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Playlists: songs about January

January 21, 2026 Peter Kimpton

Sign of the times: January can even turn a Red State snowy white …

Strange weather to personal life events, sudden death to delivery of good news, January can bring all sorts of surprises, stories, memories and emotions. Guest SweetHomeAlabama makes some top picks from last week’s topic

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In comedy, country, dance, disco, easy listening, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, musicals, playlists, pop, psychedelia, rock, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, January, months, Abba, Elton John, Pilot, Low, The Sundays, Tori Amos, Bonnie McKee, Avett Brothers, Big Crosby, A.B. Original, Johnny Horton, Steve Forbert, David J, Keith LeBlanc, Screaming Trees, Mara & David, Neil Young, Promise Of The Real, Yusef Lateef, Chicago Bears, SweetHomeAlabama
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Playlists: songs about fingers and thumbs

May 14, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Everything Everywhere All At Once … but in which direction do this week’s song choices point?

With a digital delivery stretching many fascinating directions and contexts, this week’s guest playlister ajostu finds his touch with all sorts of musical and lyrical fingersmithing and thumb skills, inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, gospel, krautrock, lounge, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, fingers, thumbs, hands, The Creatures, Silver Apples, Jackie Leven, Editors, Black Francis, Ruby, Phyllis DIllon, Danny Kaye, Abba, Thomas Lang, Cult With No Name, Cocteau Twins, Crowded House, Lucy Dacus, Pearl Jam, Dorothy Ashby, Hiatus Kaiyote, The Eleventh House, Larry Coryell, The Choice Four, Donna Summer, Airto, Frank Zappa, John Lee Hooker, Wes Montgomery, Clarion Fracture Zone, Maurice Ravel, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jean Martinon, Claude Debussy, Elephant Gym, Radwimps, ajostu
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Playlists: songs with tautonyms and other repeat-word phrases

May 1, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Record bags: That Damned’s 7-inch sleeve from 1977

Echoing syllables and words across history, the animal kingdom, cultures and genres, this poetic linguistic effect brought a bountiful and vibrant supply of nominations. Guest playlister Maki picks a poetic selection to capture their glory

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, folk, experimental, funk, indie, jazz, krautrock, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags language, playlists, tautonyms, The Archies, Abba, Gillian Hills, The Milkees, Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads, Dub Syndicate, Burning Spear, A Taste of Honey, Talk Talk, Teenage Fanclub, The Damned, Los Bárbaros, Rihanna, Django Reinhardt, Erik Truffaz, Philou Louzolo, Coole Joe, Elivira, Tinariwen, Touki, Soraya, Erykah Badu, Scooter, The Grateful Dead, A Certain Ratio, The Jamaicans, Miriam Makeba, The Delfonics, Fox, Goldfrapp, Otis Redding, Jacques Brel, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, Joe Strummer, King Crimson, Iggy Pop, John Lee Hooker, Rockin' Sydney, Middle of The Road, The Mamas and Papas, Dicky Doo and The Don'ts, Baby Ford, Cab Calloway, Fela Kuti, The Undertones, The Stranglers, Fruko y Sus Tesos, Bebe, Maki, Celia & The Mutations
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Brief notes: songs inventively using acronyms

October 5, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Cat scan?

They’re a very common part of our language, but in lyrics or titles where are they consciously and creatively used? With meaning instantly recognisable or more cryptically unpacked, their sound might perhaps be used musically or to help create memorable lines or rhymes

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, acronyms, language, Dr Seuss, Milton Friedman, media, military, technology, Ancient Rome, religion, second world war, Film, Robin Williams, radio, lonely hearts ads, internet, Abba, XTC, Sparks, Franz Ferdinand, REM
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How childish! It's songs about immaturity

