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Playlists: songs about the colour grey

March 5, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Assorted greys

Darker or lighter, a broad wave of moods, emotions, contexts, and objects come into focus with this insiightful selections as guest of the week ajostu examines this colour in lyrics, from a slate of suggestions in last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, colours, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, colours, grey, Tomas Tranströmer, Rufus Wainwright, Leadbelly, Paranoid Visions, Kathryn Williams, Neill MacColl, Saint Etienne, New Young Pony Club, Felt, Stella Donnelly, Lior, U2, Soccer Mommy, Richard Thompson, XTC, Charlotte Hatherlay, Moderate Rebels, YMO, Abyssanctum, VNV Nation, LCD Soundsystem, When, Spirit, Tokiko Kato, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Kenshi Yonezu, Masaki Suda, Ichiko Aoba, Jan Garbarek, ajostu
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Playlists: songs about paths, tracks, trails and roads

January 29, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Follow this musical trail ….

From tiny woodland byways to endless stretching highways, across history and continents, Devon to Scotland, America to Australia, guest playlister Shiv Sidecar takes us on a fabulous musical journey inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, country, dance, drone, dub, exotica, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, roads, paths, trails, Nick Drake, Archie Roach, Linkin Park, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Alasdair Roberts, The Aislers Set, Buddy Miles, Mazzy Star, Pavlov's Dog, Show Of Hands, The Move, The Triffids, Dengue Fever, Metric, Ivor Cutler, The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Midnight Oil, Japanese Breakfast, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kevin Morby, Jackie Leven, Karine Polwart, Lal Waterson, Robb Johnson, JJ Cale, Bo Diddley, U-Roy, Billy Butler, Shocking Blue, The Factory, David Byrne, Nina Nastasia, Dan Fogelberg, Lightnin' Hopkins, PJ Harvey, Cult Maniax, Lhasa, Ralph MacDonald, Super Furry Animals, trees, The Battered Ornaments, The Gun Club, Plainsong, XTC, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv, Gillian Welch
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Playlists: songs about happiness

July 17, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Doubly happy: Stevie Wonder jokes around with a wax double of himself at London Piccadilly’s Rock Circus in 1989

It’s an emotional state that comes in many forms and has attracted waves of joyful nominations. Guest playlister of the week MussoliniHeadkick picks a selection that will give a spring to your step and a leap to your heart with a personal expression of love

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, songs, soul, ska, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, happiness, psychology, relationships, Burning Spear, Brian Power, Lucita Jules, Jackie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Tim Buckley, David Sylvian, Mazzy Star, Goldfrapp, Alison Goldfrapp, Gordon Haskell, Orange Juice, Molly Drake, Perry Como, Nancy Sinatra, Elmore James, The Beatles, The Doobie Brothers, The Delays, Nirvana, XTC, The Shaggs, The Flatmates, BMX Bandits, Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, The Mighty Lemon Drops, My Bloody Valentine, MussoliniHeadkick
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Playlists: 7-inch singles that differ from album versions

June 5, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Singularly different: The Undisputed Truth

Sometimes they were an inspiration improvement, sometimes an editing and style aberration. Picking out the differences from last week’s singular topic, guest playlister ParaMhor cleverly chooses the contrasts for better or worse

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags The Primitives, The Blue Hearts, The Move, The Beach Boys, Buddy Rich, Cathy Rich, David Bowie, The The, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Undisputed Truth, The Rolling Stones, Belle & Sebastian, Herbie Hancock, The Grateful Dead, Wire, XTC, The Go-Betweens, The Beatles, Doll By Doll, Roxy Music, The Isley Brothers, Ringo Sheena, Van Der Graaf Generator, Velvet Underground, Miles Davis, Boston, The Who, Subway Sect, singles, vinyl, vinyl records, ParaMhor
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Playlists: songs about treasure

February 14, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Fatoumata Diawara

