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A fireside invitation: songs about cosiness, comfort and warmth

November 20, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A purr-fect day for comfort songs …

After last week's blast of Antarctica, it’s time to come in from the cold, with a lyrical and musical mood theme, focusing on anything - objects, clothing, food, drink or stories - that expresses feelings associated with cosiness and comfort

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, psychedelia, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, comfort, cosiness, happiness, psychology, Kenneth Grahame, Thomas De Quincey, Rupert Brooke, Maya Angelou, Cesar A Cruz, Dame Edith Sitwell, Meik Wiking, hygge, Denmark, Nordic noir, design, Sharon Van Etten, Jeanette Winterson, Jane Austen, Bill Watterson, Douglas Coupland, Tom Robbins, A.A. Milne
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Playlists: songs about déjà vu

July 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Bird’s eye view? Ever seen … Immortel Ad Vitam

Tricks of mind and memory to recurring lifestyle loops, our senses are sometimes working overtime, and guest Sidecar Shiv makes superb sense of it all with playlists picked from last week’s topic nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags deja vu, psychology, songs, playlists, Massive Attack, Molly Nilsson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Fogerty, JJ Jackson, The Yardbirds, Pearls Before Swine, The Waterboys, Mike Scott, John Lennon, The Beatles, The Searchers, Sparklehorse, Chocolate Genius, Angelo Badalamenti, Twin Peaks, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Bill Ryder-Jones, Styx, Redd Kross, Sublime, Dionne Warwick, Prince Royce, Shakira, Wet Leg, Margaret Glaspy, Toro y Moi, Roky Erickson, Husker Du, Blind Alfred Reed, Hitsujibungaku, The Stylistics, Max Webster, Michael Chapman, Gilmore & Roberts, Vashti Bunyan, Fever Ray, Buzzcocks, The Who, Taylor Swift, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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Seems familiar, but ... it's songs about and inducing déjà vu 

July 3, 2025 Peter Kimpton

James Stewart is one of several hanging out at the Bar this week …

Mixing memory and desire, situations, faces, sounds and experiences, it’s a common psychological experience of misplaced memory. But how is it expressed in song, and what others induce that feeling?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, bossa nova, 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, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags deja vu, déjà vu, songs, playlists, psychology, Philip K Dick, Neil Gaiman, Elvis Costello, TS Eliot, Steven Wright, Charlton Heston, Bill Murray, Émile Boirac, David Levithan, Marilyn Manson, Chuck Palahniuk, Isabel Allende, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Kim Novak, Rachel Nichols, Film, film soundtrack, television, Severance, 7/7 attacks
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Playlists: songs about hypnosis

June 10, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Counting down…

It’s in the eyes, but also now in the ears. From the spellbinding to the entrancing, the auto suggestive to the regressive, it’s time to subliminally enter the super spiral – this week’s countdown is by VikingChild, who will mesmerise you with playlists inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, showtime, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, hypnosis, psychology, auto suggestion, Richard Feynman, The Flaming Lips, Ukelilli, Clan of Xymox, The Three O'Clock, Sterling Holloway, Angelina Jordan, Daevid Allan, La Rabbia, Girls Names, Workin' Man Noise Unit, Simple Minds, Dead Can Dance, Eivør Pálsdóttir, The Church, Jimi Tenor, Janelle Monae, Keith and Tex, Hypnotone, Lady Saw, Al Quick and the Masochists, Audioslave, Scritti Politti, Mark Stewart, The Blackheart Orchestra, The White Stripes, System of a Down, System Of A Down, Cabaret Voltaire, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Dream Police, Plimsouls, Linda Jones, Spacemen 3, Grace Jones, VikingChild
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Back in the room: songs about hypnosis

June 5, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Playing along? A hypnosis entertainment poster from 1900

From medical, curative, psychological and mystical to magical, illusionary entertainment hypnotists and subliminal suggestibility, this week it’s time to go under and come back with song on the mesmerisers, mesmeric and mesmerised

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, hypnosis, psychology, Sigmund Freud, Derren Brown, Keith Barry, Milton H Erickson, Deepak Chopra, Jon Hopkins, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, history, social history, politics, US politics, advertising, magic, Étienne Félix d'Henin de Cuvillers, James Braid, John Fogerty, Stephen King, David McCullough, Alan Moore
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Playlists: songs about thinking

January 7, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Descending deeper into the swirling vortex of our over-stimulated minds: Girls In Synthesis

Scratching your head? What makes the inner language and patterns of thought? Is there an art to thinking, of not thinking too much, or even dethinking? Guest writer Uncleben brings clarity and wonderfully crafted playlists inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, ska, soul, songs, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, thinking, psychology, Lyn Collins, X, Seun Kuti, Fela Kuti, Fela's Egypt 80, John Moreland, Ralph Myerz, Jack Herren Band, Roky Erickson, Ron Moody, Lionel Bart, paul simon, Avett Brothers, Girls In Synthesis, Pere Ubu, Mclusky, Swans, The Beatles, The Charlatans, The Lemon Twigs, Londonbeat, UB40, The Smiths, Albert Collins, Parliament, Aretha Franklin, Robert Glasper, Talib Kweli, Beck, Kevin Ayers, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Boards of Canada, Uncleben
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Consider this: songs about thinking

January 2, 2025 Peter Kimpton

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

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, thinking, psychology, Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Confucius, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Thomas Edison, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Gray, Charles Kettering, Mahatma Gandhi, William James, Steven Pinker, Edwin Hubble, Archibald Montgomery Low, future, Nobel Prize, physics, quantum physics, Google, Erwin Schrödinger, Douglas Adams, books, fiim, art, philosophy, language, Jerry Fodor, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Harry Nilsson, Garbage, Nick Drake, Los Campesinos, The Triffids, Barbara Januszkiewicz, Isaac Asimov, Willie Nelson, Yoko Ono, Mary Martin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Wallace Stevens, Goethe, Audrey Hepburn, The Wizard of Oz
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Playlists: 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: songs about physical gestures

March 27, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Sound waves and beyond …

Pointing, clapping, nodding, waving, thumbs up, thumbs down, high fives and much more, there’s no end to the lyrical gesticulation on offer signalled from last week’s topic by guest playlister Loud Atlas, whose presentation and choices should attract a salute and long applause

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags gestures, psychology, human behaviour, AC/DC, Marvin Gaye, Little Simz, Obongjayar, Brenton Wood, Alanis Morissette, Jake Bugg, Sufjan Stevens, Loyle Carner, Stevie Smith, The Bevis Frond, Richard Thompson, The Meters, Alfred Apaka, The Chiffons, Little Eva, Neil Diamond, Henry Hall, BBC Concert Orchestra, Dan Donovan, Soft Cell, The Lowest Pair, Was (Not Was), Herbie Hancock, The Fairfield Four, Mama Cass Elliot, Vanity Fare, The Guess Who, Slobberbone, Beck, Don McLean, Wreckless Eric, The Ramones, United Bottles, Tom Lehrer, Kismet Original Broadway Cast, Alfred Drake, Dropkick Murphys, Ludovico Bource, The Black Crowes, Ben Platt, Loud Atlas
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Mind-bending: songs with psychedelic sounds

December 14, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Psych is always on the move …

Delay, fuzz, distortion, flanger, echo, sitars, and mind-altering drugs? It’s a style chiefly associated with the late-60s but what are it’s key characteristics and where else do they come up in the world of music? Let’s go on a journey through time and space …

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In avant-garde, blues, dance, electronica, drone, experimental, folk, funk, indie, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, rock, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, psychedelia, Aldous Huxley, Harry Nilsson, Hunter S. Thompson, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Film, film soundtrack, psychology, hallucingens, drugs, Humphry Osmond, books, Michael Hicks, Timothy Leary, William Blake, Hector Berlioz, Claude Debussy, art, Jean Moréas, Musique Concréte, Edgard Varèse, The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Silver Apples, Yma Sumac, Les Baxter, Juan García Esquivel, Beatnik, poetry, William Burroughs, Alan Watts, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Arthur Koestler, Tom Wolfe, Allen Ginsberg, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Doors, The 13th Floor Elevators, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Sly & The Family Stone, The Delfonics, Jake Holmes, Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan, Tim Buckley, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, Vangelis, The Stone Roses, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, John Hopkins, Animal Collective
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Concentrate! Songs about single-mindedness

November 9, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Moving moment? Anatoly Karpov …

Concentration, drive, relentless purpose and pursuit are needed for certain levels of achievement, but how is it expressed in song lyrics? In finding love or 'the one", to work, to gain acclaim, achieve fame, or a particular goal? For inspiration here are examples in music, film, sport 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 single-mindedness, concentration, psychology, music, sport, Film, books, chess, Anatoly Karpov, Gary Kasparov, Susan Sontag, E.R. Eddison, Tim Wu, Alan Watts, Stanley Kubrick, Andrew Carnegie, Aldous Huxley, Focus, Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Kevin Shields, My Bloody Valentine, PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom, Charles Dickens, Joseph Conrad, tennis, swimming, Diana Nyad, documentary
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Playlists: songs about the id, ego and superego

September 27, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Hyde and seek: it wasn’t me, it was him …

Will with the conscious and subconscious play out? Inspired by the theories of Freud, but mostly by all the nominations from last week’s topic, guest picker Loud Atlas presents an engaging inner dialogue explaining his excellent choices

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, krautrock, instrumentals, music, musicals, musical hall, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis, psychology, Devo, The Beatles, De La Soul, Landscape, The Chills, Mitski, The Rakes, Moloko, Randy Newman, Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, Self Esteem, David Bowie, The Damned, Ren, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Skyhooks, Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading, The Vaselines, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cramps, Gabby Young and Other Animals, The United States of America (band), The Cranberries, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Tom Lehrer, Daysormay, Ron Moody, Lionel Bart, musicals, Loud Atlas
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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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Nothing? No, it's only ... songs about 'everything'

June 22, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Hot-dog! Fingers ‘n’ everything …

This week, from a previous idea of nothing, we go to ‘everything’ not literally, but the idea of it, from big promises of love, all-encompassing importance, the the whole shebang, totality, the full caboodle, enchilada, the big ball of wax, all within the prism of song

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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 everything, nothing, philosophy, psychology, books, art, Film, religion, Buddhism, Steven Wright, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Confucius, John Lennon, Thomas Pynchon, Sophia Loren, Stephen Crane, physics, mathematics, science, Michelle Yeoh, Eels, Mark Oliver Everett, multiverse theory, Winston Churchill, Philip K Dick, Carl Sagan, Pablo Neruda, poetry, Cicero, George Bernard Shaw, Haruki Murakami, Alan Watts, Yoko Ono, Woody Allen, Thomas Carlyle, Gustave Flaubert, Anton Chekhov, Thomas Huxley, Isaac Asimov, Oscar Wilde, David Lynch, Goethe, Hermann Hesse, Bob Marley, Napoleon Bonaparte, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy, John F Kennedy, Hedy Lamarr, Plato, Gustav Mahler, Henry Rollins, Elton John
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Against all odds: songs about resilience

April 27, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Maya Angelou

Whether in the face of sudden trauma or dealing with ongoing difficulty it’s time pick out songs about bouncing back, finding fortitude, seeking strength and toughness, rolling with punches, being flexible, and sinkable. Here’s some personal stories, and famous examples …

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Tags songs, playlists, resilience, strength, fortitude, psychology, Maya Angelou, Shane Koyczan, Sinead O'Connor, Jack Dempsey, Robert Jordan, Abhijit Naskar, Joe Simpson, Touching The Void, Film, film soundtrack, books, Annette Herfkens, Karen Duffy, Janna Cachola, Kate O’Neill, Bram Stoker, Edwin Morgan, Hugh Mackay, Wim Wenders, Harry Dean Stanton, Ry Cooder, PG Wodehouse
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Fantastic, it's for real: songs about illusion

March 16, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Shadowplay: from the video for Come, by French singer-songwriter Jain

Visual, auditory, via media, rumour, or any other distortion of perceptions, from personal experience to the political, this week we search for songs about the interplay of the senses and idea of illusions as a primary focus

