Good morning everyone! What better way to start a new day than with a new elimination.
Don’t look back and don’t give up...
Cup Of Coffee is mediocre at best. That can eff off.
...and I just had to look away.
CUP OF COVFEFE
AVERAGE SCORE: 8.093
HIGHEST SCORE: 11 x 1 (@A&E), 10 x 8 (@Andy French, @etienne, @JamesJupiter, @marie_05, @NecessaryVoodoo, @nikkysan, @Oleander, @tylerc904)
LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 2 (@digitalkaiser, @Robsolete)
The opening chiming piano of Cup of Coffee is followed by a mournful theremin, setting a quite funereal mood. And do we have a funeral here, a funeral of my 11!!!
As I have been picked to lead the ceremony, let me start from the beginning. The piano motif laid the foundation for the song and here’s how Butch and Shirley describe the process:
Butch:
“Some things [on
beautifulgarbage]
came really quick like Cup of Coffee, Duke had this little piano thing and Shirley goes ‘I think I’ve got some lyrics scribbled down here’, and then all of a sudden it became a song. Like... in 15 minutes!” C’mon, Shirl!
“It started out in the studio as a slightly orchestral thing with vocals and then it went through about 15 changes. It was originally going to be, like, outdoor French cafe sounding, which it probably could have been.” Thank fuck it didn’t end up that way. Apparently it also was originally titled “Over a Cup of Coffee” but that doesn’t really roll off your tongue, now does it.
Shirley:
“I’d had the first line in my head for a while and when Duke played this piano sequence, I just focused on how it felt when somebody broke up with me and it all came tumbling out.” Wow queen.
Now let us share our collective memories of the departed.
@Sprockrooster is all ‘
they had us in the first half i’m not gonna lie’:
“This starts off so good, but it kind of crashes halfway and it becomes a bit yawny in the process.” That’s because you ordered decaf my dear!
@AshleyKerwin's order is different:
“This came so early in the album? I never realized that. I think this song is vastly underrated because of the album it’s on. It fits perfectly with Milk and You Look So Fine.” Umm yes with Milk and extra Sugar please! Meanwhile
@tylerc904 prefers his coffee pitch black:
“Dark and depressing, yet ultimately super satisfying.” Fukin derk is my favourite genre. Why do I, a person with depression and an array of other accompanying disorders, have such an affinity for songs that channel the worst feelings? We might never know.
@digitalkaiser doesn’t like to reminisce lest he end up with Windows XP on his laptop, trying to fire up Internet Explorer to check out Comeback Corner:
“I have some memories with this song, but this feels unessential here.” Oh dear, don’t tell me you forgot to put the k-cup in the Keurig again? Here, have this–
@magictreehouse holds a different opinion:
“There are some cracking ballads on beautifulgarbage aren’t there?”
@Oleander bows down to the queen:
“Tug at my heart a bit, Shirley. One of the contenders for my 11.” Shirl’s delivery switching between fragile and full-on distraught is what makes this song so powerful, in another’s hands it could have ended up overly melodramatic.
@etienne picked up on the extremes:
“I love this. The I smoke your brand of cigarettes lyric – just on the edge and haunting.” I feel a lump in my throat every time during the
I’m looking far too skinny, I stopped returning all their calls part (partly because it was painfully relatable a good number of times).
@Robsolete did not comment on their score but I will:
...okay, where were we?
@constantino praises the arrangement:
“The violin really makes this for me. Gorgeous.” I really love the subtle cellos but the mellotron-esque processed strings are a particularly fitting touch, amplifying the harrowing story’s impact.
@sfmartin elaborates:
“Heartbreaking. What vivid lyrics and such a powerful and convincing narrative. I love every sentiment in this song and speaks to my soul. I even love the really awkward strings in the instrumental, like feelings being pulled in so many different directions.” Yes, again, the lyrics are truly masterful, capturing that loneliness that comes with rejection and turning it up to 11. Also, take the opening line
You said that you don’t love me over a cup of coffee which in the end turns into
It took a cup of coffee to prove that you don’t love me, as if subconsciously trying to detach the person from their actions. Incredible.
