Hello everyone, and welcome to another cool Saturday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. For those of you who would like to know, my show today at Dr.Disc Records went rather well. I played for about 40 minutes, and a couple close friends/ family members, a few complete strangers, and some Dr.Disc regulars showed up. I did not, however, bootleg the show, but my uncle did manage to grab some video clips and pictures. I will post these as soon as he sends them to me.
Anyways, today's post is going to be incredibly short, seeing as how I'm sitting on Nicholas' computer, which is basically void of all good music (give or take a few tracks). I'm sleeping here tonight, so I will not be able to get home and post some decent tracks. I will make do, none the less. Album of the Week; Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
Our Album of the Week this week is the monumentally epic, Born in the USA. It was released in 1984 on Columbia Records, and was The Boss' seventh record. It is incredibly radio-friendly, compared to early Springsteen records, such as Nebraska and Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. An interesting fact about the album is that it became the first Compact Disc to be manufactured in the US (all other compact discs were made in Japan). So, sit back and enjoy the very bitter, fist-pumping title track. Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
Hello everyone, and welcome to...well, a Friday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Tonight's post is going to be a rather short one, in which I'll be talking a little about today's Song of the Day, and I'll be sharing a little bit of information about my show at Dr.Disc Records tomorrow. So, enjoy the post.
Song of the Day; The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend
The Kids Don't Stand A Chance is the last song on Vampire Weekend's eponymous debut album. Vampire Weekend is a pop band formed in 2006, from New York City. They are a very unique (if Paul Simon didn't exist) band, with a style that blends western classical music, western pop, African pop and New-Wave, whatever the hell that is. The previously mentioned song, is a straightforward song, with a rather bumpin' bass line, and steady drumbeat. I suggest you listen to it. The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend
In other news, tomorrow is the big show at Dr.Disc Records. I'm very exciting/incredibly nervous about this, and I do hope that all goes well. I'll be playing about 10 songs, and I'll be playing them from 3pm til' 4pm. If you'd like to come down and support me, it would be very much appreciated and I might even smile at you (just maybe.). Dr.Disc Records is located at 659 Ouellette Avenue. By the way, the entire show will be bootlegged, via my brother's MacBook, and I will definitely post a huge portion of that on here, maybe even the whole show.
So, thanks for reading and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and what a very wonderful evening it has been. My day has been a very eventful one, to say the least, and you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to sweet, sweet sleep right now. Alas, I sit and blog! Anyways, if you don't listen to CJAM 91.5 (you very well should!), it is my very great pleasure to announce that the hosts of The Breakthrough (My brother Jon, and his cohort Thom) let me come on the show this morning and play a song of my own! It was a very exciting opportunity, and served as a great promo for my show at Dr.Disc Records this Saturday (more information on this tomorrow). For your listening pleasure, here is the MP3 from the broadcast. Space Between The Light (Live on CJAM) - Norman Nehmetallah
The Band of the Week: Two Gallants Two Gallants is a rock (this is an incredible understatement) duo from San Fransisco, California. The duo consists of a Mr.Adam Stephens (guitar, harmonica, vocals), and Mr.Tyson Vogel (drums and vocals). They formed in official in 2002, and recorded two albums, of which both are long out of print. They do however, have three wonderful albums that ARE in print, one of which was released on Alive Records (The Throes) and two of which were released on Saddle Creek Records (What The Toll Tells, Two Gallants). So, enjoy a couple tracks from Two Gallants. Seems Like Home To Me - Two Gallants Las Cruces Jail - Two Gallants Long Summer Day (Live) - Two Gallants
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful Wednesday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today's post is going to be immeasurably short, and I mean REALLY short, because I have to get up at 4:30am tomorrow morning. If you're wondering why this is, it's because I'll be making my debut radio appearance tomorrow! I'll be on my brother Jon (and Thom)'s radio show tomorrow (The Breakthrough, Thursday mornings at 6am - 8am) and at around 7:30 am I'll be playing one song. This is a pretty big deal for me, and I'll be posting an excerpt from the show, tomorrow evening. So, for today, here's a couple tracks off of the (sort of) new Magnetic Fields album, entitled Distortion. You may notice (immediately) the distinctive Jesus & Mary Chain influences. California Girls - The Magnetic Fields Three Way - The Magnetic Fields Old Fools - The Magnetic Fields
Hello everyone, and welcome to another lovely Tuesday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. I just arrived back home after rushing to my friend Nicholas' house to stare in utter amazement at the vehicle parked snugly on his driveway. Even for those who have no passion, or interest, in cars, the Ford GT40 is definitely a site to behold. That's all besides the point though, and has nothing to do with the post today, I just thought I'd let you all know that I am currently harboring a crush with Nicholas' driveway. Anyways, today's post is going to be about the band, The Band, and will mainly focus on their song, The Weight. So, enjoy.
