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Playlists: songs with musical or thematic surprises

February 18, 2026 Peter Kimpton

… you’re in for a big surprise …

Aliens to unexpected identity, unusual sounds to strange artistic combinations as well as the lyrical subject itself, guest Marco den Ouden brings a box of brilliant surprises in response to our Big 10th Birthday Topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, gospel, 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 surprises, songs, playlists, Orson Welles, Jeff Wayne, Hurrah, The Ames Brothers, Duke Errol and the Lords, Tone-Loc, Childish Gambino, Britney Spears, Nine Inch Nails, The Stranglers, Les Paul, Mary Ford, Paul Hampton, Fred Lane & his Hittite Hot Shots, Simeon Bright, The Singing Surfriders, "Squeeze" Kamana, Rosalía, Rosalia, Bjork, Yves Tumor, Chicago, Vicki Lawrence, The Grateful Dead, Chuck Berry, Lori McKenna, Alice Cooper, The Dickies, Jun Togawa, Ramsey Kearney, Maestro Subgum, Omega Tribe, Ringo Sheena, Rupert Holmes, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Haack, Miss Nelson, The Beatles, Barbara Manning, The Monkees, Kiss, Chaba Fedela, Ray Charles, Ho'opi'i Brothers, Jim Shandy, 50 Cent, Peter Pringle, Public Enemy, Herb Albert, Evolution Control Committee, Manfred Mann, Angelina Jordan, Marco den Ouden
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

Champagne

SNACK OF THE WEEK

jukebox cake

New Albums …

Featured
Daphni - Butterfly.jpeg
Feb 18, 2026
Daphni: Butterfly
Feb 18, 2026

New album: Following his 2024 release as Caribou with Honey, Canadian composer and musician Dan Snaith returns as his other moniker, the dance/electronica and instrumental side with a selection of fun experimental sounds loosely evocative of the gently fluttering insect

Feb 18, 2026
Jill Scott - To Whom This May Concern.jpeg
Feb 18, 2026
Jill Scott: To Whom This May Concern
Feb 18, 2026

New album: After a decade away, a welcome, warm return by the revered, charismatic, golden-voiced neo-soul and R&B singer, songwriter, actress, and poet from Philadelphia, with a new full-hour collection of smooth, jazzy, funky, heartfelt, positive, defiant and uplifting numbers and a selection of guests

Feb 18, 2026
congratulations - Join Hands.jpeg
Feb 16, 2026
Congratulations: Join Hands
Feb 16, 2026

New album: Enormously fun, inventive, experimental, colourful pop-art-rock by the Brighton quartet of Jamie Chellar (guitar), Greg Burns (bass), James Gillingham (drums) and Leah Stanhope on vocals, bringing a cocktail of 80s pop and 00s indie through humour, mischief and clever, quirky musicality

Feb 16, 2026
Cardinals - Masquerade.jpeg
Feb 15, 2026
Cardinals: Masquerade
Feb 15, 2026

New album: Awash with passionate anguish and swaggering post-punk indie and gnarly energy, a strikingly impressive debut by the Cork five-piece, coloured by seething, stormy vocals and guitars, and flavoured by a distinctively rich accordion sound

Feb 15, 2026
Alice Costelloe - Move On With.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Alice Costelloe: Move On With The Year
Feb 12, 2026

New album: A beautifully delicate, melodious, thoughtful and poetic indie-folk-pop debut, following EPs, by the London singer-songwriter, formerly of shoe-gaze band Big Deal, here on themes of grief and growth, purging, personal rebuilding and creative detangling

Feb 12, 2026
Puma Blue - Croak Dream.jpeg
Feb 11, 2026
Puma Blue: Croak Dream
Feb 11, 2026

New album: A mesmeric, experimental, otherworldly, hypnotic fusion of trip-hop, dub, electronica of nocturnal ambience, haunting, intimate vocals and sensual grooves by the south London/Atlanta multi-instrumentalist and producer Jacob Allen, centred around the existential theme of strangely knowing when and how were going to die

Feb 11, 2026
Ratboys - Singin' To An Empty Chair.jpeg
Feb 11, 2026
Ratboys: Singin' To An Empty Chair
Feb 11, 2026

