Lots to discover in Coachella '08 lineup

By Samantha Spector

For the 2008 incarnation of the Coachella Music Festival, promoters are going back to their roots. Last year’s lineup came streaking out of the booth and didn’t let up until the final notes resonated throughout the desert. This year, Goldenvoice (the producers of the festival) is throwing us back.

Coachella ’08 isn’t about packed headliners (Rage Against the Machine, Willie Nelson in ’07) or reunions (the Pixies in ’06). This year is a chance for the fans of music to discover the bands that will be huge this year. My very first festival was Bonnaroo in ’04, where Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio rubbed shoulders with The Dead, Ani DiFranco and moe.

Coachella 2008 promises to have that same feeling. Take that Kanye and Metallica.

Let’s start with the headliners. I’m ecstatic to see Portishead and Kraftwerk in bold letters right next to The Raconteurs, The Verve (is it 1998 again?) and alt-favorites Death Cab for Cutie. Jack Johnson is gearing up to promote his newest album, “Sleep Through the Static.” French electro-house superstars Justice will try to light the desert on fire with some of the freshest sounds in music today.

And then there is Roger. Waters, to us mere mortals. Like his world tour of 2007, Rogers will once again play through the entirety of “Dark Side of the Moon.” I caught the show in New York but it’s hard to put into words how excited I am to hear “Money” and “Eclipse” in a place I can actually see the stars.

But that’s the night. During the day, we’ll sizzle in the sun to some of the artists that have cause for excitement amongst critics and fans alike. We’ll get down to the beats brought by Chromeo, M.I.A. and Hot Chip. I’m especially excited to see Jenny Lewis live for the first time with Rilo Kiley. Slightly Stoopid is set to rock to their home state crowd while the National will bring their emotionally austere instrumentals.

I’ve found that every festival has an idea of what they want each individual event to feel like. Langerado is all about melding every genre, All Good continues to be jam-oriented. Coachella has built a reputation as one of the best festivals to discover new music.

I’m sitting in snowy New York right now but until April, I’ll be California dreamin’.