Jul 07

#LOTD2013: May Playlist

#LOTD2013: MayThanks to the long holiday weekend, I’ve been working on pulling together my Lyric-of-the-Day (#LOTD2013) playlists. Here are May’s Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics. Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “Start again in the month of May/Come on and blow the wires away” #ArcadeFire “Month of May” #LOTD2013 5/1
  • “The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun” #TheKillers “Read My Mind” #LOTD2013 5/2 (Another great Killers show, tonight at the L.A. Sports Arena. And this one’s always fantastic live.)
  • “There was so much space/I cut me a piece/With some fine wine/It brought peace to my mind” #JanesAddiction “Summertime Rolls” #LOTD2013 5/3
  • “I’ve got more rhymes than I’ve got gray hairs/And that’s a lot because I’ve got my share” #BeastieBoys “Sure Shot” #LOTD2013 5/4 #RIPMCA (A salute to Adam Yauch on the one-year anniversary of his passing, far too soon.)
  • “Singing songs of passion/It’s the truth they all look for/One thing they must keep alive” #LosLobos “Will The Wolf Survive?” #LOTD2013 5/5 (One of the best from some of L.A’s favorite Latino sons on Cinco de Mayo.)
  • “We’ll be playing and having fun/And it makes me feel so fine/I can’t control my brain” #Weezer “Island In The Sun” #LOTD2013 5/6
  • “Baby, stop me when I’m passin’ by/See now all my flavors are guaranteed to satisfy” #VanHalen “Ice Cream Man” #LOTD2013 5/7
  • “Happiness will make you wonder/Will I feel OK?/It scares the disenchanted/Far away” #SmashingPumpkins “Hummer” #LOTD2013 5/8
  • “Everybody, get on the beat/We’re gonna show U mothers how 2 scream/People everywhere, loosen up your hair” #Prince “D.M.S.R.” #LOTD2013 5/9
  • “Listen to my gearshift/I’m blastin, outlastin/Kinda like Shaft/You could say I’m shaftin” #LLCoolJ “Mama Said Knock You Out” #LOTD2013 5/10
  • “Look now, look all around, there’s no sign of life/Voices, another sound, can you hear me now?” #DuranDuran “Planet Earth” #LOTD2013 5/11
  • “I’m all 6s and 7s and 9s/Say now baby, I’m the rank outsider/You can be my partner in crime” #RollingStones “Tumbling Dice” #LOTD2013 5/12 (This song could be my #LOTD pretty much any day that I hear it. I love it that much.)
  • “Love myself/Better than you/I know it’s wrong/So what should I do?” #Nirvana “On A Plain” #LOTD2013 5/13
  • “And when I look in my window/So many different people to be/It’s strange, sure it’s strange” #Donovan “Season Of The Witch” #LOTD2013 5/14
  • “Free to fly the crimson sky/The sun won’t melt our wings tonight/Oh now here she comes” #U2 “Even Better Than The Real Thing” #LOTD2013 5/15 (On my 42nd birthday, a song from my favorite band relating to how I feel about someone rather special.)
  • “If I could just be/Everything and everyone to you/This life would just be so easy” #INXS “Not Enough Time” #LOTD2013 5/16
  • “Mr. Wendal, a man, a human in flesh but not by law/I feed you dignity to stand with pride” #ArrestedDevelopment “Mr. Wendal” #LOTD2013 5/17
  • “I like you and I’d like to/Be free, be free, be free, be free/Yeah, I like you and I’d like to/Be free” #Travis “Quite Free” LOTD2013 5/18
  • “I got a new suit of clothes, a pretty red rose/And a woman I can call my friend” #BruceSpringsteen “Better Days” #LOTD2013 5/19
  • “Dance on fire as it intends/Music is your only friend/Until the end/Until the end” #TheDoors “When The Music’s Over” #LOTD2013 5/20 #RIPRay (A salute to Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek on his passing. I grew up with The Doors, thanks to my dad, and Manzarek’s sound will always remain distinct.)
  • “Blindly snap the broken beats/Said it’s cut with a dirty trick/It’s taken all these days to find ya” #Kasabian “Club Foot” #LOTD2013 5/21
  • “I’m your conscious/I am love/All I really need is 2 know that/U believe” #Prince “I Would Die 4 U” #LOTD2013 5/22
  • “Turn the crowd up now/We’ll never back down/Shoot down a skyline/Watch it in primetime” #SwedishHouseMafia “Save The World” #LOTD2013 5/23
  • “Keep your head on tight/Make it thru the night/You gotta make a friend along the way” #BlackCrowes “Movin’ On Down The Line” #LOTD2013 5/24
  • “Have another beer/What’d we do without all these jerks anyway?/Besides all our friends are here” #DonHenley “Sunset Grill” #LOTD2013 5/25
  • “I’ll go away/And I’ll turn around this little game/Cuz I don’t need your praise” #Cracker #FlaminGroovies “Shake Some Action”#LOTD2013 5/26 (Saw a screening of “Clueless” thanks to Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and remembered Cracker’s version of this little gem popping up in it.)
  • “They send you down to war/When you ask them/How much should we give/They only answer more” #CCR “Fortunate Son” #LOTD2013 5/27 #MemorialDay
  • “Drove down the hwy/Til I came to Los Angeles/Town of the angels/Best this country can do” #Mellencamp “Hotdogs & Hamburgers” #LOTD2013 5/28
  • “How long do I have to climb/Up on the side of this mountain of mine?” #Coldplay “Speed Of Sound” #LOTD2013 5/29
  • “No longer overwhelmed & it seems so simple now/Funny when things change so much/It’s all state of mind” #PearlJam “In Hiding” #LOTD2013 5/30
  • “As it was again it will be/Though the course may change sometimes/Rivers always reach the sea” #LedZeppelin “Ten Years Gone” #LOTD2013 5/31 (My wedding was 10 years ago today. Though things have changed and divorce came down the line, it’s not a day I regret in the least.)

