• Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact
Menu

Song Bar

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Music, words, playlists

Your Custom Text Here

Song Bar

  • Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact

Playlists: songs about trucks and trucking

March 26, 2025 Peter Kimpton

The art of trucking …

It’s a subject dominated by the country & western style, but this nomadic road freight culture is also soundtracked by other styles. Inspired by last week’s topic, Big Wheeled Marco den Ouden takes us on an international truck trip

Read more
In blues, comedy, country, dance, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, trucks, trucking, motor vehciles, film soundtrack, CW McCall, Dave Dudley, The Dandy Warhols, Hoodoo Gurus, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, George Thorogood, Henry Allen, Linda Ronstadt, Junior Brown, Ned & Chris LeDoux, Taj Mahal, Black Uhuru, Not The Nine O'Clock News, Rowan Atkinson, The Wurzels, Denim, Mark Knopfler, Kohei Otomo, Lucky Star, Slim Dusty, Cold Chisel, The Black Sorrows, Slim Newton, Henk Wijngaard, Fred Eaglesmith, Pharis, Jason Romero, Corb Lund, Jonathan Byrd, Commander Cody, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, Mary Gauthier, bread, Blind Boy Fuller, Tom Waits, Jerry Reed, Lil Johnson, Alabama, Red Simpson, Sammy Johns, Merle Haggard, Kathy Mattea, Kip Moore, Hank Snow, The Little Willies, Stompin' Tom Connors, Blondie, Red Sorvine, Marco den Ouden
Comment

Playlists: songs that energise

November 20, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Go!: The Go! Team

It’s positive, infectious, subjective yet strangely magical in effect. Spread across the genres and inspired by last week’s topic, ParaMhor brings his superb selection of music that will brighten your day and put a spring in your step

Read more
In African, calypso, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, lounge, krautrock, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, energising songs, energy, The Cult, The Kinks, Jackson Sisters, Blondie, Big Star, Jesus & Mary Chain, Otis Redding, The Go! Team, The Associates, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Mahlathini, The Mahotella Queens, Gong Gong Gong, Art Tatum, Bo Diddley, Lulu, The Jacksons, Roger and the Gypsies, Kanda Bongo Man, James Brown, Sote, The Fire Engines, Nice as Fuck, Amyl and the Sniffers, The Ruts, King Crimson, Sergei Prokofiev, The MVPs, The Bhundu Boys, Gonzalez, Suede, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Keith Jarrett, ParaMhor
Comment

Christmas sale special: give out songs to fit fictional commercials

December 21, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Selling out? Who’s up for it?

‘Tis the season to be funny or serious, satirical, cerebral or sensual, simple or complex, abstract or expressive, imaginative and ingenious in suggesting songs for existing or fictional products that could appear in ads that don’t exist

Read more
In avant-garde, African, blues, calypso, classical, country, comedy, 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 advertising, commercials, television, internet, Google, The Who, Mad Men, HBO, Will Rogers, George Orwell, Marshall McLuhan, Jan Koum, Vivienne Westwood, Northrop Frye, Alain de Botton, David Droga, Leo Burnett, Brian Eno, Cadbury, JS Bach, Leftfield, Jonathan Glazer, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Blondie, David Bowie, Adam and the Ants, David Ogilvy, Julianne Moore, Adam Curtis, Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud, Richard E Grant, Bruce Robinson, Matthew Weiner
Comment

Playlists: big and 'meaty' songs

July 19, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Get on up with the meaty Mountain …

It’s nothing to do with meat to eat,, but this doesn’t stop these playlists, picked from last week’s tasty, succulent but very subjective topic by guest MussoliniHeadkick, being a complete feast of of very fulfilling sounds. Pass the gravy …

Read more
In African, blues, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, soul, songs, ska, rocksteady Tags songs, playlists, Mountain, The Stooges, Iggy Pop, Mudhoney, King Crimson, A Certain Ratio, Brides of Funkenstein, Mantronix, Forgemasters, Tom Morello, Glaze, Betty Davis, Mandrill, Prince Douglas, Ike and Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Blondie, My Bloody Valentine, Nova Twins, The Cult, sugar, Paul McCartney, Wings, The Killers, The Horrors, Nocturnal Emissions, MussoliniHeadkick, Container
Comment

