‘Lollapalooza’: A Festival of Cooperation

Robert Hilburn seems to think of the “Lollapalooza” festival as a competition instead of a cooperation (“ ‘Lollapalooza’: A Smashing Start,” July 9). The festival is not about who wins or loses. It is not a contest or a battle of the bands. No one is trying to “overshadow the headliners,” and the bands are not, as Hilburn writes, “competing against seven other acts.” They aren’t competing at all!

When Perry Farrell put together “Lollapalooza,” he said it should be a “cultural smorgasbord.” It’s not only about music; it’s about ideas. Farrell said he hoped to create a one-day summer camp that would educate and stimulate minds.

The Times articles didn’t even mention the “Mind Field” arena for political and social discourse. And “Lollapalooza” also affords the musicians an opportunity to interact with bands that they wouldn’t usually share a stage with.

Hilburn and Lorraine Ali did not mention the art displays; the Australian Outback food shack; the indie label record kiosk, and Teeth, the “Lollapalooza” newspaper featuring letters from the bands, profiles of poets and background on half a dozen organizations, including shelters for battered women and AIDS hospices that will receive an estimated $600,000 from the show.

MARK B. LASSER

Los Angeles