All this hullabaloo over the Red Hot Chili Peppers coming to town has made me hungry. I'm not a big fan of eating peppers, so I got to thinking: What are the best bands that have food in their names?
I apologize in advance for the omission of Cream, String Cheese Incident, Peaches & Herb and The Lemonheads from this list -there just wasn't enough room for so many foods in my cornucopia of music. Cream also sounded too nasty for me.
That said, let's chow down ...
The top 10 food bands
10. Sugar Ray: I don't really like this band, but one cannot deny its sugary-sweet commercial appeal. I'm not quite sure what eating a ray covered in sugar would taste like, but I bet it would make me feel high like a "birdie in the sky." This is the first of two appearances on the countdown by this tooth-rotting substance.
9. Bananarama: It was the cruelest summer of all when I realized I could never go out with one of the fiery vixens. The video for "Venus" made my blood pump, it's no rumor, and who can deny a spot on the countdown to a band which calls itself Bananarama? I promise, no more embedded songs in this description.
8. Sugarhill Gang: Often credited with lifting rap into mainstream American music, this New York trio saw its "Rapper's Delight" compromised and devalued when an old biddy sang it in "The Wedding Singer."
7. The Cranberries: Thank God this group went into pop music and not into traditional Irish gigs. "Linger" solidified this band's place in many home music collections and their Irish heritage gets them bonus points.
6. Meat Loaf: Here's one meatloaf that doesn't spoil after time. Not only did he yield a couple of memorable songs, but Loaf managed to be in the movie and Los Angeles stage production of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Nothing like being a singing motorcyclist to get your name engraved on the countdown.
5. Cake: No, it's not your birthday but rather a rock group from Sacramento, Calif. "The Distance" put Cake on the map of popular music and several years later they still retain a yummy musical formula.
4. Vanilla Ice: My housemate told me vanilla is a flavor, not a food. I then called him a "male slut." According to dictionary.com, a food is " a specified kind of nourishment." Regarding the ice, it is the solid form of water, but I guess it doesn't matter now since vanilla is a food. Word.
3. The Smashing Pumpkins: Now that fall is here, Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie are not too far away. The Pumpkins have been 'round the block, from "The Simpsons" to stadium tours, and some of their music is filled with the pumpkin-like seeds of young anger.
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers: I want to retract what I said earlier - I like pepper but neither chili nor chili peppers. That aside, the Peppers have cranked out a myriad of hits and have built upon their funk roots throughout time and are now accepted as a mainstream, popular act.
1. Fats Domino: I'm taking artistic license here, so sue me. But what Michiganian does not think of pizza whenever they see the word "Domino?" The man churned out 35 top 40 hits from 1955 to 1963, so, when it comes to the top of the food chain, there can be no mistake - Fats is No. 1.
Kristofer Karol can be reached at karolkri@msu.edu.
