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A fireside invitation: songs about cosiness, comfort and warmth

November 20, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A purr-fect day for comfort songs …

After last week's blast of Antarctica, it’s time to come in from the cold, with a lyrical and musical mood theme, focusing on anything - objects, clothing, food, drink or stories - that expresses feelings associated with cosiness and comfort

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, punk, psychedelia, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, comfort, cosiness, happiness, psychology, Kenneth Grahame, Thomas De Quincey, Rupert Brooke, Maya Angelou, Cesar A Cruz, Dame Edith Sitwell, Meik Wiking, hygge, Denmark, Nordic noir, design, Sharon Van Etten, Jeanette Winterson, Jane Austen, Bill Watterson, Douglas Coupland, Tom Robbins, A.A. Milne
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Playlists: songs about the Antarctic region

November 19, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Just us and the penguins …

Beautiful, bleak and poetic, it’s a vast wilderness full of stories of life on the extreme. A hazardous journey becomes a musical adventure as guest Captain Shiv Sidecar returns triumphant from this voyage with fabulous playlists inspired by last week’s topic

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In avant-garde, blues, classical, country, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, experimental, funk, folk, indie, instrumentals, jazz, music, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags Antarctica, exploration, Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, Portico Quartet, Cocteau Twins, Modest Mouse, Ed Harcourt, Akiko Yano, Soichi Naguchi, Al Stewart, Midnight Oil, Mecano, iLIKETRAINS, Ewen Carruthers, Don McGlashan, Nic Jones, Gravity Stone, Peter Hammill, Norma Tanega, Emilie Simon, Kings of the South Seas, Mary Coughlan, The Bluebells, Crisálida, The Church, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Dead Milkmen, FFS, Sparks, Franz Ferdinand, Go Set, Okay Temiz, Lunar Funk, Prince, Ian Anderson, Harry Robertson, Matthew Dewey, Aido Smeato, ShivSidecar, Sidecar Shiv
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The frozen south: songs from or about the Antarctic region

November 13, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Emperor penguins have quite a few stories to tell …

A place of brutal remote beauty, its icy vastness packed with extraordinary stories of exploration, endurance, bravery, tragedy, cruelty and irony, a cornerstone of scientific research, and of course of the hardiest survivors of the natural world – penguins and more. But what of song inspired by it?

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, comedy, country, dance, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags Antarctica, ice, snow, penguins, Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Charles Bergman, Jon Krakauer, Kim Stanley, Lawrence Oates, DJ Spooky, Sir David Attenborough, geology, climate change, Roald Amundsen, explorers, Falkland Islands, South Georgia
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Playlist: songs about deadlines and ultimatums

November 11, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Buzzer time …

Deadlines are pressure points of human timing — social, romantic, political, existential. They define us, scare us, push us to move. With a clever crafted playlist picked from last week’s topic, guest Maki clocks what it all means

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In blues, comedy, disco, electronica, dub, dance, hip hop, indie, jazz, musicals, musical hall, playlists, music, pop, postpunk, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, ska, songs, soul, traditional, soundtracks Tags time, deadlines, ultimatums, RIchie Havens, The Everly Brothers, The Monkees, Everly Brothers, The Grateful Dead, Echo and the Bunnymen, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Gregory Isaacs, The Stranglers, Deadline, Splodgenessabounds, Buzzcocks, Blossom Dearie, Ruth Etting, Mull Historical Society, Maki
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Last orders, please! Songs about deadlines and ultimatums

November 6, 2025 Peter Kimpton

But this one really can’t be put off, can it?

