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Valentine's Day? Reveal your songs about secret admirers

February 14, 2019 Peter Kimpton
He nose, but does she? Cyrano de Bergerac

He nose, but does she? Cyrano de Bergerac

Clandestine cravings and crushes? To spice up a romantic tradition, this week’s topic is all about secret love longings expressed through song, here inspired by real-life examples of musicians, alongside film, books and theatre

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, St Valentine's Day, martyrs, romance, relationships, Edmond Rostand, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Steven Tyler, Lulu, Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, Amy Winehouse, Jane Austen, books, Emily Bronte, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Dickens, James Baldwin, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, Fleetwood Mac, Film, Audrey Tatou, Gérard Depardieu
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Playlists: songs about Paris

February 13, 2019 Peter Kimpton
King of swing: Django Rehinhardt

King of swing: Django Rehinhardt

Jacques Dutronc to Jacqueline Taieb to Joni Mitchell, all the sights and sound of the great French city are captured in deux listes belles by our guru du semaine fantastique, swawilg. Take a stroll, stop at a café and enjoy …

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, electronica, folk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, Paris, France, Clifford Brown, Michael Hurley, Zaz, Django Reinhardt, Jacques Dutronc, Jacqueline Taleb, Claude Nougaro, Terry Callier, Marianne Faithfull, The Style Council, Tracy Thorn, Matt Monro, Joni Mitchell, Eartha Kitt, Rufus Wainwright, Tony Joe White, Les Négresses Vertes, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Petit Yodé et L'enfant Siro, Joe Dassin, Nat King Cole, Beausoleil, Julie London, Pierre Bensusan, Madeleine Peyroux, swawilg, Unholy Modal Rounders
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We'll always have ... songs about Paris

February 7, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Café culture

Café culture

Romance and glamour, café culture, perfume, protest, or grit and gangs? Paris means all things to all people, but if one thing unites these things, it is inspiration. This week the Bar Du Chanson, we try to capture its essence in song

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Paris, France, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, Angela Carter, George Orwell, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, fashion, art, books, Samantha Schutz, Gertrude Stein, EY Harburg, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wes Anderson, Susan Cahill, Julian Barnes, Vincent Van Gogh, Patti Smith, Pablo Picasso, Pete Townshend, Malcolm McLaren, protest, Jean Cocteau, Emile Zola, Anna Wintour, Grace Jones, Toulouse-Lautrec, Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Klemens von Metternich, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Charles Laughton, Lon Chaney, Patrick Süskind, Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Marlon Brando, Maria Scheider, Mathieu Kassovitz, Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart
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Playlists: songs about banks and banking

February 6, 2019 Peter Kimpton
What musical treasure will enter the vaults this week?

What musical treasure will enter the vaults this week?

Wall Street to the Federal Reserve, bank robbing to banks that rob, all the musical investment on last week’s topic has gathered interest and culminated in two astutely calculated playlists by this week’s guest Ravi Raman

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In blues, comedy, country, folk, indie, music, playlists, pop, prog, punk, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, banks, financial industry, Richard Thompson, 10cc, Leon Rosselson, Mike Rimbaud, Tackhead, Procol Harum, Simply Red, Jeff Fredricks and the Clamstones, Tim Bluhm, Screaming Blue Messiahs, David Tomlinson, Dyck Van Dyke, Frank Zappa, George Chandler, Gov't Mule, Bon Iver, Captain SKA, Subhumans, Bruce Springsteen, Asian Dub Foundation, McCarthy, Papa Levi, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Ravi Raman
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Sound investments? Songs about banks and banking

January 31, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Put your deposits here …

Put your deposits here …

Ruled by them or robbing them, debts and deposits to crises and economic crashes, this week it’s time to turn our musical attention to banks and bankers, and realise that aside from facts and figures, they are also all about people

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, songs, soul, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, banks, banking industry, financial crisis, financial industry, Henry Ford, James Buchan, John Lanchester, Dad's Army, Dragon's Den, Theo Paphitis, investment, business, Enron, mortgages, RBS, IMF, Christine Lagarde, Jon Ronson, Charlie Brooker, Wall Street, Bonnie and Clyde, Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino, Film, James Stewart
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Playlists: songs pertaining to music venues and spaces

January 30, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Barrrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

Barrrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

Glasgow to Chicago, London and Liverpool to Lisdoonvarna and all the way to Mali, inspired by many reader nominations around the globe, this week’s playlister pejepeine takes us on a tantalising tour of magical musical locations

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, music venues, Bix Beiderbecke, DIre Straits, Christy Moore, Amy MacDonald, The Big Three, X-Ray Spex, The Photos, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, The Roots, Eryka Badu, Super Rail Band of the Buffet Hotel de Gar, David Bowie, Hermeto Pascoal, Guy Clark, Love, The Animals, The Sweet, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Peter Hammill, The Clash, Super Beagle, Orchestra Boabab, The Whitlams, Clube da Esquina
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Hello Wembley! Songs pertaining to live music venues and spaces

January 24, 2019 Peter Kimpton
It’s just a stage I’m going through: Bregenz Music Festival in Austria

It’s just a stage I’m going through: Bregenz Music Festival in Austria

Bars, basements, intimate, sweaty or large or legendary, forests, festivals, stratospheric stadia, snug pubs to prisons, caves to operatic amphitheatres, let's musically celebrate venues and spaces mentioned by, or associated with songs

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, gospel, hip hop, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, playlists, musicals, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, music, music venues, live music, Independent Venue Week, Wembley, festivals, pubs, Bregenz Music Festival, Sex Pistols, Manchester, Buzzcocks, Morrissey, The Smiths, Joy Division, Mark E Smith, The Wedding Present, The Hardrock, David Bowie, David Nolan, CBGB, New York, The Fall, Madonna, Hacienda, Tony Wilson, Pulp, Bjork, Verona, Al Green, Glasgow, Deaf Institute, Gorilla Manchester, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Rough Trade, The Lexington, Hope & Anchor, Paper Dress Vintage, Moth Club, Television Personalities, Camden Roundhouse, Marquee Club
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Playlists: songs about crisis

January 23, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Kate Tempest – Europe is Lost?

Kate Tempest – Europe is Lost?

From personal turmoil of the human brain to total tumult of the planet, Temptations to Kate Tempest, this week’s playlist writer ParaMhor turns last week’s whole world of fabulous nominations into a cri de crisis par excellence

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In dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, songs Tags songs, playlists, crisis, The Temptations, New Order, Joy Division, Kenny Carter, Sagittarius, The Undertones, NIck Lowe, The The, Kate Tempest, The Poozies, Anohni, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, John Shuttleworth, Jesus & Mary Chain, Oxymoron, Negativland, Of Montreal, The Tiger Lillies, Sweet Honey In the Rock, The Housemartins, Randy Newman, The Candyskins, British Sea Power, Emmy The Great, The Ethiopians, The Carpenters, Hawkwind, ParaMhor, Tom Lehrer, Thomas Paine
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Where did it all go wrong? Songs about crisis …

January 17, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Don’t do it, Father Dougal  …

Don’t do it, Father Dougal …

… and how can it all go right? This week let’s see if we can make musical manoeuvres in the current climate, causes and cures for crises, whether they be political social, economic or personal

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, 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, financial crisis, politics, Henry Kissinger, Dante, John F Kennedy, Father Ted, The Thick Of It, Theresa May, Donald Trump, Brexit, Janey Godley, Syria, Yemen, Cuban missile crisis, Noam Chomsky, George Soros, banking industry, Barack Obama, Robert Kiyosaki, Andrew Cuomo, China, The Daily Mail, newspapers, Rupert Murdoch, Jonathan Harmsworth Lord Rothermere, Jacob Rees-Mogg, William Rees-Mogg, Jose Manuel Barroso, Michael Crichton, Ronald Wright, Adam Curtis, Anton Chekhov, Douglas Coupland, Charlie Chaplin
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Playlists: songs about long-distance relationships

January 16, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Marvin Gaye … distant lover

Marvin Gaye … distant lover

Interweaving stories of distant lovers to torn up families, changes and challenges, this week’s guest playlister DiscoMonster presents his choices from last week’s nominations into one long, beautiful, emotional narrative

