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Unlucky for some: songs about the number thirteen

March 12, 2026 Peter Kimpton

Christ on a bike! There’s always one …

Cultural counting as a figure of superstition and bad luck, it can also have other associations, but whether number, name, place, amount, date, age or more, this week it’s time find your significant thirteens in song as we head through a new Friday 13th

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rhythm and blues, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags numbers, 13, The 13th Floor Elevators, George Orwell, Agatha Christie, Mickey Rooney, Christianity, Norse mythology, mythology, history, Tarot, The Da Vinci Code, Apollo 13, Black Friday, Thirteen Club, teenagers, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Ringo Starr, Taylor Swift
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World Book Day: a play on songs with lyrical zeugma

March 5, 2026 Peter Kimpton

The yoke’s on you, Dad …

On this celebration day of the written word, let’s embrace the many songs which lyrically use a word to govern two or more other words or phrases in a line or sentence. It comes from the Ancient Greek meaning "a yoking together". Time to pull out words and pints …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rhythm and blues, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, zeugma, worldplay, World Book Day, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Flanders and Swann, Bob Dylan, Blur, The Sex Pistols, Jonathan Swift, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones
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Playlists: songs about obscure or unusual colours

September 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Into the mix …

Midnight sun to marmalade skies, octarine to racing green, it’s a who’s who of hues - with guest playlister Loud Atlas mixes up inspiration from last week’s topic into something a shade different

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In avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, easy listening, dub, exotica, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, colours, Ken Nordine, Ella Fitzgerald, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Claude Debussy, The Mercury Tree, ZZ Top, Black Box Recorder, Blossom Dearie, Tim Minchin, Pérez Prado, Tomoo, Misty, Donovan, Jorge Ben, Altered Images, Cocteau Twins, Adam Bosange, Charles Aznavour, Enya, Manic Street Preachers, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, The Tinkerbells, Vaughn Monroe, Paramore, Yussef Dayes, Tom Misch, Daniel Blumberg, Corinne Bailey Rae, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs about déjà vu

July 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Bird’s eye view? Ever seen … Immortel Ad Vitam

Tricks of mind and memory to recurring lifestyle loops, our senses are sometimes working overtime, and guest Sidecar Shiv makes superb sense of it all with playlists picked from last week’s topic nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags deja vu, psychology, songs, playlists, Massive Attack, Molly Nilsson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Fogerty, JJ Jackson, The Yardbirds, Pearls Before Swine, The Waterboys, Mike Scott, John Lennon, The Beatles, The Searchers, Sparklehorse, Chocolate Genius, Angelo Badalamenti, Twin Peaks, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Bill Ryder-Jones, Styx, Redd Kross, Sublime, Dionne Warwick, Prince Royce, Shakira, Wet Leg, Margaret Glaspy, Toro y Moi, Roky Erickson, Husker Du, Blind Alfred Reed, Hitsujibungaku, The Stylistics, Max Webster, Michael Chapman, Gilmore & Roberts, Vashti Bunyan, Fever Ray, Buzzcocks, The Who, Taylor Swift, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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Playlists: songs about lakes, canals, and smaller watercourses

April 15, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Songs will pour out …

Inspired by the hypnotic, relaxing and therapeutical flow of nominations for last week’s topic, guest playlister TatankaYotanka channels this joy into instrumental and sung streams. Water great idea!

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags lakes, water, streams, canals, Hermeto Pascoal, Cosmo Sheldrake, Brian Eno, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Lanterna, Dave Brubeck, Life On Mars, Neu!, Oregon, The Kathryn Tickell Band, Kathryn Tickell, Henry Texier, Wadada Leo Smith, The Cougars, Harry Choates, Leo Kottke, Jamaal Meeks, Peter Erskine, I Am Kloot, Fergus McCreadie, M83, Vashti Bunyan, Gilberto Gil, Taylor Swift, Felt, Gabby Young and Other Animals, Dengue Fever, Tower Of Power, war, The Meters, Tom Zé, The Cats, Guillermo Portabales, José Brito, The Joy Formidable, Altai Kai, Nancy Kerr, Yank Rachell, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Nickel Creek, Arctic Monkeys, The Band, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Makoto Kawamoto, Gary Shearston, Akiko Yano, Anita Carter, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Groanbox Boys, David Childers, Jackie Leven, Ralph Vaughan Williams, TatankaYotanka, Robert Louis Stevenson
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Kick-ass topic! Songs about bad boys and bad girls

