Coachella line-up announced

The Coachella line-up is as followed. Bolded are the acts that make me wish I could teleport.

DAY ONE
A Place To Bury Strangers
Alberta Cross
Bajofondo
Beirut
Buraka Som Sistema
Cage the Elephant
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Craze and Klever
Crystal Castles
Dear and the Headlights
Felix da Housecat
Franz Ferdinand
Genghis Tron
Ghostland Observatory
Girl Talk
Gui Boratto
Leonard Cohen
Los Campesinos!
M. Ward
Molotov
Morrissey
N.A.S.A.
Noah and the Whale
Patton & Rahzel
Paul McCartney
Peanut Butter Wolf
People Under the Stairs
Ryan Bingham
Silversun Pickups
Steve Aoki
Switch
The Crystal Method
The Aggrolites
The Airborne Toxic Event
The Black Keys
The Bug
The Courteeners
The Hold Steady
The Knux
The Presets
The Ting Tings
We Are Scientists
White Lies

DAY TWO
Amanda Palmer
Amy Winehouse
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Atmosphere
Band Of Horses
Billy Talent
Blitzen Trapper
Bob Mould Band
Booker T
Calexico
Cloud Cult
Crookers
Dr. Dog
Drive By Truckers
Drop The Lime
Electric Touch
Fleet Foxes
Gang Gang Dance
Glass Candy
Glasvegas
Henry Rollins
Hercules and Love Affair
Ida Maria
James Morrison
Liars
Mastodon
Michael Franti & Spearhead
MSTRKRFT
Surkin, Para One (Live)
Superchunk
The Bloody Beetroots
The Killers
Thenewno2
Thievery Corporation
Tinariwen
TRAV$DJ-AM
Turbonegro
TV On The Radio
Zane Lowe
Zizek

DAY THREE
Antony and the Johnsons
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Christopher Lawrence
Clipse
Friendly Fires
Fucked Up
Gaslight Anthem
Groove Armada (DJ Set)
Jenny Lewis
Junior Boys
K'naan
Late of the Pier
Lupe Fiasco
Lykke Li
M.A.N.D.Y.
Marshall Barnes
Mexican Institute of Sound
My Bloody Valentine
No Age
Okkervil River
Paolo Nutini
Paul Weller
Perry Farrell
Peter Bjorn and John
Public Enemy
Roni Size
Sebastien Tellier
Shepard Fairey
Supermayer
The Cure
The Horrors
The Kills
The Night Marchers
Themselves
Throbbing Gristle
Vivian Girls
X
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Basically, I would give up chocolate for a year and punch a grandma for day one alone.

I believe in Patrick Wolf

Bandstocks are now available for non-UK residents. Bandstocks is such a blatantly obvious idea that it's no surprise that it hasn't really been done before. If I was still a music business major, I'd be having a lot of fun talking about this.

http://www.patrickwolf.com/tribewolfinternational/

Song of the Moment: Black Lips - "O Katrina!"

O Katrina! - The Black Lips

I'd first had the delightfully raucous Black Lips recommended to me quite a while ago, but never really gotten around to listening to their music. With news of their recent escapades in India being all over the place, I finally decided to properly check them out. I can't stop listening to "O Katrina!" from their 2007 album Good Bad Not Evil. For a song about a natural disaster, it's surprisingly upbeat. Why did I not listen to this band sooner?

NME Awards shortlist

The shortlist is up for the NME Awards and voting is open. The nominees:

Best British Band
Bloc Party
The Last Shadow Puppets
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(As much as I love Bloc Party and the Last Shadow Puppets, they can't compare to Radiohead.)

Best International Band
Crystal Castles
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
(Kings Of Leon are probably going to end up getting this at the rate that they're going, especially because they were big in the UK first.)

Best Solo Artist
Ladyhawke
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
Jay-Z
Pete Doherty
(Interesting mix. As much as I still love Pete Doherty, I'll be voting for Laura Marling.)

