I can’t live without music. I just can’t. I also can’t live without food. So, naturally, when I’m in my kitchen, the two go hand in hand. While gathering my ingredients and setting up my cooking space, I constantly find myself searching Pandora for the perfect station to get me in the right frame of mind. A well-timed “woooo” from Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston gets me amped everytime!
While flipping my omelet the other morning, I got to wondering, “what do the other Town Dishers listen to while they’re getting crafty in the kitchen?” Read on to find out what moves and shakes our team when they’re getting busy in their own cooking space.
The Top Tunes That Inspire PA Eats’s Culinary Creativity:
Stephanie Anderson: ’90s alternative. ALWAYS. For everything. Simply because it’s awesome.
Maggie Mitchell: It’s Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits all the way! The soul and passion in her voice make me dance and sing along while I cook. It’s my go-to cooking music!
Michele Kornegay: That’s an easy one: I’ve got my very own high-energy Pandora stream that churns out just the right mix of ’80s “classics” (of course), Zumba dance tunes, reggae, rap and punk! Cooking and dancing—two things that bring me joy—go hand in hand in my kitchen.
Amy Strauss: Without a doubt, Dillinger Escape Plan. Nothing gets me more jazzed to get cooking than a little math metal pumping through my speakers. Every song is fast-paced, intricate and energized, which puts grooves in my steps as I slice, dice, sauté, sous vide—okay, I never sous vide, but you get it. DEP is pretty much my favorite. Perhaps a little Baroness on the backburner too, to transition to as I eat.
Char Nolan: Right now, I am in my kitchen, and I am listening to Brazilian music. Takes me back to my days as a peace corps volunteer in Brazil, a time of my life that was very special.
In the queue? Howard Melvin and the Blue Notes, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire. And that’s my day for me…oh, wait, The Allman Brothers are coming around the corner!
Mary Bigham: You know we are cooking if you hear any Billie Holiday, Etta James, Al Green, Stevie or Van Morrison album on our record player. If not that, we like to cook to Hank Jr, Johnny Cash, The Head and the Heart (Be Still album) or Shovels and Rope O’ Be Joyful on vinyl. If we are grilling, it’s always Bob Marley. Of course, there are certain occasions when we like to listen to Beastie Boys, Biggie or Jay Z. And if I’m left alone, it’s Parisian music (anything French) OR if my mom is here we listen to (and sing along to) ABBA.
Kerry Watson: I usually listen to some older Pink Floyd when I cook for any extended period of time. Particularly, a bootleg of John Peel BBC sessions with the likes of Embryo, Green is the Colour and Fat Old Sun. I seek out long instrumental parts and mellow lyrics that go well with my beer and make for a relaxing environment. And if cooking isn’t relaxing, then yer doin’ it wrong!
Ronna Dewey: I like to listen to country music, particularly my favorite ladies—Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. There is something about a chick belting it out about getting revenge or hitting something with a baseball bat that gets me chopping a little faster.
Greg Taffer: A lot of times multitasking in the kitchen gets me stressed, so I like to listen to something slow but with a pop sentiment to it, like Shoegaze or Dreampop, and sometimes just folk music. Some of my favorite songs to cook to are:
- Yo La Tengo – “You Can Have It All”
- Feist – “Brandy Alexander”
- Belle & Sebastian – “You’re Just a Baby”
- My Bloody Valentine – “Blown a Wish”
- Leonard Cohen – “Suzanne”
- The Tallest Man on Earth – “The King of Spain”
- Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds”
- Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
- The Smiths – “Cemetery Gates”
Jim Breslin: If I’m not listening to NPR in the kitchen, I like to listen to rock ‘n roll. Last few bands I’ve listened to while cooking are:
- Bad Brains
- La Dispute
- Reverend Horton Heat
- Big Ups
- Lily Allen
Arne Morin: When I’m cooking I usually look for something upbeat, so the normal go-to is rap or hip-hop. This week I would probably go with my Big Boi or Hieroglyphics Pandora station.
Noelle Kelly: Sometimes I end up shocking classical musicians by letting them know that I love listening to Dance, techno or Anoushka Shankar when cooking, but it really varies on my mood, the day or even the cuisine I might be preparing. Here are a few:
- GoTan Project
- Bajofondo Tango Club
- David Guetta
- Yann Tiersen—particularly the Amelie soundtrack
I believe I am a displaced European, for reals.
Angela Corrado: Depends on what I’m cooking and my mood, but I tend to gravitate toward the following or just mix it up with a random Songza station (they have a few specifically for cooking).
- Atmospheric Hip Hop/Electro: This could range from Jurassic 5 to Gramatik and it makes me feel all badass like I OWN the kitchen. It’s great for when I’m creating/inventing a dish I’m not too sure about. The artists’ powerful beats and lyrics make up for my personal lack of confidence. 😉
- Classical: I often hit up Songza or Spotify for my music, but I was gifted an awesome record, Greatest Hits of 1720, and it’s perfect for when I’m creating (or pretending to create) a masterpiece of a dish, usually best for Italian cuisine or breakfast! Maxence Cyrin is a killer pianist that definitely falls in this category, too. Check out his cover of Where Is My Mind now!
- Indie/Folk: This genre just lets me have a lot of fun and dance while whipping up a dish that’s care-free and delicious. Songs from Florence & The Machine, The xx, Dawes, Trampled By Turtles, Jack White, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cake, TV On The Radio, Ryan Adams and similar artists are ALWAYS grand to jig and chop to.
Lisa Yoder: If I’m trying to pretend I’m in a huge farmhouse kitchen in the country, I’ll listen to Iron and Wine, Horse Feathers, Raise Up Roof Beams or any other chill alt-country. If I’m in more of a bounce-around dancey mood, it’ll be something more along the lines of The xx or Metric.
Laura Hibbs: All Beyonce, all the time!
Laura Koster: Two of my long-time favorite musicians are folk rock singers Catie Curtis and Meg Hutchinson. Their songs are both mellow and bright and have so much soul. Chopping, stirring and singing along to these tunes always eases the stress of the day away.
Ken Alan: I always have music going and my tastes are all over the place. While making dinner tonight (grilled flatbread topped with curried chicken breast, arugula, honey, lemon and sweet basil), I had on The Clash—a bootleg live album I found on YouTube.
While preparing last week’s Easter Dinner, I was in classical mode (lots of Vivaldi and Johan Sebastian B.). Prior, for a seder I had been invited to, I threw on the Broadway version of “Fiddler on the Roof” to get me in the mood for making matzo ball soup to bring with me to the dinner.
Jazz Fest (New Orleans) is coming on fast, so I’m about to rev up some Professor Longhair for the big feast that I’ll be helping to prepare next week…
As long as the music’s going, I’m cooking!
Nathan Greenwood: Prince, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson are some go-tos. It’s hard to go wrong with energetic music sporting a funky bass line. It gets me movin’!
Now tell us, what do you listen to while you’re getting busy in the kitchen?
- Johnny Cash Photo: Pitch
- Sugarland Photo: ABC News
- David Guetta Photo: HuffPost
- Beyonce Photo: Ian Gavan, Getty Images
- Prince Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
- Dillinger Escape Plan: Stage Shottz
