• Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact
Menu

Song Bar

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Music, words, playlists

Your Custom Text Here

Song Bar

  • Themes/Playlists
  • New Songs
  • Albums
  • Word!
  • Index
  • Donate!
  • Animals
  • About/FAQs
  • Contact

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

Read more
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
Comment

Playlists: songs about written correspondence

October 28, 2020 Peter Kimpton
davidbowiewritingyletter.jpg Letter to Hermione Lyrics.jpg

Love, hate, broken hearts, glad tidings, bills, rejections, congratulations – here came many sackfuls of mail in response to last week’s topic, and sorting through it all was guest postmaster Maki, down to two splendid playlists

Read more
In blues, avant-garde, comedy, country, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, Dean Friedman, John Prine, David Bowie, Siobhan Wilson, Fleet Foxes, Macy Gray, Pastor López, Prince Buster, Lorraine Bowen, Wire, The Ink Spots, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Blondie, REM, Brothers Johnson, Kevin Ayers, Burning Spear, The Police, The Soft Machine, The Who, Tim Buckley, Celtas Cortos, Niña Pastor, Juan Luis Guerra
Comment

Letters of note: songs about written correspondence

October 22, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Correspondence captures time, place, culture and emotions …

Correspondence captures time, place, culture and emotions …

Love letters to rejection replies, friendship, work or leisure, written correspondence are the preserved leaves of history, revealing human nature in all its states and culture, but how does it come up in songwriting? Reply here …

Read more
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, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, letters, postcards, correspondence, Lord Byron, John Donne, Emily Dickinson, Blaise Pascal, Thomas Wolfe, David Herbert Donald, Ernest Hemingway, WH Auden, poetry, Tennis (band), William Donaldson, Henry Root, Robert Popper, Robin Cooper, TImewaster Letters, Aphra Behn, John Cleland, Samuel Richardson, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Letters of Note, Shaun Usher, Groucho Marx, Woody Allen, Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Jimi Hendrix, Iggy Pop, Mad magazine, Muriel Spark, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, Spike Milligan, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Charlie Chaplin, Phyllis Theroux, David Nicholls, Sarah Vaughan, Eminem, Linton Kwesi Johnson
Comment

Playlists: songs about social mobility

October 21, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Class reflections: Mighty Mo Rodgers

Class reflections: Mighty Mo Rodgers

It’s a life of ups and downs, hopes and dreams. From financial ambition to border immigration, breaking the rules to criticising status quo fools, this week’s playlists, picked from a big crowd of nominations by guest Suzi, are truly classy

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, dub, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, social class, social mobility, Peter Gabriel, Action Pact, !Action Pact!, Billy Bragg, Tracy Chapman, Ja'Net Dubois, Gentle Giant, Marvin Gaye, The Kinks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ry Cooder, Mighty Mo Rodgers, Mischief Brew, Rage Against The Machine, Zoot Money and the Big Roll Band, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, June Christie, The The, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles, Sly & The Family Stone, Future of the Left, The O'Jays, Yazz, Madeleine Peyroux, Jake Thackray, Suzi, The I.D, Jeff St John
Comment

Great expectations: songs about social mobility

October 15, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Class act: John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in 1966

Class act: John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in 1966

On the move or stuck in one place? Class snobbery to pride, social control to aspiration, it’s a hugely potent part of human life, something that never seems to disappear in stories, situations, and above all the feelings it generates

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musicals, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, society, social class, George Bernard Shaw, John Ruskin, Oscar Wilde, John Lennon, Charles Dickens, India, Hinduism, poverty, social mobility, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson, music, Barry, David Lean, Film, John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, Stephen Fry, EP Thompson, history, Industrial Revolution, Honda Masanobu, George Orwell, Michael Moore, documentary, Robert Reich, Anohni, Eric Cantona, Thomas Harris, books, My Fair Lady, Silence of the Lambs, film, Alfonso Cuarón, Bong Joon-ho, Michael Caine, Ken Loach, David Bowie, Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, Fat White Family
Comment

The mighty waaahh: songs about babies

October 8, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Float your ideas, and nevermind the cost. From the Nirvana album …

Float your ideas, and nevermind the cost. From the Nirvana album …

For crying out loud. This week’s topic is all about those beautiful and cute bundles of joy that we all once were, miracles of wide-eyed wonder as well as guzzling, selfish, exhausting, sleep-sapping, puking bags of expensive energy extraction

