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Cosmic! Time to lift off with space disco, synth pop and other astral sounding music

October 23, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Boldly go where no music taste might have taken you before …

This week, in a spirit of fun, escapism and weightlessness, with all the sci-fi and synthy space sounds you can imagine, in style and genre rather than lyrics, let’s boldly go and make it as international as possible

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In comedy, dance, disco, electronica, exotica, experimental, jazz, music, playlists, pop, songs, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, space, science fiction, synthesizers, electronica, Galileo Galilei, Carl Sandburg, Vincent Van Gogh, Carl Sagan, Lord Byron, Pythagoras, Tom Robbins, Star Wars, Star Trek
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Playlists: synth pop and electronic dance 1980-2000

October 19, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Planet pop: the Roland Jupiter 8

Planet pop: the Roland Jupiter 8

The classic keyboards, the hair, and drum sounds, experimenting and changing over two vibrant decades. From a huge wave of nominations, guest pop picker MussoliniHeadkick brings a special edition of the Top of the Pops chart. Ready for the countdown?

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In African, dance, disco, electronica, pop, songs Tags songs, playlists, synthesizers, electronica, William Onyeabor, Carol, John Foxx, Cabaret Voltaire, Bocca Juniors, Air, Technotronic, Kraftwerk, Soft Cell, The Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Depeche Mode, Severed Heads, Ruth, Fad Gadget, Tone Set, Yazoo, Heaven 17, The Blapps Posse, Adamski, Stardust, Madonna, Dominatrix, Hard Corps, Man Parrish, Throbbing Gristle, Baby Ford, MussoliniHeadkick
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Push those buttons: electronic dance and synth pop songs 1980-2000 

October 14, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Synth you’ve been gone …

Synth you’ve been gone …

Following a previous topic that went up to 1983, this week we explore the arc of this music’s sonic history through a new era of MIDI and digital, from the Fairlight CMI to the Roland TR-808 and beyond, and in lyrical pop songs more than instrumentals

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In electronica, disco, experimental, pop Tags songs, electronica, synthesizers, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode, Stephen Hawking, Curt Smith, Bernard Sumner, New Order, Tears for Fears, Kraftwerk, technlogy, Roland, Yamaha, Stereolab, Massive Attack, Tricky, Air, Daft Punk, Trevor Horn, The Art of Noise, Fairlight CMI, samplers, Tomorrow's World, Thomas Dolby, Kate Bush, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Dusty Hill, ZZ Top, Casio, Ikutaro Kakehashi, Ace Tone, Afrika Bambaataa
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Playlists: 12-inch singles and remixes up to 1979

August 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! It's Chic extending the dance, dance, dance …

Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! It's Chic extending the dance, dance, dance …

Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah! This week your feet, 12 inches long or otherwise, will not be able to stop moving as guest playlister DiscoMonster extends an invitation to enjoy his pick of last week’s many great nominations

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In dance, electronica, playlists, pop, postpunk, reggae, rocksteady, songs, soul, dub, disco, punk, music, indie Tags Songs, playlists, 12-inch vinyl, disco, funk, dub, electronica, dance, The Jays, Ranking Trevor, Chic, Nile Rodgers, The Rolling Stones, Dennis Brown, Prince Mohammed, Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, Third World, Parliament, Sylvester, Elias Rahbani, Manu Dibango, Dinosaur, Israel Vibration, Suicide, Lipps Inc., Japan, The Motors, The Whispers, Black Harmony, Chicago, The Jacksons, Joe Simon, North End, Dr. Alimantado, Kiss, Jolly Brothers, Hamilton Bohannon, Loleatta Holloway, Yabby You & Trinity, Patti Labelle, Dillinger, Junior Murvin, Lee Scratch Perry, Television, DiscoMonster
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Playlists: electronic music and songs up to 1983

June 6, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Machines unmasked: Hideki Matsutake from the Yellow Magic Orchestra

Machines unmasked: Hideki Matsutake from the Yellow Magic Orchestra

Hums, beats, squelches and clicks, banks of sound and theremins, Delia Derbyshire to Bowie, Eno to the Yellow Magic Orchestra, this week’s guest magicman turns it all on with two brilliant playlists from a host of superb nominations

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In electronica, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, songs, soundtracks Tags Songs, music, electronics, electronic music, electronica, Clara Rockmore, Camille Saint-Saëns, Rose Royce, Tonto's Expanding Horizon, Harmonia, Emerson, Keith Emerson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Raymond Scott, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Abba, Todd Rundgren, Curved Air, Conrad Schnitzler, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Delia Derbyshire, Vangelis, Suzanne Ciani, Afrika Bambaataa, Al Massrieen, Annette Peacock, Ashra, Tangerine Dream, Pierre Boulez, This Heat, The Tornados, Louis & Bebe Barron, Lenny White, Beaver & Krause, Kraftwerk, Jean-Jaques Perrey, Nirvana (UK), Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Lipps Inc., Laurie Anderson, magicman
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The art of noises: electronic music and songs up to 1983

