Over the years I must have heard more than a few songs singing the praises of coffee, whether in Dutch (Rita Corita’s Koffie) or English (Squeeze’s Black Coffee in Bed, Bob Dylan’s One More Cup Of Coffee) and the idea of putting a coffee compilation together had begun.
A great example of such a collection was made by Bob Dylan, his Theme Time Radio Hour season 1 Episode 5: Coffee is fantastic, not at least by his great commentary.
Other albums mention coffee in their titles but none of the songs concern this magic brew, some examples:
Martin Winch – Espresso Guitar
Tony Levin Band – Double Espresso
Bob James Trio – Espresso
Mental As Anything – Espresso Bongo
Morton Gould And His Orchestra – Coffee Time
Al Kooper – Black Coffee
The Sting-Rays – Cryptic And Coffee Time
Saint Etienne Present Songs for the Fountain Coffee Room
Even Starbucks released a few coffee themed CDs such as Blue Note Blend but the (admittedly excellent) music consisted of more mood enhancing instrumentals than songs praising coffee… Same for countless gutless Coffee Jazz collections or Barrista Beats, just aural wallpaper, suspiciously close to lounge muzak.
This year though Bear Family Records released a terrific collection: Meet Me At The Coffee Shop
Other bloggers have been active as well with posting similar themed collections, therefore I had to be careful to avoid duplications.
I also listened to contemporary hits, such as Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso and Kelly Rowland’s Coffee, but (unlike a good shot of caffeine!) these didn’t do anything to me… ‘COFFEE is about embracing your individuality, sexuality, or imperfections’ Seriously? Give me a break!
The end result is pretty good I thought, ranging from vintage blues, smokey jazz, raw funk, groovy instrumentals, cool country, weird shit, and more.
Included flavors are wide-ranging; we got black, hot, cold, Turkish, espresso, cappuccino, with cream/cigarettes/nicotine/gasoline/cocaine and even burnt toast! And to finish it off the final song seemed obvious:
Max Woiski singing the reasons why we all should be drinking Nescafé in Dutch!
Note that I made a coffee related post on my photo blog here:
https://www.art58koen.net/single-post/a-magic-brew
Note the new banner, courtesy of the one and only Alfred E. Stinky!
ReplyDeleteThis download contains as usual a detailed pdf but this time in a square (CD!) format + some personal coffee related recollections...
https://mega.nz/file/OZsB1ZhB#MOXiP2Exo0-M6OSqjTNe0H5rByoLjF1FO2R86sxhMrQ
Question (of course): What is your favourite coffee related music/song/track/etc.?
Thanks lads. Faves Black Coffee - Humble Pie and and kd lang as well
DeleteThanks for the caffeinated tracks, Koen -- and I sure do hope you're holding up o.k. after that dangerous-sounding Cafe Boran. I'm a big coffee enthusiast myself, and I can think of quite a few coffee-themed songs that I like (some of them right here in this mix, and some on the Bear Family collection mentioned above). One additional recording I'd mention is Lefty Frizzell's "Cigarettes and Coffee Blues." There are several versions of the song itself, including by Marty Robbins and by Jean Shepard, but I probably like Lefty's rendition the best.
ReplyDeleteMore broadly, though, let me thank the entire Jokonky team for all the posts from this year. Best wishes, and Happy Holidays to all!
Thanks for your caffeine related comments, I will check Lefty Frizzell's "Cigarettes and Coffee Blues" for sure.
DeleteGlad you like our team efforts and happy holidays as well.
Oh, almost forgot, at present my favourite drink is Ice Orange Espresso, I know it sounds weird, but it tastes amazing!
Looks good Koen. Black Coffee In Bed by Squeeze is a favorite of mine.- Stinky
ReplyDeleteThanks Stinky!
DeleteSame here, but unfortunately Black Coffee In Bed was already used in several other Coffee themed compilations...
Frank Sinatra's "The Coffee Song," which is the only Sinatra my mom ever owned. She despised him.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, monday morning, just out of bed. Water's not even boiling. Oisibisa - The Coffee Song. VOF de Kunst - Eén Kopje Koffie (Art Company - One Cup of Coffee) Peggy Lee - Black Coffee, Cajmere - Percolator
ReplyDeleteVOF de Kunst - Eén Kopje Koffie... I'd completely forgotten about that one, thanks Richard!
DeleteLooks great -- thanks Art! Favorite coffee song that comes to mind is the the live version/video of Humble Pie playing Black Coffee on the Old Grey Whistle Test (I think). Great banner Stinky!
ReplyDeleteThat is a classic version indeed.
DeleteHands down thee best coffee song that still goes through my head occasionally (though I'm a tea drinker--always mix two bags (take out of plastic!!) and big tablespoon of raw honey so that I create the electrolytes which moisturizes you like fruit does with H30 better than water alone). But yeah, that song is 'Black Coffee' by Black Flag. Nice Osibisa ref. there Richard! Happy Holidays to the Jokonky crew for keepin' the best music in our collective mindz! Last day of work for the year for me...will do one more post today then maxin' relaxin' for a week or so. Rock on!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback, best wishes for the holidays!
DeleteI'm enjoying a cup of coffee while reading Koen's posts (at both blogs) and everyone's comments. Good to see Crab Devil, JWDen, MrDave, Richard, and Viacom CMD! Best wishes to all of you for the New Year. Two songs come to mind. "Java Blues" by Rick Danko (which was cowritten by Emmett Grogan, who cofounded the Diggers). And then there's Carmen McRae singing "Just A Little Lovin" because she says it "beats a cup of coffee" for starting your day. This is a great post for starting the day with my fellow music fans! Thanks Koen, and thank you Stinky for the MAD banner!
ReplyDeleteJava Blues by Rick Danko.., wow, that would have been worthy of inclusion!
Delete7. "Money, Guns and Coffee" Dan Wool Pray for Rain from the film soundtrack Straight to Hell
DeleteSecond Cup of Coffee by Gordon Lightfoot
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest the songs from Descendants "Kids on Coffee," Otis Redding "Cigarettes & Coffee" and of course for fun there is the Deathklok "Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle." Also, just a weird coincidence I was watching Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee & Cigaretttes" last night.
ReplyDeleteExpresso Love - Dire Straits, Second Cup of Coffee - Gordon Lightfoot, Coffee Coffee Coffee - Dave Dudley, Java Jive - The Ink Spots
ReplyDeleteDave Dudley with a triple song title! Thanks, Anonymous!
DeleteToday I listened to Don't Spill The Java by Southern Culture On The Skids, and then I remembered The Wildhearts' song Caffeine Bomb, which is a real eye-opener.
DeleteI'll check them out!
DeleteThe Sting-Rays - Another Cup Of Coffee
ReplyDelete