The Shadows - the savage, 1960

"In Canada, Cliff Richard and the Shadows had top 10 hits, especially from 1961 to 1965. Canadian guitarists Randy Bachman and Neil Young credit Marvin as influential, Young penning the song "From Hank to Hendrix" on his Harvest Moon album in partial tribute."

Neil Young - sugar mountain live, 1979

"He says that when he first wrote the song, he wrote 126 verses to it. Young: "Now, you can imagine that I had a lot of trouble figuring out what four verses to use... I was underneath the stairs at the time... Anyway, this verse that I wrote... It was the worst verse of the 126 that I wrote. So, I decided to put it in the song, just to give everybody a frame of reference as to, you know, what can happen. What I'm trying to say is, by stopping in the middle of the song, and explaining this to you, is that... I think it's one of the lamest verses I ever wrote. And, uhh...it takes a lotta nerve for me to get up here and sing it in front of you people. But, if when I'm finished singing, you sing the chorus 'Sugar Mountain' super loud, I'll just forget about it right away and we can continue." He then continues with the "worst verse", about being "underneath the stairs... And [...] giving' back some glares, To the people that you met, And it's your first cigarette".

The Cranberries - you and me, 1999

"You And Me and Animal Instinct were probably the first songs that Dolores wrote after she had kids, so that was kind of a love song for her son. Parenthood really does ground you a lot. When you come back off tour it takes a few days to adjust being back home, but with kids it’s like, Tough shit, get used to it! It brings you back down with a bang. It’s brilliant.”

The Postmarks - seven eleven cover, 2008

"These guys really did their homework! Wonderful warm-sounding drums that could easily be mistaken of being recorded at Gold Star, piercing castanets and a dramatic string arrangement. It’s a textbook example of how a well-executed Wall of Sound can pump up an ordinary song into sheer beauty. Basically, what Phil Spector did all the time in the 1960s. Postmarks singer Tim Yehezkely is no Darlene Love but her understated, crystal pure vocal approach definitely has its charm. And on this song it adds an eerie, ice-cold feel to the tragic storyline played out in the lyrics. The Postmarks’ own songs are well worth checking out by the way. Their most recent album, ‘Memoirs at the End of the World’, is a fantastic and at times cinematic piece of work with more than a nod towards the Wall of Sound on several tracks. I’ll probably feature an example in a later blog post."

The Lightning Seeds - sweet dreams, 1990

"I knew that the singles released from The Lightning Seeds debut CD Cloudcuckooland included the classic single "Pure" and the decent follow up "All I Want". With a bit of prodding I might have remembered that "Joy" was the other single release. Which made my discovery of this promotional single for "Sweet Dreams" just a little more intriguing. I couldn't say I remembered this track at all from the album - but then again I haven't heard the LP itself in years. So it was kind of a nice surprise."

Beach House - better times, 2010

"Sedate of pace, warm and soulful of texture, gentle of volume, and with a slightly background-ish quality that’s frequently punctured by the magic of singer Victoria Legrand’s almost supernaturally improved larynx; Teen Dream is a comforting record, not a demanding one, and there’s no shame in that."

Fine Young Cannibals - the flame, 1996

"The Finest is a greatest hits album by British rock band Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1996 by London Records (under the FFRR brand name) and licensed in the United States to MCA Records. It includes tracks from the band's two studio albums Fine Young Cannibals (1985) and The Raw & the Cooked (1989), plus a track from the film Something Wild and three new tracks. "The Flame" was released as an accompanying single, making number 17 in the UK chart."