September 19, 2024 Peter Kimpton

You simply don’t mess with Tura Satana, portraying Varla in 1965’s Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Ambiguous, mysterious, sexy, full of charm but also harm, they're the objects of obsession, as it's often unclear what the balance of good-bad may be. Fictional or real, famous or personal, let's find songs inspired by them ...

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, 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, Film, music, film soundtrack, Tallulah Bankhead, Taylor Swift, Peter Tosh, Ian McShane, Jethro Tull, Fiona Apple, Christina Aguilera, Mae West, David Niven, Charles Dickens, Greek mythology, James Cagney, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Courtney Love, Tura Satana, Russ Meyer, Sid Vicious, Ariana Grande, Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones, Stephanie Mills, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Montesquieu, Anthony Trollope, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Madonna, Belinda Carlisle, Patti Smith, Katy Perry, fiona apple, Olivia de Havilland, Kate Beckinsdale, Chloe Sevigny, Marlene Dietrich
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Playlists: songs with unusual time signatures

February 7, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Tea time at the Bar? Alternative servings …

Pleased to meter? 5, 7, 11, 13, 15 or even 17? We’ve got all the strange signature numbers for you here in brilliantly arrhythmic playlists by guest of the week Barbryn, making it really count from last week’s topic nominations

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In African, avant-garde, calypso, classical, dance, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, time signatures, rhythm, The Smile, Radiohead, Deborah Conway, PJ Harvey, Elephant Gym, Georgie Fame, Juana Molina, Pachora, Cat Stevens, Yusuf, Planxty, The Grateful Dead, Sufjan Stevens, Aaron Parks, Uakti, Philip Glass, Bjork, JS Bach, Murray Perahia, Yes, Airto Moreira, Don Ellis, Jazzanova, Bill Bruford, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Dream Theater, Tricot, GoGo Penguin, Avishai Cohen, Shakti, Taylor Swift, The National, Aaron Dessner, Lamb, Barbryn
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Playlists: single-minded songs

November 14, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Single-minded pursuits: Roxy Music

It might mean concentration, determination, persistence, relentlessness, and even obsessive behaviour, but while that perhaps thinking of one thing, or one person, but this is a topic has gathered a broad range of music and ideas. Guest Sidecar Shiv reveals more in fabulous playlists picked from last week’s topic

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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, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Primal Scream, The Fugees, Muhammad Ali, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, John Forte, Nico Wayne Toussaint, The Impressions, David Holmes, Raven Violet, Taylor Swift, Roxy Music, Animals That Swim, Dave Hause, Fountains of Wayne, Fiona Apple, The Animals, Dean Parrish, Nocturnal Emissions, U2, The Sound, Talking Heads, The Temptations, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Boogie Down Productions, Giant Crab, Kevin Coyne, PJ Harvey, Bobbie Gentry, Amy MacDonald, Sufjan Stevens, Neil Young, The Triffids, Iris DeMent, Julian Cope, Husker Du, Eurythmics, The Eurythmics, Ronnie Lane, Slim Chance, Della Reese, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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What's left behind? Songs about legacy

August 17, 2023 Peter Kimpton

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

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

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Think different: songs about using your imagination

February 23, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Vladmir Kush’s African Sonata

From practical life problems, work, relationships, craft or crisis, to all sorts of creative problems, or even channelling dreams, it’s time to access the right hemisphere and see how the imagination can be used, as expressed in song lyrics. Read on for more stimulation …

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Back and forth: songs featuring conversation

January 26, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Pointed dialogue: John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction

Can you tell me what this is all about? Sure. Whether between two or more vocalists, or reported within the lyrics by one, or even involving instrumentalists, songs that include communication between more than one person. There’s lots of examples to get your ideas flowing. OK, thanks.

