With the announcement of Aphex Twin, Goldfrapp, Serj Tankian and other artists to the Coachella bill, the festival seems to be in a position to gain back some of its "prestige" lost due to the first (main) lineup announcement. And, as a matter of fact, my previous estimation (see the "Rock Lineup Rundown" article in the March newsletter) might have been a bit too forward and, god forbid, a bit ignorant-sounding and harsh. Certainly, with the lineup size for 2008, it's impossible to predict how spectacular, annoying, decent or horrible Coachella might be-- it could end up featuring magnificent sets by all and turn out to be the best one yet.
The main point was and is that Jack Johnson, Portishead, and Roger Waters as the headliner trifecta and sequences like Dwight Yoakam after M.I.A., Fatboy Slim after Kim Deal of the Pixies' The Breeders and Kraftwerk after Death Cab For Cutie don't feel as cohesive as did Radiohead after Deal's Pixies (in 2004), Rage Against the Machine after Manu Chao (last year), Depeche Mode after Franz Ferdinand (in 2006) or the Arctic Monkeys after Jarvis Cocker of Pulp (last year)-- an Anglophile's wet dream. It should be said that the stage settings for all performances are "TBD" as of this writing, and I'm just assuming the worst in terms of timing and location (i.e. everybody ends up in a horrible never-ending clog on the main stage). So if everything runs as smoothly as possible and you aren't forced to sit through a bunch of sets you don't want to hear, please don't take what you've read here out of its cynical context.
The main point was and is that Jack Johnson, Portishead, and Roger Waters as the headliner trifecta and sequences like Dwight Yoakam after M.I.A., Fatboy Slim after Kim Deal of the Pixies' The Breeders and Kraftwerk after Death Cab For Cutie don't feel as cohesive as did Radiohead after Deal's Pixies (in 2004), Rage Against the Machine after Manu Chao (last year), Depeche Mode after Franz Ferdinand (in 2006) or the Arctic Monkeys after Jarvis Cocker of Pulp (last year)-- an Anglophile's wet dream. It should be said that the stage settings for all performances are "TBD" as of this writing, and I'm just assuming the worst in terms of timing and location (i.e. everybody ends up in a horrible never-ending clog on the main stage). So if everything runs as smoothly as possible and you aren't forced to sit through a bunch of sets you don't want to hear, please don't take what you've read here out of its cynical context.
Anyway, though it's always a good idea to open people up to new sounds, and there are some good potential two-hour-odd sequences to be found, such as Hot Chip before M.I.A. and space rockers Spiritualized coming on before My Morning Jacket, in my view-- which really might simply be a tad more "empirically" informed than everyone else's-- the higher echelon performers aren't likely to throw a one-two (let alone three-, four- and five) punch to beat what's been experienced by festivalgoers during late April evenings past. It's a continuous flood of good sets-- good sets in the minds of a static audience-- that really distinguishes a good festival from a good show, and that doesn't look quite as likely in 2008 as before.
Something else that might be disenchanting is that there's no Madonna being put in the dance tent this year-- i.e., the performers already mentioned are about as blockbuster as it's going to get this year. Sure, the amount of #1, million-album sellers you can tack onto a lineup doesn't translate to a great event, but it does tell you what may be in store-- what kind of traction organizers have or what investments (time, money, sanity) they're willing to make in setting things up. Indeed, Jack Johnson definitely represents at least one step toward solving the type of conflict I've suggested, but I think it's safe to say that he'll probably go down as being a bit like Melanie at Woodstock-- take from that comparison what you will. Meanwhile, Dark Side of the Moon might qualify as a blockbuster album, but performed in its entirety, it seems like a bit of a novelty, 35 years since its release; Roger Waters should at least go through some more of the Pink Floyd catalog (whatever happened to "Welcome To The Machine"?).
Something else that might be disenchanting is that there's no Madonna being put in the dance tent this year-- i.e., the performers already mentioned are about as blockbuster as it's going to get this year. Sure, the amount of #1, million-album sellers you can tack onto a lineup doesn't translate to a great event, but it does tell you what may be in store-- what kind of traction organizers have or what investments (time, money, sanity) they're willing to make in setting things up. Indeed, Jack Johnson definitely represents at least one step toward solving the type of conflict I've suggested, but I think it's safe to say that he'll probably go down as being a bit like Melanie at Woodstock-- take from that comparison what you will. Meanwhile, Dark Side of the Moon might qualify as a blockbuster album, but performed in its entirety, it seems like a bit of a novelty, 35 years since its release; Roger Waters should at least go through some more of the Pink Floyd catalog (whatever happened to "Welcome To The Machine"?).
