My Picks, Conflicts, and Predicts of Coachella: Day One

This year marks my 4th Coachella in a row, and it's hard to predict how this one will roll out because every year has been completely different from the one before. Yes, I'm camping & if you think I'm crazy for doing so - you should probably never make it out to Bonnaroo. Once you camp at a festival such as Bonnaroo, everywhere else is a piece of cake (for the most part.)

Day 1 definitely surprised me with its bottom row roster. 

Take my advice and get there as early as you can - last year it took us almost an hour to get in from the campgrounds and I ended up missing a handful of acts I was looking forward to the most. :(

MY PICKS:
The Preatures
Wye Oak
Austra
Waxahatchee
MS MR
Jagwar Ma
Flume
Bastille
Bonobo
HAIM
Chromeo
Ellie Goulding
Broken Bells
Outkast

Who I refuse to miss: Wye Oak, Flume, Chromeo

Predictions: Since Isabella from The Preatures is the vocalist for one of Flume's most recent hits, it would make my day if they joined forces during Flume's set. Zedd will most likely bring out Foxes for "Clarity" & Outkast will blow everyone's mind with the hits.

Conflicts: There's a good chance that the Preatures, Austra, and Wye Oak all playing at the same time. (Please don't do this to me lineup gods.) If it happened, who would I see? TOUGH DECISION BUT, Wye Oak. I would rather save up and see Austra on a proper tour where they play somewhere dark and indoors (that's just me though.)

3 acts I'm looking forward to seeing for the 1st time: 
The Preatures, Waxahatchee, and Broken Bells

Who I'm Skipping On: The Knife was one of the main reasons I attended Primavera Sound in Barcelona last year & it makes me sad to say that I was quite disappointed with their set. I'm not saying that you should skip out on their set, but that I am more interested in catching other acts instead of The Knife.

I will without a doubt be ending my night with Outkast and Broken Bells (which I'm hoping will both be on the Main stage.) 

My favorite Day 1 acts from the past:
The Chemical Brothers (2011)
Marina and the Diamonds (2011)
Skrillex (2011, he was the 3rd person to play on the Sahara stage, now look where he's at.)
Excision (2011)
Cut Copy (2011)
Madeon (2012)
The Rapture (2012)
Dillon Francis (2013)
Stars (2013)
Metric (2013)
Passion Pit (2013)
Modest Mouse (2013)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)
Jurassic 5 (2013)
Bassnectar (2013)

FRESHVIBESMONDAY #23

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY / MONDAY AFTER SXSW! Whether you're in recovery mode or rallying like the champ that you are - here are 11 relatively new(ish) tunes to accompany the day. I'll save my SXSW recap post for sometime this week (once I feel better than how Lady Gaga looks in the image above.) I learned quite a bit from spending 48 hours in ATX that I'll gladly share with y'all, but until then - I'll just be weeping over the fact that Snakadaktal broke up. RIP Australian bb's who's debut album Sleep In The Water was one of the dreamiest releases, ever.

LYED SXSW 2014 Wish List

South By Southwest (SXSW) is one of the best places to discover new & rising talent - or see Lady Gaga perform at the Doritos stage? Either way, if you make your way to Austin, Texas this year - you're bound to witness events that are equal parts weird & amazing. Last year was a great experience for me personally, and definitely opened up my eyes to more than what I had imagined SXSW to be. All I have to say is: be prepared to run around (aka wear comfortable shoes) & always have a few extra backup plans because as the week goes on - the crowd multiplies and you might not get to see who you originally wanted to. If that has to happen - look at the bright side, take a chance and go see someone relatively *new* or venture to one of the smaller venues for a showcase, because you'll never know if you'll see those artists in such a small setting ever again. 
This year I'll only be there from 03/14-03/16 (Friday-Sunday) but if I was going to be there for the entire Music portion of the fest, here's who I'd definitely make plans to see! (Cross your fingers I'll get to see the ones who are still playing shows while I'm there.) 

My SXSW Wish List
(in no particular order)

1. Torres
Learn more about this talented singer-songwriter from when I first fell in love with her back in September.

2. Future Islands

3. Tomas Barfod 

03/15 HYPE HOTEL - ISO50 + No Fear of Pop (1pm)

 After reading that Nina Kinert will also be at SXSW this year, I hope the two of them perform a bit together since Nina supplies most of the vocals on Barfod's well-known tracks. 

4. Chela

5. Scavenger Hunt
(SH was one of my favorite finds from 2013, and you can check out their Friday Fascination feature here!)

