Ann Powers on Coachella's 2010 lineup: A model for recessionary times

This year's Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival might have a mogul -- rap patriarch Jay-Z -- on the marquee, but the lineup is still a model for recessionary times. Nothing on the roster announced this morning feels like a coup or a matter of huge debate. There's no baby boomer icon to fluster Generation X purists, and no surprise post-punk reunion (Pavement announced its reformation last fall) to fulfill the dreams of the same crowd.

What Coachella 2010 does offer is a well-curated mid-range that will more than satisfy the iPod aesthetes who make up the festival's core audience. Scanning the list for each day is a bit like reading the menu at an artisanal "slow food" restaurant; it's carefully constructed, full of small, impressive flourishes and satisfying without overloading the palate.

Highlights in smaller print on the festival's poster include indie blogger favorites such as Dirty Projectors, the xx, Girls, Florence & the Machine and Little Dragon; singer-songwriters reaching an early career peak including Sia, Corinne Bailey Rae and the Avett Brothers; elder cult favorites Grace Jones and Public Image Limited, along with the less than reliable Sly Stone and the unflashy but always fun Les Claypool; and local breakout acts the Soft Pack and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. None of these names evinces a startled intake of breath, but each would be a highlight on anybody's Coachooser.

The big-font names offer edifying variety -- and interesting cross-currents. Faith No More's arty take on frat-boy rap rock predated LCD Soundsystem's arty take on hedonistic electro-dance. Muse and Them Crooked Vultures both stitch a seam connecting progressive metal and alternative rock. Thom Yorke is arguably the leading intellectual of millennial pop; many thought Stephen Malkmus of Pavement held that position in the 1990s. Damon Albarn's cartoon Gorillaz connects all the dots, combining hip-hop, dance music and alternative rock styles and sounds.

And then there's Jay-Z. Beyond the delicious punditry of having the man nicknamed Jay-Hova play America's leading desert festival, this choice might have seemed slightly uninspired. Since returning from faux-retirement in 2006, Jay has been steadily expanding his reputation, taking strong steps to adjust his place in history from the "great" category  to the "legendary."  

He played the stalwartly rock-oriented Glastonbury Festival in England last year, raising objections from Oasis bandleader and notorious sourpuss Noel Gallagher. That tiny fire allowed Jay-Z to turn the appearance into a Crusades-style victory for rap itself. More recently, he's been promoting "Empire State of Mind," his powerhouse collaboration with Alicia Keys, as the new Gotham City anthem. It's a great song and, though the hubris involved is somewhat off-putting, a worthy campaign.

Hip-hop's rhythms and rhymes should come to tourists' minds when they think of multicultural New York. Frank Sinatra's snap-brimmed baritone embodied the city's hustle in a previous era, but his "New York, New York" excluded the later waves of immigrants and bootstrap-pullers whose dream was to migrate from the outer boroughs to Manhattan's palaces of wealth.

Name-checking Sinatra, bragging about his Lexus and his courtside Knicks tickets, Jay-Z makes the case for himself as a godfather in that song. But he's a Godfather of Soul, singling out Biggie Smalls, Afrika Bambaataa and Bob Marley as the roots of his family tree. "Empire State of Mind" and Glastonbury are both elements in Jay-Z's plan to secure hip-hop's place at the center of pop's continually unfolding history -- an integrationist move that doesn't dilute the music or the culture but demands that audiences beyond its assumed demographic admit that it's part of their pop DNA too. 

That's why Jay-Z at Coachella is neither unexpected nor unimportant. More than previous headliners Radiohead or Rage Against the Machine or wished-for 2010 possibilities like the Beastie Boys or the Smiths, he is the artist who probably can boast that every other musician named on that famous poster could spit one of his lyrics.

Jay-Z's rhymes are part of 21st-century pop's lingua franca; his late-career success puts the lie to any distinction between so-called alternative hip-hop and the mainstream stuff. If his Coachella date doesn't feel like a singular event, in part because he'll play to a likely more "urban" (to use a problematic word) crowd at Staples Center just weeks before the fest, it's still one worth celebrating. And then, as the rapper himself says, on to the next one.

-- Ann Powers

Photo: Jay-Z. Credit: Los Angeles Times

RELATED:

Coachella 2010: Jay-Z, Muse, Thom Yorke lead lineup

Comments

[ModBaby]

I love you like a sister Ann, but how could you not even mention the Specials? I know, I know--you can't shout out errbody. But talk about an 'elder favorite.' There are gonna be more dads out there pulling muscles they forgot they even had during THAT set!!! I can joke, cuz I'll be one of them. Wifey gonna's be working me with the Icy Hot for real on Friday night hahaha! Life is good...

