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Coachella 2014 – A Complete Guide To This Year’s Festival (Spotify Playlists Included)


Musicheads,

Coachella is mere hours away and I am here to present to you your survival guide to the actual music of the festival.  For those of you going that haven’t yet figured out what you are going to see, look no further.  For the rest of us who aren’t going (or happen to be doing Weekend #2) read on and get yourself acquainted with these acts that are worth seeing, hearing, feeling and any other sense you would like to utilize to enjoy the music.

So if you really hadn’t given much thought as to who to see this weekend, or moreso, who to pay attention to, look no further.  Let me give you the skinny/4-1-1/low down, (whatever you want to call it) on what’s worth your time.  First off, I just have to say, the festival promoters really packed Saturday.  While Friday and Sunday are pretty manageable and straightforward, Saturday is a real cluster for picking one quality act you want to see over another all day long.  Now let me breakdown my ideal schedule for each day, maybe you’ll agree with me.

Note: When I mark conflicts the first listed act would be my winner

 

Spotify Playlist: Coachella 2014 – Friday – “A Good Start”

C1_first_1100

 

Let’s start off with making a schedule for the opening day:

 

Spotify Playlist: Coachella 2014 – Saturday – “Fantastic Lineup, Terrible Conflicts”

C1_second_1100

Now onto the day from hell (scheduling-wise):

 

Spotify Playlist: Coachella 2014 – Sunday – “The Final Day: A Fitting End”

C1_st_sun_1100

Last day, are you tired yet? Let’s close this baby out!:

C1_do_550

HH set times

With regards to this schedule, who are my Not-To-Miss Acts?  Well, I don’t think I need to speak about many of the “larger font” bands, however, some smaller print bands definitely do deserve attention.

Here is my DO NOT MISS list:

Be sure, if you are going to Coachella, to make time for these acts.  They are well worth your time and ears.   Now show us some of your fancy footwork!

 

 

This year as well, Coachella has decided to live stream some of it’s shows so all of us non-attendees can still partake in the auditory 7 visual enjoyment.

Here is the live streaming schedule: Coachella LIVE! on YouTube

COACHELLA WEEKEND ONE WEBCAST:

Friday, April 11th:
03:30 – Flatbush Zombies
03:30 – ZZ Ward
03:30 – Jagwar Ma
04:15 – Grouplove
04:20 – Wye Oak
05:15 – MS MR
05:20 – AFI
06:00 – Bastille
06:05 – ASAP Ferg
06:10 – GOAT
07:00 – The Afghan Whigs
07:00 – Kate Nash
07:50 – Neko Case
08:15 – Woodkid
08:40 – Ellie Goulding
09:05 – Chromeo
09:30 – Broken Bells
09:30 – Carnage
09:55 – Bryan Ferry
10:30 – Girl Talk
11:00 – The Cult
11:20 – Martin Garrix
12:00 – Anti-Flag
12:20 – Zedd

Saturday, April 12th:
03:30 – White Lies
03:30 – Bear Hands
03:30 – Foxygen
04:10 – CHVRCHES
04:15 – Temples
04:30 – Ty Segall
05:20 – The Head and the Heart
05:30 – Bombay Bicycle Club
06:10 – City and Colour
06:30 – Washed Out
07:00 – Capital Cities
07:05 – Future Islands
07:55 – Lorde
08:00 – Warpaint
08:25 – Dillon Francis
08:45 – Foster the People
09:00 – Pixies
09:25 – Fatboy Slim
09:40 – Queens of the Stone Age
10:25 – Empire of the Sun
10:35 – Pharrell Williams
10:45 – Sleigh Bells
11:25 – Skrillex
11:35 – Pet Shop Boys
11:35 – Muse