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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, metal, musical hall, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, dialogue, conversation, Film, TV, John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, John Green, George Herbert, Laurence Sterne, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, William Jennings Bryan, Michel de Montaigne, Marty Rubin, Evelyn Waugh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Charles Dudley Warner, William Hazlitt, Ved Mehta, Truman Capote, Samuel Johnson, Taylor Swift, Mark Haddon, Charles Lamb, Sally Rooney, Cicero, Rebecca West, Oscar Wilde, Italo Calvino, Olga Tokarczuk, Chuck Palahniuk, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Neil Postman, Groucho Marx, Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Monty Python, Woody Allen, Bruce Robinson, Richard E Grant, Quentin Tarantino, Jonathan Glazer, Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley
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Playlists: songs about simple pleasures

December 7, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Keys to happiness: Blossom Dearie

Sunrise to sunset and everything in between, food to flowers and all the joys of the natural world, these are just some of the many simple pleasures rendered beautifully in perfect playlists by guest writer Barbryn picked from last week’s topic nominations

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Playlists: songs about heartbreak

May 25, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Otis Redding - cut down in his prime

Relationship breakdown, devastating loneliness to shocking bereavement, from a huge response to last week’s topic, it’s all here in a set of supremely powerful playlists picked by guest magicman, where despite all the sorrow, the music brings release

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In classical, blues, avant-garde, country, dance, folk, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, heartbreak, relationships, bereavement, Robert Johnson, Odyssey, Otis Redding, Harry Nilsson, Tammy Wynette, Reparata & The Delrons, Diana Ross, Angel Olsen, Sam Brown, Roy Orbison, Jimmy Ruffin, Skeeter Davis, Taylor Swift, The Bee Gees, Eric Carmen, Johnny Ray, Smokey Robinson, Hank Williams, Elliott Smith, John Mayer, Manic Street Preachers, The Shangri–Las, Earth Wind & Fire, Jun Togawa, The Rankin Family, Donny Hathaway, Janis Joplin, Franco & TPOK Jazz, Kenny Rogers, Daniel Johnston, Bruno Mars, Mozart, Andi Thakambau, Willie Nelson, John Holt, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Stelios Kazantzidis, Beck, Deafheaven, Richard Wagner, JS Bach, Johannes Brahms, Edward Elgar, Samuel Barber, Ketty Lester, Gram Parsons, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Amy Winehouse, The Fureys, Davey Arthur, Aretha Franklin, Wyona Judd
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Picture, practice and pitch: songs about perfection

February 17, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Evolution’s purest clickbait: kitten in field

Nothing’s ideal, no one’s impeccable, nothing’s completely pure, but this week it’s time to search for the beautifully formed, the perfectly pitched, the adorably flawless and more as the lyrical focus. Or that’s the plan …

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This topic is the greatest! Boastful songs

November 11, 2021 Peter Kimpton

Look no further. The greatest. Muhammad Ali

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

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

March 23, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Blue tales? The magnificent Millie Jackson will always find out …

Blue tales? The magnificent Millie Jackson will always find out …

Saucy musical hall to broken-hearted blues to soaring heart-wrenching soul, guest magicman reveals all the ins and outs of secret liaisons, setting all affairs in order with three supreme playlists to capture the huge response by readers

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, pop, playlists, musicals, postpunk, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Vesta Victoria, Frankie Lee Sims, The Chicks, Franco & TPOK Jazz, Beyonce, Jimmy Rushing, Gene Pitney, Lefty Frizzell, Denise LaSalle, Robert Johnson, Millie Jackson, Sanford Townsend Band, Waterson & McCarthy, Ida Cox, The Ink Spots, Dream Wife, Gene Autry, Ann Peebles, Lloyd Brown, Brandy Clark, 100º Proof Aged In Soul, Crystal Gayle, Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting, Nancy Kerr, Taylor Swift, Haim, Muddy Waters, Dionne Warwick, Patsy Cline, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Squeeze, Dr John, The O'Jays, Howlin' Wolf, Johnnie Taylor, The Temptations, Jimi Hendrix, The Dubliners, Toni Braxton, George Harrison, adultery, infidelity, relationships, sex, magicman
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Playlists: adult lullabies and other songs about inducing sleep

