Stop Watching YOurself

There is something to be said for loud, obnoxiously confident beats that I just can't get enough of. Coachella is packed with dance/electro acts this year and The Los Angeles Times even summarized the festival's line-up by coining "Coachella 2008 might not rock, but it will roll." I've thrown together some acts that may not necessarily be filed neatly under one cohesive genre, but if you want to cut loose and unabashedly throw back to a little hippy-shake shake/head nod bass--this is where you can migrate to...

Modeselektor
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
Ok, I'm going to go ahead and say it: I've loved to these Germans way before everyone else got on the Radiohead bandwagon. This winter Thom Yorker guest DJ'd on the BBC and played Modeselektor's "The Dark Side of the Sun" and thankfully, people caught on. Now acting as the headliners for the first part of Radiohead's North American tour, hopefully they'll attract an even larger fan base. Their debut album Hello Mom! ,whose title I find hysterical, was followed by their most recent Happy Birthday! which dropped last year.


Bonde do Role
Genre: Baile Funk
Fellow Coachella performer Diplo began his own label Mad Decent and the first group he signed were the crazy Brazilians Bonde do Role. I'm a little biased with my love for Diplo, but I first heard Bonde do Role blasting over the Amoeba Music speakers and stayed in the store bouncing around isles just to hear the entire album With Lasers. Their music is basically nonsensical with lyrics like "I'll Beat You Like Gorilla" thrown on top of ridiculously cartoon beats. Just this past December, female bandmate Marina left and Bonde do Role found two new women to fill her spot through a contest via MTV.



The Cool Kids
Genre: Hip Hop
Synopsis: Introducing Antoine "Mickey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll. From Chicago and Detroit, this dup began releasing their music via Myspace, creating their own buzz before recently signing to Chocolate Industries through their own label C.A.K.E. Recordings. Another of Rolling Stone's Artists To Watch, they released their first EP in January The Bake Sale and have a full-length following shortly.