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Oh Lord! It's songs about preachers, priests and other religious leaders

August 3, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Peoples Temple leader Reverend Jim Jones in his classic shades at an anti-eviction rally in San Francisco in 1977 with Rev. Cecil Williams

From the divine to the ridiculous, they’ve accompanied others’ lives from birth to marriage and death, stand for moral guidance but sometimes go badly astray, but are fascinatingly charismatic, flawed and human. With inspiration here from real life to film and fiction, how are they captured in 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 songs, playlists, religion, preachers, priests, Martin Luther, Jim Jones, Timothy Radcliffe, Barry White, Frank Dane, Colin Quinn, King Henry II, Thomas Becket, Father Ted, books, television, Film, drama, Comedy, Clarence Clemons, Curtis Mayfield, Simon Rattle, Jerry Falwell, Reverend Al Sharpton, Ayatollah Khomeini, Diogenes, Samuel Butler, Thomas Paine, pope, Borgias, Jaimie Gomez, Shoko Asahara, Marshall Applewhite, Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, Sun Myung Moon, Neil Postman, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Alan Rickman, Robert Mitchum, Charles Laughton, Robert Duvall, gospel, Deadwood, David Milch, Brad Dourif, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King
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Playlists: songs with shaggy dog stories and tall tales

August 2, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Late nights with a transcendent genius: Mark E Smith with Brix

Leading you down the garden path and beyond? Taking liberties with the facts? After a flurry of fabulous stories from last week’s topic, guest playlister ParaMhor narratives a host of colourful tale tales that can’t help but pull you in …

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, krautrock, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags shaggy dog tales, narrative, stories, songs, playlists, Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, Yard Act, Herbaliser, What What, Pluto Shervington, Singers Players, Prince Far I, Looper, Damien Jurado, The Fall, The Human League, The Streets, Bob Dylan, Hatfield and the North, The Nightriders, City Boy, Sparks, The Only Ones, Lightnin' Hopkins, Tony Joe White, Brenda Wootton, Ivor Cutler, Cathal Coughlan, King Missile, The Burning Hell, Bonny Light Horseman, Rooney, Genesis, Father John Misty, ParaMhor
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Spinning yarns: songs with shaggy dog stories and tall tales

July 27, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Leaps of imagination …

Witty, mischievous absurdity, hairy hopelessness, irrelevant incidents, or audible anticlimax and a pointless punchline? It’s time to examine the art of tall storytelling in song. Enjoy some examples in comedy and literature here, but how will your suggestions end up?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Laurence Sterne, Peter Cook, The Simpsons, Flann O'Brien, Reginald Bretnor, books, Mark Twain, Marcel Proust, Norm Macdonald, Ken Dodd, Comedy, Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, Dudley Moore, Derek and Clive, Barry Humphries, Dave Allen, Tom Waits
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Playlists: songs about shame

July 25, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Children in poverty in Manchester, early 1900s

It comes in many forms, but is often most powerful when it’s a hidden, secret shame. Picking from many great nominations out of last week’s topic, guest of the week DiscoMonster posts a powerful, personal narrative alongside his playlist

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, dance, disco, drone, electronica, experimental, dub, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, music, pop, playlists, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, hip hop, country Tags shame, guilt, family, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Diana Ross, The Supremes, Jay-Z, Joy Division, Michael Kiwanuka, Cowboy Junkies, The Triumphs, Young Fathers, Sudan Archives, Billie Eilish, Sault, Mogwai, Lord Melody
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Scandalous! It's songs about shame

July 20, 2023 Peter Kimpton

“Actually, I think you’ll find these are not stocks, it’s a pillory …”

Far bigger than embarrassment, shame can be private, deep-seated and complex, covering all sides of society, psychology, religious, private or public life, a many-sided identity that can be corrosive but also controlling, useful but also harmful. How does it show in 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 songs, playlists, shame, guilt, confessions, Carl Jung, Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Swift, Mencius, Blaise Pascal, politics, pollution, George RR Martin, Game of Thrones, television, Film, Charles Darwin, animal behaviour, animals, Gulliver's Travels, books, George Eliot, James Hollis, Immanuel Kant, Bernard Williams, Charles Dickens, Bishop Demond Tutu, Brené Brown, Margaret Atwood, religion, Dolly Parton, Fiona Apple, John Grisham, Aimee Mann, Twitter, Fesshole, Ed Sheeran
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Playlists: big and 'meaty' songs