6. Painted Palms

7. The Casket Girls

8. Young Summer

(Stumbling upon Young Summer was a real treat, check out her FF feature on the blog here!)
03/12: The Iron Bear - 121 W 8th St, Austin, TX (9pm)


9. Wye Oak

03/12: Hype Machine + Consequence of Sound @ Hype Hotel (4pm)
03/13: KUTX Austin @ Four Seasons Hotel Austin (10am)
03/13: Merge Records Official Showcase @ The Parish(11:45pm)
03/14: KEXP + Merge Records 25th Anniversary @ Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop (12pm)
03/14: The A.V. Club Rainey Day Party @ The Blackheart(4pm)


10.Temples
(This UK psychedelic band won my ears over last summer, and it wasn't long before I had to feature them on the blog.)

03/13: South By San Jose (3pm)
03/14: SPIN Day Party (1:30-2pm)

11. Panama

12. Wolf Alice
03/14 All Things Go + Indie Shuffle Showcase @Maggie Mae's Rooftop (11pm)
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/all-things-go-indie-shuffle-sxsw-2014-showcase-tickets-10820431201

If you're on the hunt for finding more artists, check out this: THE AUSTIN 100: A SXSW 2014 Mix for NPR or Showlist Austin.
Hope everyone has a great time in ATX!  xx -Emz

freshvibesmonday #11

& here's another dose of new music for you guys,hope all of you enjoy it! This last week has been a bit hectic to say the least, between catching up with friends and spending time in San Francisco (where I had the opportunity to catch Avicii + ZION I and TOKiMONSTA, for free!) Thank you to Kelly & Monique for the sweet hookups, needless to say I'll be back again soon. :)

Technically it's my last week of "summer" before I start summer quarter, aka my last quarter of college. For the next couple of days when I'm not attempting to break my leg via wake-boarding, I'll be at the computer - so please feel free to send me new music or maybe new artists that you've stumbled across via e-mail (emilyponcetta@gmail.com) 

Wye Oak - "SPIRAL"

So about two weeks ago or so, I featured a track from Unknown Mortal Orchestra which was the first single off the 2012 Adult Swim Singles Program. I missed the 2nd week single which was from The Hives, but I am stoked to present to you the single for week #3 here on Let Your Ears Decide! It's from Wye Oak, one of my favorite indie folk rock duos from Baltimore. It's titled "Spiral" and in no way does it sound like they changed their sounds for this program, IT'S GOOD IT'S GOLD. 

Marina and the Diamonds - "HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER"

This is a track that Marina wrote after releasing her recent 2nd full-length album in the UK. Since Electra Heart won't be released in the US until July 17th, expect to see it on the track listing! It's a bit more fast-paced, but in my opinion it fits in perfectly with the other tracks featured on Electra Heart. If you get a chance, check out Electra Heart's Tumblr Account HERE, it's legitimately a gallery of eye candy that goes along with the recent album.

Lykke Li - "SILVER SPRINGS"

FYI this is a Fleetwood Mac cover, and is apart of a Fleetwood Mac tribute album titled Just Tell Me That You Want Me. This is such a pretty version of the track, and it's always nice to hear something new from the Swedish singer-songwriter. The full-length tribute album will be released on August 14th via Hear Music/Concord. 

Twin Shadow - "GOLDEN LIGHT"

This is a track off of Twin Shadow's followup to his 2010 debut album Forget. I'm a huge fan of Twin Shadow aka George Lewis Jr. and to say the least I am excited to listen to his 2nd full-length album from beginning to end. I have a feeling that Confess will be packed full with emotion/drive due to a certain event regarding a motorcycle, this is his way of coming to a meeting point with the emotions that ignited. Confess will be released in the US on July 10, and a day before in the UK. 

Little Boots - "HEADPHONES"

It has been a great amount of time since I've heard something fresh from Elizabeth Hesketh, aka Little Boots. Little Boots never strays away from her electro-pop ways, and this song is a perfect example. So if you're looking for something to get the energy juices flowing before going downtown, here ya go.

Alpine - "GASOLINE"

MMmmm. A little gem I randomly stumbled upon, and I hope you dig the catchiness as much as I love.   Alpine is from Melbourne, Australia & let's just say I'll be filing their tunes next to We Have Band & Metronomy. I'm stoked to hear that they will be releasing a new album A is for Alpine soon. Alpine was #1,161 new band of the day for theguardian, and I can definitely see why!

Minus The Bear - "LONELY GUN"

Yes, it's happening. Minus the Bear will be releasing their 5th album on August 28th! This album is titled Infinity Overhead, and the track above is the first single off of it! I love the intensity of this track, as a few of my favorite MTB tracks tend to be the more mellow yet vibrant ones. According to a recent article on Rolling Stone, this track "came out of a deep depression". I have high hopes for this band, as my expectations are always met each times I hear something from them-hope you like it! 

DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" LET YOUR EARS DECIDE ON FACEBOOK! 

PLEASE & THANK YOU :)

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/LetYourEarsDecide

TWITTER: www.twitter.com/emponce