Music News: Coachella, Arcade Fire and Obama, Rock the Bells

Arcade Fire + Barack Obama = <3

• Sure, Mike Huckabee might have had human-weapon Chuck Norris, but only Barack Obama has music-gods The Arcade Fire on his side. Lead singer/ guitar player Win Butler is so in love with Mr. Obama’s politics that not only has he been blogging on behalf of the candidate, but has also lined up another set of shows in the battle ground state of North Carolina (the band previously performed Obama rallies in Ohio). The Arcade Fire (or at least several members of the band) will perform two shows with Superchunk in the days leading up to the state’s Democratic primary on May 6th. The band will perform in Greensboro on May 1st, and Carrboro on May 2nd.

Here Comes Coachella

• By now I’m sure you know that the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is happening this weekend at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio. And I’m sure you know that the show is being headlined by Jack Johnson, Prince and Roger Waters. It’s likely you’ve also studied the line-up with marquee performers like Death Cab for Cutie, The Raconteurs, The Verve, Portishead and Kraftwerk. You’ve made your reservations, planned your route, put out another loan on the house and made sure your sister knows you still love her even though you’re skipping her wedding so that you can see Prince. So what is left to say? I don’t know, how about have you checked the weather reports? 96 degrees on Friday, 98 degrees on Saturday and 96 degrees on Sunday. In other words: it’s going to be f-ing hot! Did we piss off RA or something? Do we need to sacrifice a goat for some cloud cover? But if you’ve gone before, you know the drill: it’s always hot, yet survivable. As a veteran of six Coachella’s I have a few tips for you newbies on how to survive the Gobi-like conditions this weekend:
  • Forget the beer, drink the water. Lots of water. Drink more then you think you need. If you don’t think you need at least one bottle of water every few hours then you’ll end up in the “Heineken Rocking Dehydration Fun Zone”.
  • Pace yourself. With five stages going off at the same time it’s impossible to see everyone you want. The smart thing to do is plan out a schedule ahead of time and make sure to put forth a few minutes here and there to sit in the shade a cool off a bit.
  • Drink more god damn water!
  • Sunblock. Bathe in the stuff. Nothing sucks more than getting burnt badly on Friday and then still having two days to get even burnter (I don’t think that’s a word, but we can pretend people, right?). If you follow these rules, you’ll have a fun weekend. Even if you don’t, I’m sure you’ll have a great weekend anyway, just a really shitty Monday. NOTE: Set-times are up, which you can check out here. Not too bad, except I’m not looking forward to making a Flogging Molly vs. Portishead decision.

Dirty Hannah Montana Pics?

• There are pictures circulating the internet that reportedly show teen- pop sensation Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) in her underwear. The, say it with me folks, fifteen-year-old pop/ television/ movie star had no comment about the pictures which show the teen showing off her bra and panties in two pictures. You can check out the pictures here, and then feel free to run to the shower and wash yourself with lye.

Rock The Bells Returns

• After a 2007 lineup that boasted the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan, hip-hop festival Rock The Bells returns with a 2007 lineup which features the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, and a reunited Pharcyde. The show makes its Southern California stop at the Hyundai Pavilion (argh) in Devore on August 23rd. Tickets go on sale on May 10th.

Photo by Nicola T