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Playlists: songs about obscure or unusual colours

September 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Into the mix …

Midnight sun to marmalade skies, octarine to racing green, it’s a who’s who of hues - with guest playlister Loud Atlas mixes up inspiration from last week’s topic into something a shade different

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In avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, easy listening, dub, exotica, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, colours, Ken Nordine, Ella Fitzgerald, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Claude Debussy, The Mercury Tree, ZZ Top, Black Box Recorder, Blossom Dearie, Tim Minchin, Pérez Prado, Tomoo, Misty, Donovan, Jorge Ben, Altered Images, Cocteau Twins, Adam Bosange, Charles Aznavour, Enya, Manic Street Preachers, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, The Tinkerbells, Vaughn Monroe, Paramore, Yussef Dayes, Tom Misch, Daniel Blumberg, Corinne Bailey Rae, Loud Atlas
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A different tone: songs featuring obscure or uncommon colours

September 4, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Fancy a game of colours? Vincent Van Gogh’s The Night Cafe, 1888

Alabaster, almond or amaranth, to zarqua, zinc or zomp? ‘Rhythm’ is also a colour name. This week it’s time to enjoy the music, poetry and imagery of obscure hues in lyrics. Feast your eyes and ears, and paint your imagination with suggestions …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, metal, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, colours, Paul Delvaux, Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró, Joseph Addison, Paul Gaugin, David Katz, James Whistler, Vincent Van Gogh, art, painting, Marian McPartland, Sonia Delaunay
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Playlists: songs about tricksters and trickery

September 2, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Foxy rock: the Megitsune portrayed by Babymetal

Untrustworthy, shapeshifting creatures from Japan and elsewhere, to a whole spectrum of deceitful and dodgy human behaviour spanning many genres from folk, rock, pop, funk and more, compiled in wily style by guest Suzi from last week’s topic

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In blues, avant-garde, comedy, country, dance, drone, dub, experimental, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, music, metal, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, tricksters, mythology, folklore, Babymetal, Paramore, The A's, Kelis, Blind Alfred Reed, Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull, John Jacob Niles, The Who, The Eagles, The Adicts, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Amos Lee, The Meditations, Old Blind Dogs, Lynx DeMuth, Hercules and Love Affair, Otis Taylor, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick, Pentangle, Eliza Carthy, Jake Thackray, Oysterband, Suzi
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Not quite as it seems: songs about tricksters, trickery and fakery

August 28, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Who the Puck? A 1629 depiction of the traditional English and Celtic trickster

It’s everywhere in the modern world, particularly in politics, but the dark arts of the trickster have been around in folklore and mythology for thousands of years, so a starting point, let’s back to go forward …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags tricksters, mythology, folklore, Lewis Hyde, Thomm Quakenbush, Byrd Gibbens, George Carlin, Terry Pratchett, Tom Robbins, Christopher Paolini, Seneca The Younger, Sun Tzu, Leonardo Da Vinci, Martin Farquhar Tupper, Robert Higgs, Bill Press, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Celtic mythology, indigenous culture, animals, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, Squeeze, OK Go, Michel Gondry, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, The White Stripes, Bonobo
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Playlists: songs about fountains

August 27, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Songs pour out …

A fluid topic, fountains strike a deep emotional chord, while sometimes reflective and philosophical, cover a range from loneliness and sorrow to exaltation and celebration. Marco den Ouden turns on the the tap, inspired by the past week’s nominations

