An identity crisis 16 years in the making: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

Arguing about Coachella’s relevance in 2015 is essentially beating a dead horse. It is a pointless conversation that has inspired way too many think pieces, which have, in turn, resulted in think pieces about those aforementioned think pieces, ultimately making anyone who did not attend (and a good amount that did) want to strangle anyone who brings it up in casual conversation during the month of April. It was a festival for basic bitches and fuccbois in 2012, so what does it make it in 2015? Below, I will attempt to find the answer to the age old question of existing post-relevance, while simultaneously not answering anything. This article is a conundrum and full of hypocrisies, just like Coachella itself.

The festival is neither a place for cool kids to congregate nor a weekend warrior hangout destination. It falls somewhere in the middle of industry folks more interested in the free swag parties than the main event and a weekend adventure for your fraternity chapter. It is both irrelevant yet relevant at the same time. It is also a maddening event that brings Hollywood D-listers and suburban neo-hippy teens together to roast in the sun and watch a top-40 act that you could easily access on any radio station. It is the type of bonding that only becomes strong after expensive Heinekens and cheap MDMA.

It is a place where you could see a unique and/or recently reunited band but you chose not to. No blame can be given to Goldenvoice, as over the 8 Coachellas I have attended they constantly get ridiculous festival gets that no attendee seems to give two fucks about. Ride and Squarepusher being my two examples this year; The Replacements, Pixies, and Throbbing Gristle being examples from the past of bands reunited to play in front of scarcely attended half-full (if lucky) tents.

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