We got holed up in the '40s...

In the perpetually elegant bar-banter of the Holy Steady...

We've had some massive nights,

where every song was right.

Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole...

On February 3rd, 1959, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P "The Big Bopper" Richardson were soaring high above civilization, bound for Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately, that cold and illustrious morning took a turn for the melancholy when said plane momentarily failed and fatefully crashed into the ground. Each of the three performers, along with the pilot, departed from the earth immediately upon crashing. Instantly, a trifecta of talent, and the most promising stars of the 1950's, lost their lives. Never before has the entertainment industry suffered such a loss in such a short span of time until this very week.

On June 25th, 2009, the legendary "girl-next-door" Farah Fawcett died of anal cancer at the age of 62. On June 28th, 2009, the effervescent (as were most of his products) television salesmen, William Darrell Mays, Jr, died of a concussion at the tender age of 50. Perhaps the most shocking of these deaths (and certainly the most publicized) is the death of Michael Jackson, on June 25th, 2009, at the age of 50.

I find it highly unlikely, as well as startlingly delicate, that any person above the age of six, save those who live in Amherstburg, or an Amish society, doesn't know who Michael Jackson was. As well as one of the most talented artists to have ever graced the planet, Michael Jackson's short-lived time on earth was shrouded in more publicity and controversy than the Iraq war. From his charges of child molestation (which he was later acquitted of), to his shocking pigmentation change, Michael Jackson has been perma-spotlighted since the age of 6. Instead of writing a lengthy post (which, with the help of Wikipedia and Google, would not at all be difficult to do), I've chosen to merely celebrate the music of a vastly talented man, and celebrate the breadth of his influence on popular culture and music.

Enjoy:

Justice's ridiculously popular (and fucking danceable) hit, "D.A.N.C.E", is based entirely on Michael Jackson. The sparse lyrics and funkalicious beat is credited solely to the King of Pop himself.

Finally, Liko, the Moonwalking dog:

I'm opening up the comment box for a discussion on how long it will take until someone parodies Don McLean's "American Pie" to be about MJ, Billy Mays, and my homegirl Farah.

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: STEREOGUM.COM has just released a cavalcade of artist's reactions to the death of Michael Jackson. I present them to you here in their unedited state.]

Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio)
I've never had a dream bigger than to be part of something like Thriller. We are kids when we hear those songs. we are lovers when we hear those songs. Michael brought the music out of the speakers and affixed it to the most important moments in our lives... all with love... all without cynicism. Nobody moved the needle like him ... Nobody moved the people like him. He will be missed ... and revered.

Peace be with you, Michael.

John Vanderslice
The first time I really payed attention to "Wanna be Startin' Somethin'" I was sitting in a car at Montgomery Mall in Rockville, MD with my stoner friends. What initially floored me was the heavily orchestrated vocal arrangements, which included chanting, response choir, heavy use of pitch shifting and backwards effects, and very little actual harmonies.

In the intro, Michael sings along with the bass and growls a "OOOOWWWSH" to start the song. He is fucking around, just playing, his delivery shifts from demonic to jokey in one bar. Total freedom. He sings as if nothing was on the line. The great Quincy Jones can not be underestimated here as a collaborator and producer (and like Tyson without Cus D'Amato, MJ was unmoored without Quincy.)

So these four suburbanites, stuck in pre-internet hell, sat transfixed in a parking lot for a 6 minute vamp, with its almost unchanging bass line and triumphant "Mama-se, mama-sa, mama-coo-sa" outro. We hadn't heard anything like it.

Rob Barber (High Places)
As a five year old, I completely drove my Mom crazy listening to a completely destroyed single of "Ease On Down The Road." It skipped terribly, needle jumped like crazy, and the weird army surplus record player with a built-in speaker (that I had stabbed holes into with safety scissors, I was a very stabby child...) made it sound more like Wolf Eyes being dissected by the Invisible Scratch Pickles. I remember putting it on over and over, and jumping on my bed in my underwear.