Playlists: songs about the boring, dull, ordinary and mundane

July 12, 2023 Peter Kimpton

…

Can boredom and banality become such an art form that they become exciting, or snorefest into the stimulating? Picking from last week’s topic, guest playlister Olive Butler presents a magnificent selection of mundanity

Read more
In blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags boredom, mundanity, ordinary, The Jam, The Smiths, The Mountain Goats, Joni Mitchell, Bobby Charles, Tyler The Creator, Dry Cleaning, Doves, Serge Gainsbourg, Maxine Sullivan, Tom Waits, Blondie, Morrissey, George Formby, Paul McCartney, Ivor Cutler, Moldy Peaches, The Lottery Winners, Arab Strap, The Frank and Walters, Hatfield and the North, The Lovin' Spoonful, Alan Price, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Stranglers, New Model Army, Peter Gabriel, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, George Thorogood, The Strawbs, John Shuttleworth, Olive Butler
Comment

Revealed! Lesser-known original songs more famously covered or reworked

May 18, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Not lesser known, but definitely a revealing and true original …

This week it’s time to dig deep for those original songs overshadowed by hit or well-known covers. We can also include remixes and other reworkings, as well as lesser known songs so heavily sampled they make a prominent core more famous version

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, 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, punk, psychedelia, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, covers, Little Richard, NIck Lowe, The Ramones, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, The Beatles, Oasis, artificial intelligence, Aisis, Breezer, Blondie, The Slits, The Stranglers, The Flying Lizards, Randy & The Rainbows, The Paragons, The Marvelettes, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Rufus Thomas, Tommy Dorsey, Smokey Robinson, Barrett Strong, Soft Cell, Gloria Jones, Wigan Casino, Happy Mondays, The Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder, John Kongos, Daft Punk, Beyonce, Edwin Birdsong, The Chi-Lites, Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Ellie Goulding, Barry Manilow, Austin Mahone, Patti Smith, M. Ward, Hank Williams, Curtiss Maldoon, Gwen McCrae, Lori Lieberman, Sonny Dae, The McCoys, The Nerves
Comment

Playlists: ideal songs for driving and road trips

April 12, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Off we go …

Fasten your seatbelts. From steel-wheel rock to bounce-in-your-seat pop, classic krautrock or breezy Americana to beautiful Spanish sunbathed vistas, we take a fantastically varied road trip courtesy of lead driver pejepeine, picking lists from last week’s topic

Read more
In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, indie, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, traditional, krautrock Tags songs, playlists, cars, driving, drivetime, DIre Straits, RZA, Katy Perry, Dexys Midnight Runners, America, Neu!, Carter Tutti Void, JS Bach, The Long Blondes, Eddie Kendricks, José Mercé, Village of the Sun, The Dur Dur Band, Robb Johnson, Fu Manchu, George Thorogood, Weekend, Blondie, Jimi Hendrix, The Fall, Gorillaz, DB Boulevard, Pure Prairie League, Dwight Yoakam, Lighthouse Family, Jimi Tenor, MFSB, Philemon Wehbe, Grover Washington, pejepeine
Comment

These foolish things: songs about memorabilia and souvenirs

January 19, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Just the ticket: pricey or priceless?

