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Strident in song: music that expresses the movement and feeling of walking

November 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
No two walks are the same …

No two walks are the same …

We all walk slightly differently, so this week it’s all about music that expresses various strolls, swings, swaggers, ambles or strides, and whether in politics or personal, marching bands or military, let’s capture the movement of the people

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, 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, walking, biology, animals, The Beatles, Monty Python, John Cleese, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Locke, Mason Cooley, Billie Holiday, John Travolta, Lee Marvin, Julie Christie, Film, Ian Brown, Liam Gallagher, Mick Jagger, John Inman, Pink Panther, cats, fashion, Richard Dawkins, Jarrow March, Selma, Detroit, civil rights, Nelson Mandela, marching bands, New Orleans, Russia, military bands, James Vincent McMorrow, Matthew Henry, Hippocrates, Kamasi Washington, Bjork
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Playlists: songs about the Devil, Satan, Lucifer …

October 31, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Hellishly good

Hellishly good

Drumming to drones, strange sounds are coming out the Song Bar stereo this week. Is in the Devil’s work? Not quite, but this week’s guest takeitawayGuru, inspired by your nominations, has got devilishly good lists

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In blues, country, dance, electronica, folk, metal, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Cozy Powell, Zeal & Ardor, Van Halen, INXS, Blues Pills, Band of Skulls, Florence and the Machine, Austin Lucas, Buddy Guy, Beck, Drive-By Truckers, Chris De Burgh, Deepset, Iron Maiden, The Civil Wars, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Daniels Band, Frank Zappa
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Just for the hell of it: songs about the Devil, Satan, Lucifer …

October 25, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Devil does his thing in Tenacious D

The Devil does his thing in Tenacious D

Who’s your devil in disguise? Who has all he best tunes? This week, in a fun week leading up to Halloween, let’s explore songs that mention, in whatever form, the Devil, Satan and any other names he takes

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, Devil, Satan, Oscar Wilde, George Harrison, Tom Waits, William Shakespeare, Goethe, George Whitfield, Little Richard, film, Ben Wheatley, Devil's Elbow, Niccolò Paganini, Robert Johnson, David Bowie, Henry Fielding, Gary Busey, Marilyn Manson, Aleister Crowley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Debbie Harry, Blondie, C.S. Lewis, Milton, Buckethead, Hieronymous Bosch, Emo Philips, Mercedes McCambridge, The Exorcist, Martin Luther, Thomas Moore, William Blake, Charles Baudelaire
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Playlists: songs about equality

October 24, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Martin Luther King, 28 August 1963

Martin Luther King, 28 August 1963

Conflict to the Equals, Peggy Seeger to the Pointer Sisters, Kamasi Washington to John Coltrane, this week’s playlists chosen by guest pejepeine from a wonderful week of egalitarian-spirited nominations, are a dream come true

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In blues, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, equality, politics, society, Martin Luther King, Conflict, Yothu Yindi, The Equals, Boy George, Culture Club, Field Music, Robb Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, Peggy Seeger, John Coltrane, The Pointer Sisters, Pangaea, Kamasi Washington, The Au Pairs, Aretha Franklin, The Ting Tings, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Roots Manuva, Hugh Mundell, Eddie Cochran, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Jamila Lewis, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Johnny Cash, John Martyn, The Isley Brothers, Mr Fingers, pejepeine
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Stand up for your mics: songs about equality

October 18, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Peter Norman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 200m medal ceremony, Mexico 1968

Peter Norman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 200m medal ceremony, Mexico 1968

Whatever the platform, the genre or message, this week we’re exploring the issue of equality, if not being the same, from gender to race, politics to work, how to get and if it’s even possible, all through lyrics

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, equality, politics, gender, race issues, sport, Black Power salute 1968, Tommie Smith, Olympic Games, Mexico, John Carlos, Peter Norman, Kurt Vonnegut, Keith Richards, Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi, John le Carre, William Shakespeare, Mary Wollstonecraft, Bob Dylan, education, family, childhood, children, racism, Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, James Brown, suffrage, suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst, Millicent Fawcett, Charlotte Manning, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ban Ki-moon, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Timothy Leary, William Golding, Socrates, Iris Murdoch, Pink, Peterloo Massacre, Manchester, Henry Hunt, Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, Jimi Hendrix, Terry Eagleton, Friedrich Nietzsche, Harvey Milk, George Orwell, Winston Churchill, Waturu Watari, Honore de Balzac, Douglas Adams, Josh Homme
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Playlists: songs and music with harps, lyres or zithers

