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Playlists: songs about endangered animal species

August 6, 2025 Peter Kimpton

It may not be long for the dugong, hauntingly heralded below in song …

From man-made causes – hunting to climate change and habitat loss, it’s a heartbreaking, tragic tale. But this musical menagerie also has poignant positivity, with guest Marco den Ouden adding conservation success stories in these moving, beautiful lists, picked from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, comedy, dance, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, animals, Glenn Jones, Kokia, Burning Spear, Fox, Andrew Belew, Big Baby Driver, Dave Norman, Rob van der Touw, Let's Eat Grandma, Shonen Knife, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Cosmo Sheldrake, Bowerbird Collective, Crosby Still & Nash, The Partridge Family, Vainica Doble, Bats For Lashes, The Monkees, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Tokens, Desmond Dekker, France Gall, Ian Anderson, Great Lake Swimmers, Eric Whitacre, Yiannis Kalantzis, Omar Pène et Le Super Diamono, Linval Thompson, Renato Teixeira, Tom Rugg, Jeff Gulfoss, John Gregory and his Orchestra, Mandrill, Sly & The Family Stone, Walter Bishop Jr., Sven Libaek, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Henri Texier & Azur Quartet, Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea, David Fleming, Marco den Ouden, Jan Golfuss
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Playlists: cross-cultural cover versions

April 23, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Heard it through … The Slits

A genre-jumping, globe-spanning musical adventure brings glorious reinterpretative entertainment as guest of the week Nilpferd presents playlists 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, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags The Wailers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Milton Nascimento, Esperanza Spalding, Amy Winehouse, Shirley Bassey, Malik Adouane, Sachal Studios, Oddjob, No. 1 de No. 1, The Gourds, The Slits, Melt Banana, Patti Smith, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Ukrainians, Mexrrissey, Prince Fatty, Soothsayers Horns, Burning Spear, Hikashu, Susanna & The Magical Orchestra, Hayseed Dixie, Abigail Washburn, The Sparrow Quartet, Kristin Hersch, Scott Walker, Joe Cocker, GhostMutts, Organ Eternal, The Clash, Grant Green, Hildegard von Bingen, My Chemical Romance, Nilpferd
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Playlists: songs about happiness

July 17, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Doubly happy: Stevie Wonder jokes around with a wax double of himself at London Piccadilly’s Rock Circus in 1989

It’s an emotional state that comes in many forms and has attracted waves of joyful nominations. Guest playlister of the week MussoliniHeadkick picks a selection that will give a spring to your step and a leap to your heart with a personal expression of love

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, songs, soul, ska, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, happiness, psychology, relationships, Burning Spear, Brian Power, Lucita Jules, Jackie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Tim Buckley, David Sylvian, Mazzy Star, Goldfrapp, Alison Goldfrapp, Gordon Haskell, Orange Juice, Molly Drake, Perry Como, Nancy Sinatra, Elmore James, The Beatles, The Doobie Brothers, The Delays, Nirvana, XTC, The Shaggs, The Flatmates, BMX Bandits, Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, The Mighty Lemon Drops, My Bloody Valentine, MussoliniHeadkick
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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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Playlists: songs using collective nouns

April 17, 2024 Peter Kimpton

We’ve got shoal: silver herring

Congregations to murders, vaquejada to izinyoni, Scotland to England and Spain, Africa to Brazil and beyond, collective nouns add vivd poetry to song lyrics. Guest playlister Maki picks out some collective colour from last week’s theme

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In African, blues, avant-garde, calypso, classical, country, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Ewan MacColl, collective nouns, language, animals, birds, fish, Jesca Hoop, Cadaver Club, Scientist, Low, Foo Fighters, Quinteto Violado, The Mahotella Queens, Burning Spear, Killing Joke, The Stranglers, Hildegard Knef, GoGo Penguin, The Housemartins, Martin Green, Eek-a-Mouse, CW McCall, The Green Pajamas, Mau Maus, Honningbarna, Jauría
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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 omens and prophecies

March 15, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Visions of the future: The Flaming Lips

Visions, prophets, psychics, spanning history and the future, with good news and bad – inspired by many nominations from last week’s topic, these superb playlists, picked by guest amylee, journey through time and space

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, colours, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, omens, prophecies, The Clash, The Fall, Mark E Smith, Teenage Fanclub, Howlin' Wolf, Phish, The Grateful Dead, Black Francis, Crash Test Dummies, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Sparklehorse, The Flaming Lips, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Wardruna, Aquarius, Spirit, The Cowsills, William Penn V, Captain Beefheart, Jethro Tull, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Burning Spear, Wayne Jarett, Cibo Matto, Pet Shop Boys, The Stranglers, The Go-Betweens, Mount Eerie, Jerry Goldsmith, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Kronos Quartet, Nitin Sawhney, Don Shinn, Kenny Barron, Dave Holland, Vindsvept, The Comet Is Coming, David Toop, Bjork, Nick Drake, The Fixx, Killing Joke, AmyLee
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Playlists: songs about crowds

