Coachella 2012 Lineup Announced

I love Coachella.  Love, love, love it! It's my "adult spring break" and something that I definitely look forward to every year.  All of my friends and I make our annual pilgrimage to Palm Springs, rent a house, lay out in the sun, drinks lots, see great bands and have the BEST TIME EVER. Some of my favorite concert memories have been at Coachella.  My favorite year had to be when the Pixies reunited, which was also the same year that Radiohead and The Cure played.  I had a photo pass that year, so I got to be front and center for the first three songs of all of them.  I seriously almost cried like ten times. 

So, I'm really excited that after months of speculation the 2012 lineup has finally been announced.  When I looked at the line-up initially, it seemed pretty good.  But, then I looked again....meh?  Where's the big "get" for the reunited band this year?  At the Drive-In is awesome, but they're no My Bloody Valentine.  No Pixies.  And, certainly no Smiths (which I have been praying for forever).  And, I'm a little annoyed by this "two weeks" bullshit.  Is everyone I know planning on going the same weekend?  Which weekend will be the best?  At the end of the day, I do want to go and will definitely do what I can to try to go.  But, with my recent "employment financial freedom," I have more to consider.  I've already seen most of the bands that I want to see.  And, I am willing to say that the ones that I haven't seen will be back and at a smaller venue.  Is that worth $1,000 to go out to Palm Springs for the weekend?  Does my hesitation mean I'm getting old?  (DON'T ANSWER THAT!!!) 

After I host a car wash to raise money to go, these are the bands I definitely want to see:

Friday, April 13 & 20

The Black Keys
Pulp
Refused
Mazzy Star
M83
Girls
The Rapture
The Horrors
Frank Ocean
James
Dawes
WU LYF
Other Lives

Saturday, April 14 & 21
Radiohead
Bon Iver
The Head and the Heart
The Big Pink
The Vaccines
Grouplove

Sunday, April 15 & 22
Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg (DUH)
At the Drive-In
Weeknd
Girl Talk
Gotye?

COACHELLA OR BUST?!

New Music: Bon Iver

Prior to this record, I wasn’t really familiar with Bon Iver.  Truth be told, I was kind of turned off by the name.  I somewhat associated it with Bon Jovi, though I knew that the music had nothing to do with JBJ.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but I have far worse reasons to not pay attention to bands than that (I inexplicably cannot STAND the name Badly Drawn Boy…it makes my blood boil, but I love the music he did for About A Boy…no rhyme, no reason).  Anyway. 

Bon Iver’s Bon Iver is a beauty that should be listened to in its entirety from start to finish.  When people (read: Bob Lefsetz) talk about the album dying, I have to think that he isn’t paying attention to records like this.  Jumping in for one song or in the middle of the record would be like being plopped down in the middle of the enchanted forest with no directions.  You don’t want to miss out on any of it.  As a whole, the record is soft, sweet, melodic, hypnotic and mesmerizing.  It builds from a mellow sleepy beginning into this emotive and ironic crescendo of passion and folksiness, taking you on an emotional journey of fuzzy and rich orchestration. 

I love this record and have been listening to it on repeat all day.  It’s the perfect accompaniment to a melancholic or introspective day.  It’s hard to pick a favorite song as I feel that the whole record works so well together that it needs to stay as such, but I loved “Minnesota, WI,” “Holocene” and “Towers.” And, I’m obsessed with “Calgary.”  The song names appear to be an homage to different places.  When I close my eyes, I can almost smell the cedar inside the wood cabin, tucked in the most beautiful of each of these locations. 

Right now, you can stream the record at NPR and pre-order at Amazon before it’s released on Tuesday, June 21st.  I highly recommend!

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

I was checking out Morning Becomes Eclectic on the way to the gym this morning and happened to catch the new song by Bon Iver (absolutely no relation to Bon Jovi).  It was quite hypnotic and exactly what I needed on this frigid rainy day.  It hooked me in a trance until a flying object came at me and hit my windshield, bringing me back to earth.  You can download “Calgary” here.

All this winter weather in May got me thinking of a rainy day playlist and what songs I’d listen to for the rest of the day.  I made a list in Ranker:  Songs for a Rainy Day.

Or, just listen below: