Siskiyou - wasted genius, 2015

“an unshakable air of anxiousness and forlorn throughout as Huebert whispers lines like, ‘I am a wasted genius/ I never go down town’. It all leads to one truly frantic bridge, a wellspring of poignant emotions that finds Huebert bemoaning ‘all the stupid shit that people do/ and all the ghosts running around this room."

A Tribe Called Quest - check the rhime, 1991

"The Low End Theory is regarded for its socially conscious lyrics, which include subjects such as relationships, date rape, the hip-hop industry and consumerism. Other lyrics are devoted to word play, humor and "showing off." The album introduced the lyrical interplay and chemistry between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the latter of whom experienced a lyrical breakout. While acknowledging that Q-Tip had "already proven he is a highly skilled lyricist", Reef of The Source also stated, "Those who questioned Phife's microphone techniques on the first album will swallow those doubts as he practically steals the show on this one."

Jome - snow, 2017

"There is a wintry bitterness that cements the soft prelude before the chorus swarms in around us in soft lulling waves, acting as more of an explanation than an accusation. The simply lyrics offer a series of fragmented images– tangible, like the ‘wooden room’ and intangible, like ‘changing in an afternoon’, managing to perfectly represent the imperfect, often oxymoronic blend that we call memory."

Saint Etienne - he's on the phone, 1995

"a "twirlin' U.K. club smash", that with "its deliciously sweet pop hook and adorable girl-group vocals" is "ripe for pop radio picking."

James - hope to sleep, 2018

"Living in Extraordinary Times has been described as an indie rock release, incorporating elements of the music of U2, Underworld, Interpol, the Killers, the Courteeners, and Keane. All of the songs on the album were credited to Booth, Glennie, Davies and Hunter, with the exception of "Coming Home (Pt.2)", which was credited to the four of them and former member Larry Gott. A few years previously, Glennie started playing what Booth called "sexy" grooves, which made their way into new material. Encouraged by Booth's love of grooves during a song, drummer David Baynton-Power incorporated them into the songs. The grooves were aided by a collaboration with Andrew and Giles, both of whom were drummers and suggested a number of rhythmic ideas."

Cabane - now winter comes, 2020

"Cabane is the work of Belgian songwriter Thomas Jean Henri, a potent individual who continually reaches outwards. An eager collaborator, he's able to fuse his own, distinctly original work with the voices of others around him. There's a full album incoming, and it exemplifies the exacting way he approaches music, constantly seeking out something fresh. Take new song 'Now, Winter Comes'. Superbly well-timed for these dark days, it began as a melody, one that suggested another artist."

Guillemots - trains to brazil, 2006

"It was weird, I wrote in 2002 and was sort of thinking about the whole Twin Towers thing, but then a couple of months before the London bombings we decided to drag this song out and do it as a single, and then all that stuff happened. On my birthday, as fate would have it – 7 July. Very odd. But yes, it's also just a song about appreciating life, I guess."

The New Pornographers - brill bruisers, 2014

"While greatly indebted to pop movements of the past—from ’60s psychedelia to ’70s glam to ’80s new wave—the New Pornographers have never felt like a purely retro exercise, their best songs too jacked-up and exuberant to lapse into studious classicism. But Brill Bruisers feels like their most contemporary recording to date, and a great deal of credit for that lies with the person who, historically, has been the one least likely to be mentioned in a New Pornographers review— Blaine Thurier—and fellow keyboardist Kathryn Calder. In contrast to Together’s cello-dramatic sound, Brill Bruisers foregrounds their playing, not to opportunistically recast the band as au courant synth-pop, but to restore the forward momentum that was in scarcer supply on recent records, from the starbursts that propel Case’s daydreamy turn on “Champions of Red Wine” to the zippy oscillations that power Bejar’s triumphant “War on the East Coast” to the meaty tones that lend the authoritative march of “Backstairs” (the band’s most imposing rocker to date) a little extra spring in its goosestep."

Prefab Sprout - we let the stars go, 1990

"The first five tracks on the album are straightforward pop songs with no deliberate linking theme. "Looking for Atlantis" is based around McAloon's nylon string Ibanez guitar and atypically uses only two chords. McAloon has summarised the song's sentiment as "stop wasting time, find someone and fall in love with them". McAloon considered the hip hop-influenced "Wild Horses" to be one of the album's best songs. Lyrically, it is written from the point of view of "the older man longing for the younger girl, without it being seedy". He initially contemplated sending the song for Daryl Hall's consideration. The actress Jenny Agutter recorded the spoken words that accompany the song's instrumental section."

Fleet Foxes - white winter hymnal, 2008

"In seasonal terms pop music tends to focus on summer with its array of scantily clad girls, cruising cars and sensual sunshine. While the timing of this single release from Seattle band Fleet Foxes might seem premature, their paean to the beauty of winter is a welcome break. It may not be strictly pop recalling as it does 60’s folk outfits like Fairport Convention as well as Welsh mail voice choirs and the Romantic poets, but with its soaring choral harmonies and stirring drums, White Winter Hymnal is a wondrous moment of cool reflection in the midst of summer’s heat."

