Lollapalooza Diary, Day 2 - Perry Farrell in Gray, Jared Leto in Black

More hair awards: Considering that the festival is already 15 years old, it's only fitting to have a gray-hair category, and the winner is: Lollapalooza's father and chief, Perry Farrell (who made a guest appearance with Thievery Corporation on Friday night). His hair seems to have so much product in it that it looks a bit like rubber — but hey, he makes it cool. Runners up: gray-haired Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo and the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, who has gray curls in his thick mop.

Speaking of Coyne, he lived up to expectations of a ridiculous live show when he put himself in a huge clear balloon that was passed around the crowd at the beginning of the Lips' set; this may also explain his request to me before the show to get him some rubber-soled shoes to replace his pointy white loafers.

Though you may know Jared Leto for roles in Fight Club, Requiem for a Dream and other movies, he's got a lesser-known side project as the hotshot singer and guitarist in the band 30 Seconds to Mars. Throughout the festival, you could spot Leto backstage as the man in black: black hair, black T-shirt, black jacket, black jeans, black eyeliner, and even black nail polish. Then when he went onstage he did a switcheroo to all white, even his guitar. Guess he's into monochrome.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter