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I was lucky enough to spend some time in the desert this past month for both weekends of Coachella. My favorite time of year always comes up so quickly and passes by even faster.
There’s something so inspiring about being surrounded by tastemakers at every level, from artists to the team that makes Coachella happen. I’m honored to play a small part in the magic and actively choose to squeeze every minute of enjoyment out of this festival despite my daily 7am call time.
Catching sets after my shift proved to be difficult as my feet hurt and my body was betraying me. Nevertheless, I prevailed and hit half-marathon mileage on all 6 days of Coachella. Some of my favorite sets of both weekends were Sabrina Carpenter, Everything Always, Lana del Rey, and Vampire Weekend.
Coachella 2024 was another reminder that I’ve made 14-year-old Fran’s dreams come true. I would stay up at night reblogging pictures of Ezra Koenig on Tumblr and wore a flower crown to school. I would edit my photos on VSCO to achieve the perfect fade:grain ratio and begged my mom to get me the American Apparel disco pants.
And here I am, 11 years later. I still love the same songs, I’ve cried to Lana del Rey embarrassingly recently, and I ran to the Outdoor Theatre to see a couple minutes of the Vampire Weekend set on my dinner break. I’m so glad to hold onto some things that my teenage self thought was cool at one point.
At the same time, I couldn’t be more different from my younger self. I can actually articulate how I feel, I know my worth, I take care of myself, I’m fairly independent, and I actually call my parents often. I don’t use indie or underground as parameters for whether I enjoy music anymore.
I love electronic music with repeating and almost senseless words. I love mainstream pop music and I love things that are fun for the sake of being fun. I love dancing (badly) until I feel like I could collapse. I play Fortnite and genuinely enjoy it. I love being sober. I’ve let go of my pretentious attitude, my constant search for deepness and meaning in everything.
This week’s playlist is an eclectic collection of songs that I haven’t been able to get out of my head, whether I saw them live or just screamed them in the car on the way back to Los Angeles.
TRACKLIST
- Vampire Weekend – Diane Young
- Justice & Tame Impala – One Night//All Night
- John Summit – La Danza
- Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
- Porter Robinson – Cheerleader
- Lil Yachty – drive ME crazy!
- Faye Webster – He Loves Me Yeah!
- Wednesday – Fate Is…
- Lana del Rey – Brooklyn Baby
- Jamie xx & Honey Dijon – Baddy On The Floor
SLICE OF THE WEEK
Pepperoni Pizza – Good Times Cafe @ Morongo Casino
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
We stopped by the Morongo Casino our way back from the desert and chowed down before losing at the roulette table. At least we had a good pep(peroni) talk beforehand. Surprisingly delicious for a casino in the middle of nowhere with a delightful thin crust and complimentary ranch on the side. Could have benefited from smaller, crunchier pepperonis.
Slice O Fran 
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