Feels like we're only going backwards(Or the Coachella 2015 Lineup Review)

So it’s early January, and with the start of a new revolution around the sun, so with it comes the meager beginnings of the upcoming Festival Season. As you may know, one of the biggest and best festivals in the States was announced today, and with said annoucement comes plenty of excitement, but also some skepticism. Today we’re going over the always eagerly anticipated Coachella Lineup for 2015. Let’s get started!

First things first, AC-DC. Now I would have never thought this was a real possibility a few weeks ago, but lo and behold, there they are as the Friday headliners. While they are legendary band with a huge following, will their fans wade through youngsters and EDM kids to see the legends kill it? I don’t know, but it can’t be any worse than that time Blur and the Stone Roses headlined and played to barely anybody. One of the next things on Friday that jumps out is the Tame Impala billing. Sure they’re an incredible band, but are they well known enough to be playing that late in the day? Well whatever, they deserve the attention, and it’ll be a great night of Aussie rock.

Quickly, Steely Dan really?

What the day does have plenty of though, is a really good undercard, which, at this point, is more of a reason to go than the three headliners. Interpol is back(Do they always play the Friday of Coachella?), Ride will bring nostalgia, and growing icons Flying Lotus, swedish songstress Lykke Li are all showing up. Two really awesome and quite unexpected additions? Raekwon the Chef and Ghostface Killa from the Wu will be murdering the crowd, and Squarepusher will teach the noobs what real electronic music is. I will admit, even though I’m not attending, there are plenty of interesting sounding things I want to get into, and that for me is one of the best parts of music festival season.

Next we have Saturday: Honestly, this might be the most lackluster Coachella lineup they’ve ever done, and for me it gets extremely obvious right after you move past the awesomeness of Jack White as headliner. He’ll kill it for sure, and with his wealth of material it’s gonna be a good, solid show for rock n roll fans. That’s where most of the excitement stops though. The Weeknd, Axwell ^ Ingrosso, and alt-J round of the “big hitters” of the day. Alt-J is good, but all the reviews I’ve read of the Weeknd live have been pretty bland, to be honest, so I’m a bit at a loss. Belle  & Sebastian are excellent though and Ratatat should be a interesting show, given their high placement. Coachella has been doing well the last few years with punk, and this year is no exception with legends Bad Religion finally showing up. Seriously, that show will be exceptional.

Rounding out Saturday, you have Run the Jewels, The Mighty Swans, War on Drugs, Parquet Courts(who have been buzzing lately), and Perfume Genius, who is billed way too fucking low for the type of year he had in 2014.

Now, here’s where I lose it. Fucking Drake is closing out Sunday? Seriously? Was there no other person who raps available? When I think of Festival closers, you want something huge, a spectacle, and someone universally praised. Drake might be huge, but they must have been desperate. How are the children going to decide between him and Kaskade? Omg. His best song (“Hold on, We’re going Home”) is a straight Frank Ocean ripoff, and until a few years he was best known as the token black guy on Degrassi.

Next though, is the awesome Florence & the Machine. This makes me excited because it means that 1: a new album is fast approaching, and 2: hopefully she’s at Bonnaroo and I can witness her again. EDM kingpins Kaskade and David Guetta tear it down for the dance enthusiasts, and the wildly exciting St. Vincent helps to round out the second line. Hopefully she get’s to close out the Outdoor Theatre while Drake plays. Marina and the Diamonds is gorgeous with a capital G, and she has some lungs on her too, so it’s nice to see her back, and Panda Bear, while billed much much too low, will be an excellent mid day set for everyone to relax to.

Overall, I think it’s decent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people who were traveling far distances decided not to go. There’s simply not enough for some, and slowly, but surely the EDM scene is taking over the festival. I’ll still be watching the webcast, but every year it get’s a little bit harder for me to want to travel across the country and pay upwards of 400 dollars for a ticket, especially since ‘Roo is so close, and it’s more in line with my eclectic tastes. For those that love these bands though, it’ll be a great time. Thanks for reading guys, see you Friday!