"The Band was a Canadian-American rock group, active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999. It mainly consisted of Canadians Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone), and an American Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar).
The members of the Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963; they were also known as Levon and the Hawks. (In about 1966, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires). Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the group for his 1965-1966 world tour. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their record company (a name derived from how they were referred to during their tenure with Dylan), the group left Saugerties, New York to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s; their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist Robbie Robertson.
Although the Band was always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than with the general public, they have remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[1]"
So, there's a little bit about The Band which, I admit, I shamelessly copied and pasted via Wikipedia. Now, I shall continue to use this technique to tell you a bit about the song, The Weight.
"The Weight" takes the folk music motif of a traveler, who arrives in Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Once there, he encounters various residents of the town, the song being a story of these encounters.
The residents include a man who cannot direct the traveler to a hotel, Carmen and the Devil walking side by side, "Crazy Chester," who offers a bed in exchange for the traveler taking his dog, and Luke who has gone out to wait for the apocalypse, leaving his young bride neglected.
In Levon Helm's autobiography "This Wheel's on Fire," Helm explains that the people mentioned in the song were based on real people the Band knew. The "Miss Anna Lee" mentioned in the lyric is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden[2][3]."
Hello everyone, and welcome to another...well, Monday evening. Tonight, we'll be featuring the very talented Christian Hansen & The Autistics. So, without further ado, Christian Hansen & The Autistics.
Christian Hansen & The Autistics are a band out of Edmonton, Alberta, fronted by, you guessed it, Mr.Christian Hansen. They play a very wide variety of music, changing styles and shifting through genres including, but not limited to, Punk, Acoustic, Rock, Electronic and do I hear a bit of Jazz? I think so! They released their debut album, The Super Awkward Album, in 2006. The band has often been questioned, and sometimes criticized, for the use of the word Autistic (a developmental disability) in their band name. Mr. Hansen argues (rightfully so!) (this is quoted from Pop For Thought, an article in the Edmonton Journal)
"I've worked with people with special needs for years, and I ran a music program here in Edmonton at a local non-profit organization," Hansen explains. "I worked with people with autism, among other disabilities, basically doing music -- these free, open jam sessions.
"They were so creative and so passionate and just undervalued. So much of the new stuff I wrote was inspired by those sessions and the kind of abandon with which they would play and approach music, having no real knowledge of it. They're just going on pure instinct, and I find that's what I do (as well)."
If Hansen contends he adopted the name out of the respect he has for people with disabilities and their enthusiasm for all things creative, it often forces him to explain himself to some people who just don't get it.
"I realize that it is a provocative name," Hansen continues. "I had a promoter in Vancouver tell me that he thought it was more offensive than 'Fetal Abortion.' It gets people thinking, and it's similar to what I want to do with my songs -- get the wheels turning, challenge people. To me, that's way more exciting than calling your band a cute, little, safe name."
It's interesting that so many people would get hung up on The Autistics' name alone when the real controversy should be fueled by the potent, sardonic lyrics that can be found in Hansen's songs. From male bulimia to child sexual abuse, Hansen isn't afraid to tackle touchy issues and turn them on their heads, injecting them into an ebullient style of light-hearted pop in the process. "
So, enjoy a bit of Christian Hansen & The Autistics today.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Now, it's been getting very warm these last couple days, which has me thinking about the summer time more and more. Graduation is close at hand and I've been mentally preparing myself for countless days of lazing about, playing guitar and recording music. So, I figured there would be no better way to really prepare for the summer than making, yeah you guessed it, a summer mixtape. This activity usually takes place sometime in mid-June, but I thought I'd get an early start on it, y'know, being the clever individual I am. So, without further ado, I present to you, my dear readers, an official Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful, and quite warm, I should add, Sunday morning here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. The reason I'm posting in the morning, and not in the evening as I usually do, is because I had such a busy night last night, that I couldn't find the time to post. So, you can think of this post as yesterday's post, and I will post again tonight, to cover today. Alright, so, as you may recall (a quick glance at the schedule will do), Saturday's are Album of the Week days. Seeing as it is unofficially Saturday today, I thought that for the Album of the Week post, I would post a couple tracks from one of my favorite albums.
