What do you listen to while cooking?

[Caralien]

My current song is Wig In A Box (Polyphonic Spree).

I have a tendency towards camp, but was curious as to what other people listened to. It has to be happy or at least neutral for me, as I believe that unhappiness transfers to the food (call me a hippie--not that there's anything wrong with it--but if you make food when angry or pissy, the food is best for someone you hate or simply bad).

[Jadore]

I'm a HUGE NERD - I'll match whatever I'm making to my music. Mexican food requires tons of Santana, French bistro fare requires Eartha Kitt, French hip hop, and the Something's Gotta Give soundtrack. For Italian, I'll do opera and then cheesy stuff like Mambo Italiano, which my husband smirks at while I order him to start chopping tomatoes. Fresh fish calls for songs that remind me of San Francisco, for God only knows what reason.

And a New York strip needs Sinatra mixed in with Top 40. :D

[shanagain]

The best Christmas we've had in a long time involved The Eagles Greatest Hits and three generations singing along as we cooked Christmas dinner together.

Aside from that, I frequently put on my "random" or "misc" playlists on Youtube, which are exactly that - randomly miscellaneous from "Our House" by Madness (my 13yo loves that song, so does the 13yo in me) to Jill Scott to heaven knows what else.

[phantomdoc]

Volume 1 or volume 2 of eagles greatest hits?

[shanagain]

My gut instinct said it was 1, but I googled, and it can't have been *either* - because Wasted Time (my alltime favorite Eagles song) was on it. Hmmm. Maybe Hell Freezes Over, then, but that doesn't seem right, because I would've sworn it wasn't live, but studio recorded tracks.

I'll have to ask my dad.

[drdelicious]

Blues ... it just makes the food turn out better. Sometimes cajun music if no one's home because it's otherwise very annoying if you can hear it from another room, and most people don't know the words.

[a.bot]

I like listening to either sexy-ish music like PJ Harvey, Devotchka or Morphine or really obnoxious loud stuff like Murder City Devils. I like stuff I can move to.

[lgss]

Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry suggests music to listen to while preparing each of the recipes. We have the cookbook but haven't paired the recipes with the recommended music. We usually have NPR on.

[souschef]

Received from Amazon "Amor" by Amanda Martinez, a Mexican Canadian. Really enjoying that slightly husky, sexy voice. Her "Sola" CD is nice too.

[bushwickgirl]

Whatever's playing on WBGO, Jazz 88 from NJ, on the computer as I can't get it on the radio.
I listen to my cats meowing for supper and my husband's footsteps in the hall.

[MNLisaB]

Gotta be Alice's Restaurant, then followed by my own holiday mix, which includes Imogene Heap, George Winston, Keith Jarrett, yadda yadda.

[cuccubear]

The other night while baking cookies (two batches – Pfefferneuse and Pumpkin Cookies, both recipes from BH&G): Pink Floyd, Bauhaus, Black Sabbath and Heart.

Might seem like weird music for baking sugary sweet, pretty little cookies, but oddly the two really worked together…must have, because the cookies didn’t last long.

[HillJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAcjW2...

Polyphonic Spree opened for David Bowie at a NJ concert a few summers back.
Now that pairing was a big freakin surprise.

[HillJ]

This week Parlor Mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfIMoj...

[greedygirl]

Most of the time, BBC Radio 4, which is similar to NPR but better. I love pottering in the kitchen on a Sunday morning listening to Desert Island Discs and The Food Programme. If I'm not in the mood for Radio 4, I listen to JazzFM.

[souschef]

Received (from Amazon today) "Xinti" by Sara Tavares. Some lovely melodies. Perfect to listen to while making clafoutis.

[Popkin]

I listen to a mixed playlist, which includes: Metallica (the Symphony and Metallica album. BEAUTIFUL music IMO), NIN, Tenacious D, Sting, Phil Collins (solo and with Genesis), Alabama, Weird Al, Alan Jackson, Matt Stone & Trey Parker (of South Park. America F@ck Yea and Montage), Depeche Mode, Barenaked Ladies, Dark Materia (oh yea, the Worf and Picard songs lol!), and a few others. Frank Sinatra has made it to the playlist a few times lately too

Mostly upbeat or "sensual" songs.

