Rites and Wrongs

This year, Rites of Spring, held on April 18 and 19, will host headliners Spoon and Lil’ Jon.  A little over a month ago, the Hustler carried the announcement.  In the weeks that followed, various publications praised the Music Group, a subsidiary of the Vanderbilt Programming Board for their choices.

Are these acts really worthy of praise though?  Rites of Spring has been put on for 32 years and in the past brought such acts to campus as Dave Matthews, 311, Run DMC, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of this year’s headliners, Lil’ Jon, is most famous for being spoofed on Chappelle’s Show.  He has had two double platinum albums and a few hit singles, but let’s be honest: that wasn’t the first thing you thought of when you heard his name.  Spoon is an indie rock band that’s been around for 10 years.  Their most commercially successful alum to date came out last year.  It hasn’t even been certified gold yet.  Sounds like a great career to me.

Before blaming the Music Group for another poor choice of headliners, we should look back at past Rites of Spring artists and the year of their concert.  Dave Matthews might have played here, but did anyone know who he was back then?  What follows is a history of Rites of Spring for the past 20 years.  Following each year are the headliners along with an analysis of their level of popularity at the time of their performance.

2007 - the Roots, Wolfmother.  The Roots’ last album hadn’t reached gold certification.  Wolfmother had a gold album, a song on the Guitar Hero video game, and headlining appearances at bigger festivals.

2006 - Ben Folds, My Morning Jacket.  Ben Folds, despite his lack of commercial success at the time, was still selling out small venues such as Exit/In.  My Morning Jacket had just released an album that, while critically acclaimed, didn’t actually appeal to many listeners.

2005 - Hootie and the Blowfish, Robert Randolph.  Hootie had just released a double platinum album that didn’t produce any singles.  Their last hit came out ten years before.  Robert Randolph had a song in NBC commercials and had recently opened for Eric Clapton.

From 1976 to 2004, Rites of Spring was a free event.  All of the following acts were brought to campus without the use of ticket revenue.

2004 - the Wailers, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.  The Wailers were the backing band for Bob Marley, and they hadn’t released an album in 20 years.  The Dirty Dozen Brass Band were most popular in the mid 90’s.

2003 - Jump Little Children, Pat Green.  Jump Little Children were never commercially successful and broke up two years later.  Pat Green released his best selling album Wave on Wave three months after this concert.

2002 - Black Eyed Peas.  They would not become famous for another year, and at the time, Fergie was not part of the band.

2001 - Nelly.  He had just released Country Grammar the year before.

2000 - Cowboy Mouth, G. Love and Special Sauce.  Cowboy Mouth had just released an album with a hit single.  G. Love was not commercially successful.

1999 - Better Than Ezra, the Roots.  Better Than Ezra had just been dropped from their label.  The Roots had just released their breakthrough album.

1998 - Run DMC.  Third Eye Blind.  Run DMC hadn’t released anything in five years.  Third Eye Blind had released their highly successful debut album the year before.

1997 - George Clinton.  Hadn’t done anything since the 80’s.  Needed the money?

1996 - Violent Femmes.  Their only hit was released 14 years before.  Happened to be in town that weekend?

1995 - Dave Matthews Band. They had released their first album already and released another album the next year.  Both were highly successful.

1994 - Smashing Pumpkins, Blues Traveler. Smashing Pumpkins had their biggest period of success from 1992 to 1996.  Blues Traveler’s biggest album was released in 1994.

1993 - 311, Crosby and Nash.  311 had just released their debut album.  Besides being famous as part of CSNY, Crosby and Nash had not done anything recently.

1992 - BoDeans and Government Cheese.  The BoDeans song “Closer to Free” was the theme song for Party of Five, which started airing in 1993.  Government Cheese was never that commercially successful.

1991 - The Feelies, HR.  The Feelies were a New Jersey rock band that influenced R.E.M. and broke up the following year.  No information could be found on HR.

1990 - Bo Diddley, the Nashville Symphony.  Bo Diddley was still releasing albums at this point but he was most famous for being an originator of rock and roll 40 years before.  The Nashville Symphony?

1989 - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mel and the Party Hats.  RHCP had already been around for five years.  They wouldn’t release their biggest album until 1991.  Mel and the Party Hats have never been commercially successful.

1988 - Stan Lassiter, the Dusters.  Stan Lassiter is a jazz guitarist from Nashville.  The Dusters are a rock band that was signed to a Nashville label.  Neither act was that commercially successful at the time.

Information on all of the past Rites of Spring artists exists in the library archives.  This information has not been included because of changes in the format of Rites of Spring that occurred around this time.  Prior to this, Rites of Spring was a five day, carnival like festival.  The festivities started on Tuesday and went through Saturday with activities like a best legs competition, a cigarette rolling contests, a slip n slide, a pie eating contest, movies on the lawn, stupid pet tricks, a fortune teller, and ice sculpting.  Music was only one part of the festival.  For this reason, there were fewer, less famous acts.  Also, back when the drinking age was only 18, some of the money for Rites of Spring went to providing free kegs of beer on alumni lawn during the week.  Lastly, another organization, called the Concerts Committee worked in conjunction with the Rites of Spring committee while also putting on various concerts throughout the year.  Acts such as the Talking Heads, Eurythmics, Pretenders, and the Clash were all brought to campus in the early 80s near the time of Rites of Spring but not actually as part of Rites of Spring.

Having looked back at Rites of Spring through the years, the Music Group does not deserve the kind of praise it has received in the Vanderbilt Press.  Past committees have brought bigger artists to campus when they were even more successful.  The Music Group now has ticket revenues to work with.  In addition, they don’t have the added expense of carnival festivities or beer.  With more money available to them, shouldn’t they be capable of bringing comparably successful artists to campus?  That being said, the lineup has been chosen. 

At least the Music Group didn’t choose an act like George Clinton to headline.