Billy Bragg And Michael Stipe And Natalie Merchant - hello in there cover live, 1990

"This live performance of John Prine's "Hello in There" is a must-see if you're a fan of Prine, Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, or Billy Bragg. I happen to be a huge fan of all of them, so seeing Stipe, Merchant, and Bragg performing one of my favorite Prine songs is a great pleasure—I hope you enjoy it too! According to Natalie Merchant's YouTube site, which uploaded the video, it was recorded in 1990, in Glasgow, Scotland – "a first concert stop before heading to the former Soviet Bloc just after the collapse of the Berlin Wall."

Johnny Marr - european me, 2013

“It’s about realising that you’re a target for (...) insane materialism but instead of complaining about it, it’s me saying: I’m aware of this, sticking two fingers up to it saying ‘you ain’t going to get me because I’m aware you’re trying to get me’. I may be a target but I know I’m a target”.

The The - love is stronger than death, 1993

"Love Is Stronger Than Death" is a song from The The's album Dusk. It was written by Matt Johnson, the only constant member of The The. Johnson wrote this song following the death of his brother. In his depression, he found that writing this song was therapeutic for him. The title is a paraphrase of a biblical quote: "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." (Song of Solomon 8:6).

Coldplay - the hardest part, 2005

"In the Entertainment Weekly review of the album, music contributor David Browne wrote that the song "is imbued with the sense of regret and letting go that we've heard from the band before, but with added musical muscle."

Morrissey - spent the day in bed, 2017

"Backed by chirpy organ and strummed guitars, it’s a typically existentialist, Eeyoreish song from the former Smiths singer, in which he rejects the “emasculation” and “castration” of the rat race, instead recommending that you stay in bed and ignore the news, “because the news contrives to frighten you / to make you feel small and alone / to make you feel that your mind isn’t your own”."

Saint Etienne - her winter coat, 2021

“We love Christmas, as you probably know, and it feels like it’s been a while since our last really Christmassy Christmas record. But I think Pete has done a properly beautiful, icy, frosted, festive job on ‘Her Winter Coat’.”

Slowdive - star roving live, 2017

"In “Star Roving,” they have the luxury of being able to pick and choose from their own ghosts, and summon them into the present. The song bears the hallmarks of their more rugged work, but the streaks of noise and layers of out-of-reach-murmurs is sensitive to their later experimentation. This allows Slowdive to bask in the benefit of all their hindsight. Their recorded return not only follows a younger generation of shoegaze-indebted bands, but also comebacks from their peers: My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Slowdive, by distilling elements of their prior selves in a way that recalls without recycling, have stayed true to incandescent form."

The Cure - just like heaven, 1987

"According to Smith, "The song is about hyperventilating — kissing and fainting to the floor." The lyrics were inspired by a trip with his then-girlfriend (and later wife) Mary Poole to Beachy Head in southern England. Smith said the opening line of the song ("Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick") refers to his childhood memories of mastering magic tricks, but added "on another [level], it's about a seduction trick, from much later in my life".

Pink Floyd - fearless, 1971

"Fearless" is the third track on the 1971 album Meddle by Pink Floyd. It is a slow acoustic guitar-driven song written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, and includes audio of football fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone". It was also released as the B-side of the single along with "One of These Days", and was praised by critics as one of the better songs from Meddle."

Death Cab For Cutie - summer years, 2018

"This song has an amazing blend of elements that have been introduced into their songs in the past decade. There is this ambience to the song that is always there providing background noise. Also, there is the use of synths in the song which I think work very very well. At the end of the song once the guitar with effects, bass, drum, vocals, and synth are playing it's almost perfect."

Sea Power - waving flags, 2008

"Waving Flags is a celebration of unity and human kindness against all opposing forces and since these themes are as important today as they’ve been back in 2008 (maybe even more, actually) it’s fair to revisit this BRITISH SEA POWER classic today in the words of the band’s Yan Scott Wilkinson."

The Blue Nile - tinseltown in the rain, 1984

"Tinseltown is a metaphor. It’s whatever your dream is, whatever your Tinseltown was, whatever you lost. And I think in our minds what was interesting to us was the kind of universal nature of cities… Glasgow’s obviously not the same scale as New York, but if you just shrunk it down to a corner, it could be. It could be anywhere."

Allo Darlin - the letter live, 2012

"the best new group in recent years from a pop tradition that attempts to counter what its members might perceive as the market-corroded fantasy of corporate pop and the detached insularity of many underground records. Led by Australian-born Elizabeth Morris, who previously played with ex-Talulah Gosh frontwoman Amelia Fletcher in Tender Trap, the London foursome established themselves as worthy heirs to Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and the Sarah Records roster with their 2010 self-titled debut, all hummable melodies, clap-along rhythms, and poignantly turned phrases. Europe maintains these qualities and improves upon its predecessor in almost every way."

