And lay them down, buried in the ground for me.

Hello there, dear world, and welcome to another week of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. It's currently a beautiful Sunday night, as I sit and write this, made even more beautiful by the confirmation that I'll be leaving the country soon. Yes, on Thursday, two thirds of my household will be going to Florida. I'm very excited for this, seeing as the preferred portion of my family lives in Florida (I'm only joking... sort of), and I haven't been there since I was 8 years old. This is leaving me quite excited to experience all the Florida-esque things that I wasn't able to previously experience. So, with the promise of a VERY upbeat post tonight,we trudge onward! Tonight we'll be bringing you some Fleet Foxes and Jonathan Richman.

Fleet Foxes

I think it's pretty fair to say that Fleet Foxes, who are a five-piece Seattle band, have definitely exploded onto the "scene". They have recently (June 3rd) released their debut album, which is entitled Fleet Foxes, which has been pleasantly received by many major publications. Did I say pleasantly? Excuse, I meant, FUCKING RIDICULOUSLY PLEASANT. Yeah, Pitchfork gave it a solid 9, Rolling Stone a solid 4 and many other publications have slapped a perfect 10 on this little ditty. So, if you're thinking to yourself, "Does this band really deserve this massive amount of hype?". Well, my friends, the answer is yes.

Don't take my word for it. Enjoy these videos/mp3's, courtesy of Pitchfork and Daytrotter.

English House - Fleet Foxes



Sun It Rises - Fleet Foxes

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

Jonathan Richman

Oh, New England! That's right, a new Jonathan Richman album. So, for those of you who (suck and) don't know about Mr. Richman, care to be enlightened? I think so.

Jonathan Richman, is a fifty seven year old man born in Natick, Massachusetts, but is mostly known for the Boston punk band that he started, The Modern Lovers. The Modern Lovers, who were greatly influenced by The Velvet Underground, have developed a cult following since their breakup in 1974.

Now, about the album.

On April 22nd, 2008, Jonathan Richman released his newest album, without much publicity outside the internet. It draws upon similar styles as his other solo efforts, but this album is very different. For there is one serious emotion that is not quite prominent in other Richman works, that seems to be quite prominent in this one. That emotion is melancholy (I couldn't just say sadness, I gave it such a wonderful lead-in). It is quite evident that Mr.Richman has lost a loved one, possibly his mother. We can clearly hear Jonathan abandon what's "cool" and lay his suffering down on the table.

So, now, with out any more hype from a delusional Jonathan Richman devotee (I'm a bit biased, I suppose), here's a track from the new album, and a video for an old classic. Enjoy.

Jonathan Richman MySpace

New England - The Modern Lovers



As My Mother Lay Lying - Jonathan Richman



Thank you for reading.

The next time you hear from me, I'll be in Florida. Chances are, you won't be. It feels good.

Til' Next Week

Don’t tell my family, they’re all wicked-strict Christian

Good evening everybody, and welcome to another week of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Before I start this week's post, I'd like to mention that I've gotten some good feedback about the last post, and I've decided to add a new post every Thursday. These will be very short posts, occurring every Thursday, serving as a mid-week update before the regular Sunday posts. I hope you enjoy the new feature. Alright, anyways, today's post will feature some The Hold Steady, who has released their new album, Stay Positive; Karen O (of The Yeah Yeah Yeah's fame)'s new side project; and some Elf Power. Enjoy!

The Hold Steady; Stay Positive


The Hold Steady have always been a band who are not ashamed of their classic rock influences. While other bands have always tried very hard to mask these influences, often to no avail, The Hold Steady have remained true to their influences. On their recent album though, Stay Positive, we see the band going through a subtle change, balancing out their sound. This has revealed a more mature side to the band, and their songs in turn are becoming much more diverse. Lead vocalist, Craig Finn, continues to dive fantastically in and out of the songs, narrating wildly in his signature (but not uncommon) nasally style, seeming more like a storyteller on speed than a lead vocalist.

We're also finding The Hold Steady revisiting their early lyrical topics, such as murder and, well, things that usually associated with murder. What is surprising about this return is not the fact that they're returning to these topics, but instead the fact that they've managed to keep it sounding fresh and interesting. We also find the band widening their instrumental breadth as well, with the new album featuring some odd instruments such as harpsichord, theremin and banjo (provided by none other then J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. fame).

When the day is over though, Stay Positive is just that, a reason to stay positive, a promise of exciting prospects and more diverse music, as we watch the band evolve and mature. So, enjoy a couple songs from the new album.

