Rather in love with this track. Ironic in that at the core it feels quite heavy-hearted. As another writer aptly put it, “If you’ve ever stared broken-hearted from a train window as frowning forests fly by then you already know what it sounds like.” (Pinglewood)

Phoenix’s buoyant, soaring track turns into something rather bittersweet. The resounding melancholy mood is soft and subtle. The elegant remix lingers in the bridge, poignantly resting on few lyrics to bring out the essence of the song. And that is what Banhart has accomplished. He struck the emotional spirit of the song making this rendering arguably better that the first.

mp3: Phoenix – Rome (Neighbours and Devendra Banhart Remix)

Always and forevermore
I call to say I’m on the way
2000 years remain in a trash can
Let burn the cigarette somewhere
Ashes till it falls, falls, falls

I’ve never loved you
And if I loves you
I wouldn’t say that I’m sorry oh no

Tags: Devendra Banhart, Neighbors, Phoenix, Rome

At the end of a weekend of award-winning sets, blue skies, and hipper-than-hip crowds, an esteemed analyst of mine pronounced that Gorillaz had won Coachella. After falling for the title, I’m compelled to share who made the grade, offered stand-out sets, and made Coachella what it is: the picking ground for some of the best artists performing now.

Several acts were immediately taken out of the contest due to their inability to get to the festival. The Cribs, Gary Numan, Bad Lieutenant, and Delphic fell pray to flight cancellations as a result of the plume of volcanic ash from Iceland that descended on the UK and parts of Scandinavia during the week prior to the festival. Sly Stone has been disqualified as well due to the last minute postponement of his Sunday set until later that evening and the difficulty he had making it through his own songs.

While the remaining 130+ artists competed enthusiastically, the Lux votes are in and it’s a tie between Gorillaz and Thom Yorke’s Atoms For Peace. The remaining titles have been awarded respectively to Dirty Projectors, The Whitest Boy Alive, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Phoenix, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, LCD Soundsystem, Jónsi, Pretty Lights, Vampire Weekend, La Roux, Jay-Z, Hot Chip, Pavement, MGMT, Gossip, The Avett Brothers and Little Dragon.

Owen Pallett’s geeky laugh, the longest bout of insanely loud distortion from Girls, and Mutemath’s Paul Meany performing flips on and over his keyboard made for other memorable Coachella moments.

Special thanks to Ra Ra Riot, Local Natives, Little Boots, Beach House, Sia, Miike Snow, Flying Lotus, Sleigh Bells, and Imogen Heap for playing. You have each been awarded an honorable mention.

Last place goes to Tiësto. You can’t win when you insist on being louder than every other artist to perform and drown out your competitors.

Congratulations to Coachella for their first sell out in the festival’s 12 years. Your decision to hold the fest on the meticulously manicured and palm-tree lined grounds of the Empire Polo Fields in California where the weather might be the finest in the nation might warrants you the prize of best indie festival around.

#1 – Gorillaz
The Gorillaz set was all over the map in terms of music diversity. Quality beats and grooves drove audience members to produce their best dance moves yet. Who needs holographic bandmates when you’ve got a live band made up of the Hypnotic Brash Ensemble and a long list of guests including former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, Little Dragon, De La Soul, Gil Scott-Heron and Bobby Womack.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Gorillaz – Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)

#1 – Atoms For Peace
Thom Yorke’s music is meant for large scale productions like Coachella. The incredible presence of Yorke live with Flea adding his electrifying bass lines truly brought The Eraser to life. Thick beats, resounding piano lines, psychedelic interludes and Yorke’s haunting vocals created an entirely cathartic experience built on inspired song-writing.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Thom Yorke – And It Rained All Night

#3 – Dirty Projectors
With chanteurs that sound like birds, Dirty Projectors dazzled listeners with their experimental sonic alchemy. The beauty of Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, and Haley Deckle’s voices shone radiantly alongside the intricate and unique musical stylings of their compatriots. The power of this group live is something to behold.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Dirty Projectors – Cannibal Resource

#4 – The Whitest Boy Alive
Some of the best music I heard all weekend came from this band out of Berlin. I’ve had a lasting affection for Kings of Convenience, which made it even more exciting when I heard KoC lead singer Erlend Øye’s new project. Øye has dove headfirst into an entirely original form of electro-dance music. His unique vocals fraternize perfectly with the band’s funk guitar lines, smooth keyboard melodies and dance-heavy bass and drums grooves. After the set ended, Øye came out to slap hands with the remaining fans, sing a few lines with them, and proudly wave the German flag that was tossed to him.
MySpace|Website

mp3: The Whitest Boy Alive – Intentions

#5 – Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear put other artists to shame with their voluptuous 4-part harmonies. The sounds created a thick atmosphere drenched in their deeply textured psychedelic pop. The audience was moved and accepted the invitation into their sonicly rich world.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