Whether music, sport, film, travel, or wider culture, they mean different things to different individuals, but all are items that trigger or preserve memories, personal or more universal. Let’s explore these specific objects in song, overall or in specific lyrical detail

Read more
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, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, memorabilia, souvenirs, music, sport, Film, art, John Lennon, Susan Lendroth, Vincent Van Gogh, Susan Sontag, Seth Godin, Helen Rowland, The Fall, Mark E Smith, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Marc Bolan, Elvis Presley, Prince, Blondie, Adam Ant, Bob Dylan, Dave Gilmour, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Kardashian, Michael Jackson, Jarvis Cocker, Lemmy, war, Slayer, Hitler, Debbie Reynolds, Hollywood, Phil Collins, Muhammad Ali, Diego Maradona, football, Partick Thistle, Japan, Sylvain Tesson, Jean Baudrillard, Jay Leno, George W Bush, Jacques Chirac, France, David Letterman
Comment

Playlists: songs about punctuality

June 29, 2022 Peter Kimpton

What time will love flower? The Foundations 1968

Something changed around the Enlightenment, with the advent of universal timepieces, but how did that affect human relationships? Inspired by last week’s nominations, Marco den Ouden clocks in with perfectly timely playlists

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, punctuality, time, The Charioteers, Billy Paul, Joni Mitchell, The Foundations, Dinah Washington, Tyler The Creator, David Bowie, The Kinks, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bonnie Raitt, Violent Femmes, Mana Negra, Prince Buster, Lee Dorsey, The Big Bopper, Everly Brothers, Swaee Lake, Drake, Brewer & Shipley, Battlefield Band, Buddy Holly, The Grateful Dead, Paul Kelly, The Monkees, Mick Harvey, Long John Baldry, Nilsson, Kevin Morby, Vernon Dalhart, Sandie Shaw, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Dorsey Burnette, Rock Vito, Marshall Crenshaw, Ted Mulry Gang, Angus Stone, Julia Stone, Lord Creator, Tex Ritter, Hector Lavoe, George Faith, Robb Johnson, Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, Blondie, Elvis Presley, Marco den Ouden, Marconius
Comment

Playlists: songs about the sixth sense

February 8, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Trust your senses: Björk

intuition to the unexplained, new realms of perception to deja vu, telepathy and the astral plane, all this and more in a pair of perceptive playlists picked by guest of the week Suzi from the most recent topic

Read more
In blues, country, disco, folk, funk, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, sixth sense, psychology, Kate Bush, Linx, Ruby Turner, Imelda May, Bjork, Dave Brubeck, Emiliana Torrini, Jackie Leven, The Grateful Dead, Willie Mabon, Cadaver Club, Peter Blegvad, Arthur Lee, Love, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Blondie, Rod Stewart, The Waterboys, Tom Petty, Enrique Morente, The Modern Lovers, Tim Buckley, Ann Peebles, Benny Spellman, Carole King, Leonard Cohen, Show Of Hands, Ella Fitzgerald, Suzi
Comment

Playlists: songs about the tide

March 31, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Low tide on the Welsh coast

Low tide on the Welsh coast

From Scottish rocks to smooth Australian shores and right across the globe, from a steadily rising sea of nominations, guest playlister Nicko charts the ebbs and flows, ins and outs, and highs and lows with a set of beautifully flowing choices

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, dance, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags tides, coasts, playlists, songs, Al Bowlly, Lew Stone, Laura Veirs, Elvis Costello, June Tabor, Tom McRae, Christy Moore, The Moody Blues, Invisible, Gene Clark, Paul Kelly, Bob Marley, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Chris Rea, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, Yothu Yindi, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, The Elizabethan Sessions, 10000 Maniacs, Peter Hammill, Omar Rodriquez-Lopez, Lou Reed, Vance Joy, Blondie, Love Unlimited, Celeste, Rubén Blades, Erland Cooper, Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The XX, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, The Bad Detectives, Rush, Paul Grabowsky, Majestic Dance Orchestra, Helen Rowland, The Atlantics, Johnny Osbourne, Barrington Levy, General Echo, Fish & Goat At The Controls, Aba Shanti, Not Waving Drowning, Nicko
Comment

Playlists: songs about written correspondence

October 28, 2020 Peter Kimpton
davidbowiewritingyletter.jpg Letter to Hermione Lyrics.jpg

Love, hate, broken hearts, glad tidings, bills, rejections, congratulations – here came many sackfuls of mail in response to last week’s topic, and sorting through it all was guest postmaster Maki, down to two splendid playlists

