The new observation tower at Chicago’s Sears Tower now open to non-acrophobic guests…

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What a lineup this year and the official schedule was just released today! From “Band of Horses” to “Lou Reed” to “Neko Case” to “Gomez.” Or if you prefer to be more obscure, why not check out “Zap! Mama” or “The Low Anthem”? However you decide, the Lollapaloza official site makes it super easy to make your custom schedule with the bands you want to see. Then share the schedule on Facebook, Twitter and even check your schedule with your mobile phone. Everything is slick and ticks nicely.

Now I consider myself fairly up to the minute with popular music, but I’ve gotta admit that there are a ton of bands on here I’ve never heard of. Again, Perry Farrel and his gang of techies to the rescue. The main site does an excellent job showcasing (nearly) each band with a bio, description and usually a couple of streaming files of some of their tracks.

At any rate, I haven’t got time to write right now. I’ve got to get over there and put together my schedule. Looks like the Sunday lineup has a lot of conflicts. “Band of Horses” or “Silversun Pickups”? Decisions decisions. Sheesh!

Last year’s Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago was certainly a highlight of the year – maybe THE highlight of the year. The logistics of how the entire thing was pulled off was nothing short of spectacular. If you missed it, never miss is again!

The official Lolla web site is pretty intuitive and as the concert(s) scheduled date approaches ever closer, the site will become even more interactive with band bios and streaming listening posts. Added this year is the social networking tool with which you can share your lineup and schedule with friends, post everything to your Facebook profile, get editable mobile schedule and of course a Twitter feed.

And now for the good news: today the full lineup was announced. Umm… holy shit?

Depeche Mode, Beastie Boys, Jane’s Addiction (a band I would cut off my pinky finger to see), Band of Horses, Neko Case, Kings of Leon, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, SNOOP DOGG!, Gomez, Silversun Pickups, TV on the Radio, Santigold, Crystal Castles, Of Montreal, Raveonettes, Portugal. The Man, Thievery Corp, Atmosphere, The Killers and Lou fuckin Reed along with a shit ton more.

See the full lineup over at the official web site. Barring death, I’ll see you in Chicago on August 7th!

In Friday’s edition of the Chicago Tribune, it was reported that three of the headliners for this summer’s annual Lollapalooza festival had been chosen. Reps for the festival wouldn’t confirm, but journalist Greg Kot claims that Jane’s Addiction, Depeche Mode and The Beastie Boys will be three of the major acts performing. These actually sound like plausible choices and I guess we’ll see if Kot’s connections serve him well when the official lineup is announced on April 21.

I was one of the lucky thousands who made it to Chicago last year for the big show and I’ve got to say I will be there again this Aug (7th-9th) even if it kills me (and the heat almost did last year). To be honest, the headliners aren’t the most exciting part of the show to me. I much prefer the smaller and smaller smaller acts much more (The Ting Tings, The National, Nicole Atkins, Explosions in the Sky, MGMT, Black Keys and on and on and on…). So I super look forward to seeing who is on the bill of hundreds of bands for this year’s fest.

Still, Jane’s Addiction (if it’s the original crew – and that’s a big IF) would be a dream come true to see. They’ve been one of my favorite bands for nearly 15 years now. Depeche Mode would be quite the blast frm the past – a little shoegazing meets 80′s pop never hurt anyone. And though I’ve seen The Beasties once or twice already and I’ve sort of lost touch with them over the past few years, I’m sure they still put on a hell of a show.

Long story short. I’m going to see Jane’s Addiction this summer! That’s worth the hundred bucks right there.