They are forced upon from an early age, and a key driver of human behaviour, a trick we play upon ourselves or others to get things done, but in song they have range of contexts and inspire all kinds of emotions

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, gospel, instrumentals, indie, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, deadlines, ultimatums, time, Duke Ellington, Douglas Adams, Ambrose Bierce, Angela Carter, Peter Gabriel, Harry Shearer, Christopher Buckley, WH Auden, Leonard Cohen, Xeno, Aristotle, philosophy, Paul Valéry, George RR Martin, My Bloody Valentine, Kevin Shields, Orson Welles, Francis Ford Coppola, Film, books, Kiefer Sutherland, 24, Jack White, Ben Folds, Walt Disney, Jeff MacNelly, Matt Groening, The Simpsons, Hunter S. Thompson, William Monahan, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Anton Chekhov, Carrie Fisher, Brian Tracy, Asif Kapadia, Dave Barry, David Benioff, Tony Kushner, Karl Kraus, Tom Robbins, Dean Stockwell
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Playlists: songs from musicals that transcend their genre

November 5, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A revolutionary show: Les Misérables (with revolving stage)

The curtain rises and and it’s time fabulous show! Picking from the many nominations from last week’s topic, Marco den Ouden directs a set of playlists of transcedant numbers from over a century of song and dance landmarks

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In music, musicals, musical hall, songs, pop, rock Tags musicals, playlists, songs, Paul Robeson, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, Billie Holiday, George Gershwin, Nina Simone, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Patrick Page, Anais Mitchell, Tommy Korberg, Benny Anersson, Bjorn Ulvaus, Tim Rice, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Hugh Masekela, Mbongeni Ngema, Lena Horne, Doris Day, Julie London, Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Bobby Troup, Rumi, Andrew Choi, Gordon McRae, Richard Rodgers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julie Covington, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Fats Waller, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, Keenan Wynn, Betty Hutton, Irving Berlin, The Flesh Failures, Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot, Harve Presnell, Alan J Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Carmen Twillie, Lebo M, Elton John, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, Ejae, KPop Demon Hunters, Marco den Ouden, Treat Williams, Grand Bush, John DeRobertas, Elaine Page, Barbara Dickson, The Doors, Christopher Lee, Muse, Shirley Bassey, Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Connee Boswell, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Noelle Cordier, Cecile McClorin Salvant, Marisha Wallace, Marni Nixon, Ramona Davies, Paul Whiteman, Yvonne Elliman, Fred Astaire, Leo Reisman, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Mary Kay Bergman, Robert Lindsay, Maryann Plunkett, Sarah Vaughan, Newkid, Angela Lansbury, Cliff Edwards, Lady Gaga, Eydie Gorme, Wini Shaw, Colm Wilkinson
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Playlists: space pop and other astral sounding music

October 29, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Coming up … sounds from another planet …

They’re full of the bleeps, beeps and strange sounds we associate with travel and life beyond Earth, and some are also about that theme. Inspired by last week’s theme, guest space captain ParaMhor takes us on fabulous a journey to the great musical beyond …

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In dance, disco, electronica, experimental, instrumentals, jazz, pop, prog, psychedelia, rock, soundtracks, songs, soul Tags space travel, Space, astronomy, songs, playlists, JBS Haldane, Carl Sagan, Douglas Adams, Sparks, Giorgio Moroder, Madonna, Boney M, Beastie Boys, B-52s, David Bowie, Jobriath, Teenage Fanclub, Woody Guthrie, The Space Lady, The Carpenters, Orbital, Pink Floyd, I Signori della Galassia, Leftfield, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Afrika Bambaataa, Parliament, Wonky Alice, Public Service Broadcasting, Alien Sex Fiend, Joe Meek, Spectrum, James Holden, Mildlife, Dexter Wansel, Bernard Herrmann, Barry Gray Orchestra, Jon Pertwee, Dudley Simpson Orchestra, Syrinx, The Peppers, John Williams, Jeff Wayne, Richard Burton, Sophie and Peter Johnson, Sheila B Devotion, Dollar, ParaMhor
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Cosmic! Time to lift off with space disco, synth pop and other astral sounding music

October 23, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Boldly go where no music taste might have taken you before …

This week, in a spirit of fun, escapism and weightlessness, with all the sci-fi and synthy space sounds you can imagine, in style and genre rather than lyrics, let’s boldly go and make it as international as possible

