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Come here often? Songs with pick-up lines and marriage proposals

August 11, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Of all the bars ….

What’s your line, from chat-ups to marriage proposals that appear in the lyrics or tenets of songs? This is not just love songs in general, but must contain lines with some ice-breaking approach, declaring attraction or more, with the most immediate short- or longer-term intentions

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Victor Hugo, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, James Joyce, Clark Gable, Film, Charlotte Bronte, Jack Lemmon, A Tribe Called Quest, Dolly Parton, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Radiohead, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, Bellamy Brothers, George Michael, Robyn, Alicia Keys, television, Comedy, romance, romantic comedy, Napoleon Dynamite, Flight of the Conchords, Natalie Portman, Russell Crowe, Ice Cube, Ellen Degeneres, food, money, marriage
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Playlists: songs about life in the 19th century

August 10, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Let’s dance through some 19th century history ….

It brought enduring global change, from the Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War and abolition of slavery. Inspired by last week’s song nominations, guest Shiv SideCar captures the century in a series of historic playlists

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, dub, experimental, folk, electronica, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, prog, punk, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, United States of America, American Civil War, slavery, Babe Ruth, London, Merthyr Rising, emigration, Ireland, Germany, France, Paul Cezanne, Battle of Waterloo, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Burning Spear, Woody Guthrie, RIchie Havens, Clutch, Sound Experience, Elton John, Rosanne Cash, Etta James, Billy Joel, XTC, The Fall, Chumbawamba, Megson, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Pogues, David Bridie, Amon Düül II, Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers, Neil Innes, Brigitte Fontaine, Abba, Ed Harcourt, The Charlatans (US), Warren Zevon, The Unthanks, Public Image Limited, Titus Andronicus, Dead Moon, Culture, Lake Ruth, Jad & David Fair, Thee Headcoatees, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Long Ryders, Blyth Power, Al Stewart, Madness, Paul Roland, Meic Stevens, The Would-Be-Goods, The Teardrop Explodes, New Model Army, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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Great exhibitions: songs about 19th century life and culture

August 4, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Early music recording attempts at the end of the 19th century

This global history topic takes in many events, inventions, people and social trends, but beyond dates and facts, it is particularly about life of the times, habits, attitudes and values, and can also include fictional and other artistic styles

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, ska, showtime, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, Queen Victoria, 19th century, history, Charles Dickens, Frederick Douglass, Mrs Isabella Beeton, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, transport, trains, China, Russia, American Civil War, slavery, Harriet Tubman, Great Reform Bill, suffrage, Peterloo Massacre, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Ireland, migration, emigration, Irish diaspora, Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, Alessandro Volta, Thomas Edison, Lewis Howard Latimer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, James Watt, Richard Trevithick, railways, London 2012 Olympics, Peter Durand, Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron, William Whewell, Samuel Morse, Karl Benz, Elisha Gray, Alexander Graham Bell, Karl Marx, Hegel, Jane Austen, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Thackeray, John Keats, Rudyard Kipling, John Constable, JW Turner, Beethoven, Mahler, Pedestrianism, sport, The Great Exhibition
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Playlists: songs with music as nutrition

August 3, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens: undeniably beneficial

Some music feels so good you can just eat it. With a whole shopping spree of tasty ingredients and treats about the nutritious benefits of song, guest of the week ParaMhor prepares a three-course meal that’s bound to boost your health

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Food for the soul: songs about music as nutrition

July 28, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Musical minerals?

Music is indisputably good for you, but how is this expressed in song, for improvement of mood, brain and body? Firstly this might come up lyrics, but also this topic can get more subjective and more impressionist with songs that really hit the spot

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Playlists: songs about owls

July 26, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The eyes have it, but what songs will this week’s keen ears pick up?

