Make love to inanimate objects!

Music related news falls into seasonal trends almost as consistently as sports. During the summertime, news of festival performers, reunion tours, and pop-hook driven, hand-clap laden albums floods the Internet headquarters (otherwise known as your computer). As leaves begin to shade themselves like a paint-by-numbers, evergreen trees remain the same colour, and college-bound douche-bags whip out their acoustic guitars, we tend to get wordof folk-inspired Americana, of Dylan Thomas sweaters and ruffled hair, coupled with some minor chords and an amateur harmonica player. Besides those that continually break this seasonal mould, who may be just as monotonous as those who don't, we generally know what to expect of the blogosphere each season, and therefore, we have started to draw unnecessary comparisons between what an album/song sounds like, and the time of it's release. There is, thankfully, a time between. As I suffer from an obsession with all things delicately placed between A & B (I'd like to think of them as infinity!), it seems that many of my favourite artists do as well. So, while the music world takes it's much needed, but never heeded. break from the cavalcade of early September releases, andthe hectic releases that occur between Octoberand early December, those of us who aren't held by the great metaphysical cinder block that is high school (or who just don't do their homework) rejoice! Like hibernating bears, or just really strategic fat kids, we have hoarded our music like food. Alas! The time has come for us to lift up our fictitious paws/the loose floorboard near the closet and reveal the berries/Snicker's bars that we've been caressing all summer long. Enjoy yourselves!

Apparently, Geography class has lied to us all regarding the reason why there are mountains! It's a good thing none of us paid attention to that lesson.

In the depths of a foreign exotic land (known to the locals as Staten Island, New York), a group of brave and thoughtful young men decided to do what brave and thoughtful young men (usually with the accompaniment of a cute Asian keyboardist) do best: start a band. And start they did! The brain child of guitarist/voxman Joseph "Ferocious" D'Agostino and drummer Matthew Miller is called Cymbals Eat Guitars. I'm almost positive that I've ranted and raved about these men on the internet, but after finally hearing their self released debut, Why There Are Mountains, they have cemented themselves with superglue into my best new artists of the year list. Honed chops definitely peak through on this near-perfect album, mixing beautifully distorted guitar riffs with the most... fun? screaming verse that I have ever heard. Listen below!

Wind Phoenix (Live on WOXY) - Cymbals Eat Guitars

My Girls! My Boys? My gender-confused song titles?!

Imagine yourself as a burgeoning hipster in the year 2006, and your current musical obsession is a little Swedish group known as Peter, Bjorn and John. Now, imagine your shock, and utter dismay, at the fact that their hit single "Young Folks" because just that... a hit single. After completely detaching yourself from this newly dubbed "mainstream" piece of pop perfection, as well as rushing to purchase the new Jens Lekman album, you never did bother to learn whose charming, slightly lisp-afflicted, female voice that was singing on that song, did you? The name of this delightful young songstress is Victoria Bergsman (under the guise Taken By Trees), former lead singer of The Concretes. But, dear reader, how can you keep listening to her amazing music while still keeping up your pretentious front? Wait, what's that? She's covered Animal Collective on her new album? No fucking way!

My Boys - Taken By Trees

Relevant news of the universe... the Campbell's Condensed version!

- Pavement Reunite! Kid's with thick rimmed glasses shit their tight jeans!

- Weezer is releasing a new album that will most likely sound like Make Believe!

- Kanye West remains hilarious!

- Andrew Bird and St. Vincent embark on a megatron tour!

- So many fucking albums are released that I feel I must bring everyone up to speed with tomorrow's post!

- One of these albums is the highly anticipated Vampire Weekend album, which will probably still sound like the first Vampire Weekend album.

Until tomorrow?!

THFNS # 3: Lament for the Cassette

Oh, the cassette tape; teacher of trust, professor of failure, creator of confusion, lover of bubble baths. Oh, holy proprietor of youth, where art thou?
If you, like me, miss the days of bathing in the gentle hiss and splutter of cassette tapes, you may be asking your self, maybe in a less eloquent manner, the very same question. So, what happened to those days? What happened to the period of time where you could spend hours spread across the tiles, dubbing a carefully selected group of tracks for that current object of your affection? (Whether it be a man, woman, dog, cat, or mustache). In our culture of convenience, the once mighty and majestic cassette has been reduced to dollar bin thrift store material, like so many of us will be. Why did a tragic end have to come to this once heavy hitter in the music medium scene? The truth? It didn't. Cassette tapes are still alive and well today, not only snuggling the bottom of bargain bins around the world, but residing in the hearts, minds, souls and desks of people all around the world who refuse to let go of a piece of their youth.

So, how can I attempt to convince you that cassette tapes even stand a fighting chance against your "holier-than-thou" iPods? I don't have to because No Name No Slogan decided to do it for me.

http://homepage.mac.com/danielturek/PhotoAlbum50.html
Name No Slogan
So, after that convincing article, how could one STILL be against cassette tapes? (Please don't answer that question in the comment box, because I know you'll find a way to argue it)

The Importance of the Cassette

If the above subheading were to be asked in a question format, it would be a stupid fucking question. What ISN'T the importance of the cassette!? Besides being the ONLY legitimate form of mixtaping technology, the cassette tape has carved a culture onto its own in almost every country around the world.

