MUSIC: Woodstock Suburb

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Despite these arguments, cynics, pundits and alternative-music ideologues were predicting Woodstock '94 would be a corporatized simulacrum of the original festival. A '60s myth would be used to sucker the 16- to 30-year-old demographic. Woodstock '94 was seen as the ultimate musical sellout, the sort of thing that made Kurt Cobain leave this world riding on a shotgun blast. MTV, which televised some of the festival and launched a home-shopping show during it, ran an ad for its coverage with the slogan, "All you have to do to change the world is change the channel."

But the totalitarian, exploitative horror show didn't quite materialize. Over the three days, there was some chaos, but the fans got along, remaining friendly and happy. Huge mosh pits formed in which audience members danced and slammed into each other in pools of mud. The music was good, and most people didn't seem to let the involvement of Haagen-Dazs ruin it for them. In the movie world, the sequel tends to earn about 60% of what the original does. Less than a cultural milestone but more than a concert, Woodstock '94 was the typical sequel -- calculated, but about 60% as good as the real thing.