October 17, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Alice Coltrane

Alice Coltrane

Harp on? This week’s guest guru magicman argues it’s really best to just let the music speak for itself, especially when it comes to two playlists of exquisite sounds plucked and stroked those many strings

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In classical, dance, electronica, folk, instrumentals, jazz, indie, hip hop, music, playlists, pop, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags Songs, playlists, harp, zither, lyre, Sarah Deere-Jones, Alice Coltrane, Lila Downs, Zeena Parkins, Joanna Newsom, Brandy & Monica, Dorothy Ashby, Agnes Obel, Sona Jobarteh, Cat Power, Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, Inez & Charles Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Edmar Castaneda, Harpo Marx, DnA: Delyth and Angharad Jenkins, Andreas Vollenweider, Ketama, Toumani Diabate, Jose Soto, Catatonia, Philip Glass, Lucinda Belle Orchestra, The Carter Family, Kasumi Watanabe, John Zorn, The Gnostic Trio, Dizzee Rascal, Florence and the Machine, magicman
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Pluck up courage: songs and music with harps, lyres and zithers

October 11, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Harpo’s serious moments …

Harpo’s serious moments …

From the serenity and complexity of fingers sweeping strings to the twanging of the Jew’s harp, from the lyricism of the lyre to the zing of the zither, let’s stretch out with suggestions featuring these instruments

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rocksteady, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, harp, zither, lyre, Harpo Marx, George RR Martin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Igor Stravinsky, William Billings, Petrarch, poetry, John Lydon, Dorothy Ashby, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Derek Bell, The Chieftains, Bjork, The Beatles, Zeena Perkins, Joanna Newsom, William Butler Yeats, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Thomas Moore, Henry Longfellow, Marx Brothers, PJ Harvey, Orson Welles, Anton Zaras, Johann Albrechtsberger, Beethoven, Uutai, The Who
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Going for a song: lyrics using idioms, common phrases and expressions

October 4, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Does this raise or lower the bar …?

Does this raise or lower the bar …?

Feeling on song? They may be derived from literature, media or historic, regular usage, but this week we’re looking how common phrases can jump out at you in lyrics, and ideally are used creatively or cleverly

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, language, idioms, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, film, Music, Homer, George Orwell, Yes Minister, Matt Groening, The Simpsons, Futurama, Walt Disney, Coen Brothers, David Coleman, sport, football, Bobby Moore, Glenn Hoddle, Stuart Pearce, Craig Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Kevin Keegan
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Playlists: songs about England … and the English

October 3, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Oh England … Kate Bush

Oh England … Kate Bush

This is England. It began with a journey on the A roads and B roads, but instead of taking a geographical journey, this week’s guest barbryn travelled to the heart of identity, ascending beautiful heights, led by the lark

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, punk, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, England, society, social class, history, Vaughan Williams, Kate Bush, Max Wall, Luke Haines, Lowkey, Mai Khalil, Nerina Pallot, Mark Stewart & the Maffia, Babyshambles, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Clientele, Frank Turner, The Young 'Uns, Patty Duke, Kano, MC Lars, The Creepers, The Long Blondes, Darren Hayman, The Jellybottys, Billy Bragg, Billy Bragg and the Blokes, The Oysterband, PJ Harvey, George Butterworth, Dreadzone, Saint Etienne, Barbryn
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Merry? Divided? Dreaming? It's songs about England

September 27, 2018 Peter Kimpton
England is dreaming? … Who? Keith, Roger, Pete and John

England is dreaming? … Who? Keith, Roger, Pete and John

Let’s take a musical trip around this strange, sceptr’d isle, this land of eccentric frontmen, this place of punk and flourishing fashion, to pick up lots of place names and perhaps also define the nature of being English

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, England, The Who, Napoleon Bonaparte, John Lydon, Beyonce, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Brexit, social class, sport, cricket, football, Bill Bryson, David Crystal, Pennine Way, Sex Pistols, Ian Brown, The Stone Roses, Naomi Campbell, fashion, Malcolm Gladwell, Pete Townshend, JK Rowling, Brian Eno, HG Wells, Otis Redding, H.P. Lovecraft, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Merchant-Ivory, film, television, Brideshead Revisited, Ken Loach, Monty Python, Eric Idle, WH Auden, Noam Chomsky, monarchy, royalty, revolution, English Civil War
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Playlists: songs about fractions and portions

September 26, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Creative halves: Two Kings In A Cipher - DOP (Deric Angelettie) and the Noble Ahmen-Ra (Ron Lawrence)