[fabian3dg]

i listen to new hard rock
its fast upbeat and what i listen to normaly

[souschef]

Baking a cake today, to the sound of Eliane Elias singing "Bossa Nova Stories", to be followed by Marta Gomez singing "Musiquita".

[steakman55]

The sizzle of butter

[lifespan]

the cooking muse...

[HillJ]

http://shop.sandisk.com/store/sdiskus...

Or, you can give Slot Radio a try!

[bayoucook]

Also: Steely Dan, vintage Stevie Wonder. Wagner opera.

[souschef]

Female vocals in Spanish or Portuguese (Brazilian), on the jazz/folk side, not the pop side.

[alanbarnes]

Astrid Gilberto is good tunes, but when listening to her voice I can't focus on cooking. Or anything else.

[souschef]

Astrud Gilberto does have a sensual voice. If you like her, listen also to Rosa Passos, Ana Caram, and Sara Tavares.

[buttertart]

Or Fafa de Belem and Gal Costa.

[souschef]

I had never heard of Fafa de Belem. I like Gal Costa, but not as much as the others. Bia is pretty good too.

If you want to listen to one POWERFUL voice while cooking, get some Virginia Rodrigues, especially her "Nos" CD.

[buttertart]

Oh yes, she (Rodrigues) is wonderful. Fafa (properly of course Fafá de Belém) was very popular in the 80's. I prefer her voice to Gal Costa's, it's sexier and less strident.

[souschef]

If you like Rodrigues, you may like Soledad Bravo (from Venezuela), in Spanish. Get her Alfredo Zitarossa CD. Her voice gets huskier as she gets older, but I really enjoy it.

[buttertart]

Thank you, will check it out.

[souschef]

Check this out too. I love the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMQoAK...

[buttertart]

Gorgeous. Thank you! Getting the CD (but the sample of Night Night on Amazon doesn't sound quite the same?). What is the title of the Soledad Bravo CD, couldn't find it by searching her name + Zitaeossa.

[souschef]

There is an English version ("Night Night") and a Portuguese version ("Casticais"), both of which are on the CD.

Here is an Amazon link to the Soledad Bravo CD:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listin...

[kattyeyes]

Then Diana Krall must do it to you/for you as well--two great examples here. Or, I dunno, maybe save the Diana CDs for dessert. ;)

"The Look of Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt33oF_joKM

"Let's Fall In Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOXftI...

[souschef]

I love those two Diana Krall CDs. I don't like her more recent work - her last 2 or 3 CDs.

[SharaMcG]

When I am cooking I am either listening to jazz (my preference) or whatever sport du jour Mr. McG has on the tv in the next room (not my preference unless it's baseball season).

[souschef]

One album I always associate with fine dining is the famous Getz/Gilberto "Girl From Ipanema", as a much-loved French restaurant (sadly long gone) used to always play it.

[billieboy]

Put your seat belts on...

http://vodpod.com/watch/1116988-ray-c...

[phantomdoc]

And hold on to your hat... Great video Billeboy
Lets have some Jambalaya, Crawfish pie, and fillet gumbo.

[jmckee]

I listen to music that in my addled brain is related somehow to the food being prepared -- Verdi or Puccini when cooking Italian, for example.

[DrewBB]

Tonight Clutch & Slipknot, tomorrow, maybe Joe Bonomassa or Badlands. Always Rock or Metal in the kitchen, dinning room is always Blues.

[RI Swampyankee]

Some great sounding CH kitchens out there!

[phantomdoc]

When I bought my house a factor that swayed me was the speakers built into the kitchen ceiling. Before becoming a doc I spent 15 years as a Rock n Roll soundman.

[kattyeyes]

How sweet is that?! I would totally love built-in speakers in the kitchen. Very interesting career change, btw.

Thanks to you and Alan and NellyNel for clueing me into Taj Mahal. GREAT STUFF!