Haunting, beautiful, otherworldly, very much coming alive at night – and that’s just the music. Inspired by these mesmeric birds, guest of the week Maki creates two gorgeous and entrancing playlists picked from last week’s nominations

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In blues, classical, folk, indie, jazz, music, musical hall, playlists, pop, psychedelia, rock, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, owls, birds, Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Clogs, Shara Worden, Death and Vanilla, The Strawbs, Gerry Rafferty, Gene Chandler, Dick Dale, Canned Heat, Devendra Banhart, Elis Regina, Ma Rainey, Kevin Ayers, The Lovin' Spoonful, Silver Apples, Laurie Anderson, Sparklehorse, TV On The Radio, Agnes Obel, Saint Etienne, The Dead Kennedys, Antonio Machado, Enrique Montoya, Paco de Lucia, Maki
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Never too witty: songs about owls

July 21, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The eyes have it: Great horned owl

Nocturnal, silent, spooky and mysterious, or curious, wise and cute? Owls represent richly contrasting associations in culture, but how are they used and portrayed in song, whether in lyrics or in sampled calls. Let’s explore and have a hoot

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Playlists: songs about eyewear

July 19, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Musical vision: double-bass player Charlie Haden and friends gets eyes and ears firmly on the topic

Protective sunglasses to corrected vision, what songs are in the frame? They are often about what is hidden, but also what is revealed, especially in love, and guest Marco den Ouden brings everything into focus with fabulous playlists inspired by last week’s topic.

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Playlists: songs about paradise

July 13, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Lost Horizon (1937), based on James Hilton’s 1933 novel

Heaven can wait, so they say, but there’s no longer a need, but a musical utopia is here in a fabulous collection of playlists picked by guest of the week Nicko, taking us to a better place and inspired by last week’s topic

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Lost or found? Songs about paradise

July 7, 2022 Peter Kimpton

One man’s personal paradise … what is yours?

What is yours? From Arcadia to Utopia, how can we create or find it? Where is it, and what does it look like? This week, after previously doing the impossible, we find the unfindable in the form of song, inspired my many books, art and films …

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Mission? Songs about the impossible

June 30, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Evel Knievel attempts to jump 13 buses in London, 1975. What could possibly go wrong?

Love, death, survival, creativity – at times they all seem impossible or insurmountable. After a seemingly inconceivable recent world history, it’s time to play with the idea of impossible in song, and work out what really is from what isn’t. Is it all down to perception?

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Playlists: songs about punctuality

June 29, 2022 Peter Kimpton

What time will love flower? The Foundations 1968

Something changed around the Enlightenment, with the advent of universal timepieces, but how did that affect human relationships? Inspired by last week’s nominations, Marco den Ouden clocks in with perfectly timely playlists

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Late, early, or right on time? Songs about punctuality

June 23, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Better late then never?

It’s something attempted to be trained into us from school to to the work place, and appears to be both necessary, but perhaps also unnatural. This week it’s time to pin down the essence of punctuality in song, with all the tensions and consequences of being early or late

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Playlists: songs about perspiration

June 22, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Sweatiest video? Alewya

It’s more than warm in here. Sexual arousal to hard labour, cold sweats to night sweats, picked from all the nominations from last week’s hot topic guest of the week pejepeine’s playlists will leave you perspiring with excitement

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Sweat bands: songs about perspiration

June 16, 2022 Peter Kimpton

What will pour out into this week’s hot landings? Meanwhile here’s Ted Striker

As heatwaves spread around many parts of the world, it’s time to turn the perspiration into inspiration. Sweating covers many contexts, from work, to exercise, fear to sex, but how are its process and emotions expressed in song?