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In African, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, music, fountains, water, Jackie Wilson, Peter Perrett, Al Green, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jackson Browne, Alec Benjamin, Tracy Chapman, Lady Gaga, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Indigo Girls, Jackie Leven, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Charlotte Church, Judikay, Playing For Change, Frank Sinatra, The Sweet, Arrested Development, Buffalo Tom, Doll By Doll, Georges Brassens, Elvis Presley, Leon Ware, Janis Siegel, Sufjan Stevens, King Crimson, Kate Rusby, Joe Bonamassa, The Byrds, Black Uhuru, Carl Perkins, PJ Harvey, Fleetwood Mac, Clamavi de Profundis, Jorge Ben, Jah9, Rolf Stimson, Gran-Lee Phillips, Tom Harrell, Carol Rosenberger, Duke Ellington, Los Pekenikes, Paco de Lucia, Cyrus Chestnut, Lyle Lovett, Laurence Juber, Mad Unity, Lloyd McNeil Quartet, Geffion, Franz Schubert, Shang Wen-Jie, The Choir Of Beijing Takah, Les Cailloux, Camille, Marco den Ouden, Marconius
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Join another jet set: songs about fountains

August 21, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Reflections on a musical fountain …

Spurting ornate symbols of eternity, youth, health and good fortune, some for drinking others just decoration, they’ve been a feature in villages, towns and cities for thousands of years, and some can be programmed to dance to music. How are they expressed in song lyrics?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, fountains, water, landmarks, architecture, Robert Anthony, WH Auden, Rex Hudler, Rumi, Henry Longfellow, Tracy Chapman, Jean Cocteau, William Blake, Edwin Percy Whipple, Sophia Loren, Bjork, Federico Fellini, Film, film soundtrack
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Playlists: songs about thunder and lightning

August 19, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Where will choices strike for this week’s lists?

One strike ncan remind us that nature is really boss, and for a songwriter, thunder and lightning can signify and express many meanings and emotions. Picked from last week’s topic nominations, guest ajostu’s playlists will go down a storm

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, ska, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, Thunder, lightning, storms, weather, meteorology, Feist, David Byrne, St Vincent, Maruja, Witch, Bim Sherman, Eddie Floyd, Big Maybelle, Mahlathini, The Mahotella Queens, Los Relampagos, Cedric Congo meet Mad Professor, Chi Coltrane, Toyah, The 6ths, Claire Grogan, Shawn Phillips, Johann Strauss II, John Philip Sousa, Duke Ellington, Chaka Kahn, The Weather Girls, Leona Lewis, LUMP, Jake Bugg, Bob Lind, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, The Grateful Dead, Micah Thomas, Kit Downes, Oddgeir Berg Trio, ajostu
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Inspiration strikes: songs about thunder and lightning

August 14, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Here it comes …

Dramatic, extreme, they always come as a pair, if with delayed arrival, and may be a backdrop, or an expression of stormy relationships, a high charge of emotions, or of inspiration, change, turmoil or chaos, but it can also bring a state of cosy comfort

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Graham Masterton, George Carlin, WH Auden, James Dickey, Mary Gauthier, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, Arlo Parks, weather, Venezuela, mythology, Greek mythology, Norse mythology
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Playlists: songs about social generations

August 13, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A classic from Cole Porter looking at the new generation of his day. See if the pattern repeats below …

From the old Lost to the new lost, Baby Boomers to X, Z, Millennials to Alphas, patterns repeat as one generation looks at the past and future, all captured here superbly spanning selection by guest Severin, picked from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, ska, showtime, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, generations, society, Desmond Dekker, Portugal. The Man, Raye, Tokyo Jihen, The Who, CMAT, Roots Manuva, Sandi Thom, Arlo Parks, The Indelicates, Cole Porter, Bloodhound Gang, Weyes Blood, Augustus Pablo, Junior Byles, Johnny Cash, Ichiro & Yuka, The Cowsills, The Beach Boys, Rare Earth, Glenn Miller, Bellamy Brothers, Limp Bizkit, Beastie Boys, The Beastie Boys, Sweet Honey In the Rock, Billy Joel, All About Eve, Manic Street Preachers, ANNISOKAY, Expo's Jazz and Joy, Suede, The 5th Dimension, Archie Roach, Caspian, Neneh Cherry, Fatal Microbes, severin, Severin, Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks
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Talkin' about ... songs about defined social generations

August 7, 2025 Peter Kimpton

À la Mod: a key book written in 1964 (before today’s Generation X were actually born) by Jane Deverson and Charles Hamblett that influenced the likes of British punk Billy Idol and later the Canadian author Douglas Coupland …

The Lost, the Silent, the Greatest, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y (Millennials), Gen Z, then Alpha and Beta, the last 125 years have generational labels now increasingly used in our language and culture. But what are their traits, and how are they reflected in song lyrics or even music?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags generations, baby boomers, generation x, millennials, Gen Z, Charles Hamblett, Jane Deverson, Karl Mannheim, social history, sociology, Neil Blumenthal, Terry Pratchett, Steven Spielberg, Jonathan Haidt, Weyes Blood, Douglas Coupland, Pete Townshend, The Who, technology, war, Family, history, Gertrude Stein, Tom Brokaw, second world war, CMAT, Daniel Lieberman, China, Northern Ireland, Russia, Australia, India
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Playlists: songs about endangered animal species

August 6, 2025 Peter Kimpton

It may not be long for the dugong, hauntingly heralded below in song …

From man-made causes – hunting to climate change and habitat loss, it’s a heartbreaking, tragic tale. But this musical menagerie also has poignant positivity, with guest Marco den Ouden adding conservation success stories in these moving, beautiful lists, picked from last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, comedy, dance, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, animals, Glenn Jones, Kokia, Burning Spear, Fox, Andrew Belew, Big Baby Driver, Dave Norman, Rob van der Touw, Let's Eat Grandma, Shonen Knife, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Cosmo Sheldrake, Bowerbird Collective, Crosby Still & Nash, The Partridge Family, Vainica Doble, Bats For Lashes, The Monkees, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Tokens, Desmond Dekker, France Gall, Ian Anderson, Great Lake Swimmers, Eric Whitacre, Yiannis Kalantzis, Omar Pène et Le Super Diamono, Linval Thompson, Renato Teixeira, Tom Rugg, Jeff Gulfoss, John Gregory and his Orchestra, Mandrill, Sly & The Family Stone, Walter Bishop Jr., Sven Libaek, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Henri Texier & Azur Quartet, Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea, David Fleming, Marco den Ouden, Jan Golfuss
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Lost tracks, wild releases, rarely herd: songs about endangered animal species

July 31, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Heavy metal to heavy mammal. One Ozzy departs, another arrives: A namesake southern white rhino, here with mother, was born the day Ozzy Osbourne died on 22 July

It’s a musical menagerie: land, sea or air, mammals, birds, amphibians, marsupials, tragic tales of destruction to near extinction, but also heroic conservation, it’s time to highlight creatures under threat but featuring in song

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, country, comedy, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, ska, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags animals, conservation, extinction, endangered species, ecology, Sir David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Jay Inslee, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Steve Irwin, Edward O. Wilson, Carl Sagan, Douglas Adams, PD James, Charles Darwin, World Wildlife Fund, International Union for Conservation of Nature, RSPB, Carl Jones, birds, birds of prey, mammals, apes
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Playlists: songs about darkness

July 29, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Facing the dark: Find out who below …

Death, fear, the unknown, but most of all affecting beauty - darkness brings a breadth of scenarios and emotions, all brought to light by guest of the week ParaMhor with powerful picked lists inspired by last week’s theme

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In African, avant-garde, blues, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, gospel, indie, jazz, instrumentals, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, Terry Pratchett, William Shakespeare, Loreena McKennitt, Peter Gabriel, The Police, The Herbiliser, The Human League, Sharon Van Etten, Joni Mitchell, Lael Neale, Emmit Rhodes, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, KT Tunstall, Bruce Springsteen, Songs: Ohia, Blind Willie McTell, Dinah Washington, The Alan Bown Set, Mike Oldfield, Tricot, Black Uhuru, Tito and Tarantula, McCarthy, The Shop Assistants, Mr Flood's Party, The Cure, Boyharsher, Pere Ubu, Boy Harsher, David Sylvian, Mo-Dettes, Conor Oberst, Gillian Welch, ParaMhor, Emitt Rhodes
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Close your eyes, open your ears: songs about darkness

July 24, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Where would stars be without the dark…?