#6 – Passion Pit
One of the best synth-pop band out there electrified their audience as the sun dropped over the mountains in Indio on Friday. Offering their realm of highly danceable pop grooves, Passion Pit glimmered and soared. The blissed out crowd reciprocated with elation-filled singing and tumbling exuberance.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Passion Pit – Little Secrets – Manners (2009)

#7 – Phoenix
Phoenix’s sparkling indie-pop has clearly taken the U.S. by storm. Their infectious set on Sunday was packed as Coachella-goers drank in the energetic performance by France’s new sensation. Crowds sang along, danced hard, and demonstrated unabashed love for Phoenix. The band’s lighting designer got caught up in flight delays in Europe but no need when you have an engaging Thomas Mars writhing on stage and getting down into the audience to sing the set’s closer.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Phoenix – 1901 – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

#8 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ hippy, communal vibe and jubilant feel-good tunes created the perfect soundtrack for Coachella on Saturday. The band took their audience on a magical trip into their realm of love, hope, and happiness and for the trippers I saw, it couldn’t get any better. The female vocalists surfed the crowd in short dresses and the tangible intimacy between Alex and Jane could be felt no matter how far back one might have been.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Janglin

#9 – LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy’s disco-tinged, dance-punk, David Byrne-recalling set on the main stage of Coachella Friday night magnified the impact of his imaginative musical world. Murphy was egoless, at points even apologetic, inspiring the audience to equally let down their hair and let go of self-consciousness. The band consistently wowed those ready to dance with heavy synth and explosive drum fills, ridden by Murphy’s smart, lyrical meanderings.
MySpace|Website

mp3: LCD Soundsystem – Losing My Edge

#10 – Jónsi
Jónsi’s uplifting sounds created the perfect daytime set at Coachella. The exclusion of the fantastical theatre set and projections that accompany the rest of his spring tour enabled fans to focus on Jónsi’s pure musical gift. Flawless falsetto, glistening crescendos, and orchestral embellishments washed over the crowd as the sun warmed them.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Jonsi – Go Do

#11 – Pretty Lights
Colorado sent their best and brightest to Coachella to incite audiences with cutting-edge dance beats, heavy funk grooves, diverse hip-hop samples, and eletro psychedlia. It went off. Who cares if it’s daytime when you’re in the Sahara tent dancing to Derek Vincent Smith’s sonic intuition coming to life coupled with the venue’s over-the-top lights, lasers, projections, LED screens and surround sound speakers.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Pretty Lights – Hot Like Sauce

#12 – Vampire Weekend
The band’s energetic, youthful enthusiasm and deft musicianship infused their performance, which drew on favorites from both of the group’s records. The highlight of the set came when Ezra Koenig shared his love of screaming by encouraging the audience to just let it all go and join in as he shrieked the chorus of “Blakes Got A New Face.”
MySpace|Website

mp3: Vampire Weekend – One (Blake’s Got A New Face)

#13 – La Roux
La Roux’s set in the Gobi tent might have been the most packed performance of the weekend next to Florence And The Machine. The young crowd went wild for Eleanor Jackson’s synth-driven dance-pop and sugar-sweet vocals.
MySpace|Website

mp3: La Roux – In For The Kill

#14 – Jay-Z
Classic beats, Jay-Z’s smooth stylings, his evident love for his fans, an unannounced cameo from Beyoncé, and spectacular visual backdrops made for stellar entertainment Friday eve. Just the kind of set you’d expect from the first hip-hop headliner ever at Coachella.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Jay-Z and Beyonce – Young Forever (Coachella 2010)

#15 – Hot Chip
U.K’s electro-pop ambassadors created a massive dance party on Coachella’s Outdoor Stage on Saturday. “It’s our third time at Coachella,” Alexis Taylor told the crowd, “and this is the most fun we’ve ever had.” The high-energy set, based mostly on the group’s latest release, One Life Stand (2010), wove the band’s synth explorations within elegantly placed samples all topped by Taylor’s pastel-colored vocals.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Hot Chip – One Life Stand

