!!! - "Crazy Talk"

From !!!'s 9th album Let It Be Blue, "Crazy Talk" pulls you in with its slinky rhythms, sexy bassline, squiggly synths, and seductive vocals. It will make for a steamy dance floor.

Jam of the Day: Suuns - "Bambi"

Coming across like a more subdued !!! combined with the jaded snarl of Clinic, Montreal's Suuns make some extremely infectious, quirky art-pop. Love this track off their second album Images du Futur.

Non-Sequiturs

Coachella 2011 is sadly over and I am entering my phase of PCD (Post-Coachella Depression). It usually takes a couple of weeks to get out of my funk; then I can get excited about doing it all over again next year.

One of my favorite sets of the festival was by Barcelona band Delorean. They were so much fun and really got into the show. I sort of developed a big crush on the keyboardist, Unai Lazcano. He was so cute and had great energy.

Several times over the course of the festival, I kept seeing this little sound tech hottie. He was working the tatts and facial hair.

While it's not the Flip Flop Guy from Coachella last year, this is still pretty funny. Arcade Fireballlllll!



It is amazing how much drugs go on at Coachella. Kurt had a bad cold all weekend and carried in a bottle of Airborne to help with his symptoms, and the security guard sort of looked at him disappointedly when it actually contained legitimate medicine.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Each secret you keep
Keeps me a bit far

But I want to know
Burn down the mysteries

Though I know I won't
I'll never know it
I could never stand
Not being closer"

Delorean
"Stay Close"

"If she chooses girls, If she chooses guys,
Does she profit to fill her lungs?
I want to hold her breath.

Does it matter what? She sees red at night. Does it matter where? No one knows. If she markets herself for blood...
She sees red at night. how will she come back?"

HEALTH
"Die Slow"

"I feel schitzo ever so psycho, kicking at an old tin can
I feel real like a man, like a woman, like a woman, like a man
I make dead space feel like a head case
take it like a teenage tough
I feel real now watching those wheels and shaking that stuff

Singing "I can't get enough"

Suede
"Can't Get Enough"

"Waiting for the stars to align
there is a restless rain cloud in my mind
heavy eyes fixed in the middle of the room
if you're looking for a point to all that you do

I feel guilty for being alive
when so many beautiful people have died
I never thought that we wouldn't rule the world
I always think we will
I keep my fist clenched still

oh I'm coming
oh oh I'm coming
when you see me you should run and hide
oh I'm coming
oh oh I'm coming
it's the ordinary people who look good on the outside"

Cold Cave
"Confetti"

"Sometimes it's just one of those nights
Ain't you never had it happen to you?
Then you go home too soon, go home too soon
You could blame it on the music
But it wouldn't be right
Because I've gotten lucky to some pretty bad tunes
Must be the moon"

!!!
"Must Be The Moon"

Appealing Things

Being on the rail for so many shows
Sleeping in my own bed
Walking
Delorean
Corn Dogs
Spring rain

Annoying Things

Girls who sit on guys' shoulders during concerts
Lazy people at work
Getting slammed with work the minute you get back from vacation
Jet lag
Bed hog pets
Not having the awesome fajita taco stand at Coachella this year
The Oasis Dome
Crying babies on planes
Mothers with crying babies on planes who do nothing about their crying babies
DFW airport

Coachella 2011 Day One

Coachella 2011 is now over and the post-Coachella depression is now kicking in. This was my second year in a row going and the experience was, if not necessarily better, different than last year, with a lot of highs and just a few lows. The better things about the festival this year were the bigger tents and the wider lanes between venues. It didn't feel like a Tokyo subway when you had to move quickly between stages. Also, the layout of the festival was much more conducive to quick travel. The lows, which honestly were few, were the difficulty with getting in to the festival. The security checkpoints were confusing and the staff didn't really seem to know what they were doing. The merchandise tent, which was really well stocked last year but crowded, was moved to the front entrance in a round kiosk that in theory seemed to be the way to work it; however, the quantity and quality of shirts was pretty low, and many bands didn't have shirts at all. Also, the crowds for the most part were nicer and well-behaved, but still, the amount of rude people who barrel through the crowds in the tent to get up front is annoying. These people don't care about the bands and really make things bad for the rest of it.

My bf Kurt, Mikey and Don waiting at the first checkpoint. It was warm all weekend, but only really hot one day.

My favorite time of the festival; right when it opens and the fields are sparsely crowded.

First band of the festival was New Pants from Beijing, China. They had a fun Devo/Cars kind of vibe to them, and for the most part their set was good, but they debuted a new song called "I'm Not Gay," which I assume was meant to be ironic since the singer said "I love the men, but I am not gay." But the song just seemed weird, so we left.

One of the other disappointments of the festival was the Sahara Tent this year. In 2010, there always seemed to be an amazing DJ or electronic act playing, but this year seemed to be a dearth of talent. We did check out 12th Planet for his dubstep set. Kurt is way more the dance music aficionado than I am, so I usually go with what he says to see.