Fleet Foxes - grown ocean, 2011

"Dreams are encrypted deposits from which we mine our own value. We dig and dig and dig within ourselves to find who we truly are, but Robin realizes that his child self is the purest form that he will ever be in. Free of doubt, free of regret, free of self-loathing. He finally understands that you don’t necessarily get wiser as you get older, your vision becomes clouded with the world’s poison. The reason we have to dig so deep for our purpose as we age is because we’re so bloated with bullshit that we feel like we have to dig for miles before we see any true meaning in ourselves. For me, the closing statement of the album is this: children aren’t dumb and ignorant, they’re actually smarter than the rest of us."

The Style Council - shout to the top, 1988

"The country is sliding swiftly from crisis to chaos... the politics of Britain will be frozen in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between contestants unable to break each other's will." And it was this month that Shout To The Top was released by The Style Council. Although musically it was miles away from The Jam, its lyrics were not. It was an angry shout about the state of the country, the pervasive feeling of despair and a longing to see change at the top of power; a rallying cry from and for the Left."

Johnny Marr - new town velocity, 2013

"the story of a disaffected youth who leaves school to get a head start on life."

The Smith Street Band - young drunk, 2012

"Taken from their 2012 album Sunshine & Technology, Young Drunk is a vivid, bitterly romantic and nostalgic ode to that bright and brilliant moment between youth and old age, when your ill-fitting suburban teens are receding in the glow of a shitty, funny, chaotic and not-quite-adult share house existence. His lyrics are full of piss and joy, and pictures so clear they seem painted on the air in front of you. Good stuff."

Neil Young - peace trail, 2016

"an album that feels refreshingly unlabored and current. On two tracks, Young even adopts an Auto-Tune vocal effect (maybe something he picked up from jamming with D.R.A.M.?). On Earth, the bizarro live album he released earlier this year, the effect was used as a commentary on inorganic food; on Peace Trail, it’s no joke. In the nearly-spoken-word “My Pledge,” Young’s Auto-Tuned harmonies aid the inscrutable narrative (which seems to connect the voyage of the Mayflower with our attraction to iPhones and maybe also the death of Jimi Hendrix?) with a disorienting layered effect."

Belle And Sebastian - winter wooskie live, 1999

"I read that “wooskie” means to set yourself (or someone else) up for embarrassment, which makes some sense given the song’s lyrics. The lonely protagonist imagines himself in love with a woman he sees walking through the snow, and he videotapes her through his window."

Slowdive - no longer making time live, 2017

"a sequel to Alison. Alison is a bit about going on after a split. And No Longer Making Time is about coming back from a split. And in that way it's about the bittersweetness of reforming the band. At the crux of greatness, Slowdive, and relationships in the band, started falling apart. And all the years later they find their way back together, before the time ran out to reunite."

The New Pornographers - high ticket attractions live, 2017

"I was writing the lyrics, and it started moving in that way. When I start writing, a lot of it is stream of consciousness and you can’t avoid what’s on your mind. I didn’t even know it was a political-leaning song until I’d finished it, and then I realized, this was all about the anxiety of living in America right now. Even if [Trump] didn’t win, it felt like all of these racists were coming out of the woodwork. It felt like he emboldened a lot of people. That would have been a problem even if he’d lost, but now it’s far worse."

Friendly Fires - paris aeroplane remix, 2008

"That’s Au Revoir Simone doing the vocals there. Pretty sweet song wouldn’t you agree? Many differences between this and the originally, the most notable being the tempo. Both versions will make you move, but in different ways and speeds. I’ll think of it as slow exit music while trying to get out of this damn office."

Bruce Springsteen - no surrender live, 2013

“[No Surrender] was a song I was uncomfortable with. You don’t hold out and triumph all the time in life. You compromise, you suffer defeat, you slip into life’s gray areas. But Steve [Van Zandt] talked me into putting the song on the album in the eleventh hour. He argued that the portrait of friendship and the song’s expression of the inspirational power of rock music was an important part of the picture. I don’t know if he was right or not, but it went on.”

The Triffids - fairytale love, 1989

"As cousins of The The and Lloyd Cole's sweepingly dramatic, lyrical, 1980s indie-rock, the Triffids are placed neatly between Orange Juice's shorts'n'sandals romanticism and pin-sharp 2008 indie-pop such as the Elephants. But they're also capable of producing some wonderfully strange music. Good Fortune Rose has a beautiful vocal from the band's keyboard player, Jill Burt; a rather charming banjo part; New Order melodies; and Run-DMC kick-drums - a sadly rare occurrence in pop. Fairytale Love invents Tindersticks, and The Spinning Top Song throbs like Yello. Falling Over You even features a rap. In 1989, it seems, anything was possible."

Lush - for love, 1992

"Lush were an English rock band formed in London in 1987. The original line-up consisted of Miki Berenyi (vocals, guitar), Emma Anderson (vocals, guitar), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Phil King replaced Rippon in 1991. They were one of the first bands to have been described with the "shoegazing" label. Following the death of Acland, the group disbanded in 1996."

Car Seat Headrest - not what i needed, 2016

“I knew the flavor I wanted the album to be: a rock-homage record, something young and angsty. I’d work on one song, set it aside, and keep an open mind, because so many of the leads ended up going nowhere.”

