The 614ortyPlatter - Movie Night!

"Ulam: Main Dish", a documentary looking at Filipino-American
Restaurants around the United States, is but one of the
food-related movies that we've found entertaining.

If nothing else, pandemic living made us realized how much of a role entertainment plays in our lives.  Obviously, the absence of live, in-person events was felt by everyone, from the performers to the venues which hosted them to people who attended them as a matter of everyday living. And it wasn't merely an economic effect; the toll of not having these options to help release the stress of sometimes dire circumstances was substantial on a mental basis too. Even going to the theater to catch a matinee wasn't available for much of the last year.

With many people hunkered down inside, cable and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Sling and similar received a humongous boost to help keep people in good spirits.  From "Tiger King" to "Ted Lasso" to "The Mandalorian", plus movies of all sorts (even a few which skipped the normal theater-only release), many people, including us, got to catch up on some of our backlog.

Keeping with that notion, this latest 614ortyPlatter playlist hits on a baker's dozen movies where food played a key role in the plot.  The average viewer will probably recognize a few titles, but there may be a few others you may not have heard of that may pique your interest.  And just based on my initial research, there are quite a few more movies out there that would make perfect candidates for future playlist renditions.

1) "Tortilla Soup" - This movie proves to be a great example of how food often plays a role in the family, and likewise movies related to family relationships.  This 2001 dramedy stars Hector Elizondo as a veteran chef who is slowly losing his sense of taste, and features his sometimes contentious relationship with his three daughters as well as a divorcee (played by Raquel Welch) to stir the pot in unforeseen ways.  Take directly from the movie soundtrack itself, with Brazilian singing star Bebel Gilberto contributing her soothing vocals with her 1999 song "Sem Contecao."

2) "Estômago – A Gastronomic Story" Staying with Brazil, this 2007 film directed by Marcos Jorge finds the main character Nonato making his way through an unforgiving world using the one talent even he didn't know he had - his abilities in the kitchen. Representing this movie here is "Coxinha" (a Brazilian Croquette and one of the first dishes with which he showed off his talents) by Trio Chappahall's, one of the country's purveyors of Forró, a style of music which originated in the Northeast sections of the country.

3) "Pressure Cooker" - Featuring notoriously Philadelphia-area teacher Wilma Stephenson, this 2008 documentary looks at her and the journey of working-class students, as they try to both acquire the skills to become capable chefs as well as responsible in life-at-large.  A song featuring the so-called "Philadelphia Sound" (characterized by lush orchestral backing and a blend of R&B and jazz stylings) seemed perfect for this one, and The O'Jays' "Give The People What They Want" seemed a perfect song for what chefs all over the world try to do.

4) "Ulam: Main Dish" - Filipino cuisine has been on the "next big thing" cuisine list for quite awhile, but after some false starts, this prediction seems to be taking flight, as noted in this 2017 documentary which focuses on a number of Filipino restaurants from around the country. One such restaurant featured was "Maharlika", opened by entrepreneur/author Nicole Ponseca, which proved to be a trailblazer in its decade of operation; we figured the Tagalog-language pop romance song "Hanggang Sa Muli" by Kenyo (off their 2009 "Maharlika" album) was the perfect tune for this slot.

5) "Today's Special" - Some say the story behind this 2009 release is a bit cliched, but the story (a young Hindi sous chef with grander plans is forced to take over his family's restaurant when his father suffers a heart attack) is a fairly easy one to swallow.  Indian cuisine does tend to sport a little more heat and savorines with their masalas (spice blends), so we figured Penn Masala (an South Asian a capella group formed at Penn University) and their mashup of pop and Bollywood demoed by Cake by the Ocean/Gunghroo/Stronger from their 2020 Musafir (Abridged) album is the right blend here.

 

6) "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" - Directed by David Gelb, this exquisite 2011 documentary examines the dedication that many chefs strive for; in this case, it is master sushi chef Jiro Ono as well as his sons' attempts to create their own legacies. to follow in his father's footsteps. Offering up a dish of equally tasty music is none other than Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of jazz musician Don Cherry and accomplished musician herself, with her biggest hit "Buffalo Stance" from her 1989 "Raw Like Sushi" debut album.

