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Playlists: songs about percussion and percussionists

June 3, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Hit it …

It’s the heartbeat of so much music, but what about songs that lyrically pay tribute to the striking of these instruments? Inspired by last week’s topic, Uncleben’s resulting playlists and writeup are nothing short of top whack!

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, percussion, Cindy Blackman Santana, Pavement, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Bob Marley, Bill Nelson, El Gran Combo, Slapp Happy, liars, Liars, Joao Bosco, The Fisherman's Friends, The Nightingales, Rodd, Rodd Teri & The M.S.R Singers, African Head Charge, Young Fathers, The Ting Tings, Tonight, Spirit, The Mills Brothers, Devon Russell, Ray Barretto, The Breeders, T Rex, The Byrds, The Stone Poneys, Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey, Red Guitars, Richard Shindell, Uncleben
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Playlists: puzzling and mysterious songs

November 13, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Captain Beefheart … of course

Prepare for a journey into the unknown and deeply strange. Whether in lyrics or musical sound or structure, guest playlister severin leads us through canticular caverns of wonder, inspired by last week’s topic

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, Future of the Left, Gong, Nora Dean, Slapp Happy, Syd Barrett, Sarah Vaughan, Captain Beefheart, Miles Davis, Adam Green, Futureheads, Ane Brun, John Jacob Niles, Amelia Coburn, Brian Eno, Tim Buckley, Tangerine Dream, Elvis Costello, The Grateful Dead, Sinead O'Connor, Maurice Ravel, The Lovin' Spoonful, The New York Dolls, Peter Hammill, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux, Agnes Obel, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, The Fall, Edward Elgar, Shonen Knife, 17 Hippies, Toyah, Roy Orbison, Radiohead, Nina Simone, Massive Attack, Anais Mitchell, Jefferson Hamer, VNV Nation, John Zorn, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Joan Armatrading, Kevin Coyne, Anita Baker, severin, Severin
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Playlists: songs with androgynous vocals

September 13, 2023 Peter Kimpton

The fabulous Ezra Furman and a famous fan …

Who is singing? It’s a magical moment of uncertainty. In a highly subjective topic, not only with non-binary artists but with those whose gender is better known, guest of the week ParaMhor picks perfectly balanced playlists of excellent and ambiguous gender vocals from last week’s topic nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, androgyny, gender, Massive Attack, Horace Andy, The Pointer Sisters, Suede, Brett Anderson, Secos & Molhados, The Clash, Salif Keïta, Cesária Évora, Prince, Ezra Furman, Moses Sumney, Colin Blunstone, Beach House, Nico, JS Bach, Michael Chance, Shamir, Bear In Heaven, Sweeny Todd, Lankum, Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Active Child, Gale Garnett, Cher, The Four Seasons, Eddie Holman, Peter Ivers, Thirty Pounds of Bone, Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, REM, This Mortal Coil, The Delays, Jeff Buckley, Mozart, Emma Kirkby, ParaMhor
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Playlists: songs about owls

July 26, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The eyes have it, but what songs will this week’s keen ears pick up?

Haunting, beautiful, otherworldly, very much coming alive at night – and that’s just the music. Inspired by these mesmeric birds, guest of the week Maki creates two gorgeous and entrancing playlists picked from last week’s nominations

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In blues, classical, folk, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, psychedelia, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, owls, birds, Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Clogs, Shara Worden, Death and Vanilla, The Strawbs, Gerry Rafferty, Gene Chandler, Dick Dale, Canned Heat, Devendra Banhart, Elis Regina, Ma Rainey, Kevin Ayers, The Lovin' Spoonful, Silver Apples, Laurie Anderson, Sparklehorse, TV On The Radio, Agnes Obel, Saint Etienne, The Dead Kennedys, Antonio Machado, Enrique Montoya, Paco de Lucia, Maki
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Playlists: songs about paradise

July 13, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Lost Horizon (1937), based on James Hilton’s 1933 novel

