I’ve invented a small game that I play whenever I visit Common Grounds; I listen closely to the music seeping through the speakers of the coffee house, and I try to correctly identify each song as they play. If I can’t correctly guess the song name, I buy myself a drink, and if I can’t figure out the artist, I buy a pastry— if I somehow can’t get either, I pout inwardly and Shazam it, my pride thoroughly wounded. Though this is just a little exercise in self-entertainment, it has genuinely opened my eyes to some great new music, and given me wonderful insight into which drinks are the best accompaniment for which songs. Here are some great songs I’ve heard recently while performing my little ritual, and the drinks I’d pair with them.
“henna tattoo” – Field Medic, Chamomile Citrus Tea with Honey: First up we have a lo-fi, melancholic folk ballad by Kevin Patrick Sullivan, known professionally as Field Medic. In this song, Sullivan laments his growing jealousy and insecurity as his would-be-lover/crush begins to gaze at another person with the affection he wished they would show him. He compares their feigning interest in him to a fading henna tattoo — one that he gave them. This imagery makes the underlying tone of the song even more somber; it’s as if a tiny piece of himself is slowly fading away, relegated to being a fleeting amusement, like a temporary henna tattoo. I think the soft, floral notes of chamomile and the faint sweetness of fresh honey create an ideal earthy sweetness that helps to alleviate the bitterness of Sullivan’s lyrics. Try not to cry into your cup.
“Never Going Back Again” – Fleetwood Mac, Dirty Chai: What more could one possibly say about Fleetwood Mac? I was ecstatic to hear this relatively deep cut whilst piddling around in Common Grounds one evening. This song’s most notable trait is its acoustic complexity— every moment is filled with a beautiful flow of finger-plucked notes and layered multi instrumentation that really leads your ears on an adventure. Contrastingly, Lindsey Buckingham’s vocal performance on this track is low, calm, and stripped-back in a way that lets it blend beautifully with the guitar work present here. Buckingham, through voice and guitar, decries his problematic pattern of returning to his ex-somethings over and over again, (with the title serving as an ironic self deprecation). I think this artistic dialogue between simple and complex is best exemplified by a Dirty Chai. It’s outwardly plain and simple, but features a multitude of tastes and aromas that really catch your senses in ways analogous to this acoustic masterpiece.
“Cigarettes and Coffee” – Otis Redding, House Coffee, Black: If ever there were a song about true love, it’s this one. Otis Redding beautifully belts lyrics that describe a pretty mundane scenario: two lovers staying up late, smoking and drinking coffee together. Despite (or maybe because of) the banality of the setting, Redding describes his love for his partner in deeply romantic and vulnerable prose, citing his desire to “Just build my whole life around you.”, and to drink just one more cup of coffee so he can spend even more time with her. I’ve chosen black coffee to drink along to this song, with the caveat that you do it with someone you’ve got some real feelings for. As Redding soulfully croons:
“I don’t want no cream and sugar, ’cause I’ve got you now, darling.”
The next time you make a trek to Common Grounds, I hope you give this silly little exercise a try. It’s done wonders for my coffee palate, and has given me a new appreciation for the often-tuned-out songs that permeate cute little coffee houses like ours (although it *has* burned a bit of a hole in my pocket).
