Essential Coachella Prep

Greetings from the Yahoo! Music HQ. I’m Mick Orlosky, a Yahoo! music fanatic.  I’ve been endlessly raving to my coworkers about the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival for months – so much, in fact, that my comrades suggested – nay demanded – that I blog about it. And, since it’s this coming weekend, I guess it’s about time. 

What’s Coachella, you ask? Only one of the best music festivals in the world — two full days out in the springtime California desert with about 100 amazing bands. It’s truly an awe-inspiring event. This will be my fifth go at Coachella, and this time around I feel like I am more musically prepared then ever. See, I’ve always had access to tons of music – much of it provided free promotionally. Getting my hands on this or that album to check out a new artist has never been that hard.  But, with the advent of on-demand streaming services like Yahoo! Music Unlimited,everything has changed. It is so much faster and easier to just type in a name and start playing music. I’ve at least tripled my music exploration, and that’s saying something.

So for this monumentous weekend, I’ve created some Coachella playlists in Unlimited highlighting some of my festival picks. These are the acts I’m the most excited to see this weekend.

Play Coachella: Saturday Essentials. Featuring Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Eagles of Death Metal, The Juan Maclean, Lady Sovereign, The Walkmen, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Sigur Rós

Play Coachella: Sunday Essentials: Featuring Phoenix, Be Your Own Pet, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Minus The Bear, Giant Drag, Seu Jorge, and Massive Attack

Or if you want to just go nuts, this Coachella Overload playlist features key tracks from just about everyone else. (Playlist links require the Yahoo! Music Engine, of course) (Memo to Tool: Please join us in the 21^st century and clear your catalog for digital distro. Thanks.)  

Gnarls Barkley would make the Sunday list, but they haven t released anything Stateside just yet. I’m looking forward to that set bigtime. Sigur Rós at sunset may be life-altering, right? I bet they never figured James Blunt would be so huge when they booked him. He could have potential, too. My advice for first-timers: Don’t stress over seeing any specific band, since things can get a little crazy. Don’t count on your cellphone working. Keep an open mind, wander around and take in music you never thought you’d like, and drink plenty of water!! See you on the Polo grounds!

-Mick 0, Yahoo! Music