June 3, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Berceuse ballad: the Pogues can do a beautiful lullaby

Berceuse ballad: the Pogues can do a beautiful lullaby

Restless? Don’t worry, this is worth staying up for. Enjoy a countdown in the first of several lists perfect picked by guest amylee from hundreds of suggestions over the week, which in all contexts help a perfect night’s sleep

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Playlists: songs that quote Shakespeare

March 11, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Pop art? The playlist is the thing … and Shakespeare comes in many colours

Pop art? The playlist is the thing … and Shakespeare comes in many colours

Prithee, come along, the bell doth ring! Hear thy song, the playlist is the thing! Rock, classical, funk, soul, hip hop, the Bard is present in all genres, here played out in three splendid acts by guest magicman from a cast of nominations

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, theatre, Iron Maiden, Franz Schubert, Lucia Pop, Laurie Anderson, Jeff Buckley, Kevin Johansen, GLM, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Gentle Giant, Shelagh McDonald, Stormzy, Rufus, Chaka Kahn, Alec Costandinos, Motorhead, Henry Purcell, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Zombies, Bryan Ferry, Inkubus Sukkubus, Kilburn and the High Roads, Ian Dury, Queen, Meic Stevens, Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson, Prince, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Noel Coward, The Four Tops, Kate Tempest, Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, magicman, Al Bowlly, Siouxsie and the Banshees
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Halloween? What comes after? Songs about stalking, following and chasing

October 31, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Play Misty For Me? Be careful what records you choose … Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walter in 1971

Play Misty For Me? Be careful what records you choose … Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walter in 1971

Do you follow? This week it could well be a creepy, but also complex topic, with tracking and pursuing people in all contexts, done or from the perspective of either party, for love or perhaps more sinister reasons

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In avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, jazz, metal, instrumentals, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, stalking, chasing, following, The Shining, Albert Camus, David Coleman, Eric Cantona, social media, Twitter, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lily Allen, The Turtles, John Lennon, The Beatles, Madonna, David Tennant, paparazzi, Vince Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Waits, Clint Eastwood, Play Misty For Me, Steven Spielberg, The French Connection, Alfred Hitchcock, North By Northwest, Tobe Hooper, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Stanley Kubrick, Rutger Hauer, The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Out of this oeuvre? Songs and music that defy genre definition

April 18, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Genres? What are they?

Genres? What are they?

This week let’s push the envelope and dig out often lesser known artists and works that wriggle away from definition, those who or mix sub-genres and styles with such originality it’s hard to place them. But can you still define them?

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Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

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CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY

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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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celery sticks in guacamole dip


New Albums …

Featured
Sam Grassie - Where Two Hawks Fly.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Sam Grassie: Where Two Hawks Fly
Apr 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful debut LP by the London-based Glaswegian fingerstyle folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, with added saxophone, double bass, flute, clairsach and clarinet in a release of mostly the traditional, covers, sung or instrumental, and supported by the Bert Jansch Foundation

Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt - Requiem.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt: Requiem
Apr 29, 2026

New album: A strangely mesmeric, avant-garde and analogue-ambient, field recording-based experimental release by the last surviving founding member of experimental ‘krautrock’ band CAN, who, approaching the age of 89, has also written over 40 TV and film scores

Apr 29, 2026
Gia Margaret - Singing.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Gia Margaret: Singing
Apr 28, 2026

New album: Gently profound, and full of wondrous, mesmeric, slow, delicate experimental songs, this simple title has a powerful resonance – it is the Chicago artist’s first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer (there have been two instrumental LPs since), having suffered and recovered from a severe vocal injury, she returns with a delicate, candid, whispery but hauntingly beautiful delivery

Apr 28, 2026
Angel In Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Angelo De Augustine: Angel in Plainclothes
Apr 28, 2026

New album: A beautiful, delicate fifth LP from the Los Angeles singer-songwriter, friend and collaborator with Sufjan Stevens with whom he shares a stylistic resemblance, here with themes on life's fragility, second chances, and picking up the pieces after an undiagnosed illness forced him to re-learn basic abilities

Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno - Confession.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno: Confession
Apr 28, 2026

New album: This lo-fi, darkly minimalist but also oddly candid fourth LP by the Australian, Castlemaine-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist centres on the conflicted, obsessive feelings about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, and “an album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire.”