Heaven can wait, so they say, but there’s no longer a need, but a musical utopia is here in a fabulous collection of playlists picked by guest of the week Nicko, taking us to a better place and inspired by last week’s 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, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Shangri La, paradise, Utopia, B.W. Stevenson, The Flames, Sundae Times, Jesca Hoop, The 13th Floor Elevators, The O'Jays, Aldous Harding, Edwyn Collins, Ethel Waters, Buzzcocks, Gregory Isaacs, Sade, Billy Fury, Seaman Dan, Charlie Parker, Slapp Happy, Gene Austin, Shawn Phillips, Eden Ahbez, Lorraine Bowen, Frentel, The Eagles, Mischief Brew, Bob Dylan, Suzanne Vega, ELO, Missy Higgins, The Undertones, The Pretenders, Spinetta y Los Socios Del Desierto, Trio Matamoros, El Gran Combo, William Onyeabor, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Coolio, Icehouse, Fiction Factory, The Space Negros, Tony Bennett, Harry McClintock, Joni Mitchell, The Kinks, Amen Corner, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Talking Heads, Joe Smooth, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Seal, OPM, Meatloaf, Gabriel Fauré, Judy Garland, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Manecas Costa, Eurogliders, war, Johnnie Taylor, Deep Sensation, Gwen Guthrie, Les Djibos, Konono No 1, Nicko
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Playlists: songs about being single

September 1, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Sparks: the Mael brothers are simply married to their music

Sparks: the Mael brothers are simply married to their music

It’s time to see what resulted at last week’s Song Bar Singles Night. Sad, lonely to deliriously happy and free, the resultant songs go in many directions, all married together in poignant, perceptive and playful lists by guest picker pejepeine

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In avant-garde, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, being single, relationships, Fousheé, Lush, The Brooklyn Bridge, Nina Simone, Jake Thackray, Melissa Manchester, Mary Gauthier, Sparks, Ariana Grande, Jill Scott, Combo Los Galleros, Lucy González, Lunay, Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, The Radiators, Moondog, Bessie Smith, Abba, Beabadoobee, Sunfire, Helen Merrill, Slapp Happy, Original Carter Family, Ry Cooder, Days N' Daze, Billy Idol, Pet Shop Boys, Cameo, Wham!, Chic, Karin Krog, pejepeine
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Playlists: songs about babies

October 14, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing about baby Rufus …

Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing about baby Rufus …

Planned, unplanned, loved or otherwise, they bring intense emotions and also in songs and stories about them. From conception parenting, guest playlister George Boyland delivers the full package from a vast number of nominations

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, indie, jazz, music, funk, traditional, soul, songs, rock, reggae, punk, prog, postpunk, pop, playlists Tags songs, playlists, babies, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Sly & The Family Stone, Charlie Feathers, Swamp Dogg, Judy Henske, Lauryn Hill, The White Stripes, Lead Belly, Leadbelly, The Pretenders, Spirit, The Grateful Dead, Jonathan Richman, Natalie Merchant, Cream, Brandi Carlile, Peter Blegvad, Cocteau Twins, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, Paul Weller, Captain Beefheart, Free, Ivor Cutler, Slapp Happy, Nick Cope, George Boyland
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Playlists: songs about the rhythm, beat or boogie

August 26, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Grace Jones swings it …

Grace Jones swings it …

Three keywords that have inspired legions of songs from disco to reggae, pop to hip hop, blues to rock and more. Guest AmyLee compiles a sequence of brilliant beating heart playlists that refer to them all from huge wave of nominations

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In African, blues, dance, country, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, reggae, punk, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, rhythm, beat, boogie, The Go-Go's, Blur, Van Der Graaf Generator, Mott The Hoople, Serge Gainsbourg, Madonna, DeBarge, Us3, Peter Broggs, Grace Jones, A Tribe Called Quest, Bomb The Bass, The Rolling Stones, Kool & The Gang, John Lee Hooker, Sonny and Cher, Stone Poneys, The Happenings, The Cascades, Mark Kozelek, Slapp Happy, Electronic, The Cro-Magnons, A.D.O.R., Salt-N-Pepa, Public Enemy, Mantronix, The Slits, Betty Davis, Willie Mitchell, Major Lance, Thin Lizzy, Little Feat, Happy Mondays, Lou Reed, The Clash, Parliament, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, AmyLee
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Playlists: songs about hats and other accessories

February 26, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Which accessory do the B52’s wear big time?