Pet Shop Boys - the samurai in autumn, 2002

"Within a deceptively simple framework, the Boys have pulled off something quite remarkable, which can be fully understood only by peeling away its various layers. As befitting its ostensibly Japanese subject matter, the words are in the style of traditional Japanese poetry, striving for economy of language. While it doesn't fit the standard pattern of that most well-known of Japanese poetic forms, a haiku (three lines of five, seven, and five syllables), it's very haiku-like (three lines of eight, nine, and eight syllables). And like a traditional haiku, it focuses on a particular season of the year—in this case, autumn. But whatever you can say about the style, it seems most likely that the lyric is a metaphor for middle age. The samurai—a noble warrior figure, signifying a willingness to stand and fight against forces of opposition, whatever they may be, human or otherwise—is now in the autumn of his life (or the "September of his years," to paraphrase the title of a classic Frank Sinatra album from the mid-sixties). The lyrics neatly juxtapose present ("It's not …"), past ("… as easy as it was"), and future or alternate possibility ("Or as difficult as it could be …"). It's important to note that it's not a certain future (that would have been "Or as difficult as it will be"), but rather a possibility expressed as a conditional verb. While the past and present are known factors, the future is always tenuous and unknown. So this, the lyrics suggest, is what a noble middle age is all about: knowing that youth, the years of greatest ease (at least in physical terms), are now behind you and that the most difficult years (old age) are still ahead—if you're lucky enough to have any years ahead of you at all—and standing ready to face them bravely, come what may, as a warrior prepared for battle."

The Connells - slackjawed, 1993

"In the US, the album reached number 199 on the Billboard 200 with the single "Slackjawed" reaching number nine on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart."

America - daisy jane, 1975

"There was no such person as Daisy Jane and I had never even been to Memphis"

Indochine - pink water two, 2005

"Placebo fans know him and his band because of “Pink water”, Brian's collaboration with Indochine officiel. There are three versions of the song, two of them feature Mr. Molko and were released on the album ”Alice & June Limited edition" in December 2005."

Neil Young - cinnamon girl live, 1979

"the album does have its charms. It's nice to hear live versions of Young classics like "After the Goldrush", "Cinnamon Girl", and "Lotta Love"

Editors - the weight of the world, 2007

"singer Tom Smith tempers his constant anxiety with flashes of optimism, his brittle nihilism with gooey sentiment"

The Cranberries - saving grace, 1999

“When I got pregnant, I started singing again. It was my saving grace. I literally mean having this amazing human life, and our relationship in the sense of mother and child redeemed my soul.”

Moby - summer, 2000

"Moby was famous for his devout Christian beliefs, as well as his environmental and vegan activism. First breaking into the British Top Ten with the 1991 single "Go," he soon established himself in the U.S. as one of the scene's premier producers with 1995's critically acclaimed Everything Is Wrong. After a brief foray into punk rock introduced fans to his other sonic inspirations, Moby transitioned into a new role as a crossover pop star with 1999's seminal blockbuster Play. While his chart success would not reach the same heights again, he maintained his fan base with steady, reliable output, swapping between traditional house tracks and expansive ambient collections into the 2020s. Occasionally, he even dipped back into guitar-based, politicized anthems with side band the Void Pacific Choir. In 2021, he issued his 19th full-length, the reimagined retrospective Reprise. Born Richard Melville Hall, Moby received his nickname as a child, derived from the fact that Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, is his great-great-granduncle."

Club 8 - spring came rain fell, 2002

"Maybe I shouldn't be listening to this as the sun lowers on the last warm afternoon of the year. Clouds hover and obscure the rays from time to time as the soft sounds play. Six months ago this would have fitted well, floaty music and breathed vocals being more apt when the promise of warmth is due. How it will fare in colder months is anyone's guess. Being from Sweden they should be used to cold though, so they'll survive. The problem might be the frailty, in the sunshine it is easy to drift along with the soft vocals and restrained chugging and noodling. The title track is lovely, shimmering and glowing, as does Baby, I'm Not Sure If This Is Love and they surpass anything that St Etienne could muster, which is probably the closest comparable band. Maybe the problem I have is that I don't like that sort of thing over the long haul. Luckily, maybe, they up gear by track six, The Chance I Deserve kicks in like Beck and grooves away happily and I Give Up Too provides a (very) brief intermission of strangeness. Then it's back to afternoon lazing mode, fading in and out with your sleepy brain. Teenage Dreams tells of young love and fits the summery mood of holiday romance, but some of the songs do flounder in the soft air, Karen Song being one, coming too close to the Kings Of Convenience, but full of good intentions nonetheless. As We Set Ourseves Free wafts off into the horizon you're ready for something heavier, with more bite, something that will shake the afternoon slumbers away. Still, it's not a bad way to while away the time on a sunny afternoon, just as long as the storm clouds hold off."

Vaya Con Dios - heading for a fall, 1992

”I'd like something that sounds like Hot Chocolate”

Barclay James Harvest - child of the universe, 1974

"Everyone Is Everybody Else is the fifth studio album by British Rock Band Barclay James Harvest released in June 1974. This was their first album for the Polydor label after they had parted company with EMI. The album was produced by Rodger Bain, who had previously worked with Black Sabbath in producing their first three albums. He also produced heavy rock bands Judas Priest and Budgie. There was said to be strained relations between Bain and the band, due to the preference of his musical style, with the band unhappy with the results of the song "Child of the Universe" in particular; Woolly Wolstenholme's only contribution was also left off the original album."

Laurent Voulzy - rockollection scène ten, 1977

"Laurent Voulzy, whose real name is Lucien Voulzy, is a French singer-songwriter who started his musical career at the age of 14. He goes from group to group ("Les tigers", "Les Ellences", "Mark Robson Sound", "Temple de Vénus", "Le Poing" ...) without meeting the expected success until 1974, a very decisive year for him because he will meet a certain… Alain Souchon. Their first collaboration gave birth to the album "Petite Annonce", renamed a few years later "J'ai 10 ans". In 1976 the album "Bidon" was released, then "Jamais content". And finally in 1977, the enormous tube which will explode the singer's career, namely the now legendary "Rockollection".

Laurent Voulzy - jelly bean, 1977

"Be still my heart. My two favorite French Pop stars! Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon! I died on the spot!"

Amanda Mair - it's gonna be long, 2012

"Mair sounds more like Kate Bush than Kate Bush does on her gorgeous, grown-up debut track"

Micheál And Eilish - dublin in the rare old times cover, 1990

"In the song, the narrator, Sean Dempsey, who comes from Pimlico, a working-class neighbourhood in the Dublin Liberties, recalls his upbringing. He laments the changes that have occurred in the city since his youth, mentioning the loss of Nelson's Pillar, the Metropole ballroom, the "Royal" (Theatre Royal). He dislikes the "new glass cages", the modern office blocks and flats being erected along the quays, and says farewell to Anna Liffey (the River Liffey)."

Micheál And Eilish - the mountains of mourne cover, 1990

"The song is a whimsical look at the styles, attitudes and fashions of late nineteenth-century London as seen from the point of view of an emigrant labourer from a village near the Mourne Mountains. It is written as a message to the narrator's true love at home. The "sweep down to the sea" refrain was inspired by the view of the mountains from Skerries in north County Dublin. It contrasts the artificial attractions of the city with the more natural beauty of his homeland."

Art Garfunkel - a heart in new york, 1981

"Paul's poetic style was so advanced, with its shades of dark grey. He had an unusually sophisticated poetic gift."

The Radio Dept - bound to happen, 2009

"Over the years there have been many songs written by the band, some appear on records, some were discarded and some are only played at certain live shows. This [...] never made it onto official releases."

Mike Oldfield - muse, 1999

"Oldfield plays all the music on the album, using only guitars of various types. The most remarkable usage is that of his Roland MIDI-equipped guitars, which he uses to trigger drum samples and produce string-like sounds. "Four Winds" is a four-part work, whose sections are musical portraits of the four compass points (North, South, East and West)."

