aok
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Soundoffs 60
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Album Ratings 390
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Last Active 07-22-14 1:48 am
Joined 03-09-10

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 Lists
02.06.24 Cryptocurrency's a Sham06.11.22 Sounds of Bristol
04.19.21 tinychat01.05.15 Aok's Top 10 Of 2014
11.23.14 Massive Attack Sunday Afternoon09.18.14 Live Music
08.01.14 Excellent Albums Are Classic02.12.14 Rock Anthems
02.06.14 Aok's Top 10 From 2013 05.29.13 That Moment In Music
05.03.13 Miss You Guys 04.17.13 Coachella 2013: The End Of An Era
03.25.13 Melt My Soul (recs Please)01.31.13 January 2013 Tracks
12.26.12 2012 Albums12.08.12 Fresh 2012 Beats
09.06.12 Electric Zoo 2012 07.10.12 Aok's Digs
More »

Coachella Awards

Wish I could've been everywhere at once
40 !!!
Strange Weather, Isn't It?


WISH I'D SEEN
Had to deal with wristband troubles on day 1. Oh well
Also: Black Joe Lewis
39Wiz Khalifa
Rolling Papers


GLAD I MISSED
His set smelled like lots of puke as people left the show right as I was
arriving for Nas. Also: Brandon Flowers
38Boys Noize
Oi Oi Oi


BANDS I REALLY WISH I COULD'VE SEEN
Also: Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke, Tame Impala, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, Empire of the Sun,
Gayngs and probably a lot of others
37Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
Radical


Longest hype session ever. I was hoping to catch 15 min of this and most
of the morning benders, but between technical difficulties and too much
time hyping themselves I got bored and had to leave.
36The Morning Benders
Big Echo


Why I didn't go to this set I don't know. Actually I do, see above.
35Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Un Escorpion Perfumado


AWESOME DUDE
also, one of the best guitarists of our time. A shame no one actually saw
him as I would still highly recommend seeing him if he comes to a venue
near you.
34 Between Sets on the Main Stage


Among which were Jack Johnson's 'Middle Man'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiDSGfgrAYI) and The Ramones'
'Sheena is a Punk Rocker' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AsEpDBMsKqA) before Nas & Damian Marley, but perhaps even better
was DJ Shadow's What Does Your Soul Look Like
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQxIexegatM) before the Black Keys
33 Charging Station


Some awesome Flying Lotus / Aphex Twin esque sounds were always
emanating from the cell phone charge station which was right next to the
drinking water. It was good stuff.
32Interpol
Interpol


DEFINITION OF A WASHED UP BAND (klap4music's term but I couldn't find a better one to fit)
31 Cage The Elephant
Album


DID NOTHING FOR ME
I've heard nothing but good things, but I found them to be incredibly
unmemorable.
30Neon Trees
Habits


NOT MY THING
Not bad, but not good either.
29Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles II


MOST GENERIC
I don't have anything against these guys, but I also don't have anything for
them either.
28Kings of Leon
Come Around Sundown


FOR BEING FAMOUS
27She Wants Revenge
This is Forever


FOR BEING THE ANTI-KANYE
26The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt


REALLY WISH IT WAS THERE
I recognize there is talent there and so many people adore this guy, but I
have yet to understand the appeal.
25Flogging Molly
Float


RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
Having seen these guys live before, the fact that I happened to catch them
singing 'Devil's Dance Floor' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TSwaVvF7rdU) was cool. From having seen them before I can tell you
that they put on fun performances
24A-Trak
Fabriclive45: A-Trak


QUALITY CLUB DJ
Maybe I missed something here and this is based on only 4 songs, but as
much as I would be down to hear this at a local club, I found the
performance to be fairly uninspired.
23Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy


MOST OVERHYPED
I enjoyed 'Jesus Walks' (irony considering I'm jewish?), but didn't care for
the set as a whole, leaving for a few She Wants Revenge for old time's
sake.
22Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More


MOST FORMULAIC
I was disappointed with not hearing 'I Gave You All' and by just how
obvious the structure of all Mumford & Sons songs go exactly like this:
http://i.imgur.com/myCLa.jpg. They debuted 2 new songs, which were only
ok and their sound is simply not designed for this big a stage. Still, the
reasons as to why they were so popular were apparent.
21Phantogram
Eyelid Movies


MOST ME
Not sure I'd rec this to the masses though.
20Menomena
Mines


SOLID
19Titus Andronicus
The Monitor


THE ONE WHERE RABBIT WAS RIGHT [2]
Although burning hot, early, and at times looking overwhelmed by the big
stage, Titus Andronicus played an excellent set, though they yelled 'You Will
always be a loser' at me a few too many (32) times, so I'm not sure how
much I would have enjoyed their whole set
18Skrillex
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites


WORST CROWD
Quality set though that included a well-received nod to 2pac (Changes -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Y9-JlSRXw), the Jackson 5 and Major
Lazer. Great early show.
17 Thunderball


BEST THING ABSOLUTELY NO ONE NOTICED
I really just wanted an excuse to check out the Oasis tent and mistook
Thunderball for Lightning Bolt, but either way I was impressed with this
highly energetic set. Beginning with a great remix of Dusty Springfield's
Son of a Preacher Man, and moving along to a more mediocre mix of
Sublime's Santeria, Thunderball redeemed themselves with some Fat Boy
Slim's Praise You and the omnipresent Duck Sauce's Barbara Streisand. 'I
just want to do something freaky with you' echoed as dark brooding beats
sounded to me like a better version of The Weeknd.
16Freelance Whales
Weathervanes


QUALITY EASY-GOING INDIE
15The National
High Violet


THE ONE WHERE RABBIT WAS RIGHT
14Trentemoller
The Last Resort


MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS
13Arcade Fire
The Suburbs


BRINGING INDIE TO THE MASSES
12Ratatat
Classics


MOST LIKABLE
Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI ,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1H7vZYBeHc)
11The Black Keys
Brothers


FOR BRINGING BACK THE BLUES
10PJ Harvey
Let England Shake


BEST FEMALE VOCALIST
I barely had a chance to see her, but the few songs I heard were enough
to make me wish I had seen the whole thing.
9The Chemical Brothers
Dig Your Own Hole


BEST NAVIGATION OF THE MAIN STAGE
Playing for the 6th time, The Chemical Brothers knew how to make stunning
visuals pop out at you no matter how far you were from their own
performance. 2 shadows, one pink and one blue, floated seamlessly on
stage entering and separating from one another in harmony with the
soothing beats behind them. Though after a while it seemed more like an
IMAX screening than a concert, no one can do what The Chemical Brothers
do quite like The Chemical Brothers do it.
8Delorean
Subiza


BEST EARLY SET
Such a great balance of indie-pop and House music. Highly recommended
7Gogol Bordello
Trans-Continental Hustle


MOST ECLECTIC
Picture a retired pirate who joins a band of gypsies and learned stage
presence from Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Yea, this dude was awesome.
6The Strokes
Is This It


BEST THROWBACK
Most of this show felt like it was 8 years ago, which was fine by me.
'Someday,' 'Last Night,' '12:51' are a few of the many quality tracks
designed to be played on a big stage.
5 Afrojack
Lost & Found


MOST DIVERSE DJ SET
Despite a grand total of zero ratings from sputnikmusic, Afrojack showed
the crowd what was what with a phenomenal set through and through. He
threw down a sick remix of Daft Punk's Aerodynamic (if you find it post it
please), played some Major Lazer (most hilarious music video ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2nmgcVbfKE), and Kid Cudi's Day n'
Night as well. But his own 'Take Over Control,' the ultimate excuse to start
making out with the girl immediately to your left, really hit home and
everyone in the tent was loving it.
4Nosaj Thing
Drift


BEST ACT NO ONE'S TALKING ABOUT
I saw Nosaj Thing on a whim, and it was perhaps the best one I ever had.
An unassuming / dorky looking asian guy, Nosaj Thing managed to drop sick
remixes of The XX's Islands ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ziJFbRiPUvg ) and Portishead's Wandering Star (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAnfPMaLPec ) to augment an already
phenomenal set, which included more than a few star wars soundbytes.
Listen to this album and see this guy live if you get the chance!
3Nas & Damian Marley
Distant Relatives


BEST EXECUTED SET
From start to finish, this was a set that was impressive on every level.
Together they opened with 'As We Enter' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=pyY70LE2D-Y), but stuck mostly with their hits. For Nas, this meant
dropping 'Halftime' as well as 'If I Ruled the World' and 'Made you Look.'
Damian Marley played his own smash hit 'Welcome to Jamrock' along with
his father's 'Exodus' and 'Could You Be Loved.' The early show, coupled
with the star-power created by Bob Marley probably overshadowed Nas'
incredible rapping because imo, he was the best rapper of the entire concert.
2Black Dice / Animal Collective
Wastered


MOST MEMORABLE
It may be true that no sane person can be a fan of Animal Collective, yet
here they are at the top of my list of performances. To my left were people
giving me props for singing along to 'Did you See the Words' and 'We
Tigers' while to my right, only 20 rows from the main stage, a group of
people were sitting down in a gap filled by people who were disgusted by
what they saw. Still, Black Dice's visuals and Animal Collective's manic
beats coupled to make a spectacular display unlike any ever made, and one
that I will never forget.
1DJ Shadow
Endtroducing


SHOUT OUT
Yea, he wasn't there, but if the shadowsphere ever comes to a town near
you, drop everything you're doing and buy tickets immediately. Dude is off
the hook (new track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkP4mzOJ98M)
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