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Playlists: songs about rainbows and the northern lights

September 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Rainbow aurora …

Rainbow aurora …

The magic, the mystery and a dash of science, it’s all rolled into one beautiful spectrum of songs chosen by guest playlister Hoshino Sakura from last week’s vast and exquisite sky full of nominations. Most enlightening!

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, drone, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, metal, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, rainbows, northern lights, aurora borealis, Death Cab for Cutie, Nick Nicely, Yona & Orkesteri Liikkuvat Pilvet, Gurrumul Yunupingu, Ali Akbar Khan, John Handy, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Chet Baker, Contrary Parade, Leon Bibb, Harry Nilsson, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Miles Davis, Black Uhuru, Sugata Masaki, Goose House, Patti Smith, Astrud Gilberto, Soft Cell, Jimi Hendrix, Andy Partridge, ReoNa, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs about refreshment and cooling down

July 27, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Very cool: The Main Ingredient

Very cool: The Main Ingredient

As the heat continues, where might we find refreshment? From cold water, drinks and more there’s no fresher breeze to bring a sweet shade of musical relief than playlists picked by Hoshino Sakura from last week’s many nominations

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In African, blues, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags refreshment, playlists, songs, J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz, !!!, Chk Chk Chk, Garolou, Wreckless Eric, Kieran Kane, Main Ingredient, Gabor Szabo, The Zombies, The Beach Boys, Pavement, Wilco, Cheryl Wheeler, Doris Day, Leonard Cohen, Peter Hammill, Kinobe, Tricot, Tommy Heavenly6, Shonen Knife, De Press, Johnny Winter, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Saw Doctors, Christine Wheeler, Melon Kinenbi, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: Aeolian airs – songs with audible breaths and breeze

January 19, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Deep breaths: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Deep breaths: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Inhale! Exhale! Sexy to smoky, exercise to sighs, plus bigger breaths from nature, this week’s playlists, compiled by breath-of-fresh-air guest Hoshino Sakura from a hurricane of nominations, will make you gasp with pleasure

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In African, avant-garde, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, musicals, playlists, pop, reggae, rock, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, breathing, breath, wind, Yello, Betty Carter, Miles Davis, The Chakachas, The Brides of Funkenstein, Sweet Honey In the Rock, Prince, The Mixtures, Yoko Ono, Bad Daughter, Ryo, Supercell, Jerry Lee Lewis, Salt-N-Pepa, Destiny's Child, Beyonce, Mischief Brew, Deep Purple, ELO, Seiko Oomori, Mungo Jerry, The Monkees, Kraftwerk, Spirit, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, Daniel Herskedal, Armando Trovajo, Ottomix, Bette Midler, Guinney Pepper, Santa's Farting Elves, Ian Dury, Sandra Jullien and Miki Sugimoto, Cypress Hill, The Grateful Dead, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, LiSA, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs about the colour orange

June 5, 2019 Peter Kimpton
What orange-ments are playing out this week?

What orange-ments are playing out this week?

Fresh, funky, bright and effervescent, spreading from Jamaica to India, France and America and all the way to Japan, this week’s guest playlister Hoshino Sakura captures the essence of this colour in all forms, sky to fruit to street

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In avant-garde, blues, colours, comedy, country, dance, dub, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, colours, orange, flowers, fruit, Jamaica, Prince Buster, The In Crowd, Earth Wind & Fire, Eddie Henderson, Sujatha Majumdar, Reuben Wilson, Judy and Mary, Passepied, Nat King Cole, Ellis Regina, Clara Nunes, Gilbert Bécaud, Arcángel, Johnny Cash, Al Stewart, Richard Thompson, REM, Sascha Funke, Chemical Brothers, Cult With No Name, David Devant and His Spirit Wife, The Vines, Queen Sea Big Shark, Roxy Music, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: music that mentions, mimics or samples birdsong

April 11, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The paradise tanager, an exotic songbird 

The paradise tanager, an exotic songbird 

Cuckoos to chickens, geese to gulls, a host of exotic birds and ascending on high with the lark and nightingale, this week's aural aviary expert Hoshino Sakura spies a beautiful set of musical calls from last week's topic

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Captain Beefheart, Marsha Gee, Lisa Carbon, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Nina Nastasia, Camille Saint-Saëns, Benjamin Britten, Les Compagnons de la Chanson, Travis, Kate Bush, Olivier Messiaen, BBC Sound Archive, second world war, Minnie Riperton, Frank Sinatra, The Meters, Bob Marley, The Durutti Column, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Love, Eva Cassidy, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Frank Haffort, Caetano Veloso, birds, birdsong, Goosehouse, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: soaring songs with high-pitched vocals

August 9, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Can anyone soar higher than Yma Sumac?