May 25, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Look back in Angus …

Knob gags and pranks to child savants, this week it’s about not growing up, the pros and cons that entails, from annoying, destructive self-centredness to touching naivety, lack of experience but also hunger to discover, playful creativity. Plenty of examples to inspire, but how is this expressed in song?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, immaturity, adolescence, children, growing up, Jeff Buckley, Dave Barry, Ogden Nash, TS Eliot, Woody Allen, Jhonen Vasquez, John Kenneth Galbraith, Tom Standage, Immanuel Kant, Isaiah Berlin, Arnold J. Toynbee, Jean Piaget, Wilhelm Stekel, Erich Fromm, Georg Büchner, Germaine Greer, Tom Robbins, Vladimir Nabokov, Lise Sarfati, Anthony Burgess, Henry Purcell, Suzi Quatro, Gary Numan, Abba, Bjorn Ulvaus, Daryl Hall, The Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell, Ezra Furman, Jack White, Meg White, The White Stripes, Jack Wild, Film, musicals, The Simpsons, Mickey Rourke, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Wilder, Norman Wisdom, Spongebob Squarepants, South Park, Matt Stone, Monty Python
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Playlists: songs with notable outros and codas

April 4, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Seamlessly beautiful ending: boygenius aka Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers

From the seamlessly beautiful to the outrageously expansive, the gently whispered to the incendiary solo freakout, where do you start with great outros? From the beginning to the end (of the end), AmyLee picks a blistering selection from last week’s topic nominations

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In avant-garde, blues, country, experimental, electronica, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, rock, soul, songs Tags songs, playlists, codas, outros, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Rolling Stones, Jacksoul, The Beatles, boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Olivia Chaney, Lana Del Rey, Richard Hawley, New Order, Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, Ride, Yes, The Stranglers, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Hallquist, The Move, Strawberry Children, Abba, Cowboy Junkies, Roxy Music, Television (band), Microdisney, Garolou, Echo and the Bunnymen, Fad Gadget, The Guess Who, The Decemberists, Jackie Leven, King Creosote, Oasis, David Bowie, The Race Marbles, Stevie Wonder, Ice-T, System Of A Down, GBH, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Smiths, The Bevis Frond, AmyLee
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Spinal tap? Get back: songs about the vertebral column and neck

September 8, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Man Ray’s Le Violon d'Ingres (1924)

Human or animal, literal or metaphorical, spines slender, broad, sexy, defined, fat, muscular, hairy, strong, weak, in pain, broken, bent, tough, rough, rippling or tingling, in any context, it’s time to put our backs into this song subject

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, musical hall, musicals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, backs, spines, vertebrae, necks, biology, Man Ray, Socrates, Paramahansa Yogananda, Joseph Pilates, Agnetha Fältskog, Abba, Reba McEntire, St Vincent, Johnny Mercer, Eminem, evolution, apes, mammals, animals, slavery, American Civil War, Hippocrates, Denise Austin, Don Davis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst, Don Henley, The Eagles, Kurt Cobain, Elizabeth Taylor, John Mellencamp, Flannery O'Connor, Angela Bassett
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Playlists: songs about life in the 19th century

August 10, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Let’s dance through some 19th century history ….

It brought enduring global change, from the Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War and abolition of slavery. Inspired by last week’s song nominations, guest Shiv SideCar captures the century in a series of historic playlists

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, dub, experimental, folk, electronica, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, United States of America, American Civil War, slavery, Babe Ruth, London, Merthyr Rising, emigration, Ireland, Germany, France, Paul Cezanne, Battle of Waterloo, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Burning Spear, Woody Guthrie, RIchie Havens, Clutch, Sound Experience, Elton John, Rosanne Cash, Etta James, Billy Joel, XTC, The Fall, Chumbawamba, Megson, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Pogues, David Bridie, Amon Düül II, Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers, Neil Innes, Brigitte Fontaine, Abba, Ed Harcourt, The Charlatans (US), Warren Zevon, The Unthanks, Public Image Limited, Titus Andronicus, Dead Moon, Culture, Lake Ruth, Jad & David Fair, Thee Headcoatees, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Long Ryders, Blyth Power, Al Stewart, Madness, Paul Roland, Meic Stevens, The Would-Be-Goods, The Teardrop Explodes, New Model Army, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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Playlists: songs about gratitude