Marissa Nadler - nineteen twenty-three, 2014

"July is moon music, quiet music, slurp-merlot-in-the-fetal-position music, a slow-burning tapestry of goth-folk torch songs and woozy-pop incantations about love and loss and memory, whispered by the same spirits as Julee Cruise's airy Twin Peaks vocals".

REM - drive, 1992

"It's a subtle, political thing. Michael specifically mentions the term 'bush-whacked'. But if you want to take it like 'Stand', that's cool, too. You like to think that you can appreciate these songs on any level you want to. I have a lot of records I listen to when I'm just doing the dishes. Like Ride records. I really like Ride a lot. And I have no idea what the songs are about. And I really don't care. I don't even worry about it. Lyrics are the last thing I listen to, unless someone is hitting me over the head with it."

The National - mistaken for strangers, 2007

"the magic “Mistaken For Strangers”, a standout cut that takes the shimmering guitars and circular drums of U2 and reworks their optimistic bombast into a boozy, lonely lament to the ‘unmagnificent lives of adults’. ‘You wouldn’t want an angel watching over you’, sings Berninger, in the song’s most affecting ine, ‘Surprise, surprise - they wouldn’t want to watch’"

Del Amitri - nothing ever happens, 1989

"After a perilous period attempting to record ‘Waking Hours’ in London and L.A., leaving the band frustrated and disillusioned, producer Hugh Jones set the project back on track with the recording of ‘Nothing Ever Happens’, ‘Empty’ and ‘You’re Gone’ at studios in Chipping Norton. Engineer Mark Freegard took over production and recorded ‘Opposite View’, ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ and ‘Stone Cold Sober’ with the band in a Milton Keynes studio."

Beirut - vagabond, 2011

"The track opens with jaunty piano as if he were channeling Elton John or Ben Folds in a tribute to pop music. Twin trumpets pick up the theme and bolster it with a robust confidence as if revisiting adolescence has filled Condon with a renewed swagger. But when his vocal finally enters after the 37-second intro, it’s anything but self-assured. “Left a bag of bones, a trail of stones for to find my way home,” the rootless traveler laments, later adding, “I am lost and not found.” Both the trumpet melody and the vocal melody bear the composer’s stamp, “something personal,” but they create very different emotional effects, as if reflecting an internal dialogue between optimism and doubt. “It’s almost as if the trumpet is the character I want to be, and the voice is the character I am,” Condon confesses. “The vocal is like the shy kid at the party who wants to be the center of attention; you can try to do something about it but that something is not really who you are.”

James - sometimes, 1993

"Sometimes (Lester Piggott)" is the most rock-centric track on the album with its fast-paced acoustic strumming. The "Lester Piggott" part is inspired by the jockey of the same name, which Booth said was "because it has a racing beat". During recording, Eno "went white and sat down" as Booth sang, later stating he had "just experienced one of the highlights of my musical life".

Billy Bragg And Michael Stipe - my youngest son came home today, 1991

"the song does not take sides in the conflict; it does not mention whether the title character is a nationalist or loyalist. However, the song has been adopted by Nationalists and is now associated with Irish Republicanism. When Billy Bragg covered the song, he changed the line "dreams of freedom unfulfilled" (which echoes the language of Nationalists) to "dreams of glory unfulfilled". Memorable gigs can be recalled by fellow artists such as Fran Malone who played with Eric in An Rinn in the 1990s."

Elbow - the take off and landing of everything, 2014

"Certainly, Elbow's sixth album sounds like the work of a band who've realised a mass audience loves them not for the big hit, but for what they really are, however improbable that seems: the stages trod by Rihanna and Coldplay and Michael Bublé are not really supposed to ring to the sound of a resolutely unglamorous prog-influenced band who seem to have taken as their musical starting point the gauzy textures and soulfully bruised but resolutely English vocals of Genesis's 1974 track The Carpet Crawlers. Unlike 2011's Build a Rocket Boys!, it offers no obvious attempt to recreate One Day Like This's rather atypical anthemics."

Alex G - bobby, 2017

"Alex G (aka the Philadelphia musician born Alex Giannascoli) has said that Lucinda Williams is one of his favorite songwriters. His affinity for her simple, honest songs shines through in his art: Even though he traffics in harsh noise and vintage rock, his best work is often understated. He channels that sparseness in his new single, “Bobby,” a loping piece of mud-caked Americana—his most explicitly country-leaning song to date."

The Beatles - i'll get you, 1963

"The Beatles recorded ‘I’ll Get You’ on 1 July 1963, after they’d finished taping ‘She Loves You’. It originally had the working title ‘Get You In The End’. Details no longer exist of the number of takes required to complete the song, as EMI’s documentation was somewhat haphazard at the time. However, the stumbling over the vocals in the middle eight – Lennon sings “I’m gonna make you mine”, instead of the correct “gonna change your mind” – suggest that the group dashed it off quickly. After taping the rhythm track John Lennon overdubbed his harmonica part, and the rest of The Beatles contributed handclaps."