Creative halves: Two Kings In A Cipher - DOP (Deric Angelettie) and the Noble Ahmen-Ra (Ron Lawrence)

How do you separate so many great nominated songs into two playlists? This week’s guest, ParaMhor, divided and conquered hundreds of suggestions into two brilliant divisions, from Beatles to Steely Dan

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, fractions, portions, The Beatles, George Harrison, Trash Can Sinatras, Rain Parade, Liza Minnelli, Definition of a King, Delaware, Mavis Staples, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Billy Fury, Madeleine Peyroux, Robb Johnson, David Boulter, Stuart Staples, Kurt Wagner, Augustus Pablo, The Dominoes, Gary US Bonds, ZZ Hill, Alternative TV, Monty Python, Jack, Gene Pitney, OV Wright, Bella Hardy, Thin Lizzy, dEUS, Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, Steely Dan, Jeff Tweedy, Wilco, ParaMhor, Drop Nineteens, Two Kings In A Cipher
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Playlists: song lyrics with strange, rare or unlikely words

September 19, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The divine Joanna Newsom: diluvian shoulders to magnetic embrace, balletic and glacial, of bear’s insatiable shadow

The divine Joanna Newsom: diluvian shoulders to magnetic embrace, balletic and glacial, of bear’s insatiable shadow

From antirrhinums of Jake Thackray to the pretentious Pet Shop Boys to the hyperbolic hippopotamus of Sparks, this week’s guest EnglishOutlaw articulates wonderfully wordy playlists from last week’s topic

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, words, dictionary, Kirsty MacColl, Sparks, Oi Polloi, Pet Shop Boys, Momus, Frank Zappa, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Jake Thackray, Organized Konfusion, Teenage Fanclub, Stevie Wonder, Joanna Newsom, Travelling Wilburys, The Gourds, The Divine Comedy, Mighty Sparrow, John Betjeman, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Lorde, Paul Kelly, Mose Allison, Vivian Stanshall, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Inkubus Sukkubus, Tyla J Pallas, EnglishOutlaw
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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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The real thing? Songs about authenticity and fakery

September 6, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Genuine lip syncers Milli Vanilli

Genuine lip syncers Milli Vanilli

Being true to yourself or others to genuine article in objects, this week we’re seeking songs that, in lyrics, are about searching for authenticity, but might sometimes find the opposite from forgery to falsehood, bootleg to bullshit

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, authenticity, forgery, fake news, books, Film, media, art, Margery Williams, Toy Story, WH Auden, Bruce Chatwin, Robert Tonkinson, Australia, Aboriginal, Milli Vanilli, Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, blues, collectables, marketing, fashion, Thomas Hobbes, Coco Chanel, Eric Cantona, Carl Jung, Milan Kundera, Albert Camus, Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Luc Godard, David Bowie, Elmyr de Hory, Han van Meegeren, Robert Driessen, Peter Guber, George Cruikshank, The Hives
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Playlists: songs about brevity

September 5, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Not much time? Ari Up! The Slits

Not much time? Ari Up! The Slits

It only takes a minute (or a second) to click on this link, but once you do, your brief encounter with these pithy, witty playlists by guest picker Severin will make you linger on lyrical gems about love’s fast passing and much more

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In blues, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, brevity, The Jam, Paul Weller, Connie Converse, The Slits, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, So Solid Crew, Nico, Doris Troy, Say Sue Me, Natacha Atlas, Tavares, Maddy Prior and the Girls, High Contrast, The Unthanks, Major Lance, Warlock, Fleetwood Mac, The Easybeats, Jazmine Sullivan, The Stranglers, The Zombies, The Cure, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Whitey, Eddi Reader, Inner Life, Jocelyn Brown, Pink Floyd, Kuricorder Quartet, Severin, severin
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Time is short: songs about brevity

August 30, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Brief Encounter (1945)

Brief Encounter (1945)

Fleeting romance to brief encounters, the transient to the terse, the brusque to burnout, the concise or condensed, our time is limited on Earth, but there’s still enough to suggest songs on this universal subject

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, brevity, time, William Blake, John Dryden, Franklin D Roosevelt, Napoleon Bonaparte, John Cooper Clarke, Cicero, Louise Brooks, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Muhammad Ali, Strickland Gillilan, poetry, Stephen Crane, Earnest Hemingway, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Oscar Wilde, Groucho Marx, Catherine The Great, Shirley Conran, Ahmed Mostafa, Benjamin Franklin, Ogden Nash, Bruce Bennett, Friedrich Nietzsche, Anton Chekhov, Elizabeth Bowen, Walter Savage Landor, Mick Jagger, Trevor Howard, Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca, Film, Mordecai Richler, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Bladerunner, The White Stripes, The Band
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Playlists: songs about oddballs, outcasts and outsiders

August 29, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer, Blind Melon, Beastie Boys, Blur … there all here, you know, and very different. And that’s just a few of the Bs. This week’s guest playlist writer amylee gives you a whole lot more than fantastic playlists inspired by last week’s topic.