[Justin]

are you nuts? what about thom yorke??? radiohead is easily one of gen x's most iconic bands. and what is devo if not quintessential post-punk. FAIL.

[lance]

amazing how writers continue to call faith no more rap-rock just because of the song epic. if you actually listened to the band you would realize that your explanation of them is way off.
they are the best band on the whole card by far and are in no way frat boy rap rock..give me a break

[Insurrextion]

If AC/DC is not there, then I'm not there...

[DMan]

I don't even own a JayZ album. Next.

[azmo66]

Horrible article. If someone is going to actually pay you money to be a self-appointed hipster, you'd think you would at least be someone with an ounce of musical insight. Faith No More as frat boy rap rock? Have you even heard one of their albums? Or are you just going based on the MTV video you remember from the late 80s? I don't even like Faith No More, but I've at least met someone who does. This article reminds me of an annoying conversation overheard at a table next to you at Starbucks between some ditzy girl who majored in sociology in a cardigan and ugboots and some emo guy. Boo. F minus.

[azmo66]

Also, this is one of the dumbest quotes I've ever seen:
"...he [Jay-Z] is the artist who probably can boast that every other musician named on that famous poster could spit one of his lyrics."

Are you serious? Do you honestly think the guys from PiL , The Specials, Grizzly Bear, the Dead Weather, Devo, Les Claypool, Pavement etc. just to name a few can "spit"(how 'urban' of you) any of this guy's lyrics? I don't see how any self-respecting music critic could claim that a mainstream rapper appearing at a corporate music fest that's two years past its prime isn't "unimportant". It's about as important as the balloon boy story.

[Mike from Indianapolis]

Calling Faith No More "frat-boy rap rock" obviously shows that you have no clue about rock and roll music. There are too many uneducated music snobs like yourself that spew this crap all over the Internet. But hey, Julian Casablancas is like totally playing this so like, awesome right?

[Ariel J]

Noone who genuinely respects and enjoys music actually cares about a huge, mainstream headliner. And definitely not anyone attending this festival. Read the fine print!!!!!! Any of these bands could take the spot in 20-pt font. It's a consistently high quality line-up all weekend long.

This article is ridiculous and has made me angry. People who listen to Ryan Seacrest's top 20 countdown, have no place writing ill-informed commentary on an indie music festival like Coachella. If you want to see The Black Eyed Peas or Rihanna on the billboard - you're not interested in the scene Coachella has to offer anyway - and you certainly shouldn't be reviewing the line-up from that perspective as if it's the opinion of the masses.

It's obvious that very few agree with your commentary on this subject. I have a feeling you were never planning on going to the festival anyway.

[Victor Prock]

OK, how do you write this crap about Coachella. It seems to me that your editor must have demanded a Coachella piece. Let's take into perspective who YOU are, based on your previous posts. (Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert, Rhianna,MJ, and so on...).
Your a POP Fluff reviewer. Review some bands that are playing this years show, who aren't "Top 40" or opening for Lady Gaga.
Look , I like Lady Gaga & CAN'T STAND "Faith No More", but your article only defines how unsuited you are for reviewing Coachella.
FAIL! "Faith No More's arty take on frat-boy rap rock"
FAIL! "LCD Soundsystem's arty take on hedonistic electro-dance."
The only comment in this article that you may be suited for is"....singer-songwriters reaching an early career peak.....", being that YOU REVIEW POP.....COME TO TERMS WITH IT!!!
!!!!ON TO TMZ WITH YOUR CAREER!!!!!

[Redunkulous]

There should be a disclaimer at the beginning of this article that states, "Though this article purports to discuss the lineup for the upcoming Coachella Festival, there will be absolutely no mention of any of the world renowned DJ or electronic music talent that is scheduled to appear, due to the writer's ignorance and ineptitude."

Really, Ann? Artists like Tiesto, Deadmau5, Benassi and Kaskade routinely draw tens of thousands of fans, all over the world. Are they not to be considered, much less mentioned, in an article claiming to cover Coachella's lineup?

[Sweet Lou]

Bonnaroo is gonna blow away coachella again

[Andu]

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Thanks,

[statistici pariuri]

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