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In blues, dance, disco, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rock, traditional, soul, songs Tags songs, playlists, relationships, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Go-Betweens, Little Feat, Marvin Gaye, Steeleye Span, Alfred Apaka, Yasmine Hamdan, Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters, Chuck Berry, Advance Base, Elbow, Hitesh Sonik, Piyush Mishra, The Long Blondes, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Aztec Camera, REM, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Ketty Lester, Al Green, Little Big Town, Zero 7, Vienna Teng, Poemss, Prefab Sprout, Destination, Okkervil River, Moonface, Atmosphere
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Have love will travel: songs about long-distance relationships

January 10, 2019 Peter Kimpton
David Bowie and ‘family’ on the set of The Man Who Fell To Earth

David Bowie and ‘family’ on the set of The Man Who Fell To Earth

Transcending distance and time, and sometimes in another dimension, space itself, this week we look to go the full distance to explore the trials and triumphs of enduring love, or otherwise, made or broken by absence

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, David Bowie, Film, film soundtrack, Nicolas Roeg, E.M. Forster, John Donne, A.A. Milne, books, poetry, childhood, sex, relationships, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Wes Anderson, pets, animals, animal behaviour, Ang Lee, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Kazuo Ishiguro, Steven Spielberg, Matthew McConaughey, Margaret Atwood, William Shakespeare, Rainer Maria Rilke, Gilbert Parker, Albert Ellis, James Thurber, ee cummings, Charles Dickens, Albert Einstein
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Playlists: songs about fixing, repairing and solving

January 9, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Heartstrings are harder to repair that guitars …

Heartstrings are harder to repair that guitars …

From gaffer and duct tape, housing to mending a broken heart, let’s repair towards fantastic playlists created by the handy skills of our guest treefrogdemon, who was inspired by a full toolkit of suggestions from last week’s topic

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, electronica, folk, hip hop, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, rock, songs, soundtracks, soul, traditional Tags songs, fixing, playlists, repairing, Patti Smith, Grinderman, Nick Cave, The Burning Hell, Alan Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, Robb Johnson, Robb Johnson and the Irregulars, Slapp Happy, Jens Lekman, The Scaffold, Otis Gibbs, Saint Etienne, The Decemberists, Bagpuss, Mischief Brew, John Faulkner, Sandra Kerr, Albert King, The Dead Kennedys, Flanagan and Allen, Elbow, Missy Elliott, Yazoo, Flanders and Swann, Joni Mitchell, Rosa Anderson, Paul Kelly, The Beatles, Richard Thompson, treefrogdemon
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Tune up for 2019: songs about fixing, repairing and solving

January 3, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Global repair

Global repair

From cars to people, mind and body, clocks or guitars, the world at large or little local difficulties, let’s start 2019 by fixing up and looking sharp with skills and toolkits on this topic

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In classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, rocksteady, rock, reggae, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, repairing, fixing, Bernard Malamud, Rudyard Kipling, Rob Reiner, Brexit, climate change, James Gillray, satire, cartoons, books, cars, Johnny Cash, Film, comedy, Father Ted, Patti Smith, John F Kennedy, Michael Moore, Tucker Carlson, Bill Bryson, Bruce Dickinson, Mary Shelley, Leo Fender, Jack White, Alan Arkin, Dolly Parton, Missy Elliott, Iggy Pop, Bikram Choudhury, yoga, health, Matt Haig, Douglas Adams, mental health, Lee Majors
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Playlists: songs that sound like other songs

January 2, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Stop me if you’ve heard that one before …

Stop me if you’ve heard that one before …

Is there an echo in here? Those with sharp ears will enjoy some remarkable and fun comparisons as this week’s playlister Olive Butler perfectly picks out some of the soundalikes from a double topic over the festive period

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, songs, soundtracks, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, imitation, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Bobby Parker, The Ting Tings, Toni Basil, The Daysleepers, Blue Oyster Cult, Sam Spence, Booker T and the MGs, Kevin Ayers, The Aerovons, Cadaver Club, Marvin Berry & The Starlighters, Teitur, Laurie Anderson, The Pogues, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Delia Derbyshire, Coldplay, Kraftwerk, The Motors, Keith Mansfield, The Sweet, David Bowie, Jacques Dutronic, The Shadows of Knight, The Yardbirds, Brian Fahey, George Harrison, The Chiffons, Green Day, The Kinks, NIck Lowe, Jet, Iggy Pop, Adam and the Ants, Rolf Harris, Steely Dan, Horace Silver, Humphrey Carpenter, Avishai Cohen, Miles Davis, Nico, Pachelbel, Midge Ure, TV themes, Band Aid, Bob Geldof, The Muppets, Simon & Garfunkel, paul simon, Patsy Gallant, Gilles Vigneault, The Jam, The Rutles, Graham Fellows, The Smiths, Olive Butler
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Familiar? It's a Christmas special: songs that sound like other songs

December 20, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Superb lyrebird - sounds like everything else, but nothing sounds like it.