Best New Band
Glasvegas
Late Of The Pier
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
White Lies
(Glasvegas are even more overrated than "Sex On Fire," and that's saying a lot.)

Best Live Band
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead
(I can't really judge fairly on this, as I've only seen Kings Of Leon live--they were quite solid, though. However, judging from my old collection of bootlegs, Brandon Flowers can't sing live.)

Best Album
Bloc Party – 'Intimacy'
Glasvegas – 'Glasvegas'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Kings Of Leon – 'Only By The Night'
Oasis – 'Dig Out Your Soul'
(I'm going to go with Bloc Party on this one. Day & Age was just not good.)

Best Track
Kings Of Leon – 'Sex On Fire'
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'The Age Of The Understatement'
MGMT – 'Time To Pretend'
The Ting Tings – 'That's Not My Name'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'
(Anything besides "Sex On Fire," please. Personally, I prefer "Oxford Comma" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to "A-Punk" and "Kids" and "Electric Feel" to "Time To Pretend.")

Best Video
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'My Mistakes Were Made For You'
Late Of The Pier – 'Heartbreak'
Oasis – 'The Shock Of The Lightning'
Radiohead – 'House Of Cards'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'
(The "House Of Cards" video was pretty cool.)

Best Live Event
Glastonbury
Isle Of Wight
Reading and Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival

Best TV Show
Gavin & Stacey
The IT Crowd
The Mighty Boosh
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Skins
(Simon Amstell, please be my best friend. While I do watch Skins, I can't say that it's actually good.)

Best Film
The Dark Knight
Juno
Quantum Of Solace
Twilight
Wall-E
(What is this list? You'd think that NME readers would be too pretentious for Twilight.)

Best Dancefloor Filler
Bloc Party – 'Mercury'
Crystal Castles – 'Courtship Dating'
Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – 'Dance Wiv Me'
Friendly Fires – 'Paris'
Late Of The Pier – 'Bathroom Gurgle'

Best DVD
Arctic Monkeys – 'At The Apollo'
Foo Fighters – 'Live At Wembley Stadium'
Kaiser Chiefs – 'Live At Elland Road'
Muse – 'HAARP'
The Rolling Stones – 'Shine A Light'

Hero Of The Year
Alex Turner
Barack Obama
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(It's got to be Obama. Or at least not Noel Gallagher.)

Villain Of The Year
Amy Winehouse
George Bush
Gordon Brown
John McCain
Pete Doherty

Best Dressed
Alex Turner
Alexa Chung
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(Not going to lie, I still like Alexa Chung, she has some cute outfits sometimes.)

Worst Dressed
Amy Winehouse
Brandon Flowers
Johnny Borrell
Katy Perry
Pete Doherty
(What does Brandon Flowers even wear nowadays? In my mind, he hasn't shifted a day away from salmon pink Dior jackets.)

Worst Album
Britney Spears – 'Circus'
Coldplay – 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'
Jonas Brothers – 'A Little Bit Longer'
Razorlight – 'Slipway Fires'
Scouting For Girls – 'Scouting For Girls'
(I tried listening to that Razorlight album just to make fun of it. I succeeded.)

Worst Band
Fall Out Boy
Jonas Brothers
Oasis
Scouting for Girls
Tokio Hotel

Sexiest Male
Carl Barat
Keith Murray
Matt Bellamy
Miles Kane
Pete Doherty
(Keith Murray definitely deserves this. Dear Heathus, he is far too attractive.)

Sexiest Female
Alison Mosshart
Hayley Williams
Kate Jackson
Lykke Li
Stephanie Dosen
(I can't decide between Kate and Alison. Someday, I hope to be a fraction as fierce as either of them. I can't wait for Kate's solo stuff, I hope it's good!)

Best Website
Bebo
Facebook
Last FM
MySpace
YouTube

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
London Astoria
Glasgow Barrowlands
London O2 Arena

Best Album Artwork
The Cure – '4:13 Dream'
Guillemots – 'Red'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Muse – 'HAARP'
We Are Scientists – 'Brain Thrust Mastery'
(I love the Brain Thrust Mastery artwork, the cougar photoshoot amuses me much more than it should. Also, that tasteful black/white/gold combination is delectable. So is Keith Murray. I need to stop talking now.)