July 19, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Get on up with the meaty Mountain …

It’s nothing to do with meat to eat,, but this doesn’t stop these playlists, picked from last week’s tasty, succulent but very subjective topic by guest MussoliniHeadkick, being a complete feast of of very fulfilling sounds. Pass the gravy …

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In African, blues, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, soul, songs, ska, rocksteady Tags songs, playlists, Mountain, The Stooges, Iggy Pop, Mudhoney, King Crimson, A Certain Ratio, Brides of Funkenstein, Mantronix, Forgemasters, Tom Morello, Glaze, Betty Davis, Mandrill, Prince Douglas, Ike and Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Blondie, My Bloody Valentine, Nova Twins, The Cult, sugar, Paul McCartney, Wings, The Killers, The Horrors, Nocturnal Emissions, MussoliniHeadkick, Container
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Flesh this out: big and ‘meaty’ songs and music

July 13, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Deep and meaty?

This week’s topic is sensual rather than cerebral, and extremely subjective. It’s less a lyrical lookup, more seeking out music that makes you, at least metaphorically, vibrate, and even salivate. Please suggest examples and describe the accompanying feeling

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, dance, country, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Mozart, Suzi Quatro, Beethoven, William Ross Wallace, Terry Riley, Jean-Michel Jarre, food, bass guitars, Jean-Jacques Burnel, The Stranglers, Jaco Pastorius, Charles Mingus, Yes, Chris Squire, Lemmy, Peter Hook, New Order, The Who, John Entwistle, Peter Strickland, Film, film soundtrack, The Sonic Catering Band
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Playlists: songs about the boring, dull, ordinary and mundane

July 12, 2023 Peter Kimpton

…

Can boredom and banality become such an art form that they become exciting, or snorefest into the stimulating? Picking from last week’s topic, guest playlister Olive Butler presents a magnificent selection of mundanity

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In blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags boredom, mundanity, ordinary, The Jam, The Smiths, The Mountain Goats, Joni Mitchell, Bobby Charles, Tyler The Creator, Dry Cleaning, Doves, Serge Gainsbourg, Maxine Sullivan, Tom Waits, Blondie, Morrissey, George Formby, Paul McCartney, Ivor Cutler, Moldy Peaches, The Lottery Winners, Arab Strap, The Frank and Walters, Hatfield and the North, The Lovin' Spoonful, Alan Price, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Stranglers, New Model Army, Peter Gabriel, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, George Thorogood, The Strawbs, John Shuttleworth, Olive Butler
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Playlists: songs about sunsets and twilight

July 5, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Orange beauty …

It’s a magical and at times surreal period at the end of day. Inspired by all the nominations from last week’s topic, guest playlister Shiv Sidecar picks a set of beautiful lists capturing a full spectrum of light, sounds, moods and genres. What a beauty.

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, 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, rocksteady, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags sunsets, twilight, playlists, Michael Chapman, Stevie Wonder, Nitin Sawhney, Gordon Lightfoot, Roy Harper, Sun Dial, Captain Beefheart, Jim Carroll Band, Arcade Fire, Turin Brakes, The Chemical Brothers, Sanford Ponder, Bright Eyes, Great Lake Swimmers, Steven James Adams, Ry Cooder, Mali Music, Damon Albarn, Afel Bocoum, Yothu Yindi, Johnny Shines, Johnnie Taylor, Them, Van Morrison, The Accent, Screaming Trees, Shawn Phillips, Wendy Waldman, Jackie Lomax, Jane, Duke Ellington, Kate Bush, The Eyes, Paul Weller, Jack Bruce, Seth Lakeman, Lisa Gerrard, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv, Eska
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Playlists: songs about 'everything'

June 27, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Promising everything: Them featuring the young Van Morrison

Is everything awesome or is it awful, or the full works in between? There’s a whole spectrum of ideas and feelings about ‘everything’ expressed in song, and from last week’s topic guest playlister Noodsy very neatly picks great numbers to capture the big picture

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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, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Tegan and Sara, The Lonely Island, The Decemberists, The Police, The Real Thing, Them, Van Morrison, Wham!, Samara Joy, Gillian Welch, Billie Eilish, Lole y Manuel, Teenage Fanclub, Underworld, Bebel Gilberto, Manic Street Preachers, Captain Beefheart, Ken Boothe, The Smiths, Bauhaus, Barry White, Panda Bear, Sonic Boom, The Auteurs, The Kinks, Grant Lee Buffalo, Angèle, Roméo Elvis, Quincy Jones, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Noodsy
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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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Gut instinct: songs about the stomach and digestive system

June 15, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Belly up? Billie Eilish contemplates some big ones in her video for Bad Guy

It’s our second ‘brain’ a part of the body that rules us more than we think. Whether in literal or metaphorical lyrics, it’s time to pull in or push out, in the form of song suggestions. Inspired by gut feelings, intestines, belly buttons and cultural and scientific inspiration here …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, anatomy, stomach, digestion, Billie Eilish, Sherry A. Rogers, Burt Reynolds, Sharon Osbourne, Joan Rivers, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Napoleon Bonaparte, Robynne Chutkan, Giulia Enders, Ilchi Lee, The Simpsons, Dr Michael Mosley, Theodor Kerckring, science, animals, Ivan Pavlov, Alfred Nobel, Kurt Cobain, Gustave Flaubert, Jean de la Fontaine, Shakira, Reggie Watts, Joan Jett, Paul Thomas Anderson, Iggy Pop
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Playlists: songs about artificial intelligence (AI)

June 13, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Assimilation complete: Kraftwerk

You put in the data and ideas, but what came out? Choosing from many highly non-artificial acts of the intelligence and imagination, guest Loud Atlas used his sharp human instincts create excellent playlists and see what an AI chatbot thought of them.

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In drone, disco, electronica, experimental, dance, blues, avant-garde, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, playlists, musicals, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks, showtime Tags artificial intelligence, robots, robotics, ChatGPT, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, The Flaming Lips, Stephen Moore, Kimi Wong, The Whiskey Rebellion, The Alan Parsons Project, France Gall, Roy Wood, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Looper, Silver Bullet, Flight of the Conchords, Supercell, Hatsune Miku, Janelle Monae, Brian Wilson, Daft Punk, Mr Bungle, Styx, Kate Bush, Rush, Grandaddy, Regurgitator, Grace Slick, Rocky's Filj, The Broken Family Band, AC/DC, Marco Beltrami, Bright Eyes, Desro, Tenacious D, Brad Fiedel, Loud Atlas
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Playlists: songs about taking recreational and illicit drugs

June 7, 2023 Peter Kimpton

The Stooges: possibly under the influence …

Coke, speed, heroin, acid? It’s all in circulation, from trippy and frenzied highs to comedown chillouts and lows, here in colourful, mesmeric playlists picked by guest MussoliniHeadkick from last week’s many nominations, you’ll find it all extremely stimulating .…

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In African, avant-garde, blues, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady Tags songs, playlists, drugs, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, acid, LSD, Godfrey, The Other Half, The Seeds, The Shamen, Primal Scream, African Head Charge, Gil Scott-Heron, Lana Del Rey, Wet Leg, The Stooges, Nine Inch Nails, Dead Can Dance, Mary Lou Lord, Wayne Smith, Black Uhuru, Welton Irie, Ofefonken, Suede, Sisters of Mercy, Canned Heat, Hawkwind, Placebo, Fun Lovin' Criminals, The Warlocks, MussoliniHeadkick
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Rush hour: songs about taking recreational and illicit drugs

June 1, 2023 Peter Kimpton

From Salvador Dalí’s The Seven Lively Arts: The Art of the Concert

Trip up, or down? Hallucinogens, amphetamines, barbiturates and more, it’s time to feel stimulated and inspired by a big creative subject in the world of music, with songs about and expressing the ups and downs and experience of taking illicit, recreational drugs

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, drugs, Salvador Dali, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Aldous Huxley, Jean Cocteau, Irvine Welsh, Jim Morrison, Keith Richards, David Sedaris, Frank Zappa, William Gibson, David Lee Roth, Robin Williams, LSD, ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, cannabis, animal behaviour, animals, Thomas De Quincey, Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, John Keats, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe, Hunter S. Thompson, Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead, Alan Moore, Eddie Izzard, Timothy Leary, John Higgs, Carrie Fisher, David Foster Wallace, Lemmy, Nikki Sixx, Disney, Pendleton Ward, Duncan Trussell
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How childish! It's songs about immaturity

May 25, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Look back in Angus …

Knob gags and pranks to child savants, this week it’s about not growing up, the pros and cons that entails, from annoying, destructive self-centredness to touching naivety, lack of experience but also hunger to discover, playful creativity. Plenty of examples to inspire, but how is this expressed in song?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, immaturity, adolescence, children, growing up, Jeff Buckley, Dave Barry, Ogden Nash, TS Eliot, Woody Allen, Jhonen Vasquez, John Kenneth Galbraith, Tom Standage, Immanuel Kant, Isaiah Berlin, Arnold J. Toynbee, Jean Piaget, Wilhelm Stekel, Erich Fromm, Georg Büchner, Germaine Greer, Tom Robbins, Vladimir Nabokov, Lise Sarfati, Anthony Burgess, Henry Purcell, Suzi Quatro, Gary Numan, Abba, Bjorn Ulvaus, Daryl Hall, The Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell, Ezra Furman, Jack White, Meg White, The White Stripes, Jack Wild, Film, musicals, The Simpsons, Mickey Rourke, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Wilder, Norman Wisdom, Spongebob Squarepants, South Park, Matt Stone, Monty Python
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Playlists: lesser-known original versions

May 23, 2023 Peter Kimpton

What a woman: Lynda Lyndell

A huge topic and response to last week’ post uncovered many treasures in their original form. From soul to ska, pop, rock and more, guest playlister Barbryn presents a superb selection going back to the roots of numbers with fascinating stories and research

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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 playlists, covers, cover versions, originals
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Revealed! Lesser-known original songs more famously covered or reworked

May 18, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Not lesser known, but definitely a revealing and true original …

This week it’s time to dig deep for those original songs overshadowed by hit or well-known covers. We can also include remixes and other reworkings, as well as lesser known songs so heavily sampled they make a prominent core more famous version

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, 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, punk, psychedelia, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, covers, Little Richard, NIck Lowe, The Ramones, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, The Beatles, Oasis, artificial intelligence, Aisis, Breezer, Blondie, The Slits, The Stranglers, The Flying Lizards, Randy & The Rainbows, The Paragons, The Marvelettes, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Rufus Thomas, Tommy Dorsey, Smokey Robinson, Barrett Strong, Soft Cell, Gloria Jones, Wigan Casino, Happy Mondays, The Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder, John Kongos, Daft Punk, Beyonce, Edwin Birdsong, The Chi-Lites, Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Ellie Goulding, Barry Manilow, Austin Mahone, Patti Smith, M. Ward, Hank Williams, Curtiss Maldoon, Gwen McCrae, Lori Lieberman, Sonny Dae, The McCoys, The Nerves
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Playlists: songs about nudity and nakedness

May 17, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Ars Poetica: Lizzo and friends strike an artistic pose

High art to big bum beauty, it’s time to fling off those garments and let it all hang out as guest playlister Tatanka Yotanka goes au naturel with a double dozen pair of playlists inspired by last week’s nominations that brilliantly buff

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, gospel, jazz, krautrock, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags nudity, nakedness, John Berger, Frank Zappa, Ann Tracy, The Andrews Sisters, Vic Shoen Orchestra, Talking Heads, PJ Harvey, Neneh Cherry, Ida Maria, Rita Coolidge, Lizzo, Mo' Horizons, Anoushka Shankar, Randy Newman, Philip Jeays, The Donnas, The Cramps, Joan Jett, Blue Pearl, Cat Power, Becky G, Natti Natasha, Cosmo Sheldrake, Shakira, Sabrina Claudio, Piero Umiliani, Screeching Weasel, Oi Polloi, Kevin Coyne, Lorraine Bowen, Peter Hammill, Jackie Leven, TatankaYotanka
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Bare with us: songs about nudity and nakedness

May 11, 2023 Peter Kimpton

It’s a cover-up. Australian Michael O’Brien goes for a famous bet on exposure at Twickenham in 1974. Strangely Christ-like?

Ancient art to modern exposure, Emperor’s New Clothes to strippers, streakers and various performers, exposed souls in songwriting, what is the different between naked and nude, and how does it express itself in song? All revealed here 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 nakedness, nudity, songs, playlists, Gypsy Rose Lee, Josephine Baker, William Blake, Stevie Nicks, Jeanette Winterson, Shelley Winters, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, naturism, BBC, Bernard Falk, Yorkshire, religion, Peter Paul Rubens, Stephen Appleby, Hans Christian Anderson, Robert Altman, Leonardo Da Vinci, festivals, Burning Man, art, sculpture, Michelangelo, eroticism, Sandro Botticelli, Renoir, Henri Matisse, George Bellows, Bette Davis, Mae West, Daryl Hannah, Tracee Ellis Ross, Helen Mirren, Marilyn Monroe, Eva Mendes, Isabella Rossellini, Gwen Stefani, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Gaiman, Iggy Pop, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, GG Allin, Wendy O. Williams, Hank Wangford, streakers
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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New Albums …

Featured
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Apr 1, 2026
MEMORIALS: All Clouds Bring Not Rain
Apr 1, 2026

New album: Innovative, eclectic fusion of psychedelia, folk, dub, krautrock, 60s soul, garage rock, prog, pop, electronica and 70s spiritual jazz by the Canterbury experimental duo of Verity Susman and Matthew Simms

Apr 1, 2026
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Apr 1, 2026
José González: Against The Dying Of The Light
Apr 1, 2026

New album: A gentle, reflective, meditative, but quietly defiant fifth LP by the Swedish-Argentine indie-folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, following his last, Local Valley, broadening his perspective in an urgent call to preserve the light of humanity as technology advances in ironically darkening world

Apr 1, 2026
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Apr 1, 2026
RAYE: This Music May Contain Hope
Apr 1, 2026

New album: A highly entertaining, exuberantly stylish, cross-genre 17-track, 73-minute odyssey by the London popstar, with a huge musical show of a second LP, spanning swing-era jazz to soul, R&B, house music, pop, dance, gospel, classical and the full kitchen sink, with orchestral band, family members, Hans Zimmer, and even Al Green

Apr 1, 2026
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Mar 30, 2026
Pitou: P2
Mar 30, 2026

New album: Brilliantly quirky, original second LP of experimental folk pop by the Amsterdam artist, who has the free spirited musical adventurousness reminiscent of Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus and Fiona Apple in this clever, playful, stop-start work with oodles of vocal loops and layering, electronica and unusual field recordings across themes of freedom and restlessness

Mar 30, 2026
Robyn - Sexistential.jpeg
Mar 29, 2026
Robyn: Sexistential
Mar 29, 2026

New album: After a break of seven years, the hugely influential 46-year-old Swedish pop star returns with a new burst of alternative, electro-pop bangers, in this ninth LP, now subverting themes of romantic love in another context since having gone through having IVF and becoming a single parent

Mar 29, 2026
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Mar 29, 2026
The Twilight Sad: It's The Long Goodbye
Mar 29, 2026

New album: The Glasgow indie rockers fronted by vocalist James Graham and guitarist Andy MacFarlane return with a tempestuous, highly emotional and moving sixth LP, their first for seven years, with musical input from The Cure’s Robert Smith, fuelled by the illness and passing of Graham’s mother and his subsequent mental health struggles

Mar 29, 2026
Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit.jpeg
Mar 28, 2026
Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit
Mar 28, 2026

New album: The Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist returns after a five-year gap to bring more of her witty, indie-country-rock, but with a bittersweet flavour, and an emotionally resonant record that explores change and the central question: how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life

Mar 28, 2026
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Mar 26, 2026
Ego Ella May: Good Intentions
Mar 26, 2026

New album: Beautifully crafted but effortlessly performed, a wonderful release of delicious, classy, smooth and smoky soul, jazz and RnB by the London singer-songwriter who has vocal and stylistic qualities reminiscent of Erykah Badu and Sade

Mar 26, 2026
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Mar 25, 2026
Ellie O'Neill: Time of Fallow
Mar 25, 2026

New album: A gorgeous, delicate debut folk LP by the Dublin-based singer-songwriter from County Meath with an exquisite voice, not unlike that of Joni Mitchell, that hovers and rises with expressive control, with themes of memory, grief, desire, and self-reckoning

Mar 25, 2026
Paradises by Ladytron.jpeg
Mar 25, 2026
Ladytron: Paradises
Mar 25, 2026

New album: Following 2023’s Time’s Arrow, the Liverpool synth-pop band fronted by Helen Marnie, now a trio, return with substantial 16-track eighth LP that combines simplicity of chord progressions with rich textures, styles retro and futuristic with classic, catchy pop melodies

Mar 25, 2026
Girlfriend by Grace Ives.jpeg
Mar 25, 2026
Grace Ives: Girlfriend
Mar 25, 2026

New album: Best known as a bedroom pop artist on her DIY produced first two LPs, the New Yorker returns with an expanded sound of eclectic, striking synth-pop, fuelled by a sense of personal and musical rebirth, inspired by some Californian sunshine where she recorded, and referencing an escape from addictions

Mar 25, 2026
Hoggar by Tinariwen.jpeg
Mar 23, 2026
Tinariwen: Hoggar
Mar 23, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Amatssou, the collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of southern Algeria and of northern Mali return with a 10th LP iteration of their signature desert blues style sung in Tamasheq, and joined this time by younger younger musicians from the bands Imarhan and Terakaft, as well as guests José González and Sulafa Elyas

Mar 23, 2026
Avalon Emerson - Written Into Changes album.jpeg
Mar 23, 2026
Avalon Emerson & The Charm: Written Into Changes
Mar 23, 2026

New album: A fabulous, bright, catchy and expanded, more live sound by the innovative New York multi-instrumentalist of experimental indie and synth-pop, moving on from the more bedroom feel of her first self-titled & The Charm LP, and here with lyrical themes of personal and relationship evolution

Mar 23, 2026
Anna Calvi - Is That All There Is?.jpeg
Mar 22, 2026
Anna Calvi: Is This All There Is?
Mar 22, 2026

New EP: A powerful, passionate, dynamic return by the extraordinary singer-songwiter and guitarist on a four-track EP, in which she duets with Iggy Pop, Perfume Genius, Laurie Anderson and The National’s Matt Berninger, and the first of a trilogy

Mar 22, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Jack White - G.O.D and the Broken Ribs.jpeg
Apr 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Jack White - G.O.D. AND THE BROKEN RIBS / Derecho Demonico
Apr 3, 2026

Song of the Day: The acclaimed rock guitarist-singer-singer of White Stripes fame returns with this punchy, scorching catchy organ-backed, biblical-modern-fable-apocalypse-themed number alongside another, the Led Zeppelin-esque Derecho Demonico, out on his label Third Man Records

Apr 3, 2026
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Apr 2, 2026
Song of the Day: Julia Cumming - Please Let Me Remember This
Apr 2, 2026

Song of the Day: Lush, classic, piano-pop by the New York–born multi-instrumentalist and Sunflower Bean singer and bassist, influenced by Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and heralding her debut solo album, Julia, out on 24 April via Partisan Records