It’s a vast spectrum of a topic that occupies half of Earth’s rotation, filled with emotions, stories, assocations, and styles. With the recent death of one famous rock figure, what other forms of darkness come to mind in song?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, folk, experimental, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, darkness, astronomy, Julia Cameron, Yousuf Karsh, Marshall McLuhan, Lady Gaga, Carl Jung, Seamus Heaney, Sylvia Plath, Friedrich Nietzsche, Dylan Thomas, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joseph Conrad, William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, JRR Tolkien, books, poetry, Ozzy Osbourne, Devil, Arca, Little Richard, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Thom Yorke, Jens Lekman, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, Francis Bacon, Tory Kennedy Martin, television, drama, Somerset Maugham, Elias Canetti, George RR Martin, Helen Keller, Haruki Murakami, Lord Byron, climate change, colonialism
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Playlists: songs about unexpected and unusual friendships

July 22, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Cultured vultures: The Jungle Book brings about surprise levels of support via the medium of song

This Bar creates them too, but what about songs in playlists? From assorted human and animal encounters, generational pals to cultural social crossovers, guest Loud Atlas brings them all together in wonderful entertainment inspired by last week’s topic

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, gospel, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags friendship, songs, playlists, The Jungle Book, Film, film soundtrack, J. Pat O'Malley, Lord Tim Hudson, Digby Wolfe, Chad Stuart, Bruce Reitherman, Bill Lee, A Tribe Called Quest, José Feliciano, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Loudon Wainwright III, The Grateful Dead, Nina Simone, Syd Dale, Bambara, Belle & Sebastian, Fats Waller, Peter Paul and Mary, Steven Wilson, The Police, Cat Stevens, Yusuf, Crosby Stills & Nash, Tenor Saw, John Martyn, Beverley Martyn, Martin Simpson, The Alan Price Set, Alan Price, David Bowie, Turin Brakes, Joao Gilberto, Buddy Guy, Family, Randy Newman, John Powell, Colton Ryan, Ben Platt, Loud Atlas, Disney, Broadway, theatre, musicals, animals
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A special shared space: songs about unusual or unexpected friendships

July 17, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A commemorative model of Apollo-Soyuz on 17th July 1975

To commemorate the Apollo-Soyuz space link up, exactly 50 years ago today, on 17th July 1975, let’s celebrate strange, unusual bonds of friendship in song lyrics and shake hands with the unexpected …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, metal, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags Apollo-Soyuz, space travel, Space, science, history, William Blake, WB Yeats, Henry David Thoreau, Socrates, Somerset Maugham, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Huxley, Abraham Lincoln, A.A. Milne, Russia, America, Alexei Leonov, Thomas Stafford, TS Eliot, Groucho Marx, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, Helen Keller, Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Beckett, André the Giant, animal behaviour, animals
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Playlists: songs about unity and togetherness

July 15, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Neil Young, playing at Live Aid in 1985, also features on this week’s playlist

Inspired by last week’s topic about the 40th anniversary of Live Aid and song nominations, guest of the week tincanman reflects on the outcomes, Bob Geldof, and some songs that made it against the odds

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In African, avant-garde, blues, country, dance, disco, drone, easy listening, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, traditional, trip hop Tags Live Aid, charity, Bob Geldof, Boukan Ginen, Richard Strange, Cee ElAssaad, Thandi Draai, The Comet Is Coming, Todd Rundgren, Matata, Neil Young, Zero 7, Mozez, Grant Lee Buffalo, Lost T Shirts of Atlantis, Siouxsie and the Banshees, H20, Dead Can Dance, Doyal Naniou, Oumou Sangaré, Woody Guthrie, Bryn Haworth, Benjamin Zephaniah, Jackson Browne, tincanman
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Live Aid at 40: songs about, or inspiring unity and togetherness

