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Kitchen Music

post #1 of 80
6/13/03 at 1:36am
Thread Starter 
OK , lets play the song again . Do you listen to the radio or tapes in the kitchen and if you do what is it .Or maybe no sound allowed ! I love to listen to rock and roll , old or new . Whats your favorite ? What do the staff wanna hear ? So whats your dish ? Doug
The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity !
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post #2 of 80
6/13/03 at 5:09am
Styx, of course!! (The old stuff when they were a 'real' band)
Lot's of Big Band... Glenn Miller, The Count, Benny Goodman... really keeps everybody moving
Jazz around prep time... mellow enough to not cause stress, upbeat enough to stay awake!

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post #3 of 80
6/13/03 at 6:21am
I once read an article about russian factories who did a time and motion study looking at the effects of music in working environments. Suprisingly they found that the faster the tempo the greater the productivity & lower the boredom threshold.
However I must confess that styx & rock n roll would tempt me to self inflict a handcut to escape the kitchen to the a&e room !
I like to have stuff like nick drake & dylan for the breakfast shifts & crank it up as i wake up increasing the bpms to a mad crescendo of punk death metal !!!!!!
Its the same trick that british pub/clubs use they increase the bpms on purpose to send people into frenzies as the evening goes on.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #4 of 80
6/13/03 at 12:12pm
I used to work at a place that we would listen to a little of everything, from ''Mexican Polka'' to Bluegrass to world music, to the latest techno. Was a lot of fun listening to all that different stuff. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. All my crew wants to listen to is the rock station (you know-the same 15 songs played over and over). They whine when I play something different so when I have had it with the same old songs, the radio now goes off.
From Man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the World-Saint Arnoldus
http://www.onceachef.com/
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post #5 of 80
6/13/03 at 1:41pm
Pete, you're in Wisconsin now. The only types of radio stations are classic rock, country and polka!

If I bring in my CD player, I play Santana. If we're listening to the house music (it only plays in the prep kitchen/dish room), the cooks like to listen to Mexican music or hip-hop.
Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
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post #6 of 80
6/13/03 at 1:44pm

A few I listened to today before it got too busy to listen.

We have some kids working right now that bring in a new cd or two a day that they burn from the internet. Today it was Ben Harper. We also listened to Heartattach and Vine by Tom Waits, "Harvest Moon
' by Neil Young and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds new one "Nocturama'.
I have a diverse taste in music and I think that working with so many young people is partly to blame.
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
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post #7 of 80
6/13/03 at 8:57pm
I wish I could get my crew to expand their horizons, but for now I'll just keep turning it off when I get tired of Motley Crue's 'Wild Side' and anything by ''new'' Metallica.
From Man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the World-Saint Arnoldus
http://www.onceachef.com/
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post #8 of 80
6/14/03 at 4:43am
Where i work,there is an all-in cassette,cd and radio.Listening to music at work does have it`s benefits.It can help to cheer people up at certain times e.g. when everyone is feeling really tired due to a very busy week. We play a good mixture of old music,for people like me and new music for the younger people.
Most of the music is from cd`s as a number of radio stations keep playing the same stuff all day,think of Groundhog Day.A number of the younger people in the kitchen say that there is too much waffling on stations for the under 30`s.
One particular station seems to be full of sycophants,the so-called "interviews"the presenters conduct are nauseating.

I personally,don`t want to go back to working without music.My bosses don`t mind as it doesn`t interfere with other people in the building.
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post #9 of 80
6/14/03 at 10:17am
In our kitchen, which is quite small, the radio goes off during service time. I hate trying to yell over the music.
From Man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the World-Saint Arnoldus
http://www.onceachef.com/
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post #10 of 80
6/14/03 at 2:20pm

My only rule? NO TOP 40

We have an open kitchen and no music out front. So the only music you hear is whatever we are playing in the kitchen. Our restaurant is loud when it is full of people anyway, so a little noise from the kitchen is to be expected. Adds a little to the atmosphere.
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
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post #11 of 80
6/14/03 at 3:41pm
I listen to alternative rock. Lifehouse, Blink 182, Theory of a Dead Man, Korn. We have 2 really good alternative rock stations here. When we lived in SW CO, someone at the radio station forgot to turn the calendar page after 1979. Sometimes DH mixes CD's for us to play in the kitchen.
Food is sex for the stomach.
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post #12 of 80
6/15/03 at 9:49am

Death Punk Metal, for Mike.

