Glastonbury seems to have sparked a few debates this year - which is unusual in itself, as the old duffer of the festival circuit is not controversial.. ever. It had Paul McCartney as a headliner for chrissakes.
This year is has invited an, erm, mixed bunch of entertainers to headline. These include Leonard Cohen, Kings of Leon and Jay-Z. Now I wouldn't go and see Leonard for free never mind pay good money and get caked in mud for the pleasure, Kings of Leon are ok (though we have a couple of their albums and I still can't bring to mind a single tune) but its Jay-Z i that's causing the bother - helped along by an ill-judged comment by (who-else) Noel Gallagher.
I should admit, before we even start on the subject, that I loathe hip-hop - it doesn't sound like music to me, it sounds like being shouted-at to a back beat, and the bling, misogyny (the women in the videos are failing to advance the cause of feminism), self-aggrandisement and violent sentiment are the icing on the cake. Plus, and, this is a big thing for me, I like to sing along to a good song and rapping along is not really going to work.
I suspect that the unease caused by the appearance of Jay-Z has a lot to do with this as well: festival crowds love a good sing-song. I went to T in the Park a few years ago and saw, amongst others, Keane and the Foo Fighters - both scored with the crowd of course, but Keane had the palpable hit, because, weirdly, their little ballads became rip-roaring stadium sing-a-longs roared out by the crowd. Coldplay and Radiohead are much the same, even the much maligned Oasis provoke the urge to join-in. A rich rapper, shouting about his money, bling and booty-supply are not going to have quite the same visceral appeal - and we all know it.
Leonard and Leon are popular with the people that they're popular with (if you see what I mean) but they're hardly mass appeal either (especially Leonard - many people only know him as the composer of Hallelejah - transformed from an embarrassing dirge into musical manna by both Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley).
I don't think Glasto is going to be a wash-out this year but I think the tide is turning against it - there are so many festivals these days - many with tailor made line ups and most with less history of mud - T in the Park is a good one for rabble rousers, the V festivals are huge, elsewhere the Tartan Heart and Hydro Connect have pleasing line-ups and attractive camping. So no-one has to compromise and put up with some arrogant rapper for the sake of someone they do like and that is why Glasto and Jay-z is not going to be a success.