Bonnie Prince Billy - horses, 1997

"An homage to truckers (but not in the way Mark E. Smith would have done it), Horses isn’t my favourite Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy song, but it’s as good a place as any to start."

Nada Surf - inside of love, 2002

"‘Inside Of Love’ seems to have really connected with people. I’ve been told many times by couples that it was their wedding song. This makes me feel 1. very warm inside and 2. useful!"

Belle And Sebastian - o come o come emmanuel, 2000

"‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ was originally written in Latin with a title of ‘Veni, Veni, Emmanuel’ (documents featuring the title and words date back to 1710). The English translation of the Christmas carol came about in 1851 when priest and scholar John Mason Neale’s version featured in the pages of The Hymnal Noted – a key text in the history of hymns collected by hymnal documenter Thomas Helmore."

Paul McCartney - hope of deliverance, 1993

"A soft, acoustic-anchored arrangement clips along at a breezy pace. Spanish cultural influences and handclappin' rhythms gives the track a unique and refreshing vibe that will please programmers at pop, AC, and album-rock levels. Like a visit from a dear old friend."

Muzz - red western sky, 2020

"‘Red Western Sky‘ is a track taken from Muzz’ debut, self-titled album that was released back in June. It’s a dark track with a forlorn, yearning edge to it. ‘Red Western Sky’ is expansive with various intricate, even delicate brass parts which add a more tender side to it. Something sounds familiar about the track, you say? Muzz are a a “supergroup” comprised of Paul Banks (Interpol), Matt Barrick (The Walkmen) and Josh Kaufman!"

Club 8 - kill kill kill, 2013

“We stole the song title from McCarthy,” says songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Johan Angergård. “As much as I love them the topic of “kill kill kill kill” (yes, we settled with one “kill” less…) felt really wrong. They were offended by animal right activists caring more about animals than people. Which, of course, is not true. I believe most would be happy if animals were treated as animals in opposite to dead, manufactured products.”

The Project - romero, 2012

"The Project is an extraordinary musical endeavor born out of love - love for the Church, love for music and, perhaps most importantly, love for friends."

Sufjan Stevens - mercury live, 2017

"Planetarium is a collaborative album featuring Bryce Dessner of the indie rock band The National, drummer James McAlister, contemporary classical music composer and arranger Nico Muhly, and singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens."

REM - the one i love, 1987

"I've always left myself pretty open to interpretation. It's probably better that they just think it's a love song at this point."

Neil Young - powderfinger live, 2016

"Powderfinger" opens the second side of Neil Young's classic Rust Never Sleeps album, heralding the record's shift from the delicate and elegiac acoustic approach of the first half to the desperate, corrosive sound of Crazy Horse in full electric stride; it's a sudden, almost blindsiding metamorphosis, which is entirely the point -- it's the shot you never saw coming. As the centerpiece of Young's epic meditation on history, mortality, and violence, "Powderfinger" is, like so many of the album's songs, an epitaph. Set in the Old West, it tells the story of a young man left virtually alone to defend his family and frontier settlement against attack, sacrificing his life not in a blaze of glory but in the paralyzed grip of indecision and fear. Although "Powderfinger"'s vividly poetic first-person narrative evokes traditional folk storytelling, Crazy Horse's performance is pure, incendiary rock & roll, with Young's riveting guitar solos expanding to mythic proportions as the song builds toward its harrowing climax. "Just think of me as one you never figured/Would fade away so young/With so much left undone," the fallen hero sings from beyond the grave, echoing Rust Never Sleeps' central and oft-quoted maxim that "It's better to burn out than to fade away"; of course, for better or worse, rock & roll guarantees your immortality either way."

The Cure - friday i'm in love, 1992

"Robert Smith, the song's primary writer, described it in 1992 as both "a throw your hands in the air, let's get happy kind of record" and "a very naïve, happy type of pop song."

James - moving on, 2014

"Booth directly addressed his mother's death in "Moving On", though the chorus had been written before that event. It opens with a loop section done by Davies and Dingel, which Booth likened to funeral bells. The track was compared to British Sea Power, while during the chorus Booth channelled James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers."

The New Pornographers - champions of red wine, 2014

“Champions of Red Wine” is uptempo and brilliantly played and produced, with a powerful, anchoring vocal chorus that builds up to the entry of the song’s lead singer, American singer-songwriter Neko Case, and fills spaces between her early lines then revisits later as a kind of tagline for the piece. The song starts with an electric guitar and arpeggiated synthesizer (plus a tambourine), and the melody kicks into gear once the drummer comes in. (Interesting sidebar: in a 2014 interview with the American non-profit National Public Radio, Case and songwriter Newman talk about the album Brill Bruisers and how, during the recording of the song, he was singing lead and Case was backup; in production, he removed his vocal from the mix and felt her singing was much better for the piece). The meaning of “Champions of Red Wine” is unclear."

REM - so central rain, 1984

"i don't think it's about anything so specific...just about feeling guilty for things that were never in your hands to begin with...or not having the foresight to see an opportunity pass until there's no turning back..."

