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Playlists: songs defined or redefined by television

November 27, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Are you watching? The musical and visual chemistry of Breaking Bad

Sometimes the visual and audible become inextricable. From nostalgia to drama, guest of the week Loud Atlas channels nominations from last week’s TV topic into playlists that are must-sees and required listening

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In avant-garde, blues, calypso, African, 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, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, television, television themes, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Blind Boys of Alabama, Tom Waits, The Wire, The Lightning Seeds, Match of the Day, REM, The Bear, Sven Libaek, Inner Space, Los Jaivas, television news, Irma Thomas, Black Mirror, Barry White, Linda Ronstadt, The Last of Us, Modern English, Stranger Things, Kate Bush, Vince Guaraldi, Fonola Band, Charlie Brown, Colin Hay, Scrubs, The Polyphonic Spree, Lemon Jelly, Spaced (TV series), Badfinger, Breaking Bad, Gioacchino Rossini, The Lone Ranger, The Ventures, Hawaii Five-O, Nick Cave, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Peaky Blinders, Cream, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Alabama 3, The Sopranos, Delia Derbyshire, Doctor Who, The Decemberists, Manifest, The Cramps, Wednesday (TV series), Pérez Prado, advertising, Phil Collins, Booker T and the MGs, The Bee Gees, Baby Reindeer, Oasis, The Royle Family, John Willamson, Burke's Backyard, Blind Faith, 3 Body Problem, Gen Hoshino, Spy x Family, Nat King Cole, Fallout, CCS, Top of the Pops, Gabriel Fauré, Billy Walker, Lola Marsh, Beethoven, Nina Simone, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs that energise

November 20, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Go!: The Go! Team

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

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

September 18, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Hello, what's that I hear? Songs about ...?

Teddys to Winnie The Pooh, Paddington to Rupert, grizzlies to polar bears, we've got the full range of soft, full and fierce for you as guest of the week Carpgate takes us from caves to woods and beyond, inspired by last week's topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, dub, drone, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, psychedelia, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Anne Murray, Jackie Lee, Loggins and Messian, The Cure, Shel Silverstein, The Tragically Hip, David Allan Coe, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Corb Lund, Mudslide, A Camp, Christophe Maé, Youssou N'Dour, Paul Westerberg, Zebra, The Damned, Arctic Monkeys, Grauzone, The Stranglers, Future of the Left, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sugaray Rayford, CW McCall, Tim Minchin, Blancmange, Nervous Nellie, Niños Mutantes, Tall Like Tyrion, The Mrs Ackroyd Band, Peter Gabriel, Yoko Ono, The Cosmic Dead, Dismal Abysmals, Bus Station Loonies, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Carpgate
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Playlists: songs about the colour brown

September 4, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Howlin’ Wolf in his prime …

Tinted with the wrong associations and overshadowed by other colours, brown is heavily underrated. But it has a natural beauty and vast range, as shown by these perfect shade of playlists picked by guest Loud Atlas from last week's topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, 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, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags brown, colours, playlists, songs, Ken Nordine, Don Cherry, Howlin' Wolf, Jake Thackray, The Po' Ramblin' Boys, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Glenn Miller, The Corries, Sonny Rollins, Milton Nascimento, D'Angelo, Billy Bragg, Van Morrison, Oscar Brown Jr, Stevie Wonder, Leon Bridges, Kaleidoscope (US), Guy Clark, Los Mocosos, The Purple Gang, Sam & Dave, Lil Hardin Armstrong, India Arie, Brad Paisley, Serge Gainsbourg, Slash, Shonen Knife, Heino, Loudon Wainwright III, Johnny Cash, Yussef Dayes, Tom Misch, Slim Gaillard, Mad Agnes, Loud Atlas
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Microphone closeness? Songs featuring crooners

April 4, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse. But how many crooners are there in this photo?