Read more
In blues, avant-garde, comedy, country, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, Dean Friedman, John Prine, David Bowie, Siobhan Wilson, Fleet Foxes, Macy Gray, Pastor López, Prince Buster, Lorraine Bowen, Wire, The Ink Spots, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Blondie, REM, Brothers Johnson, Kevin Ayers, Burning Spear, The Police, The Soft Machine, The Who, Tim Buckley, Celtas Cortos, Niña Pastor, Juan Luis Guerra
Comment

In full swing: songs and instrumentals from New York City

July 18, 2019 Peter Kimpton
There’s more than one way of having in ball in New York. The 1930s …

There’s more than one way of having in ball in New York. The 1930s …

It’s the city of the world that never sleeps, but this week let’s explore what kind of music, particularly instrumentals, but also lyrics, capture the particular spirit, culture, feel and rhythms of its extraordinary five boroughs

Read more
In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, experimental, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, New York, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Henry Ford, Duke Ellington, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, David Byrne, Talking Heads, George Gershwin, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Sonny Bono, paul simon, Broadway, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Blondie, The Ramones, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, B-52s, The New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Dee-Lite, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Led Zeppelin, Joe Strummer, The Clash, Television (band), Prince, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Harlem, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Milos Forman, John Updike, Bette Midler, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Film, film soundtrack, Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, gangs, Statue of Liberty
Comment

Exposed! Songs about photographs and photography

February 28, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Help! A knockout moment from Muhammed Ali and the Beatles in 1964

Help! A knockout moment from Muhammed Ali and the Beatles in 1964

Every picture tells a story, but this time let’s do it with songs inspired by, or about photographs or photography, and to help inspire here’s a selection of rare and usual shots to provoke memory, imagination, mystery and wonder

Read more
In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, photography, The Beatles, Muhammad Ali, Robert Frank, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Nan Goldin, Sebastião Salgado, Kodak, Film, Blondie, Frances Densmore, Sonny Clay, Big Jay McNeely, Louis Armstrong, Egypt, Australia, Brazil, Howard Carter, Tutankhamun, history, New York, Russia, Vietnam War, Prohibition, protest
Comment

Just for the hell of it: songs about the Devil, Satan, Lucifer …

October 25, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Devil does his thing in Tenacious D

The Devil does his thing in Tenacious D

Who’s your devil in disguise? Who has all he best tunes? This week, in a fun week leading up to Halloween, let’s explore songs that mention, in whatever form, the Devil, Satan and any other names he takes

Read more
In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, Devil, Satan, Oscar Wilde, George Harrison, Tom Waits, William Shakespeare, Goethe, George Whitfield, Little Richard, film, Ben Wheatley, Devil's Elbow, Niccolò Paganini, Robert Johnson, David Bowie, Henry Fielding, Gary Busey, Marilyn Manson, Aleister Crowley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Debbie Harry, Blondie, C.S. Lewis, Milton, Buckethead, Hieronymous Bosch, Emo Philips, Mercedes McCambridge, The Exorcist, Martin Luther, Thomas Moore, William Blake, Charles Baudelaire
Comment

Grandiloquent to gavotte: song lyrics with strange, rare or unlikely words 

September 13, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Let’s dust off, or blow away the ‘oose’ of our vocabulary air some great words

Let’s dust off, or blow away the ‘oose’ of our vocabulary air some great words

This week let’s delve deep into the musical lexicon for instances where unusual, oddball, inappropriate, funny, pretentious, antiquated or obscure words jump out, sometimes working well, or otherwise

Read more
In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, words, dictionary, language, playlists, lyrics, The Police, Sting, Public Enemy, Chuck D, NWA, Tim Rice, musicals, Blondie, Radiohead, Cole Porter, Tom Lehrer, Vivian Stanshall, They Might Be Giants, Led Zeppelin, Carly Simon
Comment

Playlists: songs about confidence

April 25, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Neneh Cherry's taking a confident Buffalo Stance 

