Using the Interweb to prepare for Pitchfork, Lollapalooza

Chicago’s two biggest summer music festivals are approaching fast. With about 180 bands hitting the Windy City for Pitchfork (July 18-20) and Lollapalooza (Aug. 1-3), it’s time to get ready for a musical smorgasbord of big names acts, rising stars and relatively unknown talents. One of the best parts of these large fests is exploring the unknown, and possibly discovering a new favorite to add to your iPod.

Sure, there’s something special about getting blown away by a band when you weren't expecting it. But at the same time, there’s some value in being prepared. Even if you’re not completely familiar with a band, knowing just a few bandwagon songs can give you something to look forward to.

However, most of don’t have the time or money to start buying albums just to get to know all these bands. But thanks to the glorious Interweb, free music abounds. So with less than a week ‘til Pitchfork (and three ‘til Lollapalooza), grab some headphones, jump on that computer and start exploring. Here’s some links to help you get started.

• Let’s begin with the obvious choice. For the second consecutive year, Pitchfork has put together its own free festival sampler available for download at eMusic. These 24 diverse tracks may help you decide how to maneuver the festival’s three stages. Among the sampler’s highlights is the opening track: Mission of Burma’s “Academy Fight Song.” I never really knew much about this 80’s punk band, but listening to “Academy Fight Song” makes me wish I would’ve also bought a Friday ticket (the band will be playing their seminal album Vs. in its entirety). A few other stand-outs are Cut Copy’s “Light and Music,” Spiritualized’s “Soul on Fire” and No Age’s “Neck Escaper.”

• While you’re perusing eMusic’s Web site, you might as well take advantage of the site’s free trial offer. Signing up for the service usually comes with either 25 or 50 free songs. But you can really make it worth your time with the offer for 100 free songs (if it's not being offered, here's another link). If you find eMusic isn’t a service for you, just cancel your account and keep the free 100 tunes – no strings attached. This is a great way to explore some albums you normally would never buy. You won’t find every band you’re looking for, but there’s still a nice catalog to choose from.

• Next, there’s NPR music, one of best music sites out there. All Songs Considered’s Live in Concert series features audio and video snippets from live shows by a handful of artists coming to town for P4K and Lolla.

Pitchfork artists include Spoon, Vampire Weekend, The Hold Steady, Fleet Foxes, Dizzee Rascal.

Lollapalooza acts include The Raconteurs, Wilco, Yeasayer, Broken Social Scene, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Black Kids and Does it Offend You, Yeah?, DeVotchKa, The Black Keys and The Weakerthans.

• Though most people are familiar with Radiohead. Some of us don’t know what to expect live in concert. To help with that, there’s Radiohead Not For Profit, a site with free downloadable shows archived from this year’s tour. The recordings aren’t from the soundboard, so the audio is far from pristine. But considering the price tag, they’re still definitely worth checking out. Most of the setlists seem rather similar, so these downloads should be a preview of what’s to come at Lollapalooza (double and triple encores!).

• And finally, there’s YouTube. Fans armed with digital cameras and camera phones have uploaded tons of concert footage. So if you’re looking for a glimpse of a band performing live, just tool around on this site for a while. Here's some links to a few worthwhile clips including Radiohead playing "Idioteque with a little freak-out dance by Thom Yorke, !!! from last year's Lollapalooza offering some hilarious freak-out dancing of their own and a taste of the experimental rock gurus Animal Collective, who will be headlining Pitchfork this Saturday.

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Jim Collins
Jim Collins follows Chicago's live music scene for the Windy Citizen with his Live Wire blog. He recently graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a master's degree in new media. Prior to that, he worked as a reporter for one of the Sun Times News Group's suburban newspapers and a small daily in southwestern Michigan. Jim's also a music junkie, who appreciates a wide range of musical tastes. From hipster to hippy, raver to rapper, he likes it all. More