Best and Worst of the S.S. Coachella

Ian Witlen

Look at them, just all relaxing. It's sickening, really. Get to work!

Could have used one more day on the boat. Yeah, I know I just said the sea made a bunch of us sick, but really, one more day by the magnificent pool before the pervs came out would have been clutch.

And there were so many acts. I caught about 80 percent of the shows, but I definitely missed a few, and I feel such regret! The boat's still sailing and is now on a five-day trek to Jamaica. That seems like too long, and right before Christmas? I don't know about all that. Let's change the system and demand a four-day S.S. Coachella next year, not on a major holiday.

The Best

Hot Chip playing "Sloop John B." I get homesick often. It's like getting diarrhea: It sucks, but you put up with it, because you can't stay home all the time, and what's out there in the big wide world is worth the discomfort. One song I sing regularly when away from my bed (mostly to myself, like a crazy person) is "Sloop John B." So you can imagine how my ears perked up when Hot Chip started performing this, my very favorite traveling song (sorry, "On the Road Again"). And what a great cover too! They didn't stop at Pet Sounds; they also played Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere." The video up there is shaky as shit (we were on a boat!), but close your eyes and enjoy the Sloop.

Ian Witlen

That's Cole Alexander of the Black Lips looking jaunty dressed as Mary Ann.

Eating dinner with the Black Lips. The reason musical cruises are something special is because you get the chance to be all up in the faces of your favorite musicians. We lucked out and ended up eating din-din with the Black Lips after their S.S. Minnow pub crawl. There was a lot of talk of vegetables, and I was drunk enough to launch a few spitballs. I believe this beats me running into James Murphy on the elevator.

Ian Witlen

The Schnitzel I ate at that dinner. The food served in the sit-down dining hall was pretty decent, but the schnitzel I ate while drunkenly crashing the Black Lips' meal was really delightful. I subbed mashed potatoes for potato salad, really a wise decision.