December 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton

La Foule: Edith Piaf sings to an enraptured gathering in 1951

Forming an orderly queue or going mob-handed in an unruly bunch, it’s time to join the throng in enjoying these fabulous selections by guest Loud Atlas, picked from an even bigger crowd of numbers from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, country, classical, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, crowds, society, psychology, Blue Oyster Cult, Joni Mitchell, The Human League, James Taylor, XTC, Edith Piaf, The Jam, The Ink Spots, Little River Band, Betty Everett, bread, Mbongeni Ngema, REM, Regurgitator, Bryan Ferry, The Grateful Dead, Kaiser Chiefs, Alice Donut, The Cramps, The Saw Doctors, Lesley Gore, The Kinks, Johnny Cash, Burning Spear, Ben Folds Five, Kimya Dawson, The Ruts, Mickey Gilley, The Har-You Percussion Group, Ramsey Lewis, Ramsey Trio, Joe Satriani, Tom Odell, Allison Pontier, Ashleigh Frieze, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs about elephants and mammoths

November 9, 2021 Peter Kimpton

We are family …

Huge size, unusual grace and beauty to how humans behave towards them, reggae to rock, pop, folk and jazz, classical and traditional, guest Severin took on a mammoth task from all the nominations to create great playlists to trumpet about

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags playlists, songs, instrumentals, elephants, mammoths, mammals, animals, Oscar Brown Jr, Tom Tom Club, Laleh, Burning Spear, June Tabor, Art Blakey, North Atlantic Invasion Force, Osibisa, Tame Impala, A Camp, Fungas, Stackridge, Mandy Miller, Chakra Bleu, Syd Barrett, Henry Mancini, Toy Dolls, Lena, CW Peake, John Greaves, Peter Blegvad, Lisa Herman, Trilok Gurtu & The Glimpse, Prince, Leon Rosselson, MS Subbulakshmi, King Crimson, Natalie Merchant, Nilesh Moharir, Mangesh Borgaonkar, Spruhar Joshi, Vidulgoi Ooyoo, Pigeon Milk, Them Crooked Vultures, Bonnie Raitt, Was (Not Was), severin, Severin, Mammut, Kuricorder Quartet
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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

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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
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Playlists: songs about the brain

April 8, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Einstein’s brain and music. Always connected.

Einstein’s brain and music. Always connected.

Albert Einstein to neuroplasticity, this week’s topic mixes the clever, complex cerebellum with music. Taking in last week’s many nominations, guest Marco den Ouden created a trio of mind-blowing playlists to educate and entertain

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In African, blues, avant-garde, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, metal, music, jazz, instrumentals, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, reggae, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, the brain, psychology, Albert Einstein, René Descartes, Gilbert Ryle, Norman Doidge, Edward Taub, psychiatry, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Weird Al Jankovic, Young MC, African Head Charge, Imogen Heap, Blue Oyster Cult, Ezra Furman, Robyn Hitchcock, Richard Thompson, Joe Diffle, Rihanna, Bill Withers, Madness, Marco den Ouden, The Amboy Dukes, The Waifs, Katie Lee, Willie Nelson, Gabby Young and Other Animals, paul simon, Admiral Freebee, Philip Jeays, Willie Dixon, Enigma, deLillos, Eminem, Laurie Anderson, Matthew Trevino, Elvis Costello, Markley, a Group, Oasis, Tizzy Bac, Banks, Weezer, Starcrawler, Vangelis, Burning Spear, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sun Ra, Leo Kottke, Mogwai, Stanley Clarke Trio, Shakti, Renegade Soundwave, Henry Cow, Chick Corea, Alphonse Mouzon, George Duke, David Alexrod, Nine Inch Nails
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Not playlists? Yes playlists: songs with misleading or incongruous titles

December 5, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Scott Walker. Wave goodbye to any Manhattan meaning

Scott Walker. Wave goodbye to any Manhattan meaning

Not a single song has anything to do with what it says on the tin. But after many wonderful wrongfooting nominations, brilliant guest playlister Olive Butler puts them in an entertaining form of order

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In blues, comedy, dance, country, disco, dub, folk, electronica, indie, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, Badfinger, Robert Plant, Of Montreal, Throbbing Gristle, Scott Walker, The Beach Boys, Burning Spear, The American Analog Set, Silver Jews, Tom Lehrer, Joe Henry, Half Man Half Biscuit, Morrissey, Stereolab, Smashing Pumpkins, Steely Dan, The Monkees, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Prefab Sprout, Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, English Dogs, Gary Moore, Joy Division, Olive Butler, Primitive Radio Gods, Thee More Shallows
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Serene syncopation: songs influenced by reggae, ska and rocksteady

March 8, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Wailers that global star, Bob Marley

The Wailers that global star, Bob Marley

This week we're searching out the effect of these core styles of 1960s Jamaican music on other genres across the globe, from punk to pop and rock, African to dance, and how they evolved. It's a very sound system …

