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Playlists: meta-songs or songs that reference themselves

January 12, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Portrait of Laurence Sterne by Joshua Reynolds, 1760. Sterne’s revolutionarily divergent meta-novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, became a huge influence on great 20th century novelists from James Joyce to Italo Calvino and T…

Portrait of Laurence Sterne by Joshua Reynolds, 1760. Sterne’s revolutionarily divergent meta-novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, became a huge influence on great 20th century novelists from James Joyce to Italo Calvino and Thomas Pynchon

In the spirit of Laurence Sterne’s wonderfully original novel, and inspired by a hive mind of nominations, guest guru Uncleben embarks on a marvellous meandering journey of deliberate divergence to explore a self-referential mirror-hall of lyrical meta

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, meta-songs, Stan Kenton, Odyssey, Donny Hathaway, Yachts, The Frank and Walters, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Carla Bley, Billie Eilish, The Yummy Fur, David Bowie, Belle & Sebastian, Procul Harum, Marty Feldman, Simon & Garfunkel, Christine and the Queens, The Burning Hell, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Todd Rundgren, Neil Young, The Gladiators, The Four Intruders, Car Seat Headrest, Wire, Quiet Sun, Al Green, King Curtis, Pulp, Matching Mole, Chic, Baccara, Fujiya & Miyagi, The Beatles, Thin Lizzy, Camera Obscura, Public Image Limited, Magazine, Captain Beefheart, Uncleben
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Reflect back on this: meta songs

January 7, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Getting right into each other: ABBA

Getting right into each other: ABBA

Songs about themselves. Does this sound loopy? You’re right. It’s all about the self-referential to any aspect of a songs’s own music, structure, instruments, format, lyrics and more. Droste effect? Mirroring? It’s all about the song

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, meta-songs, paradox, Rudolf Carnap, Douglas Hofstadter, Badly Drawn Boy, Nick Cave, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Public Image Limited, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Al Green, Jeffrey Lewis, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Belle & Sebastian, The Beatles, OutKast, Matching Mole, heraldry, mise en abyme, art, Giotto, Jan Van Eyck, Jan Misset, brands, MC Escher, Film, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Charlie Kaufman, Philip K Dick, Laurence Sterne, Russell Hoban, The Simpsons, Mandelbrot, Pink Floyd
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Playlists: songs for the spirit of 2021

January 6, 2021 Peter Kimpton
There’s only one direction to go in 2021, and Derrick shows the way …

There’s only one direction to go in 2021, and Derrick shows the way …

From party bangers to soulful sensitivity, guest playlister DJ Bear aka PopOff! kicks off the new year with poignancy and positivity inspired by a tonne of nominations. After all what other way is there to go but up?

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In dance, disco, dub, folk, funk, indie, music, playlists, pop, reggae, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, 2021, new year, Talking Heads, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Florence and the Machine, Seal, Billy Ocean, Derrick Morgan, The Streets, D:Ream, William DeVaughn, Pink, Andrew W.K., AC/DC, INXS, Elton John, The Police, Show Of Hands, Dr John, Mavis Staples, Friday Saturday & Sunday, Nat King Cole, The The, Emily Scott Robinson
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Pip-pip old chap: a tribute to John aka 9hairs9knots

January 5, 2021 Peter Kimpton
John, aka 9hairs9knots in a classic pose …

John, aka 9hairs9knots in a classic pose …

Pull up a chair, pour a drink and soak in this extensive farewell, filled with anecdotes, quotes and songs to John, aka 9hairs9knots, mischievous, articulate, knowledgeable, funny, warm, sensitive regular here at the Song Bar for years. Rest in peace.

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In African, avant-garde, disco, dub, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, prog, rock, songs, ska, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, 9hairs9knots, Miles Davis, Todd Rundgren, Aretha Franklin, Dinah Washington, Jimi Hendrix, Detroit Spinners, Earth Wind & Fire, Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Wade Flemons, Willie Mitchell, William DeVaughn, The Beatles, Dr John, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, Country Joe and the Fish, Pink Floyd, White Bird, Bill Withers, Fort Knox Five, Us3, The The, Steely Dan, The Pretenders, Carleen Anderson, Van Morrison
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Goodbye 2020: songs for the spirit of 2021

December 31, 2020 Peter Kimpton
And this bird must sing …

And this bird must sing …

Hope, fear, dreams, resolutions, giving the finger to 2020, but a welcome thumbs up to 2021? However you feel about this new chapter in the calendar of our lives, it’s time to express it in the form of song suggestions