This week it’s time to to get close to the microphone explore the evolution of crooning in the full range, the style, the technique, the good, bad and ugly, emotive, intimate and excellent, the creative, the cosy, and the cringeworthy, the sensitive and sentimental

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In blues, avant-garde, classical, comedy, funk, indie, jazz, musical hall, musicals, music, playlists, pop, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags crooning, songs, playlists, Tony Bennett, Amy Winehouse, Rudy Vallee, Vachel Lindsay, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, Panda Bear, Marc Bolan, Al Jolson, microphone, audio technology, "Whispering" Jack Smith, Frank Crumit, Gene Austin, Art Gillham, Jack LIttle, Lloyd Bacon, Film, film soundtrack, David Manners, Harry Frommermann, Willy Fritsch, Rudi Schuricke, Vic Reeves, Des O'Connor, Morecambe & Wise, television, standup comedy, Louis Armstrong, Dan Grissom, Nat King Cole, Chet Baker, João Gilberto, Harry Connick Jr, Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble, Big Crosby, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Bobby Darin, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley, Eddie Vedder, Tori Amos, Billie Eilish, Nina Simone, Nick Cave, Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys, Richard Hawley
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Playlists: songs about pioneers

October 17, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Some of the groundbreaking cast of The Real Ambassadors, including Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong

Traversing not just wildernesses, this week’s topic celebrates those who found forms of new territory, land, sea, or space, to those who broke new ground in their specialist field. For these, guest of the week Marco den Ouden creates landmark playlists inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, showtime Tags pioneering, history, Horrible Histories, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, James Taylor, Klaus Badelt, Public Service Broadcasting, John Stewart, John Denver, The Sweet, Dominique Moore, Katie Melua, Daft Punk, Syran Mbenza, Ensemble Rumba Kongo, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Split Enz, Roxette, Fess Parker, Ron Goodwin, Phil Lynott, Ani di Franco, Utah Phillips, Neil Young, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Simple Minds, Procul Harum, Jon and Vangelis, Bruce Cockburn, Blakie & The Rodeo Kings, Jen Cloher, Paul McCartney, New Christy Minstrels, High Llamas, The Long Ryders, Nick Cave, Dion, Smokey Robinson, Gap Band, Stevie Wonder, Tapper Zukie, Etta James, Bob Dylan, Janis Martin, Chick Corea, Max Richter, Vangelis, Allan Holdsworth, REM, Bill Conti, London Symphony Orchestra, Laika and the Cosmonauts, Yuri Honing, Embryo, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Groove Collective, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
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Playlists: songs about libraries

August 15, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Silence, knowledge, and lust - it’s all to be found in the library …

Objects of intellectual interest to persons of desire – it all goes on in the library. Picking from the shelves of last week’s nominations, guest playlister Loud Atlas presents a carefully crafted catalogue that captures the A-Zs of library’s social intrigue

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In blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, disco, dance, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, libraries, books, Murray Gold, Doctor Who, television, Sparks, Squeeze, The Go-Betweens, Husker Du, Gecko, Ange Hardy, The Axis of Awesome, Tom Chapin, Kimya Dawson, Aesop Rock, Loudon Wainwright III, Yellow Ostrich, The Bookshop Band, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Arctic Monkeys, My Morning Jacket, Saint Etienne, The Trashmen, The Elites, Broadcast, Animals That Swim, Hefner, Jimmy Buffett, Gang of Four, Of Montreal, Monty Python, The Herbiliser, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Kenny Young, Monnone Alone, One Man and His Beard, Loud Atlas
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Look here! Songs about searching, seeking and quests

April 13, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Search engines … Monty Python and The Holy Grail. The low-budget classic film was variously funded by among others, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Charisma Records, and possibly Elton John

Love, food, shelter, identity, meaning? Rare vinyl? Most of our existence is about searching for something, but in what ways is this expressed in song lyrics? Here’s some other forms of inspiration and, after all, what is the true holy grail?