New album: Vibrant, catchy, reflective, clever indie rock and pop with an twangy, effervescent, country flavour in this sixth LP by the Chicago band fronted by the candid clarity gentle humour, and emotional insight of singer-songwriter Julia Steiner

Feb 11, 2026
IST IST - Dagger.jpeg
Feb 11, 2026
IST IST: DAGGER
Feb 11, 2026

New album: Throbbing, pulsating, dark, deep-voiced indie post-punk pop with a double-edged theme and an 80s goth-rock feel in this fifth LP in a decade by the Manchester quartet known for delivering exciting gigs

Feb 11, 2026
EXPO by Ulrika Spacek.jpeg
Feb 9, 2026
Ulrika Spacek: EXPO
Feb 9, 2026

New album: Arresting, intelligent art rock and electronica, krautrock and psychedelia and a marriage of the analogue and electronic, all intermingle wonderfully different and intelligent new LP by the London band fronted by Rhys Edwards

Feb 9, 2026
Laughter In Summer by Beverly Glenn-Copeland.jpeg
Feb 8, 2026
Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Laughter In Summer
Feb 8, 2026

New album: Delightful, charming, old-fashioned, touching, tender and timeless, this late-career LP from from 82-year-old American-born Canadian singer alongside partner Elizabeth is a love letter to their companionship, and an embrace of the inevitable

Feb 8, 2026
URGH by Mandy, Indiana.jpeg
Feb 6, 2026
Mandy, Indiana: URGH
Feb 6, 2026

New album: An extraordinary second album by the Manchester experimental noise and electronica quartet of the visceral and playful, protest and cartharsis, in a fierce, throbbing, shape-shifting, genre-bursting tour de force that’s responds to very challenging times

Feb 6, 2026
Geologist - Camel Lights.jpeg
Feb 4, 2026
Geologist: Can I Get A Pack Of Camel Lights?
Feb 4, 2026

New album: The hurdy-gurdy never quite sounded like this before. Animal Collective multi-instrumentalist Brian Weitz is the final member of that experimental collective to release a solo album, and it’s a bizarre journey of oddball sounds and instruments looped through guitar pedal effects krautrock repetitive, meditational exploratory spirit, inhaled through the titular reference to his past as a smoker

Feb 4, 2026
Delaney Bailey - Concave.jpeg
Feb 4, 2026
Delaney Bailey: Concave
Feb 4, 2026

New album: A highly absorbing, potent, intense yet understated, ethereally sound-sculptured debut by the Indiana-raised Chicago artist who crafts intimate noir-goth dream pop across themes of vulnerability and mental health

Feb 4, 2026
Cast - Yeah Yeah Yeah.jpeg
Feb 3, 2026
Cast: Yeah Yeah Yeah
Feb 3, 2026

New album: Liverpool’s John Power and co returns after 2024’s Love Is The Call with an eighth LP, packed with anthemic, catchy, voluminous indie rock bangers with P.P. Arnold adding classy backing vocals

Feb 3, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Kloyd - New Love.jpeg
Feb 18, 2026
Song of the Day: Kloyd - New Love
Feb 18, 2026

Song of the Day: Mesmeric, repetitive, jangling ambience over gentle, infectious beats with a looping vocal by the London electronica artist Kate Lloyd with number about embarking on a journey into love with excitement, yet with an undertone of uncertainty and apprehension, then giving into surrender and euphoria

Feb 18, 2026
La Securite.jpg
Feb 17, 2026
Song of the Day: La Sécurité - Bingo
Feb 17, 2026

Song of the the Day: A quirky, sharp, clever, jerky, catchy nod to disco punk of the early-2000s by the Montreal art-punk collective with a a mix of hooky riffs, pacy drums and crunchy bass, themed across the chance numbers game and a spin on creativity, and also now the title track heralding their upcoming album out on 12 June via Mothland and Bella Union

Feb 17, 2026
Bleachers - Everyone For Ten Minutes.jpeg
Feb 16, 2026
Song of the Day: Bleachers - You and Forever
Feb 16, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, passionate, stirring and serene love song from the New Jersey rock band fronted by producer and singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff, heralding the upcoming sixth album, Everyone For Ten Minutes, out on 22 May via Dirty Hit Records