Enya - lothlórien, 1991

"Lothlórien, the land of enchantment and wonder in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings. Lothlórien is as beautiful as a dream, as pure as the dawn of creation and as old as the beginning of time. Here, the leaves of the Mallorn trees in Autumn do not fall, but turn to gold. Various translations and suggested origins of the name Lothlórien give us colourful and imaginative expressions such as ‘the vale of the land of singers’, ‘the valley of the singing Gold’ and ‘Dreamflower’."

New Order - nineteen sixty-three, 1987

"In New Order Music 1981–89, the band's lyricist Bernard Sumner writes a tongue-in-cheek account of the song's lyrics that relate it to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Sumner facetiously theorises that Kennedy arranged for Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot his wife so that "J.F. could do one with M. Monroe". Monroe commits suicide when Oswald hits the wrong target (in reality, Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, over a year before the assassination took place) and Oswald is later shot by his boss (implied to be Jack Ruby), for "doing such a bad job and causing his hit-man business to go bust."

Cocteau Twins - half-gifts, 1996

"Take the spacious, drowsy lilt of ‘Half-Gifts’, which suggests the spectre of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Suzanne’. It may be ironic that a Cocteau Twins song should evoke a man known for his deep, restricted delivery and precise imagery, though the lyrics which float up through the musical mists are not only occasionally understandable – shock horror! – but, seeing as the thirteen-year relationship between Fraser and Guthrie had not long ended, startlingly candid. ‘I have my friends, my family,’ sings Fraser. ‘I have myself, I still have me.’"

Echo And The Bunnymen - all my life, 1987

"McCulloch sings in a mannered and understated way that allows the conflicted emotions within the song to play out on their own merits and the rest of the band plays in a restrained but beautiful fashion that serves the song. I especially love drummer Pete de Freitas’ martial fills during the verse that uses military imagery in the lyrics. It is a subtle touch in a song that is surprisingly subtle and mature for an early Bunnymen track. It is a song about the ebbs and flows of life and is the perfect way to end the last album that the original line-up would make before McCulloch left for a time and de Freitas died in his accident."

Fine Young Cannibals - suspicious minds cover, 1986

"Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by the American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was recorded by Elvis Presley with the producer Chips Moman. Presley's version reached No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, his 18th and final no. 1 single on that chart. In 1999, Presley's RCA Victor Records version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame."

Marillion - warm wet circles, 1987

"Warm Wet Circles" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was the third single from their fourth studio album Clutching at Straws, released on 26 October 1987. "Warm Wet Circles" peaked at number 22 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's 9th top-thirty hit in a row, and remained on the chart for four weeks. The music video featured footage of the band's concert at Lorelei in West Germany on 18 July 1987. The B-side is a live recording of "White Russian", another track from Clutching at Straws also made during the Loreley concert. The 12" version additionally contains a version of "Incommunicado" from this concert. In Argentina, the single was published under the Spanish title "Círculos Húmedos y Cálidos".

Pet Shop Boys - winner, 2012

"As major pop stars, they've experienced virtually everything described in the lyrics: the struggles, the practice, the paying of "dues," the cheers and acclaim of roaring crowds, the feeling of being on top of the world—indeed, enjoying it while it lasts. Becoming a big-time pop star must feel like being a "winner," too. Neil himself noted in the January 2013 issue of their fan club publication Literally that while writing this song, "Part of me was also thinking about when we got to number one with 'West End Girls' and we were winners."

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - teenage tide, 2011

“Teenage Tide” is off that EP and it finds the band picking up where their debut left off. The song maintains that perfect dream-pop sound, with consistent guitar riffs draped softly in a fuzzy reverb and fronted by airy vocals. Like the earlier stuff, “Teenage Tide” hints lightly of The Radio Dept. circa Pet Grief. But Letting Up Despite Great Faults brings out the vocals a bit more and plays off the youthful nature of the band. These are songs about love and life, and so they find that middle ground between hope and despair. “Teenage Tide” is uplifting yet has to it a hint of sadness. It’s a core element that made Letting Up Despite Great Faults such a strong LP."

Keane - sovereign light café, 2012

"Sovereign Light Café" is a song by English alternative rock band Keane released as the third single from their fourth studio album, Strangeland. The band played the song for first time during the Perfect Symmetry World Tour on 17 September 2009 in Thunder Bay Ontario. It has been a staple of Keane setlist since 2012 and the primary closing song since 2019. The song was written with inspiration drawn from the town of Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, where the café is located in real life, and also the town of Battle, where many of the roads mentioned are close to where the members of Keane grew up."

Bodywash - massif central, 2023

"Bodywash’s “Massif Central” Is an Anthem of Solidarity for Anyone Whisked Into the Bureaucratic Abyss"

Of Monsters And Men - yellow light, 2012

"Set closer “Yellow Light” pits Þórhallsson as a will-o’-the-wisp leading Hilmarsdóttir off her path and into danger, urging her to “Just follow my yellow light / And ignore all those big warning signs.”

Amanda Mair - sense, 2012

"Amanda Mair is Swedish, which means that she has a particular knack for writing songs that you can keep returning to like catheterised lab rats to their teeny weeny opiate dispensers. Sure, before you know it you’ve completely warped your last.fm profile but you don’t mind because you’re now hooked on that chorus, making everything else in your life seem like faint background static."

The Fiery Furnaces - nevers reprise, 2006

"Though the Friedbergers work primarily within music and not literature or film, I argue that their music is literature, especially in the way Matthew's lyrics and Eleanor's performances of those lyrics engage with their personal memories, including their creative recollection of objects and traditions they refer to in their songs. After exploring how the music industry's indie rock category parallels the book publishing industry's literary fiction category, I illustrate how the Fiery Furnaces' allusions to history and popular culture connect the listener's memory of cultural objects to the songs' newly adapted versions. Narrative components like temporality, order, and character, customarily associated with literature or film, are central to the Fiery Furnaces' musical reminiscence. The article concludes by tracing the evolution of those elements in the songs to the endpoint (indeed the “moral") of the Friedbergers' attention to memory, biography, and fiction: that neither music nor text is sufficient to replicate the past, but that a literary approach to music and memory can playfully embrace that reality."

Saint Etienne - the process, 1997

"and then comes The Process, which was one of the b-sides of He’s on the Phone, presumably the track that necessitated this compilation in the first place. It’s also the track that comes next, and it’s a difficult one not to love. It’s a Motiv8 production, and his mixes do have a tendency to sound pretty much exactly the same as one another, but this one is pretty much as good as they ever got. You’ll find it very difficult not to sing along."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - darklands, 1987

"Darklands" is a song by Scottish rock band the Jesus & Mary Chain and the third single from their album of the same name."

I'm From Barcelona - jenny, 2006

“Less is more.” Can someone translate that into Swedish, please? The whimsical twee-pop band I’m from Barcelona (who actually hails from Sweden) combine for a total of 29 members. 29! And although I’m sure there are many instruments to go around, I have a feeling that after the banjos, tubas, and kazoos are all handed out there are still about a dozen stoners standing around, clapping their hands and harmonizing about tree houses. I’m from Barcelona is more of a communal experience than anything else; more like a campfire sing-a-long than an indie rock group."

America - riverside, 1971

"We never want the music to end. I suppose the reason is that we associate the end of music with the end of a party or festivities. For the recording artist, it is associated with the end of their career or even of their life. In the case of Dan Peek, there, apparently, was much more music locked up in his creative cranium that he wished to unleash on this world but it wasn’t meant to be."

Bee Gees - too much heaven, 1979

"I was really loved and impressed with the harmonies they achieved on that record. I'm very very proud of those guys; they're exceptionally good at harmony. They’re a very heavy duty harmony group."

Belinda Carlisle - circle in the sand, 1987

"Circle in the Sand" was written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, who wrote many of Carlisle's hit singles in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, including her signature song "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". The first known appearance of the song in progress is from the Lost Heaven Demos bootleg which features a solid drum beat, lead keyboard line and simple bass with no guitars present, and completed lyrics. The final album version of the song features a unique lead keyboard theme provided by Thomas Dolby, combined with a thumping bassline and accentuated with swirling and shimmering guitar, including some played in reverse during the bridge."

Quasi - queen of ears, 2023

“Queen Of Ears” finds Coomes and Weiss bashing away on their keyboard and drums, respectively, lending a raw edge to an otherwise bright and poppy song. The backing vocals are clutch on this one."

Belle And Sebastian - i fought in a war, 2000

"This ballad is the opening track from the Scottish Indie Pop band Belle and Sebastian's album, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant. Despite its title, the tune is not a protest song. Frontman Stuart Murdoch explained in an interview with Uncut magazine that it, "was a personal song inspired by the atmosphere of the short story, For Esmé – with Love and Squalor by JD Salinger."

Hooverphonic - waves, 2000

"Hooverphonic's sound has become increasingly hip and cosmopolitan, slowly processing out everything that made it so alluring in the first place"

Enya - flora's secret, 2000

"The Song was inspired by the various legends from classical mythology given to flowers. The "tears from Persia" are the Persian Iris. They are the tears of the Mourning Iris taken from the legend of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of the Corn. Persephone was abducted by Hades, and was made to spend six months of each year in the underworld with him (hence winter) and the other six months on earth (hence summer)."

The Cranberries - such a shame, 1999

"As lead singer of The Cranberries, the iconic County Limerick-born vocalist was an adventurous and truly singular talent fronting a band who weren’t just one of the great alt-rock acts of the 90s, but an outfit for whom longevity has long been guaranteed."

Pet Shop Boys - one in a million, 1993

"This song boasts a common, tried-and-true pop music device, though it's not at all common for PSB. In fact, it's downright rare for them: a climactic key change. Virtually a cliché in the work of some artists—just try to find a Barry Manilow single that doesn't raise its key near the end—it would appear that the Pet Shop Boys have assiduously avoided it. But not in "One in a Million." Its climactic key change in the final repetitions of the chorus does precisely what climactic key changes are meant to do: push the energy up a couple of notches, imparting an epic feel to the proceedings. Coming as it does, a rarity in a PSB track, it's nothing less than thrilling to hear."

Amanda Mair - house, 2012

"Amanda Mair was raised in Lidingö, Sweden, an island outside Stockholm. Her parents own a bakery. Her mother is Finnish and her father is Austrian. Mair has two older sisters and an older half-brother. Her sisters, who also sang and played instruments, influenced her music tastes during childhood. She studied at the Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, a performing arts school in Stockholm."

Moby - jltf, 2009

"David was talking about creativity, and to paraphrase, about how creativity in and of itself, and without market pressures, is fine and good. It seems as if too often an artists or musicians or writers creative output is judged by how well it accommodates the marketplace, and how much market share it commands and how much money it generates."

Warpaint - new song, 2016

"After several years doing their own respective things in a whole host of other side-projects, the wryly named ‘New Song’ (the first hint of things to come on Warpaint’s third album ‘Heads Up’) sounds leagues removed from anything Warpaint have done previously. And after the bold leap between their muddied and submerged debut album ‘The Fool,’ to their second album’s soaring, saturated dreamscape - by way of the clattering industrial underworld of ‘Disco/Very,’ and ‘Love Is To Die’s cyclic, misted incantations - that thirst for reinvention should come as no surprise."

Micheál And Eilish - the lonesome boatman cover, 1990

"The Lonesome Boatman is a 1969 album by the Irish folk music duo Finbar & Eddie Furey. It is best known for its title track which is played hauntingly on a tin whistle, as well as its version of the traditional ballad Carnlough Bay."

