The Jarvis Lounge

The JarFIVE (Coachella Day 3 Edition)

1. Frank Ocean – Arguably the biggest get for the festival this year, Frank Ocean is set to headline the last night of the festival. As previously mentioned on here, this is his first festival set since 2017. Some fans are worried if he’ll even show up (this April Fool’s post from Ocean’s story didn’t help to calm that worry). This close to this festival, it’s also unlikely we’ll be getting any new music from him (though some Redditors believe a new album is on the way). But assuming he performs, I’m guessing he doesn’t have any guests. When I saw him at FYF in 2017, his only guest was Brad Pitt (see clip below). I think fans can expect a quiet, but very personal set, where they’ll feel like he’s singing directly to them.

2. Bjork – Coincidentally, the second name on my list also headlined that same FYF fest with Ocean back in 2017. That was the first, and only, time I caught the enigmatic artist live. She was wearing a puffy costume and mask (see below), and was backed by an orchestra. My understanding is that she’ll have a similar arrangement for Coachella. If she’s on the main Coachella stage before Frank Ocean, I’m curious how his fans will respond to her while waiting for him. Apparently, Ocean requested that Bjork play with her, and that’s the reason she agreed to perform. While I was hoping for more of a hits-based performance, this set will be one of the highlights of the festival. Below is also a video of a live 2021 performance, that may well be like her Coachella set (though obviously shorter).

3. Weyes Blood – Hands down, Weyes Blood will be one of the best sets at Coachella this year. I first saw her at The Echo in LA in 2016, and she was phenomenal then. Since, she’s gotten bigger and released more critically acclaimed music. Her voice will be grander than whatever time slot/stage they put her on. Below is recent live a performance.

4. Jackson Wang – With BLACKPINK getting a lot of attention being the first K-POP headliner at Coachella (they last performed in 2019), a lot of people are sleeping on Jackson Wang. He’s a massive star, and was in Long Beach last year for a record store appearance at Fingerprints Music. The line was one of the longest they’d seen. Here’s some info on him, as well as a clip of him performing.

5. Los Bitchos – For my last of the five, I’m picking one of the artists near the bottom of the lineup. I gave them a listen when the lineup first debuted in January, and immediately got afternoon set vibes, bringing to mind a similar instrumental groove to Khruangbin. Here’s their KEXP performance from last year.

“The Legacy of J Dilla”

The New York Times documentary on the gone-too-soon hip hop legend debuted on Hulu last Friday. Having started (but not finishing) the book on the man’s life earlier this year (The acclaimed “Dilla Time“), I’ve been interested in learning more about the man born as James Yancey. As much as I grew up loving hip hop, I knew little of the man. I loved some of the tracks that he’d produced (Pharcyde, ATCQ), but I didn’t really know much about the artist himself. The doc was engaging, starting early on with his father’s attempts at trying to make it in music (and James eventually asking his father why he never signed a record deal). His work with A Tribe Called Quest set him on the path, working with everyone from Pharcyde to Common to MF DOOM. Eventually settling on working from his home in ‘The Basement,’ he was so good that artists would come to him, and line up for a taste of his distinct production/beat-making. His life was cut short by a rare blood disorder, three days after his 32nd birthday, and the release of the mind-blowing “Donuts” album. The documentary spends some time talking about the difficulties for his family in financially securing his legacy, with things finally settling in 2020, when his heirs finally received their first disbursement (Dilla passed in 2006). With a legacy that’s influenced the work of Pharrell, Kanye, and anyone using a beat that sounds off, but is on, this doc is a must-watch for any fan of hip hop, and music in general.

In other news…

1. Labrinth w/Billie Eilish – “Never Felt So Alone” – I’m not sure how I blogged last Friday without mentioning this newly released single. While Labrinth is on the Coachella lineup for Saturday, this increases the chance that Billie Eilish (last year’s Coachella headliner) shows up as a guest to perform this cut. Labrinth is probably known best for his recent work on the show “Euphoria.” Speaking of which, the show’s cast includes Dominic Fike, who is set to perform on Sunday. Labrinth and Eilish vocally blend nicely on this new recording. Here’s the video for the new song:

1. Ohana Fest – The Orange County festival, with this year’s offering, came out this morning. I had a feeling that the Killers would be on there. Overall, this is a good lineup (Pretenders is a good get, in particular). I’ll talk about it more as we get closer to the fest itself. In the meantime, presale tickets go on sale this Thursday 4/13 at 10am. Here’s the site.