ABSTRACT
Woodstock ’99, however, differed dramatically from its famous forebear. Most of all, Woodstock’s historic message of communal harmony was lost on a young audience clamoring for angry, aggressive music. As journalist Barry Walters writes in his Woodstock review, at the center of the maelstrom lay the music of headlining acts like Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Kid Rock. Just as history has looked back on the original Woodstock with grainy footage of body-painted hippies, Woodstock ’99 will undoubtedly be remembered by the bonfires that raged out of control as concertgoers rioted and looted. Mixing together elements of grunge, rap, and a resuscitated heavy metal style, these groups were generally lumped together under the label of “nu metal.” The late-night programming of electronica acts Moby and Fatboy Slim meant no pay-per-view coverage, and techno’s Chemical Brothers—the one major act that managed to plug into the original Woodstock’s euphoric togetherness—had to go up against Metallica.