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In African, blues, avant-garde, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, new year, 2020, 2021, Emily Dickinson, TS Eliot, Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Covid-19, green energy, environment, racism, Black Lives Matter, Dr Seuss, Dale Carnegie, CS Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Samuel Johnson, George Eliot, Frank Sinatra, Socrates, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paul Coehlo, Vaclav Havel, Pliny The Elder, Cyril Cusack, James Brown, Bill Withers, Beak, Bing Crosby, Charles Brown, Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, The Zombies
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Playlists: no words, just dance instrumentals

December 29, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Get down, Soul Train style, to the likes of TSOP and a whole lot more, and dance the 2020 blues away …

Get down, Soul Train style, to the likes of TSOP and a whole lot more, and dance the 2020 blues away …

Let the music do the talking! This lyric-free set of lists, inspired by nominations from last week and picked by our dance maestro magicman, steps niftily across genres, leaves no muscle untouched, and will help dance those 2020 blues away

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In African, avant-garde, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, folk, gospel, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, instrumentals, Lee Scratch Perry, Wamdue Project, La Bottine Souriante, MFSB, The Three Degrees, Glen Miller, Giorgio Moroder, Winifred Atwell, Mitchie M, Ray Charles, Perez Prado, 808 State, Treacherous Orchestra, David Bowie, The Detroit Experiment, Duke Ellington, Young-Holt Unlimited, Alfredo Linares, King Sunny Ade, Bob Holroyd, Four Tet, Rhythm Makers, Love Unlimited Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Percy Faith Orchestra, Conjunto Sarau, Fatman Riddim Section, King Oliver, Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz, Aswad, Benga & Coki, West Nkosi, Makgona Tsohie Band, Willard McDaniel, Scientist, Maceo & The Macks, Todd Terje, David Shire, East of Eden, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, magicman
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No words, just movement: dance instrumentals through the ages

December 24, 2020 Peter Kimpton
From A to … Zaouli. The traditional dance of the Guro people of central Ivory Coast

From A to … Zaouli. The traditional dance of the Guro people of central Ivory Coast

No lyrics, all music and floor-filling movement. From formal to spontaneous styles, afrobeat to acid house, and anything in history all the way to zaouli, Zwiefacher, zydeco and zouk-Lambada, the musical dancefloor is all yours …

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In African, avant-garde, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, rock, showtime, soul, soundtracks, traditional, songs Tags songs, instrumentals, playlists, dance, Africa, medieval, Renaissance, ballroom, jazz, traditional, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Josephine Baker, ballet
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Playlists: songs about knots, ties and untying

December 22, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Lacy days … a band of knots

Lacy days … a band of knots

Tied up, tied down, in difficulty, for practicality or pleasure, dreadlocks to complex knots, this week’s guest Marco den Ouden has untangled nominations to knit together two tremendous playlists to which any listener will feel attached

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In African, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, rocksteady, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, knots, Ylvis, Lisa Harrigan, Yello, 1 Giant Leap, Speech, Neneh Cherry, Shack, The Proclaimers, Harry Chapin, Lissie, Everything But The Girl, Tony Orlando, Shari Elf, Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Julie Carrick, Bjork, Hex, Kate Bush, Bob Kayli, Cornershop, Bubbley Kaur, Bongwater, Leon Russell, Bruce Springsteen, Jacob Miller, I Roy, Snow Patrol, Bing Crosby, Richard Thompson, Dolly Parton, Jon English, Slim Whitman, Barzin, Tindersticks, Almer, Radwimps, Rusty Draper, The Go-Go's, Oyvind Holm, Vibe 18, The Gladiators, Steeleye Span, Julie Andrews, Foxes, Marco den Ouden, Huey Lewis and the News, Roy Orbison
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Playlists: songs about bodily motion, exercise and physiotherapy

December 16, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci

‘The heart’s a muscle. I pull it constantly’. Stretching not only the body, but also the mind and musical boundaries, these week’s playlists, expertly exercised by guest TatankaYotanka, help find parts we didn’t even know we had

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, ska, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, biology, medicine, exercise, Fred Smalls, Gazelle Twin, Christine and the Queens, They Might Be Giants, Jae Tyler, Moby, Beyonce, Chelmico, Ofenbach & Quarterhead, Superchunk, The Nightingales, Smog, British Sea Power, Kamasi Washington, The Beastie Boys, Howard Devoto, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy McCrackin, Madness, LNR, Shriekback, Diana Ross, The Untouchables, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Spinners, Tortoise, Varano, Wunmi, Franck Biyong, Peter Hammill, TatankaYotanka
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Let's get physio: songs about bodily motion and exercise

