My personal interpretation of "Coffee" by Aesop Rock

[thuviaptarth]

... is that he's in a coffee shop trying to get coffee and not be annoyed by the cops getting coffee at the same time, and going off on stream-of-consciousness tangents about power, class, authority, violence, the necessity of getting along with people you hate for the sake of a civil society and the difference between that tolerance and true friendship. This interpretation is strongly affected by the song being on the same track as the hidden track "Pigs," which simultaneously and surreally is about literal pigs and pigs-meaning-cops. (It would make a great, bitter Lindsey POV of Angel Season 5, if anyone wants to be driven crazy by collaborate with me like giandujakiss did. It's a much shorter, slower song and nearly all the lyrics are intelligible. I have a long playlist of imaginary vid songs for sharing. I'm just saying.) Also, Aesop Rock is just as grumpy as I am before the first cup of coffee in the morning, but a great deal more intelligent.

Your interpretation may vary.

That has almost but not quite exactly nothing to do with the vid, and in fact I have never mentioned interpretation to giandujakiss and have no idea if she shares it. So don't feel like you need to go crazy over the lyrics.

"Coffee/Pigs" is the final track on the album None Shall Pass, and although ultimately "Coffee" is my favorite song on there, the entire album is brilliant. thuvia-Bob says, "Check it out."

Comments

[giandujakiss.livejournal.com]

Appropos of nothing, you know how your earlier post said you gave me headaches during the beta process? You got nothing, nothing, on how I just tortured halcyon_shift for no purpose.

*slinks away guiltily*

[deepad]

Thank you, that does help!
I have listened to some of Aesop Rock's spoken word stuff with great pleasure, but abstraction rarely makes sense to me.

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose you have any imaginary vid songs on the topic of race you feel like sharing? I keep striking out. (The one song that I found that I liked...would require subtitles, unless I treated it as an instrumental. I did find a translation online, but I can't use it without permission, and I really don't feel sanguine asking for permission to use it on a dubiously legal endeavor.)

[oyceter]

I second this! Particularly anything that would work for an angry Firefly vid. Or a happy kdrama pimping vid.

Of course, I still need to learn how to vid before actually doing anything.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

"None Shall Pass" is one of my favorite songs I've heard lately. I'm not sure what it's about, but the sound is fantastic.

[thuviaptarth.livejournal.com]

I have no interpretation for that one, but it was my first favorite Aesop Rock song (and first Aesop Rock song) anyway.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_swallow/]

interesting! I think I was working up an interpretation about gentrification. (as I memorized the lyrics in order to better facilitate rewatching the vid!

[thuviaptarth.livejournal.com]

Oh, that makes a lot of sense. I like it!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_swallow/]

(Though I can't make the John Darnielle part make sense. I mean, it makes total sense in the vid-- almost suspicious sense, like if I didn't know better I'd suspect giandujakiss had sampled it in-- but it doesn't seem to line up with the rest of the song. The "you" is invested with Darnielle-characteristic romantic angst, it seems, rather than the political antagonism of Aesop Rock.)