Can anyone soar higher than Yma Sumac?

Inspired by hundreds of songs nominated in last week's topic, guest curator Hoshino Sakura creates two beautifully elevated playlists, taking it up to even higher art with a wonderful, painterly gallery display

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In music, playlists, songs Tags Songs, high voices, art, painting, M.F. Husain, Luzmilla Carpio, A. R. Rahman, Berklee Indian Ensemble, Wifredo Lam, Henri Rousseau, Dhafer Youssef, Joe Cocker, Yee I-Lann, Victor Delfin, Yma Sumac, Tiny Tim, Pan Gongkai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Samaris, Massad, Elin Manahan Thomas, Robin Blaze, Monteverdi, Nicolò dell'Abate, Petra Jean Phillipson, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Klaus Nomi, El Anatsui, Salif Keïta, Gustav Klimt, Dame Joan Sutherland, Giacomo Puccini, Guns 'n' Roses, Focus, Junior Murvin, Sylvester, Robert Wyatt, Al Green, Doll By Doll, Tom Petty, Rinken Band, The Newbeats, A-ha, Rin Toshite Shigure, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs about multitasking and being busy

May 10, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Busy band on their way: Jonathan Richman with The Modern Lovers

Busy band on their way: Jonathan Richman with The Modern Lovers

As preparations are hastily made for a special event at the Song Bar, guest playlister Hoshino Sakura tries to organise the artists nominated from last week's topic. But will it all come together in time?

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Tags songs, playlists, Chuck Berry, Marvin Smith, The Average White Band, Carly Simon, The Streets, Marvin Gaye, Cat Stevens, Joe Jackson, The Modern Lovers, Lowell George, The Coasters, The Rolling Stones, A House, Peggy Lee, The Oldham Tinkers, The Temptations, Louis Armstrong, Lillie Delk Christian, The Hot Four, Arthur Askey, Peter Lee Stirling, Tom Waits, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs with close harmony singing

March 8, 2017 Peter Kimpton
The Platters

The Platters

Beach Boys to Byrds, Gladiators to Platters, this week's guest writer Hoshino Sakura makes beautiful harmony by interweaving voice choices from a huge chorus of nominations from last week's topic

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In music, playlists, songs Tags songs, playlists, harmony, The Chordettes, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Gladiators, The Uniques, The Platters, En Vogue, Sweet Honey In the Rock, Amadou & Mariam, Manu Chao, Grupo Vocal Desandan, Mediaeval Babes, The Early Music Consort of London, Antoine Brumel, Everly Brothers, Wilson Phillips, Maddy Prior and the Girls, Oysterband, Little Big Town, Impressions, Southern California Community Choir, Scala and Kolacny Brothers, Bob Marley, The Wailers, The Four Seasons, Olavi Virta and the Harmony Sisters, Decameron, Spirit, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs about or containing laughter

July 27, 2016 Peter Kimpton
Ella and Louis

Ella and Louis

Gentle giggles to hearty howls, nervous triggers to evil sniggers, this week's guest writer Hoshino Sakura takes a playful and poetic path with your song suggestions to leave you truly tickled

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In songs, playlists Tags songs, laughter, poetry, Manfred Mann, The Brilliant Corners, Gorillaz, Toots and the Maytals, The Soulmates, Wilson Simonal, Jerry McCain, Little Leroy and the Milestones, Tiruchi Loganathan, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, Morecambe & Wise, Ozzy Osbourne, The Dogs D'Amour, The Sweet, Bevis Frond, The Monkees, David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Adam and the Ants, Raif Bendix, Slim Gaillard and His Peruvians, Serge Gainsbourg, Randy Newman, Hoshino Sakura
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Playlists: songs with screams, howls, grunts and shrieks