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In blues, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, outsiders, outcasts, eccentricity, oddballs, Monty Python, The Ramones, Le Tigre, The Lewis Sisters, Arcade Fire, The Cure, Bunny Wailer, Blind Melon, Beastie Boys, Barbara Manning, Blur, Chumbawumba, Jackie Leven, Julian Cope, David Bowie, The Charlatans, The Shins, Barenaked Ladies, Mitski, The Strawbs, Dexys Midnight Runners, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Betty Davis, Was (Not Was), Cameo, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, The Fall, Stratford Mercenaries, Okkervil River, Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Susan McKeown, Belle & Sebastian, Beck, Soundgarden, AmyLee
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Shiny, shiny: songs about silver and other non-ferrous metals

August 16, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Sounds of silver …

Sounds of silver …

Leaving aside gold, steel and iron, let’s dig out songs that lyrically refer, in literal or metaphorical terms to the poetic or practical qualities of silver, copper, brass, tin, aluminium, tungsten, magnesium and much more

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In blues, classical, colours, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, silver, non-ferrous metals, copper, brass, poetry, Walter de la Mare, P.T. Barnum, Glenn Gould, Joan Baez, Syd Barrett, Dave Hill, Slade, David Bowie, glam rock, periodic table, chemistry, Pink Floyd, Benjamin Franklin, Miles Davis
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Playlists: 12-inch singles and remixes up to 1979

August 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! It's Chic extending the dance, dance, dance …

Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! It's Chic extending the dance, dance, dance …

Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! This week your feet, 12 inches long or otherwise, will not be able to stop moving as guest playlister DiscoMonster extends an invitation to enjoy his pick of last week’s many great nominations

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In dance, electronica, playlists, pop, postpunk, reggae, rocksteady, songs, soul, dub, disco, punk, music, indie Tags Songs, playlists, 12-inch vinyl, disco, funk, dub, electronica, dance, The Jays, Ranking Trevor, Chic, Nile Rodgers, The Rolling Stones, Dennis Brown, Prince Mohammed, Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, Third World, Parliament, Sylvester, Elias Rahbani, Manu Dibango, Dinosaur, Israel Vibration, Suicide, Lipps Inc., Japan, The Motors, The Whispers, Black Harmony, Chicago, The Jacksons, Joe Simon, North End, Dr. Alimantado, Kiss, Jolly Brothers, Hamilton Bohannon, Loleatta Holloway, Yabby You & Trinity, Patti Labelle, Dillinger, Junior Murvin, Lee Scratch Perry, Television, DiscoMonster
Comment

Spread the groove: 12-inch singles and remixes up to 1979

August 9, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Disco, funk, punk, soul, postpunk, pop, and more were all being spun on 12-inch in the 70s …

Disco, funk, punk, soul, postpunk, pop, and more were all being spun on 12-inch in the 70s …

Dub and reggae, funk and disco, hip hop, punk postpunk, pop, electronica and more, this week let's span the 60s-70s period that gave birth to this format and spin favourite records it highlighted

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Tags Songs, playlists, 12-inch vinyl, singles, music production, Tom Moulton, New Order, Peter Hook, Factory Records, dub, King Tubby, Kool Herc, Jamaica, hip hop, James Brown, The Incredible Bongo Band, Babe Ruth, Swamp Dogg, Buddy Fite, The Trammps, Al Downing, South Shore, Donna Summer, Atlantic Records, Double Exposure, Bob Marley, The Clash, The Spinners, Hamilton Bohannon, Eddy Grant, Gorgio Moroder, Marvin Gaye, Sister Sledge, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Chic, Ja-kki, The Droids, Mathematiques Modernes, Erotic Drum Band, Cloud One, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tumblack, Manu Dibango, Prince, Sylvester, Space
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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
Yebba - Jean.jpeg
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
The Sophs - Goldstar.jpeg
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
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 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
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

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
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
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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
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

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
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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
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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