by weather report
D: I was on my way to my first date with Shanti and I was a little nervous. I knew I needed to listen to some music to calm me down and boost me up. I’d been friends with the Erskine family for years but never really sat down and listened to Peter’s band Weather Report, so I thought I’d pop on one of their albums. “Black Market” played. It felt like listening to Fela for the first time. Or Isaac Hayes. Or “Headhunters”. It was super cool, and by proxy so was I. That was the best first date of my life.
by wilco
S: It's almost impossible for me to play favorites, but this is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. In the very beginning of our banter, I told Dan how much I loved it and how I air guitar the epic solo. He told me he does the exact same thing! I still don't know if that was actually the truth (I don't think it is) but I love the story anyway.
by the human league
S: Well, if sitting in a tiny karaoke room that was once a storage closet with a complete stranger wasn't awkward enough, we both felt the pressure of trying to pick a stunner of a first song. While combing through binders of song lists, Dan said "how about a duet?" And this was what we landed on. A little while later I'd learn that he actually loved singing this song with his friend Sam. And I've since seen Sam karaoke...I'll leave this duet to the two of them from now on.
by the bees
D: I must not have listened to “Black Market” enough because Shanti and I ended up going our separate ways, but shortly met back up again. It was our 2nd second date and we were at her place in Eagle Rock eating deliciously greasy tacos. She asked me to help her put together the playlist for her next Forks and Vinyl and I brought over my “dumb iPad” with a bunch of songs on it. She hadn’t heard this one. We still haven’t deciphered the opening lyric, but every time I hear this song I think about that night, and about that hug we had, and about how much I wanted those hugs all my life. S: The tacos weren't greasy.
by van morrison
S: The first Forks & Vinyl dinner that happened after Dan and I started dating the second time around was "the wild ones" and this song ended up being inspiration for the salad course. Tastes like: Green Pluots, Plums, Arugula, Anise Champagne Vinaigrette Feels like: the pure giddiness of really, really liking someone. Side note: I threw out my back a week before the dinner and was still in the process of recipe testing. Dan came over, helped me move things in and out of the oven and we got to try the work in progress dinner. This dish originally had amaranth for the greens, but when it was out at the farmer's market, I grabbed the arugula, knowing it was Dan's favorite.
by bon iver
S: Oh boy. For two VERY romantic humans, a lot of our story and our moments weren't the big just-like-the-movies moments I grew up idolizing. But then, on a rainy night in October, we were watching Bon Iver at the Hollywood Bowl and Daniel Sukara made all my hipster dreams come true by telling me he loved me for the first time. This is the song that was playing.
by miles davis (it's a joke!)
D: First off, stop. I know it’s The Dave Brubeck Quartet, but here’s the story. It was a disgustingly hot August Sunday in Culver City so Shanti and I headed down to this wine bar/shop called Stanley’s, which for some reason I always call Sullivan’s, and it was perfect. Quiet, chill, friendly staff, and beautiful air conditioning. We were a glass or two into the afternoon, enjoying the jazz music softly playing in the background and chatting with our server who was...interesting. Goofy. But like not sure if it was an act or just him. Anyway, the familiar opening of Take 5 starts playing and the dude wanders over to our table, kind of dancing a bit along to it, and says: “Miles Davis. I love him.” And then dances off. So yeah...how can a memory like that not stick?
by the lone bellow
S: This song was the main entrée course of forks & vinyl: the good fight. tastes like: black garlic braised short rib, rutabaga and parsnip purée, broccolini flowers feels like: commitment and real love There are a few bands that I feel slightly superconnected to and The Lone Bellow is one of them. They release albums with sounds and lyrics and HARMONIES that feel like they are just as much a part of me as the blood in my veins and the funny mole on my nose. Walk Into A Storm came out as I was learning about the depth of love and the heartache that it brings. I heard it, wrapped my heart around those lyrics and immediately tucked it away as a secret promise to Dan.
by the national
S: This is straight from some notes I made for an F&V course: tastes like cheese on cheese, herb roasted grapes, local bread There comes a point where you realize that the thrilling, nervous feeling of the beginning is gone. This song is my ode to when those feelings suddenly appear again. And again. Often times they appear when we least expect them but need them and typically arrive in small romantic moments. I played this song for Dan on my phone on an unassuming Sunday afternoon. A few weeks prior I'd told him that as happy I was, I was sad knowing that we'd never get that beginning feeling back. And then, right before the chorus, there it was. That feeling, except this time with more weight to it because we were smack dab in the middle of fighting the good fight.
by father john misty
D: There’s a certain milestone with a first date. A first kiss. The first time you say I love you. When we got engaged, it was a milestone that was larger than I think either of us imagined. It was more than loving each other, or living with each other, or uniting our families. It was vulnerability, it was honesty, it was transparency. Understanding and appreciating and respecting each other, unconditionally. It can be difficult. It can be hard. But getting through that, working on that, and fully knowing each other can create a union that is unbreakable. That you know this is the one who you can trust and be weak and helpless in front of. And know that they’ll always be there for you. That’s what this song sounds like to me. Love in the face of it all. S: Uh, how do I follow that?
by sam cooke
S: Not one of Sam Cooke's most popular songs, but I fell in love with it completely the first time I heard it in my 20s and secretly hoped it'd be my wedding first dance song someday. Spoiler alert: it's not going to be ours. But that's okay because at F&V: A Love To Call Our Own, this song came on and Dan got me to stop being a boss lady for a tiny little bit so we could slow dance behind the scenes.
by madness
D: If you knew me in high school you knew I was about two things: 80s rom-coms and ska. I would sit in my room, listening to sappy songs and daydreaming about that 80s movie moment where I finally get the girl of my dreams and we share that perfect kiss in time to the expertly curated soundtrack playing in the background. That track was always this one. I found the girl of my dreams. Cue the song. Roll credits.
by Pras, Mya and ODB
S: I'm throwing this in there because, well, your girl's picks are always on the melancholy or unrealistically romantic side and I have a reputation for being so serious. But somewhere in the cloud there are videos of me and Dan being the most ridiculous versions of ourselves while dancing and lip syncing to this song and More Than A Woman by The Bee Gees. I can count on one hand the people who I feel comfortable being THAT silly with and I'm forever grateful Sukara is at the top of that list.