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In comedy, dance, disco, electronica, exotica, experimental, jazz, music, playlists, pop, songs, soundtracks Tags songs, playlists, space, science fiction, synthesizers, electronica, Galileo Galilei, Carl Sandburg, Vincent Van Gogh, Carl Sagan, Lord Byron, Pythagoras, Tom Robbins, Star Wars, Star Trek
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Fine whines: songs about getting older (but not necessarily getting old)

October 16, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Ageing gracefully in nature’s autumn cycle: Japanese maple

Getting older happens at all stages in life. Is it down to perception? And is age just a number? Hopefully yes, a musically number at least, as we invite your song suggestions on this theme …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, age, ageing, Soren Kierkegaard, Satchel Paige, Gertrude Stein, Robert Frost, Lord Byron, Jonathan Swift, Abraham Lincoln, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Bob Hope, George Burns, Joan Collins, Adele, Pablo Picasso, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, JM Barrie, A.A. Milne, Milan Kundera, Yuval Noah Harari, David Cravit, Larry Wolf, CS Lewis, Chuck Palahniuk, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Steven Wright, Charles Bukowski, Hedy Lamarr, Hayao Miyazaki, Quentin Crisp, Norman Wisdom, Harriet Beecher Stowe, George MacDonald, Luis Bunuel, Agatha Christie, Betty Friedan, Emily Dickinson, Goethe, Carl Jung, George Bernard Shaw, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Playlists: songs about very specific or obscure numbers

October 15, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Doctor Steel and his robot band

How does it all add up? Is there any logic to it. There are thousands of songs that include numbers, but what about the very specific ones? Inspired by last week’s topic, see how it all took shape in this alternative Fibonacci sequence

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In avant-garde, African, blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, showtime, ska, songs, soul, traditional Tags songs, playlists, numbers, mathematics, Paul Erdős, Doctor Steel, Wire, John Berberian & The Rock East Ensemble, Five Thirty, Tom Waits, Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Cure, Ansell Collins, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, paul simon, The Beatles, Toots and the Maytals, Geese, Brian Eno, The O'Jays, The Marvelettes, Wilson Pickett, Aphex Twin, Richard D James, Tropical Fuck Storm
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A numbers game? Songs about very specific or obscure figures and amounts

October 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Fibonacci sequence is found in music and the natural world, but there are even stranger numbers out there …

From bingo to pi to Fibonacci and beyond, share, as well as vote for, your favourite as well as unknown and newly discovered, strange, obscure numbers as found in song lyrics and titles, highlighting the exact and untypical

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags numbers, mathematics, Fibonacci sequence, golden ratio, bingo, Paul Erdős, Beethoven, Pythagoras, Gottfried Leibniz, G.H. Hardy, James Joyce, John Martineau, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Dr Seuss, Film, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Douglas F Hofstadter, JS Bach, Gödel, MC Escher
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Playlists voting results: songs about popularity

October 8, 2025 Peter Kimpton

The following songs will teach us a few things about popularity, but this film has nothing to do with any of them …

Nominations came, and votes were cast. It’s something dreamed about in school, but can also bite back at you. Love, being in a band, to local or global fame, and its paradoxes, here are the results in playlist form …

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In blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, easy listening, electronica, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, music, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, rock, showtime, songs, soundtracks, soul, traditional Tags popularity, playlists, songs, fame, relationships, love songs, The Boswell Sisters, Carl Perkins, Brenda Lee, Lloyd Price, William Bell, John Lennon, Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, The Carpenters, Karen Carpenter, Kirsty MacColl, fiona apple, Sparks, Franz Ferdinand, The Kinks, The Byrds, The Stone Roses, Dobie Gray, Nina Simone, Doris Day, Ariana Grande, Johnny Cash, Jake Thackray, The Move, The Beatles, Colin Blunstone, The Undertones, Living Colour, Skee-Lo, Wham!, George Michael, Bros
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Vote for: songs about popularity

October 2, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Venezuala’s Hugo Chávez, whose story is a colourfully flawed tale of popularity and popularism …

It’s something we might crave when young, but then find it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. But some pursue it all their lives. With stories packed with plots and emotion, it’s time to suggest, but also vote for others’ suggested songs to see what come out as the most popular …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, colours, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, popularity, popularism, politics, fame, Hugo Chávez, Venezuela, Shaun David Hutchinson, Dale Carnegie, Charles MacKay, Aristophanes, Orson Welles, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Carlyle, Slavoj Žižek, Allison Burnett, Albert Einstein, Ray Davies, The Kinks, Elvis Costello, Steven Wright, Oscar Wilde, Machiavelli, John Waters, Philip Larkin, Harrison Ford, Cyril Connolly, Sparks, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Madonna, Donny Osmond, Aesop Rock, Fidel Castro, Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, Will Grant, South America, Cuba, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, CIA, emperors, Emperor Nero, Mussolini, Harry S Truman, Edward Heath, Bill Clinton
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Playlists: songs about empty but fillable spaces

October 1, 2025 Peter Kimpton

A pearler of a song with a space filled by Mitski …

Empty vessels of all kinds a waiting for contents - heads, hearts, bottles, places and many more besides, with a truly fulfilling, insightful and entertaining result in playlists supplied by guest Nicko from last week’s topic theme

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, gaps, holes, blanks, The Beatles, The Three Johns, Sprints, Dionne Warwick, Arcade Fire, Mitski, Culture, YĪN YĪN, The Supremes, Nada Surf, Cake (band), The Cramps, Barbra Streisand, Smashing Pumpkins, Jake Thackray, Bernard Cribbins, Pink Floyd, Magazine, Meat Puppets, Ka, The Specials, Sheila Hylton, Traffic, Karine Polwart, Rosana, Steven Wilson, Ninet Tayeb, Bessie Smith, Lonnie Johnson, Victoria Spivey, The Ethiopians, Connie Converse, New Life Trio, Clarion Fracture Zone, Nicko
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Fill in the blanks: songs about empty, but fillable spaces

September 25, 2025 Peter Kimpton

This week is not a quiz, but these are among many kinds of blanks that might be filled …

A page or a canvas, a mind to facial expression, there are all sorts of blanks in life, but paradoxically they can be drawn into something very creative. This week it’s time to fill in the voids and spaces with songs on that subject

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags blanks, spaces, voids, Paul Cezanne, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Bukowski, Jacques Lacan, Steven Pinker, Andy Warhol, Laufey, Arthur Lowe, Tobey Maguire, Richard Hell, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Blank Generation, No Wave, fiim, art, books, Patti Smith, Amos Poe, Ivan Kral, Irvine Welsh, Joe Madureira, Barry Jenkins, John Updike, Dan Brown, Ian Rankin, Thornton Wilder, Peter Ackroyd, Amy Adams, Viggo Morensen, Neneh Cherry, Flume, Arca
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Playlists: songs about or inducing a state of ecstasy

September 24, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Feel it …

It comes in many forms - spiritual, emotional, physical, induced by social, chemical or other stimuli, and therefore can be expressed by many musical genres. Inspired by last week’s topic nomininations playlister MussoliniHeadkick takes us on a trip of blissful connectedness

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In African, classical, dance, disco, electronica, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, jazz, instrumentals, music, playlists, pop, psychedelia, rock, samba, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, ecstasy, bliss, happiness, connectedness, religion, drugs, MDMA, Boston, Jackie Wilson, Donna Summer, The Delays, Rihanna, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karl Jenkins, Primal Scream, Thompson Twins, A Guy Called Gerald, Phuture, Leftfield, Camisra, Basement Jaxx, Sister Sledge, The O'Jays, Incognito, Jocelyn Brown, Pleasure, Blue Aquarius, Mellow Candle, Brittany Howard, Replete, E Zee Posse, Josh Wink, Rhythym is Rhythm, St Etienne, Spiritualized, Edward Elgar, MussoliniHeadkick, Repete
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High notes: songs about or inducing a state of ecstasy