First, a bit about the band. Now, I could go on and on about the various childhood turmoils, previous bands, and personal troubles of Mr.Elliott Smith (Born Steve Smith), but I'll try to stick to his musical career. Steve Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised in Texas, and spent a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon. After leaving the rock group Heatmiser, he began to concentrate on his solo effort. He was proficient on many instruments, but is mostly known for his delicate, complicated finger-picking arrangements. After releasing a slew of brilliant albums, he died at age 34 from 2 stab wounds to the chest. Judging by a majority of his lyrics, I personally do not doubt that these wounds were self-inflicted, but th autopsy was inconclusive.
Now, some information about the album. Elliott Smith, Elliott Smith's second album, and was released in 1995, on the Kill Rock Stars label. The album received mostly positive reviews, and found Mr.Smith diving deeper into, darker song lyrics and meanings. There are a good number of songs on the album that have to do with dependency, drugs, alcohol, and suicide. This makes for a fascinating and thought provoking listen every time you play the album.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful Friday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. You may notice that this post is going to be incredibly short, owing to the fact that I'm currently sleeping at my cousin Joseph's house (you may know him as a regular contributor to this here blog), and we have quite a bit of movies to get through. So, without further ado, I present to you, the track of the day. Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
I'm sorry for the lack of explanation, or anything interesting for the matter, but I promise to make up for it tomorrow with one mother of a post.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another wondrous Thursday night, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. In case you're wondering what's happening in MY life (I'm sure many of you don't, but I don't care), I just came back from Detroit and I've finally purchased a, may I say, Bad-Ass suit. It is pinstriped (white and black), with a tuxedo shirt, bow-tie, and all those fun accessories. Let me just say, Detroit, I'm very impressed with your cheap suits, and abundance of Guitar Centers. I am so impressed, in fact, that I've decided to dedicate this post, and mixtape, to the wondrous city that is Detroit. I'm also quite impressed by the fact that so many awesome musicians gladly call Detroit their home, from The Stooges to Sufjan Stevens. So, sit back and enjoy this ode to Detroit. An Official Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape; Drag My Body Through The Streets Of Detroit 1. Search & Destroy - The Stooges 2. Free Man in Paris - Sufjan Stevens (Joni Mitchell Cover) 3. There's No Home For You Here - The White Stripes 4. Detroit Rock City - KISS
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another lovely Wednesday edition of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. As most of you may or may not know (actually, there's a very strong possibility that none of you know), both of my sisters are going to New York tomorrow for a couple days, on a school field trip. Immediately after this, my oldest sister Tracey, is going to be leaving to Italy for 3 months (teaching English to little Italy kids!). Now, you may think that my sister leaving for this significant amount of time would bother me. Nope, not even in the slightest. I'm not going to go into detail. but let's just say that my sister is really... MEAN. Mean is definitely a good starter word, but be weary, because mean is a gateway word to a whole mass of obscenities that I don't care to soil this blogs reputation by using. Anyways! Today's mixtape is going to be a collection of songs about being on both sides of the spectrum, the leaver and the left. So, take a little bit of time out of your busy Wednesday night schedule (NOBODY has a busy Wednesday night) and enjoy this mixtape! An Official Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape; Before You Were Gone 1. Come Home Baby Julie, Come Home - American Analog Set (I know I've already posted this, but c'mon!) 2. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) - The Decemberists 3. Done Left Here - Mississippi Fred McDowell 4. Left & Leaving - The Weakerthans & Sarah Harmer
Hello everyone, and welcome to a very frantic Tuesday night, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Now, I'm not going to go into details about why it's so frantic, and obviously, I don't have much time right now. So, I thought that I'd post a small mixtape of ... frantic music! So, enjoy this mix, and the rest of your night.
Hello, and welcome, one and all, to this glorious Monday evenings edition of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Tonight's post is going to be brief, but I already compensated for this yesterday, by posting twice. Anyways, for those of you readers who are Canadian, as I am (I'm going to assume a majority of you are?), here is a little mix I put together to celebrate this holiday (i.e day off from school).