Superb lyrebird - sounds like everything else, but nothing sounds like it.

The topic over the Christmas holiday season is a form of convivial, parlour game in which pairs of songs can be nominated that share musical or other echoes - but which came first and where are the comparisons? You decide …

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, 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, influence, Beethoven, Nina Simone, Gloria Gaynor, Barry White, Vera Farmiga, Georgia Cates, Brother Dave Gardner, comedy, impressionists, poetry, Harold Bloom, Monty Python, The Beatles, Oasis, Once & Future Band, The Beach Boys, Curtis Mayfield, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Dave Gilmour, Gilberto Gil, Wynton Marsalis, Tom Waits, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Toni Braxton, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, James Blake, Gene Ween, Ween, Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, Florence Welch, Florence and the Machine, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Baxter Dury, Brynn Cartelli, The Voice, Joni Mitchell, Ben Folds, Slade, Noel Gallagher, The Smiths, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Murray Head, Peter Gabriel, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Leonard Bernstein, Sir David Attenborough
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Playlists: songs about platonic love

December 19, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy aka Will Oldham, and friend

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy aka Will Oldham, and friend

It may be the most precious love of all, but sometimes not fully felt until it’s gone. Guest playlist writer EnglishOutlaw tells a moving tale alongside beautiful, emotional songs from last week’s topic

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In blues, comedy, dance, electronica, folk, indie, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, songs Tags songs, playlists, friendship, platonic love, relationships, Elbow, Avett Brothers, Jens Lekman, Sarah McLachlan, Johnny Cash, Bob Evans, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Cyndi Lauper, PJ Harvey, Smoke Fairies, Crash Test Dummies, Weezer, Bruce Springsteen, The Chills, Antony and the Johnsons, Carole King, The Saw Doctors, John Prine, Iris Dement, Mel & Tim, Randy Newman, The Producers, Queen, Splodgenessabounds, The Rembrandts
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All you need is: songs about platonic love

December 13, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Not so strange bedfellows: Eric and Ernie

Not so strange bedfellows: Eric and Ernie

The non-sexual, non-romantic sort is what makes up most of the love we experience in life, so whether that concerns real or fictional experiences, let’s define and explore it as expressed in song lyrics

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In blues, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, platonic love, love songs, Morecambe & Wise, Thyra Samter Winslow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oscar Wilde, relationships, friendship, family, animals, Plato, Socrates, philosophy, psychology, Georgios Gemistos (Plethon), Marsilio Ficino, William Davenant, Flight of the Conchords, The Mighty Boosh, Eddie Braben, Laurel & Hardy, Marx Brothers, The Likely Lads, comedy, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, books, Film, Jane Austen, Jack Kerouac, Cervantes, Mark Twain, Withnail & I, Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, Easy Rider, Shaun of the Dead, The Odd Couple, Thelma & Louise, Star Trek, Mencius, Seneca, Euripides, Plutarch, CS Lewis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Marcel Proust, Jim Morrison
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Playlists: songs influenced by gospel

December 12, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Al Green … holy and sexual in the same line

Al Green … holy and sexual in the same line

Hallelujah! This week’s divine lists, picked by guest magicman from countless nominations, not only shines light on gospel’s music in soul to jazz, disco and more, but will lift hearts and minds though dark times