That record was a hand me down, but the first two records I bought with my paper route money was Thriller and Metal Heath by Quiet Riot. My Mom was waymore freaked out by the cover of Thriller for some reason and was really angry for me buying it. Which is odd, being that I still feel Metal Health is a really creepy and unnerving cover. Both "Thriller" and "Off The Wall" are perfect records, but I would have to say my standout tracks (depending on my mellow vs. boogie mood swings) are "Human Nature" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)." As a side note, the night before he passed away, I was walking a few blocks from my new home here in LA, and my friend says, "oh hey, check it out, that is the house from the 'Thriller' video." I think I will go leave some flowers tomorrow morning.

Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes, Swan Lake)

01 Michael Jackson was my first musical purchase. I not only bought Thriller, I bought the poster. A person's first musical purchase is pretty important. Of course, it should be said that later accusations muddied the crystal clear waters of nostalgic memory for a time.

02 I couldn't watch the director's cut of the video. I had to run out of the room shivering in fear while my cruel family roared in mockery at my lily-livered cowardice.

03 According to Melanie, the combination of toasted after-eights and "Billie Jean" was, to her nine-year-old psyche, positively sophisticated: the aural and the taste work together to create a sense of velveteen "softness."

Randy Randall (No Age)
When I was a kid Michael Jackson was the shit. This was way before any of the child molestation charges. My cousin and I used to have the Moonwalker VHS tape. I remember the video where MJ is being chased by these two fat twins on mini motorcycles. I think it was claymation. That was my favorite video. I also remember the "Bad" video with the all the little kids battling Mike and his crew. I wished I could have been part of the "Bad" kid crew. So funny!!!

Dean Spunt (No Age)
When I was a kid I was really into MJ and Madonna. I remember rushing out to buy the Michael Jackson shoes that came out from LA gear -- they didn't look anything like they did on the commercials, but I remember thinking I could moonwalk better with these bad boys. They are actually still a pretty cool looking shoe.

I always felt bad for MJ, G-D rest his soul.

Sara Quin (Tegan & Sara)
The album Dangerous was huge when i was in grade six. MJ as an artist was new to me because my parents weren't massive fans and Thriller (the only album we owned) hadn't resonated. Keep in mind I was a tween and really into Supertramp.

When "Black Or White" had its music video premier I was thrilled to discover that Macaulay Culkin had a cameo. My confusion around wanting to be Macaulay Culkin so I could kiss Anna Chlumsky in the move My Girl meant that my eleven year old brain connected MJ to MC and i was a fan from that point on.

It's very surreal to know he has died.

Nick Harmer (Death Cab For Cutie)
Michael Jackson, for me, will always be a red jacket covered in zippers, sequined glove, and the moonwalk which I could never do. When Thriller was all the rage and every kid in the neighborhood wanted to be him. I actually took a class offered for free at a local park that promised I could learn the moonwalk. That I too could move like the King Of Pop. I must have backwards walked a thousand times to "Billie Jean," shuffling my toes, slide, heel up daydreaming how popular I would be when I showed up at school and casually busted the move out on the playground. I never even came close. I still can't figure it out. But every time "Billie Jean" comes on I'll be damned if I don't keep trying.

Michael Jackson's death is as tragic as it is surprising. I just wasn't ready for it. But Michael Jackson is not dead. He just left the body we all know he was so uncomfortable in and moved on to a place where he could be the perfect, happy person he always wanted to see in the mirror. He will forever live through his music and continue, as he did in life, to inspire countless creative people and set fire to countless dance floors. Long Live MJ, the world will miss you.

Alex Naidus (The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart)
I was talking to a friend today at lunch about MJ and was reminded of a bootleg I have from a few year's back that mashed up "Heal the World" with Lil' Jon's beat on The Bravehearts "Quick to Back Down." It's a pretty simple A+B mashup, but the effect is incredibly spooky and affecting. The production is really minimal, all minor key and bass-y, with these huge gong sounds and Michael is just doing his whisper cooing about how "there are people dying" and the whole thing is juuuuuust off-key enough to sound truly unhinged.