Graham Wright? Tokyo Police Club? Fuck Yes! A fantastic solo effort by the keyboardist of Tokyo Police Club, Graham Wright.
" About Graham Wright Hello, friends.
My name is Graham. I play keyboards in a band called Tokyo Police Club, and if you've ever heard of me at all, thats probably why. But every once in a while, I get out of the van and leave the rock and roll keyboards behind to sing my own songs. They don't sound anything like my other band, but hopefully you'll give them a listen and maybe you'll even like them.
My New Years Resolution this year was to make and release an EP, so hopefully at some point I'll do that. I have no idea when, yet, but its in the works. Sort of.
Thanks for listening! "
It looks as if that New Years Resolution, which I don't particularly believe in, was actually gone through with, and hopefully, I'll be able to purchase my own copy of The Lakes of Alberta soon.
Hello everyone, and welcome to an Sunday night here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Now, I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling VERY irritable tonight, seeing as my Bob Marley t-shirt was bleached in the wash about 10 minutes ago. I just received this shirt a month ago, as a gift!, and now it's ruined. I'll most likely continue to wear it on a daily basis, though, because I roll that way. Alright, tonight's post is going to be quick one (surprise!), because I'm very eager to go upstairs and play the pink Roxy guitar sitting in my room (My friend Sarah got it off eBay for 1cent and I'm tuning it/changing the strings, being the good friend I am).
An Official Looks like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape: Pearl Jam B-Sides & Rarities
Hello everyone, and welcome to another benign Saturday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today we're going to be bringing back the regular Saturday fixture, Album of the Week. Considering how long it's been since we've done an Album of the Week post, I figured today I'd treat everyone to not just one album, but a three disc box set. So, sit back, pour yourself a glass of lemonade, cut a slice of apple pie (what the hell is this?!) and enjoy this Album of the Week post.
Album of the Week: Bob Dylan's Biograph [Disc's 1,2 & 3] (1985)
Biograph, a three disc box set spanning the first 19 years of Bob Dylan's career, is the perfect display of the array of Dylan's musical abilities. From thought provoking (and some just nonsensical) lyrics, to intricate melodies plucked out on just a guitar, and weary, nasally vocals. Bob Dylan really was the perfect example of a Singer/Songwriter, and I don't believe that I could have put together a better collection of songs from the early years (Alright, maybe I could have, but surely nobody else!).
By the way Biograph is presented, it looks as if a die-hard Dylan fan took all his albums, scattered them on the floor, and chose the best songs from each album. It is not presented chronologically, nor is it presented in any clearly seen arrangement. This is all well and good, I say, because in the end, this is just a really spot-on collection of Dylan's best songs up til' 1981.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another glorious Friday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today, we'll be featuring the official Song of the Day, but before I do that, I just wanted to make a small announcement. For those of you who do not read regularly, or who are eagerly awaiting this information (probably not many of you), I will be playing my first ever show at Dr.Disc Records, on May 31st. Here's the information: The show is at 3pm, on May 31st, and I'll be playing until 4pm. I'm not getting paid to play, and you don't have to pay to come, seeing as it's in the back of a record store (i.e an in store performance). I'll be playing about 40% original songs, and 60% cover songs, as I haven't got that many songs written yet (I'm writing/recording my debut album this July/August/September/October, and I hope to have it out in December, but more about that later). So, if you can make it out, my appreciation would be immense. Alright, that's definitely enough about myself, let's move on to the track of the day.
Southampton Dock & The Final Cut - Pink Floyd (1983's The Final Cut)
As you can see, the Song of the Day is actually the Songs of the Day. They are two songs that bleed right into each other, and could basically be the same song, so I decided to post them both. The songs are Southampton Dock and The Final Cut, by one of my favorite bands, Pink Floyd. They are both featured on the very last Pink Floyd studio album, The Final Cut. The album has been received warmly by neither fans nor critics. I, however, beg to disagree. The Final Cut features some of my favorite Pink Floyd tracks, and I believe that it is just as good as any of their previous albums (except Animals and Wish You Were Here). The reason this album receives so much flak from, just about everyone, is because it is basically a Roger Waters album. It is overtly-political, strays very much from the original "Floydian" sound, and only features vocals from David Gilmore on one track (Not Now John). Roger Waters even fired original keyboardist Rick Wright, so this was also the first Floyd album he didn't appear on.