7) "The Search for General Tso" - Inspired by the research of journalist Jennifer 8. Lee, this 2014 film offers up details on this ubiquitous Chinese-American Restaurant dish and sprinkles a good dose of the Chinese-American immigrant experience on top.  Interestingly, this film did have an associated soundtrack, and "Enter Tsandman" by Ben Fries & Simon Beins is offered as a tasty side dish here (from what it sounds like, though, the tune is nothing like the similarly pronounced "Enter Sandman" by metal music stars Metallica.)

8) "Beer Hunter: The Movie" - Yes, there was a day when craft beer was not a thing, but thanks to the work of the early pioneers/brewers who forged the way post-Prohibition, as well as its promoters like journalist Michael Jackson (whose efforts are acknowledged in this 2013 documentary), the craft beer industry has never looked stronger, growing to nearly 8,800 breweries in number despite pandemic headwinds.  I thought briefly about throwing in a singer Michael Jackson song, but frankly, a beer-related song was far more appropriate. The origins of the song "Beer:30" are somewhat uncertain, but it's performed quite energetically by The Reverend Horton Heat, one of the leaders of the psychobilly sound.

9) "Big Night" - The late movie critic Roger Ebert said of co-directors' Joseph Campbell and Stanley Tucci's 1996 film that this film was "their labor of love. Their perfect risotto. They include just what is needed and nothing else."  Featuring two struggling Italian immigrant brothers who are trying to save their restaurant by cooking a marvelous meal for famed bandleader and musician Louis Prima, "Big Night" is said to have some of the most reverential food scenes of any movie, including the unveiling and slicing of the baked Timpano, essentially a pasta-bake in a dough casing.  Here, "Timpano" by Martijn Ten Velden, a Dutch Ibiza/House DJ/Producer based out of Haarlem, provides us with music to sigh to.

10) "God of Cookery" - Director/Actor Stephen Chow has made a living at Mo Lei Tau (rough but not quite complete translation: "Makes No Sense") comedies that, amazingly enough, have found success in the U.S. as well, especially with the movies "Shanghai Soccer" (2001) and "Kung Fu Hustle" (2004). The 1996-released "God of Cookery" sports a similarly wacked-out premise, featuring Chow as a fraudulent "Iron Chef" type food personality who gets found out, and with the help of female street food vendor and an unexpected encounter with a Shaolin temple that happens to specialize in both Kung Fu and Cooking, attempts to regain back his title. ) Chow's character comes up with the best dish in the grand finale, dubbed Sorrowful Rice; providing the musical backdrop is Country/Bluegrass singer Patty Loveless, whose "Sorrowful Angels" can be found on her 2001 "Mountain Soul" album.

11) "More Than Frybread" - Well, if Christopher Guest can make a series of mockumentaries, why not others?  In this case, 2012's Travis Holt Hamilton's "More Than Frybread" fits the bill - we admit we pulled this film up at random thinking it was a serious documentary about Arizona tribal members in their annual frybread competition, but soon figured out that the tongues were firmly planted inside the actors' cheeks (the final climax battle involves what looked to be a fun fisticuffs involving flying frybreads.) Keeping in the spirit of tongue-in-cheek, we offer up the hip-hop beats of "Frybread Snackin'" by Pawnee rappers Lil Mike & Funny Bone (off their 2018 "Beat of the Drum" album.) 

12) "Ratatouille" - Rats and fine dining don't normally pair up well, but Disney's animated dive into the culinary world made that unlikely pairing come to life and proved to be a box office smash, earning over $200 million in 2007 and hinting that "anyone can cook."  Representing this movie and French peasant dish is none other than Herb Alpert, who assembled a new version of his Tijuana Brass Band for his rendition of "Ratatouille" (which added a "Rata Too Ee" subtitle to help listeners pronounce the word right), located on his 1976 "Coney Island" album.

13) "Soul Food" - We finish out this playlist with a bookend family dramedy centered around the dinner table styled movie with 1997's "Soul Food." Featuring an all-star cast, the movie centers on the close-knit Joseph family, whose traditional Sunday soul food get-together dinners and family-unity are threatened when their matriarch Mother Joe passes away after her surgery goes awry.  We figured after all this feasting, a song you can wind down to while slumped on the couch would be perfect, and Isaac Hayes' 12-minute cover of the Burt Bacharach composition "Walk On By" (off Hayes' landmark 1969 album "Hot Buttered Soul") seemed to be an ideal closer for this playlist.