I downloaded a song or two by a band called The Locust from their new recording "Plague Soundscapes". Made me think of you.
I guess because I did'nt grow up an angry urban youth some of it is lost on me. Next time. www.anti.com for the link.
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
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post #13 of 80
6/15/03 at 12:12pm

FAR OUT PEACHCREEK

Angry urban youth....I like that....I didnt know one could be transparent on the internet...unless your psychic....freaky...
ok ill admit it i was a punkrocker first time round & still yearn to wear bondage trousers except people will laugh....thanks for the link.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #14 of 80
6/15/03 at 2:56pm
At the country club I had a radio in the bake shop which had to be off by 9 am because, as the chef put it, the members might be around and they shouldn't be subjected to Howard Stern talking about deviant sex. At the earthy crunchy grocery store we have god awful muzak which might get left on the same channel for a week, which means that every 3.6 hours you hear Avril Lavigne bleating, You hurt me, I'm so sad. In previous jobs I would vibrate with anxiety if I didn't have control of the music, both content and volume, which was always off during service. I was trying to explain to someone the other day that I haven't cared about popular music since the Beatles broke up, and really truly don't. NPR is fine, all news is fine, some talk is fine, classic rock is fine, but anything too contemporary with too much synthesized drums leaves me totally cold.
It's not Dairy Queen.
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post #15 of 80
6/18/03 at 1:45pm
I mostly listen to the jazz radio station while cooking but once in a while, I'll put something heavier on like Linkin Park or Disturbed on my lappy...usually when my parents aren't home:D
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post #16 of 80
6/19/03 at 2:27am
BLESS.....................
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #17 of 80
6/21/03 at 11:21am

diversity is the key

sunday mornings is for the local college station-
regge,franksinatra,latino and world

when the crew is sluggish and pissy
old-and i mean old- metallica
rage
punk
if im feiling saucy i break out the old death metal--

standard everyday listening
blind melon
grateful dead
hendrix
zeppelin
stp
marley
tosh

when all else fails , gotta have the classical

is that diverse enough for ya
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post #18 of 80
6/21/03 at 6:13pm
Our kitchen was 90% Mexican and insisted on listening to the oompa-oompa Mexican polka and ranchera music---so they got their turn from 6am to 10am. After that it was usually alternative or classsic rock. Man, would they complain when the station was switched!
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post #19 of 80
6/21/03 at 8:32pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah , I can relate to the hispanic music . As I have gravitated to the food service managers job I have to listen to more of this music than I ever cared to . But when I have catering events or just have to show the crew how I want something cooked well look out . Im in the kitchen and the radio is mine ( I brought in a good boom box for them ) as I like to cook to music . Old rock , New Rock or Hip Hop ?
It does not matter as long as it speaks english . I tell the crew that I am just helping them to learn english when I do this . But I think they know I dont want a vacation in mexico nor do I eat at Taco Bell on my days off .
The only song I ever had a complaint on coming from the kitchen was Lynrd Skinnerd " That smell " . Still trying to figure that one out ? Yeah Right ! Peace , Doug......................
The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity !
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post #20 of 80
6/21/03 at 9:35pm
Depends....normally when I'm Pcing NO NOISE>>>>
when it's for me or a no brainer I put on Shinia Twain, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews...I started listening to Hip Hop/Rap in the car to just figure out what the attraction is...it's OK.
There is nothing like Fogarty, ZZ Top,Neil Diamond....is this old foggy shtuff or what?.When I'm working the line...nothing....just the horrible sound of the ticket machine.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #21 of 80
6/23/03 at 6:08am
Angrychef............Mexican music from 6 till 10 ........no wonder your angry.... Id be insane.

