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Playlists: songs about wastelands

September 21, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Woody Guthrie …

They tell stories of decay and often a trail of human destruction, but out of the infertile soil also also grows vivid, moving, and often profound songwriting. Picking from the ground of last week’s topic, guest George Boyland sees portents in the past and future

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In African, avant-garde, blues, country, drone, dub, folk, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, wastelands, environment, human behaviour, fossil fuels, The Troggs, Old Crow Medicine Show, JJ Cale, The Congos, Richard Thompson, Husker Du, PJ Harvey, David Rovics, Snog, Samantha Crain, The Doors, Ian Noe, Bryan Ferry, James, Misty in Roots, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Band of Holy Joy, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Deadead, Van Der Graaf Generator, Songs: Ohia, Kevin Coyne, Seth Lakeman, Bert Jansch, The Atrix, Bob Dylan, George Boyland
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Playlists: songs about the September 11 attacks

September 14, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Just before the second plane hit the South Tower

Just before the second plane hit the South Tower

Twenty years on from that most dramatic and tragic day of 9/11, from anger and outrage to soft, sensitive memorials, guest playlister Loud Atlas picks a poignant and sensitive set of lists from an outpouring of excellent nominations

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In blues, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags 9/11, September 11 Attacks, terrorism, memorials, New York, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Deadead, Bert Jansch, Sleater-Kinney, Living Colour, Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt, Dream Theater, Craig Finn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Rovics, Black Eyed Peas, Anohni, Steve Reich, Beastie Boys, The Beastie Boys, Sage Francis, Richard Shindell, Jello Biafra, The Guantanamo School of Medicine, Julian Cope, Rod Macdonald, Lupe Fiasco, Team America, Michael Franti, Spearhead, Fred Smith, Robb Johnson, The Restarts, Wax Audio, Jack Warshaw, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs about surprise encounters

March 9, 2021 Peter Kimpton
You never know who will turn up … Paul Robeson meets a fan or two in Moscow in 1958

You never know who will turn up … Paul Robeson meets a fan or two in Moscow in 1958

You never know who you might encounter on these playlists - lovers, angels, snake oil salesmen, spaceships, ghosts, brigands, the supernatural, the suicidal and the ecstatic - all artfully picked by guest Suzi from a week of nominations

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In blues, calypso, country, comedy, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, funk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, musicals, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, encounters, meetings, Paul Robeson, The Pretenders, Paulinho da Viola, Nancy Wilson, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Parliament, Sparks, Bert Jansch, The Sugarcubes, The Louvin Brothers, Victor Wooten, The Book of Mormon, Andrew Rannells, Sonic Youth, Marshall Chapman, Half Man Half Biscuit, Rush, The Jolly Boys, Billy Bragg, Wilco, The Burning Hell, Mulatu Astatke, paul simon, The Boyoyo Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, The Dogs D'Amour, The Pogues, Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting, Nancy Kerr
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Playlists: songs with similes

December 4, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Leonard Cohen. Like no one else.

Leonard Cohen. Like no one else.

There’s noting quite like a simile playlist, and even more special is a pair. This week’s guest ParaMhor creates perfect examples for comparison, picked with impeccable taste out of a vast selection from last week’s topic

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, songs, rock, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, similes, language, Beck, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Definition of Sound, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles, Rita & The Tiaras, Stevie Wonder, This Mortal Coil, Leonard Cohen, Chet Baker, Van Morrison, Cheikh Lô, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, Dolly Parton, Ike and Tina Turner, Boogie Down Productions, Lavern Baker, Dean Martin, Joaquin Sabina, Iceage, Placebo, Captain Beefheart, Sparklehorse, Bert Jansch, Abbey Lincoln, Gillian Welch, Stephen Crane, PG Wodehouse, Raymond Chandler, ParaMhor, Orange Juice, Benjamin Britten
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Playlists: songs about September and October

October 2, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Feast for the eyes, and ears: Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Autumn

Feast for the eyes, and ears: Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Autumn

The time is ripe, the harvest has arrived, and this week’s guest TatankaYotanka reaps the rewards of all the fruitful song suggestions of the the past week into two brilliantly bountiful playlists that straddle this fertile pair of months