Speaking of "built for comfort not for speed," Bonnie Raitt's "Blender Blues" includes that lyric, too, and is another great tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_KWl...

RI: I love your screen name. My grandmother used to claim her heritage as "Irish, English and Swamp Yankee!" ;)

[HillJ]

Oh I'm a big fan of Bonnie Raitt's too. Great live performances from the first album. Thanks for the link!

[cuccubear]

I concur that Taj Mahal is great hangin' out in the kitchen music, as well as the late, great Odetta.

[NellyNel]

I like this thread!

I always listen to music while I cook. Sometimes it's just the radio, and sometimes I'll put on a CD - the Beatles, Allman Brothers, the Who etc..but I have been known to listen to Louis Prima...The absolute best when making a big Italian Sunday dinner!
"I eat antipasta twice
Just because she is so nice, Angelina
Angelina, the waitress at the pizzeria
I give up soup and minestrone
Just to be with her alone, Angelina
Angelina, the waitress at the pizzeria"

Or
"I've got a woman as big as a house yes sir
She's as big as a two family house with a porch and a fence
You won't believe what you see when you look at her
She's enormous collosal tremendous gigantic immense

Why try to deny it
She's just what I like
If she goes on a diet
I'll go on strike

The bigger the figure the better I like her
The better I like her the better I feed her
The better I feed her the bigger the figure
The bigger the figure the more I can love

She's exactly like a watermellon
big and round and sweet
In a party dress
She may be quite a mess
But I love her a lot
So what if she's not so neat"

LOL!

"

[phantomdoc]

Taj Mahal song. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER
She's a heavy hippy mama
Got those great big legs.
She's a heavy hippy mama
Got those great big legs.
She's a heavy hippy mama
Got those great big legs.
When she walks, shakes like a soft boiled egg.

[alanbarnes]

My theme song is another Taj tune, Built for Comfort:

Some people they're built like this, some people they're built like that
Don't you holler at me baby, don't you call me fat
You know I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed
I got everything sweet mama need...

[NellyNel]

LOL!
Love Taj Mahal!

[phantomdoc]

I have to pull out the Giant Step album (yes its vinyl and plays on a turntable).
Giant Step made famous by the Monkees.
Six Days On the Road.
Bacon Fat.
Great stuff.

Just typed Taj Mahal into Pandora,,They have a station for him.

[NellyNel]

Great stuff!

[kattyeyes]

I LOVE Louie Prima and that particular "Angelina/Zooma Zooma" song is a total favorite (and I think is part of the "Mob Hits" collection). I love the second part of the song, all in Italian, that I believe my Poppy used to sing:
C'e' la luna 'n mezzo 'u mare
Mamma mia me maritari
Figghia mia a cu te dari?
Mamma mia pensaci tu
Si ci dugnu li musicanti
iddu va, iddu veni
sempre lu strumento ne manu teni
Si ci pigghia 'a fantasia
lu strumento a figghia mia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIJzpdJIdmI

Makes you wish you had a nice Italian wedding to attend, does it not?

Ohhhh, and "Buona sera, signorina, buona sera...it is time to say good night to Napoli...In the meantime let me tell you that I love you, buona sera, signorina, kiss me good night" I have the CD in my car and it gets stuck in my head all the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h_oVK...

I had a great Italian favorites compliation from the San Gennaro fest. It had "Hey Campari" on it (another fave of Poppy's that used to irritate my grandmother b/c Poppy sang it as "She was so naughty.") It also had the song about "Please don't toucha my strumenta"...I can't remember all the words, but it's very funny ("Effa you eff? Fromma you father!).

Grazie, Poppy, for my food-loving (and crazy-music loving) Italian ancestry!

[NellyNel]

LOL!!
My poppa used to love that song too!!!
I can remember us singing it in the kitchen....

Yes yes - maybe I'll have to have a party soon!!

Thanks for the you tube link - fab!!

[kattyeyes]

I found "Eh Cumpari" by Julius La Rosa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsg73N...

