REM - losing my religion, 1991

"Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 by Warner Bros. as the first single from their seventh album, Out of Time (1991). It developed from a mandolin riff improvised by the guitarist, Peter Buck, with lyrics about unrequited love. "Losing My Religion" is R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding their popularity. Its music video, directed by Tarsem Singh, features religious imagery. At the 1992 Grammy Awards, "Losing My Religion" won Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Its video won awards for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2020, "Losing My Religion" became the first R.E.M. video to reach one billion views on YouTube. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017, and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 112 in its 2024 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The Mary Onettes - unblessed, 2013

"One of the new album’s most stunning tracks is “Unblessed”, led by caressing synth pads and slick bass reverberations. A minimal synth arpeggio creeps in slowly, as is the case in many Italo-disco and Balaeric gems, and Ekstrom’s vocals take off into its usual soaring peaks. “It’s more than just a bad dream,” he sings over enchanting melodies and beach-set ambiance. This is far from a nightmare. Much of Hit the Waves is pure bliss."

Headlights - words make you tired, 2006

"Tristan Wraight and Brett Sanderson round out the group, accompanying Fein selectively on vocals and developing a sound both mature and well-rounded — a nice feat for a debut album. “Songy Darko” includes a sombre, chamber-like organ and potentially a glokenshpiel. Many songs, like “Owl Eyes”, start out quietly and build throughout to explosive endings. “Lions” and “Words Make You Tired” do not follow that mold. They both start strong and loud and continue as so to the end. “I Love, You Laugh” closes the album on a soft note; a fitting end for a great album."

Slowdive - machine gun, 1994

"I think the reason Souvlaki enjoys such acclaim and reach beyond the confines of the shoegaze canon is that, shit damn, there is such a palpable of emotional gravity here. The album’s background story as an Halstead and Goswell’s breakup record is well-established, and while the shockwaves of this are borderline naked at points (“Here She Comes”, “Dagger”, “40 Days”, “Melon Yellow”) and blearily nostalgic at others (“Altogether”), they add a melancholic undertone to the album’s radiant moments (“When the Sun Hits”, “Machine Gun”, “Souvlaki Space Stations”) and underscore “Alison” being far more depressive opiate bender than sexed-up bedroom glow (no comment on which of the two is more relatable for your average dreamgaze fan). The mood – not just the mood, the scene – here is so richly fleshed out, so much more than the sum of the album’s parts that practically every level of its craft feeds into a deeper basis for connection – and if that isn’t something you appreciate in a classic record, music ain’t for you."

Prefab Sprout - faron young, 1985

"Name dropping can certainly get you places and in music it’s no different; both Madness and Bananarama sang about Michael Caine and Robert De Niro respectively but surely no one drops more names, in song anyway, than Prefab Sprout. They named their 1985 album Steve McQueen and the track that opened that album was named after the country music singer Faron Young."

Saint Etienne - cosy cafe, 2006

"'We realised early on that we couldn't make the same kind of poetic film even if we had wanted to. With Finisterre, we had the whole of London to play with. But the Lea Valley is a bit more, erm, restrictive. There's no real precedent for what we are trying to do.'"

Echo And The Bunnymen - lost and found, 1987

"The band's attempt to reach a wider audience worked out when they splattered the hook-heavy reverb bomb "Lips Like Sugar" all over American college radio, but the backward guitar solo on "Lost and Found" is more representative of the album as a whole. The sunnier production watered the band's sound down a bit, but they still managed to turn out "All in Your Mind", a throbbing beast of a pop song swimming in twitching guitar and aggressive synth bass, and god, that is so obviously Ray Manzarek of The Doors playing organ on "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" that you don't even need the liners to clue you in-- it works almost purely on improbability."+

Stars - the face, 2002

"Face" is a some kind of electronics-tinged homage to Morrissey, or maybe the Wedding Present. Without mentioning another impossibly iconic English group that Stars sound like, let's just settle and say that Dead Child Stars is a nice collectible for Stars fans, and pleasant enough indie music in its own right."

Pet Shop Boys - the end of the world, 1990

"The Virgin spoke in apparitions" – The Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to people at various times and places throughout Christian history, such as at Lourdes, France, in 1858. One of the most famous instances of all—commonly (and controversially) linked to prophecies of the end of the world—involved her reported appearance to several shepherding children at Fátima, Portugal, in 1917. The word "apparition," while often used to refer to any supernatural appearance, is very specifically used in reference to Mary's appearances: so-called "Marian apparitions."

Scott Orr - clear, 2023

"Scott Orr is a captivating American musician and songwriter known for his ethereal whispering vocals and minimalist songwriting style. Often classified within the stomp and flutter genre, Orr's music seamlessly blends haunting melodies with uplifting lyrics that resonate deeply with listeners. His unique ability to evoke emotion through simplistic yet poignant compositions has not only solidified his place in the indie music scene but has also made him a cherished figure in vinyl culture."

