The In-Between
Coffee and TV - Blur
It’s been very windy and rainy for me all day, and all I can think about is a walking milk carton. This is one of those instances where the brain makes weird connections, like some kind of relation between things that really don’t make any sense together. Nearly every time it rains, I think back to Blur’s “Coffee and TV”, specifically the sentient milk carton that the accompanying music video follows. While said milk carton goes through a lot (and I mean a LOT) of rough stuff, he never actually encounters the rain, something I swore I remembered happening! Well, I can tell you the one thing I know for sure is that “Coffee and TV” is one heck of a great song for any day, rain or shine.
It’s a tune that I think lives perfectly within the realm of the in-between. I wouldn’t call it happy but I wouldn’t call it sad. I wouldn’t call it bright, but I wouldn’t call it gloomy. I wouldn’t call it loud but I wouldn’t call it quiet. (You get the picture.) Despite my mental connection of this song and rain, I actually think “Coffee and TV” is sort of like a cold sunny day, something that feels one way but could also be another.
The track has a great groove to it, an optimal beat to nod your head and move your shoulders to. There’s something melancholy about the vocals, and I’ve got a feeling I get that from the gentle way the words are sung. And what words they are!! As I’ve said before, I like to focus on the way stuff sounds rather than the words here at Ear Bites, but man are there some beautiful lines in here. I really think it reads like a poem, simple lines that are left simple to have a deep impact. There’s lots going on under the surface too, especially with the guitars in the chorus. The strumming pattern stays similar to how it is in the verses, but the chords are strange and filled with tension, something that I think makes the listener even more engaged. It gets me every time, a small detail that never hesitates to get my eyebrow up in a second. Then we’ve got the interlude, featuring a guitar sound that’s fuzzier than a pom-pom! This is the one moment in the song where they go all out, a nice little freak-out before they return to rock the chorus one last time.
Like I said before, “Coffee and TV” is a song that can accompany any mood, any type of weather, any situation one could ever encounter. Its a track that fits in the in-between, but also supports people who are feeling like they’re also in the in-between — something that I think is more lovely than can ever be expressed.
Got something I should hear? Let me know here!
Follow Ear Bites on Instagram here!
Follow Ear Bites on Spotify here!
Listen to my weekly radio show on Fridays from 9:30-11:30pm EST here. This week I am not on during my regular time, I will instead be on Sunday from 11am-1pm EST playing Watertown (Frank Sinatra) & Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys) in full, plus maybe a couple extra songs!