When you take a step back and examine why cassettes have been/remain prominent in music, it's really not a difficult task. Not only are cassette tapes incredibly personal, but are a perfect way to showcase one's artistic capabilities. If you don't believe me, consider this question; how much time/effort/love does it take to drag 14 songs into an iTunes playlist, compared to the countless hours and preparation put into dubbing a cassette? Perhaps now you see what I mean.
I'm also rather convinced that the feeling one garners when dressing up their mixtape and attaching it to a snappy title is just short of ethereal.

But, you may be asking yourself, why can't I just make a mixtape and draw a cover for it? I'm certainly not stating that the cassette is superior to the CD overall, but I think it must be recogized for the indent that it left on our ability to mix our own music, and for leading the way for CD's and MP3's as well.

Therefore, I think a couple songs that have nothing at all to do with cassette tape are in order, to celebrate the tape in all it's spasmodical glory!

Swimming in Hiss, Drowning in Fidelity;
A Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Celebration/Lament for the Cassette!

Bein' Green (en francais) - Andrew Bird

Starting Over - The Black Lips

All The Weird Kids Know - Built By Snow

So, in conclusion, what's the best part about cassettes?!

Never knowing which side is side A.

Love,
Norman J. Nehmetallah

And who the deuce can parler-vous a cow?

How You Gonna Keep Em' Down on the Farm - Andrew Bird


"Reuben, Reuben, I’ve been thinking,”
said his wifey dear;
“Now that all is peaceful and calm,
soon our boys will be back on the farm.”
Mister Reuben started winking,
and slowly rubbed his chin;
he pulled his chair up close to Mother,
asked her with a grin:

How ya gonna keep 'em down, oh no?
How ya gonna keep 'em down, oh no, oh no
How ya gonna keep 'em away from Broadway?
Jazzin' around,
and painting the town?
How ya gonna keep 'em
away from harm?
That’s the mystery;

They’ll never want to see a rake or a plow,
and who the deuce can parley-vous a cow?
And how ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm
after they’ve seen Paris?

“Reuben, Reuben, you’re mistaken,”
said his wifey dear;
“Once a farmer, always a jay, and
farmers always stick to the hay.”
“Mother Reuben, I’m not fakin',
though you may think it strange.
But wine and women play the mischief,
with a boy who’s loose with change!”

Oh, how ya gonna keep ’em down,
oh no, oh no
oh, how ya gonna keep 'em down?
How ya gonna keep 'em away from Broadway?
Jazzin' around,
and painting the town?
How ya gonna keep ’em away from harm?
that’s the mystery

Imagine Reuben when he meets his pa;
he'll pinch his cheek and holler "Ooh la la!"
How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm
after they've seen Paris, Paris?

I went in where the makeup girl came through, I waited there for ages, I waited there for you

Hello dear world, and welcome to another beautiful October evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. I've got quite a post in store for you today, whoever you may be, and it will include the following; the  new Andrew Bird album, some completely random youtube videos (which I think I should make a weekly feature?), and part two of the oh-so good Official Autumn Mixtape. So, scroll the page down, and continue reading this week's edition of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice.

Andrew Bird, My Heart Belongs To You

If you're a human being, or a reader of this blog (hopefully, you're both), then you are completely aware of my ... obsession, of sorts, with a mister Andrew Bird. It all started when, let's see, The Mysterious Production of Eggs came out, in whatever year it came out. After hearing the opening lines of Sovay, I knew it was love at first listen.

So, it is time again for Andrew, or Mr.Bird as I'd prefer to call him, to release a new album after the success of last year's fantastic Armchair Apocrypha. Anyways, the new album will be called Noble Beast, and it'll drop January 27th (coincidentally, this is also the date I will be at Dr.Disc purchasing it). From what I've heard of this album, a good portion, I may add, it is pretty spectacular. 

I'll leave you, the dedicated reader, with a track from the new album, entitled "Oh No". Also, if you're wondering whether Mr.Andrew "Whistlin'" Bird delivered the goods on the whistling front on this song ... well, we'll just say he did. Take a listen and see what you think.

Oh No - Andrew Bird

Here's the fantastic track list for Noble Beast;

1 Oh No

2 Masterswarm

3 Fitz and Dizzyspells

4 Effigy

5 Tenuousness

6 Nomenclature

7 Not a Robot, But a Ghost

8 Anonanimal

9 Natural Disaster

10 Confess

11 Souverian

12 On Ho!

And now, a NEW feature!

As all of you should know by now, I'm pretty notorious for adding/taking away multitudes of fun little features on this here blog. This occasion is no different. Lately, I've been getting the urge to post random videos from YouTube on here, just because I've found them very interesting (if you look backwards, you can see that I sometimes act on these impulses). Therefore, I think it's only appropriate to do this every week. So, for the first time in history, I'd like to preset to you, the people, an Official Looks Like Coffee Tastes Like Juice Feature: Random YouTube Videos. The link brings you straight to the page.

