So what is a genre again?

As exciting as this lineup sounds, what has happened to the genre? Well I think there might be a few reasons. Check out the Coachella line-up here, and the genre bashing after the jump.

Let me start by saying that in no way am I complaining: anywhere that has Flying Lotus, Portugal. The Man, De La Soul, Old Crow, Major Lazer, The Avett Brothers, and Thom Yorke, all in three days is the place I want to be. If you can figure a way to get there for the weekend, it is definitely worth the money.

It begs the question, though, as to how FlyLo and Old Crow Medicine show ever ended up performing on the same stage. What happened? In my opinion, the Internet happened. The Ipod happened. The fact that in no longer requires you to go to a record shop to hear of new music happened. Think about the old system of music discovery: the punk kids in the 80's or the grungers in the 90's would sit outside their favorite record shop, chain smoking cigs, cursing authority, talking about the album that they just listened to in the store. They would save their money, feel the gratification of ownership after finally pulling the vinyl out of the slip, and listen to it on repeat for hours, memorizing the words.

Now, everyone seems to have turned into a scene-ster. With Itunes, PirateBay, and the right music blogs, anyone can give their opinion of the new MIA album dropping, or comment on how 'badass' Alice Glass is, but really how "they've gotten too big." Accessibility knows no limits when everyone can find most every album on the internet for free. So when you've already downloaded everything Justice, Boys Noize, and MSTRKRFT, why not get off the dance kick and switch to underground hip-hop; hello, RZA, Dilla, and Samiyam!

The vanity of music intelligence is at a high point now, I think. The attitude, as a friend of mine has displayed on a t-shirt, is 'I listen to bands that don't even exist yet.' The act of memorizing the bands name and maybe an obscure track or two has now replaced the whole point of music, which is artistic communication. Coachella and the like are barely able to keep up with the pace of the Internet, but it looks like they're pulling ace to me.