Which of you persistent whores scored Coachella tickets? If you succeeded, congratulations. Both weekends sold out in 3 hours, with most of weekend one tickets snatched up during last year’s presale. If you didn’t, no worries. Demeter Clarc’s coverage will make you feel like you experienced the giant human stank that is Coachella first hand.
With over 130 different musical acts scheduled to perform, only the most musically well-versed have familiarity with the entire roster. For the rest of us who need a remedial, over the next few months we’ll explore the best of what the Coachella line-up has to offer. Here’s the start of a cheat sheet to help you cram for your Coachella final in April. Consider listening to the whole album out of respect for the effort as a complete work and (hopefully) a complete thought.
Artist: SBTRKT
Album: SBTRKT
Songs: Wildfire, Trials of the Past
Artist: Feist
Recent Album: Metals
Songs: Caught A Long Wind, How Come You Never Go There
Artist: Beats Antique
Recent Albums: Blind Threshold, Elektrafone
Songs: Spiderbite, Vardo
Artist: EMA
Album: Past Life Martyred Saints
Songs: Breakfast, California
Artist: tUnE-yArDs
Album: w h o k i l l
Songs: Es-so, Powa
Hey music muffins. Last night was all about Lykke Li and the Swedish Star didn’t disappoint. She made us wait, but when she arrived on a sparse stage with white lights and super long black curtains, she served up the best of her 2 album catalog.
What she wore? Proving once again bodycon is dead, she appeared in a very interesting get-up indeed. Mizz Li werked some kind of black pants (possibly a bodysuit?) with some flowy, scarvy type action. There might have been a robe involved. See below. Very Stockholm. This totally modern choice kept the focus on the music. The hair? Ombre bitches.
The music was fantastic. We had some serious bass moments, a dance break, some Kanye, and even a little Righteous Brothers. She kept the energy up through the relatively short set and took off like a whirling dervish prior to breaking for the encore. 
Lykke Li proved again her vocal nuance is no studio magic. This girl can sing and she does so in an original, creative, and self-restrained way. Her cover of Unchained Melody was enchanting perfection, and that song usually kind of annoys me.
After listening to this album several times and feeling strangely repulsed and confused, clearly the only way to process Angles is to acknowledge and accept that the boys are serving 80′s rock nostalgia. This has got to be an homage, right? 
First, The Strokes do Duran Duran on Machu Picchu. Then Tom Petty gets his due with Two Kinds Of Happiness. The Cars pop up on Taken For A Fool. Try and deny Billy Joel’s influence when listening to Gratisfaction. 
Without mincing words, this is their least listenable album. The record’s a disappointment – even Strokes apologists will have a hard time defending this collection of lackluster cast-aside tracks. 
In terms of interpersonal conflict souring creativity, The Strokes could easily become America’s equivalent to Oasis, and sadly Angles sounds like a harbinger of the band’s demise. Gentlemen, in the future, please show us different. 
Sorry for the delay on this; it was released a year ago. Not really sure how it slipped through the butt crack, but 2010 can be the year of The XX in the US. Procure XX by The XX immediately. Need an extra nudge? This one is Karl Lagerfeld approved.
Their sound, brimming with dichotomies, is at once familiar and new, atmospheric and intimate, feminine and masculine. Think Cat Power paired with Pete Yorn singing over Radiohead, and then subtract fifteen years. The XX is sadly one of the few examples I can think of where a male and female vocal pairing strengthens rather than diminishes the overall sound.
Strong composition and musicality backs up the interesting vocal arrangements. The XX ain’t no one trick pony; the whole record is worth your time. The down tempo vibe may annoy some, but critics need to puff a doobie and relax. This is the good shit. 