#16 – Pavement
The legendary indie rockers played one of their first sets in 11 years, proving both their legitimacy and renewed energy. The show was filled with self-effacing humor, dynamic favorites from their vast catalog, and plenty of moments that reminded the audience of what they’d been missing in the 00′s. The set was a redeeming one as many fans consider their performance at Coachella #1 in 1999 as one of the worst Pavement sets ever resulting from the band being burned out and annoyed with each. Plus Stephen Malkamus almost lost his voice from allegedly scorching his throat on a bad-bong hit.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Pavement – You Are a Light

#17 – MGMT
MGMT have emerged in 2010 as one of the most eccentric band’s on the indie scene with their new release Congratulations (2010). While the audience wasn’t as familiar with the new material, the band didn’t care as they tore through a set of psychedelic wanderings, melodic detours, and Beach Boys-esque harmonies with unabashed ardor. While certainly bizarre, it was hard not to respect the band’s dedication to their evolving sound.
MySpace|Website

mp3: MGMT – Siberian Breaks

#18 – Gossip
Beth Ditto might have been the ultimate diva at Coachella despite her stiff competition, namely from Little Boots’ Victoria Hesketh. Ditto controlled the crowd with her powerhouse vocals, enchanting self-assurance, and unabashed elation. The appropriate response? Grin ear-to-ear and dance along with her.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Gossip – Standing in the Way of Control (Playgroup Mix)

#19 – The Avett Brothers
The Avett’s played a moving set of tunes to an enamored audience soon after the gates opened on Friday. Closing with “I and Love and You”, the band invited the crowd to sing along and sent the audience on their way wrapped in their heartfelt lyrics.
MySpace|Website

mp3: The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You

#20 – Little Dragon
Sweden’s Little Dragon gave off their bizarre sounds topped by Yukimi Nagano’s sultry vocals to sweet response. Filled with synth, ambient noises, and multi-layered musical explorations all backed by a steady beat, the Gobi tent relented, entering their strange world and keeping in the groove.
MySpace|Website

mp3: Little Dragon – Runabout

Coachella’s Official Site

Tags: Atoms for Peace, Beach House, Coachella, Dirty Projectors, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Flying Lotus, Gorillaz, Gossip, Grizzly Bear, Hot Chip, Imogen Heap, Jay-Z, Jónsi, La Roux, LCD Soundsystem, Little Boots, Little Dragon, Local Natives, MGMT, Miike Snow, Passion Pit, Pavement, Phoenix, Pretty Lights, Ra Ra Riot, Sia, Sleigh Bells, The Avett Brothers, The Whitest Boy Alive, Thom Yorke, Tiesto, Vampire Weekend

Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
This album delicately led me by the arm towards Animal Collective, when I was confounded by how strange it was. 2007 saw me doing yoga to Person Pitch almost every day, allowing me to sink into what Panda Bear and, as a result, what the whole AC crew had to offer. Person Pitch is simultaneously poppy and abstract, winsome and deranging, creating elaborate and magnificent convoluted sonic collages.
mp3: Panda Bear – Comfy in Nautica
mp3: Panda Bear – Bros
mp3: Panda Bear – Good Girl/Carrots
Download Person Pitch
MySpace | Website

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (2007)
This fearless and truthful release from British soul-singer Amy Winehouse startled listeners with its irresistible depth and retro sound. The gorgeously produced Back to Black is arguably one of the best soul albums of the decade and can withstand countless listens. This saucy siren won’t let you go.
mp3: Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good
mp3: Amy Winehouse – Wake Up Alone
mp3: Amy Winehouse – He Can Only Hold Her
Download Back To Black
MySpace | Website

Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
Radiohead reinvent themselves yet again. Accentuated electronics, Yorke’s urgent lyrics and haunting vocalizations, combined with the band’s peerless craftsmanship fill In Rainbows.
mp3: Radiohead – 15 Step
mp3: Radiohead – House Of Cards
mp3: Radiohead – Down is the New Up
Download In Rainbows
MySpace | Website

Sigur Ros – Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust (2008)
The Icelandic title translates to “With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly”. Med‘s soothing and euphoric post-rock pop creates aural landscapes, bursting with swelling beauty, soaked in Jonsi’s majestic falsetto vocals.
mp3: Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook
mp3: Sigur Ros – Inni mer syngur vitleysingur
mp3: Sigur Ros – Godan daginn
Download Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust
MySpace | Website

Lily Allen – Alright, Still (2007)
This album had me rocking out in my car during many of those 2007 summer months. Allen’s smart alec, sassy attitude is emphatic. Her explosion on the scene as one of Britain’s superstars might put off some, but it’s hard not fall for her well produced brand of bouncy, horn heavy, ska-inspired pop.
Check out “Smile”, “LDN”, “Nan You’re A Window Shopper” – explicit! (can’t post!)
Download Alright, Still
MySpace | Website

