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Click to the next image to see the blasts from the past that will be taking the stage at the Coachella 2013 festival.
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: London, England
Previously played Coachella: 2003
We're hoping for an eclectic mix of singles and album tracks from the London alt-rockers—from their baggy-ish Leisure era, through the heights of their Britpop heyday, all the way to the moody, textured art-rock of their latter work. Expect even the youngest of festival goers to "woohoo" along to "Song 2," by far the band's most well-known hit stateside.
Download "Song 2" on Amazon Download Blur: The Best Of on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: Manchester, England
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
One of the pioneering groups of Manchester's popular Madchester movement, this legendary four-piece rock band—vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, and drummer Alan "Reni" Wren—meshes '60s style, psych/alt guitar pop with an '80s dance beat.
Download The Stone Roses (20th Anniversary Legacy Edition) on Amazon Download Second Coming on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Milwaukee, WI
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
One of the best things to come out of Milwaukee (which is saying a lot—Milwaukee has great beers...and cheese), the alt rockers can still rock out 30-plus years later, as evidenced by their appearance at other recent music festivals, such as Lollapalooza. This is their first time at Coachella, and we have a feeling they won't disappoint (how could they?).
Download Violent Femmes on Amazon Download "Blister in the Sun" on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: New York, NY
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Okay, so we won't get to see the Rolling Stones this April, as speculated, but Lou Reed is quite the consolation prize. Expect all the faves—and plenty of less-well-known new tracks too—from the grumpy Velvet Underground hero. Hope to hear "Kill Your Sons," about Reed's own experience with electroconvulsive therapy meant to "cure" his bisexuality.
Download Walk On The Wild Side on Amazon Download Transformer on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Staten Island, NY
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Critically and commercially acclaimed, this impossibly influential Staten Island hip-hop collective first emerged from the underground in 1993. What with solo albums and live dates from members GZA, Raekwon and Method Man, there's been a lot of peripheral and fractured Wu activity in recent years, so to have the entire original crew (save for the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, whose son Young Dirty Bastard is sometimes a special guest) back on stage is a treat indeed. Expect much muthafuckin' noise when they drop bombs like "C.R.E.A.M." and "Protect Ya Neck."
Download Enter The Wu-Tang on Amazon Download Legend Of The Wu-Tang: Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Washington, DC
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
This American post-punk band, formed in D.C. in 1995, is led by ex-Nation of Ulyssses frontman Ian Svenonius. It's a combination of garage rock, soul and self-styled liberation theology, creating a new genre they called "Gospel Yeh Yeh," with some organ thrown in for good measure.
Download I Want Some on Amazon Download In Mass Mind on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: Kendal, Jamaica
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
The Black Ark days (and the Black Ark studio itself) are a distant memory, but the mark on music—not only reggae—that Lee Perry made there during the last half of the ’70s is indelible. Given that he's most famous as a producer, it's surprising what a great performer Perry still is; bobbing around the stage, he testifies in his own indecipherable tongue, spreading joy with every hoarse syllable.
Download Revelation on Amazon Download The Upsetter Selection: A Lee Perry Jukebox on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Some might pigeonhole the Aussie dyad’s exotic refrains as music consumed only by tortured souls brooding over black coffee. Listen more carefully, and you’ll find that its sound is unbounded by time or genre. How can one categorize Lisa Gerrard’s eerie warbles, which have ripened with age; Brendan Perry’s elegant vocals, ornamented with nonsense syllables; or the duo’s ritualistic tribal drums and mournful instrumentals? Tormented by creative spirits, the fiftysomething artists may have had their heyday three decades ago. But Dead Can Dance has not lost its aptitude for hauntingly beautiful compositions, as we'll hopefully see this April.
Download Anastasis on Amazon Download Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Wirral Peninsula, England
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Andy McCluskey and his Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark celebrate over 30 years in the business of making intelligent synth pop, once again reunited with Humphreys, Holmes and Cooper, who quit in 1989 but rejoined a few years ago. While waiting to shimmy to Pretty in Pink classic "If You Leave," expect to hear tunes from the band's twelfth studio album, English Electric, due to hit the airwaves this April.
Download The Best Of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark on Amazon Download "If You Leave" on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Fullerton, CA
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
All the punks who got Social D tats back in the early ’80s like to crow about how the band ain't what it used to be. Well, yes, times indeed change, and even if the band's old fans haven't faced up to it, Social D is no longer a punk band—just a kick-ass rock band.
Download Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes on Amazon Download Greatest Hits on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Detroit, MI
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
This Mexican-American singer-songwriter cut just two albums in 1970 and 1971, before veering off the radar when his career stalled. (Playing an industry showcase with his back to the crowd probably didn’t help.) The Detroit native popped up again briefly to tour Australia in the late ’70s, but after that—zip. Rodriguez was gone, leaving only his music as proof of his existence. In the meantime, Cold Fact, Rodriguez’s debut, became huge in South Africa, which turned Rodriguez—or at least the idea of Rodriguez—into a counterculture hero. Stories sprang up concerning the musician’s fate: Some said he died after setting himself alight onstage; others, that he had murdered his girlfriend and ended up in a mental hospital. In 1996, journalist Craig Bartholomew-Strydom began a search for the cult singer, now chronicled in a great Oscar-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man. Suffice to say, Rodriguez was found alive and well in Michigan, somewhat surprised to hear of his popularity on the other side of the world. Having at last toured South Africa, where his fans are truly adoring, Rodriguez is finally getting another crack at America. Color us very curious to see the man in action.
