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Playlists: songs from musicals that transcend their genre

November 5, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A revolutionary show: Les Misérables (with revolving stage)

The curtain rises and and it’s time fabulous show! Picking from the many nominations from last week’s topic, Marco den Ouden directs a set of playlists of transcedant numbers from over a century of song and dance landmarks

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In music, musicals, musical hall, songs, pop, rock Tags musicals, playlists, songs, Paul Robeson, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, Billie Holiday, George Gershwin, Nina Simone, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Patrick Page, Anais Mitchell, Tommy Korberg, Benny Anersson, Bjorn Ulvaus, Tim Rice, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Hugh Masekela, Mbongeni Ngema, Lena Horne, Doris Day, Julie London, Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Bobby Troup, Rumi, Andrew Choi, Gordon McRae, Richard Rodgers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julie Covington, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Fats Waller, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, Keenan Wynn, Betty Hutton, Irving Berlin, The Flesh Failures, Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot, Harve Presnell, Alan J Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Carmen Twillie, Lebo M, Elton John, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, Ejae, KPop Demon Hunters, Marco den Ouden, Treat Williams, Grand Bush, John DeRobertas, Elaine Page, Barbara Dickson, The Doors, Christopher Lee, Muse, Shirley Bassey, Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Connee Boswell, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Noelle Cordier, Cecile McClorin Salvant, Marisha Wallace, Marni Nixon, Ramona Davies, Paul Whiteman, Yvonne Elliman, Fred Astaire, Leo Reisman, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Mary Kay Bergman, Robert Lindsay, Maryann Plunkett, Sarah Vaughan, Newkid, Angela Lansbury, Cliff Edwards, Lady Gaga, Eydie Gorme, Wini Shaw, Colm Wilkinson
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Playlists: songs about thunder and lightning

August 19, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Where will choices strike for this week’s lists?

One strike ncan remind us that nature is really boss, and for a songwriter, thunder and lightning can signify and express many meanings and emotions. Picked from last week’s topic nominations, guest ajostu’s playlists will go down a storm

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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, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, ska, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, Thunder, lightning, storms, weather, meteorology, Feist, David Byrne, St Vincent, Maruja, Witch, Bim Sherman, Eddie Floyd, Big Maybelle, Mahlathini, The Mahotella Queens, Los Relampagos, Cedric Congo meet Mad Professor, Chi Coltrane, Toyah, The 6ths, Claire Grogan, Shawn Phillips, Johann Strauss II, John Philip Sousa, Duke Ellington, Chaka Kahn, The Weather Girls, Leona Lewis, LUMP, Jake Bugg, Bob Lind, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, The Grateful Dead, Micah Thomas, Kit Downes, Oddgeir Berg Trio, ajostu
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Consider this: songs about thinking

January 2, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Welcome to 2025. It’s time to blow a few lyrical and musical thought bubbles and get the grey matter moving. How is thought expressed in song? Is it an inner speech? Is it through the fingers? All this and more with much to think about, here ….

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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, thinking, psychology, Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Confucius, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Thomas Edison, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Gray, Charles Kettering, Mahatma Gandhi, William James, Steven Pinker, Edwin Hubble, Archibald Montgomery Low, future, Nobel Prize, physics, quantum physics, Google, Erwin Schrödinger, Douglas Adams, books, fiim, art, philosophy, language, Jerry Fodor, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Harry Nilsson, Garbage, Nick Drake, Los Campesinos, The Triffids, Barbara Januszkiewicz, Isaac Asimov, Willie Nelson, Yoko Ono, Mary Martin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Wallace Stevens, Goethe, Audrey Hepburn, The Wizard of Oz
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Playlists: itchy and scratchy songs

February 28, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Itching to have a go …

Got that tingle but don’t know how to reach it? Found the right spot but scratching makes it itchier? Inspired by last week’s topic, guest playlister EnglishOutlaw has a variety of melodious ointment to express and find musical relief

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, scratching, itching, skin, Ani di Franco, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, James Domestic, quinnie, Willie Nelson, Harry Belafonte, T. Texas Tyler, Glen Campbell, Clarence Carter, 100º Proof Aged In Soul, Busdriver, Roxanne Shanté, Tarwater, Gabriel Prokofiev, Prokofiev, Peter Gregson, The Caretaker, Butthole Surfers, Lucifer and the Peppermint, The Coasters, Devo, Kid Koala, JJ Burnel, The Crabs, Joan Jett, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Soul Snatchers, DJ Krush, Mista Sinista, Cachao, Darius Jones, Days N' Daze, EnglishOutlaw
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Spinning yarns: songs about fabrics

November 30, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Original material: Sun Ra

Join this potentially long thread of a subject through time to capture the wonderful weft and warp of songs about all kinds of fabrics natural or otherwise – wool, cotton, hemp, linen, nylon, muslin, silk, and much more, clothing to curtains, their manufacture and industry, metaphor, colourful, darker, or lighter associations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, fabrics, cotton trade, cotton, wool, textiles, clothing, Ernest Lehman, Jane Birkin, Willie Nelson, BB King, Jimi Hendrix, history, Ancient Egypt, archeology, evolution, knitting, sewing, silk trade, China, India, William Lee, Queen Elizabeth I, Alec Guinness, Film, Ealing comedy, David Bowie, Grace Jones, Roisin Murphy
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Gut instinct: songs about the stomach and digestive system

June 15, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Belly up? Billie Eilish contemplates some big ones in her video for Bad Guy

It’s our second ‘brain’ a part of the body that rules us more than we think. Whether in literal or metaphorical lyrics, it’s time to pull in or push out, in the form of song suggestions. Inspired by gut feelings, intestines, belly buttons and cultural and scientific inspiration here …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, anatomy, stomach, digestion, Billie Eilish, Sherry A. Rogers, Burt Reynolds, Sharon Osbourne, Joan Rivers, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Napoleon Bonaparte, Robynne Chutkan, Giulia Enders, Ilchi Lee, The Simpsons, Dr Michael Mosley, Theodor Kerckring, science, animals, Ivan Pavlov, Alfred Nobel, Kurt Cobain, Gustave Flaubert, Jean de la Fontaine, Shakira, Reggie Watts, Joan Jett, Paul Thomas Anderson, Iggy Pop
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Pussy-footing? Perhaps it's songs about indecision. Is it?

March 2, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Are you fur staying on the fence?

From the many various situations and vacillations of love to shopping, voting, moving or staying and more, it’s finally time to plump for indecisiveness on song lyrics. The choice of what to nominate is yours. If you can …

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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, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Oscar Levant, indecision, Jane Austen, Marianne Moore, TS Eliot, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Willie Nelson, Tommy Cooper, Elvis Presley, Imelda Marcos, psychology, cats, animals, animal behaviour, Hergé, Helen Eustis, Seneca, Cicero, William James, Bertrand Russell, Terry Pratchett, Napoleon Hill, Cherie Carter-Scott, Martin Luther King, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg, WC Fields, Jimmy Buffett, Shirley Temple, Drew Barrymore, Jean Baudrillard, William Arthur Ward, Ariel Pink, John Cleese
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Spend it wisely: songs about tax and wealth distribution

September 29, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Trickle down economics, all the way down to …

During a time of fiscal crisis, while policy helps the wealthy avoid paying what’s due, here at Song Bar we’re open and pennywise with our playlists. So what contribution might you have on this taxing subject of social justice? Spend your time wisely …

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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, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, money, economics, tax, Marty Rubin, Benjamin Franklin, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan, Herman Wouk, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ronald Reagan, Leona Helmsley, Ken Dodd, Liz Truss, Conservatives, Kwasi Kwarteng, Boston Tea Party, poll tax, Margaret Thatcher, William Pitt The Younger, East India Company, American War of Independence, Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, The Beatles, Thomas Piketty, Noam Chomsky, Nicholas D. Kristof, Donald Trump, Judith Martin, Jimmy Carr, David Cameron, George Carman QC, Chuck Berry, Gary Barlow, Willie Nelson, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, Al Capone, The Rolling Stones, Albert Einstein, Bauvard, Sean Kernan, HL Mencken, Lysander Spooner, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, George Lakoff, Vanessa Williamson
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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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Playlists: songs about wings

August 3, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Crane at sunset

Crane at sunset

Music on the magic of flight to the feathery movement of mythology and morality tales, beautiful murmurations to deadly war munitions, guest playlister Marco den Ouden marvellously spreads his wings from a vast array of song nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Katrin Finch, Sekou Keita, Ziggy Marley, Elizabeth Mitchell, Hans Theesink, The Decemberists, Alan Parsons, Elton John, The D-Day Darlings, Cheap Trick, Joni Mitchell, Edgar Broughton Band, Morphine, Jimmy Buffett, Little Mix, Reverand Utah Smith, Everly Brothers, The Beatles, Barclay James Harvest, The Bells, Abba, Mr. Mister, Marlene Dietrich, Willie Nelson, Matt Anderson, Leon Russell, Malú, Julien Clerc, Peter Hammill, Anne Murray, BYU Women's Chorus, Eric Wiseacre, Nina Simone, Billie Eilish, Van Dyke Parks, Billie Jo Spears, Loretta Lynn, Anastacia, Tom Russell, Ruby and the Romantics, Patti Austin, Little Simz, Paul Robeson, Richard Thompson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Johnny Wiggs, Nils Frahm, Jean Luc Ponty, Mesa Music Consort, Johnny Hodges, Wild Bill Davis, Kitaro, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Socrates, Plato, Mohammed Ali, Salvador Dali, Marco den Ouden, Muhammad Ali
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Pride playlists: songs about gender and LGBTQ+

June 30, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Pride: coming out from black and white

Pride: coming out from black and white

Coded 30s black blues to a 1950s Mexican diva, 1970s and 80s politics to full on out dirty disco in 2021, this week’s guest playlister Pop Off! celebrates a personal birthday with Gay Pride parade that goes beyond the obvious anthems

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, experimental, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, LGBTQ, Gay Pride, gender, David Bowie, Bimini, Chavela Vargas, Christine and the Queens, Chumbawamba, Culture Club, Elvis Presley, Fat White Family, The Gossip, Grace Petrie, Jayne County and the Electric Circus, Jobriath, John Grant, Living Color, Living Colour, Ma Rainey, Michel Sardou, Panic! At The Disco, Peaches, Regina, The Replacements, Shemekia Copeland, Skyhooks, Utada Hikaru, Queen, Black Lips, D.A.F., The Damned, Divine, Dusty Springfield, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, George Michael, Hayley Kiyoko, Indigo Girls, Joan Armatrading, Josie Cotton, K.D. Lang, Katie Pruitt, Pansy Division, Pete Shelley, Revolting Cocks, Shirley Bassey, Scissor Sisters, Studio Killers, Tom Robinson, Teegan and Sarah, Turbonegro, Willie Nelson, Sylvester, Alaska y Dinarama, Against Me!, Melissa Etheridge, Kree Harrison, PopOff!
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Playlists: songs about the brain

April 8, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Einstein’s brain and music. Always connected.

Einstein’s brain and music. Always connected.

Albert Einstein to neuroplasticity, this week’s topic mixes the clever, complex cerebellum with music. Taking in last week’s many nominations, guest Marco den Ouden created a trio of mind-blowing playlists to educate and entertain

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In African, blues, avant-garde, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, metal, music, jazz, instrumentals, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, reggae, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, the brain, psychology, Albert Einstein, René Descartes, Gilbert Ryle, Norman Doidge, Edward Taub, psychiatry, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Weird Al Jankovic, Young MC, African Head Charge, Imogen Heap, Blue Oyster Cult, Ezra Furman, Robyn Hitchcock, Richard Thompson, Joe Diffle, Rihanna, Bill Withers, Madness, Marco den Ouden, The Amboy Dukes, The Waifs, Katie Lee, Willie Nelson, Gabby Young and Other Animals, paul simon, Admiral Freebee, Philip Jeays, Willie Dixon, Enigma, deLillos, Eminem, Laurie Anderson, Matthew Trevino, Elvis Costello, Markley, a Group, Oasis, Tizzy Bac, Banks, Weezer, Starcrawler, Vangelis, Burning Spear, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sun Ra, Leo Kottke, Mogwai, Stanley Clarke Trio, Shakti, Renegade Soundwave, Henry Cow, Chick Corea, Alphonse Mouzon, George Duke, David Alexrod, Nine Inch Nails
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Thumbs up: catch songs about hitchhiking

June 27, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Where to?

