April 25th, 2008
by Monika Molluska
As some brave members of the Re:Generator staff infiltrate the inner workings of this years Coachella Fest, some of us were lucky enough to keep as far away from the polo grounds as possible…
However, it seems that it is not far enough.
I was miraculously granted the day off from my busy 24/7 work schedule, and did what normal people do on their off time. Laundry. Cooking. Reading. Web-surfing. Drawing. You know, the downtime stuff. I also decided that since I had some cash in the bank (and my father and his girlfriend suck at grocery shopping), I would go and pick up a few things. So, I drove the few blocks to the local grocery store and was instantaneously hit with a sinking feeling in my gut…
The hipster infestation.
As soon as I got out of my car I saw a couple of bandanna-wearing guys loading cases of Corona and water into the back of their Scion. Fuck.
I don’t know if it’s just that I wasn’t thinking about the annual swarm that can be seen in every hotel, gas station, restaurant, and grocery store in the valley… or that I thought by some chance they wouldn’t have migrated this far, considering I live in Palm Springs and the festival is about 30 minutes away in Indio. But I was caught totally off guard and unprepared for such an encounter.
As I continued my way into the store, I was bombarded with a never-ending line of hipsters. Hipsters squeezing fruit. Hipsters buying bread. Hipsters picking out hot dogs. But most of all hipsters buying beer. I even went over to the beer aisle and saw that those fucking Indie hipsters bought up all the goddamn PBR, and were starting in on the Corona. What the hell people?!
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Posted in Coachella Festival | 14 Comments »
April 25th, 2008
by Robert Starvation
Ryan “I hate Coachella, you stupid hipster fucks” Jovian will be twittering the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival among the lumpen masses for the next three grueling days. Expect every $5 water bottle, celebrity sighting and jab at Prince to receive the one-sentence write-up they so richly deserve.
Please note: Ryan’s Twitter widget has been moved so that it remains on the front page.
My thoughts on 2008’s Coachella Festival here.
Also, check out last year’s coverage, including rex opolis’ still-amazing “Choose Your Own Coachella Adventure” series…
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Posted in Coachella Festival | 5 Comments »
February 22nd, 2008
by Robert Starvation
As I made evident in this screed, the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will be bad. Not in the lexicographic throwback, “It’s that 1990’s again any that word is rad” way. No, if Paul Tollette and his cronies can’t materialize a decent lineup in 2009, the Coachella Fest should be euthanized. Tollette should be euthanized. The Empire Polo Field should be scorched to the earth, and the land salted. Sorry, equestrians. There’s bound to be some collateral damage.
Another wrinkle to the story: This year, adding to the world load putting on the three-day country music hoedown Stagecoach a week after Coachella at the same location added to Goldenvoice, Paul Tollette has been organizing a “Coachella East”. All Points West will be held on August 8, 9 and 10 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. What is with Tollette’s proclivity for organizing over the top events in regions generally considered hellholes?
The lineup, I think, elucidates why All Points West’s forefestival is being hailed as the new standard of mediocrity. APW is encroaching on Coachella’s turf. Coachella and APW even share a headliner, perennial bro favorite Jack Johnson. And Radiohead, who would have otherwise made a repeat visit to the arid hamlet of Indio, will instead be playing selections from their stunning new album for two days in the Garden State.
The same principle applies for many of the other bands on the roster. A 2008 Coachella Festival with Cat Power, The Roots, The New Pornographers, and Sia would be generate substantially more excitement in the music community. It probably would go do as the most memorable year, but unwashed hipsters wouldn’t be loudly lamenting the loss of the closest thing they have to a regional conference. But reality being the harsh mistress it is, they’ll have to fly out to Texas for South by Southwest.
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Posted in Entertainment, Pop culture, Coachella Festival | 1 Comment »
January 21st, 2008
by Robert Starvation
Music historians will mark 2008 as the year The Coachella Music and Arts Festival finally, brazenly, unquestionably jumped the motherfucking shark. Even pitchfork, the frothing-at-their-indie-mouths champions of the festival that takes place in Re:Generator’s backyard is filled with the generous spirit of meh.
We’ve been seeing cracks in the facade for years, but adding Madonna to roster in 2006 was the first real sign of trouble. While it seemed at the time like it was “taking Coachella to the next level” or some other tired industry jargon, what Madge’s going-through-the-motions half-hour dance routine indeed signaled was that the festival was now banking on mediocre acts and nostalgia as the big draw, not introducing the America music aficionado, unused to European-style mega-festivals, to a diverse range of up-and-coming underground artists. The aforementioned mediocrity and nostalgia really has been “taken to the next level” in ought-eight. Initial reactions after the jump.
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Posted in Entertainment, Local Events, Coachella Festival | 6 Comments »
August 27th, 2007
by Ryan Jovian
Spin.com is reporting on a rumor that My Bloody Valentine could be re-uniting to play at this spring’s Coachella Festival. It’s like YHWH is conspiring to force me to get a tan, what with classic punk bands filling the Warped Tour lineup this past Saturday and now bands at Coachella I’d actually want to see. I really can’t abide this sunlight crap. I guess if this rumor turns out to be true I’ll have to just take one for the team and attend. And here I was going to spend all of 2008 indoors.
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Posted in Entertainment, Coachella Festival | No Comments »
