Here's The Coachella Music You Need To Know About

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Unlike at Burning Man, that other major desert festival, the people in possession of Coachella's highly prized wristband tickets are not expected to bring their own entertainment. In fact, fireworks and musical instruments (especially, thank goodness, the dreaded bongos) are forbidden on festival grounds. Instead, the festival’s curators present an astonishing array of musical explosives in the form of headliners such as Dr. Dre, Radiohead and the Black Keys. Hosted in the otherwise peaceful and deserted Coachella Valley near Indio, California, hours away from any major city, the festival will host Britpop legends Pulp, as well as current indie high flyers such as The Shins and Bon Iver. Despite these big names, it's actually mostly female artists who are on our “don't miss” list below, so check these tracks out. Azealia Banks

Even if she's not as prodigiously gifted as Nicki Minaj, Azealia Banks' sparse output makes hers a victory of quality over Minaj's often mediocre quantity. Working with Diplo and M.I.A., Banks is obviously angling for a mainstream crossover hit like "Paper Planes," and might have found it in her ode to cunnilingus, "212." Equally foulmouthed and quick-witted, Banks rocks rougher, more adventurous beats -- an energetic New York sound sure to rock the California desert. Laura Marling

Though she's barely 22, Laura Marling's voice and songwriting carries the weight of more mature artists such as Leonard Cohen or Emmylou Harris. Unlike similarly precocious singers like Taylor Swift, whose songs concern themselves with teenage drama, Marling's work is as weighty and dark as her voice is bright and alluring. The blonde Brit may look like a more nymph-like version of Anna Faris, but her recent songs have more in common with the ebb and swell of Led Zeppelin's slowest and best. Recommended for fans of Mumford & Sons -- don't fear the folk! M83

Should Muse's histrionics prove too campy, or your proggy preferences too uncool, the M83 has the answer. With a sound as big as the universe, the band is made for wide-open spaces and is likely to top even Radiohead in the festival's “most epic” stakes. Like those British masters, M83 combines electronic touches and washes to create heavily textured anthems that Coachella thrives on. Their fresh take on goth should appeal to fans of Interpol, The Cure and even Phoenix. Breakbot

Lovers of Rick James and Daft Punk, unite! Breakbot is nonstop fire and fun, like all five Jacksons chopped up and genetically modified for the new millennium. It's Hall & Oates all over again. Sure, they're silly, but like like-minded contemporary funksters Chromeo or Jamie Lidell, Breakbot is ready to whip up any dance floor into a freaky frenzy. Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star is quintessential bedroom pop. Their country-inflected whispers wrapped in hazy, lacy gauze were the height of fashion in the late '90s, and the enigmatic band has only very recently returned from an almost 14-year hiatus. Hope Sandoval, the band's gorgeous frontwoman, still sounds like heaven, though, and fans of Nick Cave, PJ Harvey or The Kills will find a great deal of familiar darkness in Mazzy Star's offbeat brand of darkly dreamy rock. Continue Reading

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