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: May

Apr 25

3 Days, 24 Sets, 1 Unforgettable First Coachella

A week ago Sunday night, I was wrapping up my first ever trip to the Coachella music festival. Not for a lack of wanting, I’d just never been able to make the trip out for the much-beloved and incredibly hyped annual spring event in Indio. After years of hearing stories from friends about the music, the scene, the campers, the house parties … and on and on … I finally made it out for the 2012 edition – the first two feature two full weekends of music.

Coachella Vista

The view from inside the masses near the main stage during Coachella 2012's Weekend 1.

Before discussing all the great music I heard over those three days, one word of advice for anyone who’s never been but who may be considering it: go. It’s a truly gratifying event on many levels – even considering all of the different issues you have to grapple with. “Security,” idiots, Heineken’s near total-ownership of the beer concession – all of these things (and more) pale in comparison to the joy of the music and the excitement of sharing the communal experience when an act is truly connecting with an audience.

Here goes!

Day 1 – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

My sets: Kendrick Lamar, James, Gary Clark Jr., Grouplove, Arctic Monkeys, Madness, Pulp, The Black Keys

Friday night at Coachella 2012

Madness' throwback performance drew a great crowd to the Outdoor stage on Friday night.

 Set of the Day, Senior Division: Madness transported me back 30 years. I felt like an 11-year old in 1982 all over again. The legendary Brits pumped through a rollicking set near sundown, hitting all the high spots of their great ska collection. The crowd that joined them at the Outdoor stage was the first I saw all day that had a median age somewhere near mine – and that crowd was throwing itself one hell of a party throughout the set!

Set of the Day, Period: Hands down, the Black Keys were the highlight of a frigid and sometimes wet Friday. This was my first time seeing the band, and from the opening strains of “Howlin’ for You” to the last notes of “I Got Mine,” this dynamic duo left you in awe of the fact that – for the most part – it was possible just two people could make this loud a noise. Joined only intermittently by backing keyboards and bass, their set (here, less a couple of songs not currently available on Spotify and the full set listing here) was literally drawing droves of people in and closer to the stage throughout. The music was simply magnetic.

Main stage, Coachella 2012 night one

It's hard to imagine all that sound coming from two guys, until you see The Black Keys do it live.

The Advertising Generation Wins: Grouplove’s late afternoon set at the Mojave tent was fun. The L.A.-based band drew a young crowd with their eclectic pop sound. But when they ripped into their hit, “Tongue Tied,” which gained momentum from an Apple commercial late last year, it was sociologically mesmerizing. My, how the music business has changed over the years. Bands now USE commercial endorsements to gain notoriety rather than shunning advertisers to maintain cred. And it works. For Grouplove, it’s clear that borrowing the Apple brand’s popularity and credibility has only been a boon.

Wow of the Day: Austin-based guitarist Gary Clark Jr. He’s often given the “blues guitar” tag, but that sells him way short. He’s only got a four-song EP out, but his debut album, rumored to be arriving this fall, is now in my “can’t wait” category. Incredible guitar work, knowing vocals. And the man can hold his own mixing Hendrix into one of his own original bluesy songs.

Friday Night, Weekend 1

Jarvis Cocker owned the Main stage on Friday.

 The Rest: Compton’s Kendrick Lamar, one of Dr. Dre’s newest proteges (he popped up for a performance during the Dre/Snoop set on Sunday), impressed with his MC skills. More importantly, after braving the horror of Friday’s wholly mismanaged security when trying to enter the grounds, his performance of P&P (pertinent Tweet: You know, I’m goin’ thru sumpin in life, but pu$$y and Patron make it feel aight! Indeed, #KendrickLamar, indeed. #coachella) while we were hanging in the beer garden helped turn the day around right at the start.