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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 Monty Python, Vincent Van Gogh, Jeanette Winterson, Donovan, Shannon L Adler, Isaac Asimov, Bernard Lovell, Jimmy Buffett, David Bowie, Werner Herzog, David Lowery, Juliette Binoche, Paulo Coelho, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Janis Joplin, Norman Cousins, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Rain, Quentin Crisp, lonely hearts ads, Bruce Springsteen, Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Pixies, Sparks, Russell Mael, Arvo Pärt, Viv Albertine, Nick Cave, Mary J Blige, television, Film, film soundtrack
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Playlists: songs that give you goosebumps

January 10, 2023 Peter Kimpton

The inner beast: Sinéad O’Connor

Was it the music, the voice, the lyrics, or all three? In a truly hair-raising (in the all the right ways) opener to 2023, guest playlister Maki creates two superbly shivery and inspiring lists from a wide choice of possibilities from last week’s topic

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In African, classical, drone, dub, experimental, folk, gospel, indie, jazz, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, psychedelia, reggae, rock, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional, blues Tags songs, playlists, goosebumps, Lana Del Rey, Nick Cave, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Sevdaliza, Mozart, Marian Anderson, JS Bach, Jacques Brel, Ana Moura, David Essex, Sinead O'Connor, Hem, The Pretenders, The Clash, FKA Twigs, The Congos, Lucy Dacus, The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Collage, Propaganda, Kathleen Battle, Wynton Marsalis, The Stranglers, Macy Gray, Maki
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Soft and sharp: songs about roses

May 20, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Red and white Rosa Osiria

Red and white Rosa Osiria

Romance, death, pain or beauty, petals or thorns? In titles or lyrics of song, literal or metaphor, as symbols or even as names, including also instrumentals, it’s time to gather musical blooms inspired by this particular flower

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, 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, roses, flowers, botany, poetry, books, Film, television, art, Robert Burns, Henri Matisse, Syd Barrett, Matshona Dhliwayo, Oscar Levant, Ancient Greece, religion, Christianity, Wars of the Roses, Thin Lizzy, Joni Mitchell, Twin Peaks, Pan's Labyrinth, H.L. Mencken, Bernard Williams, Dale Carnegie, Arthur Miller, Jean Cocteau, Fidel Castro, Tina Charles, Charles Bradley, Johnny Mercer, Ellen Key, Emily Bronte, Daphne du Maurier, William Blake, WB Yeats, Ireland, Sylvia Plath, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave
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Reflect back on this: meta songs

January 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Getting right into each other: ABBA

Getting right into each other: ABBA

Songs about themselves. Does this sound loopy? You’re right. It’s all about the self-referential to any aspect of a songs’s own music, structure, instruments, format, lyrics and more. Droste effect? Mirroring? It’s all about the song

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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, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, meta-songs, paradox, Rudolf Carnap, Douglas Hofstadter, Badly Drawn Boy, Nick Cave, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Public Image Limited, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Al Green, Jeffrey Lewis, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Belle & Sebastian, The Beatles, OutKast, Matching Mole, heraldry, mise en abyme, art, Giotto, Jan Van Eyck, Jan Misset, brands, MC Escher, Film, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Charlie Kaufman, Philip K Dick, Laurence Sterne, Russell Hoban, The Simpsons, Mandelbrot, Pink Floyd
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Notes on the new normal: songs about what is or isn't regular, typical or natural

November 26, 2020 Peter Kimpton
We’re normal … The Bonzos

We’re normal … The Bonzos

Regular? Standard? Stereotype? Average? Typical? Natural? What does normal mean, and how might it be explored in song lyrics? From people to behaviour, families to jobs to towns, and any other context, it’s all a matter of perspective

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, the new normal, normality, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, NIcki Minaj, Sigmund Freud, Jo Brand, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mitch Hedberg, Star Trek, George Takei, Edward Furlong, Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Addams Family, Grace Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Tayla Parx, River Phoenix, Sia, Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Yo-Yo Ma, Lykke Li, George Herbert Mead, PJ O'Rourke, Roddy Doyle, Michel Foucault, Kevin Sorbo, Orson Welles, Rosa Parks, naturism, Glory Pearl, Glen Donnelly, The Slits
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Eureka! Songs about realisation, discovery and enlightenment