The 614ortyPlatter - Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Beer and baseball is a natural match, like here in Cleveland
where Great Lakes Brewing is a popular destination

One of our favorite pastimes is baseball - we have planned trips both to Cleveland to watch the home team as well as to Cincinnati (to watch the team that I grew up with, the San Francisco Giants.)  And as much as we do like our Major League games, our true love is with games at the minor league level.  Despite the realignment that the minor leagues underwent which resulted in the loss of a number of minor league teams, many towns and cities are still home to a pro ball team within their boundaries.

One of our favorite things to check out is to see what food items might exist at every ballpark we visit.  While we generally rarely stray from the good old classic hot dog and a beer combination, we do like to see what decadent treats might reside on the menus of the ballparks we do visit.

With that in mind, this blogpost and our accompanying blogpost focuses in on ballparks that are within a relatively modest drive away from our current residence in Central Ohio, and a select eye on some of the delicious eats you might find before you take your seat for a good nine innings or more of action.

The 614ortyPlatter - Musing on The Museum

You might not truly appreciate the breadth that canned
luncheon meat can achieve until you visit the Hormel SPAM
Museum in Austin, Minnesota

Whenever you travel anywhere, we've found a that museum is almost always a safe bet to spend a solid couple of hours or so.  Perhaps the best thing we've found is that museums can cover the gamut of topics, from the serious and sophisticated (random examples from our travels include the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Denver Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum) to the quirky and fun (e.g. The Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, CA, The Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, WV, and The National Funeral Museum in Houston, TX.)

With an eye to future travels, we thought we'd dive into the world of where food and museums intersect (my spouse and I have actually visited two on the list here, but would love to visit every other one mentioned) and give you a playlist based on that unique conjunction.

The 614ortyPlatter: Kitchen Island Discs Vol. 3 (Angelo Signorino, Barley's Brewing)

Ohio's longest-tenured head-brewer, Angelo Signorino of Barley's
Brewing knows his way around a wort and a musical playlist

As I've written before, we've had a long relationship with Angelo Signorino, the longest standing head brewer for any brewery in Ohio.  Most of that lies with my spouse's side of the family - her brother, who has done quite well for himself as a homebrewer, got his first home brewing kit from Angelo, and Barley's was just a hop, skip and a jump for him when he used to live in Victorian Village in the 1990s.  

Some of my wife's first samplings of craft beer involved Barley's beers, and the family at large have always tried to stop in whenever possible, whether it's to enjoy a lunch with beers and menu staples like their Sauerkraut Balls and Turkey Burger, or to fill up a growler or two of their Blood Thirst Wheat or Scottish Ale to bring up to the family for a celebration.

As a paying customer and guide for the former Columbus Brew Adventures, quite a few of my tours involved Angelo's brewery as a stop.  And as the years have gone by, we've gotten to know Angelo a bit on a personal level - there's not too many nicer people you'd want to talk with, whether it's beer or music or life in general.

I consider it an honor and pleasure to have Angelo featured on this month's rendition of Kitchen Island Discs, which features the music of some of Columbus's most prominent food and industry members.  So, if you got it, break out your Barley's pint glass (preferably with a cold beer inside) while we explore some of Angelo's favorite musical tunes.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" - Bjork: Starting with the Sugarcubes, lead singer Bjork quickly proved she didn't need any bandmates to forge out on her own, coming out with the wildly popular 1993 "Debut". Not willing to settle for the ordinary, the Icelandic native went even more eclectic on her 1995 followup "Post", in which her unique vocal stylings provide the glue in songs that alternate between varying extremes - "It's Oh So Quiet" sounds as if it could have been taken from an old-school Warner Brothers cartoon short.

2. "Rhythm-A-Ning" - Thelonious Monk: One of the godfathers of modern jazz and bebop, the North Carolina-born Monk took awhile to find his audience, but once he did (starting with his 1956 album "Brilliant Corners"), there was no looking back.  His future work with fellow legend John Coltrane is seminal, and Monk himself was one of only four jazz musicians to be ever on the cover of Time Magazine.  Interestingly enough, "Rhythm-A-Ning", based on chord changes to George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", similarly took its time in becoming a signature Monk tune - Monk was identified as early as 1941 on one version of the song, but Monk didn't put it on wax until 1957, as part of a recording session with drummer Art Blakey.

