Anthony Bourdain’s ’70s Playlist Includes Brian Eno, Curtis Mayfield and The Clash

Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of punk here

Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain attends "Parts Unknown Last Bite" Live CNN Talk Show hosted by Anthony Bourdain at Atomic Liquors on November 10, 2013.
Isaac Brekken/WireImage

There’s a bit on Patton Oswalt’s 2007 album Werewolves and Lollipops where the comedian makes an apt comparison between chefs and rock stars. As that routine shows, the lines between music and food are more blurred than you might expect — and it’s hard not to think of Anthony Bourdain as one of the figures who had a foot in each world for most of his life. It’s worth mentioning that a host of musicians paid tribute to the late chef and writer upon his death in 2018, and that musician and producer Steve Albini contributed to Bourdain’s World Travel.

All of which makes it worthwhile to revisit a playlist of music from the 1970s that Bourdain assembled for CNN. Writing at Far Out, Jack Whatley took a deep dive into the playlist, which covers a lot of ground but is — not surprisingly — heavy on punk.

Bourdain’s playlist includes songs from The Clash, Richard Hell, The Cramps, and The Ramones — along with Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusher Man.” It’s not necessarily abounding with deep cuts, but it is an eminently listenable selection of music — and just idiosyncratic enough to remind you of the tastes of the man who put it together.

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