Coachella 2012 line-up faces the music, critics chime in on choices

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INDIO, CA - APRIL 17: Coachella fans during Day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2011 held at the Empire Polo Club on April 17, 2011 in Indio, California.

Coachella 2012 bands, line-up and be counted.

The official roster for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts festival was announced Monday, revealing more than 125 bands committed to making concert history as the event expands to two consecutive weekends in April.

Three-day passes will be available for purchase on the official Coachella site Friday, Jan. 13 at 10:00 a.m. (PST), and will range from $285 for General Admission, to $665 for VIP. Passes went on sale briefly in July for a one week pre-sale offering a layaway option.

Since the announcement, Los Angeles music writers and enthusiasts have been chiming in with opinion, reflection, suggestion, suspicion, disregard, measured excitement, inspired nominations, and occasionally to point out typos.

Spanning the writer reaction-spectrum from detached rapture, to straight-up malaise, here is a sampling of what Los Angeles hi-fi-vers had to say on the subject:

If there's an artist name on the Coachella poster you don't know, that just means it's a French / UK / Belgian DJ that will make you angry.

— cgtmouse (@cgtmouse) January 10, 2012

Here's the @Coachella poster. If the Black Keys are a headliner, I'm Lester Bangs bit.ly/xEAVbF

— krbronson (@krbronson) January 10, 2012

Dear Coachella, "Thundercat" is one word. #coachellatypos @Thundercatbass

— Scott McDonald (@surfingonsteam) January 10, 2012

I care way more about Company Flow playing Coachella than Jay-Z and Beyonce giving birth to Old Blue Eyes. You should too.

— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Passionweiss) January 10, 2012

Let's start the #Coachella L.A. secret-show rumor-mongering. Mangum for sure, right?

— David Greenwald (@daverawkblog) January 10, 2012

most surprising reunion on the #coachella2012 roster: tie between fIREHOSE and Squeeze. latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/201… #raginfullon

— Randall Roberts (@LilEdit) January 10, 2012

Look for them on the Dad Stage RT: @surfingonsteam Squeeze and Buzzcocks get no love...0.007 point font.

— RFSLpinto (@kpinto) January 10, 2012

On the day Coachella was announced and the BCS Championship is played, @gorillavsbear won with the news of a completed Beach House record.

— We Listen For You (@welistenforyou) January 10, 2012

Radiohead (@Radiohead) schedule a pre-Coachella (@Coachella) show at the Santa Barbara Bowl (@SBBowl)! Details: bit.ly/xPNmRB

— The Scenestar (@TheScenestar) January 10, 2012

I actually said last year in Indio that I would LOVE to see Dre, Snoop and any other West Coast rappers come together at @Coachella.

— Downtown Lobby (@DowntownLobby) January 10, 2012

Still skeptical about Refused playing @Coachella? Check out their official statement & reasoning for playing Coachella bit.ly/w28DJV

— Grimy Goods (@grimygoods) January 10, 2012

FRIDAY - April 13 & April 20
Alesso, Amon Tobin, Arctic Monkeys, Atari Teenage Riot, Band of Skulls, Breakbot, Cat Power, Datsik, Dawes, Death Grips, EMA, Explosions in the Sky, Feed Me, Frank Ocean, GIRLS, GIVERS, Hello Seahorse!, honeyhoney, James, Jimmy Cliff & Tim Armstrong, Kendrick Lamar, LA Riots, M83, Madeon, Madness, Manchester Orchestra, Mazzy Star, Neon Indian, Other Lives, Pulp, R3hab, Refused, Sean Kuti & Egypt 80, Swedish House Mafia, The Black Angels, The Black Keys, The Dear Hunter, The Horrors, The Midnight Beast, The Rapture, The Sheepdogs, Wolf Gang, WU LYF, Ximena Sarinana Yuck.

SATURDAY - April 14 & April 21
A$AP Rocky, Andrew Bird, AWOLNATION, Azealia Banks, Black Lips, Bon Iver, Borgore, Buzzcocks, Childish Gambino, David Guetta, Destroyer, Destructo, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, Feist, fIREHOSE, Flying Lotus, Gary Clark Jr. , Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Grouplove, Jacques Lu Cont, Jeff Mangum, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Kaskade, Keep Shelly in Athens, Laura Marling, M. Ward, Martin Solveig, Miike Snow, Mt Eden, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Pure Filth Sound, Radiohead, SBTRKT, SebastiAn, Squeeze , St. Vincent, Sub Focus, Suedehead, The Big Pink, The Head and the Heart, The Shins, The Vaccines, tUnE-yArDs , We are Augustines, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Zeds Dead.

SUNDAY - April 15 & April 22
AraabMUZIK, At The Drive-In , AVICII, Beats Antique, Beirut, Calvin Harris, Company Flow, Dada Life, DJ Shadow, Dragonette, Fanfarlo, First Aid Kit, Fitz and the Tantrums , Florence and the Machine, Flux Pavilion & Dr. P, Gardens & Villa, Girl Talk, Gotye, Greg Ginn, Housse de Racket, Justice, La Roux, Lissie, Metronomy, Modeselektor, Morgan Page, Nero, NOISI?, Oberhofer, Porter Robinson, Real Estate, SantiGold, Sebastian Ingrosso, Sleeper Agent, Spector, The Gaslamp Killer , The Growlers, The Hives, The Weeknd, Wild Beasts, Wild Flag, Zedd,

***To determine if Coachella is the appropriate festival for you, please consult this highly technical hand-drawn chart.***



Leave a comment & tell us what you think of this year's line-up.

Audio: KPCC's Steven Cuevas with more on Coachella.