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Playlists: songs from musicals that transcend their genre

November 5, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A revolutionary show: Les Misérables (with revolving stage)

The curtain rises and and it’s time fabulous show! Picking from the many nominations from last week’s topic, Marco den Ouden directs a set of playlists of transcedant numbers from over a century of song and dance landmarks

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In music, musicals, musical hall, songs, pop, rock Tags musicals, playlists, songs, Paul Robeson, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, Billie Holiday, George Gershwin, Nina Simone, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Patrick Page, Anais Mitchell, Tommy Korberg, Benny Anersson, Bjorn Ulvaus, Tim Rice, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Hugh Masekela, Mbongeni Ngema, Lena Horne, Doris Day, Julie London, Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Bobby Troup, Rumi, Andrew Choi, Gordon McRae, Richard Rodgers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julie Covington, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Fats Waller, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, Keenan Wynn, Betty Hutton, Irving Berlin, The Flesh Failures, Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot, Harve Presnell, Alan J Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Carmen Twillie, Lebo M, Elton John, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, Ejae, KPop Demon Hunters, Marco den Ouden, Treat Williams, Grand Bush, John DeRobertas, Elaine Page, Barbara Dickson, The Doors, Christopher Lee, Muse, Shirley Bassey, Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Connee Boswell, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Noelle Cordier, Cecile McClorin Salvant, Marisha Wallace, Marni Nixon, Ramona Davies, Paul Whiteman, Yvonne Elliman, Fred Astaire, Leo Reisman, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Mary Kay Bergman, Robert Lindsay, Maryann Plunkett, Sarah Vaughan, Newkid, Angela Lansbury, Cliff Edwards, Lady Gaga, Eydie Gorme, Wini Shaw, Colm Wilkinson
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Playlists: songs about fountains

August 27, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Songs pour out …

A fluid topic, fountains strike a deep emotional chord, while sometimes reflective and philosophical, cover a range from loneliness and sorrow to exaltation and celebration. Marco den Ouden turns on the the tap, inspired by the past week’s nominations

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In African, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, music, fountains, water, Jackie Wilson, Peter Perrett, Al Green, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jackson Browne, Alec Benjamin, Tracy Chapman, Lady Gaga, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Indigo Girls, Jackie Leven, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Charlotte Church, Judikay, Playing For Change, Frank Sinatra, The Sweet, Arrested Development, Buffalo Tom, Doll By Doll, Georges Brassens, Elvis Presley, Leon Ware, Janis Siegel, Sufjan Stevens, King Crimson, Kate Rusby, Joe Bonamassa, The Byrds, Black Uhuru, Carl Perkins, PJ Harvey, Fleetwood Mac, Clamavi de Profundis, Jorge Ben, Jah9, Rolf Stimson, Gran-Lee Phillips, Tom Harrell, Carol Rosenberger, Duke Ellington, Los Pekenikes, Paco de Lucia, Cyrus Chestnut, Lyle Lovett, Laurence Juber, Mad Unity, Lloyd McNeil Quartet, Geffion, Franz Schubert, Shang Wen-Jie, The Choir Of Beijing Takah, Les Cailloux, Camille, Marco den Ouden, Marconius
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Close your eyes, open your ears: songs about darkness

July 24, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Where would stars be without the dark…?

It’s a vast spectrum of a topic that occupies half of Earth’s rotation, filled with emotions, stories, assocations, and styles. With the recent death of one famous rock figure, what other forms of darkness come to mind in song?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, folk, experimental, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, darkness, astronomy, Julia Cameron, Yousuf Karsh, Marshall McLuhan, Lady Gaga, Carl Jung, Seamus Heaney, Sylvia Plath, Friedrich Nietzsche, Dylan Thomas, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joseph Conrad, William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, JRR Tolkien, books, poetry, Ozzy Osbourne, Devil, Arca, Little Richard, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Thom Yorke, Jens Lekman, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, Francis Bacon, Tory Kennedy Martin, television, drama, Somerset Maugham, Elias Canetti, George RR Martin, Helen Keller, Haruki Murakami, Lord Byron, climate change, colonialism
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Enter with: songs about tickets, passes and invitations