Hello everyone, welcome to another beautiful Thursday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. You must excuse me for the utter shortness of this post, but I've had such a long day, and I'm very tired. As you all know, today is Thursday, which signifies the announcement of the Band of the Week. Oh, and what a band of the week we have for you this week.
This week's band of the week is The Ghost Is Dancing. They are a pop group from Toronto, Ontario, who formed in 2004. That's basically it for their information, seeing as they've only been active for about 4 years now, but here is a couple tracks for their first EP The Ghost Is Dancing. To French Ave. - The Ghost Is Dancing
Hello everyone and welcome to another beautiful/drenched in rain Wednesday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today we have, for our beloved readers, the highly anticipated review of the new Death Cab For Cutie album Narrow Stairs. So, prepare yourself for a soon-to-be legendary record review, courtesy of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice.
First, a little bit of information about the band: Death Cab For Cutie is a pop band from Bellingham, Washington. They were formed in 1997 by Ben Gibbard (originally started as a solo outlet) but when Mr.Gibbard scored a record deal, following the album You Can Play These Songs With Chords, he decided to recruit band members. That's basically the story of Death Cab For Cutie, in all it's glory. Oh, and by the way, the name Death Cab For Cutie comes from the song of the same name by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (This song was prominently featured in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour).
Now, the record: Narrow Stairs definitely serves as a departure from quite a bit of things that we've all come to associate with Death Cab For Cutie. There are many things that remain though, for example, the superb lyrical quality (via Ben Gibbard) and the stellar instrumentals (via the entire band). These aspects of the record, of the entire band, allow the music to venture to new places, while still remaining altogether familiar and comforting.
There were, for myself, three stand-out tracks from the album. The first track is I Will Possess Your Heart, which was released as a single on March 18th. This track, which has been discussed feverishly in music blogs the world over, is very different type of song for Death Cab. Long and "jammy", tense and spacey, these words can all be used to describe this song. What really is facsinating about this song, though, is the fact that the lyrics don't come in for a good 4 and a half minutes. For those of you who haven't listened to Death Cab for, you may be thinking this is not a big deal, you may be thinking that many bands put out 8 and a half minute tracks that are half instrumental. Death Cab however, does not do these things. That is, until now. The other two stand-out tracks are No Sunlight, and Your New Twin Sized Bed. Both of these tracks are very different, and instead of describing them both, I think it's better that you listen to them.
Hello everyone and welcome to another wonderful Tuesday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. As some of you are bound to have noticed, the schedule has indeed undergone some incredibly drastic changes (I can't say I didn't worn you). I've been feeling very stifled, in terms of creativity, lately, so I decided to get rid of a majority of the schedule. All that's left is the Thursday = Band of the Week; Friday = Song of the Week; and Saturday = Album of the Week format. So, I hope you enjoy the very free schedule, and I hope it aids you on your long quest to musical enlightenment (that's why you're here, isn't it?)
Anyways, today's feature is two wonderful songs by Beulah and Charles Manson (Yes, it's the same Charles Manson you're thinking of). So, sit back and enjoy today's post.
Our first feature today is the song Night Is The Day Turned Inside Out by Beulah. Here's a bit about the band: Beulah is a rock band, formed in 1996, in San Francisco, CA. The band was started by Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan and the pair released their first single on the famous Elephant 6 records (after being discovered by The Apples In Stereo frontman Robert Schneider). Although they did not release anything else on the Elephant 6 label, they still have very close ties. This song is from their 2001 album The Coast Is Never Clear. Night Is The Day Turned Inside Out - Beulah
The last feature today is the song Angels Fear To Tread, by the infamous (I mean REALLY infamous) Charles Manson. Alright, before I continue, I'd like to let everyone know that the rest of this paragraph is going to be about Charles Manson, the musician, not the sociopath. Let's continue: This track was released on Mr.Manson's new album, entitled One Mind. After giving it a very thorough listen, I've concluded that this song sounds like a drunk and very skill-less (guitar wise) Hank Williams, mixed with Jim Morrison (who coincidentally was drunk and skill-less guitar wise.). The whole album is a mediocre (if not good) low-fi album, considering the conditions under which it was made (Prison!). I don't think I need to include any artist information, as Mr.Manson is already very well known. An interesting point, though, is that Charles decided to release this album under Creative Commons. If you don't know what Creative Commons is, click here. Angels Fear To Tread - Charles Manson
Hello again, welcome to another edition of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. If you haven't heard, it was my birthday last week and I went to buy none other then Cure albums (It's human nature to buy Cure albums). As of right now, I'm one album away from the completion of the studio albums. I feel so special.