It sounds/feels extra spooky today and honestly made me feel a bit like a freak that this was my version of "commemorating." The same friend who I was reminiscing with at lunch sent over a pretty incredible video of Michael's Motown audition from 1968 -- possibly just to counterbalance the downer-vibe of the mashup, but regardless it's pretty wowing considering he was 10 at the time.

Brandon Welchez (Crocodiles)
My Micheal Jackson memories start pretty young because I have an older brother who was the perfect age to get into MJ with all his friends. My parents wouldn't buy him "the jacket" but my mom took a similar one and sewed a bunch of zippers and stripes and shit on it for him and tried to make it look as much like the real thing. He rocked that all the time when I was little. I think my mom also may have made him a sequined glove but it might be a false memory being that I was pretty young.

I was super into Weird Al when I was little, and my favorite songs were his MJ parodies, "Eat It" and "Fat." In retrospect, I probably liked those the best because the actual songs were way better than whatever else he was parodying (with the exception of Madonna, of course).

It's sad when anyone dies young, but it's pretty sad that he never got a chance to redeem himself in the public's eyes. He definitely had a fucked up childhood and maybe suffered from some sort of mental illness. Pretty sad that people busted his balls so hard.

Max G. Morton (Cold Cave)
My friend Matthew would host the best slumber parties. His house was the closest thing our town had to an amusement park. Microwave, movie theatre-sized TV, MTV, punching bag, dirt bike, Boa constrictor, pinball machine, a treasure chest filled to the brim with weapons, and Jennifer.

His sister, Jennifer was not a mutant like us but nonetheless humored us. She got the Thriller VHS the day it came out. $80 later every girl from school was sleeping over. Animal-print clad underwear youth in corpse-like face paint doing synchronized dance routines, high on soda and all-you-can-eat pizza. Heaven. The boys and their binoculars, "Best night ever!"

Not even in that suburban Tomorrowland was there a state-of-the-art gadget to document such a moment. Detail was key. The ads in comic books lied, the magic shop-spy gear did not allow you to see-thru a girl's skin. So you really had to memorize every bump, curve, scrape, mark, hair, step, or breath said, if you were going to report back Monday morning in homeroom. Word got out. The gang least-likely to, had seen more of the girls than their preppie boyfriends had. Blood was to be shed at the all-night New Wave roller skate party. Like magic, theThriller video for one night had brought everyone together.

There were looks between Tammy and I. Giggles too. She was completely uncomfortable around me all week in school. It had to mean something. For reasons unknown I thought that even if she wasn't speaking to me in school, she totally would at Skate Wars. I was young, still figuring out the wardrobe but a statement had to be made if I was going to be seen at such "gay" event. The innocence of the past Friday was fading. Rapidly.

After-school special, punk make-over, cranked-up really high. War paint and spikes, posers beware! In true rebel spirit I stomped on over to Tammy, right across the rink with my sneakers on. A redneck Duran Duran devotee in a referee shirt blew a whistle at me. I felt so cool. Unfuckablewith. It was in my walk. Oozing my newfound confidence, seconds away from having a girlfriend. Getting closer. Tammy was laughing, a bit nervous in the eyes when I go back to the moment but in no way shape or form was her body language preparing me for what came next. A flying knuckle sandwich, packaged in a white, bedazzled Michael Jackson-signature glove. Her boyfriend laid me out!

www.stereogum.com/archives/photo/michael-jackson-1958-2009_076432.html

Hoping that my mind don't slip, sailing on a sinking ship.

I've been battling a passionate love affair with the above tune lately. It seems that whenever I try to separate from it, which is often, considering how I'm literally stabbing the repeat button my stereo, it seems to find me and we have passionate makeup sex. Am I cursed with the monogamous life?