July 10, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A world united? Live Aid, 13th July 1985

It will be 40 years ago this weekend. An extraordinary event and background story, and a global sense of positivity, but what did all mean then, and now? To mark the anniversary, let’s celebrate and reflect with this theme

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In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, bossa nova, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags Live Aid, Live 8, Band Aid, Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Jimmy Page, Harvey Goldsmith, Mother Theresa, Joan Baez, Alexandre Dumas, Felix Mendelssohn, WB Yeats, TH White, Muhammad Ali, Bono, U2, Queen, David Bowie, charity, famine, AIDS, Ethiopia, Africa, G8, BBC, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Birhan Woldu
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Playlists: songs about déjà vu

July 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

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

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

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

July 3, 2025 Peter Kimpton

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

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

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, bossa nova, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags deja vu, déjà vu, songs, playlists, psychology, Philip K Dick, Neil Gaiman, Elvis Costello, TS Eliot, Steven Wright, Charlton Heston, Bill Murray, Émile Boirac, David Levithan, Marilyn Manson, Chuck Palahniuk, Isabel Allende, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Kim Novak, Rachel Nichols, Film, film soundtrack, television, Severance, 7/7 attacks
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New Albums …

Featured
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May 14, 2026
Cola: Cost Of Living Adjustment
May 14, 2026

New album: A third album of clever, angular, abstract, oddly appealing and also retro indie postpunk by the Montreal trio of former Ought members Tim Darcy (vocals/guitar) and Ben Stidworthy (bass), along with Evan Cartwright (percussion) with a title reflecting their name as an acronym and a call to re-appraise the way the the world should work

May 14, 2026
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May 13, 2026
Ana Roxanne: Poem 1
May 13, 2026

New album: Ambient, minimalist, experimental synth-chamber pop by the American artist with a collection of resonantly beautiful, vulnerable and mournful ballads fuelled by heartbreak

May 13, 2026
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May 12, 2026
Olof Dreijer: Loud Bloom
May 12, 2026

New album: An effervescent colourful, spring-like, flower-themed fusion of electronica, dance music, Chicago techno, cumbia, kuduro, dancehall, African and south American influences in this energetic release by the Stockholm-based Swedish artist and brother and sometime collaborator of Karin Dreijer (aka Fever Ray), in an LP of two different halves

May 12, 2026
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May 12, 2026
Lykke Li: The Afterparty
May 12, 2026

New album: A brief, 24-minute burst of shimmering alternative pop by the Swedish singer-songwriter sees this sixth LP’s concept capturing the experience of fictional bad-boy pop star persona, moving from a messy night out into aftermath, variously mixing mood-shifting jubilation, loneliness and comedown

May 12, 2026
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May 11, 2026
The Lemon Twigs: Look For Your Mind!
May 11, 2026

New album: With a title for calling for sanity in crazy times, this latest LP by the multi-instrumental New York brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario is a pristine release of beautiful new songs inspired by a 60s rock and pop sound, echoing artists from the Hollies to Byrds, mid-career Beatles, Beach Boys and the Who

May 11, 2026
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May 10, 2026
Broken Social Scene: Remember The Humans
May 10, 2026

New album: Driven by a sense of reunion, renewal, collaboration, community and re-finding values lost, a superbly stirring, emotionally uplifting, profound and dynamic return by the Toronto indie rock collective with their first in almost a decade

May 10, 2026
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May 10, 2026
Aldous Harding: Train on the Island
May 10, 2026

