It's been a summer.

It's been a hell of a summer. And not all in a hella-good way. But I'm here and I'm still getting out. This weekend was Lollapalooza in Chicago and it's bigger than ever. Four days of non-stop music and bros in CamelBaks and Trixies (do we even call them that anymore?) in little more than bralettes.

If I never see another CamelBak or bralette it will be too soon. #lolla #lollapalooza

— Michelle Kopeny (@shellster129) July 31, 2016

There ARE great things about this festival, and I must love them more than I hate the negatives because I keep going back for more. This year a few of those things were Jane's Addiction, Grimes, Vic Mensa, HAIM, Con Brio and LCD Soundsystem, which were my favorite acts of the weekend. Getting there close to noon or 1 p.m. every day, I put in nearly 40 hours of music in just four days. I might be crazy, but I love the submersion where the only thing I really have to think about is what band I'm going to see next and how long it's going to take to get there. And when I'm going to eat. Fuel is important when you're walking 10+ miles a day.

Anyway, I think it might be impossible anymore for me to go to a music festival without sharing something about it, so here are the links to our 2016 coverage on Chicagoist (with Annie's awesome photos):

Lana Del Rey Closes Lollapalooza Day 1

Lollapalooza Day 2 Belonged To Radiohead And The Struts

Vic Mensa Gives A Show-Stopping Tribute To Laquan McDonald For Lolla Day 3

LCD Soundsystem And HAIM Close Out An Epic, Long Lollapalooza 2016

Now Playing: HAIM

This is a post that I fully intended to write last fall when I was positively obsessed with this album. Not that my love has waned at all... I still light up and dance when I hear any of these songs, and Days Are Gone is still strong in the rotation. So, let's go ahead and say HAIM is Still Playing.

I ended up finally writing this for our Chicagoist Staff Best Of list which went up today.

HAIM - Days Are Gone
There wasn’t a lot of music that grabbed my attention last year, but HAIM’s (pronounced like time) Days Are Gone hooked me hard. I spent the latter half of summer going back and forth between their Falling EP and Spotify Sessions anticipating the full album release in September. With a little bit of heart, a little bit of Heart and a strong 80’s synth pop influence, these three sisters from California gave us catchy songs like “The Wire” and the aforementioned “Falling” that I’m still humming around the house, on my walk to the El and even in the shower. In addition to being the musical guest on SNL last fall, the ladies also gave a slight nod to that 80’s influence with a cameo in the fun little skit “Josie”, bringing the lyrics of The Outfield’s “Your Love” to life.

Recapping Chicago's Biggest Music Weekend

I shared some of my thoughts on Lollapalooza and life in a music scene yesterday, and believe me, there are so many aspects of that post that I could develop into different longer-form pieces if I was more focused and less lazy. Perhaps one day...

But here I want to share our cumulative reviews of the weekend on Chicagoist. With the different views of Chuck, Jim, Jessica and me, I think we offered a well-rounded recap. I didn't write about every single thing I saw, but all was at least covered by someone else. One act I'm bummed I did miss though was HAIM. Hopefully they come through town again soon, and ya know, I can see them in a smaller venue.

Lollapalooza 2013 Day One: Yup, It's Massive

Lollapalooza 2013 Day Two: The Highs And The Lows

Lollapalooza 2013 Day Three: Everything Must End

Bonus: Watch Lollapalooza Security Tackle A Stage Crasher