View Transcript
Episode Description
This week, Julia is joined by Allegra to investigate the enduring, mythical appeal of the music festival. From medieval carnivals to Woodstock, and Coachella brand trips to FYRE fest, the girlies explore the human desire to build temporary utopias — and how festival outcomes range from communal transcendence and PLUR to corporate-branded slop and FEMA-level weather events. Digressions include Billie Eilish starring in The Bell Jar for some reason, the ouroborous of influencer video essays, and Allegra's parents getting matching plastic surgery on her birthday.
WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!!!! Find tickets for the Shake Up Your Life Tour at https://binchtopia.com/tour
This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette.
To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.
SOURCES
19 Worst Things About Woodstock '99
After the Astroworld Disaster, a Reckoning
Altamont : the Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the inside story of rock's darkest day
Bakhtinian thought : an introductory reader
Burning Man: how a festival became a culture
Castlemorton 1992, the rave that triggered the ban
Castlemorton Common: The rave that changed the law
Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, s.63 ("repetitive beats")
Crowds and Collective Behavior Get access Arrow
Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy
From Woodstock to Coachella: The ultimate music festivals
FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella by Gina Arnold
Impact: From riots to crowd safety
'It was the peak of the flower power era': The story of the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970
How Music Festivals Became a Massive Business in the 50 Years Since Woodstock
Juggalos & the FBI "hybrid gang" label
Live Music in America: A History from Jenny Lind to Beyoncé
Lollapalooza's rise (Perry Farrell's acid precognition)
Murder at the Altamont Festival
The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
The Music Festival That Time Forgot: Inside Steve Wozniak's US Fest
The Night Bob Dylan Went Electric
"This Film Was My Chance to Correct History": Questlove on Summer of Soul and the Oscars
The Pop Festival: History, Music, Media, Culture
Woodstock '99 Predicted America's Future
Woodstock 1999 Ends in Violence
Wattstax (1972), the "Black Woodstock"
Wattstax drew 100,000 people — this 1972 concert was about much more than music
What's behind the decline of music festivals?