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, postpunk, pop, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, children, babies, Nirvana, George Bernard Shaw, Vincent Van Gogh, Barbara Christine Seifert, Sir David Attenborough, animals, William Shakespeare, The Cesarians, Laurence Sterne, Charles Dickens, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, Jesus Christ, Moses, Hercules, Greek mythology, science, Film, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Azaria Chamberlain, Meryl Streep, The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Roman Polanski, Mia Farrow, Ira Levin, Trainspotting, Diana Gabaldon, George Carlin, Jeanette Winterson, Liam Neeson, Michael Jackson
Comment

A sharper tone: songs with insults and sentiments that may offend

October 1, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Malcolm Tucker, insulter in chief, from The Thick Of It

Malcolm Tucker, insulter in chief, from The Thick Of It

Look sharp! This week we’re adjusting our tone with lyrics that really sharpen the spear, but capture the full spectrum from light, friendly jibe, gentle put-down, discourtesy, invective to scornful verbal attack in killer lines to whole songs

Read more
In avant-garde, blues, 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, rock, reggae, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, insults, Beethoven, William Shakespeare, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Oasis, Malcolm Tucker, Peter Capaldi, The Thick Of It, television, satire, John Dryden, Kenneth Williams, Carry On films, Bette Davis, Epictetus, Louis Nazer, Mason Cooley, Cass McCombs, Billy Idol, Dorothy Parker, Katherine Hepburn, Mae West, Billy Wilder, Groucho Marx, Søren Kierkegaard, Victor Hugo, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mahatma Gandhi, Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill, Frankie Boyle
Comment

Move closer: slow, intimate, sexy love songs

September 24, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Marvin is on …

Marvin is on …

They might range from the cheesiest, mirror-ball last dance, to the most intimate, close-to-the-mic moments of music history. But this week, while raising the heartbeat, we’re going slow in pace and minimal in sound. Let’s get it on …

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, showtime, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, love songs, slow songs, intimacy, Marvin Gaye, Nicholas Sparks, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, Motorhead, Phyllis Nelson, Barry White, Soul Train, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Al Green, FKA Twigs, Film, Witness, Harrison Ford, Peter Weir, Dirty Dancing, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Irving Berlin
Comment

Playlists: songs about masks

September 23, 2020 Peter Kimpton
A signature cover version

A signature cover version

Whether current or the historic, for survival or entertainment, metaphorical, literal, medical, protective, theatrical, comical or disguise, inspired a sea of masks in last week’s topic, guest playlister severin has got it totally covered

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, masks, Billy Bragg, The Ramones, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Jussi Björling, Iggy Pop, Nancy Wilson, Robyn Hitchcock, Loreena McKennitt, Captain Beefheart, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Kurangan, Peter Hammill, Clinton Fearon, Dave Matthews Band, They Might Be Giants, Grace Jones, The Skids, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Ditty Bops, Carolyn Crawford, Max Romeo, Graham Parker, Idles, Johann Strauss II, The Mountain Goats, Fugees, Lou Reed, Thaikkudam Bridge, George Benson, Susanne Sundfør, Rob Brydon, Severin, severin
Comment

Playlists: songs about getting brighter

September 19, 2020 Peter Kimpton
This week’s lists will leave you beaming

This week’s lists will leave you beaming

As the days grow shorter, and especially for those who live in the further northern hemisphere and Nordic countries, guest DiscoMonster chooses lists from last week’s topic to more than brighten your day, brain, and mood

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, 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, ska, showtime, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, light, Roberto Fonseca, Stanton Davis' Ghetto, Abigail Washburn, Slowdive, Razorcuts, Engineers, Simple Minds, Culture, Shankar Mahadevan, Fun, Janelle Monae, Van Morrison, Bill Withers, Eula Cooper, Change, Luther Vandross, Sauti Sol, Soweto Gospel Choir, Active Child, Jim Croce, Habib Koité, Eric Bibb, The Grateful Dead, Novos Baianos, Tommy James & The Shondells, Lole y Manuel, Esperanza Spalding, Caimere, Daiae, Barrier, Sigala, Paul Janeway, Elsie Carlisle, DiscoMonster
Comment

Face the music: songs about masks

September 17, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Frank Sidebottom, aka Chris Sievey

Frank Sidebottom, aka Chris Sievey

From Ancient Greeks to pop personas, they are a fascinating indication of what it is to be human – wearing them, looking at them, putting on or removing, and what they do to the self - projecting, hiding or expressing. Here’s some inspiration …

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, classical, calypso, comedy, 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, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, theatre, music, TV, art, books, E.B. White, Marty Rubin, Frank Herbert, Oscar Wilde, Steven Magee, Emily Dickinson, Frank Sidebottom, Chris Sievey, The Freshies, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Greek tragedy, Tony Harrison, George Eliot, Stanley Kubrick, Film, Tom Cruise, Alexandre Dumas, Voltaire, Marcel Carné, David Soul, Adam West, Batman, MF Doom, Kiss, Carlos Santana, Lordi, Papa Emeritus II and the Nameless Ghouls, Slipknot, Buckethead, Daft Punk, Jennifer Beals, Deadmau5, The Masked Singer, William Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wilkie Collins, Agatha Christie, André Berthiaume, Robert Bloch, John Updike, George Orwell, Molière, Washington Irving, Victor Hugo, Robert Motherwell, Banksy, River Phoenix, R. J. Palacio, Hugh Laurie, Mike Tyson, Paul Valéry, Leonard Cohen
Comment

How illuminating: songs about getting brighter

September 10, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Go towards the light. Inside James Turrell’s Roden Crater

Go towards the light. Inside James Turrell’s Roden Crater

This week is all about transition, contrast, and comparison. Less what’s always bright, such as stars or shiny objects, more the changeable things perceived through the prism of song – from places to people, seasons, atmosphere, moods and emotions

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, colours, 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, rock, reggae, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, light, perception, psychology, art, James Turrell, Neil Gaiman, Little Richard, Don Herold, DH Lawrence, Wassily Kandinsky, Yayoi Kusama, Elon Musk, Omar Khayyám, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Neruda, Brighter Later, Ron Sexsmith
Comment

The remains of the day: songs about the evening

September 3, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Leading actors, but is the evening leading them? Thompson and Hopkins in The Remains of The Day (1993)

Leading actors, but is the evening leading them? Thompson and Hopkins in The Remains of The Day (1993)

As dusk falls, and the day changes clothing, there’s something about the light fade and mood. This week we are all about the evening, after work, and songs that mark that time in emotions, activities, sights and sounds

Read more
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, rock, showtime, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, evening, Oscar Hammerstein, TS Eliot, Dylan Thomas, Sophocles, William Blake, John Milton, poetry, Ann Beattie, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Kazuo Ishiguro, books, Film, Charles Bukowski, Vladimir Nabokov, Jean de la Fontaine, RJ Lawrence, Joseph Joubert, Richard L Ratliff, Terry Gotham, Joseph Addison, Sappho, William Cowper, Charles Baudelaire, Federico Garcia Lorca, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lord Byron, Al Stewart, Giovannie de Sadeleer
Comment

Playlists: songs about the rhythm, beat or boogie

August 26, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Grace Jones swings it …

Grace Jones swings it …

Three keywords that have inspired legions of songs from disco to reggae, pop to hip hop, blues to rock and more. Guest AmyLee compiles a sequence of brilliant beating heart playlists that refer to them all from huge wave of nominations

Read more
In African, blues, dance, country, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, reggae, punk, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, rhythm, beat, boogie, The Go-Go's, Blur, Van Der Graaf Generator, Mott The Hoople, Serge Gainsbourg, Madonna, DeBarge, Us3, Peter Broggs, Grace Jones, A Tribe Called Quest, Bomb The Bass, The Rolling Stones, Kool & The Gang, John Lee Hooker, Sonny and Cher, Stone Poneys, The Happenings, The Cascades, Mark Kozelek, Slapp Happy, Electronic, The Cro-Magnons, A.D.O.R., Salt-N-Pepa, Public Enemy, Mantronix, The Slits, Betty Davis, Willie Mitchell, Major Lance, Thin Lizzy, Little Feat, Happy Mondays, Lou Reed, The Clash, Parliament, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, AmyLee
Comment

Hear, hit or blame? Songs that lyrically refer to rhythm, beat or boogie

August 20, 2020 Peter Kimpton
They get down and do it. Earth, Wind and Fire your inspiration …

