Bee Gees - in the morning, 1970

"Morning of My Life" (originally known as "In the Morning") is a song written by Barry Gibb in 1965 whilst in the town of Wagga Wagga, Australia and later recorded by the Bee Gees and several other artists. It was recorded in 1966 during sessions for the album Spicks and Specks, and later was released as the opening track on the compilation Inception/Nostalgia in 1970. The first recording of the song to be released by any artist was by Ronnie Burns, first as a B-side to his Exit, Stage Right single in June 1967 and a month later on his Ronnie LP."

Such a great song!

Elton John - grey seal, 1970

"Taupin has said that it's one of the songs he wrote with lyrics he never really understood, but somehow work. As for Elton, the song is one of his favorites, as he loves the way the music matches up to the lyrics."

Suzanne Vega - gypsy, 1987

"This is one of Vega's loveliest songs altogether. It is a love song-- technically a break-up song, but not the acrimonious kind. The Japanese farewell, "sayonara," means "since it must be so," and that is the sighing, bittersweet sort of farewell this song evokes."

Sufjan Stevens - impossible soul, 2010

"Impossible Soul" is a complex song that explores the themes of love, self-discovery, fear, and the pursuit of happiness. The song is divided into five distinct parts that weave together a story of a protagonist who is trying to navigate his emotions and find meaning in his relationships."

Death Cab For Cutie – what sarah said, 2005

"What Sarah Said" chronicles the "nervous paces" of visiting an ill loved one in the hospital ("I'm thinking of what Sarah said / that love is watching someone die")

The Beatles - the night before, 1965

"Recorded in February 1965, "The Night Before" was the first Beatles song to feature electric piano, played by John Lennon. Its film sequence was shot the following May, showing the band miming to the track on Salisbury Plain. The Beatles only played the song live once, during their final BBC Radio performance. In contemporary interviews, McCartney said that it was one of his favorite songs from the Help! film and one of the Beatles' best recordings up to that point."

Bright Eyes - gold mine gutted, 2005

"Digital Ash in a Digital Urn is the seventh studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records, the same day as their sixth album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. It peaked at number 15 in the US and 43 in the UK. In US it has sold 268,000 units. In 2007 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe. In contrast to the acoustic nature of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn is more electronic."

Pet Shop Boys - memory of the future new single mix, 2012

"Memory of the Future" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their eleventh studio album, Elysium (2012). It was released on 31 December 2012 as the album's third and final single. The track reached number 68 in Germany and number 111 in the United Kingdom. The single version, remixed by Stuart Price, differs notably from the album version. Apart from the differences in the arrangements, the single version is approximately a minute shorter than the album version and has a slightly faster tempo."

The Radio Dept - we got game henning fürst remix, 2017

"I discovered The Radio Dept when I just arrived in Canada. I was watching a youtube video about the Vietnam War and there was a moment where you could see one Guy smoking in a gun barrel. Yeah you guessed it, it became the cover of the album " clinging to a scheme". A guy mentionned the album in the comment section so I was curious about it."

The Moody Blues - peak hour bbc easybeat session, 1967

"Days Of Future Past was one of the first concept albums, depicting an archetypical "day" from morning to night. However, it didn't start out that way. Justin Hayward explained to Beat Instrumental in a June 1971 interview: "Days Of Future Past was really a concept for a stage presentation we'd worked out to take up a whole hour set. It turned out that it took the form of a day because I'd written a song 'Nights in White Satin.'"

Tame Impala - be above it, 2012

"Opening track "Be Above It" also feature ambient sounds of a person walking which was recorded on the dictaphone by Parker sticking his recorder out of a window at a hotel he was staying at. Parker recorded this because "The street had a weird shape to it and it had a cool reverb whenever someone walked by. You see that run through the album."

Swallow - mensurral, 1992

"Swallow were a British-based duo of Mike Mason and Louise Trehy. Signed to 4AD, they only released one studio album and one remix collection before leaving the label. They moved on to Rough Trade Records for a further EP before disbanding."

The Beatles - i want to hold your hand, 1963

"We wrote a lot of stuff together, one on one, eyeball to eyeball. Like in 'I Want to Hold Your Hand,' I remember when we got the chord that made the song. We were in Jane Asher's house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. And we had, 'Oh you-u-u/ got that something ...' And Paul hits this chord and I turn to him and say, 'That's it!' I said, 'Do that again!' In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that—both playing into each other's noses."