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, perception, illusions, Albert Einstein, Craig Bruce, Voltaire, Douglas Adams, Woody Allen, Jain, media, psychology, Herman Wouk, Noam Chomsky, Arthur Koestler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Alan Moore, John Steinbeck, Mario Vargas Llosa, George Lucas, Film, Juliette Binoche, Talib Kweli, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, US politics, Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Kurt Vonnegut, James Turrell, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, Robert Gonsalves, Philip Treacy, Julian Casablancas, The Strokes, Estelle, Roger Daltrey, Rufus Wainwright, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, György Ligeti, SUUNS, MC Escher, David Bruce
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Pussy-footing? Perhaps it's songs about indecision. Is it?

March 2, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Are you fur staying on the fence?

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

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Oscar Levant, indecision, Jane Austen, Marianne Moore, TS Eliot, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Willie Nelson, Tommy Cooper, Elvis Presley, Imelda Marcos, psychology, cats, animals, animal behaviour, Hergé, Helen Eustis, Seneca, Cicero, William James, Bertrand Russell, Terry Pratchett, Napoleon Hill, Cherie Carter-Scott, Martin Luther King, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg, WC Fields, Jimmy Buffett, Shirley Temple, Drew Barrymore, Jean Baudrillard, William Arthur Ward, Ariel Pink, John Cleese
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Think different: songs about using your imagination

February 23, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Vladmir Kush’s African Sonata

From practical life problems, work, relationships, craft or crisis, to all sorts of creative problems, or even channelling dreams, it’s time to access the right hemisphere and see how the imagination can be used, as expressed in song lyrics. Read on for more stimulation …

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

January 5, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Not a curtain-raiser for 2023, but a hair-raiser …

Not a curtain raiser, but a hair-raiser for 2023. It’s a sign that music is at its optimum effect, but when and why does it happen? From Darwin’s explanation to more recent studies, and some musical examples, it’s time to share your goosebump inducting songs and explain why …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, goosebumps, Charles Darwin, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, Al Green, fado, animal behaviour, animals, evolution, Randolph Blake, psychology, Joy Division, Ian Curtis, Jaak Panksepp
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Count to zen: songs about the pleasures of simplicity

December 1, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Float your moments …

This week we aim to strip away life’s stresses and complexities to search for songs that capture moments of calm simplicity, enjoying the little things in life. Setting sail with this becalming poem, what moments might float your boat?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, simplicity, zen, philosophy, psychology, Oscar Wilde, Frederic Chopin, Feist, Frank Lloyd Wright, Billy Gibbons, Charles Dudley Warner, John F Kennedy, Vernon Howard
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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New Albums …

Featured
Tyler Ballgame - For The First Time Again.jpeg
Jan 30, 2026
Tyler Ballgame: For The First Time, Again
Jan 30, 2026

New album: With that sublime, soaring, soulful voice, and echoes of Roy Orbison, the Rhode Island-raised singer-songwriter’s truly gorgeous debut LP captures all the range of of the love – warmth, longing, tenderness and heartbreak through classy and crafted retro sound of 60s and 70s rock

Jan 30, 2026
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Jan 29, 2026
Tessa Rose Jackson: The Lighthouse
Jan 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful, intricate, understated, poetic and intelligent, this warm, inviting experimental folk by the Dutch-British singer-songwriter is the first LP under her own name, having previously released three as the artist Someone

Jan 29, 2026
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Jan 28, 2026
Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong
Jan 28, 2026

New album: The acclaimed veteran country, rock and Americana singer-songwriter and multi-Grammy winner’s latest LP has a title that speaks for itself, but is powerful, angry, defiant and uplifting, and, recorded in Nashville, features guest vocals from Norah Jones, Mavis Staples and Brittney Spencer

Jan 28, 2026
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Jan 27, 2026
Clothesline From Hell: Slather On The Honey
Jan 27, 2026

New album: His moniker mischievously named after a wrestling move, a highly impressive, independently-created experimental, psychedelic rock debut the the Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Adam LaFramboise

Jan 27, 2026
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Jan 27, 2026
Dead Dads Club: Dead Dads Club
Jan 27, 2026

New album: Dynamic, passionate, heart-stirring indie rock in this project fronted by Chilli Jesson (formerly bassist of Palma Violets) with songs spurred by the trauma of losing his father 20 years ago, retelling a defiant and difficult aftermath, with sound boosted by producer Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines D.C.