Stay Positive - The Hold Steady

Slapped Actress - The Hold Steady (yet another brilliant album closer)

Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets

Karen O, lead vocalist of yet another New York-based band, The Yeah Yeah Yeah's, has recently revealed that she has started a side project, which is entitled (as the subtitle suggests) Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets. She describes the songs as "spare, lo-fi love songs, written over the last two years", "to be performed with a motley crew of NYC natives". Sound exciting? Eh, not really, at least not to myself, as I've never really gotten into the Yeah Yeah Yeah's myself. From what I've heard though (via their myspace and the upcoming track) this is a valid sideproject and has nothing at all to do with the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. The sound is completely opposite and we even find Ms. O taking a slightly different, more laid-back vocal approach. Oh yeah, and if you're wondering, these songs have nothing to do with the widely circulated leak of an album she made for a member of TV On The Radio.

Take my favorite of her songs, Rapt. It's exactly as she described the project, a spare, lo-fi love song.

Rapt - Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets

Elephant Elfs?

This week's featured band will be the wonderful Elf Power. In case you're blissfully unaware (which you shouldn't be!) of Elf Power, I'll provide some backround information.

Elf Power was formed in Athens, Georgia, in the year 1994. They are part of the Elephant 6 Collective, which spawned such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal (two favorites of mine). Here is some information on the band, directly from Wikipedia;

" The band began as a four-track recording project of Rieger, his girlfriend Carter, Raleigh Hatfield and Dave Wrathgeber, later of Fablefactory. The recording sessions eventually resulted in the first incarnation of their album Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs, following some small self-released cassette recordings. The band became more formally realized when Reiger and Carter had Bryan Poole, known as The Late B.P. Helium, joined the band. They played some shows and continued to record, but Poole stayed in Athens to continue work with Of Montreal while Rieger and Carter moved to New York City.

Upon their move to New York, The Winter Hawk EP was released, and Rieger and Carter were convinced to move back to Athens. There, the band's second album, When the Red King Comes was recorded and released as a joint venture between the Arena Rock Recording Co. and the Elephant Six label. The album featured contributions by members of The Olivia Tremor Control, Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal, and Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel."

A noteworthy fact about the band is that they've released a startling 12 albums and 2 Eps to date. Here's a bit of Elf Power, from their recently released album In A Cave, to help you get through your week.

A Tired Army - Elf Power

Window to Mars - Elf Power

So, that's all for this week. Stay tuned for the mid-week update on Thursday.

Thanks for reading.

Til' Next Week.

Send me that pillow, oh, the one that you dream on.

Hello friends, and welcome to another beautiful Friday evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. This post marks a very drastic change in the procedure, well, basically the entire format, of this here blog. If you've wondered, and this is assuming you're a regular reader, why I've been late/lazy with many of the post's this month, it all has to do with this drastic change.

As some of you may already know, this year I've decided to start focusing on a musical career. I've also decided that there would be no better time to work on an album then this summer, seeing as I'm out of school until Sept.2nd. This has kept me very busy (though not as busy as I'd like, forgive me for all the foreshadowing, I''m getting to the point) and has taken up a good portion of my time. So, with this is mind, I've made the decision to update the schedule of this blog. From now on, there will only be ONE post a WEEK, and it will be up every Sunday (Including this Sunday). Each post will be a collage of recent, old and brand new music and music related news. Each post will also be much more colorful, detailed and they will all be consistently longer (and will include more MP3's). I think this could be a great solution to the problem of posts of declining quality, written by an exhausted and tired Yours Truly. Also, if you're wondering about the other contributors to the blog (Joseph and Stuart, respectively), they may post sporadically, with no regard to my weekly posts.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think in the comment box, because I actually care about your opinion. By the way, this is going to run for 4 weeks, at which time I will conduct a detailed assessment and judge whether to keep the once-a-week format, or devise another brilliant scheme.

Oh! Music! I actually almost forgot about that. Here are a couple random tracks to tie you over until Sunday. I hope you enjoy.

Devils & Dust - Bruce Springsteen

the next great excuse - death via dream via sleep 

[Note: This song/band is actually just a bunch of percussive loops I put together from GarageBand today, late at night, as I was babysitting. I don't plan on releasing or making any(more) music under this name.]

Somebody Kill Me - Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer)

Til' Sunday

I'm just doing, what I'm being told.

Hello everyone, long time no see, I guess? It's been a rather long time since I've blogged, but for tonight, Norman asked me to write a post and I accepted his offer. Some of you may know we've been done school for quite some time now, and I'm happy to say that I'll never walk into another elementary school for the rest of my life. Lately I've been working on my guitar skills and I do believe that I'm getting better. Another thing that has happened to me lately was that my iTunes decided to be a little pain in the rear end, and decided to delete all my music. That's how my summer is going, if anyone was wondering. Well, let's get into the music now.

