Why I Will Choose Coachella Over EDC, All Of The Time, Every time. / by Ally Weiss

I know I am going to get a lot of shit for this post and frankly. I don’t care. I know that I have become a real writer because it’s 3am on a Tuesday and I can’t sleep because I am so fired about about the music that I love. My best friend is asleep in the other room and I so badly want to wake her up and tell her my thoughts. She is my outlet. (The best part about her is that she wouldn’t even be mad if I woke her up to express all that I am feeling. That’s how fucking cool she is.) Instead I will write. 

I know that I don’t have to choose, but I prefer to. It’s like choosing The Rolling Stones over The Beatles. I know I don’t have to, but I do. BTW I choose The Rolling Stones every time. I am a product of my mother. I am extreme like that. The funny thing is, I have immense amounts of respect for Pasquale Rotella (and The Beatles). I really fucking like the guy. I think he’s a badass. I think he’s a positive force in this world. Him and I would be friends, if he would have me that is (I am sure he has enough friends, but hypotetically). I am just not drawn to EDC. I know the shit I’m going to get for this because I have never been. I know EDC is fun loving and beautiful, but no part of me has ever wanted to attend, despite it all. I don’t like the pavement. I don’t like the complexity of it and I am so far removed from the whole candy kid scene. I embrace PLUR but I don’t have to prove it. Maybe I don’t like what it has become? I have been a raver for a long time, but I don’t scream it from the roof tops. I have never worn clothing that shows off my love for EDM. I am not against it (yeah I wear some off the wall stuff sometimes), but furies and plastic candy are not for me. To me, EDM should not resemble a click, and that is what is has become in so many ways. It makes me sad to be quite honest. The whole scene now begs the question “what group are you apart of?”

That is and will never be what music is about. I will tell you that now. Whatever god is above DIDN’T make music so we could sub divide. Music was created so that we could connect to people. EDM and all of the genres that come with it are what's inside of you. The music, it’s what brings us together. Not our matching outfits. I likely look like the chick who loves punk rock, and while I do, I am a raver. 

I am one of the biggest music lovers you will ever meet, and I have chosen to not go to EDC. Also, I love EDM. I love deep house. I love breakbeat. I love ambient. I love...well if you want to see a list of what I love, find it here. The problem with EDC is, I find it to be an attraction for those who make it a checklist, year after year. I feel this way because many people that I know, who attend, complain to me (individially) about how they loose each other and no one really actually saw or listened to any artists they like. From what I hear, people are consistently chasing their “groups” around in order to “be together” but no one is actually listening to the music. It is a figment of their imaginiation. Coachella. Grass. Nature. Lot's of room for activities. 

I know I am generalizing and many people from the industry go to see the artists they love…..but EDC is, and will never be Coachella. Why? Coachella is arguablly the premiere place to see any and every artist give their ALL. It's for the industry. It's not just for the fans and for this, the sound and set design is off the fucking chain. The truth is, most people don’t understand the art of sound. 

I know the production is incredible at EDC. And, I know that so many people dedicate their life to putting on one of the best shows ever. I bow down to this. I know all of this, but it's not for me. Please don’t get mad at me for expressing my thoughts. I just think these two events get compared all the time. Maybe that’s the point I am making. I am clearly being that person comparing but only because I have been forced to. The truth is, they are incredibly different and that might be why I haven’t attended EDC.

I get a lot of shit for saying Kanye West’s 2011 Show is one of THE BEST I have ever seen because 1. A lot of my friends have only seen him at Outside Lands (he literally rapped to a track, he clearly didn't want to be there, it was horrible, the sound at OSL is pretty awful all around) and 2. Because most people don’t understand the art of production. Production is REAL. That shit is an art and most people can't comprehend how much time it takes to put on a show. That shit is not just thrown together. Kanyes show at Coachella 2011 is one of the best, if not the best performance I have ever seen in my life (but let's be real I have seen more music than most people will ever see in their lifetime. That is my ONE bragging right here). Also, I love Kanye and I happen to think he’s a really fucking good dude. I think what most people are confused about is his love for music, the art, and the fact that he wants to preserve it. He is the definition of passionate. If you look up passionate in le dictionary, homies face is right there. Trust. I defend Kanye like most people defend their religion. I think he deserves respect, and most people don’t give it to him (I know, you all think he's an arrogant jerk but don't get it twisted, he's just passionate). He has written music history, and will continue to. If you don’t know what I am talking about, do your research. Google it. He is proof why Coachella is and will continue to be the best. 

Before I pour my heart out here I ask that if you ever meet me, we talk about this in person. I am much better in person. All I am going to say is, there is a magic about Coachella I know EDC will never have. It's old school. Why do you think there is so much mystique around Daft being there, every, single, fucking, year? Coachella is for the people who live and breathe music. EDC is as well, but it’s different. Almost unexplainable. I really can’t do anything to prove my point. All I know is my intuition is usually correct. 

Coachella. It’s in the desert surrounded be the most beautiful mountains anyone will ever see. I am sure EDC has it’s magic, I know it does, but it will never be Coachella. Let’s be real, it's at a speedway. That alone is enough to understand where I am coming from. I am sure if I was sitting in a room with Pasquale he would be able to level with me about how Coachella made music MUSIC again when it was so badly begging for a reason to be documented. It paved the way for festivals like EDC. I have been so hesitant to write this because I don’t want to bash EDC, rather discuss things that I am feeling. 

I don’t even know if I made a real point. I don’t think that was even my intention. I do know that I am passionate about this place that I call home, once a year every year. Just like people call the electric sky, home, I call the polo fields….home. I was not paid to write this. I merely woke up at 3am because something in me wanted to talk about Coachella and Kanye West. All I have to say is, first world problems. 

Goodnight and thanks for listening. 

-Ally