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Every breath you take: songs featuring the harmonica

March 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The sublime Stevie Wonder

The sublime Stevie Wonder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wailers that global star, Bob Marley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who, what, where shall we go this week?

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 22, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Leap of the imagination? As told by  … Black Beauty

Leap of the imagination? As told by  … Black Beauty

New perspective? Songs with storytellers that are different and on the fringes – repressed women, eccentrics, the mentally challenged, criminals, children, otherworldly spirits from gods to ghosts, animals, aliens, plant life, or even objects

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In playlists, music, songs Tags Songs, playlists, narrative, narrators, books, Film, fiction, animals, children, supernatural, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty, Rockwell, Carole King, The Crystals, ghosts, Donald Trump, Sir David Attenborough, Mark Haddon, Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, David Fincher, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Eminem, Joni Mitchell, Ray Davies, The Kinks, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp, Tom Waits, paul simon, Arlo Guthrie, Loudon Wainwright III, T-Bone Burnett, Henry Chapin, Julie Brown, The Handsome Family, New Order, Leroy Pullins, The Misfits, Ozzy Osbourne, Richard Adams, Watership Down, Jack London, Ian McEwan, Laurence Sterne, Jenny Diski, Markus Lusaka, Alice Sebald, Stephen Chbosky, James Joyce, John Kennedy Toole, Italo Calvino, Tibor Fischer
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Playlists: personal theme and entrance songs

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

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

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

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

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

Bette Midler making a low-key appearance …

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

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

February 14, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Sir Jake Thackray (honorary knight of the Song Bar, posthumously given)

Sir Jake Thackray (honorary knight of the Song Bar, posthumously given)

King, Queen or Lord, Big Chief to Brigadier, Corporal and more, from a list of titles nominated as long as history itself, this week's playlist writer, Sir Severin, serves up superb lists that would honour any ears

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In classical, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, pop, reggae, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags Ty Segall, Slapp Happy, The Shadows, Jake Thackray, Professor Longhair, Katzenjammer, Pink Floyd, Pentangle, The Techniques, Bill Evans Trio, The Clash, Colleen Hewitt, Rich Kids, Jacques Brel, John Lee Hooker, Billie Holiday, The Wankys, Veda Hille, Paul McCartney, Gene Chandler, Gillian Welch, Edith Piaf, The Fall, The Unthanks, Kass Kass, Olivia Chaney, Offa Rex, Severin
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Doctor, doctor! Bang goes the knighthood: songs featuring honorific titles

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

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

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

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

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

Mac users: Amon Düül II

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 31, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The violin bridges many a genre …

The violin bridges many a genre …

Bridging huge swathes of musical genre from folk to classical, reggae to hip hop, India to China, it's time for our guest writer amylee to take a 'bow' for superb playlists inspired by last week's huge and fiddly topic

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In blues, classical, country, dance, folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists Tags Songs, playlists, violin, Rod Stewart, The Raconteurs, Jack White, James Blood Ulmer, The Raincoats, The Paragons, Fairport Convention, It's A Beautiful Day, Hawkwind, La Bottine Souriante, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Gloaming, Nigel Kennedy, Edward Elgar, dEUS, Echo and the Bunnymen, String Driven Machine, Tindersticks, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Hammill, The Levellers, UK Subs, The Triffids, Karen Dalton, Houndog, Dixie Chicks, Iva Bittová, Vladimir Václavek, Seatrain, Laurie Anderson, Wu-Tang Clan, Jules Massenet, AmyLee
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We're on the fiddle: songs and music featuring the violin

January 25, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Cipriani Potter Stradivarius. Other models are available (if you've got a few quid)

The Cipriani Potter Stradivarius. Other models are available (if you've got a few quid)

Classical, folk, pop, rock, traditional or contemporary, Irish to Romanian, Hungarian to American to the far east, suggest music about or featuring this beautiful stringed instrument in a prominent role

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In blues, country, dance, folk, indie, metal, music, pop, punk, playlists, reggae, rock, songs, soul, classical Tags Songs, music, violin, classical, folk, world music, rock, pop, Yehudi Menuhin, Albert Einstein, Samuel Butler, 12 Years A Slave, Solomon Northrop, slavery, Joshua Bell, Robert Schumann, gypsy music, Alison Krauss, Tommy Jarrell, Joseph Szalai, Taraf De Haïdouks, Niccolò Paganini, Alexander Markov, Vanessa Mae, Nigel Kennedy, Itzhak Perlman, Sirena Huang, Amati, Guameri, Gagliano, Vaughan Williams, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Guarneri, Stradivarius
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Playlists: songs about hanging - swung in all directions

January 24, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Foucault? Swing low, sweet pendulum

Foucault? Swing low, sweet pendulum

North, south, east, west, left to right, Ayers to Zeppelin, this week's guest writer nosuchzone took charge of the musical swingometer, and inspired by nominations, created marvellous playlists that really move

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In blues, country, folk, hip hop, indie, metal, music, playlists, pop, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags Al Bowlly, Songs, playlists, Thaikkudam Bridge, Kevin Ayers, The Stranglers, Nick Drake, Jesus & Mary Chain, Ella Fitzgerald, Led Zeppelin, Nina Simone, Peter Blegvad, Solomon Burke, The McCoys, The Supremes, Chairmen of the Board, Salt, Joe Simon, Al Green, Chic, Sade, Loose Ends, Johnny Bristol, Richard Ace, Simple Simon, Gregory Isaacs, MF Doom, Tortoise, Robbie Robertson, nosuchzone, Billie Holiday, Blondie, The Smiths, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Creedence Clearwater Revival, James & Bobby Purify
Comment

Kept in suspense? Songs about hanging – in all senses

January 18, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Hang out at the Bar. You'll enjoy it.

