Coachella Lineup 2015
Now that I'm sitting around my house wasting away my good years, I've had a lot of time to sit and ponder on just about anything.Â
Music is the best pondering material in my case just because it's something I so heartily enjoy. Well thankfully the Coachella 2015 lineup came out and it's given me shit to chew on for the sum of the past 24.Â
Initial reactions: What the fuck
12 hour reaction: What the fuck
24 hour reaction:Â What the fuck
Okay it's not that this lineup is bad, because it isn't. There are quite a few high points, and I'm psyched the big wigs are taking notice of artists like Bad Suns and Jamestown Revival and I would actually pay all $375 just to see Mac DeMarco sell out before my eyes.Â
But still
The headliners are AC/DC, Drake, and Jack White. It's like the bookers put a survey monkey up on people's Facebook walls and asked, "What music do you listen to casually?" Pretty much everyone would say, "Yeah Jack White is a solid rock act, I like to listen to him when I have angst and things." And then "I play Drake at parties." And of course "I heard AC/DC that one time my Dad played it the car when I was ten."Â
Along with that, fucking Steely Dan is going to be there. Among other things, my Dad has fostered a love of the kettle drummed and guitar riff beats in me, but I don't go to concerts to listen to something that makes me nostalgic for an era I wasn't even a part of. Coachella used to be, you know, hip. Now I'm not sure if they reunite bands to make a statement about rock or are actually doing it to be like "Well we reunited a band like AC/DC... how hip is that." So not hip it's hip? Unsure.
I think what's most surprising is how out of left field most of the supporting acts are. This list is one that I check regularly months before Coachella:
http://www.travelgrom.com/coachella-2015-lineup-rumors
In 2014, about 75% of it was correct. This year, the average hangs around 30% of the predicted artists ended up making it on the final list. And I'm not saying that Coachella is a fantasy festival league where the fans get to pick and choose their artists, but the fact that a list made by fans who have been scouring tour schedules and release dates and have been fans and attendees of the festival for many years were THIS WRONG is kind of upsetting.Â
Coachella is obviously trying to widen their appeal. They've already opened up the festival to having an entirely EDM. Okay, check that off the list. With an artist like Drake, they are really clinging to the mainstream, hoping to take it from being a festival that only hipster assholes like to being something that my top 40 obsessed and very musically uninformed roommate would like. And the AC/DC and Steely Dan is obviously a move to attract people that will actually pay for the $200 wayy more expensive VIP ticket, just because Goldenvoice needs an extra million.
My rating: I give this lineup a Paradise out of all of Lana Del Rey's album. Just like Lana's sophomore album, the hits of this festival are buried below a lot of noise. There is very little concept of the experience this festival is trying to create. But still, there is good music to be had.Â