January 5, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Earth, Wind, Fire and a whole lot more to be thankful for …

A truly upbeat and positive way to start off 2022, a deliciously mix of disco, funk and pop, folk and more from Detroit to Scotland, Chile to Africa and beyond, picked by guest DJ PopOff! from last week’s many song suggestions

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In African, avant-garde, blues, dance, country, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, ska, showtime, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, gratitude, Andrew Gold, Abba, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, The Whitlams, Horace Silver, William DeVaughn, Earth Wind & Fire, Violetta Parra, Peter Hammill, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mischief Brew, Alanis Morissette, Kate Rusby, The Proclaimers, Stromae, Bjork, Adeva, Fatoumata Diawara, King Sunny Ade, Tania Maria, Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, Natalie Cole, Billy Paul, The Grateful Dead, Neil Michael Hagerty, TItan Go Kings, Beastie Boys, The Beastie Boys, Teenage Fanclub, XTC, YUI, Sinead O'Connor, Bat For Lashes, Christina Aguilera, Grigory Leps, Timor Rodriguez, Dido, Markus Reuter, The Hooters, PopOff!
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Playlists: songs about nuts and edible seeds

November 30, 2021 Peter Kimpton

Put your hands together for these tasty playlist treats ….

Coconuts to nutmeg and kandy corn, peanuts to pistachio to pecans, the seed store has been filled up to the brim with tasty musical treats from last week’s topic, picked and served up in a delicious set of lists by clever top nut Tatanka Yotanka

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags playlists, nuts, seeds, fruit, food, songs, Macka B, Thelonius Monk, Macy Gray, The Soft Boys, Devandra Banhart, Charles Trenet, Ivor Cutler, Mischief Brew, Trilok Gurtu, Captain Beefheart, Heino, Warmduscher, Golden Smog, Juliette Greco, Cai Bin Lang, The Melodians, Pee Wee Ellis, The Turtles, Sunny Sharrock, Time Hart, Maddy Prior, The Ink Spots, Spearhead, Michael Franti, Mother Goose, Louis Jordan, Johnny Cash, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Chaotic Dischord, Splodge, The Lovely Eggs, The Young 'Uns, Billy Cotton and His Band, Damien Rice, The Sweet, Jimmy Buffett, Abba, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela, The Tragically Hip, Ty Segall, Manu Dibango, Augustus Pablo, Johnny Gentle, Laurel Aitken, Pigbag, George Brassens, TatankaYotanka
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Playlists: songs about being single

September 1, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Sparks: the Mael brothers are simply married to their music

Sparks: the Mael brothers are simply married to their music

It’s time to see what resulted at last week’s Song Bar Singles Night. Sad, lonely to deliriously happy and free, the resultant songs go in many directions, all married together in poignant, perceptive and playful lists by guest picker pejepeine

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In avant-garde, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, being single, relationships, Fousheé, Lush, The Brooklyn Bridge, Nina Simone, Jake Thackray, Melissa Manchester, Mary Gauthier, Sparks, Ariana Grande, Jill Scott, Combo Los Galleros, Lucy González, Lunay, Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, The Radiators, Moondog, Bessie Smith, Abba, Beabadoobee, Sunfire, Helen Merrill, Slapp Happy, Original Carter Family, Ry Cooder, Days N' Daze, Billy Idol, Pet Shop Boys, Cameo, Wham!, Chic, Karin Krog, pejepeine
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Playlists: songs about wings