Brett Dennen – Hope for the Hopeless (2008)
Brett Dennen inspires me. His lyrics are entirely well considered and thought provoking, and his positive, dynamic melodies are hard to deny. “Make You Crazy”, featuring Femi Kuti, is the true gem here, gorgeous in it’s entirety, speaking about our untrustable government, prisons, child soldiers, and how people treat each other to get ahead. The songs soar, speaking of love, hope, home and peace. “San Francisco” is thoroughly nostalgic especially if you’ve taken any time to get to know Dennen’s amazing city.
mp3: Brett Dennen – Make You Crazy
mp3: Brett Dennen – Wrong About Me
mp3: Brett Dennen – San Francisco
Download Hope For The Hopeless
MySpace | Website

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008)
This album is pure fun, filled with memorable hooks and cheer-inspiring melodies. Once you get past the hype and realize that the music is anything but pretentious, it’s hard not to get carried away by VW’s joyously infectious, savvy lyrics, and crisp pop sound.
mp3: Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
mp3: Vampire Weekend – M79
mp3: Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance
Download Vampire Weekend
MySpace | Website

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
By far my favorite release of the year. Since their inception, Animal Collective has wandered the territorial edges of music, seeking out boundaries previously erected and looking beyond them. They’ve imbued gorgeous indie songs with peculiar vocals and irritating noises, contrasted West African rhythms with British folk melodies, and have hung on a single chord for what seems like eternity. Merriweather feels like a culmination of all of these explorations, achieving a sound that is both accessible and thoroughly innovative. Finally an Animal Collective album that I’m moved to listen to all the way through -hooky and pop drenched in swirls of psychedelia, heavy with sonic texture.
mp3: Animal Collective – My Girls
mp3: Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
mp3: Animal Collective – Brothersport
Download Merriweather Post Pavilion
MySpace | Website

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
The danceable, catching indie rock of Phoenix is perfectly featured on their newest release. The tight grooves of the band’s electrifying synth pop flow loudly behind Thomas Mars’ smooth and all the while urgent vocals. Wolfgang is brilliantly sleek with sonic texture, putting the band on the map as one of the most exciting groups to blow up stateside this year.
mp3: Phoenix – Lisztomania
mp3: Phoenix – 1901
mp3: Phoenix – Lasso
Download Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
MySpace | Website

Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy (2009)
On There is No Enemy, Built to Spill investigates an aesthetic they’ve created and honed over the years, revolving around Doug Martsch’s soft, yet penetrating vocals swimming in a bath of refracting guitar tones. The band again finds a new and interesting way to approach their sound making this my favorite BTS album since 1999′s Keep It Like A Secret.
mp3: Built to Spill – Aisle 13
mp3: Built to Spill – Hindsight
mp3: Built to Spill – Nowhere Lullaby
Download There Is No Enemy
MySpace | Website

Tags: Amy Winehouse, Animal Collective, Brett Dennen, Built to Spill, Lily Allen, Panda Bear, Phoenix, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Vampire Weekend

Made it out to both days of the Monolith Festival. Crushing acts were Phoenix, Passion Pit, and Chromeo. Sets were packed and dance heavy. Phoenix’s electrifying Sunday performance on the main stage set them up to be huge in Colorado and beyond. Chance had it that MSTRKRFT cancelled, leaving the 2nd to last main stage slot open. Certainly feels fated that Phoenix played for the most sizeable audience of the weekend. Their lightning speed rise has been incredible to follow. Passion Pit’s surging set confirmed that the eletro pop craze is on. And Chromeo’s sex-saturated synth funk throw down triggered a dance freak-out from the crowd and had everyone smiling hard.

New favorites included OK Go (finally saw them live after all that YouTube hype), Health, The Walkmen, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Woodhands, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and The Royal Bangs. Great to see Stars of Track and Field again after they took most of 2008 off. Other sweet catches included Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Grates, Tigercity, and Danielle Ate The Sandwich. The eletronica was also pumping with choice acts The Glitch Mob, Savoy, and Beats Antique.

