Ditties to Dine By

Cafe Drake has hit a minor snafu regarding our promised podcasts; namely, we're technologically inept (good at sherry trifles, bad at computers) and secondly, in our debut attempt to craft said podcast we've been informed of certain arcane copyright laws. Well this isn't our first time at the rodeo boys, and you can all rest assured these setbacks will be circumvented, but for now we'll submit a humble playlist per the request of several Cafe Drake web fans.

Music sets moods throughout our daily lives as we all know, but your subway commute list, or songs in heavy rotation for the elliptical trainer, may not be as appropriate for social gatherings. Below you will find suggestions for a well-rounded evening, beginning with the upbeat festive background so necessary for cocktails, following through to majestic setpieces guaranteed to compliment your ravishing entree and dessert. Depending on the guests assembled, tailor the volume and selection to specific tastes. And remember that while you may enjoy geeking out on matching bpm, nobody wants to slurp oysters or spoon soup on a dancefloor, so save the turbo bass for apres-dining dancing.

Dinner Playlist #1

At the House of the Clerkenwell Kid - The Real Tuesday Weld
We Just Won't Be Defeated - The Go! Team
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams - Kay Starr
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
Same Old Scene - Roxy Music
The Party's Crashing Us - Of Montreal
You Were Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys
Town Called Malice - The Jam
and now we move to the table for our first course . . .
My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone
Armeggedon - CocoRosie
Chemicals - The Notwist
Never Let Me Down - Depeche Mode
Miss You - Rolling Stones
Anyone Who Had a Heart - Dusty Springfield
Ode to Billie Joe - Bobby Gentry
Dream - The Everly Brothers
Across the Universe - Fiona Apple
Love is Strange - Mickie and Sylvia
Did I Step on Your Trumpet - Danielson
Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello
Bird Girl - Antony and the Johnsons
Oh You Pretty Things - David Bowie
The Genocide Ball - The Robot Ate me
Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground
Red Desert - Pernice Brothers
Heard Somebody Say - Devendra Banhart
Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
Pasadena - Goldie Hawn
Lady Bird - Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood
Coming Down the Hill - El Perro Del Mar
Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush

It's all about the mix, keeping diners amused and surprised, and moving the tempo up and down throughout the meal. Hopefully, if, your wine flight has been carefully chosen (and your cocktails sufficiently strong) you'll have a merry old singalong by the time coffee is brewed and digestifs are poured.