Just like last month’s article, ‘Born In The USA’, talked about American bands, the Reese’s Cup is another American accomplishment. It was first manufactured in the basement of Reese’s home in 1928. I wonder if the first time they combined the two main ingredients the words “You got peanut butter in my chocolate” were uttered like in the old commercial. Or was it an unexpected treat that is a favorite candy of many? Well this month’s ‘Reese’s Cups’ Spotify playlist talks about those unexpected combinations that perhaps, like the delicious candy bar, started out as an accident and ended up a wonderful surprise.
Obviously you see musicians perform together periodically occasionally if they are playing at the same show. Generally it seems to be artists that have a similar genre or style. These are a nice treat but don’t catch me off guard. And then there are those instances that seem like they threw names in a hat and the two picked get paired up to perform together. A couple of the unlikely pairings on this month’s playlist are JAY-Z & Lincoln Park, Eminem & Elton John and Lou Reed & Metallica. Maybe Eminem & Elton John got selected because the Grammy producers lined up the performers alphabetically and they were standing beside each other. But seriously, I didn’t know until I wrote this article that the two of them have been friends for almost two decades because of that performance in 2001.
Unlike previous playlists, I can’t say there are any particular pairings that have a special meaning or remind me of any stories in my life. The theme in general does remind me of a fact about myself. My youngest teases me a lot because I almost always refuse to follow a recipe when I cook. I may get an idea from something I see and then just grab a little of this and a little of that and make my own version. When her and I sit down to eat, if she likes it she will ask me what’s in the dish. She then just sighs and shakes her head when I tell her I don’t know. When I did whip up a meat marinade she absolutely loved, she did stop me before we ate and told me to write down everything I put in it so it was repeatable. So in line with my recipes, I pondered what musical dish would I serve up that was created from unexpected artist ingredients. My choice did not have to be people that were active currently or at the same time. So my surprise dish would be the huge pipes of Adele with the talented Rush. Could this have happened, I think this pairing would take them both a little out of their comfort zones. But as with all musicians of this caliber, they could definitely have pulled it off.
What unlikely pairing have you heard that did not make it onto the ‘Reese’s Cups’ Spotify playlist? And if you could wave a magic wand of your own, who would you pair up that would be totally unexpected. Check back next month when my September theme is ‘Knock Offs’.
open.spotify.com/playlist/34pDN0vutFx4hLimvWTwjo?si=7pyw_3IvSlq97c3ZFCiWnQ