Here's my take on the lineup for Coachella 2012, which was revealed Monday night: At least it's not the fake one that was making the rounds in November.

Back then, the rumored headliners were No Doubt, Foo Fighters and Radiohead, with acts like Chris Cornell, Feist and LMFAO (!) on the sub-ledger. It was a pretty good guess (I mean, they got Radiohead), but would have made for a pretty bland weekend … which is why it comes as a great relief that the actual Coachella lineup does not feature a single member of Berry Gordy's extended family. Instead, we get headliners the Black Keys, the aforementioned Radiohead and the double-bill of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg — all solid, all worth the price of admission and all filling various slots (the new kings of rock, the established, professorial legends and, uh, the hip-hop act) — and an undercard that ranks amongst the best in the fest's history.

Of course, the usual suspects are all accounted for (Bon Iver, Beirut, the Shins, Florence and the Machine, Justice, et al), but it's the spate of reunited acts — always a Coachella tradition — that really makes this year's edition truly special: Britpop titans Pulp, the gauzy, gorgeous Mazzy Star, doomy instrumentalists Godspeed You! Black Emperor and a pair of proto-punk stalwarts — art-damaged Texas thrusters At The Drive In and Sweden's Refused, who, with their oddly prescient 1998 album The Shape Of Punk To Come, basically predicted the next ten years of angular, angsty rock — all of whom elevate Coachella 2012 to can't-miss status. Read More...

Tags , , , ,

Yesterday, for no apparent reason other than he was stoned and had just bought a Web cam, Snoop Dogg launched his very own online show, "Snoop Dogg TV," a mind-blowing, decidedly, uh, "free-form" series that revolves around him smoking spliffs, lounging in what appears to be someone's rec room, and singing along to R&B tracks being played on his computer.

It is sort of insane. It is sort of compelling. And it is quite possibly the most amazing thing ever foisted on these Interwebs of ours.

So far, Snoop has broadcast four episodes of "Dogg TV" (or, more specifically, two very-long episodes broken up into four segments of indeterminate length and subject matter ... usually whenever the Web cam conks out), which means that it's not too late to get on the bandwagon before this thing turns into another Shiba Inu cam.

And to get you up to speed on what you've missed so far, I've compiled a handy episode guide, which you can read after the jump. Read More...

Snoop DoggLast night, mere hours before he was scheduled to take the stage at Dallas' Superpages.com Center, Snoop Dogg's tour bus was stopped by police, who found two ounces of marijuana after a brief vehicle search. Surprisingly, the green stuff wasn't Snoop's, but belonged to two men who were on the bus. They were taken into custody on drug possession charges, posted $1,500 bond, and were released. (Read the complete story here.)

Given Snoop's proclivity for herbal enhancement, the fact that the rapper wasn't busted is a good sign. Perhaps Snoop's turning over a new leaf — no pun intended. Had cops pinned the drugs on him, Snoop could've been in a world of trouble; last year, he was sentenced to five years' probation after pleading no contest to felony gun and marijuana charges.

Phew, that was a close one.

Tags , ,

SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.