Portugal The Man - waves, 2013

"To me, the waves are soldiers, and the bottom of the ocean is war. The military just sends more and more soldiers to die for no good reason, they don't care about them. The general public never really sees how horrible war can be up close, like how we haven't explored the bottom of the ocean as much as we should."

Pet Shop Boys - miracles, 2003

"an intense love song, although its wealth of minor chords gives it a pervasive air of melancholy, as if the narrator were aware, at least subconsciously, of the illusory nature of his current view of the world. It's this tension—the implicit tug-of-war between limerence and reality—that gives this song much of its power."

Damien Jurado - whatever happened to paul sand, 2022

“He is the gun, the purple anteater, the paper wings, the avalanche, the air show disaster, Ohio, the ghost of his best friend’s wife… You might go as far as to call it a religion, and your religion is a character in his religion.”

The National - sea of love, 2013

"It’s a shot of pure dopamine. Inject it straight into my veins. I love the way it explodes out of the blocks with its short intro and Bryan’s drums and just keeps that energy going all the way through. It pauses for breath once during the the “trouble will find me” section and then just doesn’t stop."

The Mary Onettes - century, 2009

"Islands is the second studio album from Swedish dream pop band the Mary Onettes. The album was released on 3 November 2009 in the United States, and a day later in Sweden. The album had to be re-recorded from scratch after lead singer Philip Ekström stated on the band's official website, "...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 band played the Primavera Sound Festival in Spain in May 2008, and reconvened in the studio to start the recording process again in September."

Sufjan Stevens - futile devices live, 2011

"“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve memorised your face”, croons Sufjers as piano and acoustic guitar dance with tippy-toed grace on ‘Futile Devices’, the surprisingly low-key opening track. Then things kick off spectacularly with the aptly named ‘Too Much’, a lover’s lament pitted bizarrely against sputtering, pixellated angles, like Autechre with added horn section. When the familiar flutes gust in like wind up God’s own skirt, the results are exhilarating – and more than a little sick-making."

The Limps - someone i can talk to, 1979

"An early punk band from over the Scottish Border in Annan. I had seen them play once in Carlisle possibly at the Bits Park punk gig or Micks…somewhere else! I remember the leather jackets, and in those early days leather was not the fashion of the day."

REM - e-bow the letter, 1996

"The song is about Stipe's friend, the actor and musician River Phoenix. The title refers to the EBow, an electromagnetic field-generating device that induces sustained vibration in an electric guitar string (creating a violin-like effect), and to a "letter never sent" by Michael Stipe. This device is present in the track and appears in the music video, and in live performances guitarist Peter Buck often used it. R.E.M. has also played the song live with artists including Thom Yorke singing Patti Smith's vocal part. Phoenix was going through difficult times in 1993 due to his excessive drug use, something that inspired Stipe to compose the lyrics for the song; the actor died on October 31 of that same year due to an overdose of cocaine and heroin."

Simon And Garfunkel - scarborough fair canticle, 1966

"Scarborough Fair" (Roud 12, Child 2) is a traditional English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The "Scarborough/Whittingham Fair" variant was most common in Yorkshire and Northumbria, where it was sung to various melodies, often using Dorian mode, with refrains resembling "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine." It appears in Traditional Tunes by Frank Kidson published in 1891, who claims to have collected it from Whitby. The famous melody was collected from Mark Anderson (1874–1953), a retired lead miner from Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, England, by Ewan MacColl in 1947. This version was recorded by a number of musicians in the 20th century, including the most iconic version by the 1960s folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, who learned it from Martin Carthy. However, a slightly different version (referred to as "The Cambric Shirt", or "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme") was recorded by John Lomax decades earlier in 1939 in the United States."

Sleep Radio - forms, 2020

"I love your voice and the way its mixed mate, whole track has such a heavy atmosphere"

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - enola gay, 1980

"The lyric to the song reflects on the decision to use the bomb and asks the listener to consider whether the bombings were necessary ("It shouldn't ever have to end this way"). The phrase "Is mother proud of Little Boy today?", is an allusion to both the nickname of the uranium bomb and pilot Paul Tibbets naming the aircraft after his mother. The phrase, "It's 8:15, and that's the time that it's always been", refers to the time of detonation over Hiroshima at 8:15 am JST; as many timepieces were "frozen" by the effects of the blast, it becomes "the time that it's always been". It is identified as an "anti-war" track, although McCluskey stated he "wasn't really politically motivated to write the song", which was informed by a fascination with World War II bombers. He hoped it "conveyed an ambivalence about whether it was the right or the wrong thing to do."

