am i the only person creeped out by siren fest 2005's sponsors?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

The Village Voice Announces Initial Lineup for the
5th Annual Village Voice Siren Music Festival™
at Coney Island
Saturday, July 16, 2005

SPOON, MATES OF STATE, BRENDAN BENSON, VHS OR BETA, DUNGEN, Q AND NOT U, THE DEARS and many more scheduled to perform

New York, NY (May 31, 2005) The Village Voice, the nation’s largest alternative weekly newspaper, is excited to announce the initial line-up for the 5th Annual Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL at Coney Island on Saturday, July 16th from 12:00 noon – 9:00 p.m. Scheduled performers include Spoon, Mates Of State, Brendan Benson, VHS Or Beta, Dungen, Q And Not U, and The Dears, with many more to be announced.

This free, all-day, all-ages, music festival will feature live international, national and local bands performing on two outdoor stages in historic Coney Island. Now in its fifth year, the Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL has solidified its status as a leading outdoor indie rock event, drawing over 170,000 music fans last summer, establishing itself as a leader in showcasing indie rock veterans and emerging artists.

Budweiser returns to the Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL as the exclusive beer sponsor for the fifth consecutive year. Tower Records has signed on to be the exclusive music retail sponsor, Xbox will be the festival’s exclusive gaming console and Garnier Fructis the exclusive hair care. Other sponsors include: LG Mobile Phones, Music Player Live, Converse, Astroland and the US Army.

Please visit www.villagevoice.com/siren for continued festival updates and general information.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

What interest could the US Army possibly have in young people?

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

no clue. i guess there's just there for the sand, surf, rollercoaster and anti-war crowd.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

X-Box? Bud?! US Army?!!!

Holy shit.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

If you like those bands, you deserve to get drafted.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

clearly you missed the most important one: GARNIER FRUCTIS! ill never have to buy shampoo again.

YEAH FREEDOM!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, wow - if the Army actually sets up a booth, sparks (and chain wallets) will be a-flyin'.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

i dunno man, spoon is one of my favorite bands but i am certainly not getting my ass drafted, especially after reading this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29sun2.html

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

" If you like those bands, you deserve to get drafted. "

hahahahahahhahahahaha

― JD from CDepot, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, wow - if the Army actually sets up a booth, sparks (and chain wallets) will be a-flyin'.

They have a permanent booth, actually, right there by the freakshows.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I think if anyone can handle an unrule mob of Q and Not U fans...

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Look out, Col. Potter, they've got asymmetrical haircuts!

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

village voice, hypocritical??

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Pretty weak lineup other than Spoon. Spoon is playing 2 nights at Webster Hall in NYC. Siren is being hurt by Pitchfork's Intonation Festival which takes place the same weekend. Rumors about The Arcade Fire were circulating but i guess it didnt happen.

Maybe the Army booth can lead the crowd in target practice on VHS or Beta.

― Jockey, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

awesome, now i have a good reasonto skip the whole thing...

then again, i always end up on the beach with 2$ coronas instead of seeing the bands anyway.

― b b, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

how much money did the U.S. Army give the VV?

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm a bit disappointed by the lineup :(

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:45 (twenty-one years ago)

q and not u will totally get down with the us army.

― jane (jane), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Somehow I doubt indie-rock fans are a very good use of the Army's outreach money, target-market-wise.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Converse, too: they think they're gonna improve on total market saturation and decades of encoded brand loyalty?

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:52 (twenty-one years ago)

You gotta spend money to make money! Or soldiers. Or something.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I bet the Army scores big. Wait till you see the half-pipe they've built.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

"Converse supports indie rock: for some reason they keep buying our crappiest, oldest products! Pabst, anyone?"

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

the othe sponsors are a no brainer. its just the army's inclusion that really wigs me out.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe this is the next step following the Army's ads on MTV & other edgy Viacom stations. Bring the war to the PEOPLE!

