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Playlists: great songwriting 1900-1955

April 18, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Boswell Sisters

The Boswell Sisters

Armstrong and Astaire to the Boswell Sisters and Al Bowlly, Whispering Jack Smith to Sarah Vaughan, this week's guest playlist writer DiscoMonster digs out many a treasure in a golden age of discovery

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In blues, country, folk, classical, gospel, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, First World War, Second World War, Gus Elen, Harry Champion, Scott Joplin, Marion Williams, "Whispering" Jack Smith, Lucienne Boyer, Carlos Gardel, Trio Matamoros, Me Trixie Smith, Trixie Smith, Duke Ellington, Lucille Bogan, Vernon Dalhart, Rezso Seress, Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Larry Clinton, Bea Wain, The Boswell Sisters, Al Bowlly, Dorival Caymmi, Chiyoko Shimakura, Nat King Cole, Jesse Powell, Fluffy Hunter, Jimmy Liggins and His Drops of Joy, Howlin' Wolf, The Orioles, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Elsie Carlisle, DiscoMonster
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Anything goes before rock'n'roll: great songwriting 1900-1955

April 12, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The silver-tongued Cole Porter entertains friends in the 1940s

The silver-tongued Cole Porter entertains friends in the 1940s

Tin Pan Alley to the Great American Songbook, blues, jazz standards, show tunes, gospel or folk, this week we escape the modern era to find songs of exemplary craft, performance or pertfectly capture their era

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, folk, music, musicals, playlists, showtime, musical hall, gospel, jazz Tags Songs, swingtime, blues, Tin Pan Alley, jazz, Cole Porter, musicals, Scott Joplin, Enrico Caruso, Haydn Quartet, Charles Hart, Lewis James, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Frank Loesser, Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Harry Warren, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
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Playlists: music that mentions, mimics or samples birdsong

April 11, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The paradise tanager, an exotic songbird 

The paradise tanager, an exotic songbird 

Cuckoos to chickens, geese to gulls, a host of exotic birds and ascending on high with the lark and nightingale, this week's aural aviary expert Hoshino Sakura spies a beautiful set of musical calls from last week's topic

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Captain Beefheart, Marsha Gee, Lisa Carbon, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Nina Nastasia, Camille Saint-Saëns, Benjamin Britten, Les Compagnons de la Chanson, Travis, Kate Bush, Olivier Messiaen, BBC Sound Archive, second world war, Minnie Riperton, Frank Sinatra, The Meters, Bob Marley, The Durutti Column, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Love, Eva Cassidy, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Frank Haffort, Caetano Veloso, birds, birdsong, Goosehouse, Hoshino Sakura
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Tweet, trill and warble: music that mentions, mimics or samples birdsong

April 5, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The nightingale. A star singer of the bird world.

The nightingale. A star singer of the bird world.

Spring has finally sprung, and to celebrate, let’s look at, from science to poetry, how the most natural and winged songwriters have inspired humans to make reference to their work in their own through music or lyrics

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In blues, classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock Tags Songs, birds, birdsong, Percy Shelley, Maya Angelou, Kurt Cobain, Nick Drake, Catullus, ornithology, Tom Waits, James Brown, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, nightingale, Japan, David Rothenburg, Laurie Anderson, Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton, Jean Vaillant, Beethoven, Delius, Vivaldi, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Camille Saint-Saëns, George Friederic Handel, Haydn, Rachmaninov, Peter Warlock, Dvorak, Mussorgsky, Oliver Messiaen, Jonathan Harvey, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Prince, Hatebeak, John Clare, poetry
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Playlists: songs about waking up

April 4, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Wake up ... with Sudan Archives

Wake up ... with Sudan Archives

Dawn in India to Donovan, Bacharach-David to The Beatles, this week's wonderful selections by guest playlister ParaMhor from last week's nominations will have you feeling wide awake and refreshed

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In blues, colours, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, reggae, rock, soul Tags Songs, playlists, waking, Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam, Donovan, Aretha Franklin, Chuck Jackson, Clara Smith, The Beatles, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Wham!, George Michael, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Elastica, Sudan Archives, Havana Casino Orchestra, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Pulp, Cookies, Glass Sun, Eskimo Joe, REM, Love, Life 'n' Soul, Elmore James, Emily Smith, Josh Ritter, Dusty Springfield, Tom Springfield, Betty Lavette, Marvin Gaye, Talking Heads, Radiohead, ParaMhor, MS Subbulakshmi
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Morning glory? Songs about waking up

March 29, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Don't be alarmed. Something to whet the whistle, darling?

