Educate us on the 2013 lineup

[nosurprises12]

I'd say there are three great go-to pop albums, and one go-to experimental.

Transformer is the furthest extension of the Loaded-era Lou Reed, and would have been spectacular as the fifth official (sixth, really) Velvet Underground album. Berlin is a darker, more bizarre beast, a concept album based on a great, disturbing lyric and some more nuanced musicianship. Street Hassle, his 1977 album, has an incredible title track that fills most of the album and other songs that are nearly as good and stretches to some great heights. Marco mentioned it perhaps in joking, but Metal Machine Music is one of the great early noise albums, full of symphonies of guitar squall and feedback filling four sides of vinyl and around 60 minutes of release. If you like noise music, you'll probably love Metal Machine Music, and I'm a huge fan.

DO NOT listen to LuLu, the release he did with Metallica. it's god-awful. Same with The Raven, his album-length interpretation of the Poe poem.

No love for Coney Island Baby?

[bmack86]

I like it, but I wouldn't call it an essential.

[TomAz]

I'd say there are three great go-to pop albums, and one go-to experimental.

Transformer is the furthest extension of the Loaded-era Lou Reed, and would have been spectacular as the fifth official (sixth, really) Velvet Underground album. Berlin is a darker, more bizarre beast, a concept album based on a great, disturbing lyric and some more nuanced musicianship. Street Hassle, his 1977 album, has an incredible title track that fills most of the album and other songs that are nearly as good and stretches to some great heights. Marco mentioned it perhaps in joking, but Metal Machine Music is one of the great early noise albums, full of symphonies of guitar squall and feedback filling four sides of vinyl and around 60 minutes of release. If you like noise music, you'll probably love Metal Machine Music, and I'm a huge fan.

DO NOT listen to LuLu, the release he did with Metallica. it's god-awful. Same with The Raven, his album-length interpretation of the Poe poem.

Bryan is about 95% correct here, but focuses only on Reed's 70s work. Some of his 80s stuff is pretty damned stellar. The Blue Mask, New Sensations, and especially New York are really great albums. The songwriting is much tighter than his 70s work.

[GuyInTucson]

Janelle Monáe is an outstanding live performer who dabbles in all sorts of genres, including neo-soul, R&B, funk, Dance-punk and numerous others. Her lone LP, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), is really the only place to go for her music at the moment, with singles like Tightrope and Cold War garnering the most attention. Her stage presence draws a lot of comparisons to James Brown, while her musical influences have been listed as Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince, Outkast, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and Funkadelic - just to name a few. She's bound to impress the majority of people who watch her set.

[TomAz]

Somebody tell me about Jeff the Brotherhood. The two videos I've seen make me think I should investigate further. Are they any good live? which album do I start with?

[LickTheLizzard]

Start with We Are The Champions. It's just 2 brothers, one on drums and one on guitar/vocals. The guitarist plays a 3 string guitar, with the top 3 strings removed. The only time I saw them was at a shitty venue with a horrific crowd, and they still put on a kick ass show. I'm looking forward to seeing them at Coachella with better sound and crowd.

This is from the show I went to.

[swhite423]

I would love a great Wu Tang Clan writeup. I have the first 3 group albums, what else do I need?

[RotationSlimWang]

Nothing. That's it. Seriously.

[bmack86]

If you just wanna go Wu, they only have two other albums, Iron Flag and 8 Diagrams. I really enjoy both. The solo albums, well...there are a ton.

[swhite423]

yeah i'm aware there are a ton. I'm just curious of what they will play besides those group albums, because aside from some method man shows, there arent many set lists from them.

[guedita]

Also, you come in here asking someone else to do a write up of a group you love? Get bent, bitch. Help the rest of us out.

[guedita]

Though, if anyone is bored, I'd like a write up of every act not yet written about. And a set list of what I can expect when they play at Coachella.

[IceyHotshot]

Cara, please tell me what artists and tracks each DJ will play in the Sahara. I know you're the expert.

[swhite423]

Also, you come in here asking someone else to do a write up of a group you love? Get bent, bitch. Help the rest of us out.

I really like wu tang clan, but I wouldnt consider myself an expert on them...thats why I have asked someone to do a write up.

[RotationSlimWang]

Here's a Wu setlist from Glastonbury. This actually might be more fun than I was anticipating. Although, goddamn as much as I love the Wu on album, they are easily the single most disjointed fucking hip hop act live you can find a goddamn video of.

We better get Rockwilder.