Jan 27, 2026
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Jan 25, 2026
The Paper Kites: If You Go There, I Hope You Find It
Jan 25, 2026

New album: Warm, tender, gently-paced, calmly reflective, beautifully soothing, poetic, melancholic alternative folk and Americana by the band from Melbourne in their seventh LP in 15 years

Jan 25, 2026
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Jan 24, 2026
PVA: No More Like This
Jan 24, 2026

New album: Inventive, alluring, sensual, mysterious, minimalistic electronica, trip-hop and experimental pop by the London trio of Ella Harris, Joshua Baxter and Louis Satchell, in this second album following 2022’s Blush, boosted by the creativity of producer and instrumentalist Kwake Bass

Jan 24, 2026
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Jan 20, 2026
Imarhan: Essam
Jan 20, 2026

New album: A mesmeric fourth LP in a decade by the band from Tamanrasset, Algeria, whose name means ‘the ones I care about’, their Tuareg music mixing guitar riffs, pop melodies and African rhythms, but this time also evolves slightly away from the desert blues rocky, bluesy influence of contemporaries Tinariwen with electronic elements

Jan 20, 2026
Courtney Marie Andrews - Valentine.jpeg
Jan 20, 2026
Courtney Marie Andrews: Valentine
Jan 20, 2026

New album: Emotional, beautiful, stirring, Americana, folk and indie-pop by singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona, in this latest studio LP in of soaring voice, strong melodies, love, vulnerability and heartbreak, longing and bravery

Jan 20, 2026
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Jan 18, 2026
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore: Tragic Magic
Jan 18, 2026

New album: Delicate, beautiful, ethereal, meditative new work by the two American experimental composers in their first collaborative LP, with gentle understated vocals, classic synth sounds, and rare harps chosen from from the Paris Musée de la Musique Collection

Jan 18, 2026
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Jan 16, 2026
Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X
Jan 16, 2026

New album: The caustic wit of Nottingham’s Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn return with a 13th LP of brilliantly abrasive, dark humoured hip-hop and catchy beats, addressing the rubbish state of the world, as well as local, personal and social irritations through slick nostalgic cultural reference, some expanded sounds, and an eclectic set of guests

Jan 16, 2026
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Jan 14, 2026
SAULT: Chapter 1
Jan 14, 2026

New album: As ever, released suddenly without fanfare or any publicity, the prolific experimental soul, jazz, gospel, funk, psychedelia and disco collective of Cleo Sol, Info (aka Dean Josiah Cover) and co return with a stylish, mysterious LP

Jan 14, 2026
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Jan 14, 2026
The Cribs: Selling A Vibe
Jan 14, 2026

New album: A first LP in five years by the likeable and solid guitar indie-rock Jarman brothers trio from Wakefield, now with their ninth - a catchy, but at times with rueful, bittersweet perspectives on their times in the music business

Jan 14, 2026
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Jan 9, 2026
Dry Cleaning: Secret Love
Jan 9, 2026

New album: This third LP by the London experimental post-punk quartet with the distinctive, spoken, droll delivery of Florence Shaw, is packed with striking, vivid, often non seqitur lyrics capturing life’s surreal mundanities and neuroses with a sound coloured and polished by Cate Le Bon as producer

Jan 9, 2026

new songs …

Featured
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Jan 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Robber Robber - The Sound It Made
Jan 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Striking, dynamic, noisy stop-and-start, stylish experimental post-rock and post-rock by the band from Burlington, Vermont, fronted by Nina Cates, heralding their new album, Two Wheels Move the Soul, out on 3 April via on Fire Talk

Jan 30, 2026
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Jan 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Holly Humberstone - To Love Somebody
Jan 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Shimmeringly catchy and singalong, effervescent Abba-esque and Fleetwood Mac-ish piano and synth pop with an eye-catching, vampiric-themed video by the British singer-songwriter from Grantham, heralding her second album Cruel World out on 10 April via Polydor/Universal.

