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Song of the Day: Masayoshi Fujita - Morocco

August 2, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Masayoshi Fujita

Masayoshi Fujita

Song of the Day: After yesterday’s Balimaya Project, more beautiful sounds, this time at the hands of the Berlin-based Japanese vibraphone player who turns to the marimba for this piece from his album Bird Ambience

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In 2021, experimental, jazz, traditional Tags song of the day, songs, instrumentals, Masayoshi Fujita, Erased Tapes
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Song of the Day: Howie Lee - Birdy Island

May 10, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Howie Lee’s latest album

Howie Lee’s latest album

Song of the Day: Enchanting new experimental electronica with intricate, intertwining vocal harmonies, bird calls and traces of traditional Chinese music by the artist from Beijing in this title track from his wonderful new album

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In 2021, experimental, electronica, world music, traditional Tags songs, song of the day, Howie Lee
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Songs of the Day: TEKE::TEKE - Meikyu / Yoru Ni

March 15, 2021 Peter Kimpton
TEKE::TEKE

TEKE::TEKE

Songs of the Day: After yesterday’s piano piece by Naoko Sakata, the Japanese artists abroad connection continues with the frenzy and energy of the psych rock band based in Montreal who combine traditional instruments with rock in with rapid changes of pace

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In 2021, prog rock, psychedelia, traditional, rock Tags songs, song of the day, TEKE::TEKE, Japan
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Song of the Day: Oumou Sangaré – Kamelemba

January 20, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Oumou Sangaré

Oumou Sangaré

Song of the Day: From her 2020 album, Acoustic, a beautiful rendition of an earlier song by the Malian artist also known as the Songbird of Wassoulou, with a voice loved around the world, with Beyoncé among her fans

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In African, 2020, traditional Tags Oumou Sangaré, Nø Førmat, Mali, Africa
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Ella Fitzgerald / Ethel Waters – Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)

January 14, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Song of the Day: After yesterday’s She Drew The Gun songs, let’s go back to an original Cole Porter number from 1934, which contains that shot line of defiance and revenge, a tragic tale about a society woman who simply would not take it anymore

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In 1934, traditional, jazz Tags songs, song of the day, She Drew The Gun, Ella Fitzgerald, Ethel Waters, Cole Porter, revenge, relationships
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Hikaru Hayashi – La Mort De L'Enfant (Theme from The Naked Island)

December 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Nobuko Otowa as the mother in The Naked Island (1960)

Nobuko Otowa as the mother in The Naked Island (1960)

Song of the Day: Following Joe Hisaichi, another distinguished Japanese composer who among his many works wrote the beautiful theme from a 1960 film without dialogue directed by Kaneto Shindo

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In 1960, classical, traditional, film soundtrack Tags songs, song of the day, Hikaru Hayashi, film, film soundtrack, Japan, Kaneto Shindo
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Armistice Day Centenary: No Man's Land (The Green Fields of France) / Last Post

November 11, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Lest we forget …

Lest we forget …

Song of the Day: Simply a song, a piece of music and a poem to mark 100 years since Armistice Day 11 November 1918, the end of the First World War, in which there were 40 million casualties

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In traditional, folk, classical, 1918, 1976 Tags songs, First World War, remembrance, Armistice Day, Eric Bogle, Robert Graves
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Tom Waits – On The Other Side Of The World (from Night On Earth)

October 22, 2018 Peter Kimpton
A scene from the New York section of Night On Earth (1991)

A scene from the New York section of Night On Earth (1991)

Song of the Day: From Bernard Herrmann’s music from Taxi Driver, let’s catch a ride with another cab film, Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 five-vignettes plot, connected by a soundtrack by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan

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In 1991, Americana, blues, indie, traditional Tags songs, song of the day, Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan, Jim Jarmusch, film soundtrack, Winona Ryder, Roberto Benigni, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Helsinki, Rome
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Lead Belly to Nirvana and more – Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

September 18, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Lead Belly

Lead Belly

Song of the Day: Also known as In The Pines, and Black Girl, today we move onto another traditional song variously interpreted, dark and brooding, haunting in its melody, and simmering with suspicion and jealousy

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In 1941, 1948, 1964, 1965, 1975, 1990, 1994, 2015, country, blues, Americana, folk, goth, indie, pop, traditional, world music, bluegrass, cajun, 1944 Tags songs, song of the day, sex, jealousy, traditional, blues, Cajun, Lead Belly, Bill Monroe, The Bluegrass Boys, The Four Pennies, Marianne Faithfull, Nathan Abshire, Mark Lanegan, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Ralph Stanley, Marilyn Manson, Lasten Hautausmaa
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Son House … to House of the Rising Sun – various

September 17, 2018 Peter Kimpton
The Animals may have done the best-known cover version, but there are arguably others than better it

The Animals may have done the best-known cover version, but there are arguably others than better it

To some it’s a masterpiece, to others a dirge, but from 17th century England to 20th century New Orleans, with artists that include Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, The Animals and alt-J it’s a song that keeps evolving