August 3, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Crane at sunset

Crane at sunset

Music on the magic of flight to the feathery movement of mythology and morality tales, beautiful murmurations to deadly war munitions, guest playlister Marco den Ouden marvellously spreads his wings from a vast array of song nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Katrin Finch, Sekou Keita, Ziggy Marley, Elizabeth Mitchell, Hans Theesink, The Decemberists, Alan Parsons, Elton John, The D-Day Darlings, Cheap Trick, Joni Mitchell, Edgar Broughton Band, Morphine, Jimmy Buffett, Little Mix, Reverand Utah Smith, Everly Brothers, The Beatles, Barclay James Harvest, The Bells, Abba, Mr. Mister, Marlene Dietrich, Willie Nelson, Matt Anderson, Leon Russell, Malú, Julien Clerc, Peter Hammill, Anne Murray, BYU Women's Chorus, Eric Wiseacre, Nina Simone, Billie Eilish, Van Dyke Parks, Billie Jo Spears, Loretta Lynn, Anastacia, Tom Russell, Ruby and the Romantics, Patti Austin, Little Simz, Paul Robeson, Richard Thompson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Johnny Wiggs, Nils Frahm, Jean Luc Ponty, Mesa Music Consort, Johnny Hodges, Wild Bill Davis, Kitaro, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Socrates, Plato, Mohammed Ali, Salvador Dali, Marco den Ouden, Muhammad Ali
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Public exposure: songs about museums, galleries and exhibitions

July 8, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Some of the Horniman Museum’s many musical instruments

Some of the Horniman Museum’s many musical instruments

It’s time to show off your best and most collectible nominations about venues of art and artefacts, whether that is the building, the people, or the interacting with the items within, from grand palaces to tiny garages

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, prog, punk, rock, reggae, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, museums, art, exhibitions, art galleries, Horniman Museum, Orhan Pamuk, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Bjorn Ulvaus, Abba, Jerry Salz, Thelma Golden, Edmond de Concourt, Michael Dirda, Museum of Broken Relationships, Museum of Youth Culture, Victoria and Albert Museum, Serpentine Gallery, Tilda Swinton, David Bowie, William Boyd, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, architecture, Thomas Heatherwick, Museum of Modern Art, Viktor Wynd Museum, The British Museum, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Derwent Pencil Museum, Lawnmower Museum, Ramones Museum Berlin, Soane Museum, Phallological Museum Iceland, Iceland, MUSA Cancun Underwater Museum, Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry, New Zealand
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Out of their time: original songs with a striking retro style

May 13, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Get on the retro (dance) floor …

Get on the retro (dance) floor …

This week we look back to look forward with artists who wrote new songs with a style from the past, ignoring their zeitgeist and harking back to a former era or decade though musical stylings, choice of instruments, lyrics and more

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In African, country, comedy, calypso, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, prog, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional, funk Tags songs, playlists, retro, TS Eliot, Michel de Montaigne, Salvador Dali, Criss Jami, WH Auden, Quentin Tarantino, David Bowie, Bauhaus, fashion, Mary Quant, Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Muddy Waters, Phil Spector, Stray Cats, Brian Setzer, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Queen, Freddie Mercury, Wilson Mizner, Stephen Fry, William Burroughs, Chuck Palahniuk, Jean Cocteau, Jean-Luc Godard, Jim Jarmusch, Mick Jagger, Fritz Lang, Terry Gilliam, LoneLady, Pearl Charles, Silvertwin, Carly Simon, Abba, Cabaret Voltaire, Neneh Cherry, St Vincent, Steely Dan, His Master's Voice
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Affairs in order: songs about adultery and infidelity

March 18, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Don’t kid yourself. Secret necking …

Don’t kid yourself. Secret necking …

Cheatin’ hearts to stray cats, liars and game players, this week it’s all about the drama, dalliances, the deceit, the sexy secrecy and risk, the partial or unfolding perspectives, repression, sacrifice, romance or the full tragic, explosive reveal

