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View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#15. Grimes

Who believes in second chances? Apparently, I do.  If I didn’t, how else would you explain Claire Elise Boucher landing on my Coachella 2016 must-see acts list, let alone, all the way up at #15.

My last run-in with Ms. Boucher came on April 21, 2013 in the Gobi Tent.  The experience ended with me sitting criss-cross-applesauce with my head resting on my backpack in front on me, sound asleep.  Claire’s performance in the Gobi that day was one of the worst things I have ever, EVER, witnessed in my entire life.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against her music, it was that particular performance that left a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention the pain in my back and neck that I now have from falling asleep bent over, sitting down, packt like a sardine in a crushed tin box. Unbelievable.

Listen, I enjoy the new album Art Angels just as much as the next person, I just don’t enjoy it as much as the Programming Director at North America’s Indie Rock Station, Sirius XMU.  From what we’ve encountered on the station over the last six months, they should rename the channel Sirius XM Grimes. No, seriously!

Here’s a typical day… get in the car, turn on XMU, Grimes, drive the kids to school, Grimes, drive back home, Grimes, get back in the car, Grimes, drive to the store, Grimes, get back in the car, Grimes, drive back home, Grimes, get back in the car, Grimes, pick the kids up from school, Grimes, drive back home, Grimes, get back in the car, Grimes, take the kids to have fun, Grimes, get back in the car, Grimes, drive back home, Grimes.

Grimes, Grimes, Grimes.

Get the picture?  When does it stop? I can’t even imagine what’s going on when I’m not listening to Sirius XMU. Is that when they’re not playing Grimes?  My worst fear is that she releases another album again this year, then what?  Don’t try telling me I’m being over dramatic, this shit needs to stop, immediately. It’s gotten so bad, I keep a Grimes tracker (pictured right) in my vehicle. If I wanted to listen to Grimes ad nauseam, I would listen to Grimes ad nauseam.

After all of that, I will probably be at the show, “hanging back” like P-T does.  I figure if I “hang back” there be plenty of room to lay down and go to sleep if needed, that is, if as all the people that showed up for Lorde in 2014 stay away. In the unlikely event I happen to be into it, I might do the “the shoulder shake” (NSFW), I’ll dust that move off for “Kill V. Maim” and “Flesh Without Blood.”

Don’t Say I didn’t warn you.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#16. Savages

Are you starting to see a pattern here?  Great bands that I’ve seen before at Coachella, that I’m going to see again at Coachella.

Savages are an all-female post-punk band based in London. The ladies have been making some serious noise since 2011.

In 2012 the group introduced themselves to world by dropping the singles “Husbands” and “Flying to Berlin.”  After one listen to those two gems, the woman ended up on every Bands-On-The-Come list known to mankind.

Their critically acclaimed debut Silence Yourself arrived in the spring of 2013, and deservingly finished the year on many of those fun Top Albums Of The Year lists, including mine.  The highly-anticipated sophomore release Adore Life came out in January.

I think it might be time for the girls to graduate to the Main Stage.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#17: Lord Huron

Lord Huron is another band on my list that I was planning on seeing again in theatre playing a full set, not at Coachella. Oh well.

The band’s been around since 2010, originally from Michigan, now based in Los Angeles.  They’ve released two studio albums, the 2012 offering Lonesome Dream, and 2015’s hugely underrated effort Strange Trails.  I played the shit out of that CD last year.

I remember the band playing a delightful indie folk set in the Mojave Tent back in 2013, not quite sure how I remember that, with all the Jack that got drank that morning.  Furthermore, I still have the setlist from that show, written up on a paper towel.

Are they big enough to play sundown on the main stage? That remains to be seen.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#18. Pete Yorn

The night my eyes hit the 2016 Coachella poster for the first time, the name that came popping off the screen, even in its tiny font, was Pete Yorn.  I thought to myself, Pete Yorn, where in the hell did he come from?

Well, he came from is Montville, New Jersey.  Since the turn of the century, Mr. Yorn’s occupation has been singer-songwriter.  He’s released six studio albums, four of which, when I wasn’t paying attention.

Back in 2001, I had his debut album musicforthemormingafter in heavy rotation in my compact disc player, I had one of those fancy 6-disc changers, come to think of it, I still do.  If I ever get around to ranking my top tracks of the zero’s decade, Yorn’s “Life On A Chain” will be on that list.

His sophomore album Day I Forgot arrived in 2003.  Ironically, that was around the same Day I Forgot about Pete Yorn.

If had more time, I would give you lots fun facts, everyone loves fun facts.  Like, Peter Buck of R.E.M. worked on many of Yorn’s recordings, including the single “Strange Conditions.” Here’s another, he worked with some record producer named Ken Andrews of the band Failure.  How fun!

About a month ago, he released Arranging Time, his first album in six years.  I have no idea where Pete will fall when the stages and set times are release.  I’m just hoping I’ll be Arranging Time for his Sunday performance.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#19. M83

Still no package.  I wonder if Goldenvoice is upset with this list?

I wasn’t playing with myself nearly as much in 2012, as I do today.  The Top 40 game was trending and becoming a country-wide phenomenon.  It was being played by as many people as I could pressure into playing, all for my ultimate enjoyment.  As silly as this game may seem, I know everyone had a small guilty pleasure in playing along, not to mention, playing by the rules.  Rules, you ask? Yep, there were rules, my rules, and lots of them.

In 2012, the French electronic act M83 finished at #1 on my Top 40 Must-See Coachella 2012 Bands list.  Additionally, the Anthony Gonzalez fronted band would finish at #3 on The Twist, right behind The Shins at #2, and Radiohead at #1.

