13 tasty songs about food

by Jeremy Curry

July 8, 2016

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The greatest hits of songs about snacks with possible food pairings.

Everyone needs to eat. We don’t all need to listen to music, but we need food to stay alive. It’s a luxury to be able to have a choice in what we eat, and the opportunity to pay for or make delicious meals. We even have snacks, just for fun, when we can’t wait for our next meal. People are so proud of the food they eat, that they sometimes let others know that they are a “foodie”, a pretentious term for “I like to eat”.

It’s a wonder there aren’t more songs about food. Many food-related songs sound goofy, or are under the music parody umbrella. Some artists know what is good for them though, and they champion food in song. Other times, they use food as a metaphor for something else. Usually, that has to do with sexy times. When you’re munching on a huge meatball sub, don’t you think it would be best paired with a song about sandwiches?

That’s where this article comes into play. Inspired by The Avalanches’ Beatles-sampling, Biz Markie-chomping track “The Noisy Eater”, here are 13 tasty songs about snacks (with possible pairings). They are sure to make you hungry, or help you digest something delicious.

J Dilla- “Last Donut of the Night”

This track may be an instrumental, but the album is called Donuts because apparently J Dilla loved donuts so much. That is some snack dedication! The album even inspired the Dilla’s Delights donut shop in Detroit operated by Dilla’s uncle, Herman Hayes.

“Last Donut of the Night” is a hazy, sleepy track, perfect for a sweet hole-y treat after a night out. There are many donuts around, but which would be the best snack after the club? It’s really up to you, as everybody has a personal favourite. Vanilla Dip with sprinkles is the ultimate party donut, and may be fitting for such a good jam.

The People Under The Stairs – “Eat Street”

A perfect track for hopping in the car and going for a drive-thru. This song may even help you make a decision as to where you want to go for lunch, as the PUTS fellows are listing off all of their favourite fast food joints. The beat is reminiscent of that super positive backpacker hip-hop, but the track just makes you want to get super fat from burgers and burritos. You’ll start to feel the meaty sweats just thinking about this track. “Eat Street” would be great paired with as much fast food as you can handle.

Kelis – “Breakfast”

“Hey guys, are you hungry? My mom made food!” is the first voice you hear on the opening track from Kelis’s album Food, by her son. Why, yes I am, thanks for asking! Many of the album’s track titles are about food. Songs like “Jerk Chicken” and “Friday Fish Fry” make you hungry for your next meal (even if they’re not really about food).

Of course, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gets you moving and shaking, ready for the day. This is a nice song to get you pumped about the day ahead, just like a balanced breakfast will. The song is about Kelis’s relationship with her son, but the line “Maybe we’ll make it to breakfast” keeps with the food theme.

Well Kelis, I hope you do too, because this track would be paired nicely with a classic breakfast of two eggs (sunny side up), toast, hash browns, and three pieces of bacon.

Silver Jews – “Candy Jail”

The most delicious sounding jail is described in this song. There is a lyric that says “the warden keeps the data on your favourite brands.” This does not seem like much of a jail at all. It could be that you are stuck in this prison made of candy, and you just won’t leave because you are getting what you want. It’s because you are dead, as the lyrics say “I came to visit your grave.”

If you don’t focus on that part, you may as well visualize having a taste of those sweet peppermint jail bars, and your peanut brittle bunk bed. It’s a great song for those with a major sweet tooth. You might want to grab a few choice candy bars to munch on during this song.

The Sugarcubes – “Eat the Menu”

This song may be for the ultimate glutton. Bjork’s old band The Sugarcubes suggest you eat everything in sight, including the menu. Bjork yelps “your appetite is appalling” which is a kind of harsh thing to say. It’s a nice message, though. I’d rather hear this kind of stuff than to be told to diet, or to cut something else.

Eating the TV doesn’t sound too appealing, though. This is a really goofy song, but you shouldn’t really expect anything less from The Sugarcubes. This track could be paired with anything. It could be your deepest, darkest food secrets. They don’t care!

B.A. Johnston – “Pizza Party”

There are many pizza songs around, mostly written by young punk bands. The kids love their pizza. That may be due to a lack of experience with living the hard life.

However, B.A. Johnston ups the ante on the pizza song by singing a short tune about eating pizza along in the dark. Avoiding the shame you would get by chomping down on a big, greasy hot-and-ready from Little Caesar’s, or whatever chain you are embarrassed about. Let those pepperonis slide down your chin, but make sure to pick them back up. You don’t want to miss a perfectly delicious meat! This song is obviously great when paired with your favourite slice.

Personal and The Pizzas – “I Don’t Wanna Be No Personal Pizza”

This band’s whole shtick is writing songs pizza and being local toughs from New Jersey. Their name says it all. Tracks like “Pepperoni Eyes” and “Pizza Army” keep the pizza theme chugging along. Even the accent of the singer, Personal, sounds like a super thick “Ayyy I’m walkin’ here.”