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In classical, calypso, blues, avant-garde, African, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, infidelity, adultery, cheating, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Homer, William Blake, William Shakespeare, Paul Newman, Amy Winehouse, TS Eliot, Millie Jackson, Irma Thomas, Hank Williams, Abba, Agnetha Fältskog, Samuel Johnson, Stephen Frears, Christopher Hampton, Glenn Close, John Malvovich, Mike Nichols, Film, Brokeback Mountain, Dangerous Liaisons, Leo Tolstoy, animals, biology, Albert Camus, Alice Thomas Ellis, Alain de Botton, Olivia Wilde, Julian Lennon, John Lennon, Alanis Morissette, Georges Bizet
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Playlists: songs featuring choirs

September 2, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Soweto Gospel Choir

Soweto Gospel Choir

If ever a music genre brought people together, this is it. Sublime selections in a heartfelt tribute by guest playlister magicman from mass nominations spanning South Africa to Russia, America to India, France, Wales and well beyond

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In African, classical, folk, gospel, indie, jazz, musicals, pop, showtime, songs, traditional, soul, rock, playlists, music, dance, disco Tags songs, playlists, choirs, Harry Nilsson, Pierluigi Palestrina, L. Subramaniam, Pavel Chesnokov, Michael Jackson, Caetano Veloso, Cerys Matthews, Fron Male Voice Choir, Gabriel Fauré, Soweto Gospel Choir, Aretha Franklin, The Southern California Community Choir, Reverend James Cleveland, Sweet Honey In the Rock, Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir, Oysterband, Melanie, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ray Davies, Crouch End Festival Chorus, Samuel Barber, Chanteurs a la Croix de Cuivre, Zimna Wojna, The Carpenters, Rachmaninov, Scala & Kolacny Brothers, John Taverner, Andi Thakambau, Nicolas Jaar, The Jumping Jacques, Ray Stevens, Sam Smith, Kanye West, Abba, Rod Stewart, The Beatles, Swingle Singers, Vivaldi, Kuban Cossack Choir, magicman
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Playlists: songs and music in three-four time signatures

June 17, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Spanning the ages in 3/4: OMD’s Maid of Orleans

Spanning the ages in 3/4: OMD’s Maid of Orleans

Beethoven to Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin to Funkadelic, Joe Cocker to Cocteau Twins, it’s time to waltz into a set of lists that swing across time and genres, picked expertly by guest playlister DJ Bear from a mass of nominations

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Playlists: songs applied to Covid-19 lockdown

May 27, 2020 Peter Kimpton
The look of 2020

The look of 2020

Writing from a viral hotbed of Covid-19 lockdown - New York - guest playlister magicman recounts isolation, social chaos, cohesion, anger and laughter with his infectious collection of superb songs nominated by a global Song Bar audience

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Tags songs, playlists, coronavirus, Covid-19, flu pandemic, history, New York, Taiwan, Brazil, Andrew Cuomo, Donald Trump, Sparks, Charley Patton, Bertha Lee, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Master KG, Cosmos People, The Jarmels, Tame Impala, Reg Meuross, Courtney Barnett, Emanel Lasky, Tricot, Tool, Fat Larry's Band, Jon Hopkins, King Creosote, Randy Newman, Hunters & Collectors, Brothers Johnson, Talking Heads, The Unthanks, Abba, The Ethiopians, The Statler Brothers, Jeffrey Lewis, Kate Bush, Norman Cook / Fatboy Slim, Jackie Lee, Kraftwerk, Kate Tempest, Vicetone, Tony Igy, Swans, Soapkills, The Specials, Luke Vibert, Ele, Matt Lucas, Sinead Harnett, Al Green, The Temptations, Massive Attack, Tracey Thorn, Cardi B, iMarkkeyz, Todrick Hall, magicman
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Tell my wife I love her so: songs containing indirect messages

August 1, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Hound of love? Indirect delivery

Hound of love? Indirect delivery

Through a third party, on scribbled letters left, sent or hidden, on answering machines or other means, even via prayer, this week let's look at songs about communication to an individual sent via a roundabout route

