Friday, January 09, 2009

Weekend Listomania (Special Are You Going to Eat That or What? Video Edition)

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental manual catharsis manipulation expert social secretary Fah Lo Suee and I are off to New York's fabled Upper West Side, where following traditional Sabbath observances (I just love the yellow bread the Hebes eat) we will be joining Jonah Goldberg and Debbie Schlussel (take THAT, Ashford and Simpson!) as first-nighters at the premier of the fabulous new one man show by Neo-Con scion and meeskeit William Kristol -- Thank You For Everything!

There may be significant quaffing of Kosher wines involved, but I'm sure I can handle it.

In any case, as a result, posting by moi will necessarily be somewhat fitful for a few days.

But until then, as always, here's a fun project for you all to contemplate:

BEST POST-ELVIS SONG OR ALBUM WHOSE TITLE OR LYRICS REFERENCES SOME SORT OF FOOD OR COMMESTIBLE!!!

Yeah, I know, I sort of did this list before, but this time I'm narrowing it down.

Hence this Totally Arbitrary Rule:

It has to be about something actually edible (or drinkable) in the context of actually eating (or drinking). In other words, "Brown Sugar," although a delightful spice, would not count here because the song is about something else altogether. As you well know. Ditto "The Lemon Song" and others too numerous to mention.

Okay, here's my totally top of my head Top Six:

6. Back in the USA -- Chuck Berry



"Where the hamburgers sizzle on the open grill night and day...."

5. Vegetables -- The Beach Boys



From the abortive Smile project. I can't prove it, but I've always assumed this was in some way inspired by that classic Ernie Kovacs video (not, alas, on YouTube) where he uses celery to punctuate the cannon shots on "The 1812 Overture."

5. TV Dinners -- ZZ Top



I have to admit, I still love the Hungry Man© turkey and mashed potatoes.

4. Kraft Dinner -- Annihilator



Road food for these guys, obviously.

3. Canned Ham -- Norman Greenbaum



Video embedding disabled, but you can link to it here.

2. Maximum Consumption -- The Kinks



You really don't want to eat everything referenced in this song. Just saying.

And the number one song about stuffing your gullet with something, it's so obvious it's not even funny, is --

1. Black Coffee in Bed -- Squeeze



Because it's actually about drinking coffee. As opposed to their "Pulling Mussels From a Shell," which is not in fact about sea food.

Awrighty then -- what would your choices be?

[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel Cinema Listomania (theme: best and worst films derived from TV) is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you could find your way to go over there and leave a comment, it would get me in good with management and be deeply appreciated by moi.]

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life During Wartime by the Talking Heads --- "some peanut butter to last a couple of days"

Anonymous said...

Junk Food Junkie - Larry Groce

Martian Boogie - Brownsville Station ("Get you one of the greasy hamburgers all peppered up, lay you up in the hospital for ten days.")

Let's Eat - Nick Lowe

Have A Cuppa Tea - The Kinks ("You get tea with your afternoon tea!")

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

But don't eat no mashed potatoes and for godsakes don't eat no buttered scones –- Skin & Bones, Kinks.

A ginger sling with a pineapple heart -- Savory Truffle, by you know the rest.

And anyone for pie? “Call me for dinner, honey, I'll be there.” Country Pie, Dylan (what, you don’t think it’s just about pie?)

TJWood said...

Time for only three totally random ones:

1. Lou Reed: "Egg Cream", from his 1990's album Set The Twilight Reeling

2. Jay & The Techniques (not to be confused with Jay & The Americans: "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie"

and staying with the fruit theme:

3. Pink Floyd: "Apples and Oranges", a b-side of one of the early Syd Barrett-era singles

Anonymous said...

I immediately went to the Allmans' Eat a Peach, but that was just a Georgia thing.

So, I've got John Hiatt's Just Like Your Dad Did:

Yeah, you've seen the old man's ghost
Come back as creamed chipped beef on toast
Now, if you don't get your slice of the roast,
You're gonna flip your lid
Just like your dad did, just like your dad did

steve simels said...

I absolutely LURVE that Hiatt song.

My favorite thing on "Bring the Family," which is one of the all-time brilliant albums.

Feral said...

Chuck Berry - Rock and Roll Music: "Drinking homebrew from a wooden cup".

Steve Goodman - Chicken Cordon Blues

Taj Mahal - Ain't Nobody's Business: "You can drink all the liquor down in Costa Rica".

Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall: "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!".

Pat Travers - Smokin' Whisky, Drinkin' Cocaine.

Barnes & Barnes - Fish Heads

And a little out of the era...

Cab Calloway - Everybody Eats When They Come to My House.

Anonymous said...

This is pretty hard.

Does "One More Cup of Coffee" by Mr. Z count?

And while it's probably not post-Elvis, I'd like to nominate "Saturday Night Fish Fry," which probably really isn't about seafood, either.

Anonymous said...

"Straight To Hell" - The Clash ("It ain't Coca Cola, it's rice...")
"Crawfish" - Elvis Presley
"The Scrapple Song" - Robbie Fulks
"Where Are The Prawns?" - Robyn Hitchcock
"Goober's Peas" - Civil War song
And the immortal "Esther is My Domino's Pizza Girl" by my old VT friends The Cuts.
- bill buckner

Anonymous said...

Much like the Smashing Pumkins, I think I can shoehorn the Stones into all of these. This Friday's entry
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones ("I saw her today at a reception
A glass of wine in her hand')
AND
("We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red")

Wendy said...

So far, all I can think of are songs about drinking, not eating:

Bruce's Glory Days: "went back inside, had a few drinks" ...

Grateful Dead's Brown Eyed Women and Red Grenadine: "The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean"

Manhattan Transfer's Java Jive: "I like coffee, I like tea" ...