Neneh Cherry's taking a confident Buffalo Stance 

From the plucky and cocky to the bold and brave, Beyonce to Blondie, Sparks to Stevie Wonder, this week’s guest Severin has picked two superb playlists from the nominations that will have your striding down the street

Read more
In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, confidence, psychology, Sparks, Nas, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt, Blondie, Stevie Wonder, Peter Hammill, David Cassidy, Billy Swan, Neneh Cherry, NWA, Beyonce, Argent, Eartha Kitt, Gilbert & Sullivan, Muddy Waters, Tom Petty, Howlin' Wolf, Motorhead, The Primitives, Mint Royale, Al Green, Eric Bibb, John Lennon, A Tribe Called Quest, Christine Aguilera, Karine Polwart, Koko Taylor, Fingersnap, The Pointer Sisters, Joan Armatrading, Severin
Comment

Playlists: songs about hanging - swung in all directions

January 24, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Foucault? Swing low, sweet pendulum

Foucault? Swing low, sweet pendulum

North, south, east, west, left to right, Ayers to Zeppelin, this week's guest writer nosuchzone took charge of the musical swingometer, and inspired by nominations, created marvellous playlists that really move

Read more
In blues, country, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Al Bowlly, Songs, playlists, Thaikkudam Bridge, Kevin Ayers, The Stranglers, Nick Drake, Jesus & Mary Chain, Ella Fitzgerald, Led Zeppelin, Nina Simone, Peter Blegvad, Solomon Burke, The McCoys, The Supremes, Chairmen of the Board, Salt, Joe Simon, Al Green, Chic, Sade, Loose Ends, Johnny Bristol, Richard Ace, Simple Simon, Gregory Isaacs, MF Doom, Tortoise, Robbie Robertson, nosuchzone, Billie Holiday, Blondie, The Smiths, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Creedence Clearwater Revival, James & Bobby Purify
Comment

Playlists: songs about unexplained phenomena

October 11, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Flying saucer? Or just heavy metal?

Flying saucer? Or just heavy metal?

Aliens to Bigfoot, ghouls to ghosts, sea monsters to hairy hominids, Blondie to Brownsville Station, inspired by last week's avalanche of nominations, guest playlister Sidecar Shiv takes us on a marvellous musical journey into the unknown 

Read more
In playlists, rock, songs, soul, music, folk, punk, indie, metal Tags Songs, playlists, unexplained phenomena, aliens, monsters, ghosts, supernatural, Charles Fort, The X Files, Fortean Times, UFOs, GBH, The Aliens, Paul Cauthen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hot Chocolate, Jameson Raid, Blondie, Wire, Metallica, Jonathan Richman, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Jonathan Coulton, Bob Pegg, Four Below Zero, The Rezillos, Sheryl Crow, Sun Dial, Photomartyr, Type O Negative, Steeleye Span, The Handsome Family, Calexico, Shonen Knife, Mastodon, Don Jones, The Chills, Brownsville Station, Sidecar Shiv
Comment

Playlists brave and brilliant: uncharacteristic, genre-switch songs

February 22, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Serafina Steer ... disco diva

Serafina Steer ... disco diva

Call the cops! Are music artists not doing what they are supposed to do? This week's guest writer Detective Sergeant Uncleben investigates, and finds that those who break the rules make brilliant playlists

Read more
In playlists, music, songs Tags songs, playlists, Mike Patton, Faith No More, Darius Rucker, The Blood, Dusty Springfield, Bunny Wailer, Talking Heads, Tony Orlando, Serafina Steer, Blondie, Dion, Radiohead, The Walker Brothers, Diego El Cigala, Joshua Bell, The Move, Scritti Politti, AFI, Cliff Richard, Shakti, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Steve Hillage, Bobby Darin, Sonic Boom 6, Kiss, Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, Neil Michael Hagerty, Royal Trux, Uncleben, Jarvis Cocker, pop, rock, country, northern soul, reggae, hip hop, Africa, Larry Levan, folk, disco, doo wop
Comment
Older Posts →
music_declares_emergency_logo.png

Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

Black Lives Matter.jpg

CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY


Donate
Song Bar spinning.gif

DRINK OF THE WEEK

Napue dark gin


SNACK OF THE WEEK

crudités platter


New Albums …

Featured
Dove Ellis - Blizzard.jpeg
Dec 9, 2025
Dove Ellis: Blizzard
Dec 9, 2025

New album: An extraordinarily mature, passionate, poetic, and outstandingly powerful debut by the Manchester-based Galway-born singer-songwriter, whose soaring delivery has instant echoes of Jeff Buckley and lyrics that go above and beyond

Dec 9, 2025
Spíra by Ólöf Arnalds.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Ólöf Arnalds: Spíra
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A gorgeous, delicate, ethereal first release in a decade by the Icelandic singer-songwriter, acoustic instruments and her gentle, high, pure voice, all in her native language, caressing this listening experience like pure waters of some slowly trickling glacial stream

Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber - Unclouded.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber: Unclouded
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A fourth album, here full of delicious uplifting, dreamily chic, psychedelic soul pop by the French musician Melody Prochet, with bright, upbeat, optimistic numbers and a title lifted from a quote by the acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, about achieving equilibrium

Dec 5, 2025
Devotion & The Black Divine by anaiis.jpeg
Dec 2, 2025
anaiis: Devotion & The Black Divine
Dec 2, 2025

New album: Following a summer Song of the Day - Deus Deus, a review of the autumn release and third LP by the London-based French-Senegalese singer-songwriter of resonantly beautiful, dynamic, sensual soul, gospel, R&B and experimental and chamber pop, with themes of new motherhood, uncertainty, religion, self-love and acceptance

Dec 2, 2025
De La Soul - Cabin In The Sky.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
De La Soul: Cabin In The Sky
Nov 26, 2025

New album: The hip-hop veterans return with their first without, yet including the voice of, and a tribute to, founding member Trugoy the Dove, AKA Dave Jolicoeur who passed away in 2023, alongside many hip-hop luminary guests, with trademark playful skits, and all themed around the afterlife

Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats- Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
Nov 26, 2025

New album: An evocative musical journey of a concept album by the indie-folk band from Claremont, California, fronted by singer-songwriter John Darnielle, based on a dream of his in 2023 about a voyage to a fictional island by the titular captain, charting adventure, wonder and tragedy

Nov 26, 2025
Allie X - Happiness Is Going To Get You.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
Allie X: Happiness Is Going To Get You
Nov 26, 2025

New album: A hugely entertaining, witty, droll, inventive, chamber and synth-pop fourth LP with a goth twist by the charismatic and theatrical Canadian artist Alexandra Hughes, who brings paradox and dark themes through sounds that include string quartet, harpsichord, classical and pure pop piano with killer lyrics

Nov 26, 2025
Tortoise - Touch.jpeg
Nov 25, 2025
Tortoise: Touch
Nov 25, 2025

New album: A welcome return with a cinematic and mesmeric groove-filled first studio LP in nine years, and the eighth over all by the eclectic Chicago post-rock/jazz/krautrock multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker

Nov 25, 2025
What of Our Nature by Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover: What of Our Nature
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Beautiful, precise, poignant and poetic new folk numbers inspired by the life and music style of Woody Guthrie as the Portland, Oregon and New Yorker, now Portland, Maine-based singer-songwriters bring a delicious duet album, alternating and sharing songs covering a variety of forever topical social issues

Nov 24, 2025
Tranquilizer by Oneohtrix Point Never.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Ambient, otherworldly, cinematic, mesmeric, and at times very odd, the Brooklyn-based electronic artist and producer Daniel Lopatin returns with a new nostalgia-based concept – constructing tracks from lost-then-refound Y2K CDs of 1990s and early 2000s royalty-free sample electronic sounds

Nov 24, 2025
Iona Zajac - Bang.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Iona Zajac: Bang
Nov 24, 2025