January 16, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Paper trail or older entrance …

Cultural events to sport, travel, parties or imagined prizes in lotteries, whether as literal or as metaphor in lyrics, it's all about those bits of real or virtual paper allowing access. Where will yours get you?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, disco, dance, 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, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, tickets, passes, passports, travel, music, music venues, Hunter S. Thompson, George Carlin, Mercedes McCambridge, Douglas Coupland, Oscar Wilde, Al Gore, Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga, The Cure, Robert Smith, Mark E Smith
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Kiss and makeup: songs about cosmetics

September 5, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Just a little heavy on the foundation, fellas?

Lipstick to mascara, eyeshadow to foundation, music stars have always been putting on a performance persona mask. Cosmetics do strange things to us. In a narrative, they could leave traces of romantic encounters, make for a great vivid detail in lyrics, as well as an extended metaphor. So a rather different way this week, it's time to face the music …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, country, comedy, dance, drone, disco, 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, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags cosmetics, makeup, music, songs, playlists, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Manson, Coco Chanel, Helena Rubinstein, Nina Dobrev, Little Richard, Lady Gaga, Calvin Klein, Robert Smith, The Cure, theatre, fashion, Film, relationships, Lillie Langtry, Joan Crawford, Suzi Quatro, Kiss, The New York Dolls, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Ghost, Mimi Choi
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Playlists: songs about teeth

November 1, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Open wide: the great Dinah Washington makes a trip to the dentist, but might she receive more than a filling?

Draculas to dentists and dentures, smiling to biting, gnashing, chattering, grinding and chomping, there’s no shortage of wonderful music to chew over with these tasty, pearly-white playlists picked by guest Nicko from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags teeth, dentists, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Dinah Washington, Lorde, The Mighty Diamonds, Tindersticks, xiangyu, Tools You Can Trust, Genesis Owusu, Eaglebear Singers, Tanya Tagaq, Lady Gaga, Working Men's Club, Free, Roky Erickson, John Williams, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, Spike Jones, Weird Al Jankovic, Screaming Lord Such, Timothy, Devon Irons, The Upsetters, Scientist, The Hollies, Witch, Sparklehorse, PJ Harvey, Wilco, Stew & The Negro Problem, Lotte Lenya, Jackie Orszaczky & The Grandmasters, Lonnie Johnson, Victoria Spivey, Duke, Sugar Minott, Weed Out Vampires, Busy Signal, Madder Lake, Skin Of Out Teeth, Nicko
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What's left behind? Songs about legacy

August 17, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Honest legacy? Park (bench) your musical heritage here …

How will you leave it, or be left? It’s a profound idea to think of how we’ll be remembered, or forgotten, as material, ethereal and emotional remains, or what others might leave to us. So let’s widen our musical legacy with some more song ideas on this topic …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, legacy, inheritance, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Robert Johnson, David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Little Richard, Taylor Swift, Jimmy Chamberlin, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Chris Mullins, television, advertising, Bill Bryson, architecture, archeologoy, archeology, evolution, Ancient Egypt, Barack Obama, racism, slavery, Paul Kingsnorth, William The Conqueror, Domesday Book, Film, politics, UK politics, Billie Jean King, Peter Brook, Lionel Richie, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Mavis Staples, Pop Staples, Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Martha Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III, Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, parents, Hugh Masekela, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Donald Byrd, KRS-One, Rosalía, Lady Gaga, Katie Perry, The Cure, Robert Smith, wills
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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

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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
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This topic is the greatest! Boastful songs