Don't be alarmed. Something to whet the whistle, darling?

From gloom to horny joy, scary or strange surprises to dire straits, this week let's explore all the lyrical and musical sides of regain consciousness in song, with some stimuli here from other forms – film and books

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In blues, comedy, classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, conciousnessness, sleep, waking, dreams, Paul Valéry, Franz Kafka, Benjamin Franklin, Frank Sinatra, cats, dogs, spring, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Temperton, Heatwave, Michael Jackson, Prince, drugs, hibernation, sex, advertising, Oliver Sacks, medicine, science, science fiction, Danny Boyle, 28 Days Later, Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle, Laurence Manning, Planet of the Apes, Futurama, Woody Allen, Sleeper, Alien, film, Dolly Parton, Nile Rodgers, Ray Bradbury, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou
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Playlists: songs about anonymity

March 28, 2018 Peter Kimpton
That's not us.

That's not us.

Who are you? Who are they? Hackers to the hidden, secret societies to strangers in crowds, masked meetings to sexual liaisons, this week's playlists are superbly assembled by a famous but Anonymous figure

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In soul, ska, rock, reggae, punk, postpunk, pop, playlists, music, indie, hip hop, dance, country, electronica, folk, blues Tags Songs, playlists, Anonymous, anonymity, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, The Cramps, David McWilliams, Suzanne Vega, The Cravats, Courtney Barnett, Traffic, The Who, Soft Cell, Kate Bush, Poison Girls, Alicia Keys, Andrés Calamaro, Elvis Costello, The Taxpayers, Sigrid, Buffy Sainte-Marie, UB40, Belle & Sebastian, Carly Simon, Gene Vincent, Van Morrison, The Chordettes, The Ramones, The Upsetters
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Diary of a nobody? Songs about anonymity

March 22, 2018 Peter Kimpton
A scene from anonymous hacker thriller series Mr Robot, starring Rami Malek as the complex central figure

A scene from anonymous hacker thriller series Mr Robot, starring Rami Malek as the complex central figure

Whether feeling like a nobody, or actually being anonymous, from hackers to the lonely and helpless, from fame to unknown heroism, let's explore this contradictory feeling as expressed in lyrics, from spotlight to the shadows

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In blues, country, dance, classical, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, anonymity, women's rights, Virginia Wolf, Bjorn Ulvaus, Abba, Lenny Bruce, George Eliot, Prince, Stephen King, Richard Bachman, George Grosssmith, Chaka Khan, Carly Simon, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, Dory Previn, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Sam Shepard, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Benjamin Clementine, NHS, Robert Louis Stevenson, Coen Brothers, Billy Bob Thornton, Mia Farrow, Catherine Deneuve, Jeff Daniels, Joe Klein, journalism, The Bible, National Security Agency, Prism, surveillance, spying, Chelsea Manning, WikiLeaks, Mikko Hyppönen, Anonymous, hacking, LulzSec, AntiSec, Bitcoin, Jeff Berwick, Cambridge Analytica, Donald Trump, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, Rami Malek
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Playlists: songs featuring the harmonica

March 21, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Toots Thielemans

Toots Thielemans

Take a deep breath – you are about to experience a selection of sublime and moving music from film soundtracks, blues and soul greats. Guest playlist writer magicman blows two beautiful lists from last week's nominations

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In blues, classical, country, folk, indie, music, playlists, pop, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, harmonica, film soundtrack, Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, Franco de Gemini, Charlie McCoy, Little Walter, Chess Records, Paul Butterfield, Stevie Wonder, Burt Bacharach, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sony Boy Williamson II, Brownie McGhee, James Cotton, J. Geils Band, Magic Dick, Larry Adler, Vaughan Williams, Big Walter Horton, John Mayall, Toots Thielemans, Quincy Jones, magicman, The Rolling Stones, Doctor Ross, Herbie Hancock, Blues Traveler, Ry Cooder, Sonny Terry, Sly & The Family Stone, Charlie Musselwhite, Dr Feelgood, Nico Wayne Toussaint, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Chris Wilson, Canned Heat, The Beatles, Muddy Waters
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Every breath you take: songs featuring the harmonica