Pink Floyd - burning bridges, 1972

"Burning Bridges" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. It shares a similar tune to the instrumental "Mudmen" on the same album."

The Mary Onettes - blues, 2013

"Maybe read some great Swedish poetry so that people get really serious and maybe sad. And then play our show. And then more poetry."

New order - sugarcane, 2013

"It is the final album featuring bassist Peter Hook, who left the band in 2007 (almost 6 years before the album's release), the final album to featured as a quartet, and the only album by New Order produced from archival recordings."

Edward II - my love the horizontal polka, 1991

"My Love (The Horizontal Polka)" fits their pattern of mixing traditional elements with modern or whimsical twists. The "horizontal polka" phrase itself is a colloquial euphemism, adding a layer of humor or innuendo, which aligns with the band's creative approach."

Saint Etienne - over the border, 2012

"The album opens with "Over the Border", a semi-spoken memoir that narrates a first-person coming-of-age tale that is defined by musical milestones. It was the last song recorded for the album, and includes references to the likes of Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Modern English, New Order, Marc Bolan, Top of the Pops, Smash Hits, NME, Factory Records and Postcard Records."

Cocteau Twins - pur, 1993

"Four-Calendar Cafe ends with Pur which begins with frantic pounding drums, slow chiming guitars and sweeping synths. Liz Fraser’s voice follows the lead of the guitar and synths and sings really slowly. It’s a a thoughtful, careful vocal. For a while, her voice stays within the same range. Her voice athen quickens, soaring beautifully. Likewise the arrangement gets louder and fuller. The guitars especially become much louder momentarily. By now Liz’s vocal is surrounded by a lovely arrangement, melodic yet fulsome. Since I first heard Pur, I’ve always loved it. What makes it special is the mixture of the power provided by Raymond and Guthrie and Liz’s thoughtful and beautiful vocal."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - girlfriend, 1994

"So here, at the time of writing, are 10 of my favourite songs by The Jesus and Mary Chain. About You, Girlfriend, The Two Of Us and I Love Rock n Roll are other real favourites."

Belle And Sebastian - nobody's empire, 2015

"Murdoch’s book brings this into the light as the basic Christian values of compassion, companionship, communion – plus the added bonus of groovy musical composition. Put simply, faith."

Club 8 - the next step you'll take, 2003

"Much of Strangely Beautiful sounds like what might happen if Abba crawled into bed with the Carpenters and they all took some clean X and strong morphine, and I say that as a positive thing. A touch of a spectral Astrud Gilberto sneaks into the footloose, pop-samba of The Next Step You'll Take, for which Karolina Komstedt's air-brushed voice becomes a small chorus of angels. The following The Beauty of the Way We're Living, will sound strangely familiar to those even casually aquatinted with the genre Club 8 is immersed in, but the hypnotic bit is all there own, and don't think you can call where this band will go next. Just when you think you've got them pegged, numbered and filed, they whip out Saturday Night Engine, which is the best Flaming Lips song the Flaming Lips never did. This is definitely a case where the album title says it all."

The New Pornographers - failsafe, 2007

"I admired A. C. Newman for his exceptional melodic talent, Neko Case for her strong, liquid voice and the rhythm section of John Collins and Kurt Dahle for their powerful rhythmic support. Each of their first three albums had featured at least one of the best melodic rock songs I’d ever heard: “Letters from an Occupant,” “Mass Romantic” and “The Laws Have Changed.”

Sambassadeur - albatross, 2010

"‘Albatross’ contains the brilliant line “I was happy to be alone / cut my hair just like a boy”, it seems to be a contemporary response to Abba’s ‘The Winner Takes it All’ and a nod to the early days of the band when they attempted to channel Sweden’s greatest pop export. Again all the emotion comes out in the strings - the longing gaze out of the window, the sight of couples arm and arm that turn a singleton inwards, smothering themselves in thoughts of better days."

REM - femme fatale cover, 1987

"Nico, whose native language is minority French, would say "The name of this song is 'Fahm Fatahl'." Lou and I would sing it our way. Nico hated that. I said, "Nico, hey, it's my title, I'll pronounce it my way"

The Radio Dept - peace of mind, 2002

"Perhaps the secret to the Radio Dept.'s inimitable ambience is their science of memory. There's not yet a band that can evoke the intangible nostalgia that the Radio Dept. do, but at least with this release we can be assured we don't need there to be."