The band that I will be writing about will be The White Stripes. They are in my top five favorite bands of all time. They have so much to offer to us, and some people just take them for granted. A cool thing about them is that the lead singer and the guitar player and one of the only two band members, grew up in Detroit just a couple of minutes away from where I live. Really guys words can't describe how much I love them, they just have this little ... I don't know how to explain it. Only your ears can tell you, and mine say they are awesome. Here is a song from the band, I hope you guys can enjoy them as much as I do.

The Hardest Button To Button - The White Stripes

I was sick of America, and her screaming decay

Good evening world, how are you? Welcome to another beautiful Tuesday evening, here on your favorite (or least favorite, doesn't really bother me) blog, Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Before I start tonight's post, I'd just like to say that I've noticed a significant (emphasis) lack of comments on these recent posts, so, please speak up! I'm getting the feeling I'm not controversial enough, so I might have to work on that (I'm talking Nazi Propaganda controversial). Anyways, let's go forth to le post!

Band of the Day; The Shins

The Shins, who used to be a relatively unknown band, have grown into greater prominence these last couple years. They have been prominently helped along by their contribution to the Garden State soundtrack, which was a massive success. For those of you who don't know;

The Shins is an indie rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon in the year 1997. They are signed to Sub Pop Records, which is based in Seattle, and their music encompasses many genres and styles. The Shins grew out of the lo-fi band Flake (Music), which featured the vocalist/guitarist James Mercer and the other members of The Shins. The band, under the names Flake Music and The Shins, have released 4 albums.

So, enjoy a bit o' Shins tonight.

The Shins - Flake Music

Girl Inform Me - The Shins

Til' Tomorrow

Shacked up with a poet, no it wasn't my department

Hello friends, and welcome to another beautiful Monday evening post, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Tonight's post, for me at least, is a very sad one, as the father of a friend of mine has just passed away. Although, I've never met him, spare maybe seeing him a couple times, I'm sure he was a wonderful man, who'll be missed by all. I've also never been to a visitation either, so I'm rather nervous about that. Anyways, on to the post.

Tonight's band to be showcased is none other than (you KNOW you've heard of them) Harvey Danger. For those of you who are humming the lines to "Flagpole Sitta" right now, here's a bit of background information;

Harvey Danger formed in Seattle, circa 1992, and play rock music. They had a major hit with the above mentioned song, and then went on a five year, hiatus. They have recently, if you can call 2005 recently, made a startling comeback with their 2005 album, which was available for free on their website, Little By Little ...

Well, that's about it for tonight, enjoy this track.

Wine, Women And Song - Harvey Danger

Til' Tomorrow

Be-Bop Be-Bop A Lula

Good afternoon friends, and welcome to another Sunday (makeup post for Saturday, there will be another tonight) afternoon, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. I don't know if it's the beautiful weather, the lack of responsibility/routine, my elongated hours of sleep, or just the summer in general, but something is causing me to become, well, excruciatingly lazy. So, I apologize that some of these posts have not been as timely as they usually are, and I also apologize for the shortness of this post.

Now, I really don't have much time, so I'm just going to post two songs that have been on heavy rotation on my music player of choice. Alright, the first part of that sentence was a lie. I admit now that I have NOTHING else to do, yet I chose to do nothing, rather then to occupy myself with a mindless post. I'd rather write tonight, when I feel up to it. Now, this has been a bit self-centered, hasn't it? I'll make up for it tonight.

Party Of Special Things To Do (Captain Beefheart Cover) - The White Stripes

I'm Not A Young Man Anymore - The Velvet Underground

Til' Tonight

you killed me with a kiss, like a glorious fight I wished I'd missed

Hello dear friends, and welcome to another beautiful, breezy Saturday afternoon, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for this post not being posted last night, and I WILL be posting twice today, this being the first. Alright, now, I'll get on with it.

The Broken Social Scene concert that I attended last night was absolutely fucking fantastic. Spare a couple misdemeanors, like Kevin Drew going off about Barack Obama, an annoying kid doing air-guitar on the stage, and the guy behind me yelling for them to play a song (and Kevin Drew actually playing it at the end). Besides those last couple points, the concert was pretty damn respectable. They played for about an hour and a half, and a member of the equally fantastic Do Make Say Think joined them for the evening. It's also interesting to note that Kevin Drew threw his back out earlier in the day, and before a couple painkillers and cough syrup, he spent a good portion of the concert in his seat.