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, messages, letters, telephone, relationships, family, politics, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, animals, Kurt Cobain, Hunter S. Thompson, Vincent Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Wendy O. Williams, Robin Williams, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, paul simon, Art Garfunkel, Ray Davies, The Kinks, Abba, Fleetwood Mac, Edmond Rostand, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Verhoeven, Philip K Dick, George Bernard Shaw, Mark Lanegan
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Meet me in the middle? Songs about compromise

June 13, 2019 Peter Kimpton
John, Yoko and Paul. Compromise is a divisive but potent issue …

John, Yoko and Paul. Compromise is a divisive but potent issue …

It’s all about the C-word in song, but does it strengthen or weaken us? Does it hold society together or kill artistic integrity? You can’t always get what you want, but can you give a little, take it a little? Can we work it out, or just do it my way?

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, compromise, politics, US politics, Brexit, Donald Trump, climate change, climate change denial, music, Film, books, football, sport, George Herbert, Henrik Ibsen, Edmund Burke, Janis Joplin, Bay City Rollers, Marc Bolan, punk, new romantics, goths, heavy metal, rockers, mods, Alain Prost, Scott Walker, PJ Harvey, Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Abba, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Talib Kweli, T Bone Burnett, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Bat For Lashes, Peter Hook, New Order, Viv Albertine, Matt Dillon, Louis MacNiece, Irvine Welsh, Mike Leigh, Andrei Tarkovsky, Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi, Alan Greenspan, George Clooney, Angela Merkel
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Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

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CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY

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DRINK OF THE WEEK

Prune juice

SNACK OF THE WEEK

celery sticks in guacamole dip

New Albums …

Featured
Sam Grassie - Where Two Hawks Fly.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Sam Grassie: Where Two Hawks Fly
Apr 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful debut LP by the London-based Glaswegian fingerstyle folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, with added saxophone, double bass, flute, clairsach and clarinet in a release of mostly the traditional, covers, sung or instrumental, and supported by the Bert Jansch Foundation

Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt - Requiem.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt: Requiem
Apr 29, 2026

New album: A strangely mesmeric, avant-garde and analogue-ambient, field recording-based experimental release by the last surviving founding member of experimental ‘krautrock’ band CAN, who, approaching the age of 89, has also written over 40 TV and film scores

Apr 29, 2026
Gia Margaret - Singing.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Gia Margaret: Singing
Apr 28, 2026

New album: Gently profound, and full of wondrous, mesmeric, slow, delicate experimental songs, this simple title has a powerful resonance – it is the Chicago artist’s first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer (there have been two instrumental LPs since), having suffered and recovered from a severe vocal injury, she returns with a delicate, candid, whispery but hauntingly beautiful delivery

Apr 28, 2026
Angel In Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Angelo De Augustine: Angel in Plainclothes
Apr 28, 2026

New album: A beautiful, delicate fifth LP from the Los Angeles singer-songwriter, friend and collaborator with Sufjan Stevens with whom he shares a stylistic resemblance, here with themes on life's fragility, second chances, and picking up the pieces after an undiagnosed illness forced him to re-learn basic abilities

Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno - Confession.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno: Confession
Apr 28, 2026

New album: This lo-fi, darkly minimalist but also oddly candid fourth LP by the Australian, Castlemaine-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist centres on the conflicted, obsessive feelings about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, and “an album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire.”

Apr 28, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For album.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
Apr 26, 2026

New album: Passionate, powerful, dynamic indie rock in this sophomore LP by the Chicago-based quartet that gallops forwards with a driving momentum, some elements of early PJ Harvey and Radiohead, and is produced by John Congleton

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
White Denim: 13
Apr 26, 2026

New album: This 13th LP in two decades by the Austin, Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli has a particularly mischievous experimentalism, spreading styles far beyond breathlessly paced prog rock, with wrily humorous, surreal, personal and passionate numbers across heavy funk, dub, soul, psyche, country, dirty blues and more, joined by host of outstanding extra musicians