Beirut - at once live, 2015

"This is gonna sound like a romantic story, but when I was in Paris I saw this band of kids that all bought pawn shop instruments like busted up tubas and trumpets and stuff, and they would all wander around Paris, playing. They weren’t great musicians or anything, but it sounded awesome and was a lot of fun. I kind of wanted to mimic that idea. That’s why I’m working with…basically we are all amateurs. No way in hell could I ever revert back to a guitar-bass-drum kind of band. I can’t write for that. I don’t really even like the sound that much."

Father John Misty - god's favorite customer, 2018

"in remaining tight-lipped, this taciturn new aspect to Father John Misty might be his most genuinely sincere, and his most profound"

Muzz - knuckleduster, 2020

"Exclusively discussing “Knuckleduster” for American Songwriter, Josh Kaufman says that the track “was the first track we recorded and the last one to get finished. We re-cut it several different ways only to end up with the first take. This song feels like a flashback of old love, in the middle of a speedy new life adventure. Also, the drumming is exquisite.”

Paul Weller - on sunset, 2020

"an album on which he gamely attempts to meld the competing desires to be the keeper of musical traditions and a modernist in the original sense of the phrase: if you were looking for a spiritual forebear in Weller’s catalogue, you might alight on 1980’s Sound Affects, where the influence of the era’s wilfully jarring post-punk was overlaid with his obsession with mid-60s Beatles."

Slowdive - sugar for the pill, 2017

“Sugar for the Pill” is something entirely different—a disarming heartbreak ballad led by singer Neil Halstead in a surprisingly gentle mood. Sparer than their early, fuzzy compositions, and warmer than the equally minimalistic tracks on Pygmalion, “Sugar for the Pill” is simple and delicate, but never frail. The song’s greatest surprise is a smooth, catchy ‘80s soft-rock chorus—a considerable risk for a band that rarely indulged in straightforward pop. But icy needles of guitar and Rachel Goswell’s ghostly backing vocal balance out any hint of effusiveness. An undulating melody and underlying thrum of steady, persistent bass and drums imbues its sad story of a dissolving relationship with a sense of acceptance. It’s gorgeous, but grounded. In their newest incarnation, Slowdive have traded the abject longing of youth—an emotion that suffused so many shoegaze classics—for the wisdom of maturity. Every great band should age so well."

The National - nobody else will be there live, 2017

"Extremists are going to eat the Republican party alive....They're losing their moderate people."

The Beatles - long tall sally cover, 1964

"The Beatles were admirers of Little Richard, and regularly performed his songs during their live act. "Long Tall Sally" was the most durable song in their live repertoire, lasting from their earliest days as the Quarrymen in 1957 through to their last public concert in August 1966. As with the majority of their Little Richard remakes, Paul McCartney sang lead vocals, as he could closely imitate Richard's vocal style."

REM - you are the everything, 1988

"Falling asleep while voices are talking somewhere in the house brings to mind the total trust and feeling of safety we lose as children."

The Smith Street Band – death to the lads, 2017

"I'm not hiding from anything, I said some incredibly hurtful things that I completely regret. I ask that you make up your own minds based on what has actually been said rather than form an opinion based on someone else's version."

Beirut - august holland live, 2015

"Despite rhythmic vitality and the addition of optimistic trumpet and trombone, Condon's lyrics reveal a man still suffering from loss and longing."

Sufjan Stevens - tonya harding, 2017

"Tonya Harding's dramatic rise and fall was fiercely followed by the media, and she very quickly became the brunt of jokes, the subject of tabloid headlines and public outcry. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: American's sweetheart with a dark twist. But I believe this is what made her so interesting, and a true American hero. In the face of outrage and defeat, Tonya bolstered shameless resolve and succeeded again and again with all manners of re-invention and self-determination. Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend."

Surf Rock Is Dead - tough love, 2022

“Tough Love” is a nice bit of sunny respite from the harsh cold of winter, with a bright-minded vibrant spirited, and jangly dream pop sound that sees the band pick right up from where they left off."

The Mountain Goats - get famous live, 2021

"Whereas it seems to mess with people really bad, it seems like the younger you get famous, the worse it is for you. So the song is a curse, right, the song is, I just thought, that’s the worst thing you can wish on somebody."

Pope Francis - wake up go go forward, 2015

"Wake Up! Music Album with His Words and Prayers is a progressive rock album by Pope Francis released on 27 November 2015 on Believe Digital. The album is formed of speeches by Pope Francis recorded in numerous locations worldwide between 2013 and 2015 with accompanying music tracks of prayers and hymns by various Italian artists and producers."

The Cure - lovesong, 1989

"Speaking of its simplicity and unusually upbeat nature compared to the other tracks on Disintegration, Robert Smith stated, "It's an open show of emotion. It's not trying to be clever. It's taken me ten years to reach the point where I feel comfortable singing a very straightforward love song."