So, here are a couple live BSS tracks, and two videos.

Enjoy.

Looks Just Like The Sun (Live) - Broken Social Scene

Shampoo Suicide (Live) - Broken Social Scene

Casue = Time



Fire Eye'd Boy



Til' Tonight

Shot at the sun with a gun

Hello friends, and welcome to another evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Tonight has been a fantastic evening, as I've witnessed two concerts by two wonderful bands, both for free. In the following paragraph(s) I will provide some details, reviews, MP3's and videos about both of these bands.

Tally Hall

My evening began around 7 pm, as I stumbled into the Motor City Casino Stage, and glanced upon a band who were currently occupying the stage. After looking at the rooster, I did not expect this "Tally Hall" to be much good, but after about five minutes, I was proven very wrong. The guys definitely had their live act down pat. They were eccentric, witty, captivating and all that shit. You may not really grasp the power of their live shows from the two videos and MP3 below, but believe me, they are definitely a band to see live. By the way, they are from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Ruler of Everything



Spring and a Storm



Dream - Tally Hall

The Zombies

The Zombies, who were the main event which I had come to watch, were as fantastic as I expected. There were, though, some things I did not expect; a) that I would see 20 year olds and 60 year olds head banging to the same band, b) that the lead singer of the Zombies could still belt it out like it was 1967, and c) that the new tunes would be just as good as the new tunes. So, all in all, today's concert going experience, and the second day of the Comerica Cityfest, were both huge successes in my eyes.

A Rose for Emily (Live)



Expect much more tomorrow, including Broken Social Scene, and a list of upcoming concerts.

Til' Tomorrow

Thank Jebus for Detroit!

Hello everyone, and welcome to a beautiful Wednesday evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Before I start this post, I'd like you to direct your attention, if you haven't done so already, to two posts down. This is my Canada Day post, which was a pretty good one at that, that was overshadowed by Josephs LATE Monday post. Tsk, Tsk. It's alright though. Anyways, now, I believe it's time for today's post.

I love, love, love, love, love Detroit.

"love

(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates> b: an assurance of love "

For those of you who are unaware, Comerica Cityfest 2008 is currently underway. It is an amazing celebration of Detroit(s) (somewhat dying economy), and there is lots of free music and food. The highlighted words here are FREE MUSIC. Not just shitty free music either, I'm talking big time acts. If anybody is interested in the shows that I'll be attending, here they are:

THURSDAY, JULY 3rd, 2008

8:30 PM

The Zombies Featuring Colin Blunston & Rod Argent

Motor City Casino Stage

FRIDAY, JULY 4th, 2008

8:30 PM

Broken Social Scene

Motor City Casino Stage

SATURDAY, JULY 5th, 2008

7:00 PM

The Muggs

Pure Detroit Stage

8:30 PM

Calexico

Motor City Casino Stage

Can I get a hell yes?

So, tomorrow you can expect a full review of The Zombies concert; it looks like it will be a good one.

Anyways, here is a fantastic track from The Wall to tie you over until the undead post tomorrow.

Nobody Home - The Wall

Til' Tomorrow

What's it going to be then, eh?

Hello all once again on this wonderful night, something I think that this blog needs more of is classical music. Well today I'm pulling out two more tracks from my Clockwork Orange Soundtrack before it's dried up for good. Today we are having some Wendy Carlos and Gioacchino Rossini so enjoy and have a good night.

Giocchino Rossini- The Thieving Magpie

Wendy Carlos- Title Music from A Clockwork Orange

Those who love Zeppelin will soon betray Floyd, I pass off these couplets in honor of the void.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another fantastic Tuesday evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. Today is not like any other Tuesday, though, it is a rather special Tuesday. For those of you who don't reside in the same country as I, which is probably a good number of you, you may not be aware that today is a holiday. Alas, today is Canada Day! So, I figured I would do what this blog generally does for holidays, no matter how big or small, and post a couple tracks that will aid you in your celebrations.

I Refuse To Put The Word Eh! In This Mix Title; A Canada Day Mix
** All Canadian Artists

Skinny Boy - Amy Milan

Crown of Love - The Arcade Fire

KC Accidental (Live) - Broken Social Scene

Dead Ends - Chad VanGaalen

A Dangerous Woman Up To A Point - Destroyer

Peach, Plum, Pear (Joni Mitchell Cover) - Final Fantasy (A double Canadian whammy!)

The Partisan - Leonard Cohen

So, enjoy your Canada Day!

Til' Tomorrow