June 22, 2016 Peter Kimpton
John Lennon

John Lennon

This week's guest writer Hoshino Sakura takes us on a fantastical, loud, emotional and joyously entertaining trip through experience of choosing nominations from last week's topic 

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In playlists, songs Tags Songs, screams, grunts, howls, Judas Priest, The Jesus Lizard, Flower Travellin' Band, Soundgarden, Johnny Jones & The King Casuals, Sly & The Family Stone, Ms Betty Davis, Charles Wright, Sam Cooke, 3rd Line Butterfly, Max Roach, John Lennon, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, T-Rex, Marc Bolan, Jarboe, The Cult, Misfits, Harold Alexander, Joe Cocker, Bundhu Boys, Pharoah Sanders, Lee Scratch Perry, Bob Cobbing, Hoshino Sakura
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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

1990s alcopops


SNACK OF THE WEEK

doritos, skittles snack mashup


New Albums …

Featured
So Help Me God by Kelsey Lu.jpeg
June 13, 2026
Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God
June 13, 2026

New album: Luxuriant, ethereal, dramatic and passionate experimental and chamber dream pop by the American singer-songwriter and cellist, with their second LP, seven years since 2019 debut Blood, with guests including Sampha, Kamasi Washington, Kim Gordon, and co-producer Jack Antonoff

June 13, 2026
Cry Baby by Vince Staples.jpeg
June 10, 2026
Vince Staples: Cry Baby
June 10, 2026

New album: The Compton/ Long Beach, Californian rapper returns with a potent, punchy, overtly political rock-hip hop seventh LP that heavily critiques American society and power, racism, police violence, gun culture, media and the music industry, largely accompanied by a tight, riff-heavy electric guitars, bass and drums

June 10, 2026
Liz Lawrence - Vespers.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Liz Lawrence: Vespers
June 9, 2026

New album: More acoustic, stripped back and lo-fi than her previous four albums, yet with deeply powerful and moving songwriting and performance, the British artist’s latest is suffused with grief, reflection and devotion for the premature loss of her sister Jessie, capturing life and death, poetically expressing devotion and reflection

June 9, 2026
Neon Summer Skin by Bedouine.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Bedouine: Neon Summer Skin
June 9, 2026

New album: A serenely beautiful, but also nostalgically sorrowful fourth LP by American singer-songwriter Azniv Korkejian who has Armenian-Syrian heritage, with songs about displacement and identity, very mindful of Middle Eastern conflicts, atrocities and her family history, while broadening her sound into the lush mould of 1970s Carole King and Laurel Canyon

June 9, 2026
Spatial, No Problem. by Lee %22Scratch%22 Perry & Mouse on Mars.jpeg
June 8, 2026
Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mouse on Mars: Spatial, No Problem
June 8, 2026

New album: This wondrously eclectic and entertaining final official album project by the legendary Jamaican producer and artist, made before his passing in 2021, is a collaboration with the German electronic duo Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, mixing reggae, krautrock, ambient, dub, jazz, New Orleans brass and more, alongside Perry’s distinctive voice

June 8, 2026
Doctrine of Love by Jalen Ngonda.jpeg
June 7, 2026
Jalen Ngonda: Doctrine of Love
June 7, 2026

New album: Following his acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around And Love Me, the American UK-based impressive soul singer’s second LP is another classy collection of beautifully uplifting, sublime Northern soul and Motown-era love songs

June 7, 2026
Death Cab For Cutie - I Built You A Tower.jpeg
June 7, 2026
Death Cab For Cutie: I Built You A Tower
June 7, 2026

New album: Elegantly expressed emotional turmoil unfolds across 11 cleverly crafted songs in this 11th album by the Seattle indie rock band fronted by Ben Gibbard and produced by the brilliant John Congleton around a metaphor for post-marriage grief

June 7, 2026
Zoh Amba - Eyes Full 2.jpeg
June 6, 2026
Zoh Amba: Eyes Full
June 6, 2026