Listomania - Phoenix (Live on KEXP)

Bonjour unionists, humanitarians, jugglers, circus folk, ice gypsies, rhinos, fascists, ect. ect., my name is Norman Nehmetallah, and I'm just realizing how pretentious one sounds when greeting others in a language that they themselves do not speak. This is Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice, as a quick glance to your address bar would've confirmed, and I haven't post in what seems like a millennium. Thankfully, it has not been a millennium though, and not much has passed us by in the music world which won't be covered in this very post. So, put a seat belt on, spank your child(ren) for good measure, and prepare yourself for the capitalist adventures which are(n't) about to unfold.

At the very top of this post is a band called Phoenix, who've not only been on a constant (this is not to be taken lightly) repeat on my stereo, but also on my iPod, computer, and headcomputer (known as a brain to the locals). Their new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, is not only a piece of pure pop brilliance, but an infectiously simple record that I've yet to tire of. Being the restless soul I am, this is quite an accomplishment for the band.

Living With The Living, Underneath The Tyranny of Oak

In the very distant past, formerly known as a week ago, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists released a brand new demo which has proved to be quite promising material. Ted Leo & The Crew have always been favourite musical act of mine, but with the election of President Barack Obama, I've found myself pondering what Mr. Leo might be doing with his superb songwriting talents these days, since the "evil" Republicans and "nasty" bureaucrats, who have been the subject of many a Ted Leo record, have been overthrown. It seems that Mr. Leo has begun internalize his songwriting, and quite literally, as this new demo has The Pharmacists singing about Ted Leo's... brain?

This scathing 2 minute and 18 second blizzard of power chords and garbled talk is a very welcome change in today's intricate, although sometimes boring, mess of exaggeration that is not uncommonly found in music. Don't trust my opinion though, take a listen for yourself?

Where Was My Brain? - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

And a peak at the archives...

Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone? - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

I hope everyone reading this has their orgasm pants on, because this news is a fucking tsunami...

Monsters of Folk

According to the fine young gentle(wo)men at Pitchfork Media,

"The Monsters of Folk supergroup-- which also features producer/Bright Eyes member Mike Mogis-- release their self-titled debut on September 22 via Shangri-La in North America, Rough Trade in Europe, Spunk in Australia, and P-Vine in Japan. A press release says so and everything.

According to the release, "all four members play every instrument on the album" and the music ranges from "road-worn" to "intimate" to "sun-soaked." The sometime tourmates recorded the LP in Malibu, California and Omaha, Nebraska over a two-year period between other projects. Track titles include "Whole Lotta Losin'" (Zeppelin tribute?), "Temazcal" (named after an ancient sauna), and "Losin Yo Head" ("Yo"!). The rest of the song names are below:

Monsters of Folk:

01 Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
02 Say Please
03 Whole Lotta Losin'
04 Temazcal
05 The Right Place
06 Baby Boomer
07 Man Named Truth
08 Goodway
09 Ahead of the Curve
10 Slow Down Jo
11 Losin Yo Head
12 Magic Marker
13 Map of the World
14 The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15 His Master’s Voice "

To clear up any falsities that may still reside in your mind, Conor Oberst, M.Ward and Jim James (of My Morning Jacket glory) have formed a supergroup and are now preparing to unload their collective awesome onto an unsuspecting world.

Best of!

My Morning Jacket - Gideon (Live)

Bright Eyes - Lua

M. Ward - To Go Home

Tomorrow, I will be supplying you, the marvelous reader, with a full blown review of Dirty Projectors new ditty, entitled Bitte Orca, which has snuck it's way, along with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Veckitamest and Merriweather Post Pavillion, unto my Best of 2009 list. Tune in? Log in? I don't give a fuck, just read it.

That's tomorrow, but today I leave you with a couple older tracks to help you prepare your awesome self for exams...

A Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Micromix
Holly Was A Hoodrat!

Micromix - 4 songs!

01 Up On A Mountain - The Welcome Wagon!

02 Debaser - The Pixies!

03 How A Ressurection Really Feels - The Hold Steady!

04 Alkali - Field Assembly (The best band out of Windsor, my opinion, who Kaitlyn Meloche unfortunately missed live.)

I am a man of few words

That is all.




