Anyways, I'll be posting one song from some albums I recently bought. Enjoy and have a great night. The Cure- Out of This World
Good morning everyone, and welcome to another Sunday here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today's edition will feature the first ever Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice official Mother's Day Mixtape. So, grab a blank disc, a sharpie and your mother; and prepare yourself for this mother of a mixtape. Enjoy;
The Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Official Mother's Day Mixtape; Mother, Do You Think They'll Like This Song? WARNING: IF YOUR MOTHER IS ANYTHING LIKE MINE, SHE MIGHT HATE THIS MIX
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Before I go on with this post, I'd just like to say two things 1)I'm aware these posts have been getting shorter. As soon as all hectic events die down a bit (i.e My first gig, a talent show, actual homework, general laziness) the posts will be back to their original splendor and 2) This is going to be the last birthday post for a while. For now though, here is another incredibly short post.
Today is my best friend Sean's 15th birthday, so in honor of this very special day, here are a couple songs that Sean would actually like. As you may have gathered from the previous sentence, Sean is not a huge fan (he greatly dislikes) most of the music that I post on this blog. He is more of a classic/blues/hard rock fan, as opposed to ...well, anything else. So, in honor of all things Sean, here are tonight's tracks. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin When The Music's Over - The Doors Train Kept Rolling - Aerosmith Frankenstein - The Edgar Winter Group
Sean, sorry about the lack of White Stripes, all their albums are on the other computer.
Happy Birthday Sean!
Til' Tomorrow
P.S Tomorrow we will be featuring a special Mothers Day Mixtape post, so there's something to look forward to.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, the entire world is celebrating the birthday of Jon Nehmetallah. Now, you may know Jon as the co-founder and contributor to the music blog MP3This, or perhaps from the weekly radio program The Breakthrough (On CJAM 91.5). I'd like to think that Jon and I are very close, in the way that only brothers can be close, so I today, I thought I'd post a couple tracks for him. Now, I'll skip all the corny, sentimental shit I could be writing about Jon, and I'll stick to posting a couple tracks about brothers in general. Big Brother - Kanye West Dancing With My Brother - Entire Cities Brother Sport - Animal Collective
Hello everyone, and welcome to another ...rather frustrating Thursday evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. The reason I'm so infuriated this evening is because, for some reason or another, Mozilla Firefox has chosen to delete ALL of my bookmarks and tabs. Not only is this incredibly inconvenient to me, it's also ... incredibly inconvenient! I've already done all the rational things to do (i.e the Mozilla site and Google) so now I MUST resort to pouting and acting like a three year old. Well, so be it. So, because of this, the post tonight is going to be breathtakingly short. So, enjoy this track while you think of me furiously searching through Google for an answer.
Will not be today, unfortunately because I have not bought those new cds yet but do not worry I'll post again when I have them. Today we have new tracks today from Radiohead, Bob Marley and the obvious Cure. Now without any interruption enjoy and have a good night!
Hello everyone, and welcome to a very bland Tuesday night here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. As you may have noticed, I'm not having the best night. If you'd like to know why, I suggest you inspect the title of today's post. What's that you say? You've figured it out? Congratulations, you are correct. The reason that my night isn't going so well, is because I have to write a Valedictorian speech. I don't want to write a Valedictorian speech, and I sure as hell don't want to be Valedictorian. Alas, the things a man will do, so that his mother rents him a tuxedo. By the way, this has nothing to do with today's post.
The Mighty Of Montreal Cover Post - Post (A la You Ain't No Picasso)
Of Montreal, a spectacular band in their own right, sure can cover a song. Not just a song, either, 60 songs to be exact. If you know anything about Of Montreal, or anything about You Ain't No Picasso, then you know that Of Montreal are quite famous for their covers. They've put many covers to shame, playing songs by a multitude of artists, ranging from The Who to Peaches, from David Bowie to M.I.A. So, let's explore a couple songs from their live covers archive.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful Monday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Instead of the regular Song of the Day post that usually occurs on Monday's, today will be reviewing a very enjoyable album. Let me tell you how this came about; Recently (a couple hours ago, actually) I got a copy of said album from the manager of said band (I'm trying to make this suspenseful) and a request to review the album on this here blog. So, what shall I do? Review! Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare yourself for the mind-blowing, mind-expanding, and perhaps even mind-shattering review of The Boxing Lesson's "Wild Streaks & Windy Days".