They get down and do it. Earth, Wind and Fire your inspiration …

You got it, get down on it, it goes on, maybe it’s a wonderland or perhaps there’s blame pinned on it. This week we’re seeking songs where in whatever genre, in lyrics, one or more of these words are spoken, shouted or sung

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, musical hall, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, showtime, rocksteady, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Maya Angelou, Henry David Thoreau, John Lee Hooker, Gloria Estefan, Miami Sound Machine, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Earth Wind & Fire, Albert Ammons, Clarence PInetop Smith, Rosie Perez, Peter J Silvester, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Jordan, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Mose Allison, Jimmy Yancey, Meade Lux Lewis, Igor Stravinsky, Yehudi Menuhin, Gabrielle Roth, Edith Wharton, Dame Edith Sitwell, Nelly Mazioum, George Crumb, Charles Dickens, Bjork, Jimi Hendrix, Dr John, Ken Burns, Casey Kasem, Van Morrison, Ike Turner, Johnny Otis, Eric B & Rakim
Comment

Playlists: songs about eggs

August 19, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Humpty lends in hand this week’s lists

Humpty lends in hand this week’s lists

Eggs aren’t just eggs. This week, as handpicked by guest Hoshino Sakura are two dozen perfectly shaped oval-shaped gems presented in two boxes of joyful entertainment out of huge tasty scramble of suggestions by readers

Read more
In avant-garde, comedy, blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, rock, songs, soul, ska, rocksteady, reggae, traditional Tags songs, playlists, eggs, Little Jackie, Mr Bungle, Hot Lips Page, Aimee Mann, Dean Martin, Helen O'Connell, Madness, Lunachicks, Macka B, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, The Ground Floor People, Jill Sobule, Dead Can Dance, A Tribe Called Quest, The Nightcrawlers, The Spiders, Humbert Humbert, Cab Calloway, The Nicholas Brothers, Ethel Merman, Ray Bolger, Betty Clooney, Brian D'Arcy James, Tenor Saw, Dafydd Iwan, Cosmo Sheldrake, Jonathan Coulton, Pan
Comment

Let's get cracking: songs about eggs

August 13, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Egg-centric playing style?

Egg-centric playing style?

Please add your song egg-samples to this rich and delicate topic, whether in the context of eating, idioms, metaphor or the full cycles of life. Once the all the song suggestions are unscrambled the results will no doubt be egg-cellent

Read more
In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, instrumentals, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, eggs, birds, reptiles, biology, JRR Tolkien, Denis Diderot, Zora Neale Hurston, Samuel Butler, Bernard Meltzer, language, Hermann Hesse, George du Maurier, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, PG Wodehouse, paul simon, Christopher Paolini, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Jodi Picoult, Coco Chanel, Alex Honnold, Easter Island, Film, The Great Egg Race, documentary, Cool Hand Luke, Devandra Banhart
Comment

Playlists: songs about being or feeling fat

August 5, 2020 Peter Kimpton
The Banjo Players by Beryl Cook

The Banjo Players by Beryl Cook

Roll up, roll it up! Tired of Tinder? Bored with Bumble? Had it up to here with Grindr? Listen up, Blubbbr is where it’s at! Check out this week’s top ten profiles and a whole bevvy of musical beauties as chosen by guest philipphilip99

Read more
In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, fat, Larry Williams, Jimmy Rushing, Carl Malcolm, The Commodores, Lee Pickett and The Screamers, Howlin' Wolf, Billy Stewart, Post Modern Jukebox, AC/DC, Katzenjammer, The Beautiful South, Sheppard, The Smiths, K.D. Lang, Bull Moose Jackson, Joe Tex, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Myren Lee and The Caddies, Ernest Tubb, Big Dee Irwin, Thin Lizzy, philipphilip99
Comment

The bigger picture: songs about being or feeling fat

July 30, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Let it all hang out …

Let it all hang out …

It’s partly perception, partly physical reality, an ongoing health and cultural issue affecting mind and body. So let’s go large on the lyrical portrayal of fat in people, with a dishful of tragedy, humour, self-consciousness, cruelty, pathos, and glory

