Have you ever wanted to just grab your friends, a tent, some brews, and head to the desert for some good ass music and partying? I have. And apparently I’m not the only one.

A bunch of artists back in 1999 put this little festival together known as Coachella. And every year, friends of mine are attending it, playing it, working it, or doing SOMETHING for or to it. So I believe it’s time for a CollegeCandy style expose on this powwow.

The three day festival takes place every year. I like to say it’s a cross between Warped Tour and Bonnaroo. It’s not quite as punk/rock/retarded as Warped Tour, but it’s also not as artsy fartsy hippietastic as Bonnaroo. Boasting acts like Rage Against the Machine, Beck, Radiohead, Pixies, Arcade Fire, The Cure, Bjork, Amy Winehouse, The Black Keys, and Peaches (as well as about 100,000,000,000 other musicians), I’m confident that you can see what I mean here. Read More »

You may or may not have become acquainted with Sia Furler, the 29 year Australian singer, through her successful collaborations with the U.K group Zero 7 . (She lulled me under her spell with “Distractions” and “Destiny” on the Zero 7 album Simple Things).

If you don’t know her from there, do you remember the last six minutes of the “Six Feet Under” finale and soundtrack that featured that ambient and sweeping piano and percussion? That was Sia.

Her voice is not one that is easily digested, but once you become accustomed to the newness and the rawness of it, you want more. Two years after releasing Colour the Small One, Sia and her glorious voice are back with Some People Have Real Problems.

According to Sia, the cover art of her album illustrates a running gag during the recording process, as one person is drawn under a spot of rain, holding an umbrella but still sad faced, while next to them is a person without arms or legs and smiling happily. A self reminder to not complain about her ‘rich people problems.’ Read More »

To me, there’s nothing scarier than a scientologist. To live in relative peace, I make it my business to steer clear of the obvious fools like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Luckily, they’re easy to spot and avoid with their big mouths and bigger bellies. However, the other day I was doing some research on the psycho pseudo – religion and came across a comprehensive list of celebrity scientologists that went way beyond Tom and John.

I was shocked by some of the followers: Beck, Giovanni Ribisi, Jason Lee, Danny Masterson… even Jenna Elfman! I’m going to have to burn my box set of Dharma and Greg. I just don’t get it. These people seem so level – headed… so cool… what gives? Beck? Seriously? Totally lame.

So why do these stars succumb to Scientology? Scientology-Kills.org quotes Giovanni Ribisi as saying: “Without Scientology, I would be in an alley somewhere, looking for dope.” Dude, I think you’d be better off with the dope.

What do you think about Scientology?