The setting of Red Rocks couldn’t have been more beautiful and the bands knew and recognized it.

mp3:We Were Promised Jetpacks – Keeping Warm – These Four Walls (2009)
mp3:Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home – Up From Below (2009)
mp3:The Walkmen – In the New Year – You & Me (2008)

Listen to more of the music from the acts mentioned above through MySpace:

PHOENIX – Paris, France
PASSION PIT – Boston, MA
CHROMEO – Montreal/New York
OK GO – Los Angeles, CA
HEALTH – Los Angeles, CA
THE WALKMEN – New York, NY
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS – Scotland, UK
WOODHANDS – Toronto, CAN
EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS – Los Angeles, CA
THE ROYAL BANGS – Knoxville, TN
STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD – Portland, OR
THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN – San Francisco, CA
GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV – Boulder, CO
THE GRATES – Brisbane, AU
TIGERCITY – Brooklyn, NY
DANIELLE AT THE SANDWICH – Ft Collins, CO
THE GLITCH MOB – California
SAVOY – Boulder, CO
BEATS ANTIQUE – Oakland, CA

Monolith Festival
September 12-13, 2009

Tags: Chromeo, Danielle Ate The Sandwich, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Gregory Alan Isakov, Health, Monolith Festival, OK GO, Passion Pit, Phoenix, Red Rocks, Stars of Track And Field, Thao With The Get Down Stay Down, The Glitch Mob, The Grates, The Royal Bangs, The Walkmen, Tigercity, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Woodhands

I first started listening to Phoenix back in 2004 when I found the band’s 2nd album, Alphabetical, on a listening station in Bart’s CD Cellar in Boulder. Immediately upon placing the headphones over my ears, I was wrapped up in tight pop grooves, smooth vocals, and sparkling sonic effects.

The band is curiously original despite the fact that their earlier albums inspire comparisons to Maroon 5. I momentarily forgot about the band, but noticed they were on tour this year with a new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Went to the sold out show at the Bluebird (Denver, CO) blind, and was pleasantly shocked with where they’d taken the music – expanded direction into danceable, catching indie rock, filled with heavy keys and sound effects all laying on the foundation already built. Hooked again.

Based in Paris, Phoenix took off in Europe in 1999 when Air asked the group to be their backing band on several U.K. performances. The band broke in the U.S. on Saturday Night Live this past April, just before releasing their 4th studio album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009). After signing Phoenix in March, Daniel Glass of Glassnote Records released one of the new tracks to build up interest in the record and to increase the demand for live performances. According to Glass, that’s what inspired rampant talk about the band on blogs and the call from Saturday Night Live. Since then, Phoenix has played sold out clubs across the U.S., with appearances at Bonnaroo and on Letterman. This fall’s schedule includes the Greek Theatre (L.A.), The Warfield (S.F.), Monolith Festival (CO), and Austin City Limits.

I’ll leave you with two tracks and a video. “If I Ever Feel Better” is one of the first singles released back in 2000. Next is “Lisztomania” from Wolfgang Amadeus. The must watch is the video of “1901″ from SNL in April.

mp3: Phoenix – If I Ever Feel Better – United (2000)
mp3: Phoenix – Lisztomania – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

Lisztomania
So sentimental
Not sentimental no!
Romantic not disgusting yet
Darling i’m down and lonely
When with the fortunate only
I’ve been looking for something else
Do let do let do let jugulate do let do let do

Let’s go slowly, discouraged,
Distant from other interests
On your favorite weekend ending
This love’s for gentlemen only
That’s with the fortunate only
No i gotta be someone else
These days it comes it comes it comes it comes it comes and goes

Lisztomania
Think less but see it grow
Like a riot, like a riot, oh!
I’m not easily offended
It’s not hard to let it go
From a mess to the masses

Lisztomania
Think less but see it grow
Like a riot, like a riot, oh!
I’m not easily offended
It’s not hard to let it go
From a mess to the masses

Follow, misguide, stand still
Disgust, discourage
On this precious weekend ending
This love’s for gentlemen only
Wealthiest gentlemen only
And now that you’re lonely
Do let do let do let jugulate do let do let do

Let’s go slowly, discouraged,
We’ll burn the pictures instead
When it’s all over we can barely discuss
For one minute only
Not with the fortunate only
Thought it could have been something else
These days it comes it comes it comes it comes it comes and goes

Lisztomania
Think less but see it grow
Like a riot, like a riot, oh!
I’m not easily offended
It’s not hard to let it go
From a mess to the masses

Lisztomania
Think less but see it grow
Like a riot, like a riot, oh!
I’m not easily offended
It’s not hard to let it go
From a mess to the masses

Phoenix | MySpace

Download through Amazon: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix | United

Tags: France, If I Ever Feel Better, Lisztomania, Phoenix