Sunday, April 13th:
03:30 – Preservation Hall Jazz Band
03:30 – J. Roddy Walston & The Business
03:30 – Surfer Blood
04:15 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
04:30 – Frank Turner
05:10 – Fishbone
05:30 – Superchunk
06:00 – Blood Orange
06:00 – Flosstradamus
06:30 – The 1975
07:15 – Little Dragon
07:40 – The Naked and Famous
07:50 – Alesso
08:30 – Daughter
08:30 – Calvin Harris
09:00 – Big Gigantic
09:25 – Beck
09:55 – Adventure Club
10:10 – Nas
10:20 – Arcade Fire
10:45 – Duck Sauce
11:10 – Disclosure

 

So….what are your thoughts?  Like my daily schedules? Hate them? Did I leave someone out I shouldn’t be? Let me know your thoughts.  If you are going to Coachella, and you use these lists, drop me a line as well!   Also, be sure to check out each day’s Spotify Playlist, chocked full of each day’s lineup from the official poster.  Hours of listening pleasure in each of those playlists, so be sure to get your fill.

 

-Akwitz

Now Playing: Coachella 2014


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‘New Music Tuesdays’ – An Unexpected Haul Edition


Musicheads,

I was thinking this week was going to be a relatively modest pull at the record store today, maybe grabbing one, or (at most) two albums.  Little did I know I was going to walk out of the store with 5 new albums!  Going into the day, the only albums I was really enticed about potentially picking up was the latest from Angel Olsen and Phantogram.  In the end, I only decided on the latter, and much, much more.

The latest album, Voices is intricate, relying on vocal and synth layering to create textures that explore different sounds in each track.  The album is led off with three straight singles, Nothing But Trouble, Black Out Days and Fall In Love, all which have a little different twist to separate each song’s unique identity.  Another clever song buried later in the album is a track titled Bill Murray.  Overall, the album is a more-of-the-same from the New York duo.  This is not a cutting remark however, as a continuation of their debut album’s sound, except with a little more  production thrown in.  the second half of the duo, Josh Carter, also shows up on the primary vocals on two tracks on this album, the Phil Collins-esque track Never Going Home and the more trance-like I Don’t Blame You.  All-in-all, the group’s sophomore album now on a major label offers some very strong tracks that will keep the band at the level it currently resides, but unfortunately leaves more to be desired.

Also out this week was the debut from highly buzzed UK group Temples who perform a revisited version of psychedelic rock.

Led by a very Beatles-sounding single in Shelter Song, this group reminds me of a UK version of a mix between Australia’s Tame Impala and Texas’ The Black Angels (if we want to compare contemporary acts), however, all of these groups borrow from a 60’s musical style made famous by much more famous predecessors. Other tracks of note on the album: second single Keep in the Dark, Inspector Gadget-sounding The Golden Throne (don’t take my word for it, just listen and then refer back to this: Inspector Gadget Theme Song) and the harmonious A Question Isn’t Answered. Overall, a solid showing from a group doing a sound that is both familiar and enjoyable.

Be sure to also check out my other acquisitions for this week.  In particular take note of the new album from Sun Kil Moon, Benji with it’s signature close-out track Ben’s My Friend.  The album is introverted and intimate, but offers plenty of music worthy of your ears attention.

And now, as always, here was everything acquired on this New Release Tuesday:

and be sure to follow on Facebook and on Twitter @AudiofileAkwitz at to get even more music updates that don’t make the posts.

Spotify Playlists:
What’s The Score in 2-0-1-4?
New Music Tuesdays 2014

-Akwitz

Now Playing: Yellow Ostrich – Shades

Moon Boots – C. Y. S.


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The Audiophile’s Voter’s Choice & Top 51 Tracks of 2013


Musicheads,

The votes are in and everything has been counted.  This year a lot of talented artists put out a lot of good music, some in bunches, some in one singular piece of musical goodness.  To keep this vote interesting I only chose 1 song per group for the list (although I could have easily thrown in a number of tracks from a few certain artists to round out my top 51).  But what did YOU, the reader select for your favorite track of the year?  It seemed to be a common theme among the voters.  2013 was a year for robots!

