After working together in the noise rock band Leitoh Lychee, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda formed Cibo Matto around 1994. While recording tracks for their first album, Viva! La Woman, they collaborated with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's Russell Simmons and others, on a side project called Butter 08. The album was released in 1996.
They later enlisted band members Sean Lennon, Timo Ellis and Duma Love to help record their Super Relax EP and final full-length album, Stereo Type A. While Viva! La Woman had strong hip-hop and trip-hop elements, Stereo Type A leaned more more towards their rock, pop and Latin side. The group continued to play live concerts until disbanding near the end of 2001. Yuka Honda went on to release solo albums and continued to collaborate with Sean, while Miho Hatori moved onto bossa nova, teaming up with guitarist Smokey Hormel to form Smokey & Miho, then joining Gorillaz for their self-titled first album and eventually releasing her own solo album.
In 1997, the band guest-performed on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer's second season premiere in the fictional club The Bronze, performing "Spoon" and "Sugar Water".
Since the break-up in 2001, their songs have been played in many different places, including the video game Jet Set Radio Future. "Birthday Cake" was featured in the Kids in the Hall's feature-length film, Brain Candy.
The band announced their reunion on March 18, 2011, to perform as part of a benefit concert for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The concert, which took place on March 27 at Columbia University in New York City also included Yoko Ono, John Zorn, Sonic Youth, and Mike Patton, among others. Following on the success of this show, a second was added, this time featuring the Plastic Ono Band and Patti Smith along with Cibo Matto. They've since performed at the Hollywood Bowl on June 26 in another benefit with Yellow Magic Orchestra. Cibo Matto then went on their formal US reunion tour titled "Yeah Basically Cibo Matto." The tour's first part was from June 21 to June 26 at the Hollywood Bowl and the second part was July 12 to July 20 with stops in NYC, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Boston.
Cibo Matto released Hotel Valentine, their first album in 15 years, on Valentine's Day 2014 through Chimera Music, a label founded by Sean Lennon. They are touring the United States with Salt Cathedral and their current drummer Yuko Araki, as well as guest musicians on some songs.
White Pepper Ice Cream
Cibo Matto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's like a line drawing
It snipped my heart
White pepper ice cream
In my mouth
It sting my lips
It's like eclipse
But I can't fill in the blank
White pepper ice cream
Sweet or spicy?
White pepper ice cream
Ça m'est égal
Ça m'est égal
Which is the first word?
Sweet or spicy?
Ça m'est égal
Ça m'est égal
It's all the same to me
I was shot with bullets of pepper
On my lips
I feel a nip
Black and white
Bonnie and Clyde
Black and white
Bonnie and Clyde
It steels my sight
Under cover of night
We run away from
It's all the same to me
We run away from
It's all the same to me
In the puzzle
"Cibo Matto's White Pepper Ice Cream lyrics are a collage of images, flavors, and visual experiences. White Pepper Ice Cream is a metaphor of life and love, which Cibo Matto equate to an ice cream, as it's sweet but also spicy, and it stings. In the first verse, "White Pepper Ice Cream, It's like a line drawing, It snipped my heart," they describe the delicate and precise texture of a line drawing, to compare it to the sensation of tasting a new and exciting flavor.
The second part of the song compares White Pepper Ice Cream to an eclipse and a crossword puzzle. The contradictory flavors of the ice cream leave the singer puzzled, unable to fill in the blank, which is a metaphor for the confusion they are experiencing in life. The French line, "Ça m'est égal, Ça m'est égal, It's all the same to me," represents their state of indecision, unable to choose between the sweet and the spicy, and accepting that it's all the same in the end.
The third part of the song turns darker, with the reference to Bonnie and Clyde, black and white becoming a symbol of opposites and contrasts. The pepper delivers "bullets" on the lips, and it "steels my sight under cover of night." The singer and their partner run away from the stinging sensation, which they can't escape, as it's all the same to them.
Overall, Cibo Matto's White Pepper Ice Cream lyrics are a playful, yet thought-provoking work of art, inviting the listener to taste and experience the contradictory flavors of life and love."
Line by Line Meaning
White pepper ice cream
The singer is describing the taste of white pepper ice cream.
It's like a line drawing
The singer is comparing the taste of the ice cream to a simple, black and white illustration.
It snipped my heart
The ice cream has a strong, unexpected effect on the singer's emotions.
White pepper ice cream
Repetition of the first line, emphasizing the taste and impact of the ice cream.
In my mouth
The artist is describing where they are experiencing the taste of the ice cream.
It sting my lips
The ice cream is causing a slight burning sensation in the singer's mouth and on their lips.
It's like eclipse
The taste of the ice cream is overpowering and creates a sensation that is compared to the blocking of the sun in an eclipse.
As I'm in the crossword puzzle
The artist compares their situation to being stuck in a confusing crossword puzzle, unable to find the right answer.
But I can't fill in the blank
The artist cannot find the solution to their current problem or predicament.
White pepper ice cream
Repetition of the first line, emphasizing the taste and impact of the ice cream.
Sweet or spicy?
The singer is questioning whether the ice cream is meant to be sweet or spicy in taste.
White pepper ice cream
Repetition of the first line, emphasizing the taste and impact of the ice cream.
Ça m'est égal
The singer says 'it's all the same to me.'
Ça m'est égal
Repetition of the previous line, emphasizing that the sweet or spicy taste is equally appealing to the singer.
Which is the first word?
The singer is questioning whether 'sweet' or 'spicy' is the first and most important characteristic of the ice cream's taste.
Ça m'est égal
The artist reiterates that both qualities are equally appealing to them.
It's all the same to me
The artist is indifferent to whether the ice cream is sweet or spicy in flavor.
I was shot with bullets of pepper
The singer uses hyperbole to describe the strong and unexpected impact the ice cream has on their senses.
On my lips
The singer is specifically feeling the tingling, spicy sensation on their lips.
I feel a nip
The artist is describing a sharp, biting sensation caused by the ice cream.
Black and white
The artist is continuing to use the illustration analogy to describe the sharp contrast in flavors.
Bonnie and Clyde
The artist uses the notorious criminal couple as a metaphor for the two opposing flavors in the ice cream.
It steels my sight
The ice cream's strong flavor causes a temporary loss of focus for the singer.
Under cover of night
The artist uses a metaphorical night to describe the sensation of being overwhelmed by the ice cream's taste.
We run away from
The singer and their partner are trying to escape or avoid the overpowering taste of the ice cream.
It's all the same to me
The singer is indifferent to whether the ice cream is sweet or spicy in flavor, and only wants to escape the intensity of the taste.
We run away from
Repetition of previous line, emphasizing the need to escape the overpowering taste.
It's all the same to me
Reiteration that the artist is indifferent to the flavor, only wanting to escape the intense taste.
In the puzzle
Reiteration of previous lines, comparing the situation of dealing with the ice cream's taste to being stuck in a confusing puzzle without a solution.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: MIHO HATORI, YUKA HONDA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind