• Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact
Menu

Song Bar

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Music, words, playlists

Your Custom Text Here

Song Bar

  • Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact

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

Read more
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
Comment

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 …

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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!

Read more
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
Comment

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 ...

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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 …

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, legacy, inheritance, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Robert Johnson, David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Little Richard, Taylor Swift, Jimmy Chamberlin, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Chris Mullins, television, advertising, Bill Bryson, architecture, archeologoy, archeology, evolution, Ancient Egypt, Barack Obama, racism, slavery, Paul Kingsnorth, William The Conqueror, Domesday Book, Film, politics, UK politics, Billie Jean King, Peter Brook, Lionel Richie, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Mavis Staples, Pop Staples, Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Martha Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III, Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, parents, Hugh Masekela, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Donald Byrd, KRS-One, Rosalía, Lady Gaga, Katie Perry, The Cure, Robert Smith, wills
Comment

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 …

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, psychology, the brain, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, John Keats, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Norman Vincent Peale, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits, Taylor Swift, Dr Seuss, Dolly Parton, Brian Eno, Ada Lovelace, Hedy Lamarr, Doris Day, Suzi Quatro, Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, Vladimir Nabokov, Simone Weil, Frank Lloyd Wright, GK Chesterton, Bryan Cranston, Christian Bale, Malcolm Gladwell, evolution, animals
Comment

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.

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, simplicity, pleasure, Etta Jones, Bim Sherman, Kenny Young, Bridget St John, Hilton Valentine, Paul Williams, Teenage Fanclub, Kathleen Edwards, Over The Rhine, Blossom Dearie, The Ink Spots, Phil Harris, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Dandy Warhols, Jimmy Buffett, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Prince Nico Mbarga, The Mighty Diamonds, Joyce Moreno, Vashti Bunyan, Kim Taylor, Sarah Vaughan, Yo La Tengo, Karine Polwart, Rachel Sermanni, Taylor Swift, Barbryn
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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 …

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags perfection, songs, playlists, Immanuel Kant, David Berman, Silver Jews, Leonard Cohen, Aristotle, Margaret Atwood, Anais Nin, Oscar Wilde, Stradivarius, Bechstein, Les Paul, Martin Guitars, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Leonardo Da Vinci, George Best, Ronnie O'Sullivan, football, snooker, sport, Bob Marley, Leo Tolstoy, Jeannette Walls, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Salvador Dali, Voltaire, Taylor Swift, Ada Lovelace, Audrey Hepburn, Sylvia Plath, paul simon, Simon & Garfunkel
Comment

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 …

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
In avant-garde, blues, classical, colours, country, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, songs, showtime, soundtracks, traditional Tags lullaby, songs, playlists, My Bloody Valentine, Aqualung, Ella Fitzgerald, Eliza Carthy, The Pogues, James Taylor, Magnolia Electric Company, Songs: Ohia, The Pretenders, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Low, Leonard Cohen, Alternative TV, The Teardrop Explodes, Los Lobos, The Harmonians, Lou Reed, Cornershop, Samingad, Mischief Brew, James Yorkston, Kate Rusby, U2, Janis Ian, James, Queens of the Stone Age, Dua Lipa, The Taxpayers, The Smiths, Airiel, Lamb, Alt-J, The Waterboys, The Doors, Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, Counting Crows, Husker Du, The Verve
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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?

Read more
In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, genres, fusion genres, Tom Waits, Kamasi Washington, Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, Albert Finney, Alan Sillitoe, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Gazelle Twin, The Residents, FKA Twigs, Avicii, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, Public Enemy, Chuck D, Henry Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Jessie J, Taylor Swift, Beck, Danny Boyle, Todd Haynes, Fever Ray, Jeanette Winterson, Italo Calvino, Anthony Newley, J Dilla
Comment
Older Posts →
music_declares_emergency_logo.png

Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

Black Lives Matter.jpg

CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY

No results found

Donate
Song Bar spinning.gif

DRINK OF THE WEEK

1990s alcopops


SNACK OF THE WEEK

doritos, skittles snack mashup


New Albums …

Featured
So Help Me God by Kelsey Lu.jpeg
June 13, 2026
Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God
June 13, 2026

New album: Luxuriant, ethereal, dramatic and passionate experimental and chamber dream pop by the American singer-songwriter and cellist, with their second LP, seven years since 2019 debut Blood, with guests including Sampha, Kamasi Washington, Kim Gordon, and co-producer Jack Antonoff

June 13, 2026
Cry Baby by Vince Staples.jpeg
June 10, 2026
Vince Staples: Cry Baby
June 10, 2026

New album: The Compton/ Long Beach, Californian rapper returns with a potent, punchy, overtly political rock-hip hop seventh LP that heavily critiques American society and power, racism, police violence, gun culture, media and the music industry, largely accompanied by a tight, riff-heavy electric guitars, bass and drums

June 10, 2026
Liz Lawrence - Vespers.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Liz Lawrence: Vespers
June 9, 2026

New album: More acoustic, stripped back and lo-fi than her previous four albums, yet with deeply powerful and moving songwriting and performance, the British artist’s latest is suffused with grief, reflection and devotion for the premature loss of her sister Jessie, capturing life and death, poetically expressing devotion and reflection

June 9, 2026
Neon Summer Skin by Bedouine.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Bedouine: Neon Summer Skin
June 9, 2026

New album: A serenely beautiful, but also nostalgically sorrowful fourth LP by American singer-songwriter Azniv Korkejian who has Armenian-Syrian heritage, with songs about displacement and identity, very mindful of Middle Eastern conflicts, atrocities and her family history, while broadening her sound into the lush mould of 1970s Carole King and Laurel Canyon

June 9, 2026
Spatial, No Problem. by Lee %22Scratch%22 Perry & Mouse on Mars.jpeg
June 8, 2026
Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mouse on Mars: Spatial, No Problem
June 8, 2026

New album: This wondrously eclectic and entertaining final official album project by the legendary Jamaican producer and artist, made before his passing in 2021, is a collaboration with the German electronic duo Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, mixing reggae, krautrock, ambient, dub, jazz, New Orleans brass and more, alongside Perry’s distinctive voice

June 8, 2026
Doctrine of Love by Jalen Ngonda.jpeg
June 7, 2026
Jalen Ngonda: Doctrine of Love
June 7, 2026

New album: Following his acclaimed 2023 debut Come Around And Love Me, the American UK-based impressive soul singer’s second LP is another classy collection of beautifully uplifting, sublime Northern soul and Motown-era love songs

June 7, 2026
Death Cab For Cutie - I Built You A Tower.jpeg
June 7, 2026
Death Cab For Cutie: I Built You A Tower
June 7, 2026

New album: Elegantly expressed emotional turmoil unfolds across 11 cleverly crafted songs in this 11th album by the Seattle indie rock band fronted by Ben Gibbard and produced by the brilliant John Congleton around a metaphor for post-marriage grief

June 7, 2026
Zoh Amba - Eyes Full 2.jpeg
June 6, 2026
Zoh Amba: Eyes Full
June 6, 2026

New album: The NY-scene free jazz saxophonist forms an indie-folk-country-rock-muddy-blues trio with fabulously strong results in this passionate, raw, free-flowing debut as guitarist-singer-songwriter, lyrics themed around their original hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, and coloured by Appalachian roots

June 6, 2026
Rumspringa by ear.jpeg
June 5, 2026
ear: Rumspringa
June 5, 2026

New album: Minimalistic, introverted, nuanced quirky laptop experimental electronica by the New York duo Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan, following last year’s debut The Most Dear and the Future, this one named after a a rite of passage for Amish adolescents translated as "running around" in Pennsylvania German

June 5, 2026
Beauty Land by Greg Mendez.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Greg Mendez: Beauty Land
June 3, 2026

