Food and Music

Here’s a bit of a lazy weekend post for you. Hopefully something that will introduce you to something new and amazing.
I’ve put together some of my favourite songs, and paired them up with food I would feel like eating when I listen to them.
I’ve added a link to all the songs, so have a listen and enjoy. Let me know what your favourite songs are, and what you think you’d pair them up with.

EDIT: Stupid Grooveshark has lost the links I set up for the songs. If you want to listen, forget clicking the links (apart from the Al Shayyaleen link, which is on youtube) and instead go to Grooveshark.com and look the songs up.

Only Skin

Who: Joanna Newsom
What: No one really knows what this song is about, and it is possibly telling several stories in a lengthy 17 minutes, but the imagery it conjures is stunning. Joanna Newsom is possibly my favourite musician. I’ve seen all her Sydney concerts without fail. I’m still undecided about her latest album, but her older stuff is amazing.
Food: Mussels and white wine broth, a roast chicken with garlic roasted potatoes, peaches and cream
Excerpt:
While the river was twisting and braiding, the bait bobbed
And the string sobbed, as it cut through the hustling breeze
And I watched how the water was kneading so neatly
Gone treacly
Nearly slowed to a stop in this heat

Breathless

Who: Nick Cave
What: A world full of life and movement, all because of the one he loves.
Food: Fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil
Excerpt:
I listen to my juddering bones
The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you

Lover You Should’ve Come Over

Who: Jeff Buckley
What: It’s a dark winter afternoon. He is all alone in the corner of his bedroom with the window open. The rain is pouring in and he is waiting for his love who never shows up.
Food: Pedro Ximenez braised beef shin with soft, buttery polenta and a mushroom ragout
Excerpt:
Maybe I’m too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight, you’re on my mind so
You never know

Al Shayyaleen

Who: Rima Khocheich
What: This one is cover of an old Egyptian song. Though the words may not make sense, the oriental jazz feel along can make this one a favourite. It’s about two men who carry luggage into a train, where one is convincing the other to keep going despite the difficulty of the job and the bad pay.
Dish: Falafel. And Foul Medammas: beans and chickpeas with cumin, garlic and lemon juice garnished with loads of chopped parsley and drowned in olive oil
Excerpt (translated):
If what you carry on your back weighs you down, remember, free man, it is lighter than the burden of having to beg

Green Grass

Who: Tom Waits or if Tom Waits is too rough for you, Cibelle http://tinysong.com/lC2w
What: A dead man singing to his lover who comes to visit his grave
Food: Rosemary and sea salt flat bread
Excerpt:
Lay your head where my heart used to be
Hold the earth above me
Lay down on the green grass
Remember that you loved me

Between the Bars

Who: Eliott Smith or Madeleine Peyroux’s cover
What: A man consoling his loved one over a drink
Food: Bitter chocolate fondue with real vanilla ice cream
Excerpt:
People you’ve been before
That you don’t want around anymore
They push and shove and won’t bend to your will
I’ll keep them still

For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her

Who: Simon & Garfunkle
What: A song about a dream
Food: Smoked eel with blini and horseradish cream
Excerpt:
And when you ran to me
Your cheeks flushed with the night
We walked on frosted fields
Of juniper and lamplight

Have a good weekend everyone!