Stones' Honky Tonk Women: "I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind."

geor3ge said...

Well, here we are at St. Alfonso's Pancake Breakfast, where I stole the margereen.

Noam Sane said...

I wish I was in Tijuana
Eating barbequed iguana

Anonymous said...

Dare I mention Dave Barry's choice for Worst Song Ever Recorded, with some of the most famous lyrics of all time? I mean, of course ... MacArthur Park!!!!!

MBowen said...

From "Ease Your Feet In The Sea" by Belle & Sebastian

Soberly, without regret
I make another sandwich
And I fill my face...

geor3ge said...

Something something "Lee Ho Fooks" something something "big dish of beef chow mein" something something "werewolves of someplace or other."

Anonymous said...

Some soft drink selections:

Family's "Buffet Tea for Two."

The Kinks "Lola"--"where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola"

Anonymous said...

Dave Alvin's Andersonville came to mind today:

My uniform is faded and there’s no boots upon my feet
And I’m pulling worms out of the mud
Cause there’s nothing else to eat

Hate to use it somewhat sarcastically here because that is one great effin' song and performance on Out in California.

And, thanks for confirming my ear for me, Steve ... John Hiatt is truly great and Bring the Family is an incredible album.

Anonymous said...

Dave Alvin's Andersonville came to mind today:

My uniform is faded and there’s no boots upon my feet
And I’m pulling worms out of the mud
Cause there’s nothing else to eat


Hate to use it somewhat sarcastically here because that is one great effin' song and performance on Out in California.

And, thanks for confirming my ear for me, Steve ... John Hiatt is truly great and Bring the Family is an incredible album.

Anonymous said...

A couple of semi-obscure ones:

Richard Thompson, Pearly Jim from The Old Kit Bag - "We need ketchup on our bangers and mash"

The Who, Going Mobile from Who's Next - "Play the tape machine, make the toast and tea when I'm mobile"

Anonymous said...

PS: nobody can post to your Box Office blog because when you try, you get this error:

"Your comment submission failed for the following reasons:

Please be sure to fill in both the name and text comment fields to leave a comment. "

Libby Spencer said...

It's stretching it a little bit but the first thing I thought of was Lou Reed - What's good.

Life's like a mayonnaise soda
And life's like space without room
And life's like bacon and ice cream
That's what life's like without you

Libby Spencer said...

This game is like an ear worm. Once I check in, I can't stop thinking about it. A couple more at the risk of offending the guy who hates last century songs.

Bob Dylan - Tom Thumb blues
I started out on burgundy
But soon hit the harder stuff

NRBQ - RC Cola and a Moon Pie. The whole song is about food.

I don’t want no cornbread
And I can do without peas and rice
And I don’t want no carrot
Or no real hot pizza slice
Everything’s gonna be all right
With a RC Cola and a Moon Pie

And I suppose Margaritaville is too obvious, (or too embarrassing) to even mention.

Libby Spencer said...

Oy, this effin game... Last one, covered by 2000 bands.

One bourbon, one scotch, one beer.

David Rasmussen said...

Something Fierce--Vegetable Guy
Beach Boys-- Vegetables

Goober and the Peas (the awesome band from Detroit Municipal Records)

Anonymous said...

replacements- customer
(do you sell watermelons? ... uh, where're the twinkies?)

john hiatt- pink bedroom
(she drinks coca-cola with valium. me likes rosanne cash's version better, tho.)

young fresh fellows- when the girls get here
(spill beer all over our t-shirts)

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

It’s an old song but to this day Diana Krall still wants the Frim Fram Sauce
 with the ausen fey (and chifafa on the side). And who wouldn't want to rustle some up for her when she sings it like that?

Polar said...

' Well, I'll stop when I can,
Have some fried eggs & country ham,
I'll find somewhere, where they don't care, who I am."
Neil Young, "Albuquerque" (from "Tonight's The Night"

"Gimme another piece of that barbecued brisket, gimme another piece of that pecan pie."
Eagles, "Long Road Out Of Eden"

Dave said...

Peanut Butter: Newbeats
Hot Pastrami: Dartells

and the immortal Grits Ain't Groceries (Little Milton)

steve simels said...


Who Am Us Anyway? said...
It’s an old song but to this day Diana Krall still wants the Frim Fram Sauce
 with the ausen fey (and chifafa on the side). And who wouldn't want to rustle some up for her when she sings it like that?


If I were Elvis C, I'd write an autobiography called "Hey -- I'm Actually Sleeping With Diana Krall!!!"

He's a very lucky little twerp is what I'm saying...

Anonymous said...

Steve - posting is still broken over at Box Office; see my post above here for the error msg.

steve simels said...


cthulhu said...
Steve - posting is still broken over at Box Office; see my post above here for the error msg.


I've been haranguing the IT guys over there with no success.

MJConroy said...

Since I saw the fabulous Smithereens last night --
Jim Babjak's "White Castle Blues" -

"Saturday night and it's gettin' late
I'm gettin' hungry, I just can't wait
Not just any kind of burger will do
I'm being hit by those
White Castle blues
White Castle blues

I think I'll get some crisp onion rings
To compliment 10 of those little square things
An orange soda or a milkshake will do
I'm being hit by those
White Castle blues
White Castle blues

I was first introduced to those bastards by Duke
On a hot summer night when we went out to cruise
But memories such as Bobbo and puke
Are just part of the saga of
White Castle blues
White Castle blues
Hey!"

Dave said...

Mind fart:

"Peanut Butter" is by the Marathons

"Bread and Butter" -- Newbeats

Kelly said...

Loved the Squeeze video...I still have that album!