Rapture Ready, I Gazed At The Body!

Good morning, sovereign nation! It is currently 11:18 A.M, which is approximately the time that a young man should be creating puddles of drool in the middle of his math textbook, paying his unfounded dues to the faceless monster that is the hierarchy of education! Yet, on this gloriously foggy morning, I have defeated that faceless monster. For 24 hours. Yes, I am at home "sick"! If your definition of sick is similar to mine, i.e lazy, achy, full of Kraft Dinner, bombarded with new music, then you can probably take those quotations off of sick! In my fragile state, I've been all over the musical map, and decided that this morning, I would veer away from the "New York - California" theme, put down my Hot ChocQuil (which is my newly patented mixture of hot chocolate and NyQuil!), and let your pretty little fingers delve deep into my recent listening habits! Please listen responsibly!

The Necessarily Poppy Prequel to Elusive, Wispy Autumn Mixtape! (Ease up on the adjectives, Norman!)

Lightning Strikes The Postman - The Flaming Lips!

The Flaming Lips have been very persistent in the battle to win over my listener-ship! All their efforts are fruitless though, because I have been an obsessive-to-the-point-of-alarming fan since the first ten seconds of "With You" on their first album, Hear It Is. Relentless in their awe-inspiring disregard for knowing how to technically play instruments well, the Flaming Lips are kicking the shit out of my ear canals today! This song is off of their 1995 masterpiece, Clouds Taste Metallic.

Lately - BOAT

There are certain instances when the hair of a fifteen year old boy, which may be one of the least delicate things in the universe, next to the hands of an experienced miner, can be completely misshapen by a pair of monumental headphones. This sacrifice of hair-form is completely acceptable when it's caused by four chords, and a song that screams for good times in the verse, and saves the bad times for the bridge.

BOAT have just recently released their new LP, entitled Setting the Paces! I'll give you a little a piece of advice: go find it. Whatever environmental shit you need to muddle through, find this record. It's worth it.

She Will Only Bring You Happiness - Mclusky

The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire.
This song is terrific.
I wouldn't lie to you.
Listen to it!

Walk on Water - Midnight Masses

The damage is done.

Rejoice, readers! Football season is almost finished, or as the french would say, terminated!
What does that mean?! I will have a whole slew of time just ripe to force my opinions and impeccable tastes upon you!

Remember, at least you'll die humming pop songs!

THFNS # 2: The Inevitable 90's Post

Happy Easter, to those of you who celebrate Easter, and Happy Sunday, to those of you who do not. Good evening (to those of you who celebrate the evening) and welcome to the second post in THFNS! I know that this post was supposed to be published in the middle of last week, but when I took a step back and actually reviewed the 90's, as a decade of music and film, in my mind, I realized it was far to vast to finish in an hour or so after school. Alas, now it is Sunday eve' though, and I am fully prepared to take on this enormous task. Enjoy it.

The 90's:

What do I think of when my restless mind flashes over the 90's!? Despite being born right in the middle of the decade, being too late to actually enjoy the luxuries of the 90's, the decade that I'm currently absorbed in is teeming with 90's nostalgia. So, let's take a peak at what exactly made the 90s become so nostalgic so quickly.

As well as being a fantastic (which really just depends on how you look at it) decade for music, the 90's also marked the beginning/ending of a whole slew of ... shit. Confused? Yeah, well, I made a little list.

An Unreasonably Lengthy List Of Things That "Went Down" In The 90s:

• The wonderful poison that is the Internet became widespread, and the unholy blessing that is personal computers became common (I'm willing to bet that the pornography business skyrocketed).
• The U.S, Canada, Europe and Asia became filthy fucking rich. Look to the previous post for one of the many reasons why.
  