Your poppa/my poppy must have been about the same vintage. ;)

[Caralien]

When I used to make bread during imsomnia during HS, I'd listen to nothing. Although now, if I thought about it, "Ha Ha You're Dead" might be good. Bread baking is different than cooking, and that requires a different mode of thought. My own included getting rid of energy, Use it towards something good while requiring some patience until the next phase, then letting it out. The last bit is that you use your energy again, usefully, and towards something good to share with others.

For all other types, happy sounds. For bread making, well, that's how I do it.

[im_nomad]

I'm usually a "whatever i'm in the mood for" when i'm cooking, or doing just about anything for that matter. I have a very eclectic and sometimes weird music taste, leaning mostly towards electronic, new wave, britpop, alternative etc..... I keep my remixes / dance for housecleaning. Classical for times when i'm trying to concentrate / work.

Very good stuff for cooking, that just seems to gel on a consistent basis are Putumayo, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Buena Vista Social Club. A little dub is also really great.

Music makes me very very happy. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I walk into a record shop, especially the little indie ones. Combining good music with another love; food and good wine.....bliss ! :)

[pikawicca]

Me, talking to myself.

[markabauman]

Read in a bread baking book a couple of years back that the author really doesn't like listening to anything she really likes while baking-just something light in the background, since, in her opinion (and I concur) that the baking (or cooking) and music you really like that might take some concentrating on (like great classical) that would make it difficult to do simultaneously, even for a good multi-tasker. Usually I like some soft jazz or classical, but again, not something I really want to "hear" and listen well to.

[AndrewK512]

Agreed. I tried listening to music while cooking once and ended up spending most of the time adjusting volume and switching songs and stuff and didn't get any real cooking done. I much rather just focusing on the food and my thoughts.

[aqn]

Oh thank God! I was beginning to think I'm the only too... undeveloped, to listen to music and cook at the same time! Whenever I have music on while cooking, whether on the hifi or on a Walkman-like device (showing my age), I find that I would only "feel" the back beat (which is why I like to listen to reggae or ska), or the melody (classical) without ever actually noticing what is playing. I no longer bother with music while cooking (or working or driving or...).

[DiveFan]

Podcasts of many kinds - my new DVD player plays MP3 files.
NPR when I remember, usually on the weekend when A Prairie Home Companion is on (like right now).

[bulavinaka]

Love Prairie Home Companion, where the kids are above average - I can only hope my kids will strive for that one day... :)

[planetjess]

"Once More With Feeling" soundtrack from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's made for singing along... I've been doing it for so long now that I get a happy little frisson every time I start howling "every single night, the same arrangement" as I start to chop the mushrooms...

Otherwise Lucinda Williams or Bob Dylan.

[BeefeaterRocks]

I get my music from Dish network, this beef eater rocks or if feeling mellow jazz.

[Rmis32]

Do The Funky Chicken by Rufus Thomas
Jambalaya by Buckwheat Zydeco
They're Red Hot by Robert Johnson
Cornbread by Donald Byrd & The Blackbyrds
Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries by Willie Bobo

[HillJ]

Tonight's sound:
okay, so I'm listening to Johnny Marr & The Healers while making fish tacos for the family. There will be dancing! http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/...

[James Cristinian]

I'll often put on a movie that my wife and I have seen a million times so I don't have to watch, but can listen to and follow along, Three that come to mind are Ofiice Space, Dazed and Confused, and Fast Times At Ridgemont High, the latter two have great soundtracks. For a mix of music and video, The Last Waltz or Woodstock works for us. Pure music, The Who, 'Stones, Grateful Dead, or the best live album of all time, The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East. If my wife is not here, Benny Goodman.

[k_d]

Right there with you on the movie "watching"! Exactly what I do, most often.

[phantomdoc]

Allman Brothers at Fillmore East is Amazing. If you like movies about music you may want to check out Tom Dowd & the Language of Music. Insight about the concert and how the album came to be. He brought Clapton and Dwayne together for Layla.

