I’d been going through my annual should-I-or-shouldn’t-I debate since the announcement of Coachella’s 2005 lineup. I mean, on the one hand, it’s awfully rare to find a collection of so many great artists sharing the same stage… er, the same four stages. But on the other hand, there’s, well, every other factor imaginable. The 2000 miles between myself and Indio, CA. The transportation and accommodation costs, in addition to the $150 two-day tickets. Not to mention the nagging suspicion that the entire experience wouldn’t be worth the time and money.

Okay, a quick breakdown of the Coachella performers I’m most interested in seeing looks something like this: Bloc Party, M83, Spoon, Immortal Technique, Gang of Four, The Arcade Fire, The Fiery Furnaces, Aesop Rock, M.I.A., and The Futureheads. The rest of the acts would just be gravy on top of those ten. Now, barring some sort of Buddy Holly-esque disaster, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to see each of these artists, with the possible exception of the recently reunited Gang of Four, on future tours; and those future shows will take place in venues where I won’t have to watch the band on a video screen or devise a ’stage plan’ to avoid missing their set altogether.

Admittedly, if you’re in it for headliners like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, and Weezer, maybe this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Maybe it’s well worth it to stand amidst tens of thousands of wanna-be Woodstock revivalists. After all, some of these bands demand upwards of Coachella’s $75 per day rate for their individual shows. And, hey, you’d definitely have some stories to tell.

I’ve talked myself out of attending for yet another year though. Let me know how it goes, guys. The closest I’ll get this spring to experiencing Calfornia’s amalgamation of music’s hottest new artists will come Thursday nights at 8:00 on FOX. And I’m fine with that. I think.