Which accessory do the B52’s wear big time?

Head to foot, wrist to chest, this week’s musical accessorising, picked by guest playlister Mnemosene2 from last week’s highly fashionable topic stylishly covers many parts and genres, including postpunk, calypso and jazz

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In folk, funk, jazz, music, instrumentals, indie, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, avant-garde, calypso, comedy, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, reggae, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, accessories, hats, Judy Collins, The Fiery Furnaces, Symarip, Duke of Iron, Harry Beckett, Laura Marling, The B52's, Procol Harum, Alexander 'Skip' Spence, Black Country New Road, Ezra Furman, Billie Eilish, Blue's Clue, Slapp Happy, Swarathma, Judee Sill, Donovan, Richard Dawson, David Bowie, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Mnemosene2, Kevin Tihista
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Playlists: songs about deliberate fire starting

January 22, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Which voices will light a musical fire this week?

Which voices will light a musical fire this week?

Obsessive arson to agricultural control to amorous anger, the matches in this week’s playlists come in striking form, and picked by guest swawilg from many nominations, are full of illuminating, smouldering surprises

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In African, blues, country, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, funk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, rock, soul, songs, traditional, hip hop, comedy, dance Tags songs, playlists, fire, arson, Tom Waits, The Gourds, Mary Gauthier, Randy Newman, Ruth Brown, Low, Slapp Happy, James Keelaghan, Prefab Sprout, Paul Kelly, Shawn Colvin, Grant McLennan, Three City Four, Mc 900 Ft Jesus, Zayde Wølf, In And Outlaws, Adrian Belew, XTC, Osibisa, Radiohead, Frightened Rabbit, Kitchens of Distinction, The Afghan Wings, Jimi Hendrix, Rokia Traoré, Wolf People, The Smashing Pumpkins, swawilg
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Playlists: songs featuring personification

March 19, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Rokia Traoré … dancing with a constant companion Mélancolie

Rokia Traoré … dancing with a constant companion Mélancolie

The Bar is delighted. Places, emotions, elements, the weather and even music itself take human traits as this week’s guru Uncleben is excellence personified, guiding through two exhaustive and illuminating playlists on this topic

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, personification, poetry, John Milton, The Incredible String Band, Philip Jeays, Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Ella Fitzgerald, Rokia Traoré, Sandra Carrasco, The Young 'Uns, Bill Wells, Aidan Moffat, Indian Ocean, Frank Sinatra, Neko Case, Bob Marley, Electric Light Orchestra, Grace Jones, Julian Cope, Reparata & The Delrons, The Auteurs, Ann Peebles, The Meters, Art Pepper, B.J. Thomas, James Brown, The Very Things, The Kinks, Richard Strauss, Jessye Norman, Def Leppard, Black Star, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, 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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Playlists: songs about authenticity and fakery

September 12, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Bright Sparks. The very real Ron and Russell pose a few questions and have some of the answers

Bright Sparks. The very real Ron and Russell pose a few questions and have some of the answers

Got a problem? Sex and relationships? Work? Retail choices? All your questions will be answered by this week’s problem-solving guru Uncleben, who turns from agony uncle into ecstasy-inducing music playlister

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, authenticity, forgery, fakery, fake news, sex, relationships, Sparks, Angelica, Jeffrey Lewis, Mischief Brew, Hole, Courtney Love, BIg Youth, The Hold Steady, Charles Mingus, Buzzcocks, Superorganism, The Strawbs, Big Star, Russell Morris, The Dramatics, Arctic Monkeys, Roxy Music, Lyle Lovett, Slapp Happy, The Bevis Frond, Rozetta Johnson, The Jigsaw Seen, Eric Matthews, Smashing Pumpkins, Curtis Mayfield, Geraldine Hunt, Coldcut, Roots Manuva, Roxanne Shanté, Pete Shelley, Theodor Adorno, philosophy, psychology, Uncleben
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Playlists: songs about immortality and longevity

May 2, 2018 Peter Kimpton
A voice everlasting: Mahalia Jackson

A voice everlasting: Mahalia Jackson

Want to achieve immortality? After a fountain of youth of song nominations last week, guest playlist writer treefrogdemon takes amusing musical solutions via reincarnation to science, Neil Young, Bob Dylan to David Bowie