Where to?

It’s time to give us all a lift, not only emotionally, but as Song Bar bus sets off on a road trip, picking up all sorts of musicians and other artists, in a quest to find for stories about hitching experiences – good, bad, scary or heartwarming

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In avant-garde, blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, hitchhiking, road songs, Janis Joplin, Vincent Gallo, John Waters, WH Auden, Kenneth Grahame, Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, books, Film, art, John Steinbeck, Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Tony Hawks, Serge Oldenburg, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, Phil Brown, Hunter S. Thompson, Jackie Lomax, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Marvin Gaye, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, Eminem, Lou Reed, Ruth Weiss, Bjork, Ursula K. Le Guin, Warren Zevon, Mama Cass Elliot, The Mamas and Papas, Kris Kristofferson, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Les Paul, John Cage, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, The Beatles, Roger Waters, Pink Floyd, John Sayles, Terry Gilliam, Claudette Colbert, Clark Cable, Rutger Hauer, Tom Robbins, Tom Waits
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Playlists: songs about determination

November 14, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Roy Orbison: he drove all night …

Roy Orbison: he drove all night …

From personal obstacles to the wider struggle in war, this week’s selections by guest playlister Marco den Ouden meet the challenges of hundreds of nominations with wonderful vim, vigour and variety

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In comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, determination, John Parr, Babymetal, Public Service Broadcasting, Pink Floyd, Larry Williams, Johnny Watson, The Staple Singers, Bonobo, Speech Debelle, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Roy Orbison, Cowboy Mouth, Jonny Lang, Queen, Bill Conti, Roy Castle, Fun, Jon Hopkins, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Peter Tosh, Matthew Wilder, Frank Sinatra, Peter Sarstedt, Richard Earnshaw, Ursula Rucker, Roy Ayers, Iron Maiden, Andre Williams, The Sadies, Primal Scream, Keni Burke, Christine Aguilera, Willie Nelson, John McCutcheon, Toto, FKA Twigs, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Imagine Dragons, Kelly Clarkson, Marco den Ouden, Marconius
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Joint effort? Let's weed the stoned grass: songs about marijuana / cannabis

June 7, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Louis Armstrong liked a good blow now and then

Louis Armstrong liked a good blow now and then

Mary Jane to hash, pot to pipes, it's time to take a toke on songs that hit on this long-established recreational drug and painkiller, from its many names to the effect it has on mind, society and music

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, jazz, metal, music, musicals, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, marijuana, cannabis, drugs, medicine, health, Bob Marley, Louis Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, John Lennon, Canada, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bill Hicks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charles Baudelaire, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, William Burroughs, Oliver Sacks, Heroditus, Rastafari, George Washington, Film, Richard Linklater, Jack Nicholson, Cheech & Chong, Richard Neville, Withnail & I, Bruce Robinson
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Playlists: songs about immortality and longevity

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

A voice everlasting: Mahalia Jackson

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

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

October 25, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Beyoncé ... imagining herself as a boy, if that's not a stretch …

Beyoncé ... imagining herself as a boy, if that's not a stretch …

If only, maybe or perhaps it happened differently? From Beyoncé to Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian, this week's guest playlister EnglishOutlaw skilfully treads alternative paths inspired by last week's song nominations

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In indie, folk, country, music, playlists, rock, punk, songs, soul, comedy Tags songs, playlists, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Belle & Sebastian, The Actress, Barenaked Ladies, The Beach Boys, Glasvegas, Hello Saferide, Paul Kelly, Moddi, The Steeldrivers, Beyonce, Tim Minchin, Flight of the Conchords, Pulp, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Call, Willie Nelson, Judy Garland, Dusty Springfield, John Lennon, Gene Pitney, Counting Crows, Olu Dara, Tom Petty, Tyla J Pallas, EnglishOutlaw
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Playlists: songs about asking, begging or pleading

September 27, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Good call … the Undertones are requesting you to pick up the phone.