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, country, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, instrumentals, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, prog, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, autumn, September, October, harvest, Mary Ann Haynes, Amy Winehouse, Witch, Captain Beefheart, Tricky, Alison Goldfrapp, Yves Montand, Pet Shop Boys, Incognito, XTC, Sun Ra, Tommy McCook, Centipede, Astor Piazzolla, Chris & Cosey, Chet Baker, Stevie Wonder, Bert Jansch, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Carole King, Jackie O Motherfucker, Israel Vibration, International Harvester, Robb Johnson, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, TatankaYotanka
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Playlists: songs about reunions

December 6, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Guess which boys are back for a reunion in this week's A-list …

Guess which boys are back for a reunion in this week's A-list …

Allman Brothers to Viv Albertine, Rolling Stones to Robert Earl Keen, Lene Lovich to Thin Lizzy, this week brings a wonderful wave of reunion and homecoming in playlist form, compiled by Ravi Raman from last week's topic

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In blues, folk, indie, country, pop, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, reunions, The Allman Brothers Band, Gram Parsons, Bert Jansch, John Sebastian, Lene Lovich, Viv Albertine, The Rolling Stones, Tony Carey, John Mayer, Robert Earl Keen, Thin Lizzy, Dar Williams, Mrs Ackroyd Band, The Adverts, The Who, June Tabor, G Love and Special Sauce, Jennifer Warnes, The Mountain Goats, The Ramones, Roy Orbison, Louis Armstrong, Father John Misty, Sparklehorse, Pulp, ZZ Top, David Ackles, The Statler Brothers, Ravi Raman
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'DRINK' OF THE WEEK

Lucky 13 Seed Co. romulan ale


SNACK OF THE WEEK

Baker's Dozen (+) mini donuts


New Albums …

Featured
Kim Gordon - Play Me album.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Kim Gordon: Play Me
Mar 13, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s The Collective, the former Sonic Youth frontwoman’s fourth solo LP continues her extraordinary experimental, innovative journey, moving to more melodic beats shorter tracks, and motorik krautrock-style driven coloured by strange sounds, intense emotions and sharply angled and abstract social commentary

Mar 13, 2026
ELIZA - The Darkening Green.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
ELIZA: The Darkening Green
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The London artist Eliza Caird (formerly under the mainstream pop moniker Eliza Doolittle) returns with more of the cool, slow, sensual, gentle, sophisticated experimental soul-funk style evolving from her 2022 album A Sky Without Stars, here with particularly polished, silky, stripped back grooves and vocals

Mar 11, 2026
Irreparable Parables by Andrew Wasylyk.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Andrew Wasylyk: Irreparable Parables
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer returns with a new selection of soothing, meditative mix of experimental classical and jazz, but this time joined with six different singers represented by the birds on the album artwork

Mar 11, 2026
waterbaby - Memory Be A Blade.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
waterbaby: Memory Be A Blade
Mar 10, 2026

New album: A delicate, experimental, understated soulful chamber pop debut by the pure-voiced Stockholm-born singer-songwriter (aka Kendra Egerbladh) in 25-minute, eight-track release of lo-fi, lyrically semi-improvised numbers about heartbreak and self-renewal in a world of gorgeous musical sensations

Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen - I Know You're Hurting ....jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen: I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Mar 10, 2026

New album: With a strikingly long title, a euphoric and honest full debut LP by the British-born Nigerian poet, spoken word artist and musician based in Sweden, working with his musical partner Ludvig Parment’s sonic layers, packed pacy dance and hip-hop grooves, clever sampling, slower reflections, and articulate expressions of positivity through the ups and downs of grief and hope

Mar 10, 2026
Atlanta by Gnarls Barkley.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Gnarls Barkley: Atlanta
Mar 10, 2026

New album: Finally, after an 18-year gap since their last collaboration in the heady days of the hit Crazy, with the St Elsewhere and The Odd Couple LPs a third and supposedly final album from fabulous singer CeeLo Green and producer and musician aka Brian Burton with a mix of soaring soul, hip-hop, pop and RnB with songs filled with vivid lyrical memories and strong, emotive melodies