It could be pilfered by pirates or dug up by explorers, but treasure comes in many forms. In Song Bar’s Eighth Birthday week, guest ajostu finds many sorts of pieces of eight from around the globe in a truly celebratory set of lists inspired by a topic to treasure

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, krautrock, jazz, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags John Williams, Troy Banarzi, The Full English, The Church, XTC, Richard Thompson, 17 Hippies, Astrud Gilberto, The Black Sorrows, The Pilgram Brothers, Johnny Flynn, Fatoumata Diawara, Cowboy Junkies, Joni Mitchell, Sade, Chris Squire, Our Last Night, Howling Bells, Culture, The Maytals, Pat Thomas, Linda Lewis, Traffic, Gwenno, Peter Hammill, Alan Parsons, Todd Sickafoose, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, ajostu
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Playlists: songs about gravity

November 8, 2023 Peter Kimpton

One giant leap, Felix Baumgartner returns to Earth from 24 miles up, 2012

Recurring dreams, space, tides and the Moon, or perhaps a very weighty animal? Gravity t’s a major force that controls us all, but channelled into playlists by guest of the week George Boyland from last week’s topic, it’s sure to go down very well …

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, gravity, Tankus The Henge, Erland Cooper, Ivor Cutler, John Mayer, Prince Far I, The Arabs, Tarpeian Rock, Gorillaz, Bootsy Collins, Kelli Ali, Nada Surf, James Brown, Desmond Dekker, XTC, Lau Nau, Peter Hammill, Ben Cox, Jesse Winchester, Gustav Holst, Robert Wyatt, Editors, King Crimson, Captain Chris Hadfield, Space, The Rolling Stones, Pylon, Frank Black, The Folk Implosion, REM, George Boyland, PJ Harvey
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Brief notes: songs inventively using acronyms

October 5, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Cat scan?

They’re a very common part of our language, but in lyrics or titles where are they consciously and creatively used? With meaning instantly recognisable or more cryptically unpacked, their sound might perhaps be used musically or to help create memorable lines or rhymes

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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, acronyms, language, Dr Seuss, Milton Friedman, media, military, technology, Ancient Rome, religion, second world war, Film, Robin Williams, radio, lonely hearts ads, internet, Abba, XTC, Sparks, Franz Ferdinand, REM
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Tip of the iceberg: songs about the id, ego and superego

September 21, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Freud’s famous paper was published exactly a century ago

It’s time to wrestle with the conflicts and complexities of the conscious and sub-conscious mind captured in song lyrics. From that famous paper published by Freud a century ago, there’s also inspiration here in film, literature, comedy, musicians and more …

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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 Sigmund Freud, psychology, psychoanalysis, John Lennon, Alanis Morissette, Edward de Bono, Bob Dylan, Shannon L Adler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Barry Gibb, Robert Half, Socrates, Hugh Prather, Robert Louis Stevenson, Film, film soundtrack, documentary, Adam Curtis, Edward Bernays, advertising, propaganda, George Michael, Arlo Guthrie, Barbra Streisand, Kanye West, Jamie Hewlett, Michel de Montaigne, Adam Smith, Jim Carrey, Andy Kaufman, The Simpsons, Alfred Hitchcock, Slavoj Žižek, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Burgess, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joaquin Phoenix, Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, David. Bowie, XTC, Andy Partridge, Paul McCartney, Prince, The New York Dolls, David Johanson, Sun Ra, Eminem, 2pac Shakur, NIcki Minaj
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Playlists: songs about the colour pink

November 30, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Yes, b’Lady: FAB 1 - Lady Penelope pink Rolls Royce inspired by Thunderbirds

Flowers, champagne, the moon, and even an elephant, it’s a colour that covers many shades and contexts, and from many blossoms of nominations, you’ll be tickled pink by the playlists perfectly arranged by guest of the week Severin