Apr 28, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For album.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
Apr 26, 2026

New album: Passionate, powerful, dynamic indie rock in this sophomore LP by the Chicago-based quartet that gallops forwards with a driving momentum, some elements of early PJ Harvey and Radiohead, and is produced by John Congleton

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
White Denim: 13
Apr 26, 2026

New album: This 13th LP in two decades by the Austin, Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli has a particularly mischievous experimentalism, spreading styles far beyond breathlessly paced prog rock, with wrily humorous, surreal, personal and passionate numbers across heavy funk, dub, soul, psyche, country, dirty blues and more, joined by host of outstanding extra musicians

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 24, 2026
Hukwe Zawose Foundation: Asili ya Mama
Apr 24, 2026

New album: Wonderfully evocative field recordings release of Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa Tanzanian women singing traditional songs in their villages, rarely heard outside of their own circles, the title is translated as The Origin of Mother, rich in stories and capturing the place where song is first learned, first felt, first shared

Apr 24, 2026
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Apr 23, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig
Apr 23, 2026

New album: Four decades since their self-titled debut, Brooklyn alternative rockers John Flansburgh and John Linnell return with their 24th LP, packed with of punchy, pacy, wistful, whimsical, clever wordplay and indie rock-pop, buoyantly satirical and also a little world weary at times, they remain oddball, lively commentators on the ongoing absurdity of life

Apr 23, 2026
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Apr 22, 2026
Eaves Wilder: Little Miss Sunshine
Apr 22, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Hookey EP, a strong, passionate indie-dream-pop-shoegaze full debut by the London singer-songwriter, whose breathy voice intertwines with strong, stirring riffs and textured sounds, themed around cycles of nature aiming to explain and celebrate the mercurial nature of human emotional weather

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
Apr 22, 2026

New album: The irrepressible, prolific and charismatic London-based Chicago DJ, musician, producer and vinyl lover returns with a flamboyantly fun celebration of club and queer culture through the prism of dance music from disco to house, with a wide variety of guest vocalists

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Tiga: HOTLIFE
Apr 21, 2026

New album: Montreal’s acclaimed electronica/techno/dance artist Tiga Sontag returns with his fourth album - inventively packed with head-nodding, toe-tapping, oddly itchy, infectious grooves, cleverly crafted retro sounds recalling Kraftwerk to acid house and electroclash, insistent bold beats and synth riffs, with lyrics of the existential, droll and surreal

Apr 21, 2026
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Apr 20, 2026
TOMORA: Come Closer
Apr 20, 2026

New album: A striking, dynamic collaboration between Norwegian experimental pop sensation Aurora and Tom Rowlands, one of half of Chemical Brothers, with a sensual, otherworldly energetic fusion of mystical, sensual ambience, and block-rocking dance beats

Apr 20, 2026
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Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware: Superbloom
Apr 20, 2026

New album: Following 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s That! Feels Good!, as well as the successful food podcast Table Manners she hosts alongside her mother, the British pop singer continues to ride the 70s disco ball train, catering to the clever, kitsch and catchy with an ironic wink, adding also a luxuriant garden metaphor

Apr 20, 2026

new songs …

Featured
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Apr 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Metric - Crush Forever
Apr 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Uplifting, effervescent electro-disco-pop by the Toronto indie rock band, with a song vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “my love letter to strong girls in this world”, taken from their recently released 10th album, Romanticize the Dive, out on Metric Music via Thirty Tigers

Apr 29, 2026
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Apr 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child
Apr 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, gripping, visceral folk by the Sheffield singer-songwriter, with a striking number based on an early 19th-century German poem about the fatal story of a child pleading for food, and, following last year’s acclaimed album, Wasteland, also out on Basin Rock, it heralds his upcoming soundtrack for the Hugh Jackman film, The Death of Robin Hood.