Feb 16, 2026
Evelyn Gray band.jpeg
Feb 15, 2026
Song of the Day: Evelyn Gray - Clotheslines
Feb 15, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, evocative indie-folk with a Celtic flavour by trio of Evelyn Gray (previously of Tapir!) on guitar/vocals, Suzie Nicholls on bass, and Sophia Bartlett on violin, heralding the forthcoming project I Am Building a House (out on My Life is Big) which also includes a novel

Feb 15, 2026
Kevin Morby - Little Wide Open.jpeg
Feb 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Kevin Morby - Javelin
Feb 14, 2026

Song of the Day: A breezy, catchy, uplifting travel-themed love song by the Texas born, Kansas raised singer-songwriter, heralding his eighth album, Little Wide Open, produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, and out on 15 May via Dead Oceans

Feb 14, 2026
Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest.jpeg
Feb 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest – Flags (from War Child album HELP2)
Feb 13, 2026

Song of the Day: A stirring, soulful, vivid, emotional collaboration between the Blur/Gorillaz frontman, the Fontaines D.C. singer and the London rapper and writer, from the upcoming WarChild charity album HELP(2), raising money for children affected by conflict out on 6 March

Feb 13, 2026
Hurts Like Hell by Charlotte Cornfield.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Charlotte Cornfield - Living With It (featuring Feist)
Feb 12, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, fragile, vulnerable indie-folk by the Canadian singer-songwriter with a fellow famous guest, heralding her upcoming sixth album, Hurts Like Hell, out 27 March on Merge Records / Next Door Records

Feb 12, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For.jpeg
Feb 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Friko - Seven Degrees
Feb 11, 2026

Song of the Day: Classic acoustic indie-pop with wistful, witty songwriting with a wonderful melody, bridge key change and entertaining video, heralding the Chicago band’s sophomore album Something Worth Waiting For, produced by the Grammy-winning John Congleton, and out on 24 April via ATO Records

Feb 11, 2026
Anna Calvi and Iggy Pop.jpeg
Feb 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Anna Calvi - God’s Lonely Man (featuring Iggy Pop)
Feb 10, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating duet between two outstanding artists, in which the acclaimed singer-guitarist turns to Iggy as perfect character to embody the voice of her passionate, destructive internal monologue, heralding the new EP Is This All There Is? out on 20 March on Domino Records

Feb 10, 2026
unnamed (30).jpg
Feb 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Hungry - Cambridge Is On Fire
Feb 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, caustic, satirical and fun post-punk by the Manchester-based band fronted by charismatic singer Jacob Peck and with the latest of so-called “fenland gothic” preoccupation, and stylistic echoes of Sports Team and Deadletter

Feb 9, 2026
Majke Voss (Broken Twin).jpg
Feb 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Majke Voss (aka Broken Twin) - Coming Down
Feb 8, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, sparsely crafted, mesmeric new single with gorgeous haunting violin and vocals by the Danish, Copenhagen-based singer-songwriter who previously performed and recorded as Broken Twin, returning after a decade, and now out on Broken Records

Feb 8, 2026
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.jpeg
Feb 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sunburned in London
Feb 7, 2026

Song of the Day: Shimmering, bright, insightful, double-edged indie by the five-piece band from indie, returning after 2022’s Endless Rooms LP, about the UK capital city and sensory overload, out on I OH YOU/Mushroom Music

Feb 7, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Korean musicians in 1971.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

Jan 8, 2026
Kaufmann Trumpeter 1950.jpeg
Dec 24, 2025
Word of the week: bellonion (or belloneon)
Dec 24, 2025

Word of the week: It sounds like a bulbous, multi-layered peeling vegetable, but this obscure mechanical musical instrument invented in 1812 in Dresden consisted of 24 trumpets and two kettle drums and, designed to mimic the sound of a marching band, might also make your eyes water

Dec 24, 2025
Hangover.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Word of the week: crapulence
Dec 4, 2025

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

Dec 4, 2025
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