Apr 2, 2026
Jessie Ware - Automatic.jpeg
Apr 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Jessie Ware - Automatic
Apr 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Infectiously catchy, funk-soul-disco pop by the charismatic singer-songwriter featuring a deep-voiced spoken intro by actor Colman Domingo, and the latest single heralding upcoming sixth album, Superbloom, out on 17 April via Interscope

Apr 1, 2026
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Mar 31, 2026
Song of the Day: Mount Palomar ft. Enola Gay - Feeding Frenzy
Mar 31, 2026

Song of the Day: Pulsating, dark, hard-hitting dance and hip-hop by the Northern Irish music producer, DJ and live electronic hardware artist Neil Kerr, joined by the Belfast indie-noise-punk quartet, on this title track of a new four-track EP, out on Ursa Minor

Mar 31, 2026
Jungle - Carry On.jpeg
Mar 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Jungle - Carry On
Mar 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Swoonful, beautiful, but also bittersweet and vulnerable, old-fashioned soul-pop by the British band featuring the vocals of Lydia Kitto in a number co-penned with producer Joshua Lloyd Watson, heralding the upcoming album, Sunshine, out on 14 August via Caiola Records / AWAL Recordings

Mar 30, 2026
The Ocelots - Revisions.jpeg
Mar 29, 2026
Song of the Day: The Ocelots - Motor Hotel
Mar 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, reflective, uplifting alternative folk with banjo, guitar, flute and more by the Wexford Irish twin brothers Brandon and Ashley Watson, from their new five-track EP, Revisions, a mix of new and re-worked, re-recorded numbers

Mar 29, 2026
Lee Scratch Perry and Mouse on Mars.jpeg
Mar 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Lee "Scratch" Perry & Mouse On Mars - Rockcurry
Mar 28, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish, eclectic, cross-genre single from the late, great, legendary Jamaican producer and performer’s ongoing legacy, heralding his last official album - the project in Berlin with electronic pioneers Mouse on Mars (aka Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma) and the LP - Spatial, No Problem on on 5 June via Domino Records

Mar 28, 2026
Soulwax - Perfect We Are Not.jpeg
Mar 27, 2026
Song of the Day: Soulwax - Perfect We Are Not
Mar 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Following last October’s album All Systems Are Lying, Belgium’s Dewaele brothers David and Stephen return with a vibrant electro-pop dance standalone single with droll lyrics, from their recent Abbey Road After Hours project which included a live event at the iconic London studio

Mar 27, 2026
Lykke Li - The Afterparty.jpeg
Mar 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Lykke Li - Lucky Again
Mar 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Bright, uplifting, singalong, big sound pop in this welcome return from the enigmatic Swedish singer-songwriter and model, heralding her upcoming new album The Afterparty, out on 8 May via Futures Music Group

Mar 26, 2026
Model:Actriz - Swan Songs.jpeg
Mar 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Model/Actriz - Glassman
Mar 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Violently sensual, truly alternative and viscerally arresting experimental noise/ industrial rock with guitar sounds unlike any other band, all conjured up by the Brooklyn quartet from their new EP Swan Songs out on Dirty Hit Records

Mar 25, 2026
Death Cab For Cutie - Riptides.jpeg
Mar 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Death Cab For Cutie - Riptides
Mar 24, 2026

Song of the Day: With a gradual, powerfully growing intensity, this new indie-rock single about personal and universal challenges by the Washington band fronted by Ben Gibbard, heralds the upcoming 11th album, I Built a Tower, produced by John Congleton, and out on 5 June via ANTI- Records

Mar 24, 2026
Ed O'Brien - Blue Morpho.jpeg
Mar 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Ed O'Brien - Blue Morpho
Mar 23, 2026

Song of the Day: An orchestral, atmospheric, textured, gently serene new number with background birdsong by the Radiohead co-founder and guitarist with the title track heralding his second solo album, out on 22 May via Transgressive

Mar 23, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Veena player.jpg
Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

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

Mar 27, 2026
Snail on a wall.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

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

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

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

Feb 25, 2026
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Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

Word of the week: A form or hammered dulcimer, this traditional Korean instrument, with a flat and trapezoidal shape, has seven sets of four metal strings hit by thin bamboo stick

Feb 12, 2026
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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