Bring da Ruckus
Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
Shame on a *****
Clan in da Front
Criminology
Duel of the Iron Mic
(GZA/Genius song)
Method Man
One Blood Under W
Ice Cream
(Raekwon song)
Liquid Swords
(GZA/Genius song)
Dat's Gangsta
(U‐God song)
No Said Date
(Masta Killa song)
Do You Really?
Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
4th Chamber
Che Blood
Grid Iron Rap/Bring The Pain
(Method Man song)
C.R.E.A.M.
Shimmy Shimmy Ya
(Ol’ Dirty Bastard song)
Old Man
Fall Out
(Method Man song)
Gravel Pit
Reunited
Triumph
Rockwilder

[RotationSlimWang]

Also, I'd forgotten how good of a beat Gravel Pit is. Tang is the CD that I travel wit...

[bmack86]

Basically, the only worthwhile solo albums you'll hear anything from will be Liquid Swords by GZA and Only Built For Cuban Linx by Raekwon, seeing as how both artists had toured these recently. I would imagine they're still doing the Ol' Dirty Bastard tribute with Shimmy Shimmy Ya too.

[swhite423]

Damn that set is great. Yeah I really like liquid swords. I'll have to check out the one from Raekwon. I've heard in an interview that for the anniversary of enter the 36 chambers, RZA is getting everyone alive together to tour, but idk if that was just talks or not.

[bmack86]

That's probably less of a boon than you think. I saw them with everyone except ODB and it was a shitshow of mic feedback, people rapping over each other and general lack of coherence.

[kreutz2112]

We're talking about the tour where they brought their kids on stage (towel accompaniment and all) to rap a song, right?

[bmack86]

Yup.

[ods..]

I had a lot of fun when I saw Wu at RtB in 2010. It was in NY though, so the crowd was awesome, really into it.

This is Palma Violets from London; their debut album just leaked on ? today (three weeks early). They'll definitely be a chill tent-opener in the early day. Not groundbreaking at all, but nice indie-pop.

[wmowrey94]

theophilus london came to the LA stop of MAd Decent's annnual block party. He spent half of his set plugging in his merch. He brought his cousin on stage as a hypeman, who spent the entire set drinking and shouting into the mic. The DJ would just keep on playing gunshot loops as per his request. At the end, he decided to crowdsurf, and some guy tried to take his hat, and he got mad butthurt and started a fight. I"ve also read articles that he peacocks all over SoHo hoping to get noticed by fashion rags. IMO, arrogant and overrated as fu!k performer, skip.

[brematale111]

Lord Huron

One of the last discoveries I made on friday's lineup, as they are billed so low, but these guys are pretty darn talented. If you like Fleet Foxes, you will enjoy these guys, very notable similarities.

[wmowrey94]

for solo albums, the MOST essential ones are- GZA's Liquid Swords, ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers, Ghostface's Supreme Clientele and Fishscale(and to a lesser degree, Iron Man), Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, & Method Man's Tical

[nosurprises12]

for solo albums, the MOST essential ones are- GZA's Liquid Swords, ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers, Ghostface's Supreme Clientele and Fishscale(and to a lesser degree, Iron Man), Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, & Method Man's Tical

Thanks for mentioning Ghostface, as both these albums are fantastic.

[Mr. Fuzz]

Hey everyone say hi to Disclosure, one of the best artists on the lineup. These two young brothers are bringing back groovy fucking dance music that's actually pretty popular. Please go see them because it will be the biggest dance party of the festival, trust. Make sure to get The Face EP and the Latch single (but really every track these guys have done is FIRE).

This is horrible.

[Mr. Fuzz]

The Selecter are another one of those 2 Tone ska revival bands from the late 70s british midlands, but they never got anywhere near the popularity of The Specials or Madness (or even the English Beat). Their first album is quite good though and worth listening to.

I just wanted to add a live performance of their best song from their heyday.

[eudaemonia]

Rodriguez

Rodriguez is an incredible singer/ songwriter from the 1970’s who never made it anywhere. Until recently, that is, when his humbling and inspiring story was unearthed and shown to the world in the fantastic documentary Searching For Sugar Man...

I already had Rodriguez on my Coachooser, just out of random curiosity, but then found out about this documentary after watching tonight's BAFTAs (the film won). What a great (and sad) story. I look forward to catching his set.

[GuyInTucson]

Still a lot of acts that I would like to be educated on. I listened to a lot of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra today, but I am not familiar enough with them to give a legitimate write-up. They seem like they would be a fucking blast live.