Genesis - many too many, 1978

"Many Too Many" was released as a single from the album ...And Then There Were Three... in 1978 and written by the band's keyboardist, Tony Banks, who described it as "a simple love lyric". The single reached No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart, following the band's successful breakthrough into the Top Ten with "Follow You Follow Me". Its B-side had two non-album songs, "Vancouver" and "The Day the Light Went Out", both released on compact disc on the Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 box set."

Alvvays - not my baby, 2017

"Alvvays bumps it up a notch on the stereo with the release of their sophomore album Antisocialites. Their sound grew spunkier, as they begin to experiment further with motion and variety within each song. An especially driven song from the new album, “Not My Baby,” tells the story of heartbreak and the inconsistent feelings that come after. “Not My Baby” has an urgency not seen before from the Canadian indie-pop group. Racing rhythms coalesce exciting melodies, all charged by the song’s empowered lyrics. However, what really brings this song to the listener is the variation — fast to slow, flowing to sharp, loud to soft. People can connect to this inconsistency, because that is what the twirling and changing emotions of a break-up feels like. All of this beautifully chaotic musical construction is reflected throughout the lyrics, like the lovely line “Traded my rose-colored shades for a wide lens” and the play on the word “silence” as all the instruments cut out. Ultimately, the song frees you with fading melodies and echoes, sending you off in a soul-surfing bliss as you leave that ex (you know which one) in the dust."

Gerry Rafferty - mattie's rag, 1978

"At the time Rafferty wrote the song, he was travelling regularly between London and Glasgow. As such, he didn't get to spend as much time with his family as he would have liked, especially his daughter Martha. In fact, the name of the song is a shortening of Martha (Mattie) and a style of traditional folk song (a rag). Martha was 9 when the song was written. The lyrics describe Rafferty's joy at seeing his beloved daughter again after a long period of absence. The "magic thing" that he describes is the song itself. "Just wind him up and he'll start to sing" means that she will be able to listen to the song any time she likes. The city described in the song is London. Rafferty was unsure of himself there, but when he got back home to Glasgow and his family, he felt safe and relaxed, hence the lyric "you make me see the light".

Dolores O'Riordan - ecstasy, 2007

“Ecstasy was not written about me, but about people who had problems with depression, drug addiction. I met so many people through my life, so I write about that side of human spirit, when people suffer, how they survive and live with it and how to be strong. Life is not always easy”

Belle And Sebastian - mornington crescent, 2006

“Mornington Crescent” is a rather rambling ode that seems somewhat moralistic. These criticisms have to be taken with a grain of salt. For all its flaws, The Life Pursuit is a blessing because Belle and Sebastian tends to reach higher than the rest. Rimbaud is my favorite poet, but that doesn’t mean I love everything he’s ever done."

El Perro Del Mar - candy, 2006

"Sarah Assbring is effortless, not just with her ongoing relationship with music—or even when she walked down the runway for Balenciaga—but in the small intimacies of her everyday life. In Assbring’s world, she takes the good with the bad, and through both, only sees beauty. Creating under the alias of El Perro Del Mar, the Swedish indie pop star has released multiple albums, which all exist in their own respective space, giving way to Assbring’s wide spectrum of references. And while her sound is airy and light, she admits that it doesn’t come without intensive, and somewhat cyclical, emotional labor. “I always end up at that moment where I have to deconstruct everything and fall to the floor, and really ask myself, 'Why do I do this? Is it worth it?' Then I end up having that bare, raw, naked reason where I know, “yes this is the place, this is where I’m supposed to be.”

The House Of Love - the hill, 1988

"Early on we get glimpses of what a different band the House Of Love could have been had Andrea remained. The Hill and Welt are great examples of what might have been. Bickers supplied some fire on B-side Flow and Blind has a nice feel with some good percussion. Of the alternative takes, the echo-laden jangle of the demo of Real Animal pleases, with Happy being a mite tougher than the album version for my money."