[James Cristinian]

Thank you, I will do that. I also love Eat a Peach, I think Mountain Jam 1 and 2 were done at Fillmore East, but I could be wrong. Also from Beginnings, Dreams is the essence of those dueling guitars from Dickey Betts and Duane Allman. I'm doing a shrimp dish tomorrow, not sure what just yet, but I can't pass up 6.99 fresh gulf 10-15 from my Houston HEB. I'm playing Dreams, it's been too long. I may also do Jimmy Buffet's best album A1A, or bring out a liitle redneck in me with Jerry Jeff Walker's Viva Terlingua.

[phantomdoc]

In the film Tom Dowd was the engineer and tells of switching from one night to the other halfway through a song to be on the album. Yes Eat a Peach had some songs from those nights. The L.P. had a shorter time limit than the CD and to lengthen the play time you had to cut the volume.

[James Cristinian]

I just ordered the film mere minutes ago. I'll check back next week when it comes in.

[phantomdoc]

I would relish the first viewing by a true music fan. The man had such a diverse career in styles of music he engineered. Several goose bump moments for me.
I was able to see it by borrowing from the library.

[James Cristinian]

I got it online from Best Buy for 20 bucks.

[phantomdoc]

Cool...Please report back.

[cuccubear]

Most of the time I’m not listening to anything when cooking, but when I’m in the mood for music, it’s usually something like ELO, John Prine, JJ Cale, ABBA, Jefferson Airplane, QMS, or any other good familiar stuff I can sing along with.

[ScarlettNola]

Motown, Lizzie Miles, Louis Armstrong,Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, classical music blues, or jazz of any sort. I am generally happy when I cook and like to keep my upbeat mood intact with an open bottle of wine and good tunes. When not cooking, my preferences vary widely from alternative to rap to classic rock..... and everything BUT country.

[danieljdwyer]

April through September, and hopefully October, baseball.
The other half the year, it depends on the weather and on what I'm cooking.
Rainy days call for Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and Bob Dylan.
Indian food calls for Ravi Shankar, while West African calls for Fela Kuti.
Food that makes a lot of noise or needs the vent fan calls for music with a good beat, like Radiohead, Beastie Boys, The Roots, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, or N.E.R.D.
Cooking outdoors calls for bluegrass or rock from the 50's and 60's.
High tech cooking calls for progressive rock from the 70's and 80's.
Cooking cheap and quick calls for 90's alternative.

[janeh]

Mostly Latin pop - Shakira, Calle 13, Enanitos Verdes, Manu Chao, Juanes.

[Paula76]

Janeh! Where are you from? Those are some of my favourites, especially when I'm cooking as they put me in a good mood and I dance around whilst chopping and stirring. I also add Límite, Joaquín Sabina, Cesaria Evora, Caetano Veloso and Mercedes Sosa to the mix. Food+good music= a match made in heaven.

[goodhealthgourmet]

this was discussed a while back, and it was interesting to see the wide variety of CH music preferences:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/462848

[guilty]

Another NPR fan here. barryg, I wasn't aware there was an audio version of the Economist; that might make it into the mix now . . .

[phantomdoc]

Sirius satellite radio, Howard Stern, Grateful Dead Channel. Eric Clapton, B.B. King. Middle period rolling stones, the stuff with Mick Taylor. The last Waltz by The Band. Allman Bros. ,Van Morrison and more B.B. King.The Beatles.

[kattyeyes]

I seriously miss my Sirius radio...only had it in the car. One day.

Nightly, in the kitchen, it's TV: Brian Williams followed by Jeopardy followed by House Hunters.

[goodhealthgourmet]

kattyeyes, i'm with you on Brian Williams. his comforting voice & delivery provide a great background for preparing a satisfying, home-cooked meal. i love Jeopardy too, but i'm always just a teeny bit worried that i'm going to focus too much on answering the questions and end up cutting or burning myself, or overcooking something!

[phantomdoc]

Sirius blues channel is great too.
I have an older radio that rebroadcasts fm to the whole house.

[Sloth]

Little Steven's Underground Garage, especially on the week-ends when the DJs get a lot more freedom to play what they want.

Its a Sirius addiction.