Jan 29, 2026
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Jan 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Nathan Fake - Slow Yamaha
Jan 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Hypnotic electronica with woozy layers of smooth resonance and a lattice of shifting analogue patterns by the British artist from Norfolk, taken from his forthcoming album, Evaporator, out on InFiné Music

Jan 28, 2026
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Jan 27, 2026
Song of the Day: Charlotte Day Wilson - Lean (featuring Saya Gray)
Jan 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Stylish, striking, sensual experimental electro-pop and R&B in this fabulous collaboration between the two Canadian singer/ multi-instrumentalist from Toronto, out on Stone Woman Music/ XL Recordings

Jan 27, 2026
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Jan 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Lime Garden - 23
Jan 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, witty, quirky indie pop about age and adjustment by the Brighton-formed quartet fronted by Chloe Howard, heralding their upcoming album Maybe Not Tonight, out on So Young Records on 10 April

Jan 26, 2026
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Jan 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Madra Salach - The Man Who Seeks Pleasure
Jan 25, 2026

Song of the Day: A powerful, slow-simmering and gradually intensifying, drone-based original folk number about the the flipsides of love and hedonism by the young Irish traditional and alternative folk band, with comparisons to Lankum, from the recently released EP It's a Hell of an Age, out on Canvas Music

Jan 25, 2026
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Jan 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Adult DVD - Real Tree Lee
Jan 24, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, witty, energised acid-dance-punk with echoes of Underworld and Snapped Ankles by the dynamic, innovative band from Leeds in a new number about a dodgy character of toxic masculinity and online ignorance, and their first release on signing to Fat Possum

Jan 24, 2026
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Jan 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night (for War Child HELP 2 charity album)
Jan 23, 2026

Song of the Day: A simmering, potent, contemplative new track by acclaimed Sheffield band, their first song since 2022’s album The Car, with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child, heralding the upcoming HELP (2) compilation out on 6 March with various contributors

Jan 23, 2026
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Jan 22, 2026
Song of the Day: White Denim - (God Created) Lock and Key
Jan 22, 2026

Song of the Day: The Austin, Texas-formed LA-based rockers return with an infectiously catchy groove fusing rock, funk, dub, soul, and down-dirty blues with some playful self-mythologising and darker themes, heralding 13th album, 13, out on 24 April via Bella Union

Jan 22, 2026
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Jan 21, 2026
Song of the Day: Holy Fuck - Evie
Jan 21, 2026

Song of the Day: The Canadian experimental indie rock and electronica quartet from Toronto return with a pulsating new track of thrumming bass and shimmering keyboards, heralding their forthcoming new album Event Beat, out on 27 March via Satellite Services

Jan 21, 2026
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Jan 20, 2026
Song of the Day: KAVARI - IRON VEINS
Jan 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Exciting, cutting-edge electronica and hardcore dance music by innovative the Birkenhead-born, Glasgow-based artist Cameron Winters (she), with a stylish, striking video, heralding the forthcoming EP, PLAGUE MUSIC, out digitally and on 12-inch vinyl on 6 February via XL Recordings

Jan 20, 2026
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Jan 19, 2026
Song of the Day: A$AP Rocky - Punk Rocky
Jan 19, 2026

Song of the Day: The standout catchy hip-pop/soul/pop track from the New York rapper aka Rakim Athelston Mayers’ (also the husband of Rihanna) recently released album, Don’t Be Dumb, featuring also the voice of Cristoforo Donadi, and out on A$AP Rocky Recordings

Jan 19, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Zumbador dorado - mango bumblebee Puerto Rico.jpeg
Jan 22, 2026
Word of the week: zumbador
Jan 22, 2026

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

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

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

Jan 8, 2026
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Dec 24, 2025
Word of the week: bellonion (or belloneon)
Dec 24, 2025

Word of the week: It sounds like a bulbous, multi-layered peeling vegetable, but this obscure mechanical musical instrument invented in 1812 in Dresden consisted of 24 trumpets and two kettle drums and, designed to mimic the sound of a marching band, might also make your eyes water

Dec 24, 2025
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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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