November 11, 2021 Peter Kimpton

Look no further. The greatest. Muhammad Ali

This week, from lyrical non-ironic self-proclamation to nuanced false narrators, a brimming edition of self-aggrandisement with a dash of arrogance, of big-headed and bombastic braggadocio, of cockiness, conceited crowing and crazed confidence, with a dollop of self-delusion …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime Tags songs, playlists, boasting, bragging, narcissism, showing off, self-deceit, hyperbole, Muhammad Ali, Mae West, Mark Twain, Brian Clough, Diego Maradona, animal behaviour, Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, George Cruikshank, satire, Kanye West, Donald Trump, Desert Island Discs, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Englebert Humperdinck, Flavor Flav, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Bobby Brown, Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones, Film, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber, Steve Coogan, Alan Partridge, Arturo Gatti, The 1948 Show, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman, Mike Royko, Hollywood, Paris, Julian Barnes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, A.A. Milne, Hunter S. Thompson, Bertrand Russell
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Gay pride struggles and strides: songs exploring gender and LGBTQ

June 24, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Very fruitful: Little Richard

Very fruitful: Little Richard

It’s time to come out with our own Song Bar gay parade – songs exploring, expressing the experience from confusions and problems, all the way to coming out and celebrating gender, difference across the sex spectrum

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, drone, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, homosexuality, gender, Gay Pride, Little Richard, Sappho, Oscar Wilde, E.M. Forster, Jeffrey Eugenides, Harvey Milk, Derek Jarman, RuPaul, Simone De Beauvoir, Quentin Crisp, animal behaviour, LTBTQ, David Bowie, Tchaikovsky, Benjamin Britten, Noel Coward, Joe Orton, Cole Porter, Peter Tatchell, Alan Turing, Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, Grayson Perry, Adrian Street, Marc Almond, Anohni, Dusty Springfield, Y-Love, Ezra Furman, Sophie, Donna Summer, Village People, Lucille Bogan, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Kylie Minogue, Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga
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Playlists: 'new normal'? Songs about what is or isn't regular, typical or natural

December 2, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Lady Gaga: Just put your paws up – 'cause you were born this way, baby …

Lady Gaga: Just put your paws up – 'cause you were born this way, baby …

Finding the ordinary in the extraordinary to the straight in the straitjacket, this week’s playlists are anything but average, as guest playlister IsabelleForshaw entertainingly reveals that normality is all a matter of perspective

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In comedy, classical, blues, avant-garde, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, normality, Lady Gaga, Joe Walsh, dEUS, Betty Davis, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Bigg Jus, Jerold Marcellus Bryant, Pet Shop Boys, Crowded House, Cameo, Frentel, Mental As Anything, Ivor Cutler, Bob Dylan, Saint Etienne, Yard Act, Superorganism, Day Wave, The Business, Bikini Kill, English Dogs, The Mekons, Arrested Development, Ben Folds, The Pogues, Alan Price, Aretha Franklin, Eartha Kitt, Regurgitator, Weird Al Jankovic, IsabelleForshaw
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The way you wear your ... songs about hats and other accessories

February 20, 2020 Peter Kimpton
The divine Miss Grace Jones

The divine Miss Grace Jones

Let’s accessorise ourselves with songs about hats, gloves, scarves, sunglasses and the like, from a key lyrical moment to song as whole, with items that variously signify fashion, function, status, class, profession, character or era

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Tags songs, playlists, hats, gloves, sunglasses, accessories, fashion, clothing, Frank Sinatra, Lance Morrow, An Na, Frederick The Great, Patti Smith, Joseph Stalin, Ira Gershwin, Grace Jones, Lady Gaga, Philip Treacy, Elizabeth Taylor, Peaky Blinders, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Margaret Atwood, Isabella Blow, Neil Gaiman, Charles Dickens, William Goldman, Carly Simon, Morrissey, Michael Jackson, Dr Seuss, John Ashbery, Tom Waits, Alison Goldfrapp, Richie Sambora, Jack Nicholson, Sir Matt Busby
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Vote on what lies beneath: songs about trust

December 12, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Nose. We all knows … what lies, above. And below, look out for capo alert …