• The Soviet Union FINALLY fell.
• Berlin Wall fell in Germany, leading to a reuniting of the country.
• The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on January 1, 1994, creating a North American free trade zone consisting of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
• The Rwandan Genocide which began on April 6, 1994 until mid-July 1994 results in serious criticism of the United Nations and major countries for failing to stop the genocide.
• Human Genome Project began.
• Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, brown dwarfs, and first confirmation of black holes.
• Apple introduces the iMac computer, initiating a trend in computer design towards translucent plastics and multicolor case design, discontinuing many legacy technologies like serial ports, and beginning a resurgence in the company's fortunes that continues unabated to this day.
• The console wars, primarily between Sega (Sega Mega Drive (marketed as the Sega Genesis in North America, introduced in 1988) and Nintendo (Super NES, introduced in 1990), sees the entrance of Sony with the PlayStation in 1994, which becomes the first successful CD-based console (as opposed to cartridges). By the end of the decade, Sega's hold on the market becomes tenuous after the end of the Saturn in 1998 and the Dreamcast in 2001.
• Pokémon entered the world scene with the release of the original Game Boy Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games in Japan in 1996, later changed to Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue for worldwide release in 1998. It soon becomes popular in the U.S. and is adapted into a popular children's anime series and trading card game, among other media forms. Its popularity remains well into the 2000s with several new games and spin-offs.
• In 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. Increasing acceptance of homosexuality occurs in the western world throughout the 1990s.
• Development of the free Linux kernel is started by Linus Torvalds in Finland.
• The U.S. animated television comedy series The Simpsons becomes a huge domestic and international success in the 1990s as well as the longest-running American animated series.
• US president Bill Clinton was caught in a media-frenzied sex scandal over his intern Monica Lewinsky, first announced on January 21, 1998. After the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Clinton on December 19, 1998 for perjury under oath, following an investigation by federal prosecutor Kenneth Starr, the Senate acquitted Clinton of the charges on February 12, 1999 and he finished his second term.
• The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado when two student gunmen killed 12 students, a teacher and then committed suicide, making it the deadliest high school shooting in United States history.
• Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G. are the most publicized music-related deaths of the decade, in 1991, 1994, 1996, and 1997 respectively.
• Seinfeld becomes highly popular.

The 90s in Music!:

When one thinks of the music of the 90s, one genre may come to mind quicker than others. That genre, of course, is grunge. Have you just slipped out of your mothers womb, or do you have another valid reason for not knowing what grunge is? We're here to help.

Grunge, which stemmed from "alternative" rock, emerged in the mid-80s around the D.C area, especially in Seattle. The basic themes and influence of grunge were the DIY ethics of the punk scene, metal scene and indie scene. The grunge scene formed itself around the independent Seattle label Sub Pop (for Subterranean Pop), but later became commercially successful with the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. In case you're wondering, the word grunge means "dirty" or "filthy". This term stemmed from the sound of the music, and from the unkempt hair, flannel shirts, and generally unwashed appearance of the scenesters. Grunge's most prominent bands were Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam.

Another genre of music that rose to popularity in this decade was Gangsta Rap and Hip hop. One of the main differences between Hip hop and Grunge is the fact that Hip hop has managed to stay relevant and incredibly popular today. At the beginning of the 90s, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice make hip hop popular to the pop audience, and mark the beginning of hip hop's so far permanent place in pop music. Cliques start to form within the Hip hop industry, with feuds starting, and ending, between artists such as Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur.

The last prominent genre of music that rose to popularity in the 90s was Indie Rock and it's many subgenres. One of the most prominent subgenre of indie (which stands for independent) music was the lo-fi genre. This included artists such as Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices, Pavement, and Neutral Milk Hotel, who recorded low fidelity music.

What was that? Do you vaguely recall a genre of music from the 90's that I haven't mentioned?
Well, it's called Boy Bands/Girl Bands, and I think it's closer to bat shit than music.