November 19, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Right place at the right time come into focus …

Right place at the right time come into focus …

Moments of realisation? From scientific to practical, physical, emotional, philosophical or spiritual, expressed in one lyrical line, one musical rush, or building slowly, and then suddenly and unexpectedly coming into focus in song

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Playlists: songs with non sequiturs

June 24, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Sparks are eating apparently nothing to do with what their song is about …

Sparks are eating apparently nothing to do with what their song is about …

From the witty to the weird, the irreverent to the irrelevant, the poetic to the potty, after a huge outpouring of nominations, guest playlister severin serves up a superb menu of cutting-edge and classic musical conundrums

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, music, jazz, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, non sequiturs, Wanda Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, Sparks, Homeboy Sandman, The Beatles, Beth Orton, Aldous Harding, Bob Dylan, The Go-Betweens, Shriekback, Captain Beefheart, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Chambers Brothers, Velvet Underground, Half Man Half Biscuit, Glenn Yarborough, Hombres, The Wind In The Willows, The Marvelettes, The Soft Machine, Cream, Guided By Voices, REM, Luke Westaway, Nirvana, David Bowie, Robyn Hitchcock, Memphis Jug Band, Skids, Sex Pistols, Santosh Narayanan, ABC, Wire, Suburban Lawns, The Sleepy Jackson, Talking Heads, Massive Attack, T Rex, The Flaming Lips, Stevie Wonder, Echo and the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, Brian Eno, Willie Colon, Jah Wobble, The Flys, Severin, severin
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Playlists: songs about stars

April 1, 2020 Peter Kimpton
David Bowie of course. Star from start to finish.

David Bowie of course. Star from start to finish.

An astronomically huge topic resulting in a galaxy of nominations. This week’s guest playlister Amylee not only listened to them all, but turned them into a stellar set of songs spanning the musical universe

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Gently does it: songs about gentleness

February 13, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Koko and friend

Koko and friend

Soothing words, a light touch; holding baby, stroking an animal; lifting a fragile glass a measured, restrained response to tense moments, rage or violence; the soft caress of a light breeze across the eyelids, let’s gently let it out in song

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, metal, music, playlists, musicals, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, rocksteady, showtime, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, human behaviour, animals, animal behaviour, psychology, politics, Koko the gorilla, David Bowie, Dylan Thomas, James Dean, Saint Francis de Sales, William Shakespeare, Mahatma Gandhi, Hermann Hesse, Ian Brown, The Stone Roses, Joe Cocker, John Keats, Morrissey, The Smiths, Graeme Souness, Nick Cave, Aristotle, Coco Chanel, Honore de Balzac, George Herbert, Robert Browning, William Hazlitt, Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Martin Farquhar Tupper, Charles Lamb, Charles Dickens, Haruki Murakami, Anne 'Ninon' de L'Enclos, Queen Elizabeth I, Judy Garland, Rene Zellweger, Abraham Lincoln, Charlie Chaplin
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Playlists: songs that reference nursery rhymes

February 12, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Nice guitar licks …

Nice guitar licks …

From Beautiful Pea Green Boat to Rockabye, they float up in a whole range song contexts and genres. Picking out perfect examples nominated in last week’s topic, guest playlister EnglishOutlaw takes us from innocence to experience

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Playlists: songs about nicknames and pseudonyms

January 15, 2020 Peter Kimpton
They call him … Otis Redding. But what other moniker does his emotional music inspire?

They call him … Otis Redding. But what other moniker does his emotional music inspire?

