Filed Under: Rolling Words, Snoop’s Smokeable Songbook

50 Cent and Vitamin Water? Mismatch. Dr. Dre and headphones? Makes more sense. Snoop Dogg and rolling papers? SPOT ON! 

We all know he has the expertise, now he has the (legal) product. Snoop’s Smokeable Songbook, Rolling Words, is a limited edition promotion for his Kingsize Slim Rolling Papers, which attendees of Coachella will get to sample from posters as detachable tabs. As for the book, each perforated page is a rolling paper with Snoop’s song lyrics written on them in non-toxic ink. The book is made from hemp and the spine can be used to strike a match—it’s an all in one solution courtesy of the master himself.

Props to Snoop for such a creative, and surprisingly well-designed, venture into…ahem. 

FILED UNDER: COACHELLA LINEUP

Have to say, not too impressed with the lineup, but what do you all think?

Dear Coachella,

Although it was just my first time meeting you last weekend, I had heard so much about your seductive ways and how much you like to party and rock out—I knew we would get along great. What I didn’t know, however, is that I would fall deeply in love with you, vowing to return each year to your scorching heat to dance the day/night away with 75,000 of our closest friends. I love you, Coachella, and let me count the ways:

1. You just keep getting better. All I heard from Coachella alumnae is that in 2011, things were set right, going back to the roots of the music and achieving vast improvements in security, logistics, and overall experience. With the new Oasis Dome stage, that makes SIX stages at which to see the always-awesome lineups, which this year were really awesome. Awesome.

2. Yes, the music is mind-blowing, but so is the art. There’s the small-scale: artist-decorated recycling bins, now donated to schools, and the Coachella Art Studio where you can DIY. Then the big stuff: the 50-foot-tall Wish (below), undulating “tentacles” (below), the interactive giant Fledging metal bird and walk-through light musuem, Untitled. Any many, many more.

Read More

It’s that time of year again…time for the madness, magic, and sheer magnitude of that thing called Coachella. I’ll be making my maiden voyage from LA to Indio tomorrow in a car stuffed with tents, camping/party supplies, concert-going-clothes-we-wouldn’t-wear-otherwise, and a group of college kids stoked to experience the biggest, most enviable event of the year. I’m looking at it as a “once in a lifetime” type thing. I’m not a critic of the festival for which I sold my soul to get a cherished wristband, but it’s safe to say the essence of Coachella has changed from purely a celebration of art and indie music to a drug-driven, wannabe-hippie, 3-day party in the desert. And hey, I’m not complaining.

There are far too many artists that I am just giddy with excitement to see live, but the bands I am most excited to check out are those that I just discovered more recently—and all happen to be European. Hmm…ironic considering the last six months I just spent living in Spain had a constant soundtrack of American top 40 hits. Herewith, some of my favorites:

Afrojack: This Grammy Award-winning Dutch DJ from Spijkenisse has been an anthem on college campuses and clubs for a few months now, and with female vocals over Afrojack’s hard-hitting beats, it could gain mainstream popularity.

Tinie Tempeh: Two-time BRIT award winning English rapper from South London. His tracks were on non-stop rotation in clubs from Ibiza to Munich late last year, and he’s just taking hold stateside.

Ellie Goulding: British vocalist whose music finds a fine balance between electro-pop and indie folk, she released the fasting selling album of 2010 in Britain. She is already popular among DJ remixes and has a huge global fan base, but her genre-transcending music and pop-star looks could catapult her to super-stardom.

To name but a few…and every headliner is an absolute favorite: Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, The Strokes (but sorry, not Kanye). Hopefully the Coachella crew of European musicians holds it down next week; I would love to see their music as being influential here as much as American music is popular across the pond. New musical talent is long overdue in this pop-stardom-blinded world…and the Europeans really know how to make the best dance tracks.