An Official Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape: The 90s, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love The Internet

01 American Music - Violent Femmes
02 Lucifer Rising - The Flaming Lips
03 Gold Star for Robot Boy - Guided By Voices
04 Tundra/Desert - Modest Mouse
05 Box Elder - Pavement
06 Life Goes On - 2Pac
07 Without a Face - Rage Against The Machine
08 Between The Bars - Elliott Smith
09 Common People - Pulp
10 N.Y State of Mind - NAS
11 El Scorcho - Weezer
12 The Long Cut - Uncle Tupelo
13 Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
14 Bleach - Nirvana (Reissued in 1992)

Enjoy!

The raincoat you wore, I think it only made it rain more.

Good evening universe, and welcome to another fantastically Sunday evening, here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. This week has been just as hectic and inane as most other weeks of my existence, except this particular week is different. The reason this weekend is so very different, is because, for some unknown reason, Christmas is upon me. Now, I realize that it is still early November, and Christmas is a ways away. Still, something about the cold of this weekend, coupled with my 3534785430198571st viewing of A Christmas Story, has gotten me into the mood for Christmas. So, besides the regular new music goodness, today's post will include a very brief sneak preview, of what promises to be this years very extensive Christmas Mixtape.

First on the docket, we have a Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice favorite; The Decemberists.

Always The Bridesmaid; Never The Bride

The Decemberists have released their Always The Bridesmaid Vol.3 Single. The A-Side from said single, is a wonderful track entitled "Raincoat Song". It's very different from the other singles they have recently released, as it's very short, simple, and effectively sweet. Instead of giving you some inaccurate description of the song (it is objective, of course), you can listen to it here, via YouTube. Enjoy.



The Flaming Lips Share My Enthusiasm For Christmas! Yes!

I'm not even going to attempt to explain ...

The Flaming Lips YouTube Channel

The Movie's Website

The Wikipedia Page

By the looks of it (you can never really tell with those Flaming Lips) it's a movie! A science fiction movie! By The Flaming Lips! And it's about Christmas on Mars!

I'm pretty sure the unnecessary amount of exclamation marks, and the use of the words Flaming Lips and Christmas, are all you need to be convinced to buy this, or see it at the very least.

Free Radicals (Live) - The Flaming Lips

The Sneak Preview!

So, to cap off this incredibly short, and ultimately unsubstantial post, I'd like to give you a sneak preview of my Christmas Mixtape, which will be revealed in it's entirety (download-able form) in probably, about early to mid December. Voila ...

Once In David's Royal City - Sufjan Stevens

Silent Night - Tom Waits

Jinglebell Rock - The Arcade Fire

Hey Parker, It's Christmas - Ryan Adams

Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) - The Ramones

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby

... and, just to be a tease you can only download ONE of them. I know, I'm a jerk.

Have a wonderful evening.

Until Next Week?

Boy, you still got shit for a brain.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen (and of course those of you who are undecided), and welcome to a very special part 1 of Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice's Halloween Edition. Since this week has been especially slow in the music world, I figured tonight would be the perfect opportunity to write the first of a two part special edition Halloween post. The post on the actual week of Halloween will contain the bulk of the writing, so this week's post will be awfully short, but rather music filled. I decided to do this so that you'd have a kick-ass/ass-kicking Halloween mixtape for any party you may or may not be having. So, enjoy this week's tape, and prepare yourself for the magnificent post that is to come tomorrow, which will be entirely The Who-themed. The reason for this, is because I'll be seeing The Who for the first time on Tuesday.

Looks Like Super Monsters, Tastes Like Super Creeps; The Official Halloween Mixtape (Pt.1)

01 Coffin Trick - Atlas Sound
02 Halloween - Dead Kennedys
03 Halloween On The Barbary Coast - The Flaming Lips
04 Halloween - John Carpenter
05 Do They Know It's Halloween - North American Halloween Prevention Initative
06 Every Day Is Halloween - The Postmarks
07 Halloween - Ryan Adams
08 Halloween Head - Ryan Adams
09 Halloween - Sonic Youth
10 The Exorcist - Mike Oldfield
11 Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) - David Bowie
12 Psycho - Bernard Hermann

Well, enjoy the mixtape and have a fantastical week!

