By Karen Glauber
12 years ago today, I was at KROQ, waiting for Arcade Fire to play live on-air, a few days before they won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Six years ago today, The Lumineers played a set at the Grammy Museum for KROQ, just prior to their performance at the MusiCares show honoring Tom Petty. Last week, I was at iHeart with Wet Leg, while the band recorded three songs and an interview with Booker & Stryker for playback that afternoon, just missing the chance to meet Måneskin, who arrived moments after we left. I love Grammy week.
“And the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album goes to Wet Leg!” Ignoring the appropriate response of the Domino gang I’d tagged along with, I jumped up and started applauding wildly. You can’t take me anywhere. Moments after the band’s acceptance speech (“magical” was their key word for the events unfolding around them), the band received their second Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance for “Chaise Longue.” Further displays of exuberance were witnessed by others, while Wet Leg comported themselves with grace and gratitude. Thank you to Domino’s Kris Gillespie for inviting me to bear witness to the Recording Academy’s culture-shifting acknowledgement of Wet Leg’s triumphant year.
The only way the day could’ve been better: If Spoon or IDLES had won for Best Rock Album. Being a Spoon fan is one of the key ways I define who I am, in case you haven’t noticed.
Since the Grammys, Wet Leg’s already formidable streaming has increased by more than 25%. Radio’s response this week was the stuff of dreams: Lisa Worden added “Wet Dream” into iHeart Custom, while Kevin Weatherly added “Angelica” into Select across all Audacy Alt stations. This is my idea of a celebration!
Because I was “out in the world” for a week, I’ve taken at least a dozen rapid tests and just had my third PCR. If the latest test is negative, I’m going to buy lottery tickets.
I did buy tickets this week, swept up in the excitement of the presale for AEG’s new multi-night, multi-city, multi-weekend Re:SET FESTIVAL, which will be in Pasadena on the weekend of 6/3-5. Here’s how this festival works (and infinite props to our old friend Rich Holtzman for being one of its primary architects): Re:SET will hit 12 cities this summer across four weekends. Three headliners were chosen, one for each night: Steve Lacy, boygenius and LCD Soundsystem. These artists curated their lineups, which will create a cohesive feel for each day. Toro Y Moi, James Blake and Fousheé will be on the same bill as Steve Lacy. Bartees Strange, Dijon and Clairo will be sharing the stage with headliner boygenius. Big Freedia/L’Rain, my beloved IDLES, Jamie XX (and others) will be opening for LCD Soundsystem, which is my favorite of the three shows. The festival will take place over four weekends, one weekend in each region of the country, with each artist playing a full set in three cities per weekend.
I think this model is brilliant—it reminds me of the KNDD/KNRK/Live105/KROQ/KBZT caravan of Christmas shows past. Other markets for this festival include San Francisco,, San Diego, Detroit, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Boston, New York City and Philadelphia. I hope AEG takes care of radio, and I hope radio appreciates how meaningful the headliners are to their markets.
The other summer event that is preordained to sell out is the Lovejoy tour. Maybe you’ve heard the new single, “Call Me What You Like.” My kid was counting the seconds until the song appeared on Spotify at 9pm last night. Lovejoy is their favorite band, and I expect our summer plans will include Lovejoy shows in far-flung locations. Can’t wait.
It’s a big deal that SiriusXM added Arlo Parks’ “Weightless.” What a phenomenal artist and what a spectacular song! Here’s the thing: In between event releases from Depeche Mode and Linkin Park and the ’90s Gold that makes up the bulk of your playlist, you should be playing ALTERNATIVE MUSIC by ALTERNATIVE ARTISTS. WWCD’s Laura Lee referred to the not-so-alternative songs that are cluttering the chart as “musical seat fillers.” New-music discovery needs to extend beyond liking a record in your office. Thank you.