Hang out at the Bar. You'll enjoy it.

Folk to rock, pop to hip hop and more, from grisly executions to leisure time with friends, to ending phone calls, let's hang out at the Song Bar and explore songs using these many idioms

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In playlists, music, songs Tags Songs, playlists, hanging, execution, idioms, language, Douglas Adams, Aesop, Eve Arnold, art, photography, books, William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Cromwell, Joseph Stalin, USSR, Russia, Roy Bean, Krzysztof Kieślowski, film, Aldous Huxley, George W Bush, Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky, Nikita Khrushchev, John F Kennedy, US foreign policy, Franklin D Roosevelt, Charlotte Bronte, Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Stephen Milligan, autoerotic asphyxiation, INXS, Michael Hutchence, David Blaine, William Feather, JC Watts, Diana Princess of Wales, Keith Richards, Ice Cube, Adele, Danny Devito, Carl Jung, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Josh Homme, Oprah Winfrey, Patti Smith, Dale Chihuly, Victoria and Albert Museum, lights, Nick Cave
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Going once, going twice … playlists: songs about sales, selling and bargains

January 17, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Gone!

Gone!

Sold! Paddle at the ready, and waiting for the gavel to drop, this week's excellent guest playlister EnglishOutlaw takes on a musical journey through the auction house, watching other punters and bidding for with some fabulous songs

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In folk, hip hop, indie, music, playlists, metal, pop, punk, rock, songs, soul, country, blues Tags Songs, playlists, selling, bargains, auctions, Fugazi, Tom Waits, Bobby Bare, The Who, Junior Wells, The Velvet Underground, Conflict, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Public Enemy, Alan Jackson, Jake Thackray, John McCutcheon, Memphis Minne, Ronnie Spektor, Lambchop, The Mississippi Sheiks, The Streets, Loudon Wainwright III, The Saints, Antidote, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Manic Street Preachers, Sammy Davis Jr, Weird Al Jankovic, Mischief Brew, EnglishOutlaw
Comment

Playlists: great tracks to begin albums, mixtapes or radio shows

January 10, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Blast off: many bright openings illuminate this week's playlists …

Blast off: many bright openings illuminate this week's playlists …

Is it best to set light slowly or start with a big bang? In what turned out to be topic of epic proportions and suggestions, this week's guest ParaMhor creates a superb selection of illuminating playlist openings 

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In soul, songs, rock, reggae, punk, pop, playlists, music, metal, indie, folk, electronica, dance, classical, blues Tags Songs, Music, playlists, opening tracks, Fairport Convention, Iggy Pop, Little Richard, The Temptations, Britney Spears, The Monkees, The Sweet, Meatloaf, Tom Petty, Bryan Ferry, Miles Davis, Massive Attack, Horace Andy, Richard Strauss, Thin Lizzy, Ty Segall, The Jacksons, Charles Mingus, The Gourds, Stevie Wonder, Echo and the Bunnymen, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Allman Brothers Band, Nick Drake, The Emotions, Intl Illimani, Inti-Illimani, John Barry, The Triffids, ParaMhor
Comment

Grand openings: great tracks to begin albums, mixtapes or radio shows

January 4, 2018 Peter Kimpton
It's a 2018 curtain raiser …

It's a 2018 curtain raiser …

Songs or instrumentals, suggest music that sets a tone, a pace, a mood or is a statement of intent, and makes a great start to an album, at the top of a radio show or any other work or event

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In playlists, music Tags Songs, playlists, opening tracks, Film, TV themes, television, radio, Bob Dylan, Paul Weller, The Jam, TS Eliot, Terry Pratchett, Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman, AC/DC, Beyonce, Big John's Rock 'N' Roll Circus, The Grand Opening, John Roger Olsson, Kenny Everett, Barry Levinson, Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, Adrian Cronauer, HBO, The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta, James Bond, Shirley Bassey, Adele, Dick Dale, Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction, Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver, Bernard Herrmann, Spike Lee, Do The Right Thing, Public Enemy, Rosie Perez, Roy Budd, Get Carter, Michael Caine, Harold and Maude, Cat Stevens
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New Albums …

Featured
Favourite Albums of 2025 - Part 3.jpeg
Dec 18, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Three
Dec 18, 2025

Welcome to the third and final part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also Part One, and Part Two. 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 18, 2025
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
Tortoise - Touch.jpeg
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
Tranquilizer by Oneohtrix Point Never.jpeg
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

new songs …

Featured
Deadletter - To The Brim.jpeg
Dec 19, 2025
Song of the Day: DEADLETTER - To The Brim
Dec 19, 2025

Song of the Day: A moody, mysterious minute-long intro with gentle bursts of brass and woodwind veils what becomes a punchy new lead single by the Leeds post-punk band heralding their second LP - Existence is Bliss out on 27 February via SO Recordings

Dec 19, 2025
Greentea Peng - Prisoners Round.jpeg
Dec 18, 2025
Song of the Day: Greentea Peng - Prisoners Round
Dec 18, 2025

Song of the Day: Following March 2025’s acclaimed album, Tell Dem It’s Sunny, the south-east London artist (aka Aria Wells) returns with another smoky, dark, track with hues of blues, dub and soul and Portishead-esque trip-hop, focusing on the trappings and challenges of modern life

Dec 18, 2025
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
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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
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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

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
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Nov 20, 2025
Word of the week: discalceate
Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?

Nov 20, 2025
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
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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
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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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