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In blues, country, dance, electronica, folk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, immortality, longevity, The Highwaymen, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young, Karine Polwart, Julian Cope, Heaven 17, Cadaver Club, Mahalia Jackson, Hank Williams, Delano Stewart, Bob Dylan, Jason Isbell, The 400 Unit, Van Der Graaf Generator, David Bowie, Lord Huron, Grant Lee Buffalo, Sinead O'Connor, Slapp Happy, The Grateful Dead, Loudon Wainwright III, The Bangles, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Sarah Vaughan, Slint, The Magnetic Fields
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Playlists: songs featuring honorific titles

February 14, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Sir Jake Thackray (honorary knight of the Song Bar, posthumously given)

Sir Jake Thackray (honorary knight of the Song Bar, posthumously given)

King, Queen or Lord, Big Chief to Brigadier, Corporal and more, from a list of titles nominated as long as history itself, this week's playlist writer, Sir Severin, serves up superb lists that would honour any ears

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In classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, reggae, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Ty Segall, Slapp Happy, The Shadows, Jake Thackray, Professor Longhair, Katzenjammer, Pink Floyd, Pentangle, The Techniques, Bill Evans Trio, The Clash, Colleen Hewitt, Rich Kids, Jacques Brel, John Lee Hooker, Billie Holiday, The Wankys, Veda Hille, Paul McCartney, Gene Chandler, Gillian Welch, Edith Piaf, The Fall, The Unthanks, Kass Kass, Olivia Chaney, Offa Rex, Severin
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Playlists: whimsical, strange and silly songs

December 21, 2016 Peter Kimpton
Flying fish to dance to this week's lists. It was never going a sensible picture, was it?

Flying fish to dance to this week's lists. It was never going a sensible picture, was it?

The joint is jumping, and with Christmas silly season in full swing at the bar, our guest writer Flatfrog causes more than tapping feet and belly laughs with fabulous choices from last week's topic

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Tags songs, Music, Flatfrog, Leroy Anderson, Velvet Underground, Katzenjammer, Ohio Players, AC/DC, Chaos UK, Green Jelly, Boeing Duveen & The Beautiful Soup, Fred Penner, Petula Clark, Napoleon XIV, Leon Rosselson, Mr Scruff, They Might Be Giants, Alia Bhatt & Shahid Kapoor, Kevin Hearn, Barenaked Ladies, Rick Dees, Pink Floyd, Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Sheb Wooly, Groucho Marx, Max Splodge, The Incredible String Band, Lorraine Bowen, 7 Seconds of Love, Alondra Bentley
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New Albums …

Featured
Kim Gordon - Play Me album.jpeg
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 shorter tracks, and motorik krautrock-style driven coloured by strange sounds, intense emotions and sharply angled and abstract social commentary

Mar 13, 2026
ELIZA - The Darkening Green.jpeg
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
Irreparable Parables by Andrew Wasylyk.jpeg
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
waterbaby - Memory Be A Blade.jpeg
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
Joshua Idehen - I Know You're Hurting ....jpeg
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
Atlanta by Gnarls Barkley.jpeg
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
War Child - Help(2).jpeg
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
Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Together Again.jpeg
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
deadletter-existence-is-bliss.jpeg
Mar 5, 2026
DEADLETTER: Existence Is Bliss
Mar 5, 2026

New album: This second LP by the South Yorkshire/London six-piece expands their post-punk sound palette with a collection of arresting, thrumming songs, often dark and challenging, with richly exploratory lyrics across dystopian and existential questions, yet despite a climate of difficult, shows how gasping for life’s oxygen is essential

Mar 5, 2026
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Mar 5, 2026
Lala Lala: Heaven 2
Mar 5, 2026

New album: Moving from Chicago to New Mexico, Reykjavík, then London and now Los Angeles, the UK-born artist Lillie West’s experimental indie dream pop is a fascinating release about restless escapism while trying to stay where she is

Mar 5, 2026
Hen's Teeth by Iron & Wine.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Iron & Wine: Hen's Teeth
Mar 3, 2026