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, comedy, 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, pink, colours, The Sorrows, Nick Drake, Let's Eat Grandma, Louis Armstrong, Edith Piaf, Meat Puppets, Tash Sultana, Lena, Malia, Joe Liggins and the Honeydrippers, GNOD, Yanawaraba, The Ditty Bops, Red Nichols, The Wabash Dance Orchestra, Madder Rose, Reba McEntire, Lệ Thanh, Nicki Parrott, Prince, XTC, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bruce Springsteen, The National, Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones, Procol Harum, Good Shoes, Earl Bosic, severin, Severin
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Playlists: songs about space travel

November 23, 2022 Peter Kimpton

After the many posts … vintage posters

When last week’s topic launched, it went off like a rocket - with hundreds of nominations. Now, out of this musical astral shower, guest playlister Shiv Sidecar has mapped out a song constellation that’s out of this world …

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In avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Space, space travel, playlists, The Byrds, Ray Anderson & The Home Folks, Public Service Broadcasting, Labrinth, Pharoah Sanders, Judee Sill, Elton John, Brett Smiley, The Imagined Village, Hen Ogledd, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Mekons, The Honeymoon Killers, The Blue Men, Chris Kenner, Spiritualized, Broadcast, Lothar and the Hand People, Weather Report, Janelle Monae, Peter Gabriel, Shudder To Think, Automatic Man, Fu Manchu, Blink-182, Teenage Fanclub, Chungking, Pearls Before Swine, Curt Boettcher, Wonky Alice, Children Collide, Soundhog, T.P. Orchestre Poly Rhythmo De Colonou, Rezillos, PJ Harvey, XTC, Amon Düül II, Kendra Smith, Game Theory, The Kaleidoscope, ShivSidecar
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Playlists: songs about life in the 19th century

August 10, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Let’s dance through some 19th century history ….

It brought enduring global change, from the Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War and abolition of slavery. Inspired by last week’s song nominations, guest Shiv SideCar captures the century in a series of historic playlists

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, dub, experimental, folk, electronica, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, United States of America, American Civil War, slavery, Babe Ruth, London, Merthyr Rising, emigration, Ireland, Germany, France, Paul Cezanne, Battle of Waterloo, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Burning Spear, Woody Guthrie, RIchie Havens, Clutch, Sound Experience, Elton John, Rosanne Cash, Etta James, Billy Joel, XTC, The Fall, Chumbawamba, Megson, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Pogues, David Bridie, Amon Düül II, Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers, Neil Innes, Brigitte Fontaine, Abba, Ed Harcourt, The Charlatans (US), Warren Zevon, The Unthanks, Public Image Limited, Titus Andronicus, Dead Moon, Culture, Lake Ruth, Jad & David Fair, Thee Headcoatees, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Long Ryders, Blyth Power, Al Stewart, Madness, Paul Roland, Meic Stevens, The Would-Be-Goods, The Teardrop Explodes, New Model Army, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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Playlists: songs that reference fairytales

April 26, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Handy: which band was inspired by the rather cutting-edge Struwwelpeter story?

Enchanting, mysterious, beautiful, crazy, or the downright cruel, the imagination doesn’t come any more vivid in fairytales. Woven from last week’s nominations, guest Loud Atlas spins a set of sharp tales into superbly absorbing playlists

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, fairytales, fairy tales, Morgen, Captain Beefheart, The Wizard of Oz, The Sham-Ettes, Little Red Riding Hood, Milton Nascimento, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Gecko, Rapunzel, XTC, Struwwelpeter, Anita Baker, Lana Del Rey, Ba Cissoko, Al 'Jazzbo' Collins, Dotterine, Emily Portman, Jellyfish, Renaissance, Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs, The Blue Hearts, John Holt, James Taylor, Ruth B, Miles Davis, Shorty Rogers, Stan Freeburg, Danny Kaye, Cursive, Jill Freeman, John Otway, Sinead O'Connor, Ariana Grande, John Legend, The Bee Gees, Salem Ilese, Javier Navarette, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: instruments played by hand-held hammers and mallets

January 11, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Evelyn Glennie in action. She makes an even younger arrival on this week’s lists …

Marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, balafon and more, from 1930s jazz heyday to the present, from full fusion to bare bones tradition and across every imaginable genre, guest Nilpferd feels the vibes with a wonderful range of playlists picked from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, jazz, instrumentals, indie, funk, folk, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags playlists, songs, instrumentals, instruments, idiophones, metallophones, xylophones, glockenspiels, balafons, marimbas, vibraphones, The Supremes, The Rolling Stones, XTC, Andy Partridge, Jaco Pastorius, Cults Percussion Ensemble, Ballaké Sissoko, The Triffids, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Alain Romans, Bjork, Analog Player's Society, Missia Saran Dioubate, Famoro Dioubate, Steve Reich, JJ Jackson, Cal Tjader, Panic! At The Disco, dEUS, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, A Hawk and a Handsaw, Violent Femmes, Marvin Suggs and the Muppophones, Benestrophe, Test Dept, Toni Perttula, José Mercé, Nilpferd
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Playlists: songs about gratitude

January 5, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Earth, Wind, Fire and a whole lot more to be thankful for …

A truly upbeat and positive way to start off 2022, a deliciously mix of disco, funk and pop, folk and more from Detroit to Scotland, Chile to Africa and beyond, picked by guest DJ PopOff! from last week’s many song suggestions

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In African, avant-garde, blues, dance, country, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, ska, showtime, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, gratitude, Andrew Gold, Abba, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, The Whitlams, Horace Silver, William DeVaughn, Earth Wind & Fire, Violetta Parra, Peter Hammill, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mischief Brew, Alanis Morissette, Kate Rusby, The Proclaimers, Stromae, Bjork, Adeva, Fatoumata Diawara, King Sunny Ade, Tania Maria, Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, Natalie Cole, Billy Paul, The Grateful Dead, Neil Michael Hagerty, TItan Go Kings, Beastie Boys, The Beastie Boys, Teenage Fanclub, XTC, YUI, Sinead O'Connor, Bat For Lashes, Christina Aguilera, Grigory Leps, Timor Rodriguez, Dido, Markus Reuter, The Hooters, PopOff!
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Playlists: songs about crowds

December 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton

La Foule: Edith Piaf sings to an enraptured gathering in 1951

Forming an orderly queue or going mob-handed in an unruly bunch, it’s time to join the throng in enjoying these fabulous selections by guest Loud Atlas, picked from an even bigger crowd of numbers from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, country, classical, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, crowds, society, psychology, Blue Oyster Cult, Joni Mitchell, The Human League, James Taylor, XTC, Edith Piaf, The Jam, The Ink Spots, Little River Band, Betty Everett, bread, Mbongeni Ngema, REM, Regurgitator, Bryan Ferry, The Grateful Dead, Kaiser Chiefs, Alice Donut, The Cramps, The Saw Doctors, Lesley Gore, The Kinks, Johnny Cash, Burning Spear, Ben Folds Five, Kimya Dawson, The Ruts, Mickey Gilley, The Har-You Percussion Group, Ramsey Lewis, Ramsey Trio, Joe Satriani, Tom Odell, Allison Pontier, Ashleigh Frieze, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs about playing cards

August 17, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Ace solos …

Ace solos …

What will be turned? High rollers to full houses, this week the deck, and the record player, is stacked with wonderful winners as guest George Boyland plays his hand from a selection of nominations from last week’s topic

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In blues, avant-garde, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playing cards, games, The Cuban Brothers, Ronnie Lane, Slim Chance, Prefab Sprout, Ray Charles, Max Romeo, Etta James, The White Stripes, Little Feat, Stephen Stills, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joni Mitchell, Offa Rex, Peter Hammill, Spirit, Boogie Down Productions, Anti-Nowhere League, Fairport Convention, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Deadead, Sippie Wallace, Holly Golightly, Blind Willie McTell, XTC, Streetwalkers, George Boyland
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Playlists: songs about coins

July 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton
The-Royal-Mint-David-Bowie-coins-uk-1369143.jpeg

Heavenly pennies to begged 10p, stolen florins to counterfeit double-dealing, this week we coin in the songs courtesy of a shower of suggestions from last week’s topic, out of which guest George Boyland picks a shiny set of collectibles

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In blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, folk, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, coins, The Ejected, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smashing Pumpkins, XTC, Billie Holiday, Iron And Wine, The Pogues, Estrella Morente, Big Mama Thornton, Colin Lucas, Sir Vincent Lone, Esperanza Spalding, Misty in Roots, Ernest Ranglin, Georgia Satellites, Ray Charles, Gaunt, Prince Buster, Pink Floyd, The Rotations, Joe Walsh, Albert Hammond, The Grateful Dead, Husker Du, Chumbawamba, Steve Earle, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Boogertown Gap, George Boyland
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Playlists: songs about edges, ledges and thresholds

January 26, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Billy Mackenzie: a life on the edge

Billy Mackenzie: a life on the edge

From a thin razor to wide borders on the fringes of the world, from mental thresholds to frenzied fault lines, all inspired by many nominations on last week’s topic guest playlister Maki takes the topic to the musical cutting edge

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, edges, thresholds, Defunkt, Madonna, Billy Mackenzie, Einstürzende Neubauten, Radiohead, Peter Hammill, Vainica Doble, The Doobie Brothers, BB King, Yes, Richard Hawley, Fairport Convention, The Oysterband, The Grateful Dead, Culture, Los Mocosos, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, U2, XTC, The Go-Betweens, Milltown Brothers, Bernardo Bonezz
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Playlists: songs about fallen 'heroes'

July 1, 2020 Peter Kimpton
A new American discovery. Columbus, not as heroic as once thought, kisses the dirt again

A new American discovery. Columbus, not as heroic as once thought, kisses the dirt again

Political figures to perverted pop stars, sport stars gone sour to disappointing dads, guest ShivSidecar picks playlists that bring a whole rogues’ gallery of favourites perfectly into perspective, all inspired by last week’s nominations

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In blues, country, avant-garde, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, songs, soul, traditional, ska, rocksteady, rock, punk Tags songs, playlists, heroism, scandal, Randy Newman, Dick Gaughan, 10000 Maniacs, Woody Guthrie, The Herd, Wolfgang Press, Luke Haines, The Impressions, Mark Lanegan, The Who, John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band, Paul Kelly, The Redskins, Willie Nile, The Bangles, Felt, Sonic Youth, Opal, Tahures Zurdos, Johnny Cash, Big Mama Thornton, Ann Peebles, Teenage Fanclub, The Mountain Goats, Microdisney, XTC, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ed Banger
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Playlists: songs about spring cleaning and household chores

April 15, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Sensational song suction: a huge hoover-up of hope in these week’s big playlists

Sensational song suction: a huge hoover-up of hope in these week’s big playlists

Spring cleaning takes energy, but the results can also generate even more. The same applies to this week’s serenely and clean playlists chosen by guest DJ Bear, who whizzes around the Bar with a hopeful heart and a spring in his step