There are many, and they might come from a reputation for sexual prowess, musical style, behaviour or appearance. Whatever the sobriquet, or the source, we can certainly name the result: two fantastic playlists from this week’s guest writer Uncleben

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, nicknames, pseudonyms, identity, Bobby Rush, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave, Janelle Monae, Memphis Slim, Carl Malcolm, Simon & Garfunkel, The Association, Sons of the Pioneers, Todd Rundgren, Otis Redding, Ray Barretto, Gil Scott-Heron, Moondog, Charlie Parker, Edward Elgar, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Peter Blegvad, Steeleye Span, Steve Miller Band, Pixies, Ry Cooder, Geoffrey Oi!Cott, Jake Thackray, Royal Trux, First Choice, MF Doom, Hamilton Bohannon, Karen Dalton, Uncleben
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Playlists: songs about fixing, repairing and solving

January 9, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Heartstrings are harder to repair that guitars …

Heartstrings are harder to repair that guitars …

From gaffer and duct tape, housing to mending a broken heart, let’s repair towards fantastic playlists created by the handy skills of our guest treefrogdemon, who was inspired by a full toolkit of suggestions from last week’s topic

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, songs, soundtracks, soul, traditional Tags songs, fixing, playlists, repairing, Patti Smith, Grinderman, Nick Cave, The Burning Hell, Alan Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, Robb Johnson, Robb Johnson and the Irregulars, Slapp Happy, Jens Lekman, The Scaffold, Otis Gibbs, Saint Etienne, The Decemberists, Bagpuss, Mischief Brew, John Faulkner, Sandra Kerr, Albert King, The Dead Kennedys, Flanagan and Allen, Elbow, Missy Elliott, Yazoo, Flanders and Swann, Joni Mitchell, Rosa Anderson, Paul Kelly, The Beatles, Richard Thompson, treefrogdemon
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All you need is: songs about platonic love

December 13, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Not so strange bedfellows: Eric and Ernie

Not so strange bedfellows: Eric and Ernie

The non-sexual, non-romantic sort is what makes up most of the love we experience in life, so whether that concerns real or fictional experiences, let’s define and explore it as expressed in song lyrics

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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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New Albums …

Featured
Book of Churches.jpeg
Mar 19, 2026
Book of Churches: Book of Churches
Mar 19, 2026

New album: Beautiful, tender, melancholic and poetic, a walking-pace acoustic folk and Americana debut solo release by the singer-songwriter Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, co-lead singer with the Nottingham alternative indie band Divorce

Mar 19, 2026
A Pound of Feathers by The Black Crowes.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
The Black Crowes: A Pound of Feathers
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s resurgent release Happiness Bastards, Atlanta, Georgia brothers Chris and Rich Robinson return with their 10th album in four up-and-down decades, with a belting release packed with Stones/ Keith Richards-style riffs, and a full-blooded, full-throttle classic and catchy rock

Mar 18, 2026
 Paris In The Spring by Alexis Taylor.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Alexis Taylor: Paris In The Spring
Mar 18, 2026

New album: The clarity and high range of the distinctive Hot Chip lead singer returns with his seventh solo LP, packed with personal, candid, philosphofical and sometimes melancholy lyrics allided with bright, melodic leftfield electro-pop, a dash of country, elegant disco-house, and Vangelis-inspired soundscapes, and a title echoing a psychological test where things are not as they seem

Mar 18, 2026
Madeleine by Diagonale des Yeux.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Diagonale Des Yeux: Madeleine
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Wonderfully weird, wonky, woozy, avant-garde, absurdist oddness by the French duo of Laurène Exposito and Théo Delaunay, with their lo-fi, ramshackle, DIY postpunk and retro-electronica, sharing sung and spoken vocals across French, German, English and Spanish

Mar 18, 2026
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Mar 18, 2026
Yebba: Jean
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Following 2021’s Dawn, a second LP by the American singer and songwriter from West Memphis, Arkansas, aka Abigail Smith, moves towards an eclectic mix of gentler, more understated pop, folk, gospel, R&B, and soul, is named after her late grandmother, and has candid, personal themes of mourning and spiritual healing

Mar 18, 2026
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Mar 17, 2026
The Sophs: Goldstar
Mar 17, 2026

New album: A fairytale story of a debut for the Los Angeles six-piece fronted by Ethan Ramon, who cold-emailed demos to Rough Trade Records before even playing a live gig and were signed – that instinctive leap of faith rewarded by this stylish, bold, mercurial, confident, darkly humorous, eclectic debut leaping between rock, indie, pop, hoedown country, delta blues and beyond