Download Searching For Sugar Man on Amazon Download Cold Fact on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: Manchester, England
Previously played Coachella: 2003
Veteran guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr is most well known for his work in the Smiths, Modest Mouse and the Pretenders. The melancholy of the Smiths is apparent, but Marr makes the sound his own—see him perform his signature, jangly guitar solos during his Friday sets.
Download The Messenger on Amazon Download Boomslang on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: London, England
Previously played Coachella: 2001, 2002, 2006
Before there was Skrillex, there was Paul Oakenfold. The three-time Grammy-nominated artist paved the progressive house dance genre for dozens of DJs after him, from which seemingly endless subgenres of electronic dance music spawned. In addition to playing at some of the most notorious clubs in the world and signing artists like Will Smith and Salt-n-Pepa through his record label, Perfecto, Oakenfold has toured with Madonna and U2, and has done scores for movies such as The Bourne Identity and The Matrix Reloaded.
Download Greatest Hits & Remixes on Amazon Download "Ready, Steady, Go" on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Salford, England
Previously played Coachella: 2005
Here's a rare treat: Seminal English postpunk outfit New Order ventures stateside for its first appearance at Coachella since 2005. Sadly, the group will be performing sans original bassist Peter Hook because of intra-band squabbles—but the opportunity to hear classics like "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "Temptation" nearly makes us forget such unseemly quarreling.
Download Lost Sirens on Amazon Download "Bizarre Love Triangle" on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Amherst, MA
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
The beloved alternative rock band once simply known as Dinosaur, before legal issues forced the addition of "Jr.," are still rocking thirty years later. They've done the festival circuit before, playing Lollapalooza and LA's Fuck Yea Fest, but this will be their first time playing the sweaty desert at Coachella.
Download I Bet On Sky on Amazon Download Feel The Pain on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Hermosa Beach, CA
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Considered one of the pioneers of modern day punk pop, skate punk and melodic hardcore, the Descendents lose a bit of street cred for playing Coachella. But we have to admit, we're pretty excited to see them, and we're hoping it's a small crowd of old-school punkers in the audience ready to mosh without worrying about their headdresses or furry hoods falling off.
Download Everything Sucks on Amazon Download Milo Goes To College on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Los Angeles, CA
Previously played Coachella: 2003, 2007
Recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Red Hot Chili Peppers have changed quite a bit since the funky rap-punk hybrid of their eponymous 1984 debut, releasing radio-friendly and borderline-bland pop-rock on 2011's I'm With You. No matter how you feel about the new RHCP, who are currently prepping a covers EP, there's no denying singing along when classics like "Give It Away" and "Dani California" come on.
Download I'm With You on Amazon Download Greatest Hits on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Los Angeles, CA
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
This alt-rock group is associated with LA's 1980s Paisley Underground scene (think the Bangles or Dream Syndicate). Expect to hear psychedelic pop rock with a punk energy—a sound that may have been more original in the '80s, but is still pretty fun today.
Download Sixteen Tambourines / Baroque Hoedown on Amazon Download Arrive Without Travelling on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Coventry, England
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
2-Tone Records veterans, pop/ska outfit the Selecter—still fronted by Pauline Black—plough on through their 33rd year. The Coachella first-timers are responsible for ska classics such as "On My Radio," which we just may be lucky enough to hear during their Saturday sets.
Download "On My Radio" on Amazon Download String Theory on Amazon
Sundays April 14 and 21
Origin: Victoria, Australia
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Nick Cave hasn’t lost his flair for the down-and-dirty fury that defined his early work with the Birthday Party, which is evident on his band's latest (though admittedly more subdued) release, Push the Sky Away, as well as at his live shows—can you name another 50-year-old man you’d like to hear describe a case of the “No Pussy Blues”? Hope to hear hell-yea classics like "Stagger Lee" and "Red Right Hand" during his Sunday sets.
Download Push the Sky Away on Amazon Download The Boatman's Call on Amazon
Saturdays April 13 and 20
Origin: Boston, MA
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
Boston's Dropkick Murphys—the popular hardcore-ish Celtic punk band formed way back in '96—play a besotted blend of lunkheaded but stirring Irish-influenced pub rock. Live, they're a riot (sometimes quite literally). They're constantly on tour and do yearly St. Patrick's Day weekly shows, so they're seasoned vets on the big stage, although we wonder how the 100-plus heat will do them.
Download Signed And Sealed In Blood on Amazon Download Going Out In Style on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: Cambridge, England
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
DJ Harvey is the man who helped pioneer the disco edit and has been known as an all-round legendary DJ over several decades. There are few DJs worth their salt today who don't have at least a little love for Harvey, who has effectively been on hiatus for the best part of ten years. Expect cosmic disco, thumping funk-driven house, dancefloor-oriented techno and a whole lot more, all supplied by the deft hands of a master-craftsman.
Download Late Night Sessions V.1: DJ Harvey on Amazon Download Mix Freaks [Japan CD] on Amazon
Fridays April 12 and 19
Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Previously played Coachella: First-timer
If happiness is contagious then Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra must be highly viral. How could anyone listen to them and not be compelled to feel happy? Founded in 1988, they were the pioneers of the Japanese ska scene that formed when a second bout of ska—that sublime mix of calypso and jazz—hit the world. Today they are genre institutions. If you have any sort of proclivity towards ska then this set is not to be missed.
Download Paradise Blue on Amazon Download Perfect Future on Amazon
Check out these rockin' vets playing at the Coachella 2013 festival.
 Made in LA |
 Let's hear it for the ladies |
 British invasion |
 New York style |
 Friday |
 Saturday |
 Sunday |
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