Read more
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, rock, rocksteady, soundtracks, soul, songs, ska, showtime, traditional Tags songs, playlists, fat, health, mental health, obesity, George Eliot, George Orwell, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Mika, Boris Johnson, Covid-19, Donald Trump, McDonalds, Fats Domino, David Perlmutter, Natalie Imbruglia, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, wrestling, Elvis Presley, Lillian Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Hurley, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Rivers, Les Dawson, Anthony Liccione, PJ O'Rourke, Dennis Miller, Margaret Atwood, Edith Wharton, Barry White, Caitlin Moran, Film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurel and Hardy, The Simpsons, Stevie Nicks, Suzi Quatro, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Peter Hook, Alison Moyet, Adele, Beth Ditto, Lizzo, Jo Brand
Comment

Almost human: songs where instruments sound like the voice, and vice versa

July 23, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Leon Theremin demonstrates his new instrument in 1927

Leon Theremin demonstrates his new instrument in 1927

Brass, woodwind, string or electronic? From the gruffest, grumbliest, deepest, growl, mid-range yowl of a wah-wah vowel, to the purest, highest angelic tone, let’s explore where instruments seem to ‘sing’ or ‘talk' and voices play

Read more
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, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Leon Theremin, Stan Getz, Dick Dale, Louis Armstrong, Luka Sulic, Richie Blackmore, Tom Waits, Bette Midler, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Stradivarius, Antoni Stradivari, Stjepan Hauser, Yo-Yo Ma, esraj, erhu, molima, Yu Hong Me, Colin Turnbull, Mercury Rev, BB King, AJ Ghent, Jimi Hendrix, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Nina Simone, Walt Disney, Silly Symphonies
Comment
← Newer Posts Older Posts →
music_declares_emergency_logo.png

Sing out, act on CLIMATE CHANGE

Black Lives Matter.jpg

CONDEMN RACISM, EMBRACE EQUALITY


Donate
Song Bar spinning.gif

DRINK OF THE WEEK

Constant comment tea


SNACK OF THE WEEK

black-eyed peas


New Albums …

Featured
Tessa Rose Jackson - The Lighthouse.jpeg
Jan 29, 2026
Tessa Rose Jackson: The Lighthouse
Jan 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful, intricate, understated, poetic and intelligent, this warm, inviting experimental folk by the Dutch-British singer-songwriter is the first LP under her own name, having previously released three as the artist Someone

Jan 29, 2026
Lucinda Williams - World's Gone Wrong.jpeg
Jan 28, 2026
Lucinda Williams: World's Gone Wrong
Jan 28, 2026

New album: The acclaimed veteran country, rock and Americana singer-songwriter and multi-Grammy winner’s latest LP has a title that speaks for itself, but is powerful, angry, defiant and uplifting, and, recorded in Nashville, features guest vocals from Norah Jones, Mavis Staples and Brittney Spencer

Jan 28, 2026
Clotheline From Hell.jpeg
Jan 27, 2026
Clothesline From Hell: Slather On The Honey
Jan 27, 2026

New album: His moniker mischievously named after a wrestling move, a highly impressive, independently-created experimental, psychedelic rock debut the the Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Adam LaFramboise

Jan 27, 2026
Dead Dads Club.jpeg
Jan 27, 2026
Dead Dads Club: Dead Dads Club
Jan 27, 2026

New album: Dynamic, passionate, heart-stirring indie rock in this project fronted by Chilli Jesson (formerly bassist of Palma Violets) with songs spurred by the trauma of losing his father 20 years ago, retelling a defiant and difficult aftermath, with sound boosted by producer Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines D.C.

Jan 27, 2026
The Paper Kites - IF YOU GO THERE, I HOPE YOU FIND IT.png
Jan 25, 2026
The Paper Kites: If You Go There, I Hope You Find It
Jan 25, 2026

New album: Warm, tender, gently-paced, calmly reflective, beautifully soothing, poetic, melancholic alternative folk and Americana by the band from Melbourne in their seventh LP in 15 years

Jan 25, 2026
PVA - No More Like This.jpeg
Jan 24, 2026
PVA: No More Like This
Jan 24, 2026

New album: Inventive, alluring, sensual, mysterious, minimalistic electronica, trip-hop and experimental pop by the London trio of Ella Harris, Joshua Baxter and Louis Satchell, in this second album following 2022’s Blush, boosted by the creativity of producer and instrumentalist Kwake Bass