That’s right, Daft Punk’s smash single Get Lucky took the crown for this year’s top track of 2013.  With over 100 million streams of the track on Spotify alone, the French duo took the world by storm with its hard to forget beat and easily danceable sound.  Partnering up with legendary guitarist Nile Rodgers and the smooth-voiced Pharrell Williams, the robots had a hit machine in the works before the album even dropped.  Partnered with the incredible publicity campaign full of track snippets (see Daft Punk…a decade without) and even a 30-sec looped promo teaser that even made its way around the internet and even radio for a week before being labelled for what it was.  This song continues to be incredibly catchy and just makes you want to do and sing along.  Just look, even Colbert is doing it!

http://vimeo.com/71943827

That right there is why people love it and that is why it won in the voter’s ears and why I believe it rightly deserves the top place of honor as 2013’s Song Of The Year!

A close second in my book was the Scottish trio CHVRCHES‘ incredibly catchy tune The Mother We Share.

Listening to this song, you are not only uplifted, but want to dance and sing along to the synthesized notes and vocal samples.  It’s an instant mood changer and the pixie-ish lead singer, Lauren Mayberry, you can’t help but smile at. And the funniest/ironic part? It’s actually a very lyrically melancholy song.  This was actually the goal of the group on the song, to make a song that, while lyrically sad, tricks you with a false feeling of empowerment and excitement built in the music.  It really is quite a feat, and one the Scots pull off very well.

Feel free to continue to enjoy the Spotify Playlist linked below and here is the complete list in order of the Audiophile’s top 51 tracks of 2013:

Playlist: The Audiophile: Top 51 Tracks of 2013

  1. Daft Punk – Get Lucky (feat. Pharell Williams)
  2. CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share
  3. Vampire Weekend – Step
  4. Bastille – Pompeii
  5. Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know?
  6. Haim – The Wire
  7. Local Natives – Heavy Feet
  8. Savages – Shut Up
  9. Jake Bugg – Lightning Bolt
  10. NONONO – Pumpin Blood
  11. Bat For Lashes – All Your Gold
  12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Sacrilege
  13. Foals – My Number
  14. London Grammar – Strong
  15. Classixx – Holding On
  16. Phosphorescent – Song For Zula
  17. Wild Cub – Thunder Clatter
  18. Lorde – Royals
  19. St. Lucia – All Eyes On You
  20. San Fermin – Sonsick
  21. The Head & The Heart – Shake
  22. The Knocks – Modern Hearts (feat. St. Lucia)
  23. Crystal Fighters – You & I
  24. RAC – Let Go (feat. Kele, MNDR)
  25. MS MR – Hurricane
  26. Paramore – Still Into You
  27. Phoenix – Trying To Be Cool
  28. Arcade Fire – Afterlife
  29. Cut Copy – We Are Explorers
  30. Jagwar Ma – Come Save Me
  31. Capital Cities – Safe and Sound
  32. Frank Turner – Recovery
  33. Steve Martin & Edie Brickell – Love Has Come For You
  34. The 1975 – Chocolate
  35. Noah And The Whale – There Will Come A Time
  36. The Naked And Famous – Hearts Like Ours
  37. Small Black – No Stranger
  38. Everything Everything – Cough Cough
  39. Atlas Genius – Trojans
  40. Lord Huron – Time To Run
  41. James Blake – Retrograde
  42. Leagues – Spotlight
  43. Cage The Elephant – Come A Little Closer
  44. Royal Teeth – Wild
  45. Rudimental – Feel The Love (feat. John Newman)
  46. The Limousines – Love Is A Dog From Hell
  47. Temples – Shelter Song
  48. Kings Of Leon – Supersoaker
  49. Cayucas – High School Lover
  50. Disclosure – Latch
  51. New Politics – Harlem

I look forward to everything to come in 2014 and hopefully our ears will have the pleasure to have just as competitive a list to determine next year!

Feel like I missed someone or left them off the list?  Let me know.  Discussion is always appreciated.

and don’t forget to follow on Facebook and on Twitter @AudiofileAkwitz at to get even more music updates that don’t make the posts.

–Akwitz

Now Playing: The Audiophile: Top 51 Tracks of 2013