You wouldn’t mind sharing a big pie with these guys. They sound like they know their way around a pizza, and could point out the best place to stuff your gut. Another song to pair with a cheesy, New York-style pepperoni pie.

Beastie Boys – “Egg Man”

Eggs are a food not only for eating, but for causing havoc by unruly teens. This track is all about the latter: throwing eggs at people. There is a lyric about Humpty Dumpty being a “big fat egg” (harsh!), and the age-old question about what came first – the chicken or the egg?

I doubt many people ask existential questions while they are throwing an egg at a big bald head. It’s kind of a waste of a great breakfast, but youths are very wasteful creatures, and don’t know their way around a good Benedict. This track does rule, and Paul’s Boutique is one of the greatest albums ever.

Blondie – “Eat to the Beat”

Here’s a high-energy song to keep those calories at bay while you’re dancing. “Eat to the Beat” is a great track, not only because it is super fast, no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll, but it encourages you to dance around while sliding a piping hot pie down your throat!

Eating to the beat is actually a little trickier than it sounds, and it really isn’t that fun, either. Debbie Harry is cool though, so give it a try if you want! There is no judgment here, although if you are snackin’, you should also be dancin’. This song would be great when paired with something that wouldn’t be too dangerous to eat while you are tippi tippi tippi tapping on the dance floor. Don’t choke!

Deltron 3030 – “The Future of Food”

The title of this track is quite literal. Famous chef gentleman David Chang describes the food in the year 3030, and it’s pretty funny. It’s just Chang talking over some futuristic beats with laser sounds, describing how you could press a button on a machine to get any kind of food you want. It sounds pretty incredible, but Chang says that the customers only want to eat beet salads and pork buns.

This is a short track, but do you have some sort of fusion dish by your side? This would go well with some weird fusion thing.

Beck – “Satan Gave Me a Taco”

Unfortunately, the taco Beck received from Satan was very bad, and made him sick. Nothing about this taco Beck is talking about sounds appetizing. The experience sounds very unpleasant. Why would Beck take a taco from Satan in the first place?

As the song progresses, the world around him sounds like a vile, depressing place. Could it be that this is the only food acceptable in this world? The song becomes very meta, and comes around full circle. There really is no way to understand why Beck would take a taco from Satan, though.

There aren’t many songs about disgusting food, so good on Beck for making a gross song about an otherwise delicious food. Pair this track with a taco you actually enjoy. I wouldn’t want anybody to feel bad about their food choice.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – “Candy Candy”

If you are looking to blast through space and time with the ultimate sugar rush, this song on its own will do the trick. The blown-out excitement and cheerfulness of “Candy Candy” by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a real treat for your ears, and will make you want to devour some sweet treats in no time.

This song was #1 on the Japanese billboard charts in 2012, so it’s a nice thought that everyone was munching on their favourite candy treat while listening to this ultra-positive snacking tune. The snack gods salute you, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. This song would obviously be paired with your favourite candy, but make sure it is super sweet and extremely colourful.

The Avalanches – “The Noisy Eater”

“I’m Hungry! I want something to eat!” exclaims Biz Markie at the beginning of this great goof-around on the latest, long-awaited Avalanches release.

It’s a great track about being hungry, slopping back a ton of food, noisily crunching away, all day long. It goes through breakfast and lunch. A whole day of chomping back meals, slurping up stuff, and smacking your lips. The crunching and munching sound effects are silly, reminiscent of getting a really amazing meal, and eating it too fast because it tastes so good. Sometimes your belly is large and in charge, and you have to let it do the work for you.

This is a wonderful song to pair with your breakfast bowl of Lucky Charms (marshmallows only). We can’t embed it yet, so check out Biz Markie’s classic commercial instead.

BONUS: “Weird Al” Yankovic – The Food Album

There are so many parody songs Weird Al has made about food, he just compiled them onto an album for everyone to enjoy. It’s probably one of the best compilations ever released. With songs like “Lasagna”, “Eat It”, “My Balogna” and “Addicted to Spuds”, it almost feels like a greatest hits of songs and food.

Weird Al knows how to win the hearts of music and food lovers everywhere. The album almost pushes the boundaries of parody, and makes its way into an appreciation of the food Al is singing about. Yes Al, I love Rocky Road as well! This whole album pairs well with eating as much food as you can.

Tags: Music, Lists, B.A. Johnston, Beastie Boys, Beck, Biz Markie, blondie, deltron 3030, J Dilla, kelis, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, personal and the pizzas, silver jews, the avalanches, the people under the stairs, the sugarcubes, weird al yankovic

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