[alanbarnes]

I'll often just pick something at random and see if anything flows from there. In the last couple weeks or so, things that have popped up include John Coltrane, Rise Against, Trevor Pinnock (the Brandenburg Concertos), Taj Majal, Thrice, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Los Lobos, Asleep at the Wheel's tribute album to Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys, Dire Straits, Blues Traveler, Steely Dan, and a 1963 recording of the Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra playing balalaika favorites.

Good music, good energy, good food.

[HillJ]

Caralien, I'm in complete agreement w/you on happiness v cooking. I've been called a hippy-mom on more than one occasion, pish-posh.

I play Radio Paradise on my kitchen PC during meal prep & often altho lowered during meals.
www.radioparadise.com

[buttertart]

As background to a big cook (guests coming over), Exile on Main Street gets the blood going. For more mellow moments, Pet Sounds or Under the Covers (Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs). For romance, Pulp or She Wants Revenge. Best of what I currently have on my iPod.

[beevod]

My heart.

[Davwud]

The voices.....

DT

[clam sauce]

Tony Bennett usually provides the right vibe in the kitchen for me. Though if I'm trying something completely new John Coltrane seems to inspire an improvisational edge.

[iluvtennis]

Tony Bennett and the like always puts me in a relaxed mood. I can't listen to anything too fast-paced because i can get kind of frantic when i try to cook. Usually, though, i'm not listening to music. Instead, i'm listening to the news or espn.

[jfood]

www.pandora.com

then jfood chooses a genre and off to the races.

[blackoak]

Thank you for the tip - when I mess around in the kitchen I usually listen to NPR or BBC (or put on dvr'ed Top Gear or a hockey game) as background noise, but Pandora (so far) is great. Thanks.

[BeefeaterRocks]

I am in love with Pandora, why didn't someone tell me sooner, Thank you jfood

[buttertart]

It is amazing - I love being introduced to bands I'd never heard of - sometimes old stuff I'd missed, sometimes new under-the-radar ones. Have stations for just about any possible mood (try song "I'm Stopping this Train" by Jon Langford for some truly propulsive motivating music).

[alanbarnes]

Very cool.

[scubadoo97]

Thanks for the tip jfood.

In the kitchen I don't listen to anything except the sound of my knife against the board. Maybe time for a change

[im_nomad]

thanks jfood ! How'd I not see this before. Am now listening to Blur :)

[barryg]

I get access to the full audio edition of The Economist, which comes out every week and is pretty long. I find that cooking and cleaning are great ways to get stuff done while getting through the magazine (in audio form).

[bayoucook]

Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Doobie Brothers...or the news on my little kitchen tv.

[dcdavis]

My first thought was Billie Holiday. NPR is good too! Sometimes the Food Network for a feeling of competition.

[Jadore]

Ohhh, Diana Krall is EXCELLENT. 'Temptation' came on while I was making a chocolate souffle last fall, and I laughed like a huge dork.

[duck833]

Yep, wife wanting to know if I am going to clean up my mess. Also wanting to know how many glasses of wine I have had.

[mtngirlnv]

My SO usually asks if he should OPEN another bottle of wine.....;)

[buttertart]

A keeper. I have one, too.

[steve h.]

the food.

[corneygirl]

Usually: NPR Sometimes Springsteen, Jobin, or Willie Nelson.

[bulavinaka]

Ditto on NPR - we have a couple of local public radio stations that I listen to, so there's almost always some great stories/news/entertainment that's on.

[lgss]

NPR is on in our house during most waking hours...

[RedTop]

Uh. My wife making "helpful" suggestions?

[Caralien]

ramones, I want to be sedated works too! Ulrich Schnauss if making something which takes more effort. Basically, happy, pleasing music

edit:
Iron and Wine: making pickled peaches

[lifespan]

If it's music you want, this topic was covered several times in past months, most recently: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/591146

[cycloneillini]

I was similarly thinking whatever my husband is watching on TV while I'm making dinner. Actually if we are entertaining, and I'm doing all the last minute stuff before guests arrive, my favorite is the Margaritaville station on XM radio.