March 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The sublime Stevie Wonder

The sublime Stevie Wonder

It plays out like the voice, beautifully expresses emotion, can wail like a train and is popular across blues, rock, pop, jazz, classical and other genres. This week it's time to inhale deeply and get harmonious with the harmonica

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In blues, classical, country, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, Music, harmonica, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, The Beatles, George Harrison, John Lennon, Toots Thielemans, Abraham Lincoln, Steven Wright, Charlie Musselwhite, Larry Adler, James Cotton, Little Walter, Big Mama Thornton, Captain Beefheart, Sonny Williamson, Donovan, Beck, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Jesse Fuller, Kim Kwang Suk, Rory Macleod, Ian Gillan, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Alanis Morissette, Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, Johnny Cash, Roger Daltrey, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, Van Morrison, Sonny Terry, John Barry, film soundtrack
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Playlists: songs influenced by reggae, ska and rocksteady

March 14, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Set the controls for 1972, but where next? It's the Mighty Two, Errol Thompson in Joe Gibbs' studio, and off on a musical journey from Kingston, Jamaica …

Set the controls for 1972, but where next? It's the Mighty Two, Errol Thompson in Joe Gibbs' studio, and off on a musical journey from Kingston, Jamaica …

Who are the Mighty Two, and why are they in a tardis? Inspired by last week's nominations, guest playlist writer Uncleben takes us on fantastically influential musically journey through space and time

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In rocksteady, ska, reggae, rock, songs, soul, playlists, music, indie, hip hop, electronica, folk, pop, postpunk, punk, dance, blues Tags Songs, playlists, reggae, ska, rocksteady, time travel, Jamaica, Joe Gibbs, Errol Thompson, The Mighty Two, The Professionals, Sly and Robbie, Dennis Brown, Elvis Costello, Yona, Orkesteri Liikkuvat Pilvet, Pere Ubu, Kode9, The Spaceape, Angelic Upstarts, Stevie Wonder, Les Negresses Vertes, Scritti Politti, John Martyn, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Steely Dan, Alpha Blondy, Van Der Graaf Generator, Finley Quaye, Hollie Cook, The Ska Flames, The Internet, B.T. Express, Massive Attack, Miles Davis, Somo Somo & Mose Se Sengo, Gilberto Gil, Ska-P, Madness, paul simon, Robert Wyatt, Randy Newman, Nina Simone, TootArd, Uncleben
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Serene syncopation: songs influenced by reggae, ska and rocksteady

March 8, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Wailers that global star, Bob Marley

The Wailers that global star, Bob Marley

This week we're searching out the effect of these core styles of 1960s Jamaican music on other genres across the globe, from punk to pop and rock, African to dance, and how they evolved. It's a very sound system …

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In blues, dance, electronica, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, reggae, rock, punk, songs, soul, soundtracks, ska, rocksteady Tags Songs, reggae, ska, rocksteady, Jamaica, Bob Marley, The Wailers, The Clash, Burning Spear, Michael Franti, Johnny Greenwood, Radiohead, Youssou N'Dour, syncopation, menta, calypso, Prince Buster, Clement Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, The Skatalites, Alton Ellis, The Techniques, The Paragons, The Gaylads, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, The Congos, The Abyssians, Wailing Souls, U-Roy, BIg Youth, I-Roy, Dr Alimantado, Dennis Alcapone, Sly and Robbie, The Mighty Diamonds, 2 Tone, Barrington Levy, Frankie Paul, Sister Nancy, Stephen Marley, Damian Marley, Ziggy Marley, Nas, Tory Lanez, Boy George, Ike Turner, Bruno Mars, Peter Hook, Lupe Fiasco, The Bug
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Playlists: songs about travelling in time

March 7, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Multiverse or multiple verse? Read on to travel and transcend musical dimensions …

Multiverse or multiple verse? Read on to travel and transcend musical dimensions …

Multiverse or multiple-verse? This week our playlists, from last week's topic, are presented a by time-travel scientist, who with skilful manipulation of reality from guest writer EnglishOutlaw, puts on a timeless playlist gig

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, musicals Tags Black Sabbath, Busted, MC Lars, AKB48, The Average White Band, David Childers, The Grateful Dead, Buzzcocks, Momus, Vernian Process, Secret Chiefs 3, Kevin Hearn, Thin Buckle, Eddie Money, Man, Peter Hammill, Tame Impala, Twenty One Pilots, Guster, The Steppes, Uriah Heep, The Yardbirds, Tony Bennett, Beggars Opera, Tim Minchin, musicals, Tyla J Pallas, EnglishOutlaw
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Second nature: songs about travelling in time

March 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Who, what, where shall we go this week?