Best Band Blog
Foals
Lightspeed Champion
Little Boots
Noel Gallagher/Oasis
Radiohead

The International Tweexcore Underground

I just got in from seeing Titus Andronicus and Los Campesinos! at Exit/In. Have a few of my poorly-organised thoughts.

I'd never heard anything by Titus Andronicus before, but I quite enjoyed their set. I'm absolutely horrible at comparing bands, so at first I thought they sounded vaguely like a more upbeat version of the Whigs. By the end, I realised that I am even worse at comparing bands than I previously thought I was. I'll have to check out some of their properly recorded stuff, I really enjoyed them, they had great energy.

Los Campesinos! were down a member, as one of the girls was ill. Still, they put on a solid show and were every bit as adorable as I expected them to be. Frontman Gareth has a stage presence that is vaguely reminiscent of a mixture of Martin Freeman and a nervous schoolboy, often adding illustrative hand gestures or singing with his hands clasped behind his back. I wasn't as familiar with their new album (We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed) as I wanted to be before the show, but oh well. They started off with "All Your Keyfabe Friends" and it sounded great.

The female vocals seemed kind of weak, but that could have been a sound problem, and they were missing a member. Considering the large quantity of instruments involved, everything was pulled off beautifully. Highlights: "You! Me! Dancing!"; "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks"; and "Drop It Doe Eyes." I wish they'd played "It Started With A Mixx," but oh well.

I wonder how old the drummer is, he looked quite young. At the encore, he came out with toilet paper wrapped around his head and draped in a Welsh flag that someone had thrown onstage earlier, which was quite amusing. There was also a part during "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" where Gareth jumped off of the stage, crossed the floor, and stood on one of the tables in the back.

Afterwards, I had the pleasure of having a wee conversation at the merch stand with Gareth about Torchwood/Doctor Who and how Skins is an inaccurate representation of teenage life. What a sweetheart. ♥

Internet Hate Michael, 10 Years Of Dr. Manhattan

Michael Cera: "Arrested Development movie more hypothetical than people think.

Michael Cera, get the hell off of your high horse and make this movie, you are forever indebted to Arrested Development for making sure you continue to get roles as The Awkward Teenage Boy, although you have slightly branched off into The Awkward And Douchey Teenage Boy. Arrested Development is why you have a career, just do it.

Of course, there's also the possibility that Michael Cera realises that his career will be over once he's too old to play The Awkward (And Douchey) Teenage Boy, so he wants to make as much money as he possibly can while he can.

So, if Michael Cera doesn't sign on for the film, how should they deal with it? It would be pretty easy to write out George Michael, since he really wasn't a hugely integral part of the main plot. Yeah, it would be amusing to find out whether or not he and Maeby made it to third base or not, but George Michael could just be off at college or something. (I don't see Maeby being the college type, or at least not the conventional college type--she'd probably end up at some hippie place where they don't have real grades.) Alternatively, they could just have a different actor for George Michael and completely ignore the subject--someone on ONTD was suggesting Dev Patel, who would actually be a pretty good choice. It would also be pretty epic if the singer-songwriter George Michael could make a cameo. I'm never gonna dance again the way I danced with you, Michael Cera.

On another note, there's a new Watchmen promo clip out. This is a fake news report about the 10-year anniversary of the "birth" of Doctor Manhattan.

Watchmen Widget

All the boys and all the girls are begging to if you seek Effy?

Re: 7-minute preview for Skins 3x01
Skins Episode 1 Part 1 Preview

It looks pretty good, I hope the rest of the episode isn't a disappointment. I'm not sure what to think of JJ or Cook, but Freddie seems pretty chill. It kind of seems like they made Cook a douchebaggier version of Chris, but hopefully he'll develop his own personality. Also, why isn't Effy wearing pants? I do hope that people aren't stupid enough to try and recreate that outfit.

