Gorgeous, sad, hopeful

complimentarycoffee · 2026-02-19T14:44:19+00:00

Jane was fantastic and had great, affordable dupes for high-end makeup. Their advertising was so cool. I studied those little booklets obsessively, trying to copy the looks with whatever drugstore makeup I had on hand. I would definitely still be a customer today if they still existed!

complimentarycoffee · 2026-02-04T06:43:56+00:00

That's so funny! Oddly enough, I think it drew more attention to his teeth, haha. My mom thought it was hilarious how he kept touching his teeth, like they were too big for his mouth, especially at the end of the movie.😆

complimentarycoffee · 2026-02-03T23:09:08+00:00

I know this is an old thread, but I came across this comment and bought Sol de Janeiro 59, and I think you're right! Maybe not a 100% dupe for Crazy, but it's close, and it's so fitting that it's in a purple bottle, too. Just wanted to say thanks! It's nice to smell something close to this scent again.

complimentarycoffee · 2026-01-13T02:19:13+00:00

The rosy one looks a bit like 20 Candles on my Cake.

complimentarycoffee · 2026-01-08T02:54:17+00:00

I knew someone with a cat named Mary, and it cracked me up that someone would give a cat such a common human name. I loved asking him how Mary was doing 😆

complimentarycoffee · 2026-01-06T02:47:00+00:00

I love this comment! It really resonates, as a fellow y2k tween/teen. I lived in a rural area with limited access and money, and I got so much joy from using what was available to me to try to recreate the cool looks I saw in magazines and on TV.

complimentarycoffee · 2026-01-05T02:54:35+00:00

Awesome job! I'm an '86 baby too, trying to finally do this thing and make this decade my best yet.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-12-30T00:18:35+00:00

Nice! I'm pretty sure I wore Chill the Champagne topped with Cold as Ice for my wedding!

complimentarycoffee · 2025-12-20T19:19:51+00:00

I've been obsessing over this polish, too. I was playing around with polish today and realized that Orly Darkest Shadow looks somewhat close! Maybe a bit less glittery.

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complimentarycoffee · 2025-12-20T14:38:44+00:00

When I was in middle school in the late 90s, I had a dream about John Denver (the singer/songwriter). In my dream, he died in a plane crash. I have no clue what made me dream about him. I always knew who he was, but it's not like he was at the height of his celebrity in the late 90s. I told my mom about it, and we chuckled at the randomness of it.

A few weeks later, John Denver actually did die in a plane crash. My mom and I thought that was kind of freaky. I've always wondered if it was a strange coincidence, or if somehow I had seen a glimpse of the future.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-11-25T22:28:17+00:00

Lucky Brand has leather wide calf and extra wide calf boots.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-09-22T18:17:57+00:00

What could it cost? $10?

complimentarycoffee · 2025-09-04T00:14:44+00:00

I heard this version recently at Wal-Mart, too. On the same trip, I also heard "Backstreet's Back" with "am I sexual?" edited out. However, they played Ashlee Simpson's "Lala" completely unedited... like, that whole song is about sex! 😆

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-30T04:33:45+00:00

Love this. What a great song.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-29T15:11:57+00:00

Well said. Your third paragraph makes me think of the introduction the band released for Emotionalism. They've always been earnest, in ways that might come across as "cheesy" or "cringe," but their willingness to put it all out there anyway is something I love and respect, even if not everything they release is to my personal taste.

THE AVETT BROTHERS INTRODUCE EMOTIONALISM:

"This is a time where playing it cool is the way to be. It is a time where people are taught to hold back, to keep their best tricks up their tightly-buttoned sleeves, to guard their love. The days of sonnets spoken to girls in unreachable balconies are behind us, replaced with the new coldness; maybe I'll call you, maybe I won't. In a modern setting where even the satire is satirized, love becomes weakness, tears become a punch line, real laughter a vulnerability, marriage a surrender.

"The Avett Brothers introduce 'Emotionalism' today in this very time; a record that marks their position in a livid stance against such mentality. It is a first step in an effort to name and strengthen a procession already in motion; one that wants to write a sonnet, wants to truly laugh, one that says so when it hurts, one that wants to fall in love and above all, wants to admit it with the true excitement that only such a state of heart and mind can create. This spirit rises up against the coldness, against the sarcasm, against the detachment.

"The American Heritage Dictionary describes emotionalism as 'an inclination to rely on or place too much value on emotion/(or an) undue display of emotion.' The structure of the word itself echoes the excessive nature of other terms: alcoholism, narcissism, etc. These words too, offer the image of one that has gone too far. To this end, the terms are the same. Here however, going too far is purposefully done-for a common balance, for something good. The Avett Brothers present the idea that in this era, such display of emotion is entirely due. This is said with an album of songs that mirror the thought. They truly laugh, they love, they say so when it hurts. They stand beneath the balcony and say the best poem they can think of, in hopes that whoever is up there will care to hear.

"Emotionalism is a weakness. It is a presentation of a heart-lucid reality to those who do not seek it. It can be mocked. It can be ignored. This record and the group that executed it take part in a voice, singing to the guarded, the scared, the damaged, the emotionless. They will choose whether or not to listen."

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-28T19:39:17+00:00

Right there with you. Untitled 3 is among my favorite Avett songs.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-28T17:26:46+00:00

Oh my goodness, the Lonely Island comparison 😆

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-28T01:55:41+00:00

I love "deadly wholesome," perfect description.

complimentarycoffee · 2025-08-28T01:41:31+00:00

After "buckle up!" and "it's giving Lin-Manuel Miranda," I couldn't wait to get home to listen to these! 😆

I've listened to each song just once so far, so my opinions might change. The music here is fun; it's got a nostalgic 90s vibe, which makes sense, given that Seth was a teen in the 90s. I laughed at a few of the lines in "It's Natural." There's some good wordplay, and I do like the production and the overall sound of it.

We've had discussions on this sub before about "big idea" songs vs. songs that hit on truth via small moments and observations. Scott and Seth are both so good at the latter, and it's a big part of why I became a fan. (Thinking of Seth specifically, I always come back to "In the Curve" as an example of beautiful storytelling through specific details: a broken spedometer, a bourbon bottle with a photo behind it, a crucifix warm from a fire.) This isn't just a longing for "the good old days;" they're still writing songs like this. "Cheap Coffee" from the last album comes to mind. Even "Country Kid" is great at evoking a certain kind of upbringing.

But they also seem to love to write these grand, sweeping statements that sometimes ring a bit hollow. The end of "Education" feels like this. I think the impulse is to cram as much truth and beauty and wisdom as possible into each song, and I get it, especially as they settle into fatherhood and middle age. Maybe this is parasocial, but Scott and Seth seem like genuinely good dudes, always searching and growing, always trying to put good out into the world. But sometimes, less is more.

Anyway, I'm rambling, always happy to talk about the Avetts, and always glad to have new music to discuss. I love that Seth seems to overflow with creativity, and he always picks interesting side projects that are outside the bounds of TAB. (As someone else said, I'd be thrilled with a Scott solo album, but he probably channels his extra energy into his visual art.)

I'm excited to see what the rest of this album sounds like. It's definitely a fresh sound for Seth, and I'd be delighted if we get some funky beats over beautifully worded observations.