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, spring clean, household chores, John Prine, Miranda Lambert, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Dr John, Roche Sisters, John Handy, Snuff, Poison Girls, Suzi Quatro, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul Kelly and the Dots, Paul Kelly, John Cooper Clarke, XTC, The Au Pairs, Shonen Knife, B-52s, Robert Palmer, John McCutcheon, The Skatalites, Prince Buster, Fats Waller, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, Duke Ellington, Sidney Lipton & His Grosvenor House Dance Orchestra, George Formby, Adriana Caselotti, Cock 'n' Bull, The Corrs, Peggy Seeger, Maria Muldaur, Van Morrison, Jayme Kelly Curtis, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Haley and the Comets, The Coasters, The Spaniels, Sammy Jones, Ike and Tina Turner, Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Betty Wright, Laura Lee, Albert Collins, Wailing Souls, Tapper Zukie, The Philadelphia International All Stars, The Average White Band, Marcia Ball, Helen Boulding, DJ Bear, PopOff!
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New Albums …

Featured
Devotion & The Black Divine by anaiis.jpeg
Dec 2, 2025
anaiis: Devotion & The Black Divine
Dec 2, 2025

New album: Following a summer Song of the Day - Deus Deus, a review of the autumn release and third LP by the London-based French-Senegalese singer-songwriter of resonantly beautiful, dynamic, sensual soul, gospel, R&B and experimental and chamber pop, with themes of new motherhood, uncertainty, religion, self-love and acceptance

Dec 2, 2025
De La Soul - Cabin In The Sky.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
De La Soul: Cabin In The Sky
Nov 26, 2025

New album: The hip-hop veterans return with their first without, yet including the voice of, and a tribute to, founding member Trugoy the Dove, AKA Dave Jolicoeur who passed away in 2023, alongside many hip-hop luminary guests, with trademark playful skits, and all themed around the afterlife

Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats- Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
Nov 26, 2025

New album: An evocative musical journey of a concept album by the indie-folk band from Claremont, California, fronted by singer-songwriter John Darnielle, based on a dream of his in 2023 about a voyage to a fictional island by the titular captain, charting adventure, wonder and tragedy

Nov 26, 2025
Allie X - Happiness Is Going To Get You.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
Allie X: Happiness Is Going To Get You
Nov 26, 2025

New album: A hugely entertaining, witty, droll, inventive, chamber and synth-pop fourth LP with a goth twist by the charismatic and theatrical Canadian artist Alexandra Hughes, who brings paradox and dark themes through sounds that include string quartet, harpsichord, classical and pure pop piano with killer lyrics

Nov 26, 2025
Tortoise - Touch.jpeg
Nov 25, 2025
Tortoise: Touch
Nov 25, 2025

New album: A welcome return with a cinematic and mesmeric groove-filled first studio LP in nine years, and the eighth over all by the eclectic Chicago post-rock/jazz/krautrock multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker

Nov 25, 2025
What of Our Nature by Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover: What of Our Nature
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Beautiful, precise, poignant and poetic new folk numbers inspired by the life and music style of Woody Guthrie as the Portland, Oregon and New Yorker, now Portland, Maine-based singer-songwriters bring a delicious duet album, alternating and sharing songs covering a variety of forever topical social issues

Nov 24, 2025
Tranquilizer by Oneohtrix Point Never.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Ambient, otherworldly, cinematic, mesmeric, and at times very odd, the Brooklyn-based electronic artist and producer Daniel Lopatin returns with a new nostalgia-based concept – constructing tracks from lost-then-refound Y2K CDs of 1990s and early 2000s royalty-free sample electronic sounds

Nov 24, 2025
Iona Zajac - Bang.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Iona Zajac: Bang
Nov 24, 2025

New album: A powerful, stirring, passionate and mature debut LP by the 29-year-old Glasgow-based Scottish singer with Polish and Ukrainian heritage who has toured as the new Pogues singer, and whose alternative folk songs capture raw emotions and the experience of modern womanhood, with echoes of PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Aldous Harding and Lankum

Nov 24, 2025
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Nov 19, 2025
Austra: Chin Up Buttercup
Nov 19, 2025

New album: This fifth studio LP as Austra by the Canadian classically trained vocalist and composer Katie Stelmanis brings beautiful electronica-pop and dance music, and has a bittersweet ironic title – a caustically witty reference to societal pressure to keep smiling despite a devastating breakup