Electronic - disappointed, 1992

"Disappointed" is the fourth single released by English alternative dance group Electronic. Like their first single "Getting Away with It", it features Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys as well as founding members Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner. It was released on 22 June 1992 on Parlophone soon after the demise of Factory Records. The single was assigned the Factory catalogue number FAC 348, and the logo of the label remained on the artwork. Upon the song's release, it reached the top 20 in Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and it peaked within the top 10 on three US Billboard charts. In July 1992, the song was featured in the soundtrack of the live-action/animation hybrid mystery movie Cool World; its inclusion both in the film and on its soundtrack album was advertised on the US single release."

Mark Knopfler - wild theme, 1983

"In March 2024, Knopfler re-recorded the theme with fellow guitarists including Bruce Springsteen, Brian May and Jeff Beck (credited as 'Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes') in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. The track peaked at #18 on the UK singles chart."

Moby - look back in, 2002

"Moby named the album after the number of tracks that he put on it, and his fondness towards the idea of the title being easily translated and known as something different in other countries. He pointed out that there are some "really esoteric reasons" for the title, but did not mention them. On his website, Moby hinted that those who had visited Israel and are familiar with conspiracy theories regarding extraterrestrials may spot its significance. He said that Play and 18 were structured around the same motivation: "The desire to make compassionate records that meet a need in someone else's life."

Sufjan Stevens - death with dignity, 2015

“Death with Dignity” is directly connected to a law that was passed in Oregon in 1994. This law was called the Death With Dignity Act of 1994. And this is a law which said that terminally ill people, people who have a disease which is sooner or later going to kill them, have some right to choose when and how they die. These terminally ill people would be able to work with their doctor or their physician to end their life. Usually, by taking a lethal medication. In this way, the people can have some dignity to choose how they die. Remember that this song is written about Sufjan’s mother, who died due to stomach cancer."

Neil Young - hey hey my my into the black, 1979

"Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" is a song written by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Combined with its acoustic counterpart "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", it bookends Young's 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. The song was influenced by the punk rock zeitgeist of the late 1970s, in particular by Young's collaborations with the American art punk band Devo, and what he viewed as his own growing irrelevance."

Efterklang - the colour not of love, 2016

"a song cycle about a cult located beneath the ground while the earth might be experiencing its downfall above ground. It’s about loss - loss of identity, loss of love and loss of life itself. We wanted to create an opera for the mood you’re put in when you on a beautiful autumn day see how a brown leaf falls from a tree in the garden - the beautiful swaying fall signifying that everything will perish.”

Black Pumas - more than a love song, 2023

"Previously teased in some of their live shows, “More Than a Love Song” is built on a jangly groove and fleshed out with some orchestral strings, bold electric guitar riffs, and a gospel choir. It offers some sage advice about widening one’s perspective on life: “This life is more than a dream, more than a fantasy, more than a little bit,” Burton sings. "'More Than a Love Song' is a message I borrowed from my Uncle Steve,” Burton explains in a press release. “As a songwriter and caregiver, he’d listen to me write songs from afar and if I were lucky he’d have a pointer or two for me. ‘Life is more than a love song.’”

Alvvays - archie marry me, 2014

"Archie, Marry Me" is a song by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays. It was released on April 6, 2013, as the lead single from the band's eponymous debut album (2014). "Archie, Marry Me" examines modern romance and traditional marriage, and touches on themes of commitment and financial stability. It was written by vocalist and guitarist Molly Rankin with guitarist Alec O'Hanley as a critique of the standard societal expectation that one is to marry upon entering adulthood. Rankin and O'Hanley were romantically linked, and had been collaborating for some time creatively. Then in their mid-twenties, they observed with derision friends quickly being wed. "Archie" was first developed during a period in which they lived on Prince Edward Island in a remote farmhouse. The song and accompanying album were produced by Chad VanGaalen, and recorded at his studio, Yoko Eno, in Calgary, Alberta. The song's lo-fi music video, filmed on a Super 8 camera, pictures Rankin at a wedding reception and sailing on the sea. "Archie" was the first song the band released; it debuted digitally via the band's website before the band was signed to a label. It was later released on Royal Mountain Records, in their home country. In the U.S. and Europe, it was distributed through Polyvinyl and Transgressive Records, respectively. Though it did not chart, "Archie" was considered the band's breakthrough hit; it grew in popularity in the mid-2010s on streaming services. Critical reviews of the track were very positive, praising its bittersweet tone and lyrical content. It was ranked on several best-of lists in 2014, and has been called a "indie-pop classic."