3. "Wristband" - Paul Simon: Simon's "Stranger To Stranger" album, released in 2016, shows Simon not dabbling in the past but firmly in the present, and not seemingly in any hurry to move to the future - not surprising, with Simon approaching 75 years of age for this 13th solo album release.  On "Wristband", Simon relates a tale of trying to get back into his gig without the precious wristband, and expands the experience in the last stanza to members of society at large who can never seem to land that wristband to proceed further in their lives.

4. "Living in America" - Sault: The first of two songs that are distinctly NOT like the more familiar James Brown tune of the same title, the British music collective Sault has received acclaim for their their distinct musical pistache, which combines trip-hop, Afrobeat, old-school soul and other elements into something that goes way beyond categorization. Notoriously reluctant to speak to the media, the band has let their music speak for itself, including their dire view on the country across the pond on their 2019 album release "7".

5. "Living in America" - Fontaines D.C.: Formed in Dublin, Ireland in 2017, Fontaines D.C. made a big splash with their post-punk debut "Dogrel" in 2019, earning themselves an "Album of the Year" nod by Rough Trade and BBC Radio 6 Music.  Produced while on their debut album tour, the 2020-released "A Hero's Death" didn't quite hit the heights of their initial release, but contains some strong songs in its own right such as the title track and Angelo's selection, which infuses a sense of dread and foreboding with its ragged, buzzsaw roar.

6. "Lost in the Supermarket" - The Clash: Universally acclaimed as one of the best rock albums period, The Clash's 1979 release "London Calling" was a double album which deftly injected punk aesthetic with a number of musical styles and sported one of the iconic album covers of all time (a riff on the cover of Elvis Presley's 1956 eponymous release.) "Lost in the Supermarket" shows off a softer side of the band, combining Joe Strummer's perception of the rough childhood of fellow band member Mick Jones and their despair over the increasing commercialization of society.

7. "In Heaven There Is No Beer" - Brave Combo: prominent in Texas music since 1979, Brave Combo has entertained their fans over the decades with their unique blending of polka, Tejano and other Worldbeat sounds. Despite the seemingly depressing title, the song, initially written in 1956 in German by Ernst Neubach and Ralph Maria Siegel, is actually an ode for getting your beer drinking done before you pass from this world, and Brave Combo's energetic rendition definitely gets one to raising their steins in quick order.

8. "Know Your Chicken" - Cibo Matto: If there was an album that was the ultimate combination of food and music, Cibo Matto's 1996 album "Viva! La Woman" might land the the number one slot. Created by Japanese ex-pats Miko Hatori and Yuki Honda, Cibo Matto (Italian for "Food Madness") unleashed the full platter of treats on their debut release, blending their trip-hop sound with spicy samples (Ennio Morricone and Duke Ellington, among others) to serve up songs like "Birthday Cake", "White Pepper Ice Cream", and Angelo's selection, which relates the tale of some fancy-colored chickens in Brooklyn.

9. "Not Just What I Needed" - Car Seat Headrest: Originally from Leesburg, VA, Car Seat Headrest has emerged as one of the more popular and prolific lo-fi/indie rock bands to emerge during the 2010s, releasing a dozen albums on Bandcamp prior to their first major label release on Matador Records in 2015.  "Not Just What I Needed", released on the 2016 "Teens of Denial" album, has its own fraught history - the original recording contained a sample of The Cars' "Just What I Needed", but permission to use the sample was nixed just days before the album's official release.  Maybe that's part of why the band's singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Will Toledo dislikes the song so much, despite the rewrite becoming one of the band's standout tracks.

10. "Something You'll Never Forget" - William Onyeabor: a return visitor to our Kitchen Island Discs segement, Onyeabor is actually mentioned in the lyrics in the previous song.  The story of Onyeabor is a fascinating one indeed: born in Nigeria to a poor family, Onyeabor managed to make it over to Europe to study record making; some sources say he also studied cinematography in the old Soviet Union. When he returned to Nigeria in the 1970s, he set up his own film and music recording studios, and released a series of monster funk-oriented hit songs, including this track off the 2013 compilation album "Who Is William Onyeabor?"

11. "Worry" - Songhoy Blues: If the description "African Desert Blues-Rock Band" doesn't make you take a few minutes out of your day to listen to this Mali-based band, then nothing will.  Or maybe this band's story might do that, being forced out of Mali as refugees with government unrest and "retaliating" the best way they knew how using the country's musical traditions as a means of protest.  Despite the title, the anthemic "Worry" is actually a hopeful song to those fighting the fight, with lyrics like "Work hard is the best way/Let your hope come from fight/And go through your darkness/You’ll find your light" reflecting the mood.

