So, once upon a time I was living in Russia, and a friend there asked me my thoughts on the power of music. That question is one that still regularly comes back to me. I am not a musician, and I don’t have a great understanding of music theory. I have had music classes and sung in choirs. I have been an on-air DJ for a couple of college radio stations, and even liked DJ-ing enough to take on the role of station manager.
Just the two of us
Ask someone about the power of music and they will probably talk about specific songs and what those songs mean to them. To me music is emotional.
Music has the power to cause emotions to well up within us. These feelings can affect our behavior, perceptions, and mood.
And pick the wrong playlist when you are cooking, and it may affect the food you are cooking too.
But really, if it is something you enjoy, and doesn’t drag you down, then I say go with it.
When I cook, I put a handful of Pandora stations on shuffle, from The Crystal Method to Federico Aubele, from Alizee to RJD2 and Jurassic 5, and just let them all mix and mingle. It may be quite the eclectic mix, but the flow seems to work for me. If Lydia is cooking with me, then I’ll eliminate the J5 and a couple of others maybe, but a good variety keeps me focused on the food, if that makes any sense.
Check out a few of them here.
- The Crystal Method – Get Busy Child
- Alizee – Moi…Lolita
- RJD2 – Ghostwriter
- Jurassic 5 – Thin Line
It generally doesn’t have to be anything specific, and only occasionally will something come on I’ll have to change because I’m not in the mood. And maybe that is the key. If you are in a good mood, then you will cook good food. So I say find something you enjoy, something you can listen to every day. Because if you are cooking something new, you want to be able to focus on the food, and not worry about what is coming out of the speakers.
If you are throwing a shindig or something, change the station before your guests arrive. They don’t want to listen to Rob Zombie while noshing on the Osso “Buco” you made. It’s easier than you think, I’ll show you later. I like to turn Pandora on the Morcheeba station, mixed with some RJD2 and Tosca. You can thank me later, because your guests probably will too.
Some shindig appropriate tunes
- Tosca – Orozco
- Morcheeba – Thumbnails
- Federico Aubele – Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue
Greg – the resident DJ