The Twist is a project developed by deepster19, Owner and Editor-In Chief of the indie music blog Goindeepmusic.com.  Its origin traces back to 2009.  The game is played by actual people, within the game these people are known as the players.  The players are planning on, or pretending to, attend the Coachella Music Festival.  Each day, for 40 consecutive days leading up to the festival, the players text out their must-see Coachella bands to the other players in the game. Sound fun?  Bands would receive points based on where they landed on each player’s list, for example, 1 point for #40, 2 points for #39, 3 points for #38, and so on.  You can stream the 2012 Coachella Twist Mixtape here.

In the end, players that endured the game would receive a commemorative compact disc mixtape to celebrate their misery, and their Top 19 bands.  Each player would receive an additional disc to honor the group’s Top 19, which is eloquently known as The Twist.  Said discs would be part of the “welcome” packet at Motel 6, distributed on Arrival Day (Thursday).

On Reflection Day (Monday), the Top 40 game players would toss the compact discs out of the car window on their way back home, usually depositing them somewhere along the I-10 freeway.  This silent gesture was their way of saying:

“He’s not making me play that silly game again next year.”

Oddly, everyone was back for more fun and games the following year, that is until 2015…

The backlash over the game was brutal, to the extreme that some people stopped going to Coachella altogether.  Who knew?

Maybe the array of splash colors weren’t resilient enough.  Maybe the frequent update wasn’t updated frequently enough.  Maybe there was nowhere to play a physical compact disc anymore.

Or maybe… It wasn’t the game, it was Coachella!

Maybe the Spicy Pie wasn’t as tasty. Maybe the Toaster Pastries weren’t up to standard. Maybe the dead animal had become a tired act.  Maybe there wasn’t enough time being wasted at Panera.  Maybe it was “the lineup.”  Maybe the coffee wasn’t being stirred correctly.  Maybe there was just way too much left over Pub Mix, Pringles, and Gatorade.  Maybe the Sharpie jokes were no longer funny. Maybe the handicapped porta potty  wasn’t clean enough.  Maybe it was the cymbal.  Maybe it was The 1975.  Or maybe, the fear of catching bed bugs is real.  Who knows?

Back to M83, they’re now based in Los Angeles and are planning to release Junk, the follow-up to the commercially successful 2011 double-album Hurry Up, Were Dreaming on April 8. The new material has received less-than-stellar reviews.  Joziah Lambert, music critic and DJ at North America’s Indie Rock Channel Sirius XMU, compares the first single “Do It Try It” to the first time you heard “Flash Delirium” by MGMT.  Junk will be the band’s seventh studio album, and hopefully it’s not junk.

Mr. Gonzalez recently conducted tryouts for a new female vocalist.  Kaela Sinclair won the American Idol style contest and will replace the lovely Morgan Kibby.  The 2012 Coachella performance in the Mojave Tent was a great show.  I always envisioned myself seeing M83 again, in a theatre playing a full set, not at Coachella.  You take what you can get, if set times dictate my presence, I will be there.

I really enjoy the band’s earlier shoegazing influenced style that showed up on 2003’s Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts and 2005’s Before The Dawn Heals Us.  To a lesser extent, but equally as good, the 2008 release Saturdays = Youth.

As for the game, join in right here with your #19 band, or join in whenever you want.  If not, it makes no difference to me.  I’ll still shoot out #18 tomorrow, as I sit here and patiently wait for my package to come.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#20. HAELOS

Before I move on to #20 on my list, here’s a quick update on my package, it didn’t come.

HAELOS is an East London trip hop trio that have been around since 2014.  Recently, the band was placed on many of those bands-on-the-come-up lists.

They’re cut from the same mold as a Portishead or Massive Attack.

The debut album Full Circle arrived last Friday with decent reviews.

They were originally known as Halos, but probably saw the fun things that the Brooklyn-based indie pop band HAERTS did with their name, and said, if they can get away with it, so can we.

HAELOS is one of my most interesting discoveries on the Coachella 2016 poster.

I wouldn’t be surprised if HAELOS kicks off my Weekend 2 experience with an early afternoon set in the Mojave Tent.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#21. Ex Hex

Ex Hex is a indie rock trio from Washington D.C.

The band was formed by guitarist Mary Timony (Helium, Wild Flag) when her band Wild Flag went on permanent hiatus in 2013.  Ms. Timony recruited drummer Laura Harris (Benjy Ferree) and Betsy Wright (Fire Tapes) to play bass.

The trio came together with former Let’s Active founding member and record producer (R.E.M.) Mitch Easter, to record the debut album Rips in 2014.

Look for the ladies to play a loud mid-afternoon set on the Outdoor Stage.

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#22. Melody’s Echo Chamber

Melody Prochet is the woman behind the French dream pop project Melody’s Echo Chamber.

Originally, she was known as My Bee’s Garden, that is, until she met and collaborated with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala in 2010.  Since 2012, her new material has been released under the moniker Melody’s Echo Chamber.

So far, Ms. Prochet has only released one studio album, a 2012 self-titled effort.  In 2014 she released the single “Shirim,” along with rumors that a sophomore album would soon follow, still nothing. Maybe when it gets real quiet between songs during her Coachella set, I will yell “where the hell is the new album?”

GoINDEEpMusic

View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#23. The Heavy

The Heavy are a British rock band that formed in 2007, they call Bath, England home.  The band’s sound has influences from funk, soul, hip hop and garage rock, neo-soul if you will.

The group’s fourth studio album Hurt & The Merciless drops this coming Friday, and will include the badass tune “What Happened to The Love,” which surfaced a few days ago.

The band is probably best known for the tune “How You Like Me Now?” which has been used in a shitload of TV shows, movies, and commercials.  I hear it everyday on the MLB Network show Intentional Talk.

If Present-Tense was going to Coachella this year, I bet he would have The Heavy in his Top 10, just sayin.

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