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In country, dance, gospel, music, playlists, pop, songs, soul, blues Tags songs, playlists, gospel, Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Bed of Roses, The Statler Brothers, Ray Charles, Sam & Dave, Wynton Marsalis, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Kahn, Al Green, The Moody Blues, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Jennifer Holliday, Kanye West, Kirk Franklin, Chance The Rapper, Donny Hathaway, The Impressions, The Staple Singers, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Against All Logic, Nicolas Jaar, Charles Mingus, Labelle, Patti Labelle, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson, Ry Cooder, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters, The Source, Candi Staton, Frankie Knuckles, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Billy Joel, Bobby Womack, Cannonball Adderley, Emmylou Harris, The Hollies, Jamie Lidell, John Legend, Michael Jackson, Midfield General, Randy Travis, Toots and the Maytals, Change, Nuyorican Soul, Jocelyn Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Ben Folds Five, Toni Braxton, magicman
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How great thou art: songs influenced by gospel

December 6, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Guitar and singing legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Guitar and singing legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Big flamboyant, expressive voices to call-and-response choirs, praise and looking for answers? This week we soul search into gospel’s musical styles infused into other genres, from soul to R&B, hip hop to rock, folk and indie

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In blues, classical, country, dance, disco, dub, electronica, folk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, gospel, soul, church music, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Bobby Womack, Brian Eno, Yolanda Adams, George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, Fanny Crosby, Ira David Sankey, Dwight L. Moody, Charles E. Gold, The Fairfield Four, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, The Soul Stirrers, The Swan Silvertones, The Charloteers, The Golden Gate Quartet, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Reverend Gary Davis, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Ry Cooder, Thomas Dorsey, Bessie Smith, Tampa Red, Ma Rainey, Reverend James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Martin Luther King, civil rights, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, James Brown, Clyde McPhatter, Roy Brown, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Kahn, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Chance The Rapper, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Leonard Cohen, The Kooks, The Rolling Stones, Bon Iver
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Not playlists? Yes playlists: songs with misleading or incongruous titles

December 5, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Scott Walker. Wave goodbye to any Manhattan meaning

Scott Walker. Wave goodbye to any Manhattan meaning

Not a single song has anything to do with what it says on the tin. But after many wonderful wrongfooting nominations, brilliant guest playlister Olive Butler puts them in an entertaining form of order

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In blues, comedy, dance, country, disco, dub, folk, electronica, indie, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, reggae, rock, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, Badfinger, Robert Plant, Of Montreal, Throbbing Gristle, Scott Walker, The Beach Boys, Burning Spear, The American Analog Set, Silver Jews, Tom Lehrer, Joe Henry, Half Man Half Biscuit, Morrissey, Stereolab, Smashing Pumpkins, Steely Dan, The Monkees, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Prefab Sprout, Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, English Dogs, Gary Moore, Joy Division, Olive Butler, Primitive Radio Gods, Thee More Shallows
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New Albums …

Featured
Evergreen In Your Mind by Juni Habel.jpeg
Apr 16, 2026
Juni Habel: Evergreen In Your Mind
Apr 16, 2026

New album: Exquisite, delicate, ethereal finger-picking folk by the Norwegian singer-songwriter in this third album, one that poetically and musically inhabits a mysterious half-dream state flitting between two worlds

Apr 16, 2026
Gretel - Squish.jpeg
Apr 16, 2026
Gretel: Squish
Apr 16, 2026

New album: After several years of excellent EPs and singles such as Drive, a much anticipated and strong rock-pop debut by the London singer-songwriter who delivers catchy, energising numbers, here themed around wanting the warmly craved feelings of love, lust and relationships, but also finding overwhelming of being squashed and consumed by them

Apr 16, 2026
Kammerkonzert by Squarepusher.jpeg
Apr 15, 2026
Squarepusher: Kammerkonzert
Apr 15, 2026

New album: An eclectic, dramatic, polyrhythmic mix of jazz, modern classical and drum’n’bass by the experimental British musician and producer Tom Jenkinson, in this dramatic, abstract, cerebral and cinematic release featuring a host of instruments from bass to chamber strings and harpischord

Apr 15, 2026
Pictish Trail - Life Slime.jpeg
Apr 15, 2026
Pictish Trail: Life Slime
Apr 15, 2026

New album: Mesmeric, slow-build, mid-tempo, woozy, psychedelic-electronica folk of gentle, personal, reflective dark humour, profundity and melancholy by the Isle of Eigg-based Scottish musician Johnny Lynch in his sixth LP, here produced by Mike Lindsay of Tunng and LUMP themed around metaphorical ooze, transformation, exhaustion, hope, guilt, and renewal