Finally, my first real show of the festival. !!! was playing at the Outdoor Stage during the hottest part of the afternoon, and they turned up the intensity. The singer is in constant motion, and has some of the silliest, gayest dance moves I have ever seen. The groove was tight and driving and got the crowd worked up into a frenzy. I wish I had my camera out when the singer jumped into the crowd and came out to a point very close to us and got on a guy's shoulders. It was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, we had to skip out of !!! towards the end of their set to go catch Cold Cave at the Mojave Tent. We were able to get a nice spot right on the side rail. They put together a nice set of their cold, icy synth pop. Loved the synth player on the left. He was rocking some cool hair.

We were basically planted in the Mojave Tent for most of day one. Following Cold Cave was Brooklyn via Manchester, England 1982 band The Drums. I love their album a lot and was very excited to see them play. The band is really tight, but it took awhile to get used to the singer, who performs in a very mannered and effected way. Once I got over the fact he wasn't going to sing like he did on the album, I was able to enjoy the performance.

I wanted to race over and see part of Warpaint's set at the Outdoor Stage, but sometimes you just have to say no and stay put. It was hot, and there was a nice breeze in the Mojave, so I stuck with my friends for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. I loved their first album but was put off on the second by too much high polish production from Alan Moulder and Flood. Live, the songs seemed more organic and natural, and I must admit I enjoyed the set.

YACHT was a nice surprise of the festival. Coming off like Talking Heads circa Stop Making Sense, it was a quirky, high energy set that was exhilarating. The female singer was bonkers crazy and had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

The first minor disappointment of the festival was Interpol on the main stage. They were hyped beforehand regarding their collaboration with The Creator's Project, and it was supposed to be a "surveillance" theme, with individual cameras placed on the band and members of the audience. It was fairly lackluster. The only time the images became interesting was during the song "Lights" when a film made by David Lynch played. It was disturbing and Lynchian, so it was perfect to go with the song. The rest of the set was filled with the classics you would expect. But for some reason, as with most of the acts on such a huge stage, there was a disconnect between the performers and audience. It was a safe, good set, but nothing spectacular.

For me, the biggest disappointment of the festival was Cut Copy. Nothing to do with the band or performance, the tent was just overcrowded and full of pushy, rude douchetards, and I wasn't able to get close enough, so the sound was muddied and I couldn't see anything. They really have gotten big enough to where they should have been on the Outdoor or Main stage. I only lasted about 3 songs and had to get out of there before I ran amok. I was so mad, because they became my de facto must see band after Klaxons had to cancel.

Suffering the Cut Copy crowd no longer, I joined Kurt over in the Sahara Tent for Magnetic Man (Benga, Skream, and Artwork). I generally hate the crowd at Sahara. Usually a younger group of kids, all of whom are whacked out on some sort of illegal substance. I adore the Magnetic Man album though, and was willing to suffer the crackheads for some good music. Unfortunately, MM put on a fairly lackluster show. The visuals were really great and kept my attention, but the pacing of their set was schizophrenic and I never got a connection with them.

Final act of the night was Robyn. Again, the Mojave Tent was jam packed and we couldn't get a good spot to see her, as evidenced by the horrible pics I attempted to take. With Robyn, however, I would sit on hot coals to see her perform. She has boundless energy and would give the performance of her life even if there were only 10 people in the audience. And she did not disappoint. Running through her hits and deep tracks from her albums Robyn and Body Talk, she kept the pace up and the audience dancing and singing along. It was a brilliant way to close out my Friday.

Videos of the Week

Finally, one more week until Coachella! Getting very excited about heading out to Palm Springs. Here are the latest videos that are giving me goose-bumps:



Live performance of one of my favorite songs from noise-terrorists HEALTH.



Gorgeous song and video from the upcoming Wild Beasts' album.



!!! are an amazing live act, and this video shows definitively why.



Probably my favorite Crystal Castles song.



This album from The Kills is growing on me; sort of a cross between The White Stripes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.



This song from Japanese band Genki Sudo is not much, however, the video is fantastic and inventive.



I was fortunate to see Duran Duran this week at the 1000 seat Center Stage. Was a lovey, intimate show. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs.



My favorite Interpol song. I could listen to it 24 hours a day.



One of the standout tracks from the new Cold Cave album. Nice New Orderish sound.



Strange, brutal video from bass artist Salva.

Videos of the Week

Another Friday is thankfully upon us. Here are the latest videos that are massaging my brain:



Video for the No Age single "Fever Dreaming," which was one of my top singles of last year. What appears to be a static shot at first grows more and more sinister, until the final shot which is quite shocking.



As most of you can tell, my friends and I are getting excited about our upcoming trip to the Coachella Music Festival. The majority of videos I am putting up for the next few weeks will be from bands playing the festival. Sort of my way of getting pumped up for it. Australian duo Presets, is one of the bands I am looking forward to seeing. This is an amazing song from them, with a surprisingly emotionally compelling video.



Love this song. As Kurt says, it's got the wubz.



Gorgeous reworking of this song from their last album, replacing Alice Adams' ghostly vocals with The Cure's Robert Smith, which gives the song added pathos.



Smooth track from dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man, featuring Benga, Skream, and Artwork.



Gorgeous song from Menomena. I just love the lyrics for this song.



I can't wait to see Rye Rye at Coachella. She looks like her show will be a lot of fun. This is a kick-ass track.



Really fun song and video from these dance-punk heroes.



Another recent find that is also playing Coachella. Based on this video and this song, it looks like it will be a fun set.