September 18, 2025 Peter Kimpton

The face of ecstasy: detail from Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1652 sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Rome, and an acid house party in 1993

Whether its chemical and recreational to sexual, spiritual or even religious, music can take you back to an extraordinary high. This week’s theme a musical mood and feeling topic, but can also be a lyrical one … 

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, ecstasy, MDMA, drugs, religion, sex, philosophy, Mark Twain, George Steiner, Carl Sagan, Saint Teresa of Avila, art, sculpture, Sylvia Plath, Anais Nin, Hedy Lamarr, WB Yeats, Tony Wilson, Factory Records, Shaun Ryder, The Happy Mondays, Steve Coogan, Film, film soundtrack, Michael Winterbottom, Anton Köllisch, Manchester, Somerset Maugham, Jack London, Logan Pearsall Smith, Martin Luther King, Carlos Santana, Walter Pater, Charles Baudelaire, John Taverner, Kenneth Rexroth, Hildegard von Bingen, Clive Bell, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Gustav Machatý
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Playlists: songs about going back to school, college or work

September 16, 2025 Peter Kimpton

There’s no escaping it …

It has come to us all, inescapable feeling, a time of mixed dread and hope, as the old routine beckons. With Monday at the forefront, Loud Atlas captures all these feelings in a superbly entertaining schedule of songs from last week’s topic

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In avant-garde, blues, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, lounge, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, showtime, songs, ska, soul, soundtracks, traditional Tags songs, playlists, school, work, The Mamas and Papas, The Boomtown Rats, Timmie 'Oh Yeah' Rogers, Gary US Bonds, Albert Collins, The Unthanks, Anthony Szmierek, Richard Dawson, The Police, BC Camplight, Gene Autry, Dido, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, The Isley Brothers, Robocobra Quartet, Todd Rundgren, The Skoidats, The Strawbs, Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, The Prodigy, Tony Perkins, Jerry Blavat, Men At Work, Graham Parker, The Rumour, Rod Stewart, My Chemical Romance, Eduard Klassen, Blink-182, Lady Parts, Loud Atlas
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Returns to normal: songs about going back to school, college or work

September 11, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Gregory’s Girl (1980)

Distinctive smells, sights and stories, anxiety and awkwardness, comfort and routine, ambition and ordinariness, this week it’s time, after the holidays, to return to settings of routine and familiarity captured in song …

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In African, avant-garde, blues, bossa nova, calypso, classical, comedy, country, dance, disco, drone, dub, easy listening, electronica, exotica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, indie, instrumentals, jazz, krautrock, lounge, metal, music, musical hall, musicals, playlists, pop, postpunk, prog, psychedelia, punk, reggae, RnB, rock, rocksteady, samba, showtime, ska, songs, soul, soundtracks, traditional, trip hop Tags songs, playlists, school, work, Steve McQueen, Tina Fey, Bette Davis, Robert Frost, Oscar Wilde, A.A. Milne, Albert Einstein, Film, TV, film soundtrack
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Playlists: songs about obscure or unusual colours

September 9, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Into the mix …

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

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

Galaxy Lemonade


SNACK OF THE WEEK

Orange twiglets from Jupiter


New Albums …

Featured
KNEECAP - FENIAN.jpeg
May 3, 2026
KNEECAP: FENIAN
May 3, 2026

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

May 3, 2026
Long Wave Home by Jesca Hoop.jpeg
May 2, 2026
Jesca Hoop: Long Wave Home
May 2, 2026

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

May 2, 2026
Sam Grassie - Where Two Hawks Fly.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Sam Grassie: Where Two Hawks Fly
Apr 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful debut LP by the London-based Glaswegian fingerstyle folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, with added saxophone, double bass, flute, clairsach and clarinet in a release of mostly the traditional, covers, sung or instrumental, and supported by the Bert Jansch Foundation

Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt - Requiem.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt: Requiem
Apr 29, 2026

