Dear Coachella,

Why did you have to announce such a shitty line-up this year? Last year, you created probably one of the greatest concert experiences of my life, but that was due in large part to the line-up --Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a reunited Rage Against the Machine headlined the event. This year you come back with Jack Johnson, Portishead and Roger Waters headlining? WTF?

This line-up is taking a beating on the Coachella message boards. Where you continue to deliver a great selection of up-and-comers (Tegan and Sara, Cold War Kids), as well as a blast from the past (Roger Waters), you failed miserably to live up to delivering the big headliners. Even worse, you failed to live up to the hype and speculation that bands like Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, and the White Stripes would make the bill. Tisk, tisk.

I'm PISSED that Jack Johnson is headlining Friday night. While he's a good musician, his lullaby-esque set cannot hold down at 60,000 person crowd. I'm DISAPPOINTED that there's virtually no hiphop on the lineup. Last year you brought Lupe Fiasco, the Roots and Ghostface whereas this year Aesop Rock is the only notable rapper.

Just as easily as you gained a patron, Coachella, you lost one. I'm NOT going to Coachella this year, and will instead have to look toward Sasquatch, Rock the Bells, Bonnaroo, or Lollapalooza to get my festival fix this year.

Your loss,
Paolo

Today's conspiracy theory: Blue Monday was created by angry white people to undermine MLK celebrations

Today, Jan. 21, is supposedly Blue Monday -- that dark, cold day of the year when all the negative, terrible factors (time of year, day of week, post-holiday depression, etc.) align and we're all doomed to have a terrible day. Well, it's also MLK day. Coincidence? I think not. Clearly, white supremacists created the day to combat the celebration of civil rights.

How do I know? Because I'm having a great day. I don't have to work because today's a company holiday (for MLK), and Scott and I just came back from Crystal Mountain where I owned skiing. I'm hanging out now and have band practice in a few hours. I'd call this a good, not blue, Monday.

Oh, and Happy 21st Birthday, Caitlin. Word on the street is that you woke up with 21 Sharpie marks on your arm. We all know what that means. Way to go, drunky!

At least once a week, The Wives receive a catalog in the mail -- Victoria's Secret, Macy's, Nordstrom, and the list goes on. They pick them up for a few minutes to critique styles, bash the models and tease the thought of a purchase, and then the catalogs get thrown into the recycle bin.

In true use-the-numbers-to-sell-the-story journalistic fashion, I should let you all know that, each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers according to Catalog Choice. That's an environmentalist sin.

What’s the annual impact?

• Number of trees used – 53 million trees
• Tons of paper used – 3.6 million tons
• Energy used to produce this volume of paper – 38 trillion BTUs, or enough to power 1.2 million homes per year
• Contribution to global warming – 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
• Waste water discharges from this volume of paper – 53 billion gallons of water, or enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

So if you truly have some catalogs that you can live without seeing again, I encourage you to visit Catalog Choice to unsubscribe to those unwanted catalogs. Do keep your Victoria's Secret catalogs though. I need reading material when I visit.

I drink a lot of wine, probably averaging half a bottle an evening. The Wives have grown used to the sound of a bottle popping after 8 p.m. I have to refuel my Italian blood at least daily.

I was a 3-buck Chuck drinker for most of 2007, but refined my taste after visiting Tuscany last fall. Since then, I've been all about Chianti, Syrah, Pinot Noir, et all. Red, red, red and more red wine. Except, as Paul Giamatti so eloquently stated in "Sideways," "I'm not drinking any fucking Merlot!"

With these variety of wines come a price, and I've slowly climbed from 3-buck Chuck (except when Matt Wood is in town) to and plateaued at the $10 range. I can score rooster-label Chianti Classico's at Trader Joe's at this price, which I can live with.

But according to Chicago Tribune article, price doesn't indicate quality, and may even mislead people to think that they like a wine more than they actually do.

In a California Institute of Technology study, "Twenty volunteers were wired up for brain scans and told they would be tasting five different cabernet sauvignons. In reality, there were only three wines -- two were offered twice but priced differently... Volunteers liked the $90 wine better when they knew it was priced at $90 instead of $10. And they liked the $5 wine better when it was listed at $45. Interestingly, the scientists found that the $5 wine scored best when the volunteers had no price comparisons."

Now I'm really tempted to blind taste-test myself to learn if I like that 3-buck Chuck Cab Sav more than my $10 Cab Sav. However, I don't know how accurate my perceptions will be after I've downed both bottles. I'll have to try to find out.

Papa's got a brand new bag!

I've got my own new blog on the Seattle P-I called "Lost in the Sound." As I stated in that blog's manifesto, I will attempt to "provide an insider view and analysis of that which embodies the local music economy -- bands, venues, promotion companies and even elected officials -- and provide a resource and outlet for local musicians and fans to share and discuss creative ideas and issues."

Basically, I have a lot to say about the music scene that needed another space and wanted to keep WIB personal, random and aimless -- a blogging potpourri.

DON'T WORRY. This blog, as Mariah Carey once said, "will always be my baby." You won't notice a decline is activity here, nor will you see a decline in my whoring out focuspoint news. My other blog is editorial, so making my own band announcements there would be a conflict of interest.

So you've got another stop in your daily reading. After getting your WIB fix, head over to Lost in the Sound. I'm already there.