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 24, 2026
Hukwe Zawose Foundation: Asili ya Mama
Apr 24, 2026

New album: Wonderfully evocative field recordings release of Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa Tanzanian women singing traditional songs in their villages, rarely heard outside of their own circles, the title is translated as The Origin of Mother, rich in stories and capturing the place where song is first learned, first felt, first shared

Apr 24, 2026
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Apr 23, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig
Apr 23, 2026

New album: Four decades since their self-titled debut, Brooklyn alternative rockers John Flansburgh and John Linnell return with their 24th LP, packed with of punchy, pacy, wistful, whimsical, clever wordplay and indie rock-pop, buoyantly satirical and also a little world weary at times, they remain oddball, lively commentators on the ongoing absurdity of life

Apr 23, 2026
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Apr 22, 2026
Eaves Wilder: Little Miss Sunshine
Apr 22, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Hookey EP, a strong, passionate indie-dream-pop-shoegaze full debut by the London singer-songwriter, whose breathy voice intertwines with strong, stirring riffs and textured sounds, themed around cycles of nature aiming to explain and celebrate the mercurial nature of human emotional weather

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
Apr 22, 2026

New album: The irrepressible, prolific and charismatic London-based Chicago DJ, musician, producer and vinyl lover returns with a flamboyantly fun celebration of club and queer culture through the prism of dance music from disco to house, with a wide variety of guest vocalists

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Tiga: HOTLIFE
Apr 21, 2026

New album: Montreal’s acclaimed electronica/techno/dance artist Tiga Sontag returns with his fourth album - inventively packed with head-nodding, toe-tapping, oddly itchy, infectious grooves, cleverly crafted retro sounds recalling Kraftwerk to acid house and electroclash, insistent bold beats and synth riffs, with lyrics of the existential, droll and surreal

Apr 21, 2026
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Apr 20, 2026
TOMORA: Come Closer
Apr 20, 2026

New album: A striking, dynamic collaboration between Norwegian experimental pop sensation Aurora and Tom Rowlands, one of half of Chemical Brothers, with a sensual, otherworldly energetic fusion of mystical, sensual ambience, and block-rocking dance beats

Apr 20, 2026
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Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware: Superbloom
Apr 20, 2026

New album: Following 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s That! Feels Good!, as well as the successful food podcast Table Manners she hosts alongside her mother, the British pop singer continues to ride the 70s disco ball train, catering to the clever, kitsch and catchy with an ironic wink, adding also a luxuriant garden metaphor

Apr 20, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Bleachers - Everyone For Ten Minutes.jpeg
May 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Bleachers - I'm Not Joking
May 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Featuring harpsichord, Hammond organ, Dobro and more, producer Jack Antonoff and his New Jersey rock band return with a heartfelt love song single heralding the upcoming album, Everyone For Ten Minutes, out on 22 May via Dirty Hit

May 1, 2026
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Apr 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - Selah
Apr 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Striking, stylishly agile electronica and dance with a rich African and Arabian influence by the London-based British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, heralding her upcoming album, Zero, out on 26 June via LDN Records

Apr 30, 2026
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Apr 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Metric - Crush Forever
Apr 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Uplifting, effervescent electro-disco-pop by the Toronto indie rock band, with a song vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “my love letter to strong girls in this world”, taken from their recently released 10th album, Romanticize the Dive, out on Metric Music via Thirty Tigers

Apr 29, 2026
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Apr 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child
Apr 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, gripping, visceral folk by the Sheffield singer-songwriter, with a striking number based on an early 19th-century German poem about the fatal story of a child pleading for food, and, following last year’s acclaimed album, Wasteland, also out on Basin Rock, it heralds his upcoming soundtrack for the Hugh Jackman film, The Death of Robin Hood.