Paul McCartney - let it be live, 1990

"Let it Be was always Paul’s song, he wrote it and it was about his mother Paul was the lead singer, however, I did hear a rehearsal demo where John did sing the opening, more like playfully singing and it was John sort of helping Paul work out the construction of the song but it was always intended to be Paul as the lead singer, often times during rehearsal’s other Beatles members would sometimes playfully sing each other’s songs, either as a joke or in helping each other out as a team, but the final recording was all Paul and the others as back up vocals and instruments."

Grant Lee Buffalo - we've only just begun cover, 1994

"Phillips, Kimble, and Peters transitioned from Shiva Burlesque’s more psychedelic and experimental sound to create something unique. Grant-Lee Phillips, the creative force in the band, brought with him a unique voice that could be both hauntingly gentle and powerful, paired with a sombre storyteller's honesty. This combination would form the core of Grant Lee Buffalo’s identity. The band’s early influences were a mix of 70s rock, folk, and country, but it was Phillips’ fascination with American history, landscapes, and personal narratives that shaped the band’s lyrical direction. Their sound was further characterized by the use of unconventional instruments and experimental recording techniques, which allowed them to create a distinct atmosphere in their music."

Azure Ray - your weak hands, 2002

"True to form, Azure Ray delivers another 12 tracks of curiously beautiful but quite intense melancholy on 2002's Burn and Shiver. Not since Lisa Germano dropped Geek the Girl almost eight years before has music so stark and so lovely made it beyond the dark confines of somebody's troubled mind and onto the brightly lit shelves of record stores. Well, "troubled" might be too harsh a word, as Azure Ray never approach the outwardly depressive lyrical statements of Germano on Burn and Shiver, but Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor do have a certain fascination with darkness."

Etienne Daho - retour à toi, 2003

"This is another really enjoyable CD from Etienne Daho. Nothing stand-out, but if you like his other CDs, you'll enjoy this one too."

Saint Etienne - answer song white horses remix, 2012

"a masterclass of pop theory and practice in perfect harmony, often within the same song"

The Coral - eyes of the moon, 2018

"For James though, another track stands out as the one most deserving of a place in their repertoire. "I like Eyes Of The Moon," he says, "I think that's a proper Coral song. "If you had one of those people on YouTube who were like, 'how to write a Coral tune,' that's the tune they'd write."

Warpaint - dre, 2016

"Having taken a collective step back from the brink and rolled away some of the intensity that living a life on the road brings, Warpaint now seem content to continue exploring their own unique musical identity from a more peaceful platform."

Pet Shop Boys - was it worth it, 1991

"Upon its release as a single, Dave Jennings of Melody Maker noted "Was It Worth It?" had "the chunkiest, most muscular music to appear on a PSB track in a long time" and added that Tennant's vocal is "so fey, even by his standards, that it threatens to evaporate at any moment".

James - born of frustration, 1992

"Born of Frustration" is a song written by Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, and Tim Booth and released as a single by English Madchester band James. It is the follow-up to 1991 hits "Sit Down" and "Sound", which both peaked within the UK top 10. The song was released from the group's fourth album, Seven (1992), and reached number 13 in the United Kingdom. It was also a hit on US alternative radio, peaking at number five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart; it was the group's highest placement on this ranking until "Laid" reached number three in 1993."

Alvvays - the agency group, 2014

"It’s a song that I heard when I was with some friends of mine and I suddenly realized the song is about friends that get high and pass the time together sometimes. Like, a group of people who don’t quite know how to react around each other or how to adjust to their emotions about each other. So they take drugs to vibe like that’s how they get on each other’s level. Like, life is a huge game of being together but not being together. That’s why the people in the song are weird about the way they feel about each other."

Saint Etienne - we're in the city, 1999

"Ten years on, Saint Etienne found themselves at a bit of a crossroads. They had long ago stopped having hits in the U.K., settling into a cult audience in both their homeland and the U.S. There isn't an inherent problem with having a cult audience, but cult bands often have the stigma of being on the cutting edge."