Oh, and Watchmen is going to be coming out on schedule! I'm pretty excited, I recently read the graphic novel and was blown away.

Warchild: Heroes tracklisting

Warchild: Heroes tracklisting

This looks great! I can't wait to hear Hot Chip covering "Transmission," it already sounds epic. Franz Ferdinand doing "Call Me" should be pretty good, too. Lily Allen's Clash cover will probably be pretty interesting.

The making of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

I love that they've returned to the more raw production style of their first album, which I always thought was really refreshing. It was almost disappointing to have everything cleaned up on You Could Have It So Much Better, compared to the way they recorded all of the instruments together on the self-titled album. The Survey of Recording Technology class that I took when I was still a music business major gave me a rudimentary understanding of how much the recording space contributes to the sound, and it's obvious that this was recorded in an environment with many stories behind it rather than some studio. (That isn't to say that buildings specifically planned to be studios can't be fascinating, I've toured RCA Studio B and there's certainly a great history to it.) It's somewhat strange that a dance album with significantly more electronic elements than their previous work would be so organic-sounding, but it works for them.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Here's the promo video for the upcoming album's second single, "Ulysses":

This video is glorious, filthy, decadent perfection. Robert Pattinson is no longer the sole exception to my "dirty is not sexy" rule. I feel like the ridiculous Alex Kapranos fangirl I was in high school, and you can never go wrong with those slim suits and skinny ties.

Clips from the new album can be heard here, and the full version of "No You Girls Never Know" is streaming on the Rolling Stone site. However, it's not difficult to find the leak of the whole album, which sounds fantastic and makes me wish I had a dance party to go to. I'll definitely be buying the album as soon as it comes out. I'm really tempted to order the deluxe edition off of amazon.co.uk, due to the likelihood that it'll take ages to come out in the US.

Oh Franz Ferdinand, how I have missed you.

Little Obsessions: Jason Schwartzman

Microphone - Coconut Records

Despite the fact that I've only seen Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, Marie Antoinette, and half of Shopgirl, I'm a little obsessed with Jason Schwartzman. I could discuss how he and I would have really ridiculously short children, but I'll settle for talking about how talented he is. Of course he's talented, he's a Coppola who isn't Nicolas Cage's creepy goth son! I'd love him even if all I knew of his work was the Coconut Records album Nighttiming, considering that he did almost all of it by himself. I am in awe of people who can proficiently play multiple instruments, and Jason Schwartzman is no exception. I love every song on Nighttiming, and I am so excited to hear his second Coconut Records album, Davy, which is released later this month. I've posted the first single above.

Then there's Rushmore. Rushmore is my favorite Wes Anderson film and in my top five movies overall. It's got all of the Anderson trademarks, but is not as opulent as The Royal Tenenbaums or The Darjeeling Limited. I adore Wes Anderson, but it's really Jason Schwartzman's performance that is the centerpiece of Rushmore. Max Fischer is funny, tortured, quirky, and undeniably charismatic, even in his somewhat absurd battle against Herman Blume.

Also, the fact that he co-wrote The Darjeeling Limited with Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola displays versatility, which can only be a good thing. "I love you, but I'm gonna mace you in the face."

Best Of 2008 - Movies

Movies
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Visitor

I am still unqualified to talk about The Dark Knight, due to the fact that I still haven't seen the middle 45 minutes of it. Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Visitor are all wonderfully human stories. I didn't see very many movies this year, but the ones I did see certainly stood out.

Best of 2008 - Music

Top 15 Singles:
Annie - "I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me"
This song was such a fun summer jam. Use of textspeak in song titles is only permissible for people who can ~work it~ like Annie and M.I.A.

Cut Copy - "Hearts On Fire"
Hearts On Fire is a song that makes you want to dance and makes you want someone to dance with, and that's all you need when this song is playing.