Mar 17, 2026
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Mar 13, 2026
Kim Gordon: Play Me
Mar 13, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s The Collective, the former Sonic Youth frontwoman’s fourth solo LP continues her extraordinary experimental, innovative journey, moving to more melodic beats and shorter tracks with a motorik krautrock-style driven coloured by strange sounds, intense emotions and sharply angled, dark, droll social commentary

Mar 13, 2026
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Mar 11, 2026
ELIZA: The Darkening Green
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The London artist Eliza Caird (formerly under the mainstream pop moniker Eliza Doolittle) returns with more of the cool, slow, sensual, gentle, sophisticated experimental soul-funk style evolving from her 2022 album A Sky Without Stars, here with particularly polished, silky, stripped back grooves and vocals

Mar 11, 2026
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Mar 11, 2026
Andrew Wasylyk: Irreparable Parables
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer returns with a new selection of soothing, meditative mix of experimental classical and jazz, but this time joined with six different singers represented by the birds on the album artwork

Mar 11, 2026
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Mar 10, 2026
waterbaby: Memory Be A Blade
Mar 10, 2026

New album: A delicate, experimental, understated soulful chamber pop debut by the pure-voiced Stockholm-born singer-songwriter (aka Kendra Egerbladh) in 25-minute, eight-track release of lo-fi, lyrically semi-improvised numbers about heartbreak and self-renewal in a world of gorgeous musical sensations

Mar 10, 2026
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Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen: I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Mar 10, 2026

New album: With a strikingly long title, a euphoric and honest full debut LP by the British-born Nigerian poet, spoken word artist and musician based in Sweden, working with his musical partner Ludvig Parment’s sonic layers, packed pacy dance and hip-hop grooves, clever sampling, slower reflections, and articulate expressions of positivity through the ups and downs of grief and hope

Mar 10, 2026
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Mar 10, 2026
Gnarls Barkley: Atlanta
Mar 10, 2026

New album: Finally, after an 18-year gap since their last collaboration in the heady days of the hit Crazy, with the St Elsewhere and The Odd Couple LPs a third and supposedly final album from fabulous singer CeeLo Green and producer and musician aka Brian Burton with a mix of soaring soul, hip-hop, pop and RnB with songs filled with vivid lyrical memories and strong, emotive melodies

Mar 10, 2026
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Mar 9, 2026
Various: HELP(2) - War Child Records
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Not only a timely and topical milestone charity record following the first in 1995 to help bring aid and wide variety of support to children in war zones around he world, but an impressive double-LP array of stellar British and international talent and powerful, poignant 23 songs from Arctic Monkeys to Young Fathers

Mar 9, 2026
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Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: We Are Together Again
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Just over a year after 2025’s The Purple Bird, but from parallel recording sessions and familiar co-musicians, the veteran Louisville-Kentucky singer-songwriter Will Oldham returns with another collection of exquisite, intimate, gently defiant lo-fi folk to troubled times, an ode to community with a beautiful array of acoustic instruments and his poignant, insightful lyrics and delivery

Mar 9, 2026

new songs …

Featured
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Mar 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jorja Smith - Price Of It All
Mar 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Sumptuous, soaring, classic soul/R&B/pop by the British smooth-voiced singer-songwriter from Walsall, West Midlands, in this number from the soundtrack for new TV series, Bait, starring Riz Ahmed, and released on FAMM

Mar 20, 2026
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Mar 19, 2026
Song of the Day: Liza Lo - Birdsong
Mar 19, 2026

Song of the Day: Following her acclaimed debut album Familiar, a beautiful, warm, intimate, tender folk number featuring guitar, fiddle and double bass by the Amsterdam-born, London-based producer and singer-songwriter, Liza Lo Hoek, out on Gearbox Records

Mar 19, 2026
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Mar 18, 2026
Song of the Day: Rostam - Like A Spark
Mar 18, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful new acoustic folk-pop single with echoes of early 70s Van Morrison by the US musician, producer and former member of Vampire Weekend, heralding his upcoming third solo album American Stories out on 15 May via Matsor Projects