Nose. We all knows … what lies, above. And below, look out for capo alert …

There’s a UK general election today, but here it’s also time to vote for songs about trust, that fragile but vital hub around which the world spins, in love, family, friendships, the self, creativity, religion, but also played in politics and business

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, politics, general election, trust, relationships, music, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, The Daily Mail, The Sun, Lady Gaga, Albert Einstein, NHS, George MacDonald, Stephen King, brands, advertising, Kevin Plank, Charles Spurgeon, Thomas Paine, Stanley Baldwin, Emmeline Pankhurst, William Shakespeare, Evelyn Waugh, Chuck Palahniuk, Marilyn Monroe, Eminem, Cher, Goethe, Graham Greene, Billy Wilder, David Byrne, Billie Eilish, W.C. Fields, Peter Fonda, Heroditus, Neil Gaiman, Bob Dylan, Eartha Kitt, Billy Connolly, Cassette Boy, Stewart Lee, Film, Tim Robbins
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Sole power: songs about footwear

October 10, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Walk this way and press play …

Walk this way and press play …

Shoes, boots, slippers, high-heels, trainers, loafers, brothel creepers, brogues, to clogs to spats and a whole lot more, from the sexy to the silly, the stylish to the smart, let’s get the sole of this subject in this lyrical theme

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, footwear, shoes, boots, nursery rhymes, fairytales, Cinderella, Dr Seuss, Marilyn Monroe, Brian Robertson, Thin Lizzy, Steve Mann, Abebe Bikila, Haile Gebrselassie, running, trainers, football, Craig Johnston, Adidas, Nike, smart technology, Billy Connolly, Elton John, The Who, Kiss, Lady Gaga, fashion, Alexander McQueen, Kobi Levi, The Wizard of Oz, The Red Shoes, Film, film soundtrack, protest, climate change, REM, Michael Stipe, Paul Weller, David Bowie, Maxine Peake, Dolly Parton, Joey Ramone, Twiggy
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Can you hear it? Songs with notable key changes

October 3, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Michael Jackson had more than his fair share of changes. In one instance he takes a breath before sharpening his G

Michael Jackson had more than his fair share of changes. In one instance he takes a breath before sharpening his G

No technical knowledge required. Michael Jackson to the Beatles, they've all done it. From a single step up to lift or alter the mood, to more complex modulations, if you can feel or hear a significant change in the song, it could be a key one

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Joni Mitchell, Charlie Parker, Joanna Newsom, key changes, Al Wilson, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Roger Nichols, Paul Williams, The Flaming Lips, John Coltrane, Tommy Flanagan, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Paul Weller, The Jam, Jimmy Ruffin, Garbage, Ray Davies, The Kinks, The Who, The Police, Randy Crawford, Lady Gaga, Beyonce
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The gift of sound and vision: songs enhanced by impressive videos

April 25, 2019 Peter Kimpton
What will be your weapon of choice this week?

What will be your weapon of choice this week?

Music and film are often intertwined commercially, but where does a video become an artform to the level that the visual elements enhance, complement and become symbiotic with the song? Let the action commence …

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, prog, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, showtime Tags songs, playlists, videos, Film, YouTube, MTV, David Lynch, Bessie Smith, Louis Jordan, Tony Bennett, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Brel, The Moody Blues, Kenneth Anger, The Beatles, Queen, Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga, Chris Cunningham, Spike Jones, Spike Jonze, Michael Gondry, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin, Bjork, Norman Cook / Fatboy Slim, Bootsy Collins, Christopher Walken, Electric Six, Peter Gabriel, Aardman Animations, Radiohead, Childish Gambino, Cate Le Bon, Fat White Family, Ibeyi, Arctic Monkeys, Philip Glass, Godfrey Reggio
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Playlists: songs about photographs and photography

March 6, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Which will make the album?

Which will make the album?