Apr 15, 2026
Flea - Honora.jpeg
Apr 14, 2026
Flea: Honora
Apr 14, 2026

New album: The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist turns his skills to another passion – trumpet – and the result is an absorbing, eclectic, fusion of experimental jazz, electronica, spoken word of six originals and four covers, with collaborators including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, and Nick Cave

Apr 14, 2026
Maybe Not Tonight by Lime Garden.jpeg
Apr 12, 2026
Lime Garden: Maybe Not Tonight
Apr 12, 2026

New album: Zesty, fresh, infectiously catchy, smash-and-grab synthy indie-pop-rock by the Brighton quartet, packed with fabulous riffs and melodies and droll, tongue-in-cheek lyrics that engagingly chart the highs and lows, the joys and insecurities of a big night out

Apr 12, 2026
My New Band Believe album.jpeg
Apr 11, 2026
My New Band Believe: My New Band Believe
Apr 11, 2026

New album: A superb, rapturous swirl of energy, invention, passionate emotions and originality, this debut album by Cameron Picton, the bassist of the acclaimed British experimentalists Black Midi, features shapeshifting structures with a host of acoustic instruments, all originating from a hotel room fever dream of weird imagery and scrambled text

Apr 11, 2026
Wendy Eisenberg by Wendy Eisenberg.jpeg
Apr 9, 2026
Wendy Eisenberg: Wendy Eisenberg
Apr 9, 2026

New album: An absolutely gorgeous, delicate, subtle, brilliantly inventive LP of folk-rock-country-pop by the Brooklyn-based guitarist, improviser, composer and singer-songwriter, themed around the artist’s newfound queerness and love, all coloured by a sense of personal awe and reinvention

Apr 9, 2026
LuxJury - Giving Up.jpeg
Apr 8, 2026
LuxJury: Giving Up
Apr 8, 2026

New album: Catchy, funky, witty, insightful and candid soulful indie-pop debut by the London trio fronted by Nicole ‘Lux’ Fermie, with songs inspired by a formative first queer relationship and subsequent exploration of identity

Apr 8, 2026
Snail Mail - Ricochet.jpeg
Apr 7, 2026
Snail Mail: Ricochet
Apr 7, 2026

New album: American indie singer-songwriter Lindsey Jordan returns with a third LP, awash with natural tendency for shoegaze-y melancholy, but also with a warm embrace of jangly and acoustic guitars in this introspective release about time, fading friendships, mortality, the afterlife, and the quiet terror of watching the things you love slip away

Apr 7, 2026
Dark Sky Reservation by LYR.jpeg
Apr 6, 2026
LYR: Dark Sky Reservation
Apr 6, 2026

New album: Filled with beautiful stillness and vivid, intricate images, gentle wit, lilting profundity and contemplative moments, this gorgeously illuminating third experimental LP by the trio of UK poet laureate Simon Armitage and musicians Richard Walters and Patrick J Pearson begins on the constellatory contradiction that the furthest points of light in our skies can only be seen in the dark

Apr 6, 2026
Birding by deary.jpeg
Apr 5, 2026
deary: Birding
Apr 5, 2026

New album: A shimmering, sparkling, ethereal dream-pop and shoegaze debut by the London trio with an ornithological theme in the context of human impact, and significant echoes in flight of their key influences Cocteau Twins, Lush, My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive

Apr 5, 2026
Vol.II by Angine de Poitrine.jpeg
Apr 4, 2026
Angine de Poitrine: Vol. II
Apr 4, 2026

New album: A weirdly wonky hot sensation on social media, the mysterious Quebec duo are instantly recognisable by their oddball, masked polka dot disguises, but this second release of mostly instrumental prog-rock bendy loops and riffs between guitar and drums remain just as mesmeric in their musical skill and complexity

Apr 4, 2026
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Apr 4, 2026
Thundercat: Distracted
Apr 4, 2026

New album: Rich, deep, squelchy grooves and high falsetto in the distinctively funky-jazz-soul-afrofuturistic-cosmic-rock return of the outstanding Los Angeles bass player with his first LP for six years, and an impressive array of collaborators, including Mac Miller, Tame Impala, Flying Lotus, A$AP Rocky, and The Lemon Twigs