Some band's gonna pick up on this and go off on an ill-advised rant about The Man and stuff.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe Ashcroft is going to perform...

― Jockey, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Wait a sec - the 2nd band they list after Spoon in the press release is MATES OF STATE?

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess what I assume is the Voice's general anti-war stance falls by the wayside at crunch time.

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Money talks, Christgau walks...

― Jockey, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

You'd walk too, if you had these fantastic new Converse sneakers!

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:09 (twenty-one years ago)

i sprained my ankle wearing converse sneakers.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:10 (twenty-one years ago)

in other news, Adbusters just sold ad space to H2 and Banana Republic.

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick Sylvester washes with Garnier Fructis. The Tipping Point approaches...

― Jockey, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i won a garnier fructis package at SXSW.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:26 (twenty-one years ago)

The Tipping Point is coming!

― Jockey, Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Spoon, Mates Of State, Brendan Benson, VHS Or Beta, Dungen, Q And Not U, and The Dears,>>>>>>are pro war?

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 23:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i dunno, man!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:42 (twenty-one years ago)

i would probably go see dungen, tho. have they even played in the states before?

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i think they did an other music in-store last year, never heard of anything beyond that though.

i also thought they were just one guy. guessing he's got a touring band.

― rajeev (rajeev), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:56 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.civita.no/cms/imglibs/pictures/logo_stor.gif

― latebloomer: Pain Don't Hurt (latebloomer), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

pitchfork omitted the army's sponsorship from their announcement today:

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-06/01.shtml#siren

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

TS: armed forces sponsorship vs cigarette company sponsorship?

I'd pick the former. The US could start a nuclear war with North Korea and probably kill fewer people than smoking will.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

"Spoon, Mates Of State, Brendan Benson, VHS Or Beta, Dungen, Q And Not U, and The Dears,>>>>>>are pro war?
-- dan bunnybrain (bunnybrai...), June 1st, 2005."

No, most of those bands are not pro-war (I don't know anything about Mates of State or VHS or Beta). Or, wait, were you working on a strawman argument there?

― On a Strict El Cholo Diet (Bent Over at the Arclight), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

on the one hand, i only think this is an issue if the voice starts coming out for the war, begins censoring its writers, and stops publishing work condemning it.

on the other, our troops might like to know they can't get much needed armor for their vehicles because the dears required more coldcuts on their rider.

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

i mean, if the army wanted to give me 10k for the year to subsidize my writing, i'd happily take it, provided i could put something in every article about how inept our administration and its handling of the war are and have been.

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

they'd also need to hire someone to check my grammar.

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

The full Siren lineup has not been released- these are only the bands who have confirmed. Siren usually has double this number of bands.

Arcade Fire and Ryan Adams will likely be announced shortly...

― Reggie, Thursday, 2 June 2005 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

TS: armed forces sponsorship vs cigarette company sponsorship?

I'd pick the former. The US could start a nuclear war with North Korea and probably kill fewer people than smoking will.

quite possibly the dumbest argument ive seen all day -- even worse than someone trying to defend dr. dog.

not that im saying im in favor of cigarette company sponsorship but in the scope of the event, it makes sense. the government doesnt. they're just about one of the worst organizations to have an association with at the moment. they've upped their budget for events like these but still cant afford to provide their soldiers with proper body armor? women's health initiatives were recently cut back. and who knows what abuse scandal is being covered up right now. its that level of hypocrisy that boggles my mind, and the voice is still taking their money.

my day job relies on fundraising [in fact, id probably have a full-time gig if we had more funding], so this isnt naivete on my behalf about the nature of sponsorship. but who you choose to solicit for money is something to consider, as its a reflection upon you.

contracts for some of these artists didnt include the military sponsorship -- it was added after the fact. and this has made a couple of the bands on the bill somewhat unhappy. will any of them leave?

it will be interesting to see what happens with the bands that stay on the bill -- will they say something? what if they dont?

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 2 June 2005 12:57 (twenty-one years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.