Mar 18, 2026
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Mar 17, 2026
Song of the Day: Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell
Mar 17, 2026

Song of the Day: A catchy, witty, innuendo-filled new number about being and single and lonely, with some stylistic echoes of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac, heralding the acclaimed Grammy-winning Texas country singer-songwriter’s upcoming seventh album, Middle of Nowhere, out 1 May on Lost Highway

Mar 17, 2026
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Mar 16, 2026
Song of the Day: Jaakko Eino Kalevi - Black Diamond
Mar 16, 2026

Song of the Day: A splendidly rousing eight-minute retro-style electro-pop baroque melodrama by the Finnish artist with the deep, rich voice, one that stylistically and in his own fashion, draws a pentagram between Goblin, Rondo Veneziano, Cerrone, Doris Norton and Lindstrom, out on Domino Records

Mar 16, 2026
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Mar 15, 2026
Song of the Day: Hannah Lew - Sunday
Mar 15, 2026

Song of the Day: An appropriate day to highlight this classy latest single of shimmering 80s-style synth-pop with echoes of OMD, with themes about pain, love and grief from the upcoming debut album by the Richmond, California artist, out on 10 April via Night School Records

Mar 15, 2026
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Mar 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Mei Semones - Tooth Fairy (featuring John Roseboro)
Mar 14, 2026

Song of the Day: A charming cross-genre fusion of bossa nova, jazz, folk and chamber pop sung in English and Japanese by the Brooklyn-based American musician with a tale of losing a tooth on the subway and friendship, from the upcoming album Kurage, out 10 April on Bayonet Records

Mar 14, 2026
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Mar 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Robyn - Blow My Mind
Mar 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Quirky, sensual electro-pop with a dash of Kraftwerk by the acclaimed Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Robin Miriam Carlsson, in this latest from the upcoming album Sexistential out on 27 March via Konichiwa / Young Records

Mar 13, 2026
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Mar 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Lava La Rue - Scratches
Mar 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The latest single by the London singer-songwriter is punchy, powerful psychedelic rock number with tearing riffs and lyrics about damage from troubled relationship, abuse and self-harm, from the forthcoming EP Do You Know Everything?, out on BMG

Mar 12, 2026
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Mar 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - City of Symbols (featuring eejebee)
Mar 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish fusion of electronica, soul, hip hop and Ethiopian rhythmic influences centring on themes of heritage, family by London singer, songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist, with drums from eejebee and guitar from Vraell, heralding from the forthcoming new debut Zero out 22 June via LDN Records / Because Music

Mar 11, 2026
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Mar 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Huarinami - Carried Away
Mar 10, 2026

Song of the Day: Explosive, stylish, gritty, restless indie-psychedelic punk with angular, angry guitars, driving bass and wonderfully arresting vocals by Pauline Janier (aka Cody Pepper) fronting the French London-based four-piece in this single fuelled by the frustration of big-city life, and heralding their sophomore EP Nothing Happens, due for release on 6 June

Mar 10, 2026
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Mar 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Avalon Emerson & The Charm - Written into Changes
Mar 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Following the singles Eden and Jupiter and Mars, another stylish, experimental indie synth-pop release by the New York artist with the title track of upcoming second Charm moniker album, out on 20 March via Dead Oceans

Mar 9, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
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Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

Word of the week: It sounds like the singing finned picture ornament Big Mouth Billy Bass that became popular in the late 1990s, but this is a much older noun, derived in Somerset, England, pertains to the climbing gastropod that can slowly climb up any surface

Mar 12, 2026
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Feb 25, 2026
Word of the week: xiphias
Feb 25, 2026

Word of the week: Get the point? This is the scientific name for the swordfish, in full Xiphias gladius (from the Greek and Latin for sword), that extraordinary sea creature with the long, pointy bill. But what of it in song?

Feb 25, 2026
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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
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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

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