New album: A gently ironic title, but no doubting beauty of the sound, reminiscent of the late, great Elliott Smith, this new gem of a lo-fi LP is full of mildly tragic, sensitive, thoughtful 14 short numbers by the Philadelphia high falsetto singer-songwriter

June 3, 2026
For Love of Grace & the Hereafter by Iceage.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Iceage: For Love of Grace & The Hereafter
June 3, 2026

New album: A stylishly ramshackle, brilliantly brash’n’breezy punk-shoegaze feral sixth studio LP, streamlining sounds from 50s rock’n’roll through to early 00s indie by the Copenhagen band fronted by Elias Rønnenfelt, successfully fulfilling their aim on this to be “immediate, urgent, raw and fast” across themes of romantic devotion with violent chaos and nihilism

June 3, 2026
Boards of Canada - Inferno.jpeg
June 2, 2026
Boards of Canada: Inferno
June 2, 2026

New album: Scotland’s hugely influential electronic experimental sibling duo Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin return 13 years after their last LP, Tomorrow’s Harvest, with an epic 18-track collection that dissects the psychology of religion with distorted vocal samples and cut-ups across landscapes of dystopian synth textures and beats

June 2, 2026
Philadelphia's been good to me by Kurt Vile.jpeg
June 2, 2026
Kurt Vile: Philadelphia's Been Good To Me
June 2, 2026

New album: A selection of fond love-letter songs to the city where he was raised and has remained by the 46-year-ld American singer-songwriter, in this deliciously laid back 10th LP of songs of interweaving guitars, folk, rock, country and psychedelia, all with his inimitably relaxed vocal delivery

June 2, 2026
The Boys of Dungeon Lane by Paul McCartney.jpeg
June 1, 2026
Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane
June 1, 2026

New album: His voice now may be thinner and weaker, yet his genius for melody remains in this warm, tender LP, inspired by vivid childhood reminiscences in the Speke area of Liverpool and beyond, with references to friends, parents, girlfriends, his bandmates, and includes a duet with Ringo Starr

June 1, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Interpol.jpeg
June 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Interpol - See Out Loud
June 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Pulsating indie rock by the seasoned New York band fronted by singer Paul Banks and guitarist Daniel Kessler, heralding their upcoming eighth album This Mirror Weighs a Ton, out on 28 August, and newly signed to Partisan Records

June 13, 2026
Jack White - Frozen Charlotte.jpeg
June 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Jack White - Dollar Bill
June 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The White Stripes man returns with a blistering, bluesy rock guitar, Led Zeppelin-ish single, heralding his upcoming seventh solo album, Frozen Charlotte, out on 10 July via Third Man Records

June 12, 2026
Hot Slob by Sylvan Esso.jpeg
June 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Sylvan Esso - Hot Slob
June 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A proudly messy, rowdy, pointed and punchy new indie rock single embracing the spirit and chaos of living in the glitch by the North Carolina duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, here featuring Jenn Wasner and TJ Maiani and out on Psychic Hotline

June 11, 2026
image001 (14).jpg
June 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Rodrigo y Gabriela - Monster
June 10, 2026

Song of the Day: The hugely popular and Grammy-winning Mexico City-raised guitar duo return with a dextrously brilliant new single mixing acoustic and rock styles, heralding their new upcoming new album OurHome out 18 September via ATO Records

June 10, 2026
JJerome87 - The Canyon.jpeg
June 9, 2026
Song of the Day: JJerome87 - Mr. Alligator
June 9, 2026

Song of the Day: A bluesy, smooth, luxuriantly produced Americana number about a dubious authority figure by the British songwriter and musician Joe Newman, frontman of the Mercury winning band alt-J, in this latest single from his debut solo album, The Canyon, out on 26 June via Mushroom Music/ Virgin

June 9, 2026
Balti and Lapgan.jpeg
June 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Baalti & Lapgan - Romance / Ipa Ma
June 8, 2026