New album: The NY-scene free jazz saxophonist forms an indie-folk-country-rock-muddy-blues trio with fabulously strong results in this passionate, raw, free-flowing debut as guitarist-singer-songwriter, lyrics themed around their original hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, and coloured by Appalachian roots

June 6, 2026
Rumspringa by ear.jpeg
June 5, 2026
ear: Rumspringa
June 5, 2026

New album: Minimalistic, introverted, nuanced quirky laptop experimental electronica by the New York duo Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan, following last year’s debut The Most Dear and the Future, this one named after a a rite of passage for Amish adolescents translated as "running around" in Pennsylvania German

June 5, 2026
Beauty Land by Greg Mendez.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Greg Mendez: Beauty Land
June 3, 2026

New album: A gently ironic title, but no doubting beauty of the sound, reminiscent of the late, great Elliott Smith, this new gem of a lo-fi LP is full of mildly tragic, sensitive, thoughtful 14 short numbers by the Philadelphia high falsetto singer-songwriter

June 3, 2026
For Love of Grace & the Hereafter by Iceage.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Iceage: For Love of Grace & The Hereafter
June 3, 2026

New album: A stylishly ramshackle, brilliantly brash’n’breezy punk-shoegaze feral sixth studio LP, streamlining sounds from 50s rock’n’roll through to early 00s indie by the Copenhagen band fronted by Elias Rønnenfelt, successfully fulfilling their aim on this to be “immediate, urgent, raw and fast” across themes of romantic devotion with violent chaos and nihilism

June 3, 2026
Boards of Canada - Inferno.jpeg
June 2, 2026
Boards of Canada: Inferno
June 2, 2026

New album: Scotland’s hugely influential electronic experimental sibling duo Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin return 13 years after their last LP, Tomorrow’s Harvest, with an epic 18-track collection that dissects the psychology of religion with distorted vocal samples and cut-ups across landscapes of dystopian synth textures and beats

June 2, 2026
Philadelphia's been good to me by Kurt Vile.jpeg
June 2, 2026
Kurt Vile: Philadelphia's Been Good To Me
June 2, 2026

New album: A selection of fond love-letter songs to the city where he was raised and has remained by the 46-year-ld American singer-songwriter, in this deliciously laid back 10th LP of songs of interweaving guitars, folk, rock, country and psychedelia, all with his inimitably relaxed vocal delivery

June 2, 2026
The Boys of Dungeon Lane by Paul McCartney.jpeg
June 1, 2026
Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane
June 1, 2026

New album: His voice now may be thinner and weaker, yet his genius for melody remains in this warm, tender LP, inspired by vivid childhood reminiscences in the Speke area of Liverpool and beyond, with references to friends, parents, girlfriends, his bandmates, and includes a duet with Ringo Starr

June 1, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Fenne Lily.jpeg
June 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Fenne Lily - Uh Huh
June 14, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, banjo accompanied, reflective wistful indie folk-pop by the the Brooklyn-based British singer-songwriter with this first single heralding her upcoming fourth album, Win Win, out on 23 October via Nettwerk Music

June 14, 2026
Interpol.jpeg
June 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Interpol - See Out Loud
June 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Pulsating indie rock by the seasoned New York band fronted by singer Paul Banks and guitarist Daniel Kessler, heralding their upcoming eighth album This Mirror Weighs a Ton, out on 28 August, and newly signed to Partisan Records

June 13, 2026
Jack White - Frozen Charlotte.jpeg
June 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Jack White - Dollar Bill
June 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The White Stripes man returns with a blistering, bluesy rock guitar, Led Zeppelin-ish single, heralding his upcoming seventh solo album, Frozen Charlotte, out on 10 July via Third Man Records

June 12, 2026
Hot Slob by Sylvan Esso.jpeg
June 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Sylvan Esso - Hot Slob
June 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A proudly messy, rowdy, pointed and punchy new indie rock single embracing the spirit and chaos of living in the glitch by the North Carolina duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, here featuring Jenn Wasner and TJ Maiani and out on Psychic Hotline

June 11, 2026
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June 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Rodrigo y Gabriela - Monster
June 10, 2026