New album: A powerful, stirring, passionate and mature debut LP by the 29-year-old Glasgow-based Scottish singer with Polish and Ukrainian heritage who has toured as the new Pogues singer, and whose alternative folk songs capture raw emotions and the experience of modern womanhood, with echoes of PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Aldous Harding and Lankum

Nov 24, 2025
Austra - Chin Up Buttercup.jpeg
Nov 19, 2025
Austra: Chin Up Buttercup
Nov 19, 2025

New album: This fifth studio LP as Austra by the Canadian classically trained vocalist and composer Katie Stelmanis brings beautiful electronica-pop and dance music, and has a bittersweet ironic title – a caustically witty reference to societal pressure to keep smiling despite a devastating breakup

Nov 19, 2025
Mavis Staples - Sad and Beautiful World.jpeg
Nov 18, 2025
Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World
Nov 18, 2025

New album: A timelessly classy release by the veteran soul, blues and gospel singer and social activist from the Staples Singers, in a release of wonderfully moving and poignant cover versions, beautifully interpreting works by artists including Tom Waits, Curtis Mayfield, Leonard Cohen, and Gillian Welch

Nov 18, 2025
Stella Donnelly - Love and Fortune 2.jpeg
Nov 18, 2025
Stella Donnelly: Love and Fortune
Nov 18, 2025

New album: Finely crafted, stripped back musical simplicity combined with complex melancholic emotions mark out this beautiful, poetic, and deeply personal third folk-pop LP by the Australian singer-songwriter reflecting on the past and present

Nov 18, 2025

new songs …

Featured
Peter Perrett - Proud To Be Self-Hating.jpeg
Dec 12, 2025
Song of the Day: Peter Perrett - PROUD TO BE SELF-HATING (irony and provocation)
Dec 12, 2025

Song of the Day: The veteran British artist, originally frontman of The Only Ones, and now with three solo albums, who actually has Jewish heritage, releases a gently powerful, nuanced, pro-Palestine acoustic number as a response to ongoing genocide by the Israeli government, out on Domino Records

Dec 12, 2025
Maddie Ashman - Jaded.jpeg
Dec 11, 2025
Song of the Day: Maddie Ashman - Jaded
Dec 11, 2025

Song of the Day: Magical, delicate, eclectic, intricate, experimental microtonal music by the London musician and singer, released alongside a longer track, In Autumn My Heart Breaks

Dec 11, 2025
Ye Vagabonds.jpeg
Dec 10, 2025
Song of the Day: Ye Vagabonds - The Flood
Dec 10, 2025

Song of the Day: Wonderfully warm, rich, lively fiddle-driven Irish folk by the award-winning band fronted by Carlow brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn with a heartbreaking number about the housing crisis, heralding their upcoming new album, All Tied Together, out on Rough Trade’s River Lea Recordings on 30 January

Dec 10, 2025
DBA! band.jpeg
Dec 9, 2025
Song of the Day: DBA! A Poet And A Clown
Dec 9, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy fuzz-guitar indie rock with a swagger by the Liverpool-formed trio of Sam Warren, James Lindberg and Joshua Grant in a song described as “a confessional story of desire tangled with religious guilt”

Dec 9, 2025
Puma Blue - Croak Dream.jpeg
Dec 8, 2025
Song of the Day: Puma Blue - Croak Dream
Dec 8, 2025

Song of the Day: A dark, esoteric, mysterious and stylish title track with a hint of Radiohead and playing with the idea of knowing your future death, from the experimental indie/goth/ambient London artist Jacob Allen’s forthcoming album out on 6 February via Play It Again Sam

Dec 8, 2025
ELIZA - Anyone Else.jpeg
Dec 7, 2025
Song of the Day: ELIZA - Anyone Else
Dec 7, 2025

Song of the Day: Stripped-back, bluesy, fuzzy funk with slight echoes of Prince and alt-R&B are conjured up in this love song by the London-based singer-songwriter Eliza Caird, her first single for two years, now off the mainstream and out on Log Off Records