Who, what, where shall we go this week?

This week it's time to set the musical controls - to suggest songs that about time travel in the sci-fi sense, but also those that might move to another period in past or future in metaphor, memory and the imagination

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, time, time travel, Douglas Adams, HG Wells, Stephen King, Film, Back to the Future, The Smiths, books, science, science fiction, The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, Michio Kaku, Salman Rushdie, William Gibson, Margaret Atwood, Dan Simmons, Alexandra Adornetto, Hakan Nesser, Tom Waits, Jools Holland, Hannah Simone, Wu-Tang Clan, Bill Nye, Hawkwind, Monty Python, Time Bandits, Doctor Who, Terry Gilliam
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Playlists: songs with unusual narrators

February 28, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Song post from space: a 1959 Romanian stamp depicts Laika the Soviet canine cosmonaut 

Song post from space: a 1959 Romanian stamp depicts Laika the Soviet canine cosmonaut 

Dogs, cats, foxes, trucks, museum relics, or lighthouses, this week's playlist writer barbryn hasn't just collected songs, but a supremely illuminating story of alternative voices and perspectives

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, narrators, animals, They Might Be Giants, Nickel Creek, Guster, Jonathan Coulton, Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Robert Wyatt, The Cure, Philip Jeays, The Dark, The Triffids, Red Simpson, Gecko, Joanna Newsom, Jackson C Frank, Scott Walker, Lucero, James Keelaghan, Grandaddy, Tom Waits, Johnny Marr, Maxine Peake, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, The Weakerthans, Gram Parsons, Harry Nilsson, Hurricane Harry, The Rolling Stones, Alias, Barbryn
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Playlists: personal theme and entrance songs

February 21, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Make your entrance here at the Bar. Strict door policy, obviously …

Make your entrance here at the Bar. Strict door policy, obviously …

There's a big 2nd anniversary gig going on at the bar, but who will perform after all the songs and bands put forward last week? The Landlord invites you to witness the whole variety show, and also stay for a second stage afterparty

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, rock, songs, soul, postpunk, soundtracks Tags Songs, playlists, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Undertones, George Baker Selection, Jacques Brel, Mohammed Safi, Bollywood, Quentin Tarantino, film soundtrack, Dave Grusin, Henry Mancini, Etta James, Over The Rhine, Tom Petty, HM Coldstream Guards, Monty Python, Richard Wagner, Donald Trump, James Brown, The JBs, The Ronettes, Ronnie Spektor, Peggy Lee, Amy Irving, Jessica Rabbit, Echobelly, Norma Tanega, Betty Carter, Al Green, Barry White, Van McCoy, Ron Grainer, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, George Friederic Handel, Joel Grey, Roy Budd, Takeshi Terauchi and The Bunnys, The Stranglers, Ken Nordine, Mick Weaver, Shawn Phillips, Dudley Simpson Orchestra, TV themes, The Grateful Dead, CCS, The Rolling Stones, The Mother Hips, The Feelies, New Model Army, Klark Kent, The Dogs D'Amour, Adam and the Ants, Prince, Kendrick Lamar, Dizzee Rascal, Volbeat, David Rose & His Orchestra, Ethel Merman
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What's the next stage? Personal theme and entrance songs

February 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Bette Midler making a low-key appearance …

Bette Midler making a low-key appearance …

Song Bar 2nd Birthday Special: Suggest music that could emphasise or illuminate an individual's character in any setting, not merely in theatres, films or sports halls, but in a fantasy world of work, pub, home or street