The amount of artists on the lineup receiving major critical or popular attention is nothing like last year, when the likes of Lily Allen, Against Me!, Lupe Fiasco and Nickel Creek were posted nearer to the half-way point than the top of the lineup each day, besides the fact of the Chili Peppers, Tool, Interpol, the Arcade Fire, Rage Against the Machine and Willie Nelson being at the top. 2008 might just be a harder year than usual for Goldenvoice, but with All Points West in the picture, it's hard to keep a little frustration from simmering. Nevertheless, in defending my objectivity in focusing on big names, I defy anyone who's reading this to come up with at least 10 performers from this year's lineup whom they have on simultaneous daily (or weekly, if you're "casual") rotation on their iPod.
As far as the overall thematic arc of the proceedings and programming, not much has changed-- mainly alternative [meaning punk (Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly, Turbonegro), shoegaze (The Verve, Autolux), post-rock (Battles), and the "indie" umbrella (Annuals, Minus the Bear, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Rilo Kiley), etc.] followed by heavy doses of electronica (Pendulum, Modeselektor, Junkie XL) and dashes of folk (Kate Nash, Teagan and Sara, Brett Dennen), psychedelic (My Morning Jacket, Akron/Family and Mr. Waters, of course) and hip-hop (Spank Rock, The Cool Kids). The fans are to flock, amongst the same sort of odd installation art and sculptures, to and from a sea of tents of various sizes spread out across a flat grassy expanse that doubles as a polo field.
On the part of accomodations and amenities, things couldn't be better. There's a deluxe "Tent Hotel" that features actual bedrooms (w/AC), a comp'd breakfast buffet and deluxe showers and restrooms for those willing to shell out, starting at $700 per person for 2; you can even pay extra for a massage therapist. For the stingy masses, the return of a water bottle recycling program (turn in 10 empty bottles and get a full one free), more registration areas, more showers and toilets and a camping supply store to ensure more efficiency and well-being outside the concert area than ever before. Finally, lest we forget, the plot of living space for three days for the thousands who take the "regular" camping option has been upgraded to 8 ft. x 8 ft.
It's not as if the festival doesn't have big numbers-- there are, with the new announcement, over 120 artists set to play. And if you're one of those fans who belongs to the festival website's own "micrommunity," you've no doubt found ways to get excited. You've probably started threads on the addition of a single band; at least that's the kind of behavior I've been seeing on the message boards. There are several threads (with three running over three pages) devoted to the addition of Aphex Twin, an "official" MGMT thread (boasting 272 posts at last check), and multiple threads each devoted to the headliners as well as Kraftwerk, Serj Tankian, Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend (who really should play higher in the lineup due to their recent exposure), Justice, and the Streets.
All this suggests that supply and demand are much better matched than what one would first deduce. While some of the people who start these threads joined the online community in January and February of '08, and thus come off as obsessives responding to the news of their band's addition on a fan club site, others who have been around since Jan. '07 seem to support the lineup, gushing over the additions of Aphex Twin, Erol Alkan, My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend, Kate Nash, etc.-- I really could go on forever listing cases of the support of (relative) festival veterans in regards to the 2008 program.
In fact, the extent to which this is true is kind of amazing. By far the most convincing piece of evidence that the festival won't lose its market share is the very first post in the archives of the "Line Up/Artist" section of the boards, dated Nov. 25 2006: "I hope Portishead is in the lineup this year." The opinion was seconded on a weekly basis 'til the end of the thread in late January. Last year. So perhaps I was fairly wrong in my first assessment.
On the other hand, some of the board trolls also share similar opinions to the ones I've elaborated upon earlier-- "The official I want Roger Waters to do 'Wish You Were Here' thread" and "Probably the most disappointing lineup possible!" are the two specific titles that caught my eye.
So, I suppose we're right back where we started-- we won't know whether my first guess was gloriously wrong or horrendously right until everyone clears out on the early morn' of the 28th.
-- Ross Moody
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