May 31, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Krafty

Krafty

Early 20th-century experimentalists to MIDI, industrial, dance, new wave, French musique concrete, Japanese chiptune to German elektronische, let’s explore old-school noise and value those valves worldwide

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In pop, songs, electronica Tags Songs, playlists, electronic music, electronica, Shakespeare, Edgar Varèse, electronics, Futurists, Luigi Russolo, Francesco Pratella, Fernand Léger, art, Joseph Schillinger, Halim El-Dabh, Egypt, John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kraftwerk, Werner Meyer-Eppler, Robert Beyer, Herbert Eimert, Jikken Kōbō, Alan Turing, computers, Christopher Strachey, Ikutaro Kakehashi, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Milton Babbitt, Roland, Korg, Moog, Keith Emerson, Sheffield, Manchester, Joy Division, New Order, The Art of Noise
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Made post-millennium: music that marks artistic trends of the 21st century

May 17, 2018 Peter Kimpton
London Olympic Stadium, 2012. An internet message, but does it also help define music-making culture this century?

London Olympic Stadium, 2012. An internet message, but does it also help define music-making culture this century?

This week we’re looking for songs or instrumentals recorded since 2000 that help define what the first 18 years of this century are all about: genres, landmarks, movements, trends, sounds and fusions

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In classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, instrumentals Tags Songs, playlists, 21st-century, 9/11, credit crunch, internet, social media, music production, music industry, David Bowie, electronica, data, Facebook, surveillance, Bjork, Jean-Michel Jarre, Chuck D, fusion genres, Grayson Perry, Top of the Pops, television, reality television, immigration
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Playlists: krautrock songs and beyond

June 21, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Faust in their Wümme studio in 1971

Faust in their Wümme studio in 1971

Kraftwerk to Neu! Bowie to The Fall! Leaping into last week's surprise topic, guest writer Flatfrog takes a voyage of discovery to playlist prime originals and others hugely influenced by this German genre

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In playlists, music, songs Tags songs, playlists, krautrock, electronica, Germany, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Faust, Hawkwind, Cluster, Julian Cope, Neu!, Stereolab, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Brian Eno, Udo Lindenberg, The Fall, Mark E Smith, Nina Hagen, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, OMD, Joy Division, DAF (Deutsche-Amerikanishe-Freundshaft), Amon Düül II, Amon Düül, Einstürzende Neubaten, Einstürzende Neubauten, Groep 1850, Kraan, David Sylvian, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, David Bowie, film soundtrack, Flatfrog
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Was ist Krautrock? Kosmische to Maschine – songs that say 'we go our own way’

June 15, 2017 Peter Kimpton
Cosmic machines ... Kraftwerk

Cosmic machines ... Kraftwerk

Experimental electronica, or meditative riff and beat repetition? This week from man to machine, Can to Krafwerk, Neu! to Faust, let's celebrate the work and influence of 60s and 70s Germany music revolution

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Tags songs, Germany, krautrock, Can, Neu!, Einstürzende Neubauten, Faust, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, electronica, progressive rock, jazz, minimalism, Berlin, Film, Wim Wenders, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Florian Fricke, Popol Vuh, John Peel, Melody Maker, Amon Düül, Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Möbius, John Cage, Michael Rother, Holger Czukay, Jaki Liebezeit, Julian Cope, Tangerine Dream, Ralph Hütter, Cluster
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Now for something completely different: whimsical, strange and silly songs

December 15, 2016 Peter Kimpton
Monty Python's the Ministry of Silly Walks

Monty Python's the Ministry of Silly Walks

Sometimes the most sensible way to deal with a serious world is to get silly with it. From Spike Milligan to Jacques Tati, this week we look at music's most inventive, surreal and strange wonders of whimsy

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Tags songs, Music, Monty Python, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tim Curry, Horace, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, comedy, Ross Noble, Phil Kaye, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Jacques Tati, film, David Bowie, Klaus Nomi, Gary Larson, cartoons, Bruce Springsteen, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Richard Ayoade, Ralph Steadman, Richard Dawkins, electronica, Kenny Everett, nursery rhymes, Devo, Gene Wilder
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Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

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CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY

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DRINK OF THE WEEK

1990s alcopops


SNACK OF THE WEEK

doritos, skittles snack mashup


New Albums …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 1, 2026

new songs …

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 11, 2026
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June 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Rodrigo y Gabriela - Monster
June 10, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 2, 2026

Word of the week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 23, 2026

Song Bar spinning.gif

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