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In 1933, 1931, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1971, 1981, 2017, 1991, 1946, traditional, swing, soul, rock, jazz, indie, gospel, folk, country, blues, avant garde, Americana Tags songs, song of the day, traditional, The Animals, Eric Burdon, Alan Lomax, folk, New Orleans, Tom Clarence Ashley, Gwen Foster, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Libby Holman, Josh White, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Nina Simone, Johnny Halliday, Frijig Pink, Dolly Parton, Doc Watson, Five Finger Death Punch, alt-J
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Marion Williams – Surely God Is Able / I Believe

August 22, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Marion Williams 1927-1994

Marion Williams 1927-1994

Song of the Day: There are great voices, and then there's Marion Williams. Continuing our series of gospel greats, for sheer raw passion and power, few can match the soaring sensation from Miami

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In 1964, gospel, traditional Tags songs, song of the day, Marion Williams, The Famous Ward Singers, Stars of Faith, gospel, Mary Lou Williams, Jerome Van Jones
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Cesária Evora – Sodade

August 12, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Cesária Evora

Cesária Evora

Song of the Day: Moving now to and artist from Cape Verde and one of the most beautiful songs, from the singer's her 1992 album Miss Perfumado

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In 1992, African, chanson, traditional, folk Tags song of the day, songs, Cesária Evora, Cape Verde, Portugal, emigration
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Sona Jobarteh – Gambia / Jarabi

August 10, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Sona Jarbarteh

Sona Jarbarteh

Song of the Day: Moving from Ivory Coast and Mali to The Gambia, and the singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer who hails from a long line of Griot kora players with a song to mark her country's 50th independence anniversary in 2015

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In 2015, African, folk, fusion, traditional, world music Tags songs, song of the day, Sona Jabarteh, The Gambia, Africa, Amadu Bansang Jobarteh, Toumani Diabaté, Femi Temowo, Robert Fordjour
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Oum – Taragalte

August 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui

Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui

Song of the Day: From the deserts of Mali with Tuareg band Tinariwen to the Sahara further north, and the sublime singer Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui from her 2013 album, Soul of Morocco

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In afrobeat, African, soul, traditional, world music Tags songs, song of the day, Oum, Morocco, Sahara, desert songs, Africa
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Tinariwen – Toumast Tincha

July 31, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Tinariwen

Tinariwen

Song of the Day: After Ali Farka Touré's African-origin-blues crossover, another fork the musical track, from those Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert in northern Mali, from their 2014 album Emmaar

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In 2014, African, blues, traditional Tags songs, song of the day, Tinariwen, Mali, Algeria, Africa, blues, Sahara, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, protest
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Henry Burr / Leonard Cohen / OMD / Arcade Fire – Songs about Joan of Arc

June 15, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Who is Joan of Arc?

Who is Joan of Arc?

Song of the Day: After recent songs about the famous who died at a prematurely young age, four very contrasting numbers about the legendary French military heroine who was burned at the stake age 19 in 1431

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In 1917, 1971, 1981, 2013, electronica, dance, folk, pop, indie, traditional Tags songs, song of the day, Joan of Arc, Henry Burr, Second World War, Leonard Cohen, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Arcade Fire, history, martyrs, saints, religion
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Traditional – Ureshī Hina Matsuri (Happy Hina Matsuri)

March 3, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Japanese dress up to parade and celebrate Hina Matsuri

Japanese dress up to parade and celebrate Hina Matsuri

Song of the Day: One of our regular readers, Hoshino Sakura, who lives in Japan, takes a turn on SOTD to choose a  special song to mark a festival that highlights the rights and importance of women

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In 1936, traditional, world music Tags songs, song of the day, Japan, Hina Matsuri, tradition, women's rights
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

Galaxy Lemonade


SNACK OF THE WEEK

Orange twiglets from Jupiter


New Albums …

Featured
OUTTANATIONAL by Pigeon.jpeg
May 5, 2026
Pigeon: OUTTANATIONAL
May 5, 2026

New album: Hugely enjoyable, stylish, playfully eclectic debut LP of indie, electronica and Afro-disco and krautrock grooves by the Margate band fronted by the multi-lingual artist Falle Nioke from Guinea Conakry, West Africa, with songs about identity and ancestry, and a sound somewhere between New Order and William Onyeabor

May 5, 2026
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 with perhaps her finest yet

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

new songs …

Featured
Cowboy Mouth by Sophie Royer.jpeg
May 5, 2026
Song of the Day: Sofie Royer - Cowboy Mouth
May 5, 2026

Song of the Day: A catchy, cool, stylish fusion of indie and electro-pop by the classically trained, California-born, Vienna-based Iranian-Austrian artist, inspired by reading Patti Smith and Sam Shepard’s play of the same title, reimagining the play’s characters as Angel and Cowboy, and out now on Stones Throw Records

May 5, 2026
Hodge - Wiggler.jpeg
May 4, 2026
Song of the Day: Hodge - Wiggler
May 4, 2026

Song of the Day: A hugely fun, energising, infectious, effervescent, repetitive electronic dance track by the Bristol-based DJ/producer (aka Jake Martin) featuring a 3D pipe bassline by Memotone, and released alongside another track,Trust, out on Local Action

May 4, 2026
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
The Puppini Sisters - The Birthday Party.jpeg
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
metric romanticize-the-dive.jpeg
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
Hand Habits - Good Person.jpeg
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
Pigeon - Miami.jpeg
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

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
Veena player.jpg
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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