Coachella 2008: Utopia or Jack Johnson-ed?
January 24th, 2008
Coachella is the stuff that dreams are made of. This festival has witnessed and been the impetus for the return of legendary bands like Iggy and Stooges, Pixies, Daft Punk in 2006 (reported by many to be one of the best live performances ever!), Rage Against the Machine, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. This desert has been a place where all are welcome. A utopia were the indie hipsters, metal heads, regular shmucks and all that lay between, can congregate and enjoy 3 blissful (and blistering) days of music. (Insert Enya here or something similarly new agey/transcendant)
OK so maybe it's not a utopia but it does take place in Indio California and it is usually unbearably hot. I have been waiting for the 2008 announcement for months and frankly, since it came out yesterday, I am very disappointed. Because I was forced to sell my Coachella tickets last year (damn you midterms), I had become obsessed with attending Coachella 2008. Daily, nightly, often during lecture, I would scour various music blogs/sites in search of the latest news/speculation about the 08 lineup. I remember when I heard My Bloody Valentine was reuniting; many of my friends and I were certain, they were coming back for Coachella and I feel asleep that night to the sounds of Loveless. Similarly, the speculation that Radiohead would be riding in on the coattails of their new album and frankly because they ARE Radiohead, made many (myself included) sure that they would be a headliner at Coachella '08.
But my hopes were dashed to pieces Monday night. Who have replaced MBV and Radiohead, you might ask? Jack Johnson. No not the legendary Delta Blues man, the Jack Johnson of Curious George fame. The same Jack Johnson who has put out a slew of bland identical sounding records all of which can found in your nearest Starbucks. *sigh*
Don't get me wrong, the lineup isn't bad. I'm sure some people are happy with it. But as an individual, I'm still feel sort of let down. I'm still debating if I want to go. The return of Brit pop kings, the Verve and fellow Englishmen, Spiritualize will be interesting. The always fantastic Animal Collective and Akron/ Family, and the legendary Roger Waters (the Sunday headliner) are also on the bill which is another huge check plus. Battles and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings would also be amazing to see. I just don't know if they are $270 not including Ticketmaster (rape) charges, amazing.
- Kristen
Posted by DJ Octoon
5 Comments »
January 25th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
What about Day 2? Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab, MIA(!), Stephen Malkmus, VHS or Beta, MGMT, and Flogging Molly (guilty pleasure)… I’d say that’s a bit more than Jack.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I’m just saying that in comparison to last year the lineup is disappointing. Coachella is also the experience so if its worth it too you all the power to you. Besides I’m sure it won’t be selling out so think of less people as more room for you and the frat boys to mosh when Flogging Molly and Slightly Stoopid play.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
omfg when I saw portishead on the lineup i almost shit my pants…portishead is THE reason i’m going to try my best to go that day, but Danny Tenaglia, Sasha and Diggers, Roger Waters, and James Zabiela also get me thinkin…$110ish per day tho after ticketbastard fees? meh…combining that with the cost of “recovery” from the day/driving and getting back into engineering hell for midterms makes me a lil depressed. I hope dearly portishead tours a bit more.
I for one will try harder for Burning Man then Coachella.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
You can silence me all you want, Radio dweebs, but you can’t silence the growing cry across America, “DUUUDE! WHY ISn’T NICKELBACK @ COACHELLA?!?!” And am I the only one who remembers how Kid Rock saved music back in ‘98? How bout a little respect for the king, y’all?
And let me ask you something DJ Octoon – What ABOUT Portishead, Kraftwerk? Eh? Can u play beer pong to Portishead? Can u go wakeboarding at Havasu and ask girls to flash you to Portishead, Kraftwerk?
I didn’t Think SOOOO!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Comment: I agree with you that Coachella is indeed what dreams are made of. I might say Coachella is the perfect music festival. When I first heard about the Coachella lineup, I too was annoyed by Jack Johnson’s inclusion. When setting him next to all the other artists it hardly made sense. However, being a Coachella enthusiast, I decided I would deal with Jack Johnson. Not only would I deal with Jack Johnson, but I would find a reason to accept him. Not that I want to pester you, but perhaps I may convince you to rethink your decision and attend Coachella this year. Yes Jack Johnson is playing, but surely there will be at least four other bands to check out during his set and plenty of art with which to interact. Coachella is more than just the lineup. It resides in a giant polo field with five stages and numerous interactive art exhibits. The crowd is almost always friendly no mater who is involved which you note that hipsters, metal heads and more can congregate to enjoy the music. Perhaps most importantly, Coachella is a fantastic place to find out about new music. Never mind checking out every single MySpace link, see a new band live. Surely an opinion can change based on live performance. I will absolutely agree that $270 is a bit steep but when you think of where all the money is being split up it makes sense. Coachella may be expensive but it is also the cleanest and most sanitary music festival. Portable toilets are constantly cleaned and trash strewn across the festival grounds is almost non existent. Also, the fields that Coachella spans leave plenty of room for people to be and not be watching or listening to music. Perhaps to change you mind about Jack Johnson, I can open your eyes to his environmental activism. Many poeple do not know that he has built a solar powered recording studio and regularly records there. Yes Jack Johnson may be a little mainstream, but he is on our side and he doing something positive to make change. He may not be your favorite artist, but perhaps you can at least respect him.