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, Bette Midler, theatre, Film, musicals, childrens' TV, Bod, Derek Griffiths, Maggie Henderson, Sergei Prokofiev, David Bowie, Malcolm Arnold, George Cole, Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, Ealing comedy, standup comedy, DMX, Mike Tyson, Chris Eubank, boxing, Arturo Gatti, Muhammad Ali, AC/DC, Tina Turner, Star Wars, cricket, Jack Russell, Janelle Monae, Prince, James Brown, Jack White, Max Wall
Comment

Doctor, doctor! Bang goes the knighthood: songs featuring honorific titles

February 8, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Arise Sir Rod? Mr Stewart gets the the nod, but here Prince William does the honours, not the Queen

Arise Sir Rod? Mr Stewart gets the the nod, but here Prince William does the honours, not the Queen

Earls to Dukes, Your Honour to Your Excellency, Knights to Dames and Mr and Mrs, privilege or deserving, let's explore the meaning, use and tone of honorific titles in song lyrics and why society bestows them

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In blues, classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, honorific titles, politics, House of Commons, charity, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Duke Ellington, Lord Kitchener, religion, society, David Cameron, Elton John, Ray Davies, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Bowie, John Lydon, LS Lowry, Roald Dahl, Vanessa Redgrave, John Lennon, John Cleese, Paul Weller, Bradley Wiggins, Aldous Huxley, Alan Bennett, Jim Broadbent, Rabindranath Tagore, The Queen, royalty
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Playlists: songs with provocative, strange or humorous titles

February 7, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Mac users: Amon Düül II

Mac users: Amon Düül II

Psychological perspectives to sexual proclivities, social commentary to downright silliness, our guest playlist writer attwilightlarks covers a large articulate range of the human psyche in the wordy titles from last week's topic

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In blues, classical, country, comedy, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Songs, playlists, titles, sex, philosophy, Carl Jung, Martin Heidegger, Amon Düül II, A Sunny Day In Glasgow, The Deep Freeze Mice, Garfunkel And Oates, They Might Be Giants, Los Campesinos, Joan Armatrading, The Soft Machine, The Turtles, Jackie Leven, Felt, Indians In Moscow, The Movement, Billie Holiday, The Gourds, The Ramones, The Faces, Tony Joe White, Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs, Mental As Anything, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Ricky Warwick, Desmond Dekker, attwilightlarks
Comment

Titular spectacular: songs with provocative, strange, or humorous titles

February 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
A famously eye-catching Small Faces album, but there are many tasty song titles are out there …

A famously eye-catching Small Faces album, but there are many tasty song titles are out there …

Tantalising, striking, quirky, perhaps violent or sexually strange, offbeat,  bizarre combinations of words, numbers or symbols and more, awful, wonderful, suggest songs that cry out to be heard and live up to their title

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, soul Tags Songs, titles, The Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, The Small Faces, Sammy Cahn, Blur, Damon Albarn, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Ruttles, Neil Innes, Panic! At The Disco, Brendon Urie, Beyonce, Charlotte Church, Franz Zappa, Final Fantasy, Loretta Lynn, Guns 'n' Roses, The Police, Bon Iver, Noise Gunk Murder Castle, Of Montreal, Tom Waits, Sparklehorse, Stereolab, The Beatles, System of a Down, Soulwax, Fiona Apple, Chumbawumba, Butthole Surfers, Omar Rodríguez-López, Elvis Costello, System Of A Down, George Clinton, This is Spinal Tap, Gary Glitter, William Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, film, books
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New Albums …

Featured
Sam Grassie - Where Two Hawks Fly.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Sam Grassie: Where Two Hawks Fly
Apr 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful debut LP by the London-based Glaswegian fingerstyle folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, with added saxophone, double bass, flute, clairsach and clarinet in a release of mostly the traditional, covers, sung or instrumental, and supported by the Bert Jansch Foundation

Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt - Requiem.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt: Requiem
Apr 29, 2026

New album: A strangely mesmeric, avant-garde and analogue-ambient, field recording-based experimental release by the last surviving founding member of experimental ‘krautrock’ band CAN, who, approaching the age of 89, has also written over 40 TV and film scores

Apr 29, 2026
Gia Margaret - Singing.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Gia Margaret: Singing
Apr 28, 2026

New album: Gently profound, and full of wondrous, mesmeric, slow, delicate experimental songs, this simple title has a powerful resonance – it is the Chicago artist’s first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer (there have been two instrumental LPs since), having suffered and recovered from a severe vocal injury, she returns with a delicate, candid, whispery but hauntingly beautiful delivery

