• 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

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

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, 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
Comment

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 ….

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, 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
Comment

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

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, 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
Comment

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

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, 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
Comment

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 …

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, 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
Comment

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 …

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 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
Comment

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 …

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, 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
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

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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!
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment

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

Read more
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
Comment
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

Prune juice

SNACK OF THE WEEK

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
White Denim - 13.jpeg
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
Asili ya Mama by Hukwe Zawose Foundation.jpeg
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
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig.jpeg
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
Eaves Wilder - Little Miss Sunshine.jpeg
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
Honey Dijon - The Nightlife.jpeg
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
Tiga - HOTLIFE.jpeg
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
Tomora - Come Closer.jpg
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
Jessie Ware - Superbloom.jpeg
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
Bleachers - Everyone For Ten Minutes.jpeg
May 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Bleachers - I'm Not Joking
May 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Featuring harpsichord, Hammond organ, Dobro and more, producer Jack Antonoff and his New Jersey rock band return with a heartfelt love song single heralding the upcoming album, Everyone For Ten Minutes, out on 22 May via Dirty Hit

May 1, 2026
Alewya - Saleh.jpeg
Apr 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - Selah
Apr 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Striking, stylishly agile electronica and dance with a rich African and Arabian influence by the London-based British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, heralding her upcoming album, Zero, out on 26 June via LDN Records

Apr 30, 2026
metric romanticize-the-dive.jpeg
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
Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child single.jpeg
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
holybones with Baxter Dury - SLUGBOY.jpg
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
Hand Habits - Good Person.jpeg
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
Pigeon - Miami.jpeg
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
Tricky - Out of Place.jpeg
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
Beck - Ride Lonsome.jpeg
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
Leenalchi band 2.jpeg
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
Jesca Hoop - Big Storm.jpeg
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

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
Undine - Novella.jpeg
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
Veena player.jpg
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
Snail on a wall.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

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

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

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

Feb 25, 2026
Song Bar spinning.gif
No results found