Club 8 - my pessimistic heart, 2010

"An emotional turning point of the album stands around its halfway point. “My Pessimistic Heart” is a song in support for anyone who’s experiencing tough times. When things are tough, who best to turn to than someone who believes that things are always tough? An eternal pessimist has already held any fear, considered any apocalyptic notion. That may seem counterintuitive somehow, but when delivered by Club 8, over such a great melody, it feels like a defining moment. A band whose music is eternally melancholy has found a way to turn that into something hopeful. Can a song be both hopeful and pessimistic at the same time? That’s the essence of The People’s Record."

The Radio Dept - slottet, 2004

"The Radio Dept. has always been a very politically charged band and several singles and EPs with sharp political commentary have emerged throughout the years. “Freddie and the Trojan Horse” came out in 2008 and was aimed at the Swedish prime minister at the time, Fredrik Reinfeldt, and his right wing party Moderaterna, for posing as a workers party in order to trick workers into voting for them."

Indochine - black page, 2005

"You are my life, the rest of my life, so be it. You taught me how to save my life"

Pet Shop Boys - before, 1996

"There's a story of a man who loved too much…" – As noted above, Neil has asserted that these words refer to U.S. former football star and actor O.J. Simpson, who—on account of being on trial for the murder of his wife—was very much in the news at the time the Boys were writing this song. They also echo the tragic hero's own epitaph for himself in Shakepeare's Othello, when he described himself as having "loved not wisely but too well."

Morrissey - the last of the famous international playboys, 1990

"The Last of the Famous International Playboys" is a song by British solo artist Morrissey. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's third release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was inspired lyrically by the East End gangster brothers the Kray Twins, whom he believed to be an example of the media glamourizing violent criminals. Street took influence from the Fall for the song's music, with the intro resembling that of "The Man Who Sold the World" by David Bowie. The single was the first Morrissey solo single to feature his former Smiths bandmates Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, and Craig Gannon."

The Radio Dept - bad reputation, 2002

"The guitars sound like they are plugged straight into a recording device – the effect is lo-fi, a bit like listening to a practise amp, but the sound is distinctly theirs – it’s the same sound as on Lesser Matters in 2003, and it’s nice to hear a band evolve gently, sticking to their guns."

Pink Floyd - mother, 1979

"the song "Mother", part of Pink's sense of alienation comes from being raised by an overprotective single mother, who lost her husband, Pink's father, in World War II. The song narrates a conversation by Pink (voiced by Waters) and his mother (voiced by Gilmour). The listener learns of the overprotectiveness of Pink's mother, who is helping Pink build his wall to try to protect him from the outside world, evidenced by the line "Of course Momma's gonna help build the wall", spoken by Pink's mother. She insists that Pink stay by her side even after he grows up, and cannot stand it when Pink eventually grows older and falls in love."

Suzanne Vega - penitent, 2001

"It seems the sin she is repenting is one of arrogance; she tried, she tells God, "to stare You down."

Neil Young - harvest, 1972

"Young biographer Jimmy McDonough interprets lyrics such as "Did she wake you up to tell you that/It was only a change of plan" as referring to his then mother-in-law's previous suicide attempts. Inglis also interprets the line "Did I see you down in a young girl's town/With your mother in so much pain" as referring to this situation. Young biographer David Downing feels that the song works like a dream, being "so full of recognition, yet so short on sense."

Pet Shop Boys - always on my mind cover extended dance version, 1988

"Always On My Mind (extended dance mix) also known as (dance version), (ext. dance version), (12 inch dance mix)"

The Radio Dept - annie laurie, 2002

"John Steinbeck wrote about this song (Maxwellton's brae are bonnie) in his novel "To a God Unknown" (chapter VIII)."

Sufjan Stevens - mercury, 2017

"Mercury" feels like an elegy to lost love but may be more of an ode to the Roman god of thievery. "All that I felt within my arms," Sufjan sings, "and I am weightless. You ran off with it all."

7ebra - daybreak, 2024

"Beautiful but punk, minimalist but epic, the duo had previously made their mark on the Swedish music scene, with support slots for Future Islands, Bob Hund and The Dandy Warhols already under their belts. They also played shows at End of the Road, Bluedot and SXSW festivals last year, as well as for an extensive UK tour with Teleman."

The Mary Onettes - lost, 2016

"I know you can't fix me but I'm completely broken. The weight on my back is life, I can't get through, the past IS ALL I HAVE. I define myself by that. Why have I not lived my life one Mary Onettes song lyric at a time? I'm thinking if any of us want to live just an ok life, we'll listen, contemplate, interpret, and go forward. I'm lost. We're lost. Listen, go forward."

