Really excited to see Gil Scott-Heron today. He's my number-one must see on Day 1. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also planning to catch Avett Brothers, She & Him, LCD Soundsystem, Sleigh Bells, and a bunch of others I hope to discover today.

coachella 2009 timelapse

It looks like this was taken from the corner of the Outdoor Stage area. Very cool. I couldn't get this video to publish correctly, so you're going to have to click here.

gil scott-heron

About a month or two ago, I was surfing the Paste Magazine Web site and came upon an article about Gil Scott-Heron and listened to a few of the tracks on the site. I was immediately enthralled.

The 61-year old just released an amazing CD called I'm New Here, and he has a heck of a history you can read all about on Wikipedia. His best-known work is a spoken-word jam called "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," which has woven its way into the modern-day vernacular, regardless of whether people are aware of its origin.

One of my old favorites of his is "Whitey on the Moon."
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)

The new CD is dark and quite riveting. This little discovery made me feel like a changed woman. I couldn't stop listening to the tracks I could find online; it was like listening to Ani DiFranco for the first time. I felt like it was a gateway to a whole other consciousness.

Then the coolest thing happened. I realized he's on the bill for Coachella. He's now on my list of absolutely must-see artists for the festival. I'm expecting nothing less than a life-changing experience.

coachella threads

Right now, I'm completely focused on the anticipation of Coachella 2010. I've been studying the lineup and introduced myself to some great music that was new to me. At this moment, I'm washing a load of Empire Polo Field-worthy apparel that will be appropriate for the glorious 80 to 90-degree weather forecast for the festival. It will probably increase this week to the typical 100s, but a girl can dream.

Deciding what to wear to Coachella is ridiculously difficult. Trying to look like you belong with the young hipsters is one thing. Staying pleasantly cool in the desert heat is another. I'm not your typical alterna-waif either, so a bikini or tube top is out of the question. Multiple pairs of footwear is a must because of the near blisters that develop each night - your feetsies need variety or they hurt even more after that one-mile walk through the dust to the parking lot.

But don't take my word for it.

Stylite: What does one wear to Coachella??
(Any reporter who says you need space in your backpack for band members' phone numbers lives in some alternate universe from me.)

What to Wear: Music Festivals
(You lost me at the $436 one piece you think I'm going to wear and have to take completely off to use a port-a-potty.)

Coachella 2008 forum
(My introduction to the P-mate, a cardboard contraption girls can use to pee standing up, as well as Monistat's non-chaffing cream.)

Just make sure you wear SOMETHING.

i'm back

I don't know how long this will last, but here I am. In all honesty, I haven't been myself lately. I will sound like a commercial for Cymbalta when I tell you that I wasn't finding joy in things that I typically like, I was feeling detached, I gained weight, and I generally lost track of where I'd been and where I was going.

I'm not back to normal yet by any means, but I'm getting there. At least, now I want to get there.

Which brings me back to the blog, which used to be so fun for me. I figured I'd see if I could find some lost puzzle piece of me here in this one-column layout.