12. "Stoned and Starving" - Parquet Courts: The initial album release from the NYC-based Parquet Courts has been described by lead singer Andrew Savage as "The Fall meets Neil Young." Indeed, that unique mix of influences can be found in this playlist closer "Stoned and Starving", which describes a completely New York experience pretty straightforwardly - wandering around a neighborhood full of bodegas trying to figure out what snacks will satisfy the singer's cravings.

The 614ortyPlatter - Hopping Down The Bunny Trail

Easter Munching with Rum Hot Cross Scones from
Worthington's Sassafras Bakery

Growing up in a Catholic household as a kid, Easter and the period leading up to it was something of a "weird" observance from a food perspective.  Yes, we did observe the fish on Fridays deal (though the very-Midwest fish fry was not a thing), but we didn't necessarily observe the fasting portions of Lent.  Easter itself would sometimes have a celebratory meal, though it was never seemed as big as Christmas.  We did the Easter Egg hunting thing for awhile, but eventually that faded out and was revived with my siblings and their kids.  Chocolate eggs and bunnies were a little bit of a thing, but Easter Peeps were definitely not.

Some things do persist - we do generally observe the non-meat Fridays, and we do occasionally indulge in some Easter-themed candies.  We may or may not grab a fish fry before this year's Easter is here (we've got one weekend left to do that), and we're definitely contemplating where we can land some delicious Hot Cross Buns (or, as pictured above, a very delicious alternative like Sassafras's Rum Hot Cross Scones.) 

But perhaps more than anything, we're awaiting what comes beyond Easter this year - the warming weather that Spring brings, and all the food explorations that await.  With that in mind, here is my latest playlist, which encompasses everything Easter, Passover, and food traditions from around the world.

1) "Butter Lamb" - Julie Byrne: Unsurprisingly, Eastern European countries have a slew of traditional culinary creations on the table for this traditional Holy day, and the Butter Lamb (basically, a slab of butter molded like a lamb, traditionally adorned with a red ribbon symbolizing the Blood of Christ) can be found in numerous households.  Buffalo, NY-based Julie Byrne lived in once such household, featuring the creation on her 2016 album "Rooms With Windows and Walls."

2) "Because the Night" - Patti Smith: Seemed like we should directly mention Easter in one of our selected tunes this week, and influential female rocker Patti Smith seemed like the ideal candidate. Her third album "Easter" saw her still trying to balance out art vs commercial considerations and balanced each nicely, helped out immensely (on the commercial side) by "Because the Night", a tune co-penned by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.

3) "Heaven Sent" - Maamoul: A cookie traditionally made in Arabic countries before Easter and Eid, Ma'amoul consist of semolina flour and typically flavored with various nuts and dried fruits. Hailing originally from Germany, the Barcelona-based Maamoul offer up an appealing funk-pop pastiche in their music, like this track off their debut 2018 album "Funky Beast."

4) "In My Own Time" - Bee Gees: Once specifically associated with Good Friday, Hot Cross Buns are a tradition in many countries for the Easter holidays, and have a number of origin stories (the most accepted stories center around it being a monk's creation, though the century differs depending on the tale.) Featured on their 1970 debut album, the Brothers Gibb mentions the baked good in their song "In My Own Time", singing "Sitting selling hot cross buns/Thousand suckers everyone/Sounds just like a nursery rhyme/In my own time."

5) "Dolma" - Tenzin Phuntsok: Don't discount the Greeks when it comes to creating Easter-related culinary dishes: everything from the traditional Tsoureki bread to Myaritsa Soup (created from lamb innards), roasted whole lamb and Tzatziki sauce can be found on the table at various times, as well as Dolmas, stuffed-grape leaves which are a staple in many big meals. Hailing from Tibet, Tenzin Phuntsok creates a slightly different interpretation of "Dolma", fitting in with his preferred dwelling in Tibetan-language pop/love songs.

6) "My Mother's Brisket" - Rick Moranis: while they don't always overlap, the Jewish Passover period and Christian Easter observance generally are seen as happening at the same time by the average layperson. Our little Passover segment starts off with none other than actor Rick Moranis, who waxes eloquently about her mother's brisket on his Seder table on his 2013 album "My Mother's Brisket & Other Love Songs."

