Preview: Friday at Coachella

For those of you who (a) have your Coachella tickets and need guidance as to who to see and who to get amped about or (b) don’t have your Coachella tickets and need to decide whether or not spending several hundred dollars more on eBay is worth it, we’re doing previews of each day of Coachella. Parts two and three will be posted on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Something’s Wrong [mp3]
Those of you who think that the Rage Against the Machine reunion will be the most exciting event at Coachella are sadly mistaken—The Jesus and Mary Chain have been broken up longer and were better when they were together than Zach de la Rocha and company. The band’s 1985 debut album, “Psychocandy”, is, like, totally awsome.

Interpol - Obstacle 1 [mp3]
I don’t really like to quote Pitchfork, but calling Interpol “a seminal artifact from cool’s last days” was spot on. They’ve put out two nearly-flawless, badass albums (I’m disregarding the EPs, which are mostly just a waste of time) and have a new one coming out—so we can assume they’ll play the new stuff live, right? And we can assume the new stuff is awesome, right? Right.

Sonic Youth - Hey Joni [mp3]
There is no other band (that comes readily to mind, at least) that has stayed together as long as Sonic Youth that still makes music worth listening to. Thurston and Kim are the classiest people ever and, if you haven’t seen them before, its time to show your appreciation for an innovative band that, despite its relentless output, may not be around too much longer.

Rufus Wainwright - One Man Guy [mp3]
His albums may be a bit uniform, but Wainwright’s a stage veteran and puts on a great show. He’s one of the few mellower acts this year at Coachella, and will be a nice interlude between some of the louder, more intense bands.

Gogol Bordello - I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again [mp3]
Ukranian gypsy punk from that guy who was in “Everything is Illuminated”? Sign me up! People’s opinions about this band may be mixed but I’m willing to bet their live show is insane, kinda like a “Fiddler on the Roof” punk opera meets hallucinogenic drugs. Or something along those lines.

Busdriver - Unemployed Black Astronaut [mp3]
Busdriver sounds like the black son of Doseone and Aesop Rock genetically engineered to be the best rapper ever until he gets caught up in the downward spiral of a cocaine addiction and comes out the other side eight years later slightly less talented but wiser and more honest for it. Or if John Frusciante painted his skin black, read too much T.S. Eliot, and in his youth hung out in the ghetto taking acid instead of following around the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Either way, it’s pretty damn good stuff.

- Dominick Duhamel -