Conjunction Junction - Schoolhouse Rock

Flight 180 (Live) - Bishop Allen

The Old Prince Still Lives At Home - Shad

The Green Fields of France - Dropkick Murphys

and finally ...

An Actor's Revenge - Destroyer, Final Fantasy & Cadence Weapon

That wasn't so bad, now, was it?

Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Autumn; The Official Autumn Mixtape Part 2

(P.S I'm on my sister's laptop, which explains the limited song selection)

1. California Dreamin' - The Beach Boys

2. Blue Flower/ Blue Flame - Destroyer

3. Behind Blue Eyes - The Who [who I'll be witnessing live in 16 days!]

4. Dust Flowers - Norman Nehmetallah [this is just a really rough demo that I recorded about 7 months ago, as an idea for a song]

That's all for this week, expect parts 3 to 1999994432544 soon.

Til' Next Week

Gentle hum of the old machines

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to a lovely, albeit boring Sunday, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. If anybody has been wondering (I'm sure none of you have), with the end of the summer behind us, the schedule, that ever changing, spontaneous, rarely followed schedule that I've made for myself, might actually be followed. That means the following will/might happen; a) a post every Sunday b) a post every Thursday and c) sporadic posts during the week. Hopefully, I can get out of my bad habit and actually start to follow that schedule. Anyways, now that I'm done rambling about my many shortcomings, I might as well get to the actual post. There's quite a bit of news in the music world this week, so be prepared for a long ass post. Enjoy.

Oh No Oh My!

Oh No! Oh My!, the fantastic Austin band, known primarily for their crazy catchy song "Walk In The Park", will be releasing their newest album in October. Yup, THIS October. Although, they ARE giving it away to several hundred fans, based on how many times they've listened to the band's material on Last.FM (Of course, I stopped using mine last week). So, if you're a Last.FM user, and subsequently an Oh No! Oh My! fan, then you might want to get on that.

Anyway, here's two tracks that will be featured on the release, straight from the Daytrotter session they did a while ago.

Be A Star - Oh No! Oh My!

Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman - Oh No! Oh My!

New Mountain Goats EP Featuring Kaki King

Instead of explaining it myself, I'll be just as lazy as Pitchfork, and just copy and paste from John Darnielle's website;

"The new Mountain Goats EP-- the one I mentioned a few weeks back, with the limited gatefold vinyl and the special cover art and the pay-whatcha-like download option (about which we'll tell you more once we sort everything out)-- is called Satanic Messiah. It has four songs on it, one per side at 45 rpm, the way God intended. Two songs are mainly piano and voice; the other two are mainly acoustic guitar and voice. This is the lineup:

A1 Satanic Messiah
A2 Wizard Buys a Hat
B1 Sarcofago Live
B2 Gojam Province 1968

The other news-- at which I hinted on my Flickr, here-- is that Kaki King and I, under a cloak of great secrecy, snuck into Baucom Road studios in western North Carolina last month and recorded the six-song Black Pear Tree EP together with Scott Solter producing. The record is presently at the pressing plant and the idea is to have copies ready on vinyl for tour, with a sleeve designed by Horse & Buggy press, and the first 200 on colored vinyl. People who know how I feel about Kaki's music can imagine what an honor it was for me to get to work with her. Here are the songs we played:

A1 Black Pear Tree
A2 Mosquito Repellent
A3 Bring our Curses Home
A1 Supergenesis
B2 Roger Patterson Van
B3 Thank You Mario but our Princess Is in Another Castle

We are both really excited to share this record with everybody. So excited in fact that here's one of the songs. On this one, I played piano and sang; Kaki played drums and glockenspiel, and also sang harmony. The song is sung from the point of view of Toad. If you know who Toad is, that's all I'll need to tell you. If you don't who Toad is, you better recognize."

There's no way to describe to you, in words at least, how excited I am about this. So, instead of using words, here's a track from the new album.

Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle - The Mountain Goats & Kaki King

Andrew Bird; A Non Animal?

Andrew Bird, the fantastic multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, Illinois, will be releasing his newest album, A Non Animal, sometime in 2009. For those of you who don't know anything about Andrew Bird (SHAME ON YOU!), here's a bit of info, shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia.

"Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Chicago and currently splits his time between Chicago and a farm near the town of Elizabeth in northwest Illinois. His musical proficiency includes competency in the violin, whistling, guitar, mandolin, and glockenspiel. "

Mr.Bird has released 10, 3 of those are live albums, and A Non Animal is scheduled to be his eleventh. Not much is known about this album, expect for the fact that it will have 10 songs, three of which have been played live, and that the release will be followed by an all instrumental album.

New Andrew Bird Songs Via You Ain't No Picasso

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah To Release A New Album, Probably On A Tuesday

Not much is known about the new album that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are currently recording. With that said, what we do know is that are playing a whole slew of shows on Tuesday, and ONLY Tuesdays. Which leads me to believe that their new album could be released on a Tuesday?

Well, that's all for this week.

Til' Next Week