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In blues, dance, electronica, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, reggae, rock, punk, songs, soul, soundtracks, ska, rocksteady Tags Songs, reggae, ska, rocksteady, Jamaica, Bob Marley, The Wailers, The Clash, Burning Spear, Michael Franti, Johnny Greenwood, Radiohead, Youssou N'Dour, syncopation, menta, calypso, Prince Buster, Clement Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, The Skatalites, Alton Ellis, The Techniques, The Paragons, The Gaylads, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, The Congos, The Abyssians, Wailing Souls, U-Roy, BIg Youth, I-Roy, Dr Alimantado, Dennis Alcapone, Sly and Robbie, The Mighty Diamonds, 2 Tone, Barrington Levy, Frankie Paul, Sister Nancy, Stephen Marley, Damian Marley, Ziggy Marley, Nas, Tory Lanez, Boy George, Ike Turner, Bruno Mars, Peter Hook, Lupe Fiasco, The Bug
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Playlists: spiritual and sacred songs

December 28, 2016 Peter Kimpton
How sweet thou art: the majestic voice and personality of Marion Williams

How sweet thou art: the majestic voice and personality of Marion Williams

Gospel, soul, blues, Hindu, reggae, jazz, country, folk to old church, our guest writer magicman creates some divine and sublime lists spanning the centuries and the globe from last week's yuletide topic

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Tags songs, music, John Coltrane, Hildegard von Bingen, Burning Spear, Marion Williams, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Norman Greenbaum, Louis Armstrong, Gigolo Aunts, Kenny Rogers, Edwin Hawkins Singers, Gregorio Allegri, Al Green, Townes Van Zandt, Thelonius Monk, Francis Poulenc, The Congos, Judee Sill, Randy Newman, Handel, Richard Strauss, Eva Cassidy, Snarky Puppy, Beastie Boys, magicman
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New Albums …

Featured
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
picture-parlour-the-parlour-album.jpeg
Nov 17, 2025
Picture Parlour: The Parlour
Nov 17, 2025

New album: Following last year’s EP Face in the Picture, a fabulously stylish, smart, swaggering glam-rock-pop debut LP by the Manchester-formed, London-based band fronted by the impressively raspy, gritty, vibratro delivery of Liverpudlian vocalist and guitarist Katherine Parlour and distinctive riffs from North Yorkshire-born guitar Ella Risi

Nov 17, 2025

new songs …

Featured
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
Ellie O'Neill.jpeg
Nov 30, 2025
Song of the Day: Ellie O'Neill - Bohemia
Nov 30, 2025

Song of the Day: A beautiful, poetic finger-picking debut folk single with a mystical, distantly stormy twist by the Dublin-based Irish singer-songwriter from County Meath, out now on St Itch Records

Nov 30, 2025
Danalogue.jpeg
Nov 29, 2025
Song of the Day: Danalogue - Sonic Hypnosis
Nov 29, 2025

Song of the Day: A full flavour of future-past with mesmeric, euphoric retro acid house and electronica in this new single by Daniel Leavers, producer and the founding member of The Comet Is Coming and Soccer96, out now on Castles In Space

Nov 29, 2025
Cardinals band.jpeg
Nov 28, 2025
Song of the Day: Cardinals - Barbed Wire
Nov 28, 2025

Song of the Day: Another striking, passionate, punchy, catchy single by the Irish postpunk/indie-folk-rock band from Cork, heralding their upcoming debut album, Masquerade, out on 13 February via So Young Records

Nov 28, 2025
Frank-Popp-Ensemble and Paul Weller.jpeg
Nov 27, 2025
Song of the Day: Frank Popp Ensemble (with Paul Weller) - Right Before My Eyes
Nov 27, 2025

Song of the Day: A strong, soaring, emotive, soulful release by the German artist co-written by British singer and former Jam frontman who here sings and plays guitar, the lyrics about witnessing the increasing injustices and demise of the world, out on Unique Records / Schubert Music Europe

Nov 27, 2025
Tessa Rose Jackson - Fear Bangs The Drum 2.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
Song of the Day: Tessa Rose Jackson - Fear Bangs The Drum
Nov 26, 2025

Song of the Day: Using a musical metaphor, beautiful, crisply rhythmical, soaring piano and atmospheric indie-pop-folk about facing your fears by the Dutch/British singer-songwriter, heralding her forthcoming new album The Lighthouse, out on 23 January 2026 on Tiny Tiger Records

Nov 26, 2025
Melanie Baker - Sad Clown.jpeg
Nov 25, 2025
Song of the Day: Melanie Baker - Sad Clown
Nov 25, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy, candid, cathartic indie-grunge-pop by the British singer-songwriter from Cumbria in a melancholy but oddly uplifting emotional work-through of depression, love and exhaustion, out now on TAMBOURHINOCEROS

Nov 25, 2025
Holly Humberstone - Die Happy.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Song of the Day: Holly Humberstone - Die Happy
Nov 24, 2025

Song of the Day: Luxuriant, breathy, femme-fatale dream pop with a dark, southern gothic, Lana del Rey-inspired, live-fast-die-young theme, and stylish video by the 25-year-old British singer-songwriter from Grantham, out on Polydor/Universal

Nov 24, 2025

Word of the week

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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