It’s here! In celebration of our THIRD blogiversary (which is actually on May 17), we’ve put together our third edition of the wildly popular Blogwave Summer mixtape series. Each spring, we ask 20 or so of our favorite blog friends to each send us a summer jam. Then we extremely crudely mix it all together and share it with you. This one came together quite nicely and I think it might even be my favorite of the three. We’re really thrilled with the blogs that participated this year (check out the full list below) and feel like we got a fantastic mix of blogs both large and small, old and new. Special shoutout to Chris over at gorilla vs bear for contributing perhaps the most difficult song to mix in with a bunch of summer dance tunes. Another shoutout to @sbrolins for this year’s cover image. And another shoutout to We Listen For You for still having a blogspot URL.
Anyway, you know the drill. Listen below, share with your friends, leave us some love, etc. And before you even ask, I’m not providing the mix as individual tracks, so save your fingers the trouble of typing up a comment asking for that. And just in case you missed the first two editions, check out Volume One and Volume Two.
And again, HUGE thanks to all of the awesome blogs that participated. Everyone included below is either a blog I adore, or an IRL blog friend, but in most cases it’s actually both. So make sure to check out all the blogs below because they are all pretty swell. Mad, mad blogger <3. And if you don't like a certain track, you can also see below exactly who picked it and give them hell about it. Unless it's the song I picked. In that case, keep your opinions to yourself.
Our friends at Cascine have done it again. And by “it”, I mean that they’ve sent me an email with a song. Which means the song will be awesome and I will post it. This time its from Ditt Inre from Stockholm. Have I mentioned before that Sweden consistently pumps out my favorite music? This track in particular sort of reminds me of what the first Washed Out album might have sounded like if I liked it more and it had less chillwave and more beats. The En Värld I Brand EP is out on Cascine on May 29. And it’s good/great.
On the way to last night’s show, I rolled my windows down for approximately 30 seconds and wasn’t freezing. Yes, that’s right, summer concert season is officially here. In fact, it was just announced today that Beach House, something close to my personal holy grail of bands I wanted to see this year, would be coming to town. But let’s not jump too far into the future without reflecting on the recent past. On a historic day in which Dive became DIIV, I got to see the artists formerly known as Dive and now known as DIIV on a Tuesday night along with Frankie Rose with 20-30 others, at most.
DIIV was perfect for a Tuesday night and rocked way harder than I expected. Oversized Bill Cosby sweaters notwithstanding, the foursome had all the energy I could have asked for, a pair of Chucks that I can’t believe are still held together, and some songs that I really, really like. Pretty excited for them to have an album. I wanted to buy a record but there was strangely no merch at all from either artist. But what most surprised me about DIIV (via guitar sticker) is that they are all or part conspiracy theorists, actual or perceived.
Frankie Rose was perfectly chatty and I kind of want to hang out with her romantically. She seems to be a really big Oakland Raiders fan and her favorite beer is Bud Light Lime. Though sometimes seeming slightly disinterested (totally fair given it being one of the last few shows of a long tour), I was still very glad to have seen her and she just might be making her way up my list of indie crushes. There was one particular song that was extremely Crystal Stilts-y. I wonder if I’ll ever try to figure out which one that was. Sounds and sights.
It’s been a while since we made any sort of a mix. In fact, I think it’s been since way back last summer when we spur of the moment made that Relajado mix for all of your relaxation needs. But then the good folks at ex.fm asked us to make their May monthly mix tape and we happily obliged. This mix has no theme, and it’s not really a “mix” so much as a playlist. I called it maylybeatz because we are dailybeatz and this is the month of May. I’m extremely creative. And I think most of these songs have been posted already on this site at some point, but since nobody reads it, it might serve as a nice refresher for what you’ve missed out on. Either way, enjoy it’s sort of chill, sort of glitchy vibes and take a ride on some maywaves. Thanks to ex.fm for asking us to participate and for being generally awesome.
And don’t worry, for anyone who’s asked. There WILL be another annual mix making an appearance later this month, so have no fear!
One of the names that I’ve started to hear being thrown around about town is Lianne La Havas. Apparently she is some awesome British and/or European artist with a super sexy and soulful vocals. Old friend Shlohmo does what he does with her track “Forget” with his understated beats to turn this into the chillout song of the day/week/month/year. This might be the perfect representation of the type of stuff I’m most into at this moment in time. You should also check out Lianne’s tunes when they are not in this wonderfully chopped up and reworked form for good measure.