Good call … the Undertones are requesting you to pick up the phone.

Undertones to Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen, if you're asking for two excellent playlists, then this week's guest writer angryirishpunk, inspired by last week's topic, has all he answers

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In music, playlists, rock, songs, folk, hip hop, indie, country, soul, punk Tags Songs, playlists, asking, begging, pleading, Franz Ferdinand, Lady Gaga, Arctic Monkeys, The Undertones, Angel Haze, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, Jackie Leven, Alabama 3, The Mock Turtles, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, James Blake, RZA, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mekons, Johnny Cash, The Cryin' Shames, Judy Clay, William Bell, The Twilight Singers, Cadaver Club, Splodgenessabounds, The Four Tops, Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Mindy Smith, A Tribe Called Quest, Ex-Cathedra, Weezer, angryirishpunk
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Playlists: songs and music for funerals

July 12, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Love was good to him: Johnny Cash, set to rest next to his beloved June Carter Cash

Love was good to him: Johnny Cash, set to rest next to his beloved June Carter Cash

Cash to Cohen, Brown to Bhundu Boys and Fauré's farewell, this week's guest playlister Uncleben lays to rest a sublime set of beautiful goodbyes, moved by many great nominations from last week's topic

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In music, playlists, songs Tags Songs, poetry, bereavement, death, Stephen Spender, Gabriel Fauré, Todd Rundgren, Joe Brown, Laura Nyro, Johnny Cash, Kermit Ruffins, The Bhundu Boys, The Allman Brothers Band, Leonard Cohen, Rosanne Cash, Richard Strauss, Van Morrison, Roy Bailey, The Choir of King's College Cambridge, This Mortal Coil, Nina Simone, The Dears, Willie Nelson, Band of Horses, The Grateful Dead, Macy Gray, Yes, The Rankin Family, Carlos Gardel, Robert Wyatt, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ohia, Uncleben
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Definitely needed for 2017: positive songs

December 29, 2016 Peter Kimpton
Eric and Ernie

Eric and Ernie

It's a challenging year ahead, so to wish you a happy one and help prepare, come to the Song Bar NY party to charge ourselves up with songs, in style or lyrics, that bring a positive perspective

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Tags Songs, music, Morecambe & Wise, Johnny Mercer, biochemistry, magneticism, religion, exercise, Scientology, depression, climate change, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, The Beat, Johnny Marr, The Smiths, Morrissey, Queen Latifah, Mavis Staples, Kobe Bryant, Historical Thesaurus, Henry Rollins, John Lydon, Vincent Van Gogh, David Bowie
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CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY


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'DRINK' OF THE WEEK

Lucky 13 Seed Co. romulan ale


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Baker's Dozen (+) mini donuts


New Albums …

Featured
Kim Gordon - Play Me album.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Kim Gordon: Play Me
Mar 13, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s The Collective, the former Sonic Youth frontwoman’s fourth solo LP continues her extraordinary experimental, innovative journey, moving to more melodic beats 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
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Mar 5, 2026
DEADLETTER: Existence Is Bliss
Mar 5, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

Mar 3, 2026
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Mar 3, 2026
Buck Meek: The Mirror
Mar 3, 2026

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

Mar 3, 2026
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Mar 1, 2026
Mitski: Nothing’s About To Happen To Me
Mar 1, 2026

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

Mar 1, 2026
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Mar 1, 2026
Gorillaz: The Mountain
Mar 1, 2026

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

Mar 1, 2026

new songs …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mar 9, 2026
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Mar 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Aldous Harding - One Stop
Mar 8, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mar 5, 2026

Word of the week

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

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

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

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

Feb 25, 2026
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Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

Word of the week: A form or hammered dulcimer, this traditional Korean instrument, with a flat and trapezoidal shape, has seven sets of four metal strings hit by thin bamboo stick

Feb 12, 2026
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Jan 22, 2026
Word of the week: zumbador
Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand

Jan 22, 2026
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Jan 8, 2026
Word of the week: aspectabund
Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth

Jan 8, 2026

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