7) "Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Op. 65 (Hymn)" - Ernst Toch: Symbolizing the harsh treatment the Egyptians gave to their Jews during their enslavement, bitter herbs are a Passover Seder must. As noted in the Milken Archive, the "Cantata of the Bitter Herbs" originated in 1937, via collaboration with Toch and two Reform Rabbis in Los Angeles to create a classical work based on the Passover story.  As it turned out, Toch generally ignored the traditional songs associated with the holiday, creating a classically-based work that "(transcended) the confines of Jewish history and experience to express a universal theme: the equal injustice of all human oppression throughout the world, the natural longing for freedom by all such victims, and the legitimacy of struggle for liberation in all such cases."

8) "Still Playing For Latkes" - Kugelplex: Hailing themselves as the West Coast's "most rockin’-est purveyor of klezmer and old-world party music" this San Francisco-based outfit has been knocking out traditionally-styled rhythms for weddings and concerts for two decades.  Both Latkes and Kugel are both Passover food traditions, and here we get the double-dose with Kugelplex's rendition of "Still Playing For Latkes."

9) "Let Me Get a Large Pizzelle (No Sausage)" - The Not Fur Longs: Italians have their own Easter-oriented food traditions, from Colomba (a dove-shaped almond bread) to Casatiello (a salty cake filled with all sorts of goodies like salami, cheese, and eggs) to Pizzelles, sweet wafer-like cookies which are popular with many throughout the world, and not just for Easter either. In some ways, the Jersey-based Not Fur Longs and their song aren't the story here, but rather the album it appears on. Included on the "Arbor Christmas 16" album, the "Arbor Christmas" collection was inspired by an idea by Jon Montague to mirror the old Christmas specials of the past, where a band would come by to perform a song with him. Montague died after the second year of this undertaking, but the series has continued (now on its 20th iteration) both in memory to him as well a charitable venture.

10) "Houses of the Holy (Remaster)" - Led Zeppelin: Hailing from Lithuania, Cepelinai (Zeppelin) are hearty meat and potato dumplings found on many Easter-time feasts.  Representing this hearty dish are the hearty chops of none other than heavy rock gods Led Zeppelin, whose "Houses of The Holy" is just one of many solid tracks from their 1975 album "Physical Graffiti."

11) "Halo-Halo" - Mikey Bustos, Bogart the Explorer: While The Philippines is one of the countries that takes its holidays very seriously (their Christmas celebration lasts for 100 days), there has never really been a dish that's been super-closely associated with the Easter celebration. With that said, Ginataang Halo-Halo, a sweet stew featuring glutinous rice balls, taro root, sago pearl, jackfruit and coconut milk, may be the closest thing that fits the bill.  Admittedly, the "Halo-Halo" here sung about by Mikey Bustos and Bogart the Explorer, relates more to the shaved-ice dessert than the stewed rendition, but no one ever said there was anything wrong with enjoying either during this holiday.

12) "Pan de Pascua" - El Wiro Cumbia: While "Pascua" in Spanish is generally associated with Passover, for the largely Roman Catholic country of Chile, their "Pan de Pascua", a fruitcake-styled creation containing things like ginger, honey, and dried fruit, is often associated with a number of holidays, including Christmas, Epiphany and Easter; here, the Chilean-based El Wiro Cumbia does the honors with the ode to this sweet tradition.

13) "Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska" - John Prine: We couldn't finish off this list without a little nod to the secular side of this holiday; in fact, some sources indicate that the holiday's observance goes back to Pagan observances related to Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and fertility.  Modern day customs traditionally involve finding eggs and bunny rabbits, with the first of our secular couplet coming courtesy of the legendary Americana/Country singer John Prine. Relating an unusual tale he had heard about how egg sellers would drop off their daughters at the roller skating rink, he turned this folklore into one of ten songs on what would turn out to be his last studio album, the 2018 "Tree of Forgiveness".

14) "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane: Peter Cottontail, The Easter Bunny, the Easter Bilby (in Australia, rabbits are considered a pest; the endangered Bilby is far more beloved) - whatever your egg toter might be in your part of the world, we give a nod to it here with this pop classic from Jefferson Airplane, which uses a Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" motif for this surrealistic number. In true Easter tradition, most holiday diners can take inspiration from the end of the song, when lead singer Grace Slick wails about Carroll's dormouse - "Feed Your Head...Feed Your Head."