December 10, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Stretch out in the spirit of the 80s

Stretch out in the spirit of the 80s

This could be a fine body of work. Everything from stiffness to full fluidity of exercise – bending, flexing, twisting, stretching, it’s time limber up and pick up on songs that capture corporeal movement in any context

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rocksteady, rock, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, biology, human body, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bruce Lee, Isadora Duncan, Steven Magee, Chesty Puller, Federico Fellini, Joe Cocker, Future Islands, Samuel T Herring, Aldous Harding, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Rick Astley, Prince, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Film, Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Hedly, Morihei Ueshiba, Shaolin Kung Fu, Monty Python, Soul Train
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Playlists: songs from or about Italy

December 9, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Benvenuti in La Taverna Cantata!

Benvenuti in La Taverna Cantata!

This week, it’s the full Italian job! And there’s far more to it than exploding cars – a whole queue of hooting horns, gesticulation and finest food and wine in musical form, all picked by excellente playlister philipphilip99 from a fleet of nominations

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, dub, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, musical hall, pop, songs, showtime, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Italy, Matt Monro, Don Black, Quincy Jones, film soundtrack, Film, The Italian Job, Gianfranco & Gian Piero Reverberi, Gianna Nannini, Lush, Tullio De Piscopo, Fred Buscaglione, Renato Carosone, Rosemary Clooney, Stephen Bishop, Billy Joel, Super Furry Animals, Jovanotti, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mark Knopfler, Klein & MBO, New Order, Domenico Modugno, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sufjan Stevens, Giuliano Sorgini, Jonathan Richman, Alice, PFM, Chris Rea, philipphilip99
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Playlists: 'new normal'? Songs about what is or isn't regular, typical or natural

December 2, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Lady Gaga: Just put your paws up – 'cause you were born this way, baby …

Lady Gaga: Just put your paws up – 'cause you were born this way, baby …

Finding the ordinary in the extraordinary to the straight in the straitjacket, this week’s playlists are anything but average, as guest playlister IsabelleForshaw entertainingly reveals that normality is all a matter of perspective

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In comedy, classical, blues, avant-garde, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, normality, Lady Gaga, Joe Walsh, dEUS, Betty Davis, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Bigg Jus, Jerold Marcellus Bryant, Pet Shop Boys, Crowded House, Cameo, Frentel, Mental As Anything, Ivor Cutler, Bob Dylan, Saint Etienne, Yard Act, Superorganism, Day Wave, The Business, Bikini Kill, English Dogs, The Mekons, Arrested Development, Ben Folds, The Pogues, Alan Price, Aretha Franklin, Eartha Kitt, Regurgitator, Weird Al Jankovic, IsabelleForshaw
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Notes on the new normal: songs about what is or isn't regular, typical or natural

November 26, 2020 Peter Kimpton
We’re normal … The Bonzos

We’re normal … The Bonzos

Regular? Standard? Stereotype? Average? Typical? Natural? What does normal mean, and how might it be explored in song lyrics? From people to behaviour, families to jobs to towns, and any other context, it’s all a matter of perspective

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, the new normal, normality, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, NIcki Minaj, Sigmund Freud, Jo Brand, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mitch Hedberg, Star Trek, George Takei, Edward Furlong, Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Addams Family, Grace Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Tayla Parx, River Phoenix, Sia, Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Yo-Yo Ma, Lykke Li, George Herbert Mead, PJ O'Rourke, Roddy Doyle, Michel Foucault, Kevin Sorbo, Orson Welles, Rosa Parks, naturism, Glory Pearl, Glen Donnelly, The Slits
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Playlists: songs about eureka moments, realisation, discovery and enlightenment

November 25, 2020 Peter Kimpton
To the cosmos and beyond …

To the cosmos and beyond …

Has it ever occurred to you that …. life, the universe and everything could be captured in playlists? This question is answered perfectly by guest ajostu, who picks some profound revelations inspired by last week’s nominations

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, reggae, rock, soul, soundtracks, traditional, songs Tags songs, discovery, eureka moments, Studio Killers, 10000 Maniacs, Carly Simon, Ella Fitzgerald, Suzanne Vega, Peter Gabriel, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Boswell, Beastie Boys, Miho Hatori, REM, The Sundays, Moby, Julia Holter, Angel Olsen, The Police, The Moody Blues, The Grateful Dead, Clem Snide, The Headhunters, Sun Ra, Earth Wind & Fire, Norman Connors, Ultramarine, Lonnie Liston Smith, John Legend, The Roots, Alice Coltrane, Carlos Santana, Bat For Lashes, Laurie Anderson, Bruford, Annette Peacock, ajostu
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Eureka! Songs about realisation, discovery and enlightenment

November 19, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Right place at the right time come into focus …

Right place at the right time come into focus …

Moments of realisation? From scientific to practical, physical, emotional, philosophical or spiritual, expressed in one lyrical line, one musical rush, or building slowly, and then suddenly and unexpectedly coming into focus in song

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Playlists – two's company: songs by duos

November 18, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Special siblings: Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

Special siblings: Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

Jazz to hip hop, classical, pop, folk and a whole spectrum of other music from around the world, this week guest playlister Nilpferd picks out some of the finest pairings in music where two individuals are greater together than apart

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, duos, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Smith, Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, Joni Mitchell, Jaco Pastorius, Charley Patton, Toumani Diabaté, The Creatures, Siouxsie Sioux, Budgie, Black Sheep, Eric B & Rakim, The Kills, Suicide, Daft Punk, Coldcut, Ballaké Sissoko, Vincent Segal, Touki, Estas Tonne, Michael Schulman, Diego El Cigala, Niño Josele, RL Burnside, The Black Keys, The KVB, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Attila, The Spinanes, Sleaford Mods, Kiiiiiii, Jan Johansson, Georg Riedel, Richard Galliano, Michel Portal, Syreeta, Nilpferd
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Dynamic duos: songs with just two performers

November 12, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Fragile, insecure synchronicity. Simon & Garfunkel.

Fragile, insecure synchronicity. Simon & Garfunkel.

What makes for a great duo and how does is that dynamic expressed? Perfect balance of sound? Unspoken understanding and harmony? Symbiosis of roles? Contrast in character? Fragility, insecurity and tension? It’s time for two’s company …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, duos, duets, Simon & Garfunkel, paul simon, Art Garfunkel, Carl Jung, Dolly Parton, film soundtrack, Film, John Boorman, Eric Weissberg, Steve Mandell, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, Everly Brothers, The White Stripes, Jack White, Sleaford Mods, Pet Shop Boys, Daft Punk, Eric B & Rakim, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, The Black Keys, Suicide, Sparks, First Aid Kit
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Playlists: songs about denial

November 11, 2020 Peter Kimpton
The Go-Betweens

The Go-Betweens

There’s no denying it - this is a subject that is attached to every part of our lives, private and public, and from many nominations, guest playlister AmyLee picks amazing all-encompassing selections to uncover the musical truth

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In avant-garde, blues, calypso, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, denial, John Cooper Clarke, Little Ann, Barrington Levy, Michael Jackson, Todd Rundgren, The Mamas and Papas, The Who, Rod Stewart, John Waite, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue, I Break Horses, The Go-Betweens, The Smiths, Suede, The Bevis Frond, Mindy Smith, Buffalo Tom, Stereolab, The Stranglers, Dropkick Murphys, Jane's Addiction, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Shaggy, Robert Pete Williams, Ruby Turner, Sandy Denny, Bob Dylan, Paul Kelly, Steve Forbert, Jackie Leven, The Earlies, Juice WRLD, Split Enz, Shoes, Beautiful South, Ballboy, The Offspring, The Burning Hell, Teenage Fanclub, Sugar, Monster Magnet, My Bloody Valentine, Bob Marley, Jeff Beck, Divinyls, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Beck, AmyLee
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Who are you kidding? It's songs about denial

November 5, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Monkey business: once wise, now denies …

Monkey business: once wise, now denies …

Politics, climate change, racism, health or personal relationships, all this and more can can come under the umbrella of denial, and in song lyrics it’s a potent area for nuance, irony, emotion, and things that bite back

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, denial, climate change, climate change denial, coronavirus, Covid-19, US politics, US presidential election, David Bowie, Bill Watterson, Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac, Evan Esar, racism, Donald Trump, Frank Herbert, C. Northcote Parkinson, history, Charles Tremper, Annie Besant, Al Franken, Will Hurd, Nelson Algren, George RR Martin, John Bunyan, Richard Bach, Mark Twain, Isaac Asimov, Douglas Adams, Susan Forward, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Marion Ross, Christopher Hitchens, Bill Hicks, Chelsea Manning, Graham Norton, David Geffen, #MeToo movement, Mira Sorvino, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Aquinas, Charles Bradlaugh, Black Lives Matter, Tim Wise, Donald Byrd, Kevin Focke, David Wallace-Wells, Michio Kaku, Naomi Klein, Greta Thunberg
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Playlists: songs with a pagan theme

November 4, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Hold on to your headdresses – it’s Heilung

Hold on to your headdresses – it’s Heilung

The Halloween runes and the rituals rise up with plenty of antlers and feminine power as guest guru DJ Bear aka PopOff! throws many potent ingredients into the musical cauldron and comes out with playlists that are really cooking

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, paganism, pagan rituals, Halloween, samhain, The Grateful Dead, Joseph Campbell, Enya, Dadawa, Heilung, Steeleye Span, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Sabu Martinez, The HU, Faun, Loreena McKennitt, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Torgeir Vassvik, Missy Elliott, Sampa The Great, Angelique Kidjo, Ramsey Lewis, Lee Perry, The Upsetters, Koko Taylor, Led Zeppelin, Babymetal, Sharon Tandy, Les Fleur De Lys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, T Rex, Halloween Junky Orchestra, Etta Jones, Celia Cruz, La Sonora Matancera, Gabriel Ros, Lila Downs, Clara Nunes, R. Carlos Nakai, Kalani Pe'a, Prince, Southern Culture On The Skids, Alessandra Belloni, DJ Bear
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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SNACK OF THE WEEK

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New Albums …

Featured
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Two.jpeg
Dec 17, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Two
Dec 17, 2025

Welcome to the second part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also a first part and a third part this week. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

Dec 17, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part 1 updated.jpg
Dec 16, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part One
Dec 16, 2025

Welcome to the first part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There will also be a second and third part this week. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

Dec 16, 2025
Juliana Hatfield.jpeg
Dec 16, 2025
Juliana Hatfield: Lightning Might Strike
Dec 16, 2025

New album: Personal upheaval, grief, powerlessness, trauma, sudden change inform the title and colour the lyrics of this latest LP by the seasoned Boston indie artist but her songs are packed with brutally honest, candid, concise reflections and warm, catchy, stirring riffs and melodies

Dec 16, 2025
Dove Ellis - Blizzard.jpeg
Dec 9, 2025
Dove Ellis: Blizzard
Dec 9, 2025

New album: An extraordinarily mature, passionate, poetic, and outstandingly powerful debut by the Manchester-based Galway-born singer-songwriter, whose soaring delivery has instant echoes of Jeff Buckley and lyrics that go above and beyond

Dec 9, 2025
Spíra by Ólöf Arnalds.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Ólöf Arnalds: Spíra
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A gorgeous, delicate, ethereal first release in a decade by the Icelandic singer-songwriter, acoustic instruments and her gentle, high, pure voice, all in her native language, caressing this listening experience like pure waters of some slowly trickling glacial stream

Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber - Unclouded.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber: Unclouded
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A fourth album, here full of delicious uplifting, dreamily chic, psychedelic soul pop by the French musician Melody Prochet, with bright, upbeat, optimistic numbers and a title lifted from a quote by the acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, about achieving equilibrium

Dec 5, 2025
Devotion & The Black Divine by anaiis.jpeg
Dec 2, 2025
anaiis: Devotion & The Black Divine
Dec 2, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 26, 2025
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Nov 25, 2025
Tortoise: Touch
Nov 25, 2025

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

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

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

Nov 24, 2025
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Nov 24, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer
Nov 24, 2025

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

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

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

Nov 24, 2025

new songs …

Featured
Kaitlyn Aurela Smith - I Miss The Way You Swim.jpg
Dec 17, 2025
Song of the Day: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - I Miss the Way You Swim
Dec 17, 2025

Song of the Day: Beautiful modular synths and intermingling orchestral sounds ripple in this work by the American composer, performer and producer in a piece shaped by loss of someone loved, taken from an upcoming instrumental album Thoughts On The Future, out on Nettwerk Music

Dec 17, 2025
The Paper Kites - If You Go There.jpeg
Dec 16, 2025
Song of the Day: The Paper Kites - Change Of The Wind
Dec 16, 2025

Song of the Day: A beautiful, reflective number by the alternative folk-rock band from Melbourne fronted by Sam Bentley, heralding their seventh studio album If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, out on 23 January via Nettwerk Music Group

Dec 16, 2025
Courtney Marie Andrews - Valentine.jpeg
Dec 15, 2025
Song of the Day: Courtney Marie Andrews - Little Picture Of A Butterfly
Dec 15, 2025

Song of the Day: Beautiful, delicate, fluttering, eclectic, heartbreak folk and Americana by the singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona, heralding her forthcoming new album, Valentine, out on 16 January via Loose Future

Dec 15, 2025
Peter Perrett - Proud To Be Self-Hating.jpeg
Dec 12, 2025
Song of the Day: Peter Perrett - PROUD TO BE SELF-HATING (irony and provocation)
Dec 12, 2025

Song of the Day: The veteran British artist, originally frontman of The Only Ones, and now with three solo albums, who actually has Jewish heritage, releases a gently powerful, nuanced, pro-Palestine acoustic number as a response to ongoing genocide by the Israeli government, out on Domino Records

Dec 12, 2025
Maddie Ashman - Jaded.jpeg
Dec 11, 2025
Song of the Day: Maddie Ashman - Jaded
Dec 11, 2025

Song of the Day: Magical, delicate, eclectic, intricate, experimental microtonal music by the London musician and singer, released alongside a longer track, In Autumn My Heart Breaks

Dec 11, 2025
Ye Vagabonds.jpeg
Dec 10, 2025
Song of the Day: Ye Vagabonds - The Flood
Dec 10, 2025

Song of the Day: Wonderfully warm, rich, lively fiddle-driven Irish folk by the award-winning band fronted by Carlow brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn with a heartbreaking number about the housing crisis, heralding their upcoming new album, All Tied Together, out on Rough Trade’s River Lea Recordings on 30 January

Dec 10, 2025
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Dec 9, 2025
Song of the Day: DBA! A Poet And A Clown
Dec 9, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy fuzz-guitar indie rock with a swagger by the Liverpool-formed trio of Sam Warren, James Lindberg and Joshua Grant in a song described as “a confessional story of desire tangled with religious guilt”

Dec 9, 2025
Puma Blue - Croak Dream.jpeg
Dec 8, 2025
Song of the Day: Puma Blue - Croak Dream
Dec 8, 2025

Song of the Day: A dark, esoteric, mysterious and stylish title track with a hint of Radiohead and playing with the idea of knowing your future death, from the experimental indie/goth/ambient London artist Jacob Allen’s forthcoming album out on 6 February via Play It Again Sam

Dec 8, 2025
ELIZA - Anyone Else.jpeg
Dec 7, 2025
Song of the Day: ELIZA - Anyone Else
Dec 7, 2025

Song of the Day: Stripped-back, bluesy, fuzzy funk with slight echoes of Prince and alt-R&B are conjured up in this love song by the London-based singer-songwriter Eliza Caird, her first single for two years, now off the mainstream and out on Log Off Records

Dec 7, 2025
SILK SCARF by Tiga & Fcukers.jpg
Dec 6, 2025
Song of the Day: Tiga (featuring Fcukers) - Silk Scarf
Dec 6, 2025

Song of the Day: A fun, sensual, quirkily oddball electronica dance single with a slick, fetish-flirtatious ode to a favourite smooth material by the Montreal musician (Tiga James Sontag) joined here with vocals by the New York band (Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis), and heralding Tiga’s upcoming album Hotlife, out in April on Secret City Records

Dec 6, 2025
Flea - A Plea.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Song of the Day: Flea - A Plea
Dec 5, 2025

Song of the Day: A striking, powerful new single by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist (aka Michael Balzary), who brings a fusion of jazz and spoken word with a fabulous band on an impassioned number about the state of the US in a culture of hatred, social and political tensions, out now on Nonesuch Records

Dec 5, 2025
The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Song of the Day: The Lemon Twigs - I've Got A Broken Heart
Dec 4, 2025

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

Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week

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

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

Dec 4, 2025
Running shoes and barefoot.jpeg
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
autumn-red-leaves.jpeg
Nov 6, 2025
Word of the week: erythrophyll
Nov 6, 2025

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

Nov 6, 2025
Fennec fox 2.jpeg
Oct 22, 2025
Word of the week: fennec
Oct 22, 2025

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

Oct 22, 2025
Narrowboat.jpeg
Oct 9, 2025
Word of the week: gongoozler
Oct 9, 2025

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

Oct 9, 2025
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