Hey friends and lovers, sorry I’ve been so absent lately. Not that I have to apologize, because that’s the exact reason I decided last summer to make this not so dailybeatz, but still. Anyway, I was busy going to Coachella, and then laying by a pool for a few days after Coachella, and then I turned 29 (super old) and then I moved into the house that I bought, because I’m super old and an adult. Anyway, I finally had a chance to re-emerge into the world so I figured I’d share a track. I found this track via the twitter of our friend Tim over at Smoke Don’t Smoke and it got me. I think this sort of two-step beat is my favorite of all the beats in the world. No matter how many songs I hear with a beat like this, I still swoon every time. Can someone tell me what this is actually called? Anyway, even though I’ve been away for a bit, I hope you Forget Me Not. See what I did there? Big ups to Gullfisk for his sexy rework of a pretty awesome song to begin with. Kinda love Neo’s vocals on this one, too. Wasn’t there some rapper named Neo a few years back? This track and it’s remixes will be available on Diamond and Raw on April 30.
PS. There have been a lot of articles written recently about how you shouldn’t music blog unless you have something new to say about a song/act/etc. I disagree, and will continue to not do that. I just want to share some cool songs with people that may not have heard them. So continue to listen, if you want.
It’s Monday morning. My likely last Coachella has come to a close. And now we continue to lay by the pool for 2 more days before returning home to reality. So now is the time where we talk about highlights. For me, highlights were probably M83 and St. Vincent. I’d only seen M83 once before at Pitchfork Fest a few years back and it was the highlight of THAT weekend. And it’s awesome to see what they’ve become now. Beyond excited that I get to see them at a proper show for the first time in under 2 weeks in my own town. And with I Break Horses as openers, no less.
And the second was one of my favorites, St. Vincent, a total babeasaurus who can really get down with a guitar. She skipped over Detroit on her current tour so she was a mandatory for Coachella. Her set, thankfully, began after sundown so there was the lighting in the Gobi tent for even more effect, but she didn’t really need it. As her awesome set neared a close, she announced she was playing a new song, “Krokodil”, which would be released on a 7″ (presumably for Record Store Day?) and as soon as the song began, she jumped off stage into the crowd and surfed for the entirety of a song. Usually a new song at a show is a sort of a down moment, but this new song and it’s performance got the best reaction to a new song I’ve ever seen at a show. You can just tell that she was having a total rock star moment as she got back on stage after the song, disheveled and out of breath, and with a quivering voice proclaimed, “Fuck yeah, Coachella”. She is my new favorite indie rock crush. Sadly, we also noticed she had a ring on. Has she been married/engaged this whole time and nobody told me about it?
Anyway, you should all watch her full set below because she is great. But if nothing else, at least start at the 38 minute mark to see her perform “Krokodile” to see Annie Clark being a total rock star. Please do it.
I might talk more about Coachella later, but probably not.
EDIT: Coachella has blocked this video like a bunch of jerks. Hopefully the full length sets will go back up after weekend 2 happens. This really cuts into my plans of watching this video a few times every day.
It’s here! Despite the questionable but apparently easily profitable decision to extend Coachella to 2 weekends with identical lineups (a feat I doubted could ever actually take place), the multi-weekend Coachella festival is upon us. This is my third consecutive Coachella and likely my last as it’s just too expensive to get there from the Midwest and in my slightly older age I’ve taken to exploring the more boutique festivals out there (a la ATP fests, etc). Our crew has expanded once again to 9 people and we’ve built in a THIRD day of relaxation by the pool, but thanks to the most interesting forecast, we will likely have to spend that first pool day in the hot tub. Which I’m totally OK with.
For the third year in a row, I’m too lazy to even change the pictures, and have only made slight modifications to this guide, and I’ve never actually camped at Coachella so all of the camping advice is non-Coachella specific, but still valuable, I think. So take a gander and hopefully I will have helped you to make your Coachella experience slightly more enjoyable. To make things easier, I’ve bolded the main edits from last year’s guide. And since this is a music fest, enjoy a soundtrack of some of this year’s artists as you read.
So it’s time to pack your bags. But what do you need to bring? Well, aside from the essentials, here are a few items you may not have thought about. I’m not camping for this fest, but a lot of these items are much more essential if you will be camping.
- Mini-flashlight: There is nothing more frustrating than dropping something in the grass at your campsite and trying to find it with your cell phone. You can get a powerful and compact mini-Maglite for about $10 and it’s worth it.