Mar 10, 2026
War Child - Help(2).jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Various: HELP(2) - War Child Records
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Not only a timely and topical milestone charity record following the first in 1995 to help bring aid and wide variety of support to children in war zones around he world, but an impressive double-LP array of stellar British and international talent and powerful, poignant 23 songs from Arctic Monkeys to Young Fathers

Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Together Again.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: We Are Together Again
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Just over a year after 2025’s The Purple Bird, but from parallel recording sessions and familiar co-musicians, the veteran Louisville-Kentucky singer-songwriter Will Oldham returns with another collection of exquisite, intimate, gently defiant lo-fi folk to troubled times, an ode to community with a beautiful array of acoustic instruments and his poignant, insightful lyrics and delivery

Mar 9, 2026
deadletter-existence-is-bliss.jpeg
Mar 5, 2026
DEADLETTER: Existence Is Bliss
Mar 5, 2026

New album: This second LP by the South Yorkshire/London six-piece expands their post-punk sound palette with a collection of arresting, thrumming songs, often dark and challenging, with richly exploratory lyrics across dystopian and existential questions, yet despite a climate of difficult, shows how gasping for life’s oxygen is essential

Mar 5, 2026
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Mar 5, 2026
Lala Lala: Heaven 2
Mar 5, 2026

New album: Moving from Chicago to New Mexico, Reykjavík, then London and now Los Angeles, the UK-born artist Lillie West’s experimental indie dream pop is a fascinating release about restless escapism while trying to stay where she is

Mar 5, 2026
Hen's Teeth by Iron & Wine.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Iron & Wine: Hen's Teeth
Mar 3, 2026

New album: Timeless, poetic, gentle folk-rock in this eighth solo album by the North Carolina multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam Beam, in warm, tender album with a title that suggests the idea of the impossible yet real, and an earthier, darker, more more tactile companion to his Grammy-nominated 2024 album Light Verse

Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek - The Mirror 2.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek: The Mirror
Mar 3, 2026

New album: The Brooklyn-based Texan guitarist of Big Thief returns with his fourth solo LP filled with tender, thoughtful, beautiful folk-country-rock, a tiny splash of analogue synths, joined by bandmate James Krivchenia as producer, Adrianne Lenker on backing vocals, plus guitarist Adam Brisbin and harp player Mary Lattimore

Mar 3, 2026
Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Mitski: Nothing’s About To Happen To Me
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Following 2023’s acclaimed The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, now an eighth LP of sublime beauty, wit and melancholy and silken vocal tones from the American singer-songwriter, mixing pop, rock, echoes of Laurel Canyon era, and stories and metaphors of love and loss, insecurity, independence and solitude all set at home – and no shortage of cats

Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz - The Mountain.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz: The Mountain
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Released with an art book, new games, and extended videos, a multicultural, multifarious and multilingual return for the collective cartoon pop-hip-hop project led by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, with many intercontinental guest appearances, and a particular Indian musical and visual flavour centred on fictional Himalayan peak as metaphor for life’s journey and illusionary truths

Mar 1, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Mei Semones.jpeg
Mar 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Mei Semones - Tooth Fairy (featuring John Roseboro)
Mar 14, 2026

Song of the Day: A charming cross-genre fusion of bossa nova, jazz, folk and chamber pop sung in English and Japanese by the Brooklyn-based American musician with a tale of losing a tooth on the subway and friendship, from the upcoming album Kurage, out 10 April on Bayonet Records

Mar 14, 2026
Robyn - Blow My Mind.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Robyn - Blow My Mind
Mar 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Quirky, sensual electro-pop with a dash of Kraftwerk by the acclaimed Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Robin Miriam Carlsson, in this latest from the upcoming album Sexistential out on 27 March via Konichiwa / Young Records

Mar 13, 2026
Lava La Rue 2 new.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Lava La Rue - Scratches
Mar 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The latest single by the London singer-songwriter is punchy, powerful psychedelic rock number with tearing riffs and lyrics about damage from troubled relationship, abuse and self-harm, from the forthcoming EP Do You Know Everything?, out on BMG