Main stage, mid-afternoon

Kendrick Lamar's early Friday show helped set the tone for the weekend.

90s-era Brit rockers James were in fine form during an afternoon set, with the highlight being – predictably – a rousing performance of “Laid” with about 50 or so fans joining them on stage. Arctic Monkeys put in a solid late afternoon set, reminding folks why they were among the “next big things” in the middle of the last decade. Last, but certainly far from least, Jarvis Cocker led mid-90s Britpop giants Pulp through a rousing set in the spot just before The Black Keys. While most were waiting for the set-closing (and, honestly, show-stopping) “Common People” for most of an hour, Cocker – now a near doppelganger for former Eurythmic Dave Stewart – reminded those who remember why he was one of that decade’s top front men.

Day 2 – A Dash of America, A Heap of Britain

My sets: The Black Lips, Childish Gambino, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Kaiser Chiefs, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Squeeze, Kasabian, Radiohead

Saturday night at the Mojave tent

Kasabian repeatedly had the Mojave tent about to burst at the seams.

 Set of the Day: Kasabian absolutely annihilated the Mojave tent in the middle of the evening. Mentally lumped in by me among other solid mid-decade acts from the 2000s (appropriately, two others from that particular lump – Kaiser Chiefs and The Hives – were also part of my initial Coachella experience), I’d heard of their reputation as a stellar live band. Well, to say they brought the 10 songs they played to life on this Saturday night would be a major understatement. The group’s swagger was matched only by the power of its sound, and during songs like “Club Foot,” “LSF” and the closing “Fire,”they repeatedly sent the overflowing crowd bounding through the tent. A truly great live performance.

El Coyote

Sporting my El Coyote hat at Kasabian! The Manson murder tie in = complete!

Song of the Day: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals’ “Medicine” simply overwhelmed a mid-afternoon crowd at the Outdoor stage. The musicianship and Potter’s strutting stage presence were on full display. Fans of pure, old school rock have to be excited about the Vermont-born Potter’s emergence.

Shock of the Day: Childish Gambino, a/k/a Donald Glover (of NBC “Community” fame), may be a better rapper than a TV actor. A favorite as Troy on the NBC sitcom, Glover’s hip-hop name came straight the online Wu-Tang name generator – something you might expect from a comedian (FYI, my Wu-Tang name: Vizual Magician. Find out yours here: Wu-Tang Name Generator). However, his MC skills, and the fusion of music he chooses to back up those skills (when’s the last time you saw a solo violinist on stage at a hip-hop show?), belie anyone’s thoughts that this second career may be a joke. He united a large Saturday afternoon crowd on the main stage with witty lyrics, hard-core rap sensibility and great showmanship – even though he performed in a walking boot with a broken foot.

Sad of the Day: Radiohead. Whether it was bad timing for me, a performance that just didn’t reach the size of this particular crowd or, blasphemously, just that they weren’t all that good, Radiohead’s set was a disappointment. And if I could, I’d grab two or three of the dozens of concert-goers who streamed away from the mainstage in the 45 minutes preceding my departure to back me up. Though I’d felt this since early in the evening on Friday, my reaction to Radiohead’s performance – a band I truly enjoy and “get,” though I believe Thom Yorke maybe getting too deep inside his own brain rather often of late – confirmed it: at a festival like Coachella, you really have to follow your own heart and your own mood to make the most out of it. The night before, I’d been looking forward to seeing Mazzy Star. But when it came time for their set, I just wasn’t in the mode for their brand of music. Not that I don’t still really like Mazzy Star – it just wasn’t right for me at that moment. And, unfortunately, Radiohead – at best – fell into that category on this Saturday night.
Saturday afternoon at the Mojave tent.

Georgia's The Black Lips were thoroughly entertaining and definitely rocking.

 The Rest: The day started with The Black Lips out of Georgia. A truly entertaining quartet of southerners, they impressed with their range away from their punk roots, hitting on some early-60s pop beats and some country twang as well. Kaiser Chiefs were unspectactular in a main-stage appearance. It was great to hear the always entertaining “I Predict A Riot” live, but there wasn’t much else to report.

Sunset show at the Main stage.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds took advantage of a twilight set time on Saturday.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (the Oasis songwriter’s new act) was also solid with a sunset slot on the main stage. While Gallagher’s new material is as strong as his stage presence is not, it was not surprising that the highlight of his set was the closing sing-along to “Don’t Look Back in Anger,”the mid-90s Oasis classic. It’s a personal favorite and, therefore, was likely more memorable for me than most.

Saturday evening at Mojave tent.

Squeeze was surprisingly strong, harkening back to their 80s heyday.