New album: The enigmatic New Zealand artist returns with her fifth album, a blend of folk and experimental rock packed with gnomic lyrics and experimental musical blends, her beguiling presence as deliciously strange as ever in another release co-produced with long-time collaborator John Parish

May 10, 2026
Chris Brain - Red Sun Rising.jpeg
May 7, 2026
Chris Brain: Red Sun Rising
May 7, 2026

New album: Beautifully warm, quiet, tender and bucolic new folk LP by the Yorkshire-based singer-songwriter, following a pastoral tradition of landscapes literal and emotional, very much influenced by and echoing the delivery of Nick Drake

May 7, 2026
Lip Critic - Theft World.jpeg
May 7, 2026
Lip Critic: Theft World
May 7, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s acclaimed debut Hex Dealer, a newly challenging but also exciting experimental fusion of post-punk, noise rock, electronica and hip-hop by the New York band in this second LP, inspired by the anxiously oddball situation of frontman Bret Kaser’s identity being stolen by a real-life fan, and making hundreds of purchases in his name, including the band’s catalogue

May 7, 2026
Tori Amos - In Times of Dragons.jpg
May 6, 2026
Tori Amos: In Times of Dragons
May 6, 2026

New album: The acclaimed American singer-songwriter and pianist’s 18th album in a 35-year career is a grandiose, powerful 17-track album of odyssey and allegory around politics, power and feminist resistance, fuelled by the current state of her nation, set from the view of fictionalised marriage to a dangerous billionaire and an escape across the country with a narrative twist

May 6, 2026
Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere.jpeg
May 6, 2026
Kacey Musgraves: Middle of Nowhere
May 6, 2026

New album: Moving away from the pop-folk direction of 2021’s Star-Crossed and 2024’s Deeper Well, the Nashville singer-songwriter returns with this seventh LP back to her country roots with gently trotting, stripped-back finely crafted collection of witty, catchy, candid numbers covering a spectrum of moods

May 6, 2026
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May 5, 2026
Pigeon: OUTTANATIONAL
May 5, 2026

New album: Hugely enjoyable, stylish, playfully eclectic debut LP of indie, electronica and Afro-disco and krautrock grooves by the Margate band fronted by the multi-lingual artist Falle Nioke from Guinea Conakry, West Africa, with songs about identity and ancestry, and a sound somewhere between New Order and William Onyeabor

May 5, 2026
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May 3, 2026
KNEECAP: FENIAN
May 3, 2026

New album: Still the scourge of the establishment after 2024’s debut LP Fine Art, a hugely entertaining second LP of punchy, slick, defiant Irish Gaelic rap by Belfast’s Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap, and beatmaker DJ Próvaí, with an expanded sound aided by innovative producer Dan Carey and an appearance by Kae Tempest

May 3, 2026
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May 2, 2026
Jesca Hoop: Long Wave Home
May 2, 2026

New album: Brilliantly inventive, eclectic, poetic, experimental folk and art-pop by the acclaimed Manchester-based Californian singer-songwriter and guitarist in her first self-produced album, variously about the end of relationships, life changes, technology’s social effects, Gaza victims and other contemporary issues with perhaps her finest yet

May 2, 2026

new songs …

Featured
ear - Ne Plus Ultra.jpeg
May 14, 2026
Song of the Day: ear - Ne Plus Ultra
May 14, 2026

Song of the Day: An oddball, intriguingly inventive new single by US duo Yaelle Avtan and Jonah Paz, featuring buzzy bass, spaceship blips, icy vocals, cut-and-paste sound, kitten meows and 2000s electronica, out on A24 Music

May 14, 2026
Shearwater - The New World.jpg
May 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Shearwater - Daydream Unbeliever/ More and More
May 13, 2026

Song of the Day: A pair of gorgeous, meditative, cinematic tracks by the Austin, Texas experimental indie rock band fronted by Jonathan Meiburg, heralding their upcoming album, The New World out on 31 July via their own Polyborus label and Secretly Distribution