Apr 28, 2026
Angel In Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Angelo De Augustine: Angel in Plainclothes
Apr 28, 2026

New album: A beautiful, delicate fifth LP from the Los Angeles singer-songwriter, friend and collaborator with Sufjan Stevens with whom he shares a stylistic resemblance, here with themes on life's fragility, second chances, and picking up the pieces after an undiagnosed illness forced him to re-learn basic abilities

Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno - Confession.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno: Confession
Apr 28, 2026

New album: This lo-fi, darkly minimalist but also oddly candid fourth LP by the Australian, Castlemaine-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist centres on the conflicted, obsessive feelings about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, and “an album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire.”

Apr 28, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For album.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
Apr 26, 2026

New album: Passionate, powerful, dynamic indie rock in this sophomore LP by the Chicago-based quartet that gallops forwards with a driving momentum, some elements of early PJ Harvey and Radiohead, and is produced by John Congleton

Apr 26, 2026
White Denim - 13.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
White Denim: 13
Apr 26, 2026

New album: This 13th LP in two decades by the Austin, Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli has a particularly mischievous experimentalism, spreading styles far beyond breathlessly paced prog rock, with wrily humorous, surreal, personal and passionate numbers across heavy funk, dub, soul, psyche, country, dirty blues and more, joined by host of outstanding extra musicians

Apr 26, 2026
Asili ya Mama by Hukwe Zawose Foundation.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Hukwe Zawose Foundation: Asili ya Mama
Apr 24, 2026

New album: Wonderfully evocative field recordings release of Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa Tanzanian women singing traditional songs in their villages, rarely heard outside of their own circles, the title is translated as The Origin of Mother, rich in stories and capturing the place where song is first learned, first felt, first shared

Apr 24, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig
Apr 23, 2026

New album: Four decades since their self-titled debut, Brooklyn alternative rockers John Flansburgh and John Linnell return with their 24th LP, packed with of punchy, pacy, wistful, whimsical, clever wordplay and indie rock-pop, buoyantly satirical and also a little world weary at times, they remain oddball, lively commentators on the ongoing absurdity of life

Apr 23, 2026
Eaves Wilder - Little Miss Sunshine.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Eaves Wilder: Little Miss Sunshine
Apr 22, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Hookey EP, a strong, passionate indie-dream-pop-shoegaze full debut by the London singer-songwriter, whose breathy voice intertwines with strong, stirring riffs and textured sounds, themed around cycles of nature aiming to explain and celebrate the mercurial nature of human emotional weather

Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon - The Nightlife.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
Apr 22, 2026

New album: The irrepressible, prolific and charismatic London-based Chicago DJ, musician, producer and vinyl lover returns with a flamboyantly fun celebration of club and queer culture through the prism of dance music from disco to house, with a wide variety of guest vocalists

Apr 22, 2026
Tiga - HOTLIFE.jpeg
Apr 21, 2026
Tiga: HOTLIFE
Apr 21, 2026

New album: Montreal’s acclaimed electronica/techno/dance artist Tiga Sontag returns with his fourth album - inventively packed with head-nodding, toe-tapping, oddly itchy, infectious grooves, cleverly crafted retro sounds recalling Kraftwerk to acid house and electroclash, insistent bold beats and synth riffs, with lyrics of the existential, droll and surreal

Apr 21, 2026
Tomora - Come Closer.jpg
Apr 20, 2026
TOMORA: Come Closer
Apr 20, 2026

New album: A striking, dynamic collaboration between Norwegian experimental pop sensation Aurora and Tom Rowlands, one of half of Chemical Brothers, with a sensual, otherworldly energetic fusion of mystical, sensual ambience, and block-rocking dance beats

Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware - Superbloom.jpeg
Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware: Superbloom
Apr 20, 2026

New album: Following 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s That! Feels Good!, as well as the successful food podcast Table Manners she hosts alongside her mother, the British pop singer continues to ride the 70s disco ball train, catering to the clever, kitsch and catchy with an ironic wink, adding also a luxuriant garden metaphor

Apr 20, 2026

new songs …

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

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

Apr 30, 2026
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Apr 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Metric - Crush Forever
Apr 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Uplifting, effervescent electro-disco-pop by the Toronto indie rock band, with a song vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “my love letter to strong girls in this world”, taken from their recently released 10th album, Romanticize the Dive, out on Metric Music via Thirty Tigers

Apr 29, 2026
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Apr 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child
Apr 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, gripping, visceral folk by the Sheffield singer-songwriter, with a striking number based on an early 19th-century German poem about the fatal story of a child pleading for food, and, following last year’s acclaimed album, Wasteland, also out on Basin Rock, it heralds his upcoming soundtrack for the Hugh Jackman film, The Death of Robin Hood.

