Edible Arrangements

As Uncle Sam previously mentioned, I joined in his literal misinterpretation of this month’s Selection - a bunch of songs about food, that’s easy! And it reminded me of the Thanksgiving tradition that Boston’s WBCN has adopted over the past few years, playing nothing but stuff like The Cranberries or Bread or The Meat Puppets, as well as songs like “Surfin’ Bird” or “Soup” or “Hot Dog”, that kind of thing. So I hungrily lunched - ah, launched - myself into the project, deciding to go with the meals of the day; breakfast, lunch and dinner, followed by dessert and maybe some gum. Time to make the donuts:

1. Prince, “Starfish And Coffee”
   The alarm clock wakes us up and we stumble off into a song that revolves around breakfast, but is really about being individual and accepted for being a bit out of the ordinary.
2. Z-Trip featuring Murs, “Breakfast Club”
   Downstairs to the kitchen, where we pour ourselves a bowl of nostalgia, watching the cartoons of our youth as we begin a long life of tooth decay.
3. Beck, “Satan Gave Me A Taco”
   Lunch comes - and with it, El Diablo! This is probably my favorite Beck song, sounding a bit like Dylan’s rambling dream songs, with a very modern MTV-generation twist.
4. Richard Cheese, “Milkshake”
   With what shall we wash down that flaming taco? How about a nice chilly cheesy parody smoothie? Mmmmm…
5. King Curtis, “Memphis Soul Stew”
   Dinnertime! Here goes the best song to ever compare the assemblage of a neat little funk number to mixing the ingredients of a tasty stew. Many years later The Geto Boys added plagiarism to the mix, with delectable results.
6. The Chips, “Rubber Biscuit”
   Biscuits go well with stew, right? They also go well with Harvey Keitel strapped to a camera stumbling around a bar.
7. The Average White Band, “Cut The Cake”
   Dessert, everyone’s favorite course, of course! In retrospect, I’m really disappointed in myself for not thinking of using “C Is For Cookie” instead. I’ll have to turn in my Henson Club Card now…
8. Lonnie Donegan, “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight)”
   After dinner comes the palate-cleansing and plaque-absorbing chewing of the gum. Really, gum has become the new cigar. “Let’s all withdraw into the drawing room, I’ll crack open a fresh box of those Orbits that taste creepily just like Andes mints…”
9. Beat Box Boys, “Eat ‘Em Up”
   I should really leave you with no explanation at all for this one, but unfortunately the only thing I love better than the sound of my own voice is the sight of my own keystrokes, so here goes: This is the B-Side to the rare electro 12″‘ single “Einstien” by the Beat Box Boys, a coveted track for fans of Art Of Noise, Afrika Bambaataa, Keith LeBlanc, stuff like that. This is basically the same music, only with the sampled voice saying “Eat Em Up Yum Yum” instead of “Einstien”. I have no idea what any of this means, other than the end of my playlist.

I do however want to point out something that both Sam and I were reminded of while researching this project - there are a HELL of a lot of songs with food / eating-related titles that are, in actuality, about… (wait for it) …SEX!!! Yes indeed, true believer, songs such as Zep’s “The Lemon Song” or Domino’s “Sweet Potato Pie” or (believe it or not) Akinyele’s “Put It In Your Mouth” and NWA’s “Just Don’t Bite It” are not, as the titles would have you think, about food. It’s all sex sex sex! See what Janet Jackson hath wrought?!!! I’d also like to mention some songs I just couldn’t fit in, no matter how far I unbuckled my belt: LL Cool J’s “Milky Cereal”, Durutti Column’s “Lunch”, Jesus Christ Superstar’s “The Last Supper”, Laura Lee’s “Crumbs Off The Table”, Consolidated’s “The Sexual Politics Of Meat”, and of course Barnes & Barnes’ “Fish Heads”. Now everyone say grace and dig in. “GRACE!!!”

Download: Prince, “Starfish and Coffee” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Z-Trip feat. Murs, “Breakfast Club” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Beck, “Satan Gave Me A Taco” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Richard Cheese, “Milkshake” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: King Curtis, “Memphis Soul Stew” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Chips, “Rubber Biscuit” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Average White Band, “Cut The Cake” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Lonnie Donegan, “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost Overnight?” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Beat Box Boys, “Eat ‘Em Up” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: UNKLE Matt’s “Edible Arrangements” (XML playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

You can also get the whole thing to go in a doggie bag:

Download: “Edible Arrangements” (ZIP — SaveFile)
(Click here for download instructions)