By Rya Backer

As a production assistant, my duties on the 29th floor vary. A lot. So when it was confirmed this morning that Depeche Mode would be headlining Lollapalooza, I was brought back to a few weeks ago, when I did nothing for days but watch archived interviews with the British new-wave act — a task that had to be taken care of for MTV News Canada.

After watching hours upon hours of the band, or just the lead singer, Dave Gahan, talk about everything from fashion to their feelings on Erasure, I feel like I kind of know the guys, and there’s so much to know about them. Let’s just say their “Behind the Music” episode was deep — rife with drugs, bandmembers hating each other and subsequently quitting, and worlds of other gory rock-and-roll cliché details. But they’ve also sold more than 100 million records, and their sonic style is credited with influencing bands as diverse as Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead and Linkin Park.
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I have, on occasion, been accused of being a bit of a jerk.

Generally speaking, I find these accusations to be totally unfounded, though, when it comes to the articles I tend to write about summer festivals — like this one, where I bitch about the Coachella lineup not having enough “sizzle,” or this one about Bonnaroo, where I make 10,000 hippie jokes and wondered if “I am allowed to bill MTV for hazard pay” — I can kind of see what my detractors are talking about. Perhaps I can be kind of a jerk sometimes.

So, with this morning’s announcement of the Lollapalooza lineup, I decided to try something different: Positivity.

Rather than complain about the Lolla headliners (must … fight … urge … to make Killers joke …), or make some joke about how Perry Farrell still believes that DJs can save the universe, I’m going to pick out 10 acts that make Lollapalooza 2009 totally worth it.

Who made my list? Read on to find out.

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By Bryn Bennett, lead guitar player for Bang Camaro

(Editors’ note: MTV News asked Bang Camaro to help us cover Lollapalooza and they were happy to oblige! The band’s Bryn Bennett wrote this blog; Alex Necochea shot the video.)

“Load-in is at 8:15am?!” This is terrible news for a rock band. We travel around the country in stinky vans, make no money and don’t take showers for many reasons. One of them is so that we don’t have to wake up at 7 a.m. like the rest of corporate America. It was Lollapalooza though, and Radiohead was going to be sound-checking at the same time, so I guess this early wakeup was worth it.

We pulled into Chicago from Boston at about 1 a.m. on Friday, had a few cans of beer and some of us did our best to fall asleep. Others of us attack life with the same vigor as a cat attacks a mouse, sometimes with the same bloody results.

(Watch Bang Camaro “interview” the Black Lips, plus get medieval after the jump!)
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Lollapalooza 2008 is a wrap, but that doesn’t mean you’re up on everything that went down this past weekend in Chicago. Let’s break it down day-by-day …

Friday: Radiohead dazzled the glassy-eyed crowd, opting to play some of their more low-key songs amid a digital rain shower. The fans appreciated the soft landing after a frenetic day with CSS, the Cool Kids, the Black Lips and others. (Read more about Day 1.)

Saturday: The festival took a violent turn during Rage Against the Machine’s set, as aggressive fans overstepped their bounds and the band urged them to calm down. It was an ugly and unfortunate end to what had been an otherwise idyllic day in Grant Park with Lupe Fiasco, the Ting Tings and more. (Read more about Day 2.)

Sunday: Lollapalooza 2008 wrapped up Sunday night not with an appearance by Illinois Senator Barack Obama (as had been rumored all weekend), but rather, with a much-hyped showdown between homecoming king Kanye and Trent Reznor’s rejuvenated Nine Inch Nails. (Read more about Day 3.)

For even more on Lolla (yes, more!), check out all our coverage here in the Newsroom blog.

Lollapalooza may be a massive festival that draws people from all over the country, but in a lot of ways it belongs to the city that hosts it. What was once a traveling rock caravan has become a fixture here, occupying the entirety of Grant Park and then some, right on the shores of Lake Michigan, and surrounded by the city skyline including the iconic John Hancock building.

Hometown pride is in evidence all around, from the Cubs gear everywhere you turn (first place, is this the year?) to the t-shirts representing for a hometown hero who has captured the attention of the world and may soon capture the White House. And of course, to the Chicago musicians - Kanye, Lupe, Cool Kids, Wilco and a certain irresistible young woman named Kid Sister. With a debut album out, having just finished an energetic midday set, and looking great in a bright purple dress, she made her way with us to the middle of the park, to a landmark, Buckingham Fountain, where she bonded with some fans and we got a first hand taste of Windy City pride.

Back before they were the latest sensation to bubble up from the blogosphere, the Black Kids were just, well, kids. And growing up in sleepy Jacksonville, Florida, they didn’t get to witness a whole lot of rock (Jax ain’t exactly the first place bands book shows when heading down through the Sunshine State). So, when Lollapalooza rolled through their town, they were understandably excited.

The only problem? They usually didn’t have enough cash to pick up tickets, so they were forced to come up with more, uh, creative ways of entering the festival: they snuck in. But this wasn’t your usual bum-rush-the-barricade operation (as displayed by, oh, thousands of Rage Against The Machine fans last night), it was an intricately choreographed routine they dubbed “the double diversion.”

These days, they don’t need to sneak in to much—they’re on the bill for practically everything, after all—but they were kind enough to demonstrate the finer points of the double diversion for all of you, which you can see after the jump.
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After 12 hours of sun, sweat and music, we thought we were ready to stick a fork in Saturday (especially after Rage Against The Machine beat us into submission). But when Pete Wentz extends an invitation, you accept (after all, he’s kind of MTV family now). So there we were, tucked away in the closest thing that his Angels & Kings club has to a quiet spot hanging with Cobra Starship, The Academy Is… and, of course, our host (and the Mrs). Pete was fresh from Grant Park where he took in as much of Lolla as he could (though he told us that, ironically, an “artist” credential means there’s really nowhere to watch the show), while Cobra Starship and The Academy Is… are both in the middle of Warper Tour runs.

Gabe Saporta and company managed to summon the energy for a late night performance, grooving through a fistful of songs “to have sex to” as he put it. The house was packed with old friends, and a warm vibe filled the room. Still, a couple of the guys we talked to admitted to having Lolla envy. See what Pete and The Academy Is… had to say about Lollapalooza taking over Chicago after the jump.

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We started the third and final day of Lollapalooza with a toddler-friendly interview with Gnarls Barkley on the steps of the Kidzapalooza stage (in between sets from the Homemade Jamz Blues Band and the Jimmies, of course).

Cee-lo and Danger Mouse spoke about the mind-melting video for “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,” and DM’s upcoming projects (sorta … “I’ve got stuff in the works, but nothing I wanna talk about,” he mumbled), but what they really wanted to discuss was the set by they had just witnessed by the aforementioned Homemade Jamz.

In fact, they were so impressed that they brought 9-year-old drummer Taya Perry — truly the finest mini kit-master in Tupelo, Mississippi — onto the stage to take part in the interview. Because, after all, Gnarls loves the kids.

(Watch Gnarls after the jump!)
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It’s been a long, long time since I danced in public. But if there was ever a time to bust out some of my solid gold moves, the final afternoon of Lollapalooza was it. The day dawned hot and steamy, and not just because of the sizzling heat. Chicago’s own Kid Sister continued what appears to be a growing tradition on the South Stage (despite their sponsorship of the stage, AT&T’s service has gotten half a bar from just about everyone I’ve spoken to, so I’m ignoring their naming rights), following in the heels of fellow Chi-town MC Lupe Fiasco, who killed on those boards on Saturday. (Sunday’s closer will feature the King of Chicago, Kanye West, taking what will now be known as the Home Stage.)

Sister, accompanied by three female dancers in futuristic football gear and face paint, sashayed across the stage in a flirty summer dress and got the crowd bouncing to summer jams like “Pro Nails,” at one point bringing out a seven-piece crew of female backup dancers who were painted gold head-to-toe.

(Check out Kid Sister and her dancers after jump!)
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by Jared Piccone of innerpartysystem on Saturday, August 2nd

When you become a full fledged touring band, the things that used to move and excite you early on, like actually playing for a crowd, can unfortunately sometimes become a lower priority on the self-satisfaction scale. For instance, we’ve been on tour for quite some time now. Don’t get me wrong, playing in front of a crowd that gives a s–t about your music is the ultimate rush, but when you start to do it day in and day out, you get numb to it sometimes. You need a refreshing experience. Something to remind you why you started doing this in the first place. That was Lollapalooza.
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