- WRISTBAND: I know this is pretty obvious, but don’t forget to pack your super high tech admission wristband. You don’t want to fly across the country and realize you left in your desk drawer. Not to mention that you won’t even be able to get within a mile of the festival without it. The good news is that mailing out wristbands should prevent the debacle that took place in 2010 which prevented me from catching Yeasayer and getting the fest off to a horrible start. To avoid any mishaps, make sure to register your wristband before you put it on. Instructions on how to register can be found in your way overdone giant Coachella box with lots of stuff you will never want or need.
- Car chargers: Unless you can wait in long lines to use recharging stations on site, make sure you have car chargers for your phones and ipods (for all that campsite rockin out). Plus I just read that even charging your Blackberry for 10 minutes will give you about a 25% charge. But do people still have Blackberrys? Anyway, yeah, bring that. And bring your regular chargers, too, for the aforementioned on site charging stations.
- Small backpack: You will likely want to bring a few things into the fest with you so you don’t have to go back to your campsite once you’re on the festival grounds for the day. Even though you’ll likely pack up all of your weekend clothing in some sort of backpack, you dont want to have that stuff scattered all over, so bring an additional empty pack. It’s just easier that way. I picked up this little guy from Eddie Bauer for use at SXSW and it was fantastic. Super lightweight, affordable, and zips up into itself so it takes up hardly any space when not in use.
- Mini “first aid” kit: It would behoove you to bring a quart sized plastic bag with some essentials that you’ll want throughout the weekend. I usually have Tylenol, Tums (an absolute festival necessity), bandaids, allergy meds, nail clippers (nothing ruins a weekend like a painful hangnail. Or maybe that’s just me?) and other things of that nature.
- DUCT TAPE: Duct tape cures all camping problems. Pack it.
- Collapsible chairs: Believe me, you’ll want a few of these when you’re sitting around the campsite. It’s also convenient if they have cup holders in the armrests, on account of all the burrs you’ll probably be drinking throughout the weekend.
- Dr. Bronners: Try to pick some of this stuff up. It’s a sort of all purpose cleaner. You can use it as soap, shampoo, or even to clean those pots and pans that you made breakfast with on your portable burner. It’s better than carrying a whole bunch of products and works pretty well.
- Bathing suit: While you probably won’t be swimming at the fest, a swimsuit can still come in handy. When I went to Bonnaroo, there were trailers with a bunch of sinks scattered throughout the campsite. So we threw on the bathing suits, took the Dr Bronners (see above) and took “sink showers”. It wasn’t nearly as good as a real shower, but it did feel nice to freshen up a bit without exposing ourselves to the other hippies in attendance. Plus if you’re a chick, you can get away with shorts and a bikini top in the hot sun all day. Although with this year’s forecast, that may not be the case. Which brings me to my next point.
- Warm clothing: WHAT? Yeah, I can’t believe it either. But the forecast for weekend one is keeping things in the 60s and 70s, and we all know how cool the desert gets at night when it’s 95 degrees during the day, so you have to expect it will be even cooler than you’re used to when the sun goes down this year. Do not be that girl who’s stuck with nothing more than booty shorts and a bikini top when it’s 50 degrees out. And if you’re camping, this whole staying warm thing becomes even more important. I’m sad we even have to talk about this, but let’s plan ahead and not worry about it.
- EARPLUGS! It’s usually pretty difficult to get a good night’s sleep camping at a festival, but it’s damn near impossible without earplugs. There are lots of people around, and they usually are not afraid to blast their music at all hours of the day or night. An eye mask isn’t a bad idea either if you can’t sleep when it’s bright out. These things might help you sleep past 8AM, my standard camping wake up time regardless of how late I was up the night before. That is, until you get woken up by your flesh baking in the sauna that is a morning tent in the sun. Plus, sometimes when you’re up close for your favorite band, it’s just too damn loud.
- Shade tent: It’s a bit of a hassle to bring and set up, but believe me, it is WELL worth it to have some shade to sit under in the mornings. If you don’t want to bring one, you can alternately hope that you have some nice neighbors who brought one that you can befriend. But do you really want to take that chance?
- Comfortable footwear: I know this goes without saying, but if you haven’t been, you probably aren’t aware of all of the standing/dancing/walking you’ll be doing. It’s better to be comfortable than fashionable in situations such as this. Sanuks have been my festival footwear of choice the last 2 years. Those puppies have been to hell and back, and the best part is, you can just throw them in the washing machine when you get home and theyre good as new.
- Sunscreen: Sort of obvious, but don’t forget to pack it. I know I did until someone reminded me.
