Coachella has a long history of big-name acts like Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Justin Beiber, and other superstars performing on its Indio stages each spring—and this year is no exception, with Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny and Björk drawing in crowds. Each year, some major artists make brief cameos, like when Billie Eilish had Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz grace her stage in 2022. Some years, flower crown-clad crowds catch full sets from bands not listed on the lineup, like when multi-platinum Grammy winner Arcade Fire turned up that same year.
One of this year’s biggest mysteries, however, is a name that actually appears on the lineup: 1999.ODDS. A quick Google search and well, a search anywhere else, really, will bring up nothing. Which, in the age of information and supercharged AI tools that may or may not be writing this very article, is pretty weird. So, two questions have emerged on the web—who or what is 1999.ODDS? And are festival-goers going to catch a surprise set by Daft Punk?
No. The answer is no. You’re not going to see Daft Punk at Coachella this year, and you’re super weird for thinking you might.
Daft Punk
Alright. To be fair, it’s not entirely impossible that festival-goers could see a surprise set from the robot-themed duo with masterpieces like “Around The World.” If a hologram of Tupac can perform with Snoop and Dr. Dre at Coachella 2012, then nothing is out of the question. But the logic and reasoning that drive the theory are a stretch, at the very least.
5. Figure out who 1999.ODDS is
— Coachella (@coachella) March 16, 2023
If the cyber sleuths backing the theory are to be believed, fans need to look no further than “1999.” During an interview that appeared on Cartoon Network, of all places, the mechanical musicians stated, “There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots.”
There ya have it. Mystery solved. Unless… Well, while we’re here, we might as well go over some of the other theories–bands that include Moby or Tool (both Coachella 1999 performers), and Odd Future, y’know, cause of the “ODDS” part of the phony name, rock favorites Rage Against The Machine and indie-psych act Animal Collective.
The theories here range in their levels of intricacy—some amount to little more than “Hey, look at that shiny number/word that’s kinda similar to that other thing,” while others could put The Da Vinci Code to shame. I assume. Never saw the movie. Or read the book. I saw a trailer once, so I think I’ve got the gist.
Rage Against The Machine
A few theories suggest that the “1999” part of the name could imply that Coachella audiences may be treated to a set from one of the performers in the 1999 lineup. That in and of itself isn’t too unlikely, as there are already two artists in the lineup this year that performed in the lineup back in ’99 (Chemicals Brothers, Underworld). This theory targets Rage Against the Machine based on the band’s placement in the lineup—apparently, 1999.ODDS is the 38th name in the lineup poster. Wanna take a guess at who else was listed 38th on the ’99 poster for Coachella?
That’s right. ABBA.
It was Rage Against the Machine. And while solving this mystery like a maniac puzzle-solver with a ball of red yarn sounds like an absolutely thrilling and wholesome time for the entire family, that doesn’t make it correct. The main reason this theory seems likely to be shut down at the festival is due to Rage bassist Tim Commerford’s battle with prostate cancer, which led to him having major surgery in December, according to Rolling Stone. As great as it would be to scream along to Rage Against the Machine in the California desert, raging against the machine, it’s likely the band is still taking some much-needed R&R.
Animal Collective
Of all the band names thrown around in this race to unmask the mystery band, Animal Collective is perhaps the name that fits the best.
Fact A: The band was started by founding members Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb) in 1999.
Fact B: Animal Collective released a visual album featuring psychedelic visuals directed and edited by Danny Perez entitled ODDSac in 2010.
Fact C: Avey Tare is currently touring and just so happens to have a 19-day gap between his April 8 show in Minneapolis and his show on the 27, where he pops up in Big Sur.
Coincidence? Who knows, ya know? Maybe Coachella 2003 will be shown a hologram DJ Skat Cat performing with Blink-182 muppets. That wouldn’t even make a top 10 list of the weirdest things to happen at Coachella. See you in the desert!
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