Monarchy - "The Phoenix Alive"

Monarchy - "The Phoenix Alive": "I'm usually a bit wary of this kind of slick synth-pop, but there's good, non-gaudy hooks here plus a bit of drama and presence - something they easily demonstrated at Coachella, where I saw them without having even heard of them before and was won over by their subtle but powerful command of the stage and some really great if stylized dance tracks."

Suede - "Animal Nitrate"

Suede - "Animal Nitrate": "Definitely one of my Coachella highlights. I was wary of what present-day Suede would be like, but Brett worked the stage like his life depended on it, belting out classics like this one like it was still 1992. As fey as he may be, he had massive stage presence and the only thing that made me sad was that there weren't enough people there to see it, because it was magic.
[Coachella - Saturday 3/16]"

The Drums - "I Need Fun In My Life"

The Drums - "I Need Fun In My Life": "I know a lot of people who love this album and lots who love them live. I don't think either is bad, but I have to say I don't quite 'get' them either. Something just hasn't clicked with me yet. But I will admit that this track does have a nice lo-fi charm and is catchy in the same way similar lo-fi ditties grabbed me in the 90s. And I agree with the song's message too!
[Coachella - Friday 4/15]"

Interpol - "Success"

Interpol - "Success": "Was their Coachella set a good one? No, not really - something was just kind of off with them (although I've since heard that their drummer had faulty monitors for the whole show, so that would explain a lot) and their pre-hyped multi-media display was rather tepid. That said, the set list would have had a nice slow build, had it been able to keep the intensity that I'm sure they expected to bring. I heard a lot of folks were not happy with this as their opener track (probably expecting 'PDA' instead?), but it made me remember this as an overlooked track from their recent, self-titled release and it's been popping in and out of my head since...so that was one win from their set for me.
[Coachella - Friday 4/15]"

Arcade Fire - "Wake Up"

Arcade Fire - "Wake Up": "Okay, so everyone knows by now about the amazing AF Coachella show and the synchronized LED light-up balloons they dropped over the crowd, but it really was just epic to see, especially in tandem with the huge swell of emotion coming back from the huge crowd at the same time. A really great show overall with an inventive climax.
[Coachella - Saturday 3/16]"

Duran Duran - "A View To A Kill"

Duran Duran - "A View To A Kill": "Where to begin - how awesome this song is? The great James Bond movie opening title sequence that features it? The extra-cheesy video at the Eiffel Tower with 'Bon, Simon le Bon' and telescopes that turn into guns? Any one of those would have been enough of a reason to send me into a full froth when I finally got to see Duran Duran perform it live this last weekend... BUT when DD added a live orchestra introduction, joining a white-tux'ed Simon in a bravado vocal performance, in tribute to 'View' co-writer (and legendary Bond composer) John Barry...well, I pretty much damn melted.
[Coachella - Sunday 4/17]"