Worst Coachella Headliners

[Ravingmad]

Jack Johnson is the only headlining set I've ever seen where people were actively fleeing the main stage like it was on fire. I don't think it helped any that he came on right after the Verve who had a like a super-intense very British rock set. You can't go straight from "The Drugs Don't Work" into fucking "Bubbly Toes" or whatever it is, it just doesn't match up.

[Mr. Fuzz]

Muse because they're absolutely terrible.

[Desaparecidos]

didnt even get to vote in this and holy fuck i'm happy about the results. i fucking hate jack johnson

[IlliniQ]

Ranked best to Worst 08 - 12

1. Macca
2. Prince
3. Roger Waters
4. Snoopy/Drs
5. Cure
6. Arcade Fire
7. Kanye
8. Radiohead (worst set from them Ive seen)
9. JAY-Z
10. Black Keys
11. Killers
12. Strokes
13. Gorillaz
14. JJ
15. Muse - just so f'in cheesy
16. KOL

What stands out to me first and foremost is the veteran big names have brought most of the transcendant sets so lets get back to at least one old timer headlined (80s artist or older) per year going forward please.

[TomAz]

transcendent

[tarrivi]

KOL because they cut the Chemical Brothers short. Unforgivable

[Mr. Fuzz]

Doesn't get worse than this. I can't even listen to the entire song.

[Shoulda Named Ya Laika]

I couldn't believe how terrible that sounded until I clicked through to Youtube and realized the video you posted was actually slightly slowed down by the user to avoid copyright claims (or something). This is the original; unfortunately not really an improvement at all.

[WhatLies]

People love to hate on Muse but its a different kind of hate. People don't like to admit that Muse is incredible in many ways, yet, for whatever reason, they keep making dumb career decisions and they fall short of their potential. 2/3 of the material from their first 4 albums is fucking stellar.

[Mr. Fuzz]

I couldn't believe how terrible that sounded until I clicked through to Youtube and realized the video you posted was actually slightly slowed down by the user to avoid copyright claims (or something). This is the original; unfortunately not really an improvement at all.

In all fairness, I actually heard the song on my car stereo and that is where I determined that is was awful. The video was just a little show and tell.

[Mr. Fuzz]

People love to hate on Muse but its a different kind of hate. People don't like to admit that Muse is incredible in many ways, yet, for whatever reason, they keep making dumb career decisions and they fall short of their potential. 2/3 of the material from their first 4 albums is fucking stellar.

I'm just not feeling them.

[Bus McRider]

KOL because they cut the Chemical Brothers short. Unforgivable

My thoughts exactly. Plus they just blow.

[captncrzy]

Everyone that picked Portishead is completely and utterly retarded.

[SepaGroove]

Everyone that picked Portishead is completely and utterly retarded.

Seriously. 9 people on this forum are fucking retarded.

Glad to see that Jack Johnson and KOL got the most votes though.

[Starraven]

I'm actually kind of digging that Madness song thanks for posting it. He's got some Prince vocals going on somewhere in there and the wubwub isn't that hard to listen to. It's growing on me like a fungus.

[Zafocaine]

Kanye has been the worst headliner I've ever been near. I have trouble understanding how Jack Johnson or Kings of Leon could be worse, though I openly avoided the main stage while KOL were up, to be honest. Poor quality shows as far as sound goes, or did you just not like their songs? I like Kanye's earlier albums, but the sound was absolute trash when he was headlining. It was the most disappointing show closer of all time for me.

[Zafocaine]

And, on second thought, you should only be able to vote for acts you were present for unless you're just griping.

[Zafocaine]

I couldn't believe how terrible that sounded until I clicked through to Youtube and realized the video you posted was actually slightly slowed down by the user to avoid copyright claims (or something). This is the original; unfortunately not really an improvement at all.

Actually, I thought this was the best Muse song to get radio play when I first heard it. With that Queen-esque guitar solo? Not their most interesting song, but it's a pretty solid POP SONG. It doesn't pay to appeal to people who don't buy music or watch your shows.

[FairMonroe]

I am happy to see I'm not the only one who found Kanye underwhelming. My group still thinks I'm crazy for saying I was not impressed by it. However, "hey mama" was pretty stellar after being bored for the entirety of the set.

[Bons222000]

I think I'm slowly starting to realize Dre/Snoop (in conjunction with the 2012 Sahara lineup) was the worst thing to ever happen to Coachella. I have to hear hologram jokes and hologram wishlists now, it brought the wrong kind of media attention, brought the wrong kind of crowd, too many guest appearances, bad "jump around" cover, dumb "skit" with Eminem. It was semi-entertaining at the time but I think the overall affect from that set has been negative. 2013 thankfully went in a completely different direction.

[heart cooks brain]

i was 11(?) when pac died and it's the closest thing i'll ever get to hearing (a legit version) of hail mary at a concert, so i'm cool with it.

that being said, the hologram jokes are awful and i hate them.

[TomAz]

The fact that Bjork got twice as many votes as Coldplay tells you all you need to know about life.

[kvnty]

Will most definitely be Phoenix after this year.

[microcuts]

Based on what exactly?

[kvnty]

their suckiness

[ELIZA83TH]

Who the FUCK voted for Bjork? REALLY??

[kvnty]

KOL because they cut the Chemical Brothers short. Unforgivable

... and they were sound bleeding into Crystal Castles. Fuckfaces.

[Zafocaine]

If it weren't for bleed, I wouldn't have heard KOL/ Muse/ The Killers at all. Just shut up and enjoy the fucking show. I'm sure a few select art installments could completely take care of bleed, but we won't talk about things like that here.

[GuyInTucson]

Who the FUCK voted for Bjork? REALLY??

I did. In fact, it has the fourth most votes on the list. I thought her 2002 set was atrocious.

However, I am sure had I witnessed every one of these sets, I probably would have voted for Jack Johnson. That's a big if though because I wouldn't take time out of my Coachella schedule to watch Jack Johnson.