A-ha - take on me, 1985

"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums."

Neil Young - till the morning comes, 1970

"It’s all about the morning, the next day, just getting through one more day, taking it day by day, all those clichés used by addicts and the mentally unwell. I like how Neil Young says it better. It’s soft but also hinges on a battle: who will win by morning. It’s also comforting to recite strangely. It loops in my head all day till I can’t analyse it anymore, nor is it comforting or scary, it’s just a tune by Neil Young, stuck in my head. When the morning came, I was booked into my psychiatrist at 8am."

Moby - porcelain, 2000

"I was involved with this really, really wonderful woman, and I loved her very much. But I knew deep in my heart of hearts that we had no business being romantically involved. So, it's sort of about being in love with someone but knowing you shouldn't be with them."

Electronic - reality, 1991

"The bulk of Electronic was written in 1990, with sessions beginning that January at Johnny Marr's home studio in Manchester. "Gangster" dated from an aborted solo album that Bernard Sumner had begun working on in the mid-eighties, while "Reality" was written around 1988 when he and Marr first began working together."

Phantom Youth - promises, 2023

"Phantom Youth, Currently München, Bayern, Germany, Member of Stray Fossa, Also Known As William Evans, Will Evans, Genres Noise Pop"

The Beatles - every little thing, 1964

"Every Little Thing" is a rare example of a Lennon–McCartney song in which one member of the partnership was primary composer (here McCartney) but the other sang lead vocal (here Lennon)."

Beirut - scenic world second version, 2007

"Now, there are two versions of "Scenic World" by the band Beirut. One is a blippity electronic version appeared on Beirut's first full-length LP from 2005, "Gulag Orkestar." The other "Scenic World" is a romantic, orchestral beam of sonic sunshine from the 2007 EP, "Lon Gisland," and that is the version with which we encourage you to kick off the holidays."

Slowdive - star roving, 2017

"Star Roving" is unlike anything Slowdive have released before, first of all it's furiously fast which screams hit - hit in the shoegazing sense, think "Vapour Trail", "Soon", "When the Sun Hits".

The Style Council - the whole point two, 2007

"Many people dislike them for the musical genres they dabbled in and the dilution of their original Mod(ernist) leanings. Others love them for taking those risks and even credit Paul Weller with broadening the Mod musical spectrum (or letting him get away with things other bands could not have gotten away with). Personally, I'm mixed on the band and have been trying to give their whole catalogue another shot, coming at them with a different frame of mind in my older age."

Buffalo Springfield - expecting to fly, 1967

"Expecting to Fly" is a song written by Neil Young and performed by Buffalo Springfield. The song appeared on their 1967 album, Buffalo Springfield Again."

Morrissey - reader meet author, 1995

"the ambiguity of both paths, that of the writer and that of Morrissey, the misunderstood artist so criticized for his lyrics from day one"

The Style Council - council meetin, 1984

"The Style Council was formed in early 1983 and their first single was Speak Like a Child peaked at Number 4 in March 1983. I kept a diary of the events of The Style Council developing from January 1984 to this gig in October 1984... I suspect I then got bored and stopped!"

The Radio Dept - it's personal, 2005

"The title says it all. It's as if someone has asked, "what's wrong?" and the answer is, "it's personal" and the beat just shows how much silent grief the person is going through."

The Beatles - misery, 1963

"We've called it 'Misery', but it isn't as slow as it sounds, it moves along at quite a pace, and we think Helen will make a pretty good job of it."

The Weather Station - tried to tell you, 2021

“Tried To Tell You,” which is about “reaching out to someone; a specific person, or maybe every person, who is tamping down their wildest and most passionate self in service of some self (and world?) destructive order.”

The Go-Betweens - spring rain, 1986

"just the music and the way that chorus is especially. And there’s a simplicity to it; a beauty to it. It’s one of those happy things where you really like something like a group and it might take you years and years and years till you write something in that vein and suddenly you see it."

Bright Eyes - make war, 2002

"This is an album haunted by a foreign war, by the tale of the midwesterner’s broken New York fairy tale, by figures of love and pain and despair."

Beirut - elephant gun, 2007

"That sound is how I feel when I’m honest about my life, that juxtaposition of melancholy and loneliness with the absolute enjoyment and happiness of being alive."

My Sad Captains - the sum total of everything, 2009

"Wallis discovered the book 'sitting on a shelf unattended, when I was looking for a name, and it seemed to capture some element of the music that I heard in my head'."

The Style Council - blood sports, 1985

"I find it shocking how so many fans of The Jam (and Paul Weller) have never even heard a song from The Style Council. Alright, alright, I’ll admit that their last few albums were a bit shameful, but their first five albums exhibited some of the most underrated studious songwriting of the 80s."

The Beatles - there's a place, 1963

"There's a Place" is "incandescent", with an arrangement built around drumming from Ringo Starr that "could take your breath away".

My Bloody Valentine - only tomorrow, 2013

"The song's playful (gasp!) drum shuffle reminds you that MBV are four living, breathing human beings who do human things. And that anthemic guitar lead that takes up the last two minutes-- is it possible that Kevin Shields has taken a shine to playing festivals since the band reunited?"

The Sweetest Ache - if i could shine, 1990

"Swansea was ok, but not as cool as Cardiff. We had lots of metal and punk bands as i recall, the underground dance scene was kicking off and we came then and totally shocked everyone with our mellow sounds at first."

Mew - in a better place, 2017

"The blissful glide of In A Better Place is a prime example of the impulsive environment that the songs were written in, a drumbeat by Jorgensen inspiring Bjerre to write a song immediately, whilst the atmospheric rock of Ay Ay Ay was based around a choir part that Bjerre had come up with a few years ago. All of the vocal parts were recorded in the booth that Bjerre had constructed in his apartment in Copenhagen. “I like waking up in the middle of the night and feeling inspired by something and being able to go in my booth and just sing it,” he says."

The Fifth Dimension - ticket to ride cover, 1967

"The Fifth Dimension was a psychedelic soul group most popular in the late 1960s. The group’s five inaugural members, Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Ronald Townson, and Billy Davis Jr., had a significant influence on the emerging 1970s disco scene. They facilitated a unique sound that straddled between traditional soul and the more experimental pop and disco sound on the rise at the time. Together they continuously topped the billboard charts throughout the late 1960s and early 70s reaching stardom with multiple number-one hit singles and gold albums."