Jan 24, 2026
Imarhan - Essam.jpeg
Jan 20, 2026
Imarhan: Essam
Jan 20, 2026

New album: A mesmeric fourth LP in a decade by the band from Tamanrasset, Algeria, whose name means ‘the ones I care about’, their Tuareg music mixing guitar riffs, pop melodies and African rhythms, but this time also evolves slightly away from the desert blues rocky, bluesy influence of contemporaries Tinariwen with electronic elements

Jan 20, 2026
Courtney Marie Andrews - Valentine.jpeg
Jan 20, 2026
Courtney Marie Andrews: Valentine
Jan 20, 2026

New album: Emotional, beautiful, stirring, Americana, folk and indie-pop by singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona, in this latest studio LP in of soaring voice, strong melodies, love, vulnerability and heartbreak, longing and bravery

Jan 20, 2026
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore - Tragic Magic.jpeg
Jan 18, 2026
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore: Tragic Magic
Jan 18, 2026

New album: Delicate, beautiful, ethereal, meditative new work by the two American experimental composers in their first collaborative LP, with gentle understated vocals, classic synth sounds, and rare harps chosen from from the Paris Musée de la Musique Collection

Jan 18, 2026
Sleaford Mods- The Demise of Planet X.jpeg
Jan 16, 2026
Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X
Jan 16, 2026

New album: The caustic wit of Nottingham’s Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn return with a 13th LP of brilliantly abrasive, dark humoured hip-hop and catchy beats, addressing the rubbish state of the world, as well as local, personal and social irritations through slick nostalgic cultural reference, some expanded sounds, and an eclectic set of guests

Jan 16, 2026
Sault - Chapter 1.jpeg
Jan 14, 2026
SAULT: Chapter 1
Jan 14, 2026

New album: As ever, released suddenly without fanfare or any publicity, the prolific experimental soul, jazz, gospel, funk, psychedelia and disco collective of Cleo Sol, Info (aka Dean Josiah Cover) and co return with a stylish, mysterious LP

Jan 14, 2026
The Cribs - Selling A Vibe.jpeg
Jan 14, 2026
The Cribs: Selling A Vibe
Jan 14, 2026

New album: A first LP in five years by the likeable and solid guitar indie-rock Jarman brothers trio from Wakefield, now with their ninth - a catchy, but at times with rueful, bittersweet perspectives on their times in the music business

Jan 14, 2026
Dry Cleaning - Secret Love.jpeg
Jan 9, 2026
Dry Cleaning: Secret Love
Jan 9, 2026

New album: This third LP by the London experimental post-punk quartet with the distinctive, spoken, droll delivery of Florence Shaw, is packed with striking, vivid, often non seqitur lyrics capturing life’s surreal mundanities and neuroses with a sound coloured and polished by Cate Le Bon as producer

Jan 9, 2026
Various - Icelock Continuum.jpeg
Dec 31, 2025
Various Artists: ICELOCK CONTINUUM
Dec 31, 2025

New album: An inspiring, evocative, sensual and sonically tactile experimental compilation from the fabulously named underground French label Camembert Électrique, with range of international electronic artists capturing cold winter weather’s many textures - cracking, delicate crunchy ice, snow, electric fog, and frost in many fierce and fragile forms across 98 adventurous tracks

Dec 31, 2025

new songs …

Featured
Holly Humberstone - To Love Somebody.jpeg
Jan 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Holly Humberstone - To Love Somebody
Jan 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Shimmeringly catchy and singalong, effervescent Abba-esque and Fleetwood Mac-ish piano and synth pop with an eye-catching, vampiric-themed video by the British singer-songwriter from Grantham, heralding her second album Cruel World out on 10 April via Polydor/Universal.

Jan 29, 2026
Nathan Fake.jpeg
Jan 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Nathan Fake - Slow Yamaha
Jan 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Hypnotic electronica with woozy layers of smooth resonance and a lattice of shifting analogue patterns by the British artist from Norfolk, taken from his forthcoming album, Evaporator, out on InFiné Music

Jan 28, 2026
Charlotte Day Wilson - Lean.jpeg
Jan 27, 2026
Song of the Day: Charlotte Day Wilson - Lean (featuring Saya Gray)
Jan 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Stylish, striking, sensual experimental electro-pop and R&B in this fabulous collaboration between the two Canadian singer/ multi-instrumentalist from Toronto, out on Stone Woman Music/ XL Recordings