Apr 28, 2026
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Apr 27, 2026
Song of the Day - holybones (with Baxter Dury) - SLUGBOY
Apr 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, unsettling, sleazy and strange, this is arrestingly vivid new collaborative single between the clandestine London electronic collective and the downbeat, deep-voiced poetic Londoner, out on Promised Land Recordings

Apr 27, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Hand Habits - Good Person
Apr 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Gentle, droll, humorously self-deprecatingly, and also delicately beautiful, this new experimental folk single by the moniker of Los Angeles singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy addresses the love-hate relationship with making music, out on Fat Possum

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Pigeon - Miami
Apr 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, sunny, upbeawt indie synth-pop with an African twist by the Margate band fronted by Falle Nioke, with flavours of William Onyeabor, Hot Chip and New York 70s disco, heralding their upcoming album OUTTANATIONAL, out on 1 May via Memphis Industries

Apr 25, 2026
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Apr 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Tricky - Out of Place (featuring Marta Złakowska)
Apr 24, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating fusion of beats, orchestral strings and the Bristol trip-hop pioneer’s distinctive, deep, croaky voice, with an emotional reference to his daughter Mina Topley-Bird (1995–2019), and heralding his first solo album for six years, Different When It’s Silent, out on 17 June via False Idols

Apr 24, 2026
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Apr 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Beck - Ride Lonesome
Apr 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, simmering, slow, melancholy and reflective, a surprise single and welcome return by the acclaimed US artist, evoking the haunting, sun-bleached landscapes and musical textures of his 2015 Grammy winning album Morning Phase, out now on Iliad Records/Capitol Records

Apr 23, 2026
Gelli Haha - Klouds.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Song of the Day: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep
Apr 22, 2026

Song of the Day: Described appropriately as somewhere between Studio 42 and Area 51, eccentric, effervescent, spacey, catchy and eclectic disco pop by the Los Angeles artist (aka Angel Abaya, co-written with Sean Guerin) out on Innovative Leisure

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Song of the Day: LEENALCHI 이날치 - Here Comes That Crow 떴다 저 가마귀
Apr 21, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, funky, psychedelic and quirky new work by the seven-piece Seoul-based Korean pansori band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu with the title track of their new EP, out on 12 June via Luaka Bop, and heralding a European and North American tour

Apr 21, 2026
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Apr 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesca Hoop - Big Storm
Apr 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, quirky experimental indie folk-pop by the innovative Manchester-based California artist, featuring a clever video that old footage and Hoop in various vintage guises, heralding her upcoming album Long Wave Home, out on 1 May via Last Laugh / Republic of Music

Apr 20, 2026
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Apr 19, 2026
Song of the Day: Gia Margaret - Alive Inside
Apr 19, 2026

Song of the Day: Delicate, dream-like, reflective experimental folk-pop by the American singer-songwriter and producer from Chicago, heralding her upcoming fourth album, Singing, out on Jagjaguwar

Apr 19, 2026
Prima Queen
Apr 18, 2026
Song of the Day: Prima Queen - Crumb
Apr 18, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, playful, gently humorous, self-deprecating experimental indie pop by the inventive transatlantic duo of Louise Macphail and Kristin McFadden, with a number about having a fragile crush on someone, and their first new music of 2026, out on Submarine Cat Records

Apr 18, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Song thrush 2.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
Apr 23, 2026

Word of the week: An archaic, evocative noun with two connected meanings, originally for the song thrush, then later a textiles industrial frame for spinning, twisting and winding machine for cotton, wool, and other fibres simultaneously

Apr 23, 2026
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Apr 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
Apr 9, 2026

Word of the week: It might sound like the act of abstaining from food, but this noun from derived from undina (Latin unda) meaning wave, refers to mythical, elemental beings associated with water, such as mermaids, and stemming from the alchemical writings of the 16th-century Swiss physician, alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus

Apr 9, 2026
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Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

Word of the week: This ornate, curvaceous, south Indian classical instrument, the saraswati veena, is a special bowl lute with a rich, resonant tone, has 24 copper frets with four playing strings and three drone strings, and is used for Carnatic music

Mar 27, 2026
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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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