Last semester, we took a big step at the Daily Collegian by expanding our Web coverage. As a fan of novelty on the Internet-- I live on Youtube and Wikipedia -- I was satisfied. While it seemed like we had all the bases covered with my esteemed colleague Dustin Pangonis' Behind the Arts Scene blog, I still found that there was a lot more about the music world Collegian readers need to know about. That's where this blog came from. Dustin and I will be switching on and off for the arts and music blogs depending on our moods, but the important thing is that now you, the Collegian reader, will get a look at what's going on in music across the world.
This week's big news item was the unveiling of the lineup for the Coachella Music Festival. In case you don't know what that is, picture thousands of music snobs gathering in the California desert to catch hundreds of the most significant indie, hip-hop, and alternative acts in the world. So what makes this year so special? Well, Coachella has been the place to be for reuniting rock acts of old, with recent years including performances by the Pixies, Jane's Addiction and Iggy Pop & the Stooges. This year is no different. For the first time in seven years, Rage Against the Machine, who played the inaugural Coachella back in 1999, will play together. Fear not, Audioslave fans, for it's a one-night-only thing. The band will close the three-day show with its signature high-octane live performance. Rage hasn't seemed as cool since they broke up, but when they were around, they were one of the greatest live acts in the world.

If you're not a Rage fan and you're planning on heading west in late April, the other highlights at the show are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, The Arcade Fire, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists...you know what? There are way too many to list. Check out the full lineup here.

In other news...speaking of reunions, The Police are reportedly set to reunite at the Grammys and subsequently tour. I like the Police and all, but I'd much rather listen to Outlandos d'Amour than see some 50-somethings play songs they recorded 25 years ago. Van Halen is also looking to tour again, this time with David Lee Roth. I wonder if he can still fit into those spandex pants...Russ Feingold (D-WI) is calling for the FCC's payola reform to include "meaningful access to the airwaves for independent labels and local artists," according to FMQB. Fight the Man, Feingold...Ewan McGregor has expressed interest in playing Kurt Cobain in Courtney Love's sure-to-be-a-trainwreck biopic of her widowed, Heavier than Heaven. Love said, "It has no script and no director attached, but if the movie is made it will of course be an A-list and high end film." I'm glad she's got her priorities straight...

That's all for this week. Tune (get it? TUNE?) in next week for more awesome music news.

--Kevin A. Doran