First off, here's a bit about the band in their own words;
"After releasing two EPs in Los Angeles, songwriter and astronaut Paul Waclawsky left the haze for the heat of Austin, TX where he promptly joined the Cassini spacecraft team and blasted of from Earth destined for Saturn. There he found a new line up and new inspirations in the form of Jaylinn Davidson and Jake Mitchell. Jaylinn was there researching the magnetometer’s detection of the presence of ion cyclotron waves in the vicinity of Saturn’s moon Enceladus (which just so happens to sound like a Moog synth when played back) and Jake was far out there floating in space collecting data on the rhythm of Saturn’s rings.
Once their mission was complete, they returned to Texas with everything they collected in space (synths, samplings, and old records that were found floating around Titan), and turned it all into Music. Jaylinn’s Moog bass and leads connect with Jake’s explosive evolving rhythms to form a hybrid rhythm section. It’s definitely psychedelic, but not in the traditional sense. Part organic. Part electronic. Part outer fucking space. Joined again by Grammy-Nominated Producer Tim Gerron, The Boxing Lesson crafted Wild Streaks & Windy Days in 2007 and played a meteor shower of shows at home and on the moon.
It’s a simultaneously modern and classic journey through the dark side of the conscious mind. These 12 new tracks explore the contrasts between dark and light, love and lust, space and time, sacrifice and indulgence. Lead boxer, Paul Waclawsky, flexes his song writing muscles and his space echoes like never before on the timeless recording inspired by the Austin indie music scene and radio emissions from outer space. Paul’s voice shows maturity and his epic sonic guitar textures are psychedelic and lush, like Cassiopeia A, the Birthplace of Stars.
Jaylinn Davidson’s Brian Eno-esque Moog synthesizer landscapes pump the haunting songs full of moogy goodness and we find Jake Mitchell, as always, in the ether, drumming out of his head. Wild Streaks & Windy Days chronicles a band evolving to stratospheric heights while maintaining a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in Austin.
Independent of comparison, the tracks on Wild Streaks & Windy Days define The Boxing Lesson’s own brand of psychedelic rock, as they traverse into the unknown territory of their own lives, their own indulgences and their future missions for all mankind.
Our record collections define us: Bowie to Broken Social Scene. Eno to Enon. Can to Spoon. The Cure to MBV. Pink Floyd to Rollerskate Skinny. Neil Young to Neu!. Spacemen 3 to Stereolab. Willie to Ween. "
They certainly don't lie about their influences though, as you can easily hear many traces of Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Brian Eno in their music. Still, there are many points in their music that you just can't pinpoint, and original spark that makes this band very interesting to listen to. They are subtle in the way, that you can keep the record on while doing other things, keeping your whole attention on it, yet not getting distracted or annoyed by it. A favorable quality indeed!
Now, for the record review. The album starts with the echo-laden single notes of a guitar, soon to be joined by a heavy soundscape of drums, keyboards and the likes. Each song on this album is drenched in this ... almost theatrical atmosphere. Phased-out guitar, wailing keyboards, furious drums and the concentrated, tense vocals all fit together perfectly. Each track contributes something to the album and would be lost without the other songs around it. What I'm saying is, this is not the album for singles. Each song fits into the atmosphere and blends into the songs around it.
In conclusion, I thought that this was a very good album, made up of point-precision instrumentals and well-written lyrics. It proves to be perfect to listen to at night, when the world is quiet and a little psychedelia is always welcome.
Hello everyone, and good evening. Tonight is Sunday night, usually a relaxing and somewhat melancholy night, seeing as tomorrow is the day when most people have to get back to school/work. Not tonight, my friends, not tonight. I thought that this Sunday might be a usual Sunday, one which I would spend sitting at home. This was not the case though, and let me tell you why:
Tonight, Nicholas and I watched the movie "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay", or as the mock President Bush so fondly put it, G-Bay. My brother Jon argues that this movie wasn't as good as the first Harold & Kumar because it wasn't as "relatable". Well, so what, I say! I didn't watch the movie to relate to it, and I certainly don't judge movies on their how relatable they are. So, Jon, shut up! This movie was hilarious!
