Alton Brown Raps, Sings, and Plays Guitar on His New Album, ‘Bitter Like Me’

Alton Brown, for years America’s favorite dorky food dad thanks to his time hosting the theatrical and scientific culinary series Good Eats, may now be America’s favorite dorky music dad. Brown released a collection of nine songs under the name the Alton Brown Trio, and the album, called Bitter Like Me, is available via Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, and Amazon. He put out a music video for a track called “Pop Song” last night:

Fans who have seen Brown live will recognize the music. He wrote all of the food-focused tunes for his “Edible Inevitable” and “Eat Your Science” variety-show tours. They span a range of genres. “Pop Song” sounds like something Devo would have released in the 1980s, with lyrics such as “kernels pop, edible bop, salt on top, in butter sop.” In “Grandmom Forgot to Brine the Bird,” a sort-of Western number, Brown sings, “Everybody’s doing it, but I guess she hadn’t heard, I guess she’s not much of a food nerd.”

In “TV Chef,” Brown raps. “You know my skills are slammin,’” goes one line. “Check out my grilled salmon.”

The food-media renaissance man credits musicians he has been “fortunate enough to tour with” for allowing him to release such a project. His songwriting process is loosely structured. “Sometimes I write lyrics, sometimes a melody, sometimes a guitar riff, sometimes a chord progression,” Brown tells Eater in an email.

“I have no idea how I do it or whether or not I manage to get away with it, he says. “I do greatly enjoy the process and get a huge kick out of performing live. Am I any good? I have no idea, but it sure is fun.”

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