Nov 19, 2025
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Nov 18, 2025
Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World
Nov 18, 2025

New album: A timelessly classy release by the veteran soul, blues and gospel singer and social activist from the Staples Singers, in a release of wonderfully moving and poignant cover versions, beautifully interpreting works by artists including Tom Waits, Curtis Mayfield, Leonard Cohen, and Gillian Welch

Nov 18, 2025
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Nov 18, 2025
Stella Donnelly: Love and Fortune
Nov 18, 2025

New album: Finely crafted, stripped back musical simplicity combined with complex melancholic emotions mark out this beautiful, poetic, and deeply personal third folk-pop LP by the Australian singer-songwriter reflecting on the past and present

Nov 18, 2025
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Nov 17, 2025
Picture Parlour: The Parlour
Nov 17, 2025

New album: Following last year’s EP Face in the Picture, a fabulously stylish, smart, swaggering glam-rock-pop debut LP by the Manchester-formed, London-based band fronted by the impressively raspy, gritty, vibratro delivery of Liverpudlian vocalist and guitarist Katherine Parlour and distinctive riffs from North Yorkshire-born guitar Ella Risi

Nov 17, 2025
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Nov 16, 2025
FKA twigs: EUSEXUA Afterglow
Nov 16, 2025

New album: Springing from her much lauded third LP Eusexua, out in January this year, and following a hugely successful and spectacular tour, the innovative British experimental pop artist, dancer and producer extends her palette of ethereal, otherworldly and sensual creations in this new, more carnal, harder, beat-filled parallel release

Nov 16, 2025
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Nov 15, 2025
Celeste: Woman of Faces
Nov 15, 2025

New album: The outstanding British singer returns, a long four years after her acclaimed debut Not Your Muse, with a classy, passionate set of nine, simmering, smoky, rippling dramatic, timeless numbers in which her vocal prowess is magnificently on show on songs playing on the theme of self and identity

Nov 15, 2025

new songs …

Featured
The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Song of the Day: The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart
Dec 4, 2025

Song of the Day: Despite the title, this new double-A single (with Friday I’m Gonna Love You) has a wonderfully uplifting guitar-jangling beauty, with echoes of The Byrds and Stone Roses, but is of course the brilliant 60s and 70s retro sound of the Long Island brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario, out on Captured Tracks

Dec 4, 2025
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Dec 3, 2025
Song of the Day: Alewya - Night Drive (featuring Dagmawit Ameha)
Dec 3, 2025

Song of the Day: A sensual, stylish, dreamy electro-pop single by the striking British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, musically influenced by her rich Ethiopian-Egyptian heritage and early childhood upbringings in Saudi Arabia and Sudan

Dec 3, 2025
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Dec 2, 2025
Song of the Day: Radio Free Alice - Rule 31
Dec 2, 2025

Song of the Day: Stirring, passionate indie postpunk by the band based in Melbourne, Australia, with echoes of The Cure’s core sound, new wave, and 90s indie-rock influences, and out on Double Drummer

Dec 2, 2025
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Dec 1, 2025
Song of the Day: Sailor Honeymoon - Armchair
Dec 1, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy, punchy, fuzz-guitar indie rock with a droll lyrical delivery and some echoes of Wet Leg come in this new single by the trio from Seoul, South Korea, out on Good Good Records

Dec 1, 2025
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Nov 30, 2025
Song of the Day: Ellie O'Neill - Bohemia
Nov 30, 2025

Song of the Day: A beautiful, poetic finger-picking debut folk single with a mystical, distantly stormy twist by the Dublin-based Irish singer-songwriter from County Meath, out now on St Itch Records

Nov 30, 2025
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Nov 29, 2025
Song of the Day: Danalogue - Sonic Hypnosis
Nov 29, 2025

