‘After I had my cat stolen, I would listen toFunkadelic and cry and cry’: Jennifer Herrema’s honest playlist
The Black Bananas singer knows all the words to Rapper’s Delight and relates to AC/DC, but which song reminds her of a heartbreaking theft?
This story summarizes reporting from The Guardian. Read the original for full context. Wire items stay in our news sitemap for seven days. Editorial policy.
Priya Elan30 Aug 2026, 08:00 amUpdated 2h ago3 min readMusicMusic
Music — Priya Elan
‘After I had my cat stolen, I would listen to Funkadelic and cry and cry’: Jennifer Herrema’s honest playlist
Van Halen’s Runnin’ With the Devil. I was five or six and I went to visit my cousin Tommy who was much older. He was on a hockey team and we went to see them practise before the game and they had Runnin’ With the Devil on really loud. I was like: “Wait, what’s this?!”
You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. Me and Brian Johnson – my voice has that thing, you know?
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
I still remember the full 12-inch version of the Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight – I did it this morning! That’s a record my dad got me. He loved dancing to it.
Meet on the Ledge by Fairport Convention. Partly because of the tragedy of Sandy Denny. But also because I listened to it over and over at a really depressing time.
When I first heard Lou Reed’s Satellite of Love on the radio it sounded so different and weird to me. It really imprinted on me.
Let It Whip by Dazz Band. The way it starts, it sounds just like the way a party starts.
I listen to the Gap Band’s Gotta Get Up when the roosters are crowing and it’s really early in the morning. It’s a song I can listen to without getting inside my head.
I had braces on my legs when I was a baby and then later I went with my dad to a shoe shop, Buster Brown, to buy some Mary Janes. I loved those patent leather party shoes. Then my dad went and got me Mary Jane by Rick James. I didn’t know what Mary Jane meant, but my dad did.
Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’m a big fan. The lyrics are gorgeous and it’s appropriate. I don’t think I’m going to die anytime soon.
I never put on music or anything like that. But if I was going to choose something that’s got a chill vibe it would be Memory Motel by the Rolling Stones.
Funkadelic’s I Miss My Baby. My cat Callie was stolen by the post lady and I would listen to that song and cry and cry. She was suspended from the postal service. But I never got my cat back.
Black Bananas’ new album, Bad Bunch, is out on Friday .
You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. Me and Brian Johnson – my voice has that thing, you know?
This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →
Source: The Guardian · Priya Elan. Published 30 Aug 2026, 08:00 am.
