Looking for songs about wanting to eat, but not being able to, or hunger, or something like that.

October 23, 2007 8:28 PM

Looking for songs about wanting to eat, but not being able to, or hunger, or something like that.

If any of you caught the news recently about the boy in England who's "allergic to all food," that's the disease my daughter has (more at www.apfed.org, if you're interested). My wife and I do a lot of volunteer work to raise research funding and as part of this, I've been asked to put together a short video (or slideshow) with pictures, words and music to illustrate the disease and its effects to the uninitiated. I would love to find the perfect song for this, something along the lines of hunger, or the body not doing what you wish it would, you get the idea. The ideal song would have some emotional tug without being saccharine, with non-mumbly lyrics that can be easily heard. Anything you can suggest would be much appreciated.

posted by mattholomew to media & arts (27 comments total)

Hungry like a Wolf
posted by pompomtom at 8:35 PM on October 23, 2007

"Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog (a Pearl Jam/Soundgarden collaborative group from '91 or so).
posted by padraigin at 8:37 PM on October 23, 2007

Hungry Eyes, Hungry Heart, Upset Stomach (Stevie Wonder) - might have the most appropriate lyrics, but may be more upbeat than you are looking for.
posted by Frank Grimes at 8:39 PM on October 23, 2007

Sounds like a potential MeFi Music Challenge...
posted by davey_darling at 9:08 PM on October 23, 2007

padraigin got my first thought already. For the record, Temple of the Dog was a tribute to Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, who ODed.

Other choices (more homeless hungry):
"Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins
"This Ain't Living" by G Love and Special Sauce
posted by JMOZ at 9:09 PM on October 23, 2007

I know I'm not exactly answering your question, but here goes:

it's a serious pet peeve of mine when people "hit it on the nose" with music choices. it's done all the time in Hollywood movies and i want to smack the hell out of the music supervisor every time. Example: the scene is about the character wanting respect, so they play, guess what? "Respect."

if it's an option, why not think about what the sufferers of this condition must FEEL, and then pick a song to match or reinforce that emotion. Music is so much more powerful when it's not just a literal repetition of what's already on the screen.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:14 PM on October 23, 2007 [4 favorites]

"Snack Attack" by Godley & Creme. [lyrics]
posted by mykescipark at 9:40 PM on October 23, 2007

And, okay, it's campy and has no particular emotional tug beyond perhaps "creepy," but there it is.
posted by mykescipark at 9:41 PM on October 23, 2007

Argh. On actually reading the [more inside], strike my answer completely. KneeJerkMusicFilter. My apologies.
posted by mykescipark at 9:45 PM on October 23, 2007

"Eat it" by Weird Al Yankovic
posted by mattbucher at 9:45 PM on October 23, 2007

If you don't play the whole song, Frankie Big Face has a song called Glutton with some lyrics that might be up your alley.

Disclosure: Frankie Big Face is my brother-in-law.
posted by 23skidoo at 10:50 PM on October 23, 2007

Sounds like a potential MeFi Music Challenge...

I think this is a great idea. You might consider asking over at MetaTalk for people to write an appropriate song for you, if you've got the time to wait. I'm sure there would be more than a few MetaMusicians who'd be willing to contribute to a cause like this.
posted by misozaki at 10:54 PM on October 23, 2007

drjimmy11 has a very good point about not being too on-point with your soundtrack.

For what it's worth, the tune I first thought of when you asked for hungrymusic was Little Jack Melody singing Jai Faim Toujours [Real Audio], but I doubt it's apropos for a slideshow about children with serious immune disorders. Nor is Devo's "Gut Feeling," I suspect. I'm finding surprisingly few tracks in my library whose titles have anything to do with hunger, eating, or food, and those that do tend to be (perhaps unsurprisingly) explicitly about poverty.
posted by mumkin at 10:56 PM on October 23, 2007

I meant to write "MeFiMusicians," but you get the idea.
posted by misozaki at 10:58 PM on October 23, 2007

Caramel by Suzanne Vega? It's about wanting something but knowing it's not good for you. (Using caramel as a metaphor for a person.)
posted by ochenk at 10:58 PM on October 23, 2007

lips
like
sugar
posted by dorian at 11:11 PM on October 23, 2007

Dang...the first thing that popped into my head, Them Belly Full, is precisely the opposite of what you asked for on all counts.
posted by darksasami at 12:50 AM on October 24, 2007

There's "Hungry" by INXS. Not all the lyrics fit but you could always do something like remove them with audacity

Also, the first song I thought of when reading this question (even though it doesn't have to do with hunger) is "When the heartache ends" by Rob Thomas. I suppose I agree with drjimmy11.
Say you'll be with me when the heartache ends

Or how about "Here comes the night"
When the hour is upon us
And our beauty surely gone
No, you will not be forgotten
No, you will not be alone
posted by moonshine at 12:51 AM on October 24, 2007

"the body not doing what you wish it would"? My Body is a Cage (link is to the lyrics) by Arcade Fire fits nicely and isn't so specific to be mawkish or saccharine.
posted by bunglin jones at 3:07 AM on October 24, 2007

This may be one of the weirder suggestions you'll get, but consider "Hospital Food" by Eels. It's got a kind of fake-jazzy sound like Morphine's...moody, but not saccharine.
posted by kittyprecious at 6:41 AM on October 24, 2007

"Talk About the Passion" by R.E.M.
posted by 4ster at 6:59 AM on October 24, 2007

Junk-food junkie.

(apparently there was another song of the same name by X-ray Spex. This is not that song, but the one by Larry Groce, and can I just say, I love that I could find all this on the Internet.)
posted by adamrice at 7:29 AM on October 24, 2007

They Might Be Giants "Dinner Bell"
posted by hydropsyche at 8:40 AM on October 24, 2007

I've got food issues, though of a different variety, Sleater-Kinney's Youth Decay really speaks to me:
Stomachache
Well it must be in your head
It must be something that you did
Food just doesn't seem to work out
More angry than sad if that's a mood you're going for.
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:58 AM on October 24, 2007

"Talk About the Passion" by R.E.M.
posted by 4ster at 6:59 AM on October 24 [mark as best answer] [+] [!]

Um, I said non-mumbly.
posted by mattholomew at 10:15 AM on October 24, 2007

"Is it worth the waiting for?
If we live 'til eighty four
All we ever get is gru...el!
Ev'ry day we say our prayer –
Will they change the bill of fare?
Still we get the same old gru...el!
There is not a cust, not a crumb can we find,
Can we beg, can we borrow, or cadge,
But there's nothing to stop us from getting a thrill
When we all close our eyes and imag...ine..."

– Food, Glorious Food
posted by weston at 10:27 AM on October 24, 2007

My bad. Missed the non-mumbly part.
posted by 4ster at 1:32 PM on October 24, 2007