Soussweets.......Is the music station KRVS cause thats what i listen to Sunday mornings in the bath..far out...Try listening to Jonathon Ross on BBCi internet on radio 2.You can listen to any bbc radio programme retrospectively. I think hes hilarious & he plays a mean tune too.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #22 of 80
6/23/03 at 8:38am
I like working by myself. I play what I want. If I'm working on Sugarcraft, I play Indian ragas. Slow, soothing, and meditative. Things I need when I'm making a bunch of gumpaste roses. For actual baking, I play a variety... Into Another, Sick of it All, Danzig, or bhajans that are more upbeat (devotional Hindu music). For cleaning, (WHICH I HATE!), to get myself psyched up, I play Snapcase or energetic indie rock/emo like The Get Up Kids.
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post #23 of 80
6/25/03 at 2:06pm
Man, they took away our radio at work, so now it's quiet all the time. It really stinks, because on slow nights, the silence is sleep-inducing. Oh well, what are you gonna do? :rolleyes:
I'll go get the Gin-ger!!!
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post #24 of 80
7/9/03 at 10:43pm
I can't believe I missed this thread before. I just had it out with the front of the house managers about the radio last weekend. My cooks are pretty much all into punk, west coast mostly, so we listen to alot of that. (I'm punker than they are) when working alone before they come in I listen to Indian Kirtan or mellower stuff. At the end of shift while breaking down I listen to Nick Cave or Will Oldham. We agreed to lay off the CDs with offensive lyrics and are mostly listening to crappy local radio. I have worked both with and without and it is much happier with as long as it doesn't interfere with communication in the kitchen.
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post #25 of 80
7/10/03 at 12:18pm
Anyone heard of Nick Drake......the mellowist music alive, erm well actually he died in 1972 but hes as fresh today as he was then.
Dickvegas .......... I used to travel round on tour with Clash & Stranglers , I still have the safety pin marks in my ears... old punks never die they just get grumpier !
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #26 of 80
7/10/03 at 4:29pm
There is a local NPR DJ who plays Nick Drake music. I was in over lunch at the restaurant today and one of the staff had a U2 dance remix cd on that was pretty good. Something to bop around the kitchen to.
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
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post #27 of 80
7/11/03 at 2:32pm
I do let the staff on my properties to listen to music, but not during service. Also there are certain kinds of music(i.e. hard rap, trance, fast rock, which is my favorite) to be played as it seems to increase the stress level.
Just my point of view.
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post #28 of 80
7/11/03 at 5:51pm
from noon to 3pm its the oldies because its the only music(non-country)station that comes in, from 3-5ish its howy carr-talk radio,5ish to close its a cd burned from the dishwasher ac/dc metallica zepplin black crows and such oldies, when i'm alone and down its the trusted country(the only other station that comesin, in this god forsaken place)....
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post #29 of 80
7/12/03 at 9:03am
Country & Western that is bad.
You could always move.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #30 of 80
7/12/03 at 9:56am
Some Country-Western isn't too bad. Mark Knofflers recording with the Notting Hillbillies is one of my favorites. A lot of old 60's rock and roll sounds like country music to me. And a lot of old rock had its roots in country music.
Sometimes I get a vision of living in Nevada, cooking at a cafe next to the gas pumps off of some little two lane. Staying in a single-wide across the dirt lot from the restaurant. Not a tree for miles. Wearing a white T-shirt and a smudged up 4-way, swatting flies and listening to Conway Twitty.
What a relief! To find out after all these years that I'm not crazy. I'm just culinarily divergent...
Reply
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