Honestly though, dramatic introduction aside, I highly suggest that you watch this movie, if you'd like to get away with not thinking for an hour an forty-one minutes.
Well, that was my impromptu movie review and I hope you enjoyed it. Yes, I do realize that it told you nothing about the movie, but what can you do? Anyways, I'm very tired and I'd like to get to bed now, so for the music portion of this post, here's the song that I'll be falling asleep to tonight.
P.S Is anybody efficient when it comes to good, old arithmetic? Well, here's an equation for you: Nicholas annoying Jonathan while he tries to drive + Jonathon stopping at the park and kicking Nicholas' ass = Hilarious.
Welcome everyone, to this weeks Album of the Week, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. As many of you already know, every Saturday, I write a post that showcases one of my favorite albums. So, without further ado, I present to you ... the very prestigious Album of the Week.
This weeks Album of the Week ; Picaresque - The Decemberists
Upon discovering this album, many years ago, I did not listen to good music. Well, to be fair, I listened to my share of good music, but my musical archive was still littered with artists such as Eminem; 50 Cent; Good Charlotte...well, you get the point. This album was a major turning point for me. I had already gotten into classic rock rather heavy, but this album started to slowly morph my tastes in music. I can clearly remember riding in the car with my father, repeating the track "The Mariner's Revenge Song", which he thought was the weirdest thing he'd ever heard (He would periodically get annoyed and hit the button for the oldies station).
So, I think it's obvious that this record has definitely made quite an impact on me, which warrants the title Album of the Week. So now, I'd like to share a couple tracks from the album. From the dramatic drum roll of The Infanta, to the mournful, brilliantly written Eli, The Barrow Boy and finally the flair and grandeur of The Mariner's Revenge Song. Enjoy. Eli, The Barrow Boy The Infanta The Mariner's Revenge Song
Hello everyone, and welcome to another chilly, black Friday night on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today, instead of the regular Friday mix of new & old instrumental music, Stuart suggested that I post a couple songs that I will be covering at my very first gig. For those of you (a vast majority) who don't know, I'll be playing my first gig, as mentioned, at Dr.Disc Records on May 31st. The show will be at 3pm, and it's just an in store performance, so if you're in the neighborhood, browse through the records, and watch me play. Ah, how I love shameless self-promotion!
Anyways, here are a couple tracks that I've arranged for solo-acoustic play.
I'll be doing an acoustic version (a la José González) of this song. The vocals will be quite a bit more relaxed than The Boss', so I figured I'd post the José González version, to give you more of an idea what I'll be playing
This is a great song that I think I might have already posted before. Another song I'll be covering a la José González (man, I need to stop picking fruit from the José González tree).
I know for a fact that I posted this yesterday, but it IS on my set list, so I figured that I'd ignore my own blatant stupidity and repost. I'll basically be covering this as it is, with a bit of finger picking thrown in for flavor.
Now, some of you may already know that M.I.A used the music from The Clash's "Straight To Hell", which is a song I already know how to play. So, basically, I'm rapping this catchy-as-hell song as I play The Clash. I couldn't think of a better musical combination myself. Plus, the sweet trill solo at the end just makes it that much better.
I'll be playing this song, without all the bells and whistles (a hideous pun for your pleasure). For the record, I'll be playing it for a very special person who shares a name with the protagonist of the song.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another beautiful Thursday on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today's post will feature the band of the week, which I will announce in the upcoming paragraph. So, sit tight, and brace yourself for the unparalleled power of ... the band of the week.
Band Of The Week : Portastatic
Portastatic is an American band, formed in the early 90's by Mac McCaughan, who is the main contributor to the band. Portastatic started off as a solo project for Mr.McCaughan (of Superchunk fame) but has evolved into a full-fledged band. Since their conception in the early 90's, Portastatic has released a whopping 17 LP's & EP's. So, here's a track from their 2003 album, The Summer Of The Shark. This track was recently played on the This American Life podcast, entitled "#166: Nobody's Family Is Going to Change", which was a spectacular episode. In The Lines - Portastatic
