Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
13-15 & 20-22 April 2012
Empire Polo Club, California, USA
coachella.com

In a sentence
With two identical line ups on consecutive weeks, Coachella boasts what is probably the strongest overall line up in the world.

Headliners
The Black Keys
Radiohead
Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg

If you only see one band
This could have been anybody of dozens, but ignoring the headliners, I wouldn’t want to miss The Shins.

Hidden down the order
It shows the strength of the line up that Gaslamp Killer looks like he’ll be on very early on the final day.

Other sockformation favourites
Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, M83, GIRLS, The Horrors, Frank Ocean, SebastiAn, Yuck, Neon Indian, WU LYF, The Dear Hunter, Miike Snow, Jeff Mangum, Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Azealia Banks, A$AP Rocky, Buzzcocks, tUnE, yArDs, Black Lips, The Big Pink, Justice, Beirut, The Weeknd, Girl Talk, The Hives, DJ Shadow, Wild Flag, Modeselektor, Real Estate, First Aid Kit, Metronomy, Wild Beasts

whenever my seven-year old son is visiting, i always make sure to take full advantage and get him to give me his views on some music for me. this is simply another example of my laziness for writing posts myself. he tends to have pretty decent taste in music (although i’m not happy about his elvis costello review here), and knows what he likes. he used to love little man tate, so it isn’t any surprise to see him like his a couple of those that he does below. plus, all kids love professor green don’t they?

arctic monkeys. hellcat spangled shalalala
yeah, i didn’t like the beginning but i really like the drumming.
3.5 stars

beastie boys. don’t play no game that i can’t win (ft. santogold)
i don’t like this. there is nothing good about it.
1.5

elvis costello. sparkling day
he’s the man on the wall in your flat and in the restaurant the other day (banners) isn’t he. i don’t like the song though. it sounds weird.
2

emeli sande. heaven
oh no. i’ve heard this before and don’t like it.
1

the pigeon detectives. lost
the actual song is quite good actually.
3

professor green. at your inconvenience
it’s quite a good one. i like the words and like that he is angry.
4.5

wretch 32. don’t go (ft josh kumra)
i don’t like his voice.
2.5

thanks josh. as insightful as ever.

the new arctic monkeys has grown and grown on me since i wrote them off a few weeks ago and pleaded for alex turner to do the decent thing and go solo full time. i am big enough and ugly enough to admit when i’m wrong though. there is plenty of life left in this band yet it turns out. as a way of an apology (because i’m sure they’ve been losing sleep over what they read on here) i thought i’d share this video on here.

album review: arctic monkeys. suck it and see. 6 june 2011. domino records
(buy here)

i don’t really have time to write a full review of the new arctic monkeys record. i also don’t feel i should. i’m not sure if i’m disappointed in it or not. i’ve decided to just write up what i put on the forums about it instead. i’m not even going to give it a mark out of ten.

the fact that the best track is ‘piledriver waltz’, and that’s not as good as the version on the submarine soundtrack, says an awful lot. alex turner gets a bit of abuse these days for his apparent arrogance, but he is what makes the band. yeah, matt helders is a good drummer, a great personality and often has amazing hair, but alex turner is the real talent. he needs to say thank you very much but i’m now off to do my own thing. matt helders can then go form a super group with russell lissack, john hassall and rose elinor dougall. i would love that actually.