why cafe and restaurant playlists are bad

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about hospitality and clothes, by me, Reilly Hodson. This week: a request for better music at hospo joints. If you’d like to chip in a few dollars to help keep this newsletter ticking along, you can click the button below:

an ode to good cafe and restaurant playlists

Once upon a time, like many Pākehā teenage boys who liked making playlists, I fancied myself somewhat of a music writer. I even wrote a few articles which were published (I’m particularly proud of this piece I wrote about Brockhampton’s visit to Auckland in 2018). Eventually, though, I realised that, as a music listener, I mostly just like what I like, and I don’t have the mental capacity to listen to every new release and keep my finger on the pulse. I’ve mostly dispensed with any delusion that my music opinions are particularly worthy of sharing, with one exception: I hate most cafe and restaurant playlists.

As someone who worked in “cool” cafes and restaurants for 5 years, I have heard enough Fela Kuti, Fleetwood Mac and Leisure songs to last me several lifetimes over, so it drives me nuts that every hip new spot plays, essentially, the same 50-100 songs on repeat. Every time I go to a new wine bar I get flashbacks to traumatic days on the floor, courtesy of music that vaguely hand waves at displaying good taste, but not in a way which could be off-putting to older patrons, whatever any of that means.

My favourite cafe of all time was Ceremony, a little coffee and sandwich joint on Park Road, owned by Charles Williams of Williams Eatery and Connor Nestor of A Label Called Success. The food and coffee was top notch, of course, but the thing that kept me coming back, every week, was the vibe. I haven’t been anywhere since Ceremony closed that has had the vibe nailed down in quite the same way. The music was cafe-appropriate, sure, but it also reflected the tastes of the people that worked there; sometimes they would play a whole album front to back, on the weekends you could bring in a record to play and they’d shout you a coffee. Their Spotify playlist was an extension of the brand, I’d listen to it at home sometimes.

I’d love to see more places take some risks with their playlists, or at least try something different. In my experience, the people who care most about the music playing at a hospo joint are the people that work there, so play music that you like! The good vibes that come from music that the staff enjoy will always flow onto the feel of going places.

Another great approach is just to mix it up every once in a while. Annabel’s on Ponsonby Road has been doing this recently, handing over the keys to the Spotify for the night to cool people (who aren’t usually DJs), just to mix it up and turn a normal service into more of an event. It’s great fun, and I’d love to see more places steal that move.

Some places that play good, and different, music that I enjoy are Ockhee, Daily Daily, and East St. Hall after 10pm, when the DJ comes on.

clips

• This blog post from Mike Gibb of Star Superette, Bar Celeste and East St. Hall is a great breakdown of why wine is the colour it is, if you’ve ever wondered about the real difference between white, orange, rose and red wines.

• A great new regular feature from The Spinoff’s Catherine Woulfe about the best books she’s read recently.

• Kowtow just dropped their new collection, and it’s bangers only. I’m looking seriously at this knit vest, this jumper in an excellent green, and the matching beanie.

• I’m very keen to check out S.O.A.P. dancehall, a new club off K Road that prioritises community, conversation and dancing, three things I am into.

• Indigo and Provisions in Christchurch just got in this buzzy cross cut indigo shirt from 3sixteen, and if you need a new overshirt, this might be the one for you.

one good thing: the service at receptionist coffee

Every week, clipboard highlights one good thing that I’ve eaten, bought or experienced in the past week. This week: the service at my new commute coffee spot.

Now that I work in town, I’ve had to start figuring out a new place to get my coffee in the morning. There were a couple of false starts, but I think I’ve finally figured out a good place to stop on my way to Shortland St: Receptionist Coffee on Lorne St.

Charmingly, Receptionist’s store front features a massive print out of clipboard reader Jean Teng’s “10 best places to get coffee” article which featured them in 2019. The coffee is delicious, made precisely with scales and stuff, which as a former barista I appreciate, and the service is timely and brilliant.

Mr K., whose real name I’m unsure of, takes a Japanese approach to service, complete with bows and “sir” and “madam,” and when you add in the smooth jazz and his shirt and tie, it’s like watching a piece of performance art. I could sit and watch K make coffee in his smooth, unhurried way for hours on end. There are better cups of coffee to be bought in Auckland, of course, but there’s no place quite like this.

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! If you enjoy clipboard, forward it to a friend! You can follow me and clipboard on Instagram, and email me whenever with questions, comments or suggestions. I’ll be back next week, same time, same place.