Name: Julieta Vengas
Genre: Pop
Day: Friday

Wikipedia sez: “Julieta Venegas and two-time , born in Long Beach, California, on November 24, 1970, is a successful Grammy AwardLatin Grammy Award winning Mexican singer and songwriter of Spanish-language rock and pop music. Venegas, who grew up in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, began studying music at the age of eight and went on to join several bands, including Tijuana No!, before starting a career on her own. In addition to singing and writing her own songs, she plays numerous instruments including acoustic guitar, accordion, and keyboard. She won the 2004 Latin Grammy for Best Vocal Rock Album Sí. She speaks both English and Spanish and has a twin sister, Yvonne, who is a photographer.”

I’ve never been one to follow the Spanish pop scene and I’m not going to make a point of starting after listening to a few of? Julieta Vengas’ songs. All I will say is that if most Spanish pop is like this, then it is way different to American/English/Australian pop, that’s for sure.

Likelyhood of Seeing at Coachella: No.

Read on to view Julieta Venegas live videos…

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Name: José González
Genre: Rock
Day: Sunday

Wikipedia sez José González is a Swedish indie/folk singer-songwriter. His trademark sound is solo classical guitar with soft melody. His work, although mostly original, does include acoustic covers of such hits as Heartbeats by his fellow Swedes The Knife, Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, “Born in the U.S.A. and The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen, Hand On Your Heart by Kylie Minogue, “Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat and Teardrop by Massive Attack.”

I remember first hearing a José González on a Sony ad which made me wonder - since when have Sony made cool television commercials!? The man makes brilliant acoustic rock and his covers are amongst some of the best I’ve ever heard (his version of Love Will Tear Us Apart is even better then the original in my option). It is wonderful listening to his guitar work in instrumental pieces like Suggestions and his original work is fantastic too, with tracks such as Down the Hillside and Crosses being instant classics. This is one artist that I wish I got onto when he was just breaking out, because I have no doubts that I will be alone in seeing him.

Likelyhood of Seeing at Coachella: A must see.

Read on to view José González live videos…

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Name: Jarvis Cocker
Genre: Rock
Day: Friday

Wikipedia sez: “Jarvis Cocker is an English musician, best known for fronting the band Pulp. Cocker is from a musical family - his father, Matthew “Ghion” Cocker-Logan, and uncle were musicians. Fellow Sheffield musician Joe Cocker was a friend of the family and occasionally babysat him, although they are not related. Jarvis Cocker is now following a solo career, after his father Matthew Cocker-Logan, suggested he needed him to buy a retirement home - his debut album, Jarvis, came out in the UK on November 13, 2006.”

I never really followed Pulp closely (apart from the wonderful track and video This Is Hardcore), so I wasn’t so sure what I’d get with Cocker’s solo album. To put it plainly, it’s pure britpop that is infectious as hell. I found myself humming the melody of Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time after one listen because it’s so damn catchy. Plus with songs like Running the World you have to wonder - is Jarvis making a full fledged attack at the controlling minority or is he just performing brilliant satire? Plainly put, this guy’s music isn’t the most exciting but I really want to see and hear it live. Who knows, a few might even start a sing-a-long for Running The World, I can already hear the chanting of the chorus now..

Likelyhood of Seeing at Coachella: Yup.

Read on to view Jarvis Cocker live videos…

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Name: Jack’s Mannequin
Genre: Rock
Day: Saturday

Wikipedia sez: “Jack’s Mannequin is a rock band from Orange County, California. A solo project of Andrew McMahon that started in 2004, the band’s debut album was released in August 2005. In June of that year, McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After he made a full recovery, his album, Everything in Transit, was received with positive response by fans and critics. They are currently signed to Maverick Records.”

Jack’s Mannequin are like a modern Ben Folds Five meets Angels & Airwaves. Certain tracks are as ready for mainstream rock radio as possible (The Mixed Tape, Dark Blue) while their piano based tracks sound much better (Kill The Messenger, La La Lie). Nothing is wrong with their music, it’s just nothing exciting or spectacular by any means, with most songs related to girl troubles (then again, you could say that about a whole heap of mainstream rock artists).

Likelyhood of Seeing at Coachella: It’s not for me.

Read on to view Jack’s Mannequin live videos…

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