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As one who bid good-bye to said demo (18-34) nearly a decade ago, my inner princess (and outer ghost) feared I wouldn’t have the stamina for this year’s Coachella. Most of the bands I wanted to see were scheduled for early afternoon, so I slathered on the sunblock (to which I had an allergic reaction—which is why Lisa Worden thought I was severely sunburned), and dealt with the dripping, chafing, blotching, aching and the other discomforts inherent to direct sunlight, dust, crowds, distant parking and tents that heated to over 110 degrees.

IVANA WON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON HER COACHELLA EXPERIENCE, WITH RADIOHEAD, THE PIXIES AND THE CURE

Touting the Rise of Fortysomething PoMo Stars Morrissey, Beasties, Velvet Revolver and More

STARING AT THE SUN
According to the dozen or so glossy fashion mags I read every month, "40 is the new 30." According to the 50,000 kids that braved the 100+ temps each day at Coachella, it was The Pixies and The Cure (and Radiohead, of course) that drew them to the desert. This week, only two PoMo stations (WAVF, WHTG—geniuses both) didn’t add the Beastie Boys’ new single this week (we’re stupidly giving the benefit of the doubt to KTCL, who froze). Morrissey is in the middle of a sold-out week at the Apollo Theater in NYC, following a week of Morrissey-mania in L.A. His new single, "Irish Blood, English Heart" was Most Added again, including a HUGE add at K-Rock, plus KNRK, WEND and KNDD. Maybe the PoMo format can have its much-needed renaissance (how was your winter book?) if programmers acknowledge their audience’s collective thirst for these artists. Maybe the targeted demo isn’t nostalgic for grunge and ’90s music, after all. Maybe it isn’t about nostalgia, but about relevance, especially when Morrissey, The Cure, Beasties Boys and the members of Velvet Revolver are still making career-defining music.

When Lisa Worden added The Cure to the HFStival line-up (which was in large part due to her longstanding relationship with the band), ticket sales for the 50k+ capacity venue exploded, while many other PoMo stations are struggling to sell even 2,000 tickets to their event. Even if the aforementioned artists are "out of the demo" age-wise, the "demo" is welcoming them back with open arms (and wallets).

As one who bid good-bye to said demo (18-34) nearly a decade ago, my inner princess (and outer ghost) feared I wouldn’t have the stamina for this year’s Coachella. Most of the bands I wanted to see were scheduled for early afternoon, so I slathered on the sunblock (to which I had an allergic reaction—which is why Lisa Worden thought I was severely sunburned), and dealt with the dripping, chafing, blotching, aching and the other discomforts inherent to direct sunlight, dust, crowds, distant parking and tents that heated to over 110 degrees.

I might’ve "hit the wall" earlier than most of the attendees, resulting in a self-imposed exodus as soon as Muse finished on Sunday, but for the 14 hours I spent at Coachella, I couldn’t have been happier. Where else could I have seen Sahara Hotnights, The Stills, Stellastarr*, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Black Keys, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Phantom Planet, TV on the Radio, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Whitestarr, !!!, Elefant, Broken Social Scene and Muse in two days? Yeah, so I’ve seen Phantom Planet and Elefant many, many times, but never before such an enthusiastic and effusive audience! Despite the unmitigated heat (unlike I’ve ever experienced), the excitement of the crowds inspired the artists to "deliver." Although I watched the Radiohead set from the equivalent of the top, last row at the Rose Bowl, the enjoyment came from being part of this enormous "community" of fans (although I still hate people, so I didn’t talk to any of them). Without question, Radiohead is the most IMPORTANT band today. Everything they do shifts the culture, which was supposed to be one of the goals of PoMo radio, wasn’t it?

KROQ is "world-premiering" the new Cure single, "End of the World," right now! Perfect timing, isn’t it? Gary Spivack will have this gem in your clutches by week’s end. Another Geffen band, Bumblebeez 81, was added to "Buzzworthy" at MTV this week. "Pony Ride" will be off to the PoMo races on June 1… Now they’re playing the new Hives single, "Idiot Walk," which I heard for the first time at SXSW. Whatever amount of money they received from their new label, I would’ve doubled. This is a career band.

Wow, KROQ is playing the new Dashboard Confessional song, "Vindicated," which is the first single from Spider-Man 2. How cool is that—one of the biggest "cred" bands of the past decade have the BIG SONG from the BIGGEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Talk about shifting the culture! I know Chris from Dashboard is a huge Spiderman fan, so of course he wrote the best song of his career!

What else? The Muse record is exploding, with WHFS, KDGE, KFMA, KMYZ, KRBZ and WXTW coming in this week. This band is MASSIVE.

Aaron Scott at Universal is responding to radio’s excitement over the Scissor Sisters by rushing "Take Your Mama" to radio this week. This band, as well as The Darkness, Muse, The Cure, Morrissey and Franz Ferdinand are the faces of the latest UK Invasion.

How thrilling to also see "Buzzworthy" adds this week for Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Sugarcult, Coheed and Cambria and Story of the Year!

Geordie Gillespie is providing the "break" for Breaking Benjamin, as he lands Y100, WJBX, WMFS, WAQX, WHRL and KMYZ on "So Cold" this week.

The Killers, who slayed opening for Morrissey, were Most Added this week with "Somebody Told Me," as Island’s Howie Miura and Christine Chiappetta already had nearly every major locked in before add week! In the words of my favorite Raspberries song, this will "go all the way."

TV on the Radio is the most exciting band I’ve seen in the past few YEARS. Jed the Fish has been playing "Staring at the Sun" as his "Catch of the Day" every week or so, and the buzz is definitely building.

SONG TO HEAR: The Streets’ "Fit But You Know It"

PEOPLE TO WATCH: Ted Volk, Bill Carroll, Kris Metzdorf, Gene Sandbloom, Ross Zapin, Michael Plen, Jacqueline Saturn, Greg Seese, Alan Galbraith and Matt Shiv.

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