40 Greatest Songs About Food: Part I

It’s been pretty serious around here lately, between the food crisis and well, uh, the food crisis. So, I’d like to lighten things up with the sweet, sweet sounds of music. Namely, music dealing with food. Even more namely, my favorite 40 songs marginally related to food, determined by no method other than my own dabolical whim.

Subsequently - be on the lookout! This hour it’s #21-40, and a little later in the day #1-20 will make an appearance. Unfortunately, I can't embed all the videos (I tried, Blogger crashed), but the links will take you right to YouTube.

So! Without further ado! Here goes.

40) "Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle
Eat your heart out, Aguilera.

39) "Eat to the Beat" by Blondie
The link only contains about 20 seconds of the single, but it’s worth a look for Debbie Harry’s general gloriousness.

38) "Ice Cream Man" by Van Halen
Diamond Dave could sing a Con Ed brochure and still make it sound vaguely suggestive. The Good Humor Man shares this fate.

37) "Banana Chips" by Shonen Knife
They’re Japan’s Ramones! Only way cuter.

36) "The Lemon Song" by Led Zeppelin
It’s a song! About lemons! Maybe. Probably not. Definitely not. Okay, it’s actually about the ladies. But the word “lemon” appears in the title. So it counts.

35) "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow
Annabella Lwin was only 16 when this came out. My Ma would have killed me for the haircut alone.

34) "Brown Sugar" by D’Angelo
The first of two "Brown Sugar"s to appear on the list. (Um, I may have just given something away.)

33) "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp
I spent years thinking this was Led Zeppelin. I’m not so smart.

32) "Chocolate Salty Balls" by Chef (South Park)
Note: not actually about delicious treats. You may want to clear the kids out for a sec.

31) "Banana Boat Song" by Harry Belafonte
Featuring Fozzy Bear and a whole bunch of Muppets.

30) "Coffee and TV" by Blur
More notable for the video than the tune. Take pity on the milk carton!

29) "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
As a native Long Islander, it’s my moral duty to include this.

28) "She Don’t Use Jelly" by The Flaming Lips
If you haven’t heard any Lips since "Jelly," please listen to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots right now.

27) "Green Onions" by Booker T. and the MGs
Get down with the instrumental section!

26) "Trapped in the Drive Thru" by “Weird Al” Yankovic
R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” is pre-requisite viewing for this. It’s just as funny, if not more so.

25) "Know Your Chicken" by Cibo Matto
This song has been in my head since 1996. I apologize for putting it in yours.

24) "Rapper’s Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang
There’s a whole verse about fried chicken! Mmm ... chicken.

23) "That’s Amore" by Dean Martin
Taste the martinis!

22) "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by XTC
Man, I love this track. I wish I had clever commentary, but it just comes out as gushing adoration.

21) "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet
SPRING BREAK!

The second half of the countdown is coming shortly! Keep your eyes peeled.