Finally, Squeeze definitely put in a performance to rival fellow-80s stars Madness from the night before. Sounding incredibly tight, and with impeccable vocals by Glenn Tillbrook that made you wonder how his voice is still so on-point after so many years, the Englishmen ripped through a series of hits, including “Tempted” and “Black Coffee in Bed,” much to the glee of a surprisingly mixed-age crowd.

Day 3 -Better Than You Even Hoped

My Sets: First Aid Kit, Santigold, Fitz & the Tantrums, Wild Flag, The Hives, Girl Talk, Florence & the Machine, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

Main stage on Sunday night

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg did, indeed, rip shit up.

 Set of the Day: “CPT, LBC, yea we hookin’ back up” Unquestionably, there were high hopes for the reunion of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at Coachella. Personally, “The Chronic” was one of the key soundtracks to my college years, so of course I wanted an amazing show. But to say they lived up to those hopes would fall short. An unbelievable 75 minutes that featured a bevy of SoCal hip-hop greatest hits; cameos by Wiz Khalifa, Warren G., Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Eminem; and the much-discussed Tupac “hologram” – what more could you ask for?

Snoop & Dre on Sunday night

The crowd for the Dre & Snoop show was alive.

The opener, “The Next Episode,” is a personal favorite and threw tens of thousands of fans – from age 15 to 50 – into a tizzy that never stopped throughout the set. (Of course, the classic “Gin & Juice” a couple of songs later had much the same effect.) I think the look on Wiz Khalifa’s face throughout his performance of “Young, Wild & Free” with Snoop probably spoke for all of us there – he was stunned at the size of it all and enjoying the hell out of the moment (with a spliff the size of a Cuban).

Set of the Day, ‘Fuck You’ Division:The Hives’ late afternoon takeover of the main stage was awesome. The garage rockin’ Swedes, led by the indomitable personality of Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, exploded on stage in top hats and tails and rocked through 10 ripping tunes, including a few debuts from their upcoming album. While the music was great, the expected bombast from Almqvist between (and during) songs may have been even more entertaining. A couple samples:

Main stage on Sunday afternoon

The Hives rocked the faces off the Coachella crowd on Sunday.

In all, The Hives may have put on the most entertaining 50 minutes during the entire weekend.

Speaking of Sweden: The first (and mellowest set of the day) was by Stockholm’s latest import, First Aid Kit. The Soderberg sisters’ folky set included the gorgeous song “Emmylou,”which they basically dedicated to every classic country artist they could think up. On the event’s warmest afternoon, First Aid Kit was the perfect soundtrack to lay on the grass in the sun outside the Mojave tent and just ease your way into the day.

DJ area water blasters!

Sunday was the warmest day of Weekend 1, making the DJ area water soakers popular.

The Uber Mash-Up Artist: I probably can’t put this any better here and now than I did in my Tweet from the moment it was happening: “And now, Girl Talk will play every song you’ve ever loved all at once, and make it awesome. #coachizzle” The DJ led a fantastic Sunday night dance party at the Outdoor stage, mixing and matching everything from the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” to Eminem – and just about everything in between.  The crowd only stopped dancing long enough to celebrate a number of “Oh my god, it’s THAT song!” moments. Between The Hives, this set and Dre & Snoop, the latter part of Sunday was one hell of a fun time.

Outdoor stage on Sunday night

The Girl Talk set on Sunday night was one big dance party.

The Rest: On the main stage, both Santigold and Fitz & the Tantrums provided entertaining diversions on Sunday afternoon. Both were excellent and generally unchallenging soundtracks for hanging out in the Beer Gardens (especially the one between the Main and Outdoor stages since they broke the Heineken stranglehold there by offering Newcastle) and enjoying the sun. Wild Flag rocked as you’d expect a “supergroup” of 90s-era chick-rockers might, while the stage presence of leader Florence Welch was the most mesmerizing thing about the set by her popular Florence & the Machine. To be honest, there was so much BIG about the best parts of Sunday, most of the rest (while good and enjoyable and all that) just kind of fades into the background.

Based on reports, it seemed that weather was just about the only difference between weekends one and two of the new Coachella. Well, that and the report that The Black Keys welcomed John Fogerty on stage to help with a tribute to the recently deceased Levon Helm (that would have been great to see). However, the more I look back, the more I realize that any person’s experience of Coachella is wholly personal. Yes, the communal experience when seeing specific acts is amazing, but the reality is that there’s so much music and so much activity that your enjoyment of the event is wholly on your shoulders. If you don’t pressure yourself too much (“Oh god, I have to see this band because X and X and X said so, but they’re at the same time as one of my favorites!?!”) and follow your own personal mood through the day, you’ll likely find what’s right for you and have an incredible time. I can’t wait for 2013!