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Playlists: songs about swimming, bathing and showering

June 15, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Dive in …

Come on in, the music’s lovely. Inspired by all the many excellent nominations from last week’s watery topic, guest of the week Severin makes big splash with a set of playlists perfect for all the rules of the pool. Take a delicious dip

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Wet legs: songs about swimming, bathing and showering

June 9, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Get your swimming high: Sky Pool at Embassy Gardens, Vauxhall, London

It’s time to dip into your music collections and then immerse more deeply. From bubbling tub soaks to cold water swims, Turkish baths to rubber ducks, hot springs to icy adventures, let’s soak up this topic in lyrics and sounds

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Playlists: songs about awkwardness

June 8, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Tribe 8 have got themselves into an awkward position. Explore the playlist to find out where …

Inspired by last week’s history of royal awkwardness and a host of songs nominated, guest of the week Loud Atlas presents a superb Musical Self-Help Guide on How To Be Awkward. Follow its 14 steps and beyond for further entertaining embarrassment

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In African, avant-garde, blues, calypso, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul Tags songs, playlists, awkwardness, embarrassment, Frank Zappa, Kippington Lodge, The Ink Spots, Tribe 8, The Police, The Shangri–Las, Panic! At The Disco, Warren Zevon, Wet Leg, Art Brut, Rio Romeo, Danny John-Jules, Glass Animals, Creative Source, Buzzcocks, Jake Thackray, Joe Jackson, Ralph McTell, Janis Ian, Lord Melody, Bernard Cribbins, Courtney Barnett, The Business, Sunny Sweeney, Frankie Valli, The Four Seasons, Rodney Carrington, Humphrey Ocean, The Hardy Annuals, The Smiths, Scala and Kolacny Brothers, Scala & Kolacny Brothers, Jonathan Coulton, Flo & Joan, Loud Atlas
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We are not amused: songs about awkwardness

June 2, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Waving or drowning?

As Queen Elizabeth II reaches a record Platinum Jubilee, what has it all been about? Aside from any royal references, this week’s song theme is all about awkwardness, awkward moments, anything mortifyingly cringeworthy, or just a bit unseemly, bumbling, blundering and embarrassing

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Playlists: songs about the invisible and unseen

May 31, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Part hidden: one of this week’s artists revealed …

What is revealed? From cloaks of invisibility to unseen superpowers, mysterious animals or scents to the people who are never spotted, guest playlister Noodsy picks some outstanding songs that are truly out of sight but well in earshot

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DRINK OF THE WEEK

spring blossom cocktail

SNACK OF THE WEEK

cherry blossom easter egg

New Albums …

Featured
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
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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
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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
Thundercat - Distracted.jpeg
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
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Apr 1, 2026
MEMORIALS: All Clouds Bring Not Rain
Apr 1, 2026

New album: Innovative, eclectic fusion of psychedelia, folk, dub, krautrock, 60s soul, garage rock, prog, pop, electronica and 70s spiritual jazz by the Canterbury experimental duo of Verity Susman and Matthew Simms

Apr 1, 2026
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Apr 1, 2026
José González: Against The Dying Of The Light
Apr 1, 2026

New album: A gentle, reflective, meditative, but quietly defiant fifth LP by the Swedish-Argentine indie-folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, following his last, Local Valley, broadening his perspective in an urgent call to preserve the light of humanity as technology advances in ironically darkening world

Apr 1, 2026
Raye - This Music May Contain Hope.jpg
Apr 1, 2026
RAYE: This Music May Contain Hope
Apr 1, 2026

New album: A highly entertaining, exuberantly stylish, cross-genre 17-track, 73-minute odyssey by the London popstar, with a huge musical show of a second LP, spanning swing-era jazz to soul, R&B, house music, pop, dance, gospel, classical and the full kitchen sink, with orchestral band, family members, Hans Zimmer, and even Al Green

Apr 1, 2026
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Mar 30, 2026
Pitou: P2
Mar 30, 2026

New album: Brilliantly quirky, original second LP of experimental folk pop by the Amsterdam artist, who has the free spirited musical adventurousness reminiscent of Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus and Fiona Apple in this clever, playful, stop-start work with oodles of vocal loops and layering, electronica and unusual field recordings across themes of freedom and restlessness

Mar 30, 2026
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Mar 29, 2026
Robyn: Sexistential
Mar 29, 2026

New album: After a break of seven years, the hugely influential 46-year-old Swedish pop star returns with a new burst of alternative, electro-pop bangers, in this ninth LP, now subverting themes of romantic love in another context since having gone through having IVF and becoming a single parent