Song of the Day: A full flavour of future-past with mesmeric, euphoric retro acid house and electronica in this new single by Daniel Leavers, producer and the founding member of The Comet Is Coming and Soccer96, out now on Castles In Space

Nov 29, 2025
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Nov 28, 2025
Song of the Day: Cardinals - Barbed Wire
Nov 28, 2025

Song of the Day: Another striking, passionate, punchy, catchy single by the Irish postpunk/indie-folk-rock band from Cork, heralding their upcoming debut album, Masquerade, out on 13 February via So Young Records

Nov 28, 2025
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Nov 27, 2025
Song of the Day: Frank Popp Ensemble (with Paul Weller) - Right Before My Eyes
Nov 27, 2025

Song of the Day: A strong, soaring, emotive, soulful release by the German artist co-written by British singer and former Jam frontman who here sings and plays guitar, the lyrics about witnessing the increasing injustices and demise of the world, out on Unique Records / Schubert Music Europe

Nov 27, 2025
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Nov 26, 2025
Song of the Day: Tessa Rose Jackson - Fear Bangs The Drum
Nov 26, 2025

Song of the Day: Using a musical metaphor, beautiful, crisply rhythmical, soaring piano and atmospheric indie-pop-folk about facing your fears by the Dutch/British singer-songwriter, heralding her forthcoming new album The Lighthouse, out on 23 January 2026 on Tiny Tiger Records

Nov 26, 2025
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Nov 25, 2025
Song of the Day: Melanie Baker - Sad Clown
Nov 25, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy, candid, cathartic indie-grunge-pop by the British singer-songwriter from Cumbria in a melancholy but oddly uplifting emotional work-through of depression, love and exhaustion, out now on TAMBOURHINOCEROS

Nov 25, 2025
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Nov 24, 2025
Song of the Day: Holly Humberstone - Die Happy
Nov 24, 2025

Song of the Day: Luxuriant, breathy, femme-fatale dream pop with a dark, southern gothic, Lana del Rey-inspired, live-fast-die-young theme, and stylish video by the 25-year-old British singer-songwriter from Grantham, out on Polydor/Universal

Nov 24, 2025
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Nov 23, 2025
Song of the Day: These New Puritans - The Other Side
Nov 23, 2025

Song of the Day: A delicate, tender, and unusually minimalist single, their first since this year’s acclaimed album Crooked Wing, by the Southend-on-Sea-born Barnett twins, here with Jack on improvised piano and George on drums and a soprano register wordless vocal, out on Domino Records

Nov 23, 2025

Word of the week

Featured
Hangover.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Word of the week: crapulence
Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week: A term that may apply regularly during Xmas party season, from the from the Latin crapula, in turn from the Greek kraipálē meaning "drunkenness" or "headache" pertains to sickness symptoms caused by excess in eating or drinking, or general intemperance and overindulgence

Dec 4, 2025
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Nov 20, 2025
Word of the week: discalceate
Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?

Nov 20, 2025
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Nov 6, 2025
Word of the week: erythrophyll
Nov 6, 2025

Word of the week: A seasonally topical word relating to the the red pigment of tree leaves, fruits and flowers, that appears particularly when changing in autumn, as opposed to the green effect of chlorophyll, from the Greek erythros for red, and phyll for leaves. But what of songs about this?

Nov 6, 2025
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Oct 22, 2025
Word of the week: fennec
Oct 22, 2025

Word of the week: It’s a small pale-fawn nocturnal fox with unusually large, highly sensitive ears, that inhabits from African and Arab deserts areas from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. But has it ever been seen in a song?

Oct 22, 2025
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Oct 9, 2025
Word of the week: gongoozler
Oct 9, 2025

Word of the week: A fabulous old English slang term for someone who tends to stand or sit for long periods staring at the passing of boats on canals, sometimes with a derogatory or at least ironic use for someone who is useless or lazy. But what of songs about this activity and culture?

Oct 9, 2025

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