It has been ten years since the then newly reunited Stone Roses headlined Coachella on Friday, April 12, 2013. When I saw this video post of Jim Lahey's new song and dance from The Trailer Park Boys handle The Shitmobile, my first thought was Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown dancing to "Fools Gold."
Here is the video (minute 8:28) of Ian Brown bobbing and weaving like a toned-down Bez from Happy Mondays. As he moves, looking a little lit up, Brown shakes two tambourine sticks, his groovy version of dancing, during the solos for their hit "Fools Gold."
Check out this video of Trailer Park Boy's Jim Lahey dancing and singing. Lahey is holding two drinks and looking a little lit up and a little like Ian Brown. "I'm standing alone/I'm watching you all/I'm seeing you sinking/I'm standing alone/You're weighing the gold/I'm watching you sinking/Fool's gold."
Jim Lahey clearly intends this new rug cutter to go viral: "You know what is wrong with the world today? No new dances. Remember in the old days, you'd 'Hucklebuck', and doin' 'the twist,' and 'look at my bird,' and don't look at my bird. Well, I got a brand new dance that is going to bring peace and disharmony into the world. It's called the Jim Lahey dance. You ready? Anyone can do it." He then proceeds to sing while holding two drinks, that pattern would dictate are filled with whiskey. After a warning to not drink and drive, the tune ends with the king of s*** talk scatting to his own rhythm.
Historical note, if you think ten years counts as history: the headlining choice for the Friday night slot of the 2013 music festival of the then recently reunited band was a curious choice, according to Jason Lipshutz from Billboard Magazine, who offered his perspective "Coachella is not and never will be a popularity contest, but if it was, the brilliant Stone Roses would have lost…"Who are the Stone Roses?" dozens of Twitter users frustratedly asked when the 2013 lineup was revealed. By sliding them in as the Friday headliner, the Coachella brass wanted to triumphantly answer that question. In doing so, it once again embraced the idea of an "alternative" music festival, with artists and experiences that could not be duplicated sometime later in the summer."
Lipshutz ends with some unsolicited advice to the festival organizers, and his clear bias towards Blur, "There's a lot of positivity in what Coachella is trying to accomplish by naming a band like the Stone Roses as one of its headliners: no other U.S. festival would have that opportunity or take that chance, and the favor that the Indio name has collected over the years has helped these must-see reunions find a centralized home. Let's just hope that the festival organizers take more stock in what people want to see most from its headliners next year, in order to avoid more puzzling selections like having "I Am The Resurrection" close out the night instead of Blur's gorgeous set closer, "The Universal."
People see what they want to see. Choices are always present. Not everyone has the same options.