Mar 12, 2026
Alewya - City of Symbols.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - City of Symbols (featuring eejebee)
Mar 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish fusion of electronica, soul, hip hop and Ethiopian rhythmic influences centring on themes of heritage, family by London singer, songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist, with drums from eejebee and guitar from Vraell, heralding from the forthcoming new debut Zero out 22 June via LDN Records / Because Music

Mar 11, 2026
Huarinami - Carried Away.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Huarinami - Carried Away
Mar 10, 2026

Song of the Day: Explosive, stylish, gritty, restless indie-psychedelic punk with angular, angry guitars, driving bass and wonderfully arresting vocals by Pauline Janier (aka Cody Pepper) fronting the French London-based four-piece in this single fuelled by the frustration of big-city life, and heralding their sophomore EP Nothing Happens, due for release on 6 June

Mar 10, 2026
Avalon Emerson - Written Into Changes album.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Avalon Emerson & The Charm - Written into Changes
Mar 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Following the singles Eden and Jupiter and Mars, another stylish, experimental indie synth-pop release by the New York artist with the title track of upcoming second Charm moniker album, out on 20 March via Dead Oceans

Mar 9, 2026
Aldous Harding - One Stop.jpeg
Mar 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Aldous Harding - One Stop
Mar 8, 2026

Song of the Day: An enigmatic, oddly stylish, stripped back, piano-based new experimental folk single by the New Zealand singer-songwriter, namechecking John Cale, and from her upcoming album Train on the Island out May 8 via 4AD

Mar 8, 2026
Max Winter - Candlelight.jpeg
Mar 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Max Winter, Asha Lorenz & Rael - Candlelight
Mar 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A dark, stylish, striking fusion of hip-hop, trip-hop, spoken word, and jazz by the London-based rapper and friends, and the the first single from the collaborative mixtape Like the season!, out on Secret Friend

Mar 7, 2026
SPRINTS - Trickle Down.jpeg
Mar 6, 2026
Song of the Day: SPRINTS - Trickle Down
Mar 6, 2026

Song of the Day: The feisty, ferociously fun Dublin post-punk band return with a punchy, on-point angry new number about the flawed economic term, watching systems fail in slow motion, housing crisis, rising costs, culture wars, climate collapse, and frustratingly being told to stay patient while everything burns

Mar 6, 2026
Jordan Rakei - Easy To Love.jpg
Mar 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Jordan Rakei & Tom McFarland - Easy to Love
Mar 5, 2026

Song of the Day: Elevating, soaring soul with the high vocals of the New Zealand-Australian singer and songwriter joined by one half the British band Jungle, heralding the collaborative EP Between Us, out on 24 April on Fontana Records / Universal Music

Mar 5, 2026
Against the Dying of the Light by José González.jpeg
Mar 4, 2026
Song of the Day: José González - A Perfect Storm
Mar 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, delicate, evocative and profound new single about impending Earth disaster by the Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist from Gothenburg, heralding his fifth album Against the Dying of the Light out on 27 March via Imperial Recordings / City Slang

Mar 4, 2026
Jesus Cringe - Disastrology.jpg
Mar 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesus Cringe - Disastrology
Mar 3, 2026

Song of the Day: A striking collision and fusion of space rock, prog rock, jazz, and sci-fi cinema, with an orchestral, avant-garde, tumultuous interplay between violin and baritone saxophone by the Belgian artist Alexis Pfrimmer, expressing the characterisation of solitary figure witnessing Earth’s collapse before escaping into space, and out on Epictronic

Mar 3, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Snail on a wall.jpeg
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
Swordfish.jpg
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
Korean musicians in 1971.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

Word of the week: A form or hammered dulcimer, this traditional Korean instrument, with a flat and trapezoidal shape, has seven sets of four metal strings hit by thin bamboo stick

Feb 12, 2026
Zumbador dorado - mango bumblebee Puerto Rico.jpeg
Jan 22, 2026
Word of the week: zumbador
Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand

Jan 22, 2026
Hamlet ad - Gregor Fisher.jpg
Jan 8, 2026
Word of the week: aspectabund
Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth

Jan 8, 2026

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