Apr 28, 2026
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Apr 27, 2026
Song of the Day: holybones (with Baxter Dury) - SLUGBOY
Apr 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, unsettling, sleazy and strange, this is arrestingly vivid new collaborative single between the clandestine London electronic collective and the downbeat, deep-voiced poetic Londoner, out on Promised Land Recordings

Apr 27, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Hand Habits - Good Person
Apr 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Gentle, droll, humorously self-deprecatingly, and also delicately beautiful, this new experimental folk single by the moniker of Los Angeles singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy addresses the love-hate relationship with making music, out on Fat Possum

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Pigeon - Miami
Apr 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, sunny, upbeawt indie synth-pop with an African twist by the Margate band fronted by Falle Nioke, with flavours of William Onyeabor, Hot Chip and New York 70s disco, heralding their upcoming album OUTTANATIONAL, out on 1 May via Memphis Industries

Apr 25, 2026
Tricky - Out of Place.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Tricky - Out of Place (featuring Marta Złakowska)
Apr 24, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating fusion of beats, orchestral strings and the Bristol trip-hop pioneer’s distinctive, deep, croaky voice, with an emotional reference to his daughter Mina Topley-Bird (1995–2019), and heralding his first solo album for six years, Different When It’s Silent, out on 17 June via False Idols

Apr 24, 2026
Beck - Ride Lonsome.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Beck - Ride Lonesome
Apr 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, simmering, slow, melancholy and reflective, a surprise single and welcome return by the acclaimed US artist, evoking the haunting, sun-bleached landscapes and musical textures of his 2015 Grammy winning album Morning Phase, out now on Iliad Records/Capitol Records

Apr 23, 2026
Gelli Haha - Klouds.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Song of the Day: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep
Apr 22, 2026

Song of the Day: Described appropriately as somewhere between Studio 42 and Area 51, eccentric, effervescent, spacey, catchy and eclectic disco pop by the Los Angeles artist (aka Angel Abaya, co-written with Sean Guerin) out on Innovative Leisure

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Song of the Day: LEENALCHI 이날치 - Here Comes That Crow 떴다 저 가마귀
Apr 21, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, funky, psychedelic and quirky new work by the seven-piece Seoul-based Korean pansori band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu with the title track of their new EP, out on 12 June via Luaka Bop, and heralding a European and North American tour

Apr 21, 2026
Jesca Hoop - Big Storm.jpeg
Apr 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesca Hoop - Big Storm
Apr 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, quirky experimental indie folk-pop by the innovative Manchester-based California artist, featuring a clever video that old footage and Hoop in various vintage guises, heralding her upcoming album Long Wave Home, out on 1 May via Last Laugh / Republic of Music

Apr 20, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Song thrush 2.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
Apr 23, 2026

Word of the week: An archaic, evocative noun with two connected meanings, originally for the song thrush, then later a textiles industrial frame for spinning, twisting and winding machine for cotton, wool, and other fibres simultaneously

Apr 23, 2026
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Apr 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
Apr 9, 2026

Word of the week: It might sound like the act of abstaining from food, but this noun from derived from undina (Latin unda) meaning wave, refers to mythical, elemental beings associated with water, such as mermaids, and stemming from the alchemical writings of the 16th-century Swiss physician, alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus

Apr 9, 2026
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Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

Word of the week: This ornate, curvaceous, south Indian classical instrument, the saraswati veena, is a special bowl lute with a rich, resonant tone, has 24 copper frets with four playing strings and three drone strings, and is used for Carnatic music

Mar 27, 2026
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Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

Word of the week: It sounds like the singing finned picture ornament Big Mouth Billy Bass that became popular in the late 1990s, but this is a much older noun, derived in Somerset, England, pertains to the climbing gastropod that can slowly climb up any surface

Mar 12, 2026
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Feb 25, 2026
Word of the week: xiphias
Feb 25, 2026

Word of the week: Get the point? This is the scientific name for the swordfish, in full Xiphias gladius (from the Greek and Latin for sword), that extraordinary sea creature with the long, pointy bill. But what of it in song?

Feb 25, 2026
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