The Coachella 2007 Experience

Zach De La Rocha @ Coachella

Here is the short version of my Coachella Experience. I’ve tried to organize this in chronological order from Friday to Sunday.Bands

  • Friday Favorites: the Noisettes, Silversun Pickups, Arctic Monkeys, Björk
    • the Noisettes were spectacular, very unique… same goes for Silversun Pickups (sweet drummer)
    • Tokyo Police Club=huge letdown, dissappointing
    • Arctic Monkeys need to move around a bit (physically), but great music
    • Interpol needs to never play music again
    • Björk needed to play forever, I was starstruck
  • Saturday Favorites: Hot Chip, Kings of Leon, the Arcade Fire, the Red Hot Chili Peppers
    • the Cribs needs a wardrobe change, good music
    • Hot Chip wins the “Funnest Show” award
    • MSTRKRFT (and most DJs) need to move around a bit, I know that your Macbook is sweet, but there’s a crowd to entertain
    • Kings of Leon brought the hard rock
    • the Arcade Fire needs a new sound guy (maybe that was Coachella’s fault)
    • Red Hot Chili Peppers needed more BloodSugarSexMagik, amazing light show though
  • Sunday Favorites: Lupe Fiasco, the Roots, Rage Against the Machine
    • Mika should be the lead singer of an 80s hair metal band
    • Lupe Fisaco wins the Grammy (or he should have at least)
    • Against Me! brought some pure punk to Coachella
    • The Roots almost made me cry, up there for best all weekend
    • Willie Nelson should sing more about pot, that one song was hilarious
    • Crowded House should have left the stage after the water bottle incident
    • Manu Chao was overly repetitive, extremely high energy
    • Rage Against the Machine never left, they play as if it’s still the 90s. Amazing. Amazing…

It really is hard to believe that it is over. This event that I have obsessed over for three months has come and gone. It was so worth it, and I will be there next year rain or shine.

Coachella 2007: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers Heads

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been a staple in my music collection from as far back as I can remember (not of my own volition in the beginning.) Their great amalgam of funk metal, punk, rap, and pop makes a sound unique from anything around them throughout their current 24 year career. While their first two records didn’t do too much regarding chart success, from Mothers Milk on, success has followed them wherever they go.I want to spend the most time on album #5: Blood Sugar Sex Magic. My favorite album, and judging from chart success, may other’s as well. Having been produced by Rick Rubin, it almost seems obvious that it would be an amazing record, and having sold 12 million copies worldwide, there is no doubt that this is one of the greatest rock albums (of all time). This album is pure energy and fun. Heavy bass emphasis puts funk at the forefront of the record with Anthony Kiedis’ rap sharp and powerful lyricism. “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge” are two amazing singles that showcase the creativity put into every song on the record.Moving on to the following albums, Californication was an even larger chart success than its predecessors with singles like “Californication”, “Scar Tissue”, and “Parallel Universe”. To date, it has sold 15 million copies. Californiation allowed RHCP to basically clean up at the 2000 MTV VMAs (and win a few Grammys at the same time.) Skipping past By the Way, which is another great record, we arrive at Stadium Arcadium.So much hype surrounded this album that I didn’t think that it could live up to what it was supposed to be, and in my opinion, it didn’t. There is no denying that the amount of awards that Stadium Arcadium has garnered speaks volumes about its success as a pop album, but I feel that RHCP left their sound behind them and replaced it with some cotton candy and bubblegum. I don’t feel that it’s a bad album, I just hope that they play more than Stadium Arcadium at Coachella…