Apr 28, 2026
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Apr 27, 2026
Song of the Day: holybones (with Baxter Dury) - SLUGBOY
Apr 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, unsettling, sleazy and strange, this is arrestingly vivid new collaborative single between the clandestine London electronic collective and the downbeat, deep-voiced poetic Londoner, out on Promised Land Recordings

Apr 27, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Hand Habits - Good Person
Apr 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Gentle, droll, humorously self-deprecatingly, and also delicately beautiful, this new experimental folk single by the moniker of Los Angeles singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy addresses the love-hate relationship with making music, out on Fat Possum

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Pigeon - Miami
Apr 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, sunny, upbeawt indie synth-pop with an African twist by the Margate band fronted by Falle Nioke, with flavours of William Onyeabor, Hot Chip and New York 70s disco, heralding their upcoming album OUTTANATIONAL, out on 1 May via Memphis Industries

Apr 25, 2026
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Apr 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Tricky - Out of Place (featuring Marta Złakowska)
Apr 24, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating fusion of beats, orchestral strings and the Bristol trip-hop pioneer’s distinctive, deep, croaky voice, with an emotional reference to his daughter Mina Topley-Bird (1995–2019), and heralding his first solo album for six years, Different When It’s Silent, out on 17 June via False Idols

Apr 24, 2026
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Apr 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Beck - Ride Lonesome
Apr 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, simmering, slow, melancholy and reflective, a surprise single and welcome return by the acclaimed US artist, evoking the haunting, sun-bleached landscapes and musical textures of his 2015 Grammy winning album Morning Phase, out now on Iliad Records/Capitol Records

Apr 23, 2026
Gelli Haha - Klouds.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Song of the Day: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep
Apr 22, 2026

Song of the Day: Described appropriately as somewhere between Studio 42 and Area 51, eccentric, effervescent, spacey, catchy and eclectic disco pop by the Los Angeles artist (aka Angel Abaya, co-written with Sean Guerin) out on Innovative Leisure

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Song of the Day: LEENALCHI 이날치 - Here Comes That Crow 떴다 저 가마귀
Apr 21, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, funky, psychedelic and quirky new work by the seven-piece Seoul-based Korean pansori band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu with the title track of their new EP, out on 12 June via Luaka Bop, and heralding a European and North American tour

Apr 21, 2026
Jesca Hoop - Big Storm.jpeg
Apr 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesca Hoop - Big Storm
Apr 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, quirky experimental indie folk-pop by the innovative Manchester-based California artist, featuring a clever video that old footage and Hoop in various vintage guises, heralding her upcoming album Long Wave Home, out on 1 May via Last Laugh / Republic of Music

Apr 20, 2026
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Apr 19, 2026
Song of the Day: Gia Margaret - Alive Inside
Apr 19, 2026

Song of the Day: Delicate, dream-like, reflective experimental folk-pop by the American singer-songwriter and producer from Chicago, heralding her upcoming fourth album, Singing, out on Jagjaguwar

Apr 19, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Song thrush 2.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
Apr 23, 2026

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

Apr 23, 2026
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Apr 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
Apr 9, 2026

Word of the week: It might sound like the act of abstaining from food, but this noun from derived from undina (Latin unda) meaning wave, refers to mythical, elemental beings associated with water, such as mermaids, and stemming from the alchemical writings of the 16th-century Swiss physician, alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus

Apr 9, 2026
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Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

Word of the week: This ornate, curvaceous, south Indian classical instrument, the saraswati veena, is a special bowl lute with a rich, resonant tone, has 24 copper frets with four playing strings and three drone strings, and is used for Carnatic music

Mar 27, 2026
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Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

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

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

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

Feb 25, 2026

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