Summer Series Part 7: Tommy's Weekly Playlist
By Tommy Rodriguez
Let’s face it: staying at home hasn’t been good for staying healthy. When you have a pantry calling your name from 12 AM to 12 PM, it’s borderline impossible to ignore the call to snacks. For this week’s edition of the Heart Eyes Summer Series, I thought I might cover some of the best songs about food. Whether you’re cooking, drinking, or snacking on your favorite foods while you listen, let these songs be the soundtrack to your indoor indulgences!
Check out the other additions of Tommy’s Summer Playlist here.
Migos - Stir Fry
This one’s for everyone ordering takeout or cooking their own Asian-influenced dishes right now. On this track, the Atlanta trio completely turned this busy, eccentric Pharrell beat into an exotic and thumping trap banger. Quavo’s hook is as infectious, repetitive, and satisfying, as you whip the stir-fry in your kitchen, while the Offset and Takeoff verses add their own spice and memorability to their satisfying, steaming meal.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Harold’s
I’m a South Florida guy, so most chicken places I’ve been to have been Pollo Tropical and La Granja...but boy, does “Harold’s” make me want to move to Indiana to try the titular fried chicken joint. The sparse, atmospheric, soulful disco beat on this song is a great vibe-setter, while Freddie Gibbs’ rapping is top-notch. As he raps about “a plate of chicken with the bread stuck to the bottom,” my stomach grumbles and my mind gets to thinking about how fried chicken can solve any problems. If you’re a fan of classic hip-hop production and fast-food, this is the song for you.
Flipturn - Vanilla
Florida-based indie rockers, Flipturn, have been turning heads with their beautiful melodies, gorgeous instrumentation, poignant songwriting, and great singing, and “Vanilla” is a great example of this. The song is as sweet as the very dessert it describes; it washes over your ears with a soothing guitar line and laid back drums, while Dillon Basse’s vocals set the mood for enjoying a peaceful, filling dessert. If you’re making some sweets, play this in the background: the sweetness of the track may make your culinary creation all the more delicious.
Janelle Monae - Take a Byte
While not pertinent to any specific dish, “Take a Byte” is all about helping yourself to life’s pleasures. While the song itself is extremely sensual in its nature, the allure of food is very much the same. While Monae’s beautiful vocals meld with the smooth electronics of the song, you can’t help but eye the leftovers in the fridge a little differently.
Sade - Cherry Pie
An essential slow jam from an essential R&B record, “Cherry Pie” is deliciously slow and supple. The bassline works the lower end of the song to a fever pitch of sweet instrumentation and guitar strumming, while Sade’s gorgeous vocals ring out in a snarky, brokenhearted fashion. With the breakup in the song having been caused by a boy as “sweet as cherry pie,” this is a great example of a song’s food metaphor having the ability to stand the test of time and working as a piece of bittersweet bliss.
Ari Lennox - Whipped Cream
Transitioning from ‘80s R&B desserts to a modern-day R&B snack, “Whipped Cream” is all about dealing with the negativity of life with something as simple as, well, eating whipped cream. The song is pleasant and steady, with a simple groove and pretty guitar lick ringing out alongside Lennox’s crooning vocals. Even when she reminisces on heartbreak and running behind on online shopping bills, her dedication to finding peace in the simple things is quite beautiful...and let’s face it, eating for the sake of forgetting the bad things in life is something we’ve all done.
Beabadoobee - Apple Cider
An indie-rock ballad that’s as sugary and sticky as the drink it’s named after, “Apple Cider” is aggressively relatable and fun to listen to. Beabadoobee’s earnest flirtations and performance are soft-spoken and catchy as hell in their quiet snarkiness. The track’s instrumentation is equally mellow, with the guitar and drums playing off each other in a perfect balance of melody and rhythm. This song is just perfect for a night with a loved one, downing apple cider as you catch up over time lost due to pandemics or poor phone habits.
Mac Miller - Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza
A heartwarming ode to the taste of childhood from the late Mac Miller, “Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza” is beautiful in the nostalgia it evokes. The ringing tones and heavy percussion reflect the mindset of a young hip-hop fan wanting so much more in life; at the same time, the sanguine reflections on childhood and simpler times can make anyone feel like a kid again, eating frozen pizza and drinking juice with old pals. Mac’s young voice had developed greatly throughout his short-lived career, but the core to his music was his humanity, and that is the meal found on “Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza.” Next time you retry an old childhood snack, don’t let anyone question you; just respond how Mac did: “We just some motherfuckin’ kids.”