Well good evening everyone on this extremely short post on Looks Like Coffee Tastes Like Juice. Anyway while I was suppose to post last week (please excuse my lateness) I was also suppose to be on vacation in Ottawa/Montreal which put me out of posting up until now. Well it's good to be here posting and reading whatever I missed, so how is everyone else doing recent?

Well recently it’s been a good week for movie goers with Up and Drag Me To Hell coming this week but also the real news for everyone is the announcement of Toy Story 3 that and Ben Stiller is working on a new Zoolander movie!



Unfortunately I don't have any music to download today, but I do have some videos I'll like to show. Also I'll try to find some Moody Blues albums for my next post in the year 2050 but without further ado here to play you out here is the talent of Mr. Glenn Gould and Keyboard Cat!

Accordion Needles

In case the lovely people of planet earth are wondering about the lack of postage,
a one Mr. Joseph Najem was supposed to be posting sometime earlier this week.

HE IS A GODDAMN LIAR!

R.I.P Jay Bennett

"The former Wilco guitarist and Titanic Love Affair founding member passed away in his sleep Saturday night. Bennett was a key contributor to the first half of Wilco's discography, and his contentious relationship with frontman Jeff Tweedy was famously chronicled in the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. A few weeks ago Bennett blogged that he was looking forward to completing another solo album Kicking At The Perfumed Air while recovering from an imminent hip replacement surgery, which he could no longer postpone despite being uninsured. Tweedy released this statement today: "We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him -- as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time." You can read more on the musician's career at Chicago Sun-Times."

Via Stereogum



Time to spin Yankee Hotel Foxtrot til' the hole in my soul is evaporated...

Forget to spill your drinks, and I'll forget what I came here for.

Today is beautiful
The sky is draped in confusion
I'm aching for February
Every single line on the highway is begging for redemption
and we're all just waiting for a chance at starvation
We're all underfunded artists,
and nobody is a politician.

Today is beautiful,
tomorrow is a new post.

Too tired to shine, dependent on the kindness of strangers and lawyers

Grizzly Bear Performing "Two Weeks" Last Night on Later... With Jools Holland

Before this post officially stops with a blunt and pretentious introduction, I'd just like to say that Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest is officially released in two weeks (WOAH!) and the countdown has officially begun. Although the album has already leaked, my faithful ears have yet to hear anything other than Cheerleader and Two Weeks. The verdict? I'm content with throwing up every record I've ever owned. Yeah, that good.

BACK TO THE FUTURE!

Hello my lovely friends, and welcome to what seems like another harrowing evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. After what could only have been 24 hours of writing about the idiosyncrasies of Mercutio, in comparison with Romeo (granted, it was only an hour), I'm finally prepared to retire and unleash upon the world the mighty power of the Mother's Day Mixtape. Lock up your mothers, ladies, this one's a little intense...

15 Years Of Torment & Bio-hazardous Threats To My Life Haven't Made Me Hate You Yet;
An Official Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Mother's Day Mixtape!

Warning: This mixtape contains extremely bitchin'... I mean explicit content. So, for fucks sake, don't show it to your mom.
Warning: If your mother has a sense of humor, or has lost her hearing aid, you can probably disregard that last message. Also, immigrant parents who haven't yet learned English apply as well.

01 Her Majesty - The Beatles (For my second mother, Kaitlyn)
02 Your Mother Loves You, Son - Beulah
03 Mother & Child Reunion (Paul Simon Cover) - Grizzly Bear
04 Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives - Voxtrot
05 Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth - Neko Case
06 Mother - Pink Floyd (For Daniella)
07 We Share Our Mother's Health - The Knife (For Kacper, the one I'd never bring home to my mother...)
08 It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - Bob Dylan
What's that?! Did you hear a bonus track? I thought so!
09 Bitches Ain't Shit - Dr. Dre (Because whenever the topic of women comes up in front of my mother, these words basically escape her lips)

So, share the love with your creators today, and look forward to a post tomorrow. Or don't, because apparently, I'm not so good with these promise things.

Love, love, love, letters, lobotomy, legume, love.