Sufjan Stevens - love yourself short reprise, 2019

"Sufjan Stevens is celebrating Pride Month (which begins June 1) with the release of two new songs. The first, "Love Yourself" is based on a sketch Stevens originally wrote and recorded in 1996. "Love, can you love yourself," Stevens sings in a euphoric chorus. "Show me everything, every reason to believe in yourself." The second, "With My Whole Heart" is an entirely new and much more propulsive piece. In a press release announcing the new songs, Stevens says he wanted to "write an upbeat and sincere love song without conflict, anxiety or self-deprecation." As part of the special release, Stevens has also posted the original 1996 demo recording of "Love Yourself," along with a "Short Reprise" of the song."

Saint Etienne - stormtrooper in drag cover, 1997

"Paul Gardiner struggled with heroin addiction in his last years and died at the age of 25 from an overdose of Valium and Diconal combined with cold weather on 18 February 1984 in Limetrees Park in Northolt, Greater London. He is survived by a son, Chris who has a son named Dylan."

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Coldplay - white shadows, 2005

"White Shadows", meanwhile, is just the track that can keep the band nested right at home on Alternative."

The Cure - play for today, 1980

"one of their most loved deeper cuts, ‘Play For Today’ a favourite for so many, the liquid, chiming guitar of Robert Smith as distinctive as his pleading vocals."

Beirut - fener, 2015

"Indie-rock band Beirut originally began as the solo act of frontman Zach Condon, who wrote and recorded the band’s debut album mostly by himself. After the record had some success, Condon recruited some friends to make a live debut, and the band Beirut was born. The band quickly found success with its well-rounded instrumentation. It used horns, strings and keyboards to achieve a folksy, yet full and nuanced sound that displayed influences ranging from traditional European folk to electronic. Four well-received albums and several EPs later, Condon and Beirut were more successful than ever, touring extensively at increasingly larger venues until Condon put an end to the band, citing both physical and creative exhaustion. “No No No” is Condon’s eagerly anticipated return to the music industry, and marks the band’s return to recording after four years."

Paul McCartney - ballroom dancing, 1982

"Like most people, I’ve got memories that go back to when I was a teenager, like when George Harrison and I used to go to the local dance and neither of us would ever dare to ask a girl to dance until the last waltz. It was then that we thought, ‘Oh God, we’ve wasted all our money when all we came here for was to touch a girl. We’ve got to do it. Okay, let’s waltz, come on.’ We were always too shy but we’d always try and grab someone for that last dance. But most times we’d get refused. We never really got into ballroom dancing but that was where you went if you wanted to dance."

Stars ‎– this charming man cover, 2001

"Last year, we said Stars’ version of “This Charming Man” was the best cover of the song ever. You know who agreed with us? Smiths drummer Mike Joyce (he called it the best Smiths cover period). You know who else? Prince."

James - i know what i'm here for, 1999

"It's about the meaning of life. It's also about the nature of being in a band: the fulfilment of adolescent fantasies of endless drugs, drink and sex. But unless there's self-discipline, it can easily become a nightmare... Initially we did it almost as a blues song, but [producer] Brian Eno came up with the wacky, space-funk hookline. It became the album's first single, to make an announcement that we'e gone into a new musical area."

The Mountain Goats - autoclave live, 2008

“Autoclave” is a song concerned mainly with one single metaphor, a metaphor of such shining clarity that it makes me smile even when it makes me flinch. My heart’s an autoclave. An autoclave is a piece of equipment that sterilizes scientific tools with heat and pressure. They are pretty terrifying but they are mostly clinical, effective. My heart’s an autoclave, a thing that crushes. Your heart is meant to sterilize, your heart is constructed with scientific precision to kill everything inside of it that lives. Nothing could survive there even if it wanted to and at this point, nothing wants to. Your heart pulverizes all good feelings that get within a city block of it."

Softcult - haunt you still, 2023

"A bittersweet, shimmering reflection on the mark we leave on others in the extended aftermath of a breakup, Softcult have shared their latest single ‘Haunt You Still’. Full of their trademark shadowy, swirling riffs and soft dual vocals, the Canadian duo explore accountability and atonement on their latest offering."

Mike Oldfield - moonlight shadow live, 1999

"One of the first “live” version of “Moonlight Shadow,” I ever watched, was on a German TV show where a black woman, possible Pepsi DeMacque (who is awesome on “Man in the Rain”), performed the vocals, whoever she was, she was clearly not Maggie Reilly, but it sounded just like Reilly. In fact, the entire live performance sounded identical to the studio version. It was a lip sync, which I thought was really strange, because no one was upset by it. It did not make any sense, Mike Oldfield was there with a guitar, why not just perform the song live? Obviously, this would be the part of the review where I post the video, but I cannot find it anymore. I am pretty sure I did not imagine it during a fever dream."