COACHELLA 2010: Reporting from Day Two

Mike Patton, about to blow your house down, shot by Erik Voake

My personal OMG moment came on Day Two of the Coachella festival, when Spin sent me into the pit to cover Faith No More’s reunion set. A longtime member of the cult of Patton, I was flabbergasted when I began what I expected to be a slow approach to the front of the stage, and discovered the path clear. “I can’t fucking believe it,” was a common exclamation from my fellow devotees on the floor, but the crowd filled in eventually as echoes of the Freak King’s cries spread across the grounds. Faith No More slayed. Read all about it.

As on Day One, I contributed a bit to Spin‘s “Best and Worst Moments” feature as well. Click over to read some quick quips and bits on Dirty Projectors, Beach House, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, and Ezra Koenig.

Feature: Dirty Projectors interviewed by SMS

The Dirty Projectors may be responsible for the year’s best album, a manic and schizo piece of art-pop released last month titled Bitte Orca. It’s the kind of record that begs a lot of questions — thoughful questions that couldn’t, say, be crunched into the 140-character limitations  of a Twitter post, or squeezed to the parameters of a series of SMSes. And yet, the latter is exactly what went down when, after ducking my best attempts to conduct a proper interview, DP’s David Longstreth at last offered his undivided attention — via text message. Click here to read the story (via LA Weekly), which unfolds this modern narrative in the context of the new album’s importance.

Vamos a Guatemala!

Howdy there web friend. Things will be a little quieter around Funny Ha Ha for a little bit, as this blog’s sole author/editor is heading to Guatemala tomorrow morn. I’ve got a ton of fresh work dropping while I’m gone, starting with this somewhat unusual Dirty Projectors piece, Balls Deep In The R&B (via LA Weekly). I’ll attempt brief updates from time to time but all bets are off until my return. Fresh jungle air is calling…