New album: Timeless, poetic, gentle folk-rock in this eighth solo album by the North Carolina multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam Beam, in warm, tender album with a title that suggests the idea of the impossible yet real, and an earthier, darker, more more tactile companion to his Grammy-nominated 2024 album Light Verse

Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek - The Mirror 2.jpeg
Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek: The Mirror
Mar 3, 2026

New album: The Brooklyn-based Texan guitarist of Big Thief returns with his fourth solo LP filled with tender, thoughtful, beautiful folk-country-rock, a tiny splash of analogue synths, joined by bandmate James Krivchenia as producer, Adrianne Lenker on backing vocals, plus guitarist Adam Brisbin and harp player Mary Lattimore

Mar 3, 2026
Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Mitski: Nothing’s About To Happen To Me
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Following 2023’s acclaimed The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, now an eighth LP of sublime beauty, wit and melancholy and silken vocal tones from the American singer-songwriter, mixing pop, rock, echoes of Laurel Canyon era, and stories and metaphors of love and loss, insecurity, independence and solitude all set at home – and no shortage of cats

Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz - The Mountain.jpeg
Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz: The Mountain
Mar 1, 2026

New album: Released with an art book, new games, and extended videos, a multicultural, multifarious and multilingual return for the collective cartoon pop-hip-hop project led by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, with many intercontinental guest appearances, and a particular Indian musical and visual flavour centred on fictional Himalayan peak as metaphor for life’s journey and illusionary truths

Mar 1, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Mei Semones.jpeg
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
Robyn - Blow My Mind.jpeg
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
Lava La Rue 2 new.jpeg
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
Alewya - City of Symbols.jpeg
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
Huarinami - Carried Away.jpeg
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
Avalon Emerson - Written Into Changes album.jpeg
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
Aldous Harding - One Stop.jpeg
Mar 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Aldous Harding - One Stop
Mar 8, 2026

Song of the Day: An enigmatic, oddly stylish, stripped back, piano-based new experimental folk single by the New Zealand singer-songwriter, namechecking John Cale, and from her upcoming album Train on the Island out May 8 via 4AD

Mar 8, 2026
Max Winter - Candlelight.jpeg
Mar 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Max Winter, Asha Lorenz & Rael - Candlelight
Mar 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A dark, stylish, striking fusion of hip-hop, trip-hop, spoken word, and jazz by the London-based rapper and friends, and the the first single from the collaborative mixtape Like the season!, out on Secret Friend

Mar 7, 2026
SPRINTS - Trickle Down.jpeg
Mar 6, 2026
Song of the Day: SPRINTS - Trickle Down
Mar 6, 2026

Song of the Day: The feisty, ferociously fun Dublin post-punk band return with a punchy, on-point angry new number about the flawed economic term, watching systems fail in slow motion, housing crisis, rising costs, culture wars, climate collapse, and frustratingly being told to stay patient while everything burns

Mar 6, 2026
Jordan Rakei - Easy To Love.jpg
Mar 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Jordan Rakei & Tom McFarland - Easy to Love
Mar 5, 2026

Song of the Day: Elevating, soaring soul with the high vocals of the New Zealand-Australian singer and songwriter joined by one half the British band Jungle, heralding the collaborative EP Between Us, out on 24 April on Fontana Records / Universal Music

Mar 5, 2026
Against the Dying of the Light by José González.jpeg
Mar 4, 2026
Song of the Day: José González - A Perfect Storm
Mar 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, delicate, evocative and profound new single about impending Earth disaster by the Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist from Gothenburg, heralding his fifth album Against the Dying of the Light out on 27 March via Imperial Recordings / City Slang

Mar 4, 2026
Jesus Cringe - Disastrology.jpg
Mar 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesus Cringe - Disastrology
Mar 3, 2026

Song of the Day: A striking collision and fusion of space rock, prog rock, jazz, and sci-fi cinema, with an orchestral, avant-garde, tumultuous interplay between violin and baritone saxophone by the Belgian artist Alexis Pfrimmer, expressing the characterisation of solitary figure witnessing Earth’s collapse before escaping into space, and out on Epictronic

Mar 3, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Snail on a wall.jpeg
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
Swordfish.jpg
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
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

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