[Editors Note: I realize that I stated last week, I'd have a Thanksgiving post on Thanksgiving Monday. Well... I lied. Deal with it.]

Hey, Mr.Carter, Tell Me Where You Been

Hello everyone, and welcome to another brutally hot Sunday evening here on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice. I'm sitting here, marvelling at the fact that I've been wishing for this time of year to come since... well, since it ended. Now, though, I'm beginning to doubt my own desires. I'm finding myself becoming altogether annoyed with the weather, the fact I have to keep putting my guitar back in the case, on account of the humidity, and I'm tired of smelling like a pig from all the sweat which is constantly dripping down EVERY part of my body. You know what? I'm not in the mood for happy, poppy, summer music. There is no type of music called summer music, so please reframe from mentioning it! No, this is not just an annoying rant (is there any other kind?), this rant actually has a purpose. For today's post, I'm going to share a small mix of songs that have to do with the season I now find myself longing for. See if you can guess which season it is.

Autumn's Child - Devendra Banhart 

My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life As Blazing Shield Of Defiance And Optimism As Celestial Spear Of Action) - The Flaming Lips (who else)

and finally ...

Autumn Sweater - Yo La Tengo

C'mon, it's really not that hard.

Til' Tomorrow

Wires penetrate the peeling brown paint

Good evening and welcome to another Sunday on Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Coffee.

Today, I have another Sunday mixtape to aid your personal, and perhaps spiritual, advancement. It's going to feature some Silver Jews, The National and a couple other artists who are going to try and help relax you on this bright and cool Sunday. So, without further ado;

Looks Like Coffee, Tastes Like Juice Mixtape #3 ; Wires Penetrate The Peeling Brown Paint

Fake Empire - The National (Off 2007's The Boxer)

The quite dazzling, simplistic piano, accompanied only by Matt Berninger's smooth baritone, set the perfect mood for the song. About 1 minute into the whole ordeal an array of different instruments are slowly introduced and right at the instrumental climax, the song quickly fades out. Audio ecstasy.

Random Rules - Silver Jews (Off 1998's American Water)

This is actually the track that turned me on to Silver Jews. Full of lines that make you sort of shudder, then laugh, as you wonder if this is actually real. Just listen to the opening line (In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection.) and you'll know exactly why I find this song so appealing.

Go - Sparklehorse Ft. The Flaming Lips (Off 2004's The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered)

A beautiful rendition of one of my favorite Daniel Johnston songs, this version features both The Flaming Lips and Sparklehorse. With very relaxing, somewhat ambient instrumentals and prominent violin, it seems as if they've only taking Mr.Johnston's lyrics and created something really different. The TRUE purpose of a cover.

Seems Like Home To Me - Two Gallants (Off 2007's The Scenery Of Farewell)

If you fall into any of these categories; A) a cowboy; B) a wannabe cowboy; or C) a person, then there is no reason you shouldn't enjoy this song. With the beautiful harmonies pushed out by strained, rough vocals and sparingly finger-picked guitar, these track makes for a beautiful driving song.

Passin' Through - The Walkmen (Unreleased Leonard Cohen Cover via Daytrotter)

This is a cover of one of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs. Now, it's done exactly a la Leonard Cohen, they've not changed a thing in the arrangement or lyrics, but it still holds a unique quality to it that I cannot place. It's the perfect track for being still and listening.

This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine - Final Fantasy (Off 2004's Has A Good Home)

I tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to keep the crowds AWAY.
A brilliant track from Owen Pallett A.K.A Final Fantasy, I believe that Final Fantasy is perfect to listen to on a Sunday, or any other day of the week for that matter. Featuring some fantastic violin and rather bare vocals, this concludes this weeks Sunday Mixtape.

yojnE