The Style Council - have you ever had it blue, 1986

"The Style Council's contribution to Julien Temple's 1986 musical version of Colin MacInnes' novel Absolute Beginners (earlier the inspiration for a classic Jam single) was their last truly interesting single, and even it has undeniable echoes of a few songs from the previous year's Internationalists, particularly "With Everything To Lose" and "All Gone Away." A horn arrangement by Gil Evans opens the song with an authentically cool jazz nod to the novel's time period, but the song itself has more of a bossa nova feel, with its subtle Latin percussion and Dee C. Lee's Astrud Gilberto-like wordless backing vocals. Still, it's a richly melodic tune, and the end of Paul Weller's continental jazz-pop persona. From here it was the miserable genre-exploitation of the last few Style Council records and a diminishing-returns solo career."

The Beatles - you're going to lose that girl, 1965

"it's easy to picture Paul and George shimmying and wagging their fingers if only they hadn't instruments to contend with."

Laurent Voulzy - derniers baisers cover, 2006

"Sealed with a Kiss" is a song written and composed by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. The original recording of "Sealed with a Kiss" was by the Four Voices which was released as a single in May 1960 without becoming a hit. It first became a hit in 1962 for Brian Hyland. Jason Donovan later had an international number one hit with the song in 1989."

The Flaming Lips - race for the prize remix, 1999

"The Japanese edition of Race for the Prize includes two different mixes of that song, and single-disc stereo mixes of three songs from Zaireeka — “Riding to Work in the Year 2025,” “Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair” and “The Big Ol’ Bug Is the New Baby Now.” The first two of those songs appear, still in separated mixes, in the two-disc UK edition of that EP…thus reducing the commitment involved in listening to them from four stereos to “just” two. The American Waitin’ for a Superman EP includes that song’s radio edit, two remixes and stereo mixes of “Riding to Work” and “Thirty-Five Thousand Feet.” The British 2-CD version of that EP, like its predecessor, repeats the separated-mix offering of those same two songs."

New Order - bizarre love triangle extended dance mix, 1994

"Back in the late 80's I was a DJ in a very cool club in a college town and we played the shit out of this song. The club was in a - don't laugh - Holiday Inn, and because of the corporate money available we had some pretty amazing equipment up in the DJ booth."

Saturday Looks Good To Me - we can't work it out, 2002

"The success of Every Night, much like All Your Summer Songs before it, is entirely dependent on its contemporary relevance in the guise of almost fetishistic devotion to 60s pop nostalgia. "Since You Stole My Heart", a mono-friendly girl-group love letter that smacks of the sickly sweetest trip down a boardwalk you've never been on, represents the far extreme of SLGTM's direct emulative powers. But gradually, a darker world of thrift stores, cheap cigarettes, and rum & Cokes pierces through the band's façade of straight-faced homage, hinting at something more compelling and contemporary beneath."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - happy place, 1987

"This is escapist pop at it's best. The theory is that you have this happy memory to conjour up and revert back to when you are feeling emotionally stressed."

Death Cab For Cutie - someday you will be loved, 2005

"It’s a mean song. I don’t like writing songs from a dishonest place—when I’m trying to put on an air to express a certain emotion that I’m not wrapped in currently. It feels like I’m lying a bit. I just feel that song, musically, we really had to try in the studio to make that an interesting song when it’s not a very interesting song. And, lyrically, I think it’s kind of weak."

The Cranberries - linger, 1993

"Linger" is a song by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries from their debut studio album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993). Composed by band members Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan, and produced by Stephen Street, "Linger" was first released as the second and final single from the album on 15 February 1993 by Island Records. It was later re-released on 31 January 1994. "Linger", which has an acoustic arrangement featuring a string section, became the band's first major hit, peaking at number three in their native Ireland, number eight in the United States, and number 14 in the United Kingdom. The single remained on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 24 weeks and also peaked at number eleven on the Cash Box Top 100. Additionally, "Linger" was voted by Australian Triple J listeners as number three on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1993 chart."

Electronic - idiot country, 1991

"First example of new Sumner writing style as Bernard confronts the violence of Manchester's drug wars. Marr's jagged guitar is fairly pronounced before the song lopes into a typical soft New Order refrain. Hummable and danceable"

Bee Gees - saw a new morning, 1973

"This song contains melodic ideas that the group would revisit on the later track "Edge of the Universe". Written in 1972 and recorded around September the same year. On the song, Maurice Gibb played the bass part through electric piano with Jim Keltner's drums providing a thump. While backing guitarist Alan Kendall plays guitar with Barry and Maurice Gibb."