New album: A strangely mesmeric, avant-garde and analogue-ambient, field recording-based experimental release by the last surviving founding member of experimental ‘krautrock’ band CAN, who, approaching the age of 89, has also written over 40 TV and film scores

Apr 29, 2026
Gia Margaret - Singing.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Gia Margaret: Singing
Apr 28, 2026

New album: Gently profound, and full of wondrous, mesmeric, slow, delicate experimental songs, this simple title has a powerful resonance – it is the Chicago artist’s first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer (there have been two instrumental LPs since), having suffered and recovered from a severe vocal injury, she returns with a delicate, candid, whispery but hauntingly beautiful delivery

Apr 28, 2026
Angel In Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Angelo De Augustine: Angel in Plainclothes
Apr 28, 2026

New album: A beautiful, delicate fifth LP from the Los Angeles singer-songwriter, friend and collaborator with Sufjan Stevens with whom he shares a stylistic resemblance, here with themes on life's fragility, second chances, and picking up the pieces after an undiagnosed illness forced him to re-learn basic abilities

Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno - Confession.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno: Confession
Apr 28, 2026

New album: This lo-fi, darkly minimalist but also oddly candid fourth LP by the Australian, Castlemaine-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist centres on the conflicted, obsessive feelings about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, and “an album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire.”

Apr 28, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For album.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
Apr 26, 2026

New album: Passionate, powerful, dynamic indie rock in this sophomore LP by the Chicago-based quartet that gallops forwards with a driving momentum, some elements of early PJ Harvey and Radiohead, and is produced by John Congleton

Apr 26, 2026
White Denim - 13.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
White Denim: 13
Apr 26, 2026

New album: This 13th LP in two decades by the Austin, Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli has a particularly mischievous experimentalism, spreading styles far beyond breathlessly paced prog rock, with wrily humorous, surreal, personal and passionate numbers across heavy funk, dub, soul, psyche, country, dirty blues and more, joined by host of outstanding extra musicians

Apr 26, 2026
Asili ya Mama by Hukwe Zawose Foundation.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Hukwe Zawose Foundation: Asili ya Mama
Apr 24, 2026

New album: Wonderfully evocative field recordings release of Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa Tanzanian women singing traditional songs in their villages, rarely heard outside of their own circles, the title is translated as The Origin of Mother, rich in stories and capturing the place where song is first learned, first felt, first shared

Apr 24, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig
Apr 23, 2026

New album: Four decades since their self-titled debut, Brooklyn alternative rockers John Flansburgh and John Linnell return with their 24th LP, packed with of punchy, pacy, wistful, whimsical, clever wordplay and indie rock-pop, buoyantly satirical and also a little world weary at times, they remain oddball, lively commentators on the ongoing absurdity of life

Apr 23, 2026
Eaves Wilder - Little Miss Sunshine.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Eaves Wilder: Little Miss Sunshine
Apr 22, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Hookey EP, a strong, passionate indie-dream-pop-shoegaze full debut by the London singer-songwriter, whose breathy voice intertwines with strong, stirring riffs and textured sounds, themed around cycles of nature aiming to explain and celebrate the mercurial nature of human emotional weather

Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon - The Nightlife.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
Apr 22, 2026

New album: The irrepressible, prolific and charismatic London-based Chicago DJ, musician, producer and vinyl lover returns with a flamboyantly fun celebration of club and queer culture through the prism of dance music from disco to house, with a wide variety of guest vocalists

Apr 22, 2026
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Apr 21, 2026
Tiga: HOTLIFE
Apr 21, 2026

New album: Montreal’s acclaimed electronica/techno/dance artist Tiga Sontag returns with his fourth album - inventively packed with head-nodding, toe-tapping, oddly itchy, infectious grooves, cleverly crafted retro sounds recalling Kraftwerk to acid house and electroclash, insistent bold beats and synth riffs, with lyrics of the existential, droll and surreal