Song of the Day: Vibrant, rhythmic, experimental electronica and dance music sampling Bollywood, Bengali disco, Hindustani classical and Gujarati folk by the NY-based pair Jaiveer Singh, Mihir Chauhan, joined by producer Gaurav Nagpa, from their recent album, Threads, out on Azal/FADER

June 8, 2026
Margaret Glaspy 2.jpg
June 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Margaret Glaspy - Michigan
June 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful finger-picked acoustic single by New York-based Californian singer-songwriter about escaping the big city post breakup, heralding her upcoming album I Am Both out on 7 August via ATO

June 7, 2026
LA Priest - Into The Sky video .png
June 6, 2026
Song of the Day: LA Priest - Into The Sky
June 6, 2026

Song of the Day: High-octane electronica and euphoric, dance music by the eccentric, eclectic US artist Sam Eastgate with his first music for two years, and a highly entertaining video, out on Domino Records

June 6, 2026
Ibeyi .jpeg
June 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Ibeyi - Aset / Offerings
June 5, 2026

Song of the Day: A pair of sensual, soulfully vivid new singles partly sung in Spanish, and the first new music for four years from the French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz, heralding their upcoming fourth album, Offering, out on 26 June via AWAL Recordings

June 5, 2026
Seasick Steve - The Last Season of America.jpeg
June 4, 2026
Song of the Day: Seasick Steve - The Last Season of America
June 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A poignant, powerfully gentle folk-blues-Americana protest number by the veteran Calfornian singer-songwriter with an extended metaphor about the state of his country in this title track heralding his upcoming album out on 18 September via Steve’s new label Eastcote Recordings

June 4, 2026
Kristin Hersh.jpeg
June 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Kristin Hersh - Dark Eyed Junco
June 3, 2026

Song of the Day: Following 2023’s Clear Pond Road, the Rhode Island-raised former Throwing Muses artist returns with a powerful, dark, resonant number about her and her brother’s childhood, heralding a 12th solo LP, Sugar On Blackstone, out on 18 August via Fire Records

June 3, 2026
Dead Pioneers - Wagon Burner.jpeg
June 2, 2026
Song of the Day: Dead Pioneers - The Worst Among Us​ (featuring Jason Williamson)
June 2, 2026

Song of the Day: Sharply identifying sources of much of the world’s problems with this catchy, punchy new track, the Pyramid Lake Paiute artist and activist Gregg Deal and his indie-punk Denver, Colorado band are joined here by the Sleaford Mods’ rapper, heralding the upcoming new album Wagon Burner, out on 26 June via Hassle Records

June 2, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Flying saucer.jpeg
June 11, 2026
Word of the week: phialiform
June 11, 2026

Word of the week: This rare but oddly beautiful rare adjective means "saucer-shaped" or having the form of a small, shallow cup or vessel, from the Latin root phiala (a shallow bowl or phial) and the suffix -iform, meaning shape

June 11, 2026
Cypress vine.jpg
June 4, 2026
Word of the week: quamoclit
June 4, 2026

Word of the week: Also known as cypress vine, cardinal creeper, cardinal vine, star glory, star of Bethlehem or hummingbird vine, this striking climbing flower, Ipomoea quamoclit, is native tropical regions of the Americas and has a distinctive trumpet with five-point star-shaped petals

June 4, 2026
Riqq 1.jpeg
May 21, 2026
Word of the week: riqq
May 21, 2026

Word of the week: An appropriately onomatopoeic noun for name for Middle Eastern tambourine, able to produce a range of percussive sounds, and commonly heard in traditional Egyptian, Arab, Greek and Turkish music

May 21, 2026
Man-blowing-a-salpinx.jpg
May 7, 2026
Word of the week: salpinx
May 7, 2026

Word of the week: This very imposing, loud, resonant noun is an ancient Greek, trumpet-like instrument used as a tactical signal on the battle field, as well as to signal the beginnings of gatherings, or of races in sport

May 7, 2026
Song thrush 2.jpeg
April 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
April 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

April 23, 2026

Song Bar spinning.gif

No results found