U2 - i will follow live, 1983

"Bono has said that he wrote the lyrics from the perspective of his mother Iris, who died in 1974 when he was 14 years old, and that they were about the unconditional love a mother has for her child."

Belle And Sebastian - jonathan david, 2005

"isn't just guitarist Stevie Jackson's most triumphant non-album contribution to the Belle and Sebastian canon, it might be the best example of what his songwriting is capable of. [It] impeccably blends in with his band's MO, with its dense '70s-ish melody and pitch-perfect orchestration. Thematically, it fits with Belle and Sebastian's underdog narrative too."

Fleet Foxes - third of may odaigahara live, 2017

"This is, in my opinion, THE magnum opus—the greatest song that FF has ever produced and one of the greatest songs in the history of the genre. This is the only perfect score I have given and I will give on these posts. 10/10. I have listened to this song hundreds of times, and upon each listen I find new details and new layers of complexity. This song is so good, in fact, that I feel like Robin tried to copy the formula on a few songs on Shore, without the same level of success. Every note of Third of May seems so carefully placed and finely tuned. The two-note snare at 5:32 is, for some reason, the most satisfying, spine-tingling sensation I can find in most all of music. I am overjoyed that this song even exists."

Pet Shop Boys - the pop kids, 2016

"Despite the bouncy, seemingly carefree music, there's a strong undercurrent of melancholy conveyed through a preponderance of minor chords and Neil's slightly stiff, wooden vocal. It sounds almost as if he knows something that we don't. Or is he simply trying to express a sense of the vague sadness that so often accompanies nostalgia—a bittersweet awareness of lost youth and "good old days" now long past? Then again, there's that little matter of lost love ("I loved you"), which in and of itself is more than enough to justify that melancholy."

REM - world leader pretend live, 2013

"While it was never released as a single, “World Leader Pretend” is a very important song in the R.E.M. canon for a couple of different reasons. For one thing, it’s the first set of lyrics that Michael Stipe was comfortable with printing on an album sleeve. This felt like a huge deal at the time, putting the spotlight on “World Leader Pretend” in the same way that Led Zeppelin had put the spotlight on “Stairway To Heaven” 17 years previously. Which, of course, was on purpose, though the two songs couldn’t be more far apart on pretty much every level. But given that Peter Buck played a mandolin on three of the Green songs and “The Battle of Evermore” was on that fourth Led Zeppelin album, there’s no way it was a coincidence."

Prefab Sprout - bonny, 1985

"I grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham and started Prefab Sprout with my brother [Martin, bass] and Michael Salmon, who lived down the street. Michael borrowed a drum kit and Martin and I shared an amplifier. We rehearsed in my dad’s run-down wooden-framed petrol station. We were as rough as can be, but we sounded like a band, at least to ourselves."

Father John Misty - total entertainment forever, 2017

“Human civilizations have been entertaining themselves in disgusting ways all through human history”

New Order - regret, 1993

"The central puzzle is that with New Order you have lyrics that most songwriters would look at as senseless knock-offs, and a voice that most singers would call insultingly blank, and when you put the two together you sometimes get records which turn your stomach upside down with their brilliance. Actually, that’s not a puzzle at all: that’s just how pop music has always worked, but still New Order remain a frustrating band to write about because their quality is so slippery but so undeniable."

Neil Young - after the gold rush, 1970

"After The Gold Rush is an environmental song... I recognize in it now this thread that goes through a lotta my songs that’s this time-travel thing... When I look out the window, the first thing that comes to my mind is the way this place looked a hundred years ago."

The National - day i die, 2017

“Day I Die” makes nice use of the organ at the onset. It’s great to hear a song with a quicker pace from The National. Up until this point, most of the singles have been slower. In addition to the tempo, there’s more of a rock-oriented sensibility, which is a pro. The tone of the guitars, particularly when they ascend to their upper register, stands out. Also, there’s an exuberance about this particular song, at least in regards to sound. It also helps that it’s set in a major key. Even with the exuberance, the lyrics showcases pessimism."

The Flaming Lips - a day in the life cover, 2014

"With a Little Help from My Fwends is the second main album of the "Fwends" series by American rock band the Flaming Lips. It is a track-for-track tribute to the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with guest performers appearing on each song. It was released on October 27, 2014, through Warner Bros. Records. All proceeds from record sales went to the Bella Foundation, an organization in Oklahoma City that helps provide veterinary care to pet owners in need."

The Cure - catch, 1987

"Catch" is a song by English rock band The Cure released on 22 June 1987 as the second single from their album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987). It was only released as a single in the UK, where it charted at No. 27, and Europe."