- A hat: Even if your hair isn’t thinning as mine is, it’s still important to bring a hat to a fest in the desert. Believe me, you do NOT want your scalp to burn. It’s a very unsavory situation. And since it’s kind of weird and gross to sunblock through your hair, a hat provides some nice protection. One with a brim will keep you a bit cooler too. I never wore hats before last year’s fest but was able to find one I liked, and it’s made its way into my regular wardrobe even after the fest.
- TOILET PAPER: If you’re going to be using only the porto-johns for 3 days and nights, it is imperative to bring your own toilet paper, just to be safe.
ON THE WAY TO THE FEST
Above is a picture of the crazy amounts of windmills you might see on your drive in through Palm Springs (assuming you’re coming in from southwestern California) and it’s pretty neat. Here are a few things to remember on your drive into the fest.
- It’s best to fill up your gas tank shortly before arriving so that you can run your car when needed to charge phones, etc (sorry environment!) without worrying about getting stuck. Plus who knows what traffic will be like? I went to a Phish festival and waited in stop and go traffic for 12 hours after exiting the freeway with no gas stations in sight (which, from what I hear, is one of the shorter waits that people experienced). Having been to the fest, I don’t really think that extreme of a situation is likely to happen, but it’s still good to have a full tank of gas when that’s your only energy source for the weekend.
- For cooler purposes, I’ve found that it’s better to use those plastic blue liquid filled reusable ice things. I think that’s what they’re called at least. Bags of ice will melt all up in that cooler and get all of your food wet. And grilled cheese on soggy bread is unsavory to say the least. If you do have to use ice though, wait until you’re close to the fest (depending on where you’re coming from) to buy and throw in the cooler. A few hours can make a huge difference.
- Enjoy awesome playlists. Roll down the windows. GET EXCITED!
WE’RE HERE!
Remember that backpack I told you about? Here are a few things you can use it for, if you’re anal like I am. But also keep in mind that you’ll be carrying this with you all day. It’s best if you and your friends can all pack into one bag and then take turns carrying it.
- Mini “first aid” kit: After your third round of carnival food, you’re probably going to need those Tums we talked about earlier. Although, to be fair, the food at these fests is typically much better than you’d expect. There’s always a wide variety of options and you can usually get away with something pretty healthy/not too scary for the stomach like corn on the cob, baked potato, plus a variety of veggie/vegan items. While I didn’t see my favorite Lolla/Pitchfork fest food, the ever delicious potstickers, at last year’s fest, I still ate some pretty delicious stuff throughout the weekend.
- Long sleeved shirt/sweatshirt: In the desert, the days are excruciatingly hot (though we got pretty lucky last year with temps in the mid 80s) and the nights get pretty cool. In a matter of an hour, it goes from hotter than hell to refreshingly chilly, but I definitely made use of my sweatshirt every night of last year’s fest.This is super important with this year’s forecast, aka a HIGH temperature of 69 on Friday of week 1. Don’t be that cold person amidst a sea of warms.
- Sunglasses case: I’ve destroyed many pairs of sunglasses from putting them directly into my pockets at music fests. Just bring your case in your bag and you can tuck them safely away when the sun goes down.
- Hand sanitizer: Porto-johns. ‘Nuff said. Bring hand sanitizer.
- TP: See above. You do not want to get caught in a compromising situation without some TP in your back pocket (both figuratively and literally).
- Sunscreen: Reapply liberally and often.
I’d recommend a towel or blanket, but the grass is usually perfectly manicured and bone dry, so there’s really no need. I’d also recommend a camelpak, but I don’t recall seeing a place to fill them last year, so it’s better to bring a backpack that fits some more items. [EDIT: apparently there is a place to fill up camelpaks just across from the ferris wheel. I never saw it last year, but I guess I wasn't looking since I didn't bring mine to begin with.]
We’ve worried all we can (I’m a major worrier by nature) but now that we’re at the fest, there’s nothing to do but have some fun. Here’s some parting words of wisdom on how I like to do things.
- Planning your days: In my experience, I typically plan out my entire day ahead of time, then end up only seeing about half the people I planned on. This happens for a variety of reasons. The first is that I forget to take into account the time spent walking from one stage to the next. This is especially disastrous at Lollapalooza, which is arranged like a giant alleyway with the main stages at either end. Luckily, navigating from stage to stage is MUCH easier and MUCH MUCH quicker at coachella. The fest is organized in an L shape, so even the two furthest stages are just one hypotenuse away. My advice is to have a general outline of who you want to see, but to play the whole day by ear. Some of the best acts I’ve seen were the ones that I decided to go to spur of the moment (a la Gang Gang Dance at Lollapalooza 2009).
