in Peace

Composer and percussionist WILLIAM KRAFT, who was noted for his writing for timpani and other underutilized percussion instruments. He was also a longtime fixture at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he spent 18 years as principal timpanist... Bay Area punk/post-punk guitarist MICHAEL BELFER, a member of the Sleepers, Tuxedomoon and Black Lab... Tour marketing executive ALLISON CANZANELLA, who worked with artists including Chance the Rapper, Paul McCartney and Billy Joel at AEG and Madison House.