Jan 27, 2026
Lime Garden - 23.jpeg
Jan 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Lime Garden - 23
Jan 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, witty, quirky indie pop about age and adjustment by the Brighton-formed quartet fronted by Chloe Howard, heralding their upcoming album Maybe Not Tonight, out on So Young Records on 10 April

Jan 26, 2026
Madra Salach - It's A Hell Of An Age - EP.jpeg
Jan 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Madra Salach - The Man Who Seeks Pleasure
Jan 25, 2026

Song of the Day: A powerful, slow-simmering and gradually intensifying, drone-based original folk number about the the flipsides of love and hedonism by the young Irish traditional and alternative folk band, with comparisons to Lankum, from the recently released EP It's a Hell of an Age, out on Canvas Music

Jan 25, 2026
Adult DVD band.jpeg
Jan 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Adult DVD - Real Tree Lee
Jan 24, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, witty, energised acid-dance-punk with echoes of Underworld and Snapped Ankles by the dynamic, innovative band from Leeds in a new number about a dodgy character of toxic masculinity and online ignorance, and their first release on signing to Fat Possum

Jan 24, 2026
Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night - War Child - HELP 2.jpeg
Jan 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night (for War Child HELP 2 charity album)
Jan 23, 2026

Song of the Day: A simmering, potent, contemplative new track by acclaimed Sheffield band, their first song since 2022’s album The Car, with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child, heralding the upcoming HELP (2) compilation out on 6 March with various contributors

Jan 23, 2026
White Denim - Lock and Key.jpg
Jan 22, 2026
Song of the Day: White Denim - (God Created) Lock and Key
Jan 22, 2026

Song of the Day: The Austin, Texas-formed LA-based rockers return with an infectiously catchy groove fusing rock, funk, dub, soul, and down-dirty blues with some playful self-mythologising and darker themes, heralding 13th album, 13, out on 24 April via Bella Union

Jan 22, 2026
Holy Fuck band.jpeg
Jan 21, 2026
Song of the Day: Holy Fuck - Evie
Jan 21, 2026

Song of the Day: The Canadian experimental indie rock and electronica quartet from Toronto return with a pulsating new track of thrumming bass and shimmering keyboards, heralding their forthcoming new album Event Beat, out on 27 March via Satellite Services

Jan 21, 2026
KAVARI.jpeg
Jan 20, 2026
Song of the Day: KAVARI - IRON VEINS
Jan 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Exciting, cutting-edge electronica and hardcore dance music by innovative the Birkenhead-born, Glasgow-based artist Cameron Winters (she), with a stylish, striking video, heralding the forthcoming EP, PLAGUE MUSIC, out digitally and on 12-inch vinyl on 6 February via XL Recordings

Jan 20, 2026
Asap Rocky - Punk Rocky.png
Jan 19, 2026
Song of the Day: A$AP Rocky - Punk Rocky
Jan 19, 2026

Song of the Day: The standout catchy hip-pop/soul/pop track from the New York rapper aka Rakim Athelston Mayers’ (also the husband of Rihanna) recently released album, Don’t Be Dumb, featuring also the voice of Cristoforo Donadi, and out on A$AP Rocky Recordings

Jan 19, 2026
Buck Meek - The Mirror.jpeg
Jan 18, 2026
Song of the Day: Buck Meek - Gasoline
Jan 18, 2026

Song of the Day: The Texas-born Big Thief guitarist returns with an beautifully stirring, evocative, poetic love-enthralled indie-folk single of free association made-up words and quantum leap feelings, rolling drums and strums, heralding his upcoming fourth solo album, The Mirror, out on 27 February via 4AD

Jan 18, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Zumbador dorado - mango bumblebee Puerto Rico.jpeg
Jan 22, 2026
Word of the week: zumbador
Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand

Jan 22, 2026
Hamlet ad - Gregor Fisher.jpg
Jan 8, 2026
Word of the week: aspectabund
Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth

Jan 8, 2026
Kaufmann Trumpeter 1950.jpeg
Dec 24, 2025
Word of the week: bellonion (or belloneon)
Dec 24, 2025

Word of the week: It sounds like a bulbous, multi-layered peeling vegetable, but this obscure mechanical musical instrument invented in 1812 in Dresden consisted of 24 trumpets and two kettle drums and, designed to mimic the sound of a marching band, might also make your eyes water

Dec 24, 2025
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

Song Bar spinning.gif