Apr 21, 2026

new songs …

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

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

May 3, 2026
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May 2, 2026
Song of the Day: The Puppini Sisters - Total Eclipse of the Heart
May 2, 2026

Song of the Day: A fabulous new version of the Jim Steinman-penned 1983 Bonnie Tyler power pop hit, arranged by Marcello Puppini in an entirely different style for her swing-jazz trio and band, part of their 20th anniversary celebrations and album, The Birthday Party, out now on Millionaire Records

May 2, 2026
Bleachers - Everyone For Ten Minutes.jpeg
May 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Bleachers - I'm Not Joking
May 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Featuring harpsichord, Hammond organ, Dobro and more, producer Jack Antonoff and his New Jersey rock band return with a heartfelt love song single heralding the upcoming album, Everyone For Ten Minutes, out on 22 May via Dirty Hit

May 1, 2026
Alewya - Saleh.jpeg
Apr 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - Selah
Apr 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Striking, stylishly agile electronica and dance with a rich African and Arabian influence by the London-based British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, heralding her upcoming album, Zero, out on 26 June via LDN Records

Apr 30, 2026
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Apr 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Metric - Crush Forever
Apr 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Uplifting, effervescent electro-disco-pop by the Toronto indie rock band, with a song vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “my love letter to strong girls in this world”, taken from their recently released 10th album, Romanticize the Dive, out on Metric Music via Thirty Tigers

Apr 29, 2026
Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child single.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child
Apr 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, gripping, visceral folk by the Sheffield singer-songwriter, with a striking number based on an early 19th-century German poem about the fatal story of a child pleading for food, and, following last year’s acclaimed album, Wasteland, also out on Basin Rock, it heralds his upcoming soundtrack for the Hugh Jackman film, The Death of Robin Hood.

Apr 28, 2026
holybones with Baxter Dury - SLUGBOY.jpg
Apr 27, 2026
Song of the Day: holybones (with Baxter Dury) - SLUGBOY
Apr 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, unsettling, sleazy and strange, this is arrestingly vivid new collaborative single between the clandestine London electronic collective and the downbeat, deep-voiced poetic Londoner, out on Promised Land Recordings

Apr 27, 2026
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Apr 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Hand Habits - Good Person
Apr 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Gentle, droll, humorously self-deprecatingly, and also delicately beautiful, this new experimental folk single by the moniker of Los Angeles singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy addresses the love-hate relationship with making music, out on Fat Possum

Apr 26, 2026
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Apr 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Pigeon - Miami
Apr 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, sunny, upbeawt indie synth-pop with an African twist by the Margate band fronted by Falle Nioke, with flavours of William Onyeabor, Hot Chip and New York 70s disco, heralding their upcoming album OUTTANATIONAL, out on 1 May via Memphis Industries

Apr 25, 2026
Tricky - Out of Place.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Tricky - Out of Place (featuring Marta Złakowska)
Apr 24, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating fusion of beats, orchestral strings and the Bristol trip-hop pioneer’s distinctive, deep, croaky voice, with an emotional reference to his daughter Mina Topley-Bird (1995–2019), and heralding his first solo album for six years, Different When It’s Silent, out on 17 June via False Idols

Apr 24, 2026
Beck - Ride Lonsome.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Beck - Ride Lonesome
Apr 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, simmering, slow, melancholy and reflective, a surprise single and welcome return by the acclaimed US artist, evoking the haunting, sun-bleached landscapes and musical textures of his 2015 Grammy winning album Morning Phase, out now on Iliad Records/Capitol Records

Apr 23, 2026
Gelli Haha - Klouds.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Song of the Day: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep
Apr 22, 2026

Song of the Day: Described appropriately as somewhere between Studio 42 and Area 51, eccentric, effervescent, spacey, catchy and eclectic disco pop by the Los Angeles artist (aka Angel Abaya, co-written with Sean Guerin) out on Innovative Leisure

Apr 22, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Song thrush 2.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
Apr 23, 2026

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

Apr 23, 2026
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
Snail on a wall.jpeg
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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