By Jen Chaney
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 18, 2006 12:00 AM

"Coachella" (R; List price: $29.98)
Release Date: April 18

The Coachella festival may not have the name recognition of, say, a Lollapalooza or a Vans Warped Tour. But in the indie rock world, it's considered the queen mother of music shows, a free-wheeling, two-day concert held each year in Indio, Calif., that showcases the best artists on the alternative, electronica, hip-hop and reggae scenes.

This year's Coachella fest takes place April 29 and 30, which makes this week's release of the concert film "Coachella" on DVD a timely one. Featuring interviews with fans and snippets of performances by Bjork, Bright Eyes, the Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, the Stooges, the Pixies and many others, it's a beautifully photographed, kaleidoscopic overview of the energetic musical celebration's six-year history.

But as pretty as "Coachella" looks, the DVD ultimately disappoints. Uninsightful interviews with the throngs of concert-goers who camp out every year -- giving the concert the much-ballyhooed vibe of a modern-day Woodstock -- provide little context for the Coachella-clueless.

Musically, several of the performances soar, particularly the Arcade Fire's spirited version of "Rebellion (Lies)" and the Flaming Lips' typically trippy take on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." But with six years' worth of stellar line-ups, there should be more concert footage to relish. The list of superb bands omitted from the DVD -- Wilco, Jane's Addiction, the Roots, Beck, Doves -- goes on and on. Clearly it would be impossible to include them all in a two-hour movie. But the second disc of bonus material seems like the perfect place to add the songs and sets that had to be cut. And yet, astonishingly, the extras don't include a single minute of music; instead, we get additional interview snippets, photos and that's it.

With several concert movies breaking new ground in theaters -- "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and the Beastie Boys' "Awesome; I ... Shot That!" among them -- it's a shame "Coachallea" doesn't continue the trend on the small screen. As a member of the Latino funk band Kinky says during one of the bonus interviews, "The people who come here really come for the music, not for all the bull----." Amen, my brother.

Most Unsettling Bonus Point: "The Art of Recycling" snippet, found on the bonus disc, allows viewers to peek at an exhibit of elaborately decorated recycling bins displayed at last year's Coachella festival. The most disturbing contribution comes from the late Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide last February. His bin is indented in several spots by pellets shot from a BB gun, a bizarre precursor to the gunshot wound he would eventually inflict upon himself.

Also on DVD This Week: "Hostel," "Mrs. Henderson Presents and more.

For more on new DVDs, visit washingtonpost.com's DVD section.