Dec 7, 2025
SILK SCARF by Tiga & Fcukers.jpg
Dec 6, 2025
Song of the Day: Tiga (featuring Fcukers) - Silk Scarf
Dec 6, 2025

Song of the Day: A fun, sensual, quirkily oddball electronica dance single with a slick, fetish-flirtatious ode to a favourite smooth material by the Montreal musician (Tiga James Sontag) joined here with vocals by the New York band (Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis), and heralding Tiga’s upcoming album Hotlife, out in April on Secret City Records

Dec 6, 2025
Flea - A Plea.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Song of the Day: Flea - A Plea
Dec 5, 2025

Song of the Day: A striking, powerful new single by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist (aka Michael Balzary), who brings a fusion of jazz and spoken word with a fabulous band on an impassioned number about the state of the US in a culture of hatred, social and political tensions, out now on Nonesuch Records

Dec 5, 2025
The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Song of the Day: The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart
Dec 4, 2025

Song of the Day: Despite the title, this new double-A single (with Friday I’m Gonna Love You) has a wonderfully uplifting guitar-jangling beauty, with echoes of The Byrds and Stone Roses, but is of course the brilliant 60s and 70s retro sound of the Long Island brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario, out on Captured Tracks

Dec 4, 2025
Alewya - Night Drive.jpeg
Dec 3, 2025
Song of the Day: Alewya - Night Drive (featuring Dagmawit Ameha)
Dec 3, 2025

Song of the Day: A sensual, stylish, dreamy electro-pop single by the striking British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, musically influenced by her rich Ethiopian-Egyptian heritage and early childhood upbringings in Saudi Arabia and Sudan

Dec 3, 2025
Rule 31 Single Artwork.jpg
Dec 2, 2025
Song of the Day: Radio Free Alice - Rule 31
Dec 2, 2025

Song of the Day: Stirring, passionate indie postpunk by the band based in Melbourne, Australia, with echoes of The Cure’s core sound, new wave, and 90s indie-rock influences, and out on Double Drummer

Dec 2, 2025
Sailor Honeymoon - Armchair.jpeg
Dec 1, 2025
Song of the Day: Sailor Honeymoon - Armchair
Dec 1, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy, punchy, fuzz-guitar indie rock with a droll lyrical delivery and some echoes of Wet Leg come in this new single by the trio from Seoul, South Korea, out on Good Good Records

Dec 1, 2025

Word of the week

Featured
Hangover.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Word of the week: crapulence
Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week: A term that may apply regularly during Xmas party season, from the from the Latin crapula, in turn from the Greek kraipálē meaning "drunkenness" or "headache" pertains to sickness symptoms caused by excess in eating or drinking, or general intemperance and overindulgence

Dec 4, 2025
Running shoes and barefoot.jpeg
Nov 20, 2025
Word of the week: discalceate
Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?

Nov 20, 2025
autumn-red-leaves.jpeg
Nov 6, 2025
Word of the week: erythrophyll
Nov 6, 2025

Word of the week: A seasonally topical word relating to the the red pigment of tree leaves, fruits and flowers, that appears particularly when changing in autumn, as opposed to the green effect of chlorophyll, from the Greek erythros for red, and phyll for leaves. But what of songs about this?

Nov 6, 2025
Fennec fox 2.jpeg
Oct 22, 2025
Word of the week: fennec
Oct 22, 2025

Word of the week: It’s a small pale-fawn nocturnal fox with unusually large, highly sensitive ears, that inhabits from African and Arab deserts areas from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. But has it ever been seen in a song?

Oct 22, 2025
Narrowboat.jpeg
Oct 9, 2025
Word of the week: gongoozler
Oct 9, 2025

Word of the week: A fabulous old English slang term for someone who tends to stand or sit for long periods staring at the passing of boats on canals, sometimes with a derogatory or at least ironic use for someone who is useless or lazy. But what of songs about this activity and culture?

Oct 9, 2025

Song Bar spinning.gif