Apr 4, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.jpeg
Apr 17, 2026
Song of the Day: Olivia Rodrigo - Drop Dead
Apr 17, 2026

Song of the Day: A bright, shimmering, effervescent, soaring new single by the American pop superstar, with stylistic parallels to Chappell Roan and ABBA, heralding her upcoming third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, out on 12 June via Geffen

Apr 17, 2026
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Apr 16, 2026
Song of the Day: Massive Attack with Tom Waits – Boots on the Ground
Apr 16, 2026

Song of the Day: Now 35 years since the hugely influential Blue Lines, and 16 since their last LP, Robert Del Naja and co return, joined by the unmistakeable voice of the American musician, with a powerful, poignant, topically political number portraying the perspective of a boorish, monstrous warmonger

Apr 16, 2026
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Apr 15, 2026
Song of the Day: The Gnomes - Magic Man
Apr 15, 2026

Song of the Day: Fresh, energised, guitar-driven 60s-style retro garage-rock-pop fun from the young Melbourne four-piece taken from their the new EP, More, out on 13 May

Apr 15, 2026
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Apr 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Getdown Services - The Radiator
Apr 14, 2026

Song of the Day: Weirdly wonderful and oddly mesmeric, catchy, surreal and silly groove electro-pop by the Bristol duo of Josh Law and Ben Sadler, best known for the single Dog Dribble and their joyous, comedic, frenzied live shows, out on Breakfast Records

Apr 14, 2026
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Apr 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Tamikrest - Imanin
Apr 13, 2026

Song of the Day: A stirring, evocative song of defiance and resistance to the repression of northern Mali people by the acclaimed Saharan rock band, from their upcoming sixth album, Assikel, out on 15 May via Glitterbeat Records

Apr 13, 2026
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Apr 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Royel Otis - Sweet Hallelujah
Apr 12, 2026

Song of the Day: Soaring, strident, anthemic rock about a bittersweet farewell and enriched with stirring orchestral backing in this latest single by the Sydney, Australia duo of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, out on Ourness/Capitol Records/UMG

Apr 12, 2026
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Apr 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Kelela - Idea 1
Apr 11, 2026

Song of the Day: Sensual, smoky, stripped back soul, R&B dream-pop and electronica about facing an uncertain world by the acclaimed American singer-songwriter of Ethiopian ancestry with first new music since her second album Raven (2023), out on Warp Records

Apr 11, 2026
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Apr 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Lambrini Girls - Cult of Celebrity
Apr 10, 2026

Song of the Day: Taking a punchy shot at the sinister, dark underbelly of global elites and backdoor dealings of notorious super-wealthy inner circles who prey on the young and innocent, a fabulously feisty new single by the Brighton British punk duo of Phoebe Lunny and Selin Macieira, out on City Slang

Apr 10, 2026
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Apr 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Surfbort - Hot Dog
Apr 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Tasty, catchy, satirical fun, suggestively themed around the popular fast-food snack, with an even more entertaining video filled with colourful characters by the Brooklyn punk band, taken from their recent third album Reality Star, out on TODO

Apr 9, 2026
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Apr 8, 2026
Song of the Day: Beth Orton - The Ground Above
Apr 8, 2026

Song of the Day: The British singer-songwriter returns with a profound and beautiful new 8-minute eclectic folk-rock number about how humans are “all vulnerable beings living out invincible lives”, suffused with piano and trumpet, and out on Partisan Records

Apr 8, 2026
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Apr 7, 2026
Song of the Day: Liz Lawrence - Black Ulysses
Apr 7, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautifully moving, melodic and poignant acoustic indie-pop single by the acclaimed British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, from the upcoming album fifth album Vespers, out on 5 June via Chrysalis Records

Apr 7, 2026
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Apr 6, 2026
Song of the Day: Angelo De Augustine - Empty Shell
Apr 6, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, delicate, tender, elegiac indie folk with chamber strings, by the California singer-songwriter, and friend and associate of Sufjan Stevens, who is an inspiration, heralding his upcoming fifth album Angel in Plainclothes, out on 24 April via Asthmatic Kitty Records

Apr 6, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Undine - Novella.jpeg
Apr 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
Apr 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

Apr 9, 2026
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Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

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

Mar 27, 2026
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Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

Feb 12, 2026

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