Mar 29, 2026
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Mar 29, 2026
The Twilight Sad: It's The Long Goodbye
Mar 29, 2026

New album: The Glasgow indie rockers fronted by vocalist James Graham and guitarist Andy MacFarlane return with a tempestuous, highly emotional and moving sixth LP, their first for seven years, with musical input from The Cure’s Robert Smith, fuelled by the illness and passing of Graham’s mother and his subsequent mental health struggles

Mar 29, 2026
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Mar 28, 2026
Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit
Mar 28, 2026

New album: The Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist returns after a five-year gap to bring more of her witty, indie-country-rock, but with a bittersweet flavour, and an emotionally resonant record that explores change and the central question: how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life

Mar 28, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Surfbort - Hot Dog.jpeg
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
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Apr 5, 2026
Song of the Day: U2 - Easter Parade
Apr 5, 2026

Song of the Day: After February’s politically themed protest EP Days of Ash, another surprise single and EP, Easter Lily, by the veteran Irish rock band, seasonally themed and reflecting the band’s beliefs, with a classic sound harking back to the past, guitar and synths, and a number described as a devotional song, a celebration of new life, rebirth and resurrection

Apr 5, 2026
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Apr 4, 2026
Song of the Day: Bedouine - Long Way To Fall
Apr 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful, tender, poignant return by the Syrian-American singer-songwriter Azniv Korkejian, with a strings and piano-based indie-folk number heralding her fourth album Neon Summer Skin, out on 5 June via Bedouine Music/ Thirty Tigers

Apr 4, 2026
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Apr 3, 2026
Song of the Day: Jack White - G.O.D. AND THE BROKEN RIBS / Derecho Demonico
Apr 3, 2026

Song of the Day: The acclaimed rock guitarist-singer-songwriter of White Stripes fame returns with this punchy, scorching catchy organ-backed, biblical-modern-fable-apocalypse-themed number alongside another, the Led Zeppelin-esque Derecho Demonico, out on his label Third Man Records

Apr 3, 2026
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Apr 2, 2026
Song of the Day: Julia Cumming - Please Let Me Remember This
Apr 2, 2026

Song of the Day: Lush, classic, piano-pop by the New York–born multi-instrumentalist and Sunflower Bean singer and bassist, influenced by Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and heralding her debut solo album, Julia, out on 24 April via Partisan Records

Apr 2, 2026
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Apr 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Jessie Ware - Automatic
Apr 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Infectiously catchy, funk-soul-disco pop by the charismatic singer-songwriter featuring a deep-voiced spoken intro by actor Colman Domingo, and the latest single heralding upcoming sixth album, Superbloom, out on 17 April via Interscope

Apr 1, 2026
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Mar 31, 2026
Song of the Day: Mount Palomar ft. Enola Gay - Feeding Frenzy
Mar 31, 2026

Song of the Day: Pulsating, dark, hard-hitting dance and hip-hop by the Northern Irish music producer, DJ and live electronic hardware artist Neil Kerr, joined by the Belfast indie-noise-punk quartet, on this title track of a new four-track EP, out on Ursa Minor

Mar 31, 2026
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Mar 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Jungle - Carry On
Mar 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Swoonful, beautiful, but also bittersweet and vulnerable, old-fashioned soul-pop by the British band featuring the vocals of Lydia Kitto in a number co-penned with producer Joshua Lloyd Watson, heralding the upcoming album, Sunshine, out on 14 August via Caiola Records / AWAL Recordings

Mar 30, 2026
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Mar 29, 2026
Song of the Day: The Ocelots - Motor Hotel
Mar 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, reflective, uplifting alternative folk with banjo, guitar, flute and more by the Wexford Irish twin brothers Brandon and Ashley Watson, from their new five-track EP, Revisions, a mix of new and re-worked, re-recorded numbers

Mar 29, 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
Swordfish.jpg
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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