Hot Chip - "Ready For The Floor"
What I really love about Hot Chip is that they're nerdy-looking guys making sexy music. They make dance music with a heart and soul. While I love fun party songs (see MSTRKRFT's "Bounce"), Hot Chip just take it a little bit deeper.

The Kills - "U.R.A. Fever"
A better lead single couldn't have been chosen for Midnight Boom. The whole album is great, but I was completely obsessed with this songs. Jamie and Alison just have this fantastic chemistry in their music that really makes it stand out.

The Last Shadow Puppets - "The Age Of The Understatement"
Once again, Alex Turner makes me feel like I'm wasting my life.

M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
Does this need any explanation? Well-used Clash sample! Gunshots! And more! If we needed any more proof that M.I.A. is one of the fiercest bitches around, Paper Planes says it all.

Laura Marling - "Ghosts"
I love this girl, she is so talented. She makes me feel like I'm wasting my life even more than Alex Turner does. Her songs are wonderfully honest and well-spoken, and Ghosts is no exception.

MGMT - "Electric Feel"
Yeah, maybe it's not as deep as "Kids" or whatever, but this song is ridiculously hot. (And so is Andrew Vanwyndskjfhedsfkldwisconsin, not even going to lie.)

MSTRKRFT - "Bounce"
If I ever went anywhere exciting, I would put this song on while getting ready to go out.

Mystery Jets - "Young Love"
I really enjoyed Mystery Jets' new stuff. Laura Marling's guest vocals are great.

Noah and the Whale - "5 Years' Time"
Obligatory comment about "Young Folks" and whistling. This was the year of Laura Marling, apparently.

Radiohead - "House Of Cards"
Come on, it's Radiohead. I've loved this song since the first time I heard In Rainbows.

Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma"
I, for one, "give a fuck about an Oxford comma."

We Are Scientists - "After Hours"
When I first listened to We Are Scientists' second album, I was apprehensive of everything except for Tonight, which I'd head a bootleg of for ages. When I rediscovered how much I love this band in November, I immediately latched onto this song.

The Whigs - "Right Hand On My Heart"
Through their tours with the Spinto Band and We Are Scientists, I saw the Whigs twice this year. Both times, the bass drum was so intense that I felt like my various inner-ear membranes were going to expel themselves from my skull. It. Was. Awesome.

Guilty pleasures:
Jesse McCartney - "Leavin'"
Britney Spears - "Womanizer"

Most overrated songs of the year:
Kings of Leon - "Sex On Fire"
Lykke Li - "Little Bit"

Top 10 Albums I Was Addicted To:
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Mystery Jets - Twenty One
She & Him - Volume One
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
Yelle - Pop-Up

Shows Attended, In Chronological Order:
The Whigs/The Spinto Band
I went for the super adorable and lovely Spinto Band and was pleasantly surprised by the Whigs. I don't know why they were touring together, but it was a solid show.

Harry and the Potters' Camp Jump And Yell
The most fun I've ever had at a show. There were s'mores, and quite frankly it's easier to feel comfortable when I'm surrounded by people who match my level of nerdiness.

The Swell Season
Absolutely beautiful. I want to marry both of them. Music doesn't make me cry often, but this was such a moving experience.

MSTRKRFT/LA Riots
My first electronica show. I danced for so long that afterwards I felt like I probably wasn't going to be able to walk properly for two days. Basically it was totally awesome.

Kings Of Leon/We Are Scientists/The Whigs
Once again, the Whigs put on a solid show. It was a lot of fun to see We Are Scientists again. I still desperately wish that they would record an entire album of stage banter. Better yet, they just need to get that TV program. I hadn't heard much of Kings Of Leon beforehand, just their big singles (yet I was still wondering what happened to them when "Sex On Fire" came out), but I really enjoyed seeing them. I didn't really enjoy their crazy fans, though.

Test

Hi, just testing this out. I've been thinking about making a public blog for a while, and figured that the beginning of a new year is as good a time as ever for starting.

I'm Katie, I'm a journalism student, and I'd like to use this blog for casual pop culture commentary.

Out At The Pictures - Hot Chip