Photography isn’t always happy holiday snaps and selfies. This week’s musical cameraman, EnglishOutlaw, creates two albums of perceptive, sensitive, thought-provoking songs, with a tale of love portraits that develop unexpectedly

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In blues, country, disco, folk, indie, music, pop, playlists, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, photography, relationships, Nina Nesbitt, The Would-Be-Goods, Bishop Allen, Weddings, Weddings Parties Anything, Melanie, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Radio Stars, Lady Gaga, The Vapors, Satellites, Goose House, Uriah Heep, Arcade Fire, Saint Etienne, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ballboy, 10cc, The Kinks, The Lucksmiths, Strangelove, Michael Chapman, Damon Albarn, "Whispering" Jack Smith, EnglishOutlaw, FKA Twigs
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Let them all in: songs about oddballs, outcasts and outsiders

August 23, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Heading your way .. Julian Cope as Mr Squbbsy in London, 1990.

Heading your way .. Julian Cope as Mr Squbbsy in London, 1990.

Eccentric historical figures to those who are currently out there, black sheep to persons offbeat, songs that express the outsider/insider paradox, this week let’s open our doors to songs about difference

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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, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, oddballs, eccentricity, outsiders, outcasts, Julian Cope, Captain Beefheart, Vivian Stanshall, Colin Wilson, Quentin Crisp, William Blake, Lady Gaga, Dame Edith Sitwell, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Lee Scratch Perry, Frank Zappa, Aphex Twin, David Lynch, books, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, HG Wells, TS Eliot, Vincent Van Gogh, George Bernard Shaw, Vaslav Nijinsky, TE Lawrence, Michael Jackson, Kevin Rowland, Tiny Tim, Gerald Tyrwhitt / Baron Berners, Francis Henry Egerton, William Buckland, Howard Hughes, Keith Moon, Oliver Reed, John Waters, Grace Jones, Meat Loaf, Janet Fitch, Joseph Conrad
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Troll! (but no trolling): songs about mythical beasts and creatures

November 9, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Someone's had a bad day … a rock star from 2010's Norwegian film triumph, Troll Hunter (director André Øvredal)

Someone's had a bad day … a rock star from 2010's Norwegian film triumph, Troll Hunter (director André Øvredal)

Dragons to fairies, griffins to Godzilla, ogres to orks, this week it's time to troll (in the old sense) for songs that mention non-human, or part-human fictitious animals from stories, poetry, art and other forms in many cultures

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In music, playlists Tags songs, playlists, mythology, monsters, animals, giants, shapeshifters, vampires, fairies, Lewis Carroll, Lady Gaga, poetry, film, Norway, trolls, Iceland, elves, Greek mythology, Stephen Fry, JRR Tolkien, Japan, Studio Ghibli, Walt Disney, André Øvredal, Game of Thrones, dragons
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Playlists: songs about asking, begging or pleading

September 27, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Good call … the Undertones are requesting you to pick up the phone.

Good call … the Undertones are requesting you to pick up the phone.

Undertones to Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen, if you're asking for two excellent playlists, then this week's guest writer angryirishpunk, inspired by last week's topic, has all he answers

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In music, playlists, rock, songs, folk, hip hop, indie, country, soul, punk Tags Songs, playlists, asking, begging, pleading, Franz Ferdinand, Lady Gaga, Arctic Monkeys, The Undertones, Angel Haze, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, Jackie Leven, Alabama 3, The Mock Turtles, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, James Blake, RZA, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mekons, Johnny Cash, The Cryin' Shames, Judy Clay, William Bell, The Twilight Singers, Cadaver Club, Splodgenessabounds, The Four Tops, Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Mindy Smith, A Tribe Called Quest, Ex-Cathedra, Weezer, angryirishpunk
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Nov 23, 2025
Song of the Day: These New Puritans - The Other Side
Nov 23, 2025

Song of the Day: A delicate, tender, and unusually minimalist single, their first since this year’s acclaimed album Crooked Wing, by the Southend-on-Sea-born Barnett twins, here with Jack on improvised piano and George on drums and a soprano register wordless vocal, out on Domino Records

Nov 23, 2025

Word of the week

Featured
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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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