The Charlatans - with no shoes, 1997

"Discussing the opening song "With No Shoes", Burgess said he and Mark Collins wanted to make something between Solid Air (1973) by John Martyn, which was owned by the former, and Smash Hits (1968) by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which was owned by the latter. The song's title was taken from Kung Fu, where the character Kwai Chang Caine refrained from wearing shoes. "North Country Boy" discusses a man attempting to cheer himself up; Burgess said this person was himself, explaining that he remade "Girl from the North Country" (1963) by Dylan from a man's perspective. For it, Burgess said he and Collins tried to mix the work of the Rolling Stones and Simon & Garfunkel. "Tellin' Stories" was initially named "Laughing Gravy", a reference to Laurel and Hardy, with some of the lyrics being influenced by John Wesley Harding (1967) by Dylan. It is a neo-psychedelia song that evokes This Is the Sea (1985)-era the Waterboys. Rob Collins did not like the initial version of the song done at Windermere, suggesting they rework the melody, which eventually happened. This alteration prompted Burgess to re-do the lyrics. Collins also proposed adding a drum-and-guitar break between each verse and chorus section. Rowlands' contribution to the track saw the addition of a countdown during the introduction; it was originally from 1 to 10, but was edited to only include 1, 2, and 9."

Le Canal - falling tide, 2019

"The song was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2018. Musicians on the track is: Daniel Blomqvist - guitars and vocals, Olle Nilsson - drums, Anders ”Enda Barnet” Göransson - keys and production and Totte Nydén - bass."

U2 - beautiful day, 2000

"Like many tracks from All That You Can't Leave Behind, "Beautiful Day" harkens back to the group's past sound. The tone of the Edge's guitar was a subject of debate among the band members, as they disagreed on whether he should use a sound similar to that from their early career in the 1980s. The band's lead vocalist Bono explained that the upbeat track is about losing everything but still finding joy in what one has."

Sufjan Stevens - fourth of july, 2015

“Fourth of July”, is a reflection on the night his mother died. Sufjan quietly cries and croons his love for the woman who bore him, the woman who weaved in and out of his life until her death. The words feel close, **like a private conversation occurring with the listener eavesdropping."

Belle And Sebastian - electronic renaissance live, 2018

"Actually when the band started, when it was Stuart teaching people songs he'd written on an acoustic guitar or the piano, I guess people hadn't necessarily found their place in things. You maybe didn't know what people are into, and i think eventually you start to draw from other people."

The Mary Onettes - ruins, 2015

"Last summer I basically lost every song I've ever recorded with the Mary Onettes. My hard drive with all my music was stolen in my car one fine afternoon in Stockholm, the very same fine afternoon we came home from our US tour, the very same day I was feeling thrilled to come home and start the process of finishing our new album. Of course I had made a backup copy on my computer at home. But for some reason a power failure in the building made that hard drive collapse too. Unbelievable. I was speechless for days."

The New Pornographers - colossus of rhodes, 2019

"the hooks and the lyrics are as sharp as ever, too, the latter functioning as part anxious messages-in-bottles, part baroque bubblegum life preservers. It’s panic-attack pop, fretting its way through vintage good-time chord changes, and letting us know we’re not alone."

Pet Shop Boys - the sodom and gomorrah show, 2006

"Neil told interviewer Jacqui Swift of the online Sun that when he wrote the lyrics he was "thinking about 24-hour news channels" because of the way they present the world—in particular, its horrors ("death and destruction")—as entertainment. Another source of inspiration is the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922), the fourth volume of whose great novel À la recherche du temps perdu is titled Sodome et Gomorrhe (often translated as Cities of the Plain). A major theme of Proust's work is the way in which distractions, often of a technological nature, all too often serve to alienate people from themselves and each other. So is "The Sodom and Gomorrah Show" a distraction from reality or reality itself? Perhaps both. That is, television news indeed presents reality—or at least one version of it—but in such a way as often to make it somewhat unreal to us."

Belle And Sebastian - i didn't see it coming, 2010

"my story went on for seven years, and everything happened really, really slowly"

REM - shiny happy people, 1991

"Pierson interpreted the line "throw your love around" to mean "to share your love and grow your love with others. It's not mindless at all. It's a song about spreading love."

Beirut - east harlem live, 2011

"the stately backing is what we've come to expect from Beirut, with swaying accordion, rich brass, lively piano, and trebly strums, all in all more like a 2010 Williamsburg performance. By the time Condon switches things up, repeating, "Oh, the sound will bring me home again," over wordless backing vocals, he might as well be describing the warm, cozy but still distinctive feeling "East Harlem" has achieved."

Purple Mountains - darkness and cold, 2019

"Lyrics from "Darkness and Cold" appear on the album We Will Always Love You (2020) by The Avalanches. The lyrics appear on the track "Dial D for Devotion", sung by Karen O, and on the track "Running Red Lights", sung by Pink Siifu. Berman first collaborated with The Avalanches in 2012, on their track "A Cowboy Overflow of the Heart", which featured Berman reading a poem he composed over music by the group. Berman later appeared as a vocalist on The Avalanches' album Wildflower (2016), reading a poem on the album's closing track "Saturday Night Inside Out".

Saint Etienne - avenue, 1992

"The eclectic sense of rhythm that has revitalized British pop through raves, techno and other aural experiments allows Wiggs and Stanley to make "Avenue" one of the most breathtaking set pieces since Roxy Music's "Amazona"." Peter Stanton from Smash Hits declared the song, along with "You're in a Bad Way", as "classic pop beauties"."