May 13, 2026
The Healing Power of Horses - IWIS.jpg
May 12, 2026
Song of the Day: The Healing Power of Horses - i wait, i sink
May 12, 2026

Song of the Day: A dark, smoky, stylish, seductive, smoothly clattering, classy yet unclassifiably trip-hop adjacent debut single by the Cambridge duo, now newly signed to section1, the Los Angeles-based sister label to Partisan Records

May 12, 2026
Kelela - New Avatar.jpeg
May 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Kelela - linknb
May 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish, striking fusion of electronica, indie and R&B by American artist Kelela Mizanekristos, heralding the forthcoming album New Avatar, out on 10 July via Warp Records

May 11, 2026
Boards of Canada - Prophecy at 1420 Mz.jpeg
May 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Boards Of Canada - Introit / Prophecy At 1420 MHz
May 10, 2026

Song of the Day: A hypnotic new double-A side by the Scottish electronica brother duo, with a prelude of spectral, retro-futurist synths, followed by a mesmeric ambient slow build with mutated vocals, and named after the deep space frequency used in the search for extra-terrestrial life

May 10, 2026
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May 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Mike D - Switch Up
May 9, 2026

Song of the Day: A dynamic, eclectic, pacy, syncopated fusion of hip-hop, electronica and rock in this debut solo single one-third of the Beastie Boys in this new single, out on Capitol Records

May 9, 2026
Father John Misty - The Payoff.jpeg
May 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Father John Misty - The Payoff
May 8, 2026

Song of the Day: The acclaimed American singer-songwriter aka Josh Tillman returns with a caustic, dark, menacing new track referencing an underbelly of dodgy deal-making, out now on Sub Pop. It’s the second Father John Misty single of 2026, following The Old Law, released in January

May 8, 2026
Balming Tiger - Home.jpg
May 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Balming Tiger - Home
May 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylishly fun, funky, eccentric electronica, indie and hip-hop fusion by the South Korean collective known as “alternative K-pop”, heralding their new album, Gongbu, out on 19 May, via MOAH

May 7, 2026
Zoh Amba - Eyes Full.jpeg
May 6, 2026
Song of the Day: Zoh Amba - Eyes Full
May 6, 2026

Song of the Day: An impassioned, stirring, dark and driving country/indie-rock number about what makes someone’s heart full and questioning why by the NY-based band with Kingsport, Tennessee roots, with this title track of the forthcoming debut LP Eyes Full, out on 5 June via Matador Records

May 6, 2026
Cowboy Mouth by Sophie Royer.jpeg
May 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Sofie Royer - Cowboy Mouth
May 5, 2026

Song of the Day: A catchy, cool, stylish fusion of indie and electro-pop by the classically trained, California-born, Vienna-based Iranian-Austrian artist, inspired by reading Patti Smith and Sam Shepard’s play of the same title, reimagining the play’s characters as Angel and Cowboy, and out now on Stones Throw Records

May 5, 2026
Hodge - Wiggler.jpeg
May 4, 2026
Song of the Day: Hodge - Wiggler
May 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A hugely fun, energising, infectious, effervescent, repetitive electronic dance track by the Bristol-based DJ/producer (aka Jake Martin) featuring a 3D pipe bassline by Memotone, and released alongside another track,Trust, out on Local Action

May 4, 2026
Return to Sender by Ibibio Sound Machine.jpeg
May 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Ibibio Sound Machine - Return To Sender
May 3, 2026

Song of the Day: Fizzing with vibrant energy and intricate rhythms, a fabulous new single with a personal accidental backstory by the London electronic afro-funk band out of London fronted by vocalist Eno Williams, out Merge Record

May 3, 2026

Word of the week

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

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

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

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

April 23, 2026
Undine - Novella.jpeg
April 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
April 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

April 9, 2026
Veena player.jpg
March 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
March 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

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

March 12, 2026

Song Bar spinning.gif

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