- Accept the fact that you won’t see everyone you want to see. There are going to be conflicts. You’re going to miss someone that’s on your list of “acts I am seeing for sure”. If there’s a conflict, just see how you feel beforehand and decide on the spot. Festivals are all about going with whatever you’re in the mood for at that moment, if you ask me, which you didn’t.
- When using the “restrooms”, depending on the setup, it’s best to find the most inconvenient porto-john and use that one. I’ve seen it all to many times when there’s a row of 100 porto-johns that there will be huge lines at one end and 10 at the other end with no line. Believe me, it’s worth it to walk the extra 20 feet. Alternately, if there are long lines at both ends of the area, try the ones in the middle. Besides the shorter wait, they’re also usually a bit less gross. UPDATE: Last year, there was a whole new area in the very middle of everything with a huge food court, lots of covered picnic tables, and a huge bevy of bathrooms. This was by far the most untouched set of bathrooms, so use those ones whenever you can. It’s worth the extra 2 minute walk to not be in a disgusting portojon and to not wait in line for it.
- There’s typically a lot to see and do at the fests aside from the music. Make sure you at least take in a little piece of the rest of the fest.
- Do NOT be afraid to branch off on your own. I know we all like to stay with our friends and enjoy things together, but if your friends all want to see one show and you want to see another, then go see the show you want to see. Don’t give yourself an opportunity to regret anything. Plus it gives you another opportunity to meet other cool people like yourself if you’re flying solo.
- USE LANDMARKS! Before you leave to branch off on your own, set up a meeting spot and time if you want to meet up with your friends again. Cell phones often don’t work in groups that number in the tens of thousands, so pick a spot ahead of time. And find big landmarks that are easy to spot from far away. Use these landmarks over and over again. At Lollapalooza, we always meet at the eyeball tower. It’s just easier that way. Coachella has plenty of giant landmarks. Just make sure to be specific. Don’t just say “meet me at the giant origami crane”. Pick a specific spot on the crane to meet up.
- Group texting! Groupme.com lets you set up a phone number where you can send one text message and it will go to all of the friends that you add to the number. This is especially handy when everyone wants to go to the same show in the evening but is scattered all over the grounds. A simple “Meet me at the ID booth of the beer tent by the Mojave Stage at 7:30 for Robyn” text message is a lot easier than trying to locate all of your friends individually. If they don’t show up, they’re probably off having fun on their own somewhere, but at least you tried, right?
- Recycle what you can, and throw away what you can’t. Don’t be that guy that leaves his garbage lying around. Because I owe this to the environment after suggesting that you idle your car to charge your cell phone.
- Make sure to eat and stay hydrated, especially in the desert sun, it’s so easy to get caught up in the excitement of the day, and before you know it you realize you haven’t eaten anyhting or had a sip of water all day. As I mentioned before, campelpaks are not as useful here as a Coachella just because there aren’t places to fill them that I saw, but the bottles of water are only $2, so it’s not a total rip-off (and you can buy a bunch at once and throw them in that backpack of yours). Don’t be that person who passes out in the sun because you didn’t drink any water. I emphasize this because the first year I went, there were FOUR PEOPLE that I remember that passed out in the direct circle of people around me. Last year was better from what I saw, fortunately. On that note, if you’re going to do drugs or whatever, try not to be stupid about it and take care of yourself and your friends. For example, if I hear someone, just after his friend has passed out and hasn’t woken up in over 30 seconds, say, “He’s done this a few times today but never this long”, I might have to punch that person for being an idiot. Yes, that’s an actual thing that someone said in 2010.
- The setup of the Coachella tents are great for getting up close. If there’s an act you really want to be up close for, show up about 10 minutes before the previous act is finishing and wait at the front of the tent just outside. As soon as that act ends, the tent will clear out and you can usually swim against the fish and make your way up pretty close. This fest was by far the easiest I’ve experienced to get really close without camping out all day, and that was a good thing.
- Go to the Sahara tent often and let loose.
- Also, whatever you do, don’t be these girls, because these girls are annoying. If you aren’t there for the music, try not to ruin it for those of us who are.
And finally, most importantly, HAVE FUN! We’re all there for the same purpose, to enjoy some killer music in a picturesque setting. Don’t be a dick to other concertgoers. Meet new people. See bands you’ve never heard of. Enjoy the palm trees and mountains. Take care of yourself and your friends (aka drink water) and (selfishly) don’t pass out at my feet. And enjoy the fest! If at least one of these tips made the weekend better for at least one person, then it was all worth it.