Song of the Day: The hugely popular and Grammy-winning Mexico City-raised guitar duo return with a dextrously brilliant new single mixing acoustic and rock styles, heralding their new upcoming new album OurHome out 18 September via ATO Records

June 10, 2026
JJerome87 - The Canyon.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Song of the Day: JJerome87 - Mr. Alligator
June 9, 2026

Song of the Day: A bluesy, smooth, luxuriantly produced Americana number about a dubious authority figure by the British songwriter and musician Joe Newman, frontman of the Mercury winning band alt-J, in this latest single from his debut solo album, The Canyon, out on 26 June via Mushroom Music/ Virgin

June 9, 2026
Balti and Lapgan.jpeg
June 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Baalti & Lapgan - Romance / Ipa Ma
June 8, 2026

Song of the Day: Vibrant, rhythmic, experimental electronica and dance music sampling Bollywood, Bengali disco, Hindustani classical and Gujarati folk by the NY-based pair Jaiveer Singh, Mihir Chauhan, joined by producer Gaurav Nagpa, from their recent album, Threads, out on Azal/FADER

June 8, 2026
Margaret Glaspy 2.jpg
June 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Margaret Glaspy - Michigan
June 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful finger-picked acoustic single by New York-based Californian singer-songwriter about escaping the big city post breakup, heralding her upcoming album I Am Both out on 7 August via ATO

June 7, 2026
LA Priest - Into The Sky video .png
June 6, 2026
Song of the Day: LA Priest - Into The Sky
June 6, 2026

Song of the Day: High-octane electronica and euphoric, dance music by the eccentric, eclectic US artist Sam Eastgate with his first music for two years, and a highly entertaining video, out on Domino Records

June 6, 2026
Ibeyi .jpeg
June 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Ibeyi - Aset / Offerings
June 5, 2026

Song of the Day: A pair of sensual, soulfully vivid new singles partly sung in Spanish, and the first new music for four years from the French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz, heralding their upcoming fourth album, Offering, out on 26 June via AWAL Recordings

June 5, 2026
Seasick Steve - The Last Season of America.jpeg
June 4, 2026
Song of the Day: Seasick Steve - The Last Season of America
June 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A poignant, powerfully gentle folk-blues-Americana protest number by the veteran Calfornian singer-songwriter with an extended metaphor about the state of his country in this title track heralding his upcoming album out on 18 September via Steve’s new label Eastcote Recordings

June 4, 2026
Kristin Hersh.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Kristin Hersh - Dark Eyed Junco
June 3, 2026

Song of the Day: Following 2023’s Clear Pond Road, the Rhode Island-raised former Throwing Muses artist returns with a powerful, dark, resonant number about her and her brother’s childhood, heralding a 12th solo LP, Sugar On Blackstone, out on 18 August via Fire Records

June 3, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Flying saucer.jpeg
June 11, 2026
Word of the week: phialiform
June 11, 2026

Word of the week: This rare but oddly beautiful rare adjective means "saucer-shaped" or having the form of a small, shallow cup or vessel, from the Latin root phiala (a shallow bowl or phial) and the suffix -iform, meaning shape

June 11, 2026
Cypress vine.jpg
June 4, 2026
Word of the week: quamoclit
June 4, 2026

Word of the week: Also known as cypress vine, cardinal creeper, cardinal vine, star glory, star of Bethlehem or hummingbird vine, this striking climbing flower, Ipomoea quamoclit, is native tropical regions of the Americas and has a distinctive trumpet with five-point star-shaped petals

June 4, 2026
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May 21, 2026
Word of the week: riqq
May 21, 2026

Word of the week: An appropriately onomatopoeic noun for name for Middle Eastern tambourine, able to produce a range of percussive sounds, and commonly heard in traditional Egyptian, Arab, Greek and Turkish music

May 21, 2026
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May 7, 2026
Word of the week: salpinx
May 7, 2026

Word of the week: This very imposing, loud, resonant noun is an ancient Greek, trumpet-like instrument used as a tactical signal on the battle field, as well as to signal the beginnings of gatherings, or of races in sport

May 7, 2026
Song thrush 2.jpeg
April 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
April 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

April 23, 2026

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