Belle And Sebastian - enter sylvia plath, 2015

"She survived this first suicide attempt, later writing that she "blissfully succumbed to the whirling blackness that I honestly believed was eternal oblivion". She spent the next six months in psychiatric care, receiving more electric and insulin shock treatment under the care of Ruth Beuscher. Her stay at McLean Hospital and her Smith Scholarship were paid for by Olive Higgins Prouty, who also recovered from a mental breakdown. According to Plath's biographer Andrew Wilson, Olive Higgins Prouty "would take Dr Tillotson to task for the badly managed ECT, blaming him for Sylvia's suicide attempt".

Bee Gees - medley new york mining disaster nineteen forty-one holiday too much heaven heartbreaker islands in the stream run to me world live, 1989

"Let's talk about the Bee Gees. That's an iconic group. Not just a great band, but a great group of songwriters. Even long after the Bee Gees' success on the pop charts, they were still writing songs for other people, huge hit songs. Their talent went far beyond their moment of normal pop success. It is a loss to the music industry and a loss of an iconic group. The beauty of this industry is that we do pay tribute and every artist coming up is a fan of a generation prior to it, so there's a real tradition element to it"

Coldplay - champion of the world, 2019

"This song serves as encouragement for those struggling with everyday life who feel they are not functioning properly. Though at times, vocalist Chris Martin fears his dream will never work, he urges himself to persevere. Then one day, he will "stand before conquistadors" and become "champion of the world." "Champion of the World" was recorded as a tribute to Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson, who struggled with everyday life. He eventually killed himself in May 2018 after a lengthy battle with depression and anxiety. The music was inspired by his solo track "Los Angeles, Be Kind," recorded under his solo moniker of Owl John. Chris Martin had previously covered the song at a charity event with the LA Philharmonic. The song was released on November 20, 2019, on what would have been Hutchinson's 38th birthday."

The Smiths - there is a light that never goes out, 1986

"I didn't realise that 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' was going to be an anthem, but, when we first played it, I thought it was the best song I'd ever heard."

Sufjan Stevens - john my beloved live, 2015

"After listening to Carrie and Lowell dozens of times now, I've determined that the song John My Beloved perplexes me more than any other. Some people say it's about his lover, others say it's about his mother. I don't think it's about either. The song is full of biblical references and I think the song is about Sufjan's struggle to maintain his relationship with Jesus after his mother's death. "Beloved of John" is clearly addressing Jesus, since John was one of Jesus's favorite and most devoted disciples. Sufjan is saying that he made a mistake for reading the bible only as "some kind of poem." Later in the verse he asks if the "fossils" he finds have any life on their own. I think he is asking if the people who have passed away in his life still have any life of if they are just fossils. In the first chorus, he asks Jesus to "pretend" to listen to his "greedy demands" and then realized that he is dead without Jesus. In the second verse, he continues to struggle with the rejection of Jesus and trying to deal with things on his own. The story of Icarus is referenced, and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this is the story where the boy flies to close to the sun and melts his wings thus falling to his death. He asks, "lord hear my prayer" but immediately follows this request with a line that communicates he feels he has wasted his time doing so. He then asks "can we be friends" in the following chorus saying that the world is just broken and lonely. The "tongue on your chest" line has always thrown me for a loop and I'm interested to hear some of your thoughts on it, but I think it means that he is trying to taste the love of Jesus, but frozen and holding his breath at the same time. "Kiss on my cheek" sounds like a reference to the way Judas betrayed Jesus, symbolizing the fact that Sufjan too betrayed him at times. But now in his life there only remains a mark reminding him of what he did. At the end of that verse he says "my fossil is bright in the sun" showing that he is still saved by the light of Jesus. Finally he "contends" that he needs Jesus in the last chorus saying that even though he feels dead God is there to save him when "fossils fall on his head." The death of his mother certainly hit him hard but he knows that the love and light of Jesus is still there to protect him."

The Rakes - nineteen eighty-nine, 2009

"Klang is the third and final studio album by English indie rock band The Rakes, released on 23 March 2009. The album was preceded by the first single "1989" on 16 March. The Rakes recorded the album with Chris Zane in Berlin, Germany, a decision that lead singer Alan Donohoe explained is because "The London music scene is so dull--it's like wading through a swamp of shit. We just wanted to be somewhere more inspiring."[13] Hence the name of the album which is the German word for 'sound'."

Alvvays - belinda says, 2022

"It's such a phenomenally efficient piece of storytelling and I think Molly is a really specific lyricist who works on her songs with the keen eye of an editor, so I was wondering if anyone else thought there was something very dark at the core of the protagonist's story. Lyrics seem to really focus on fear, guilt and shame. The singer has to leave town to have her baby, and when "word gets around" in the new town, she'll have to move again. Molly could have sung "See how it goes" twice but she sings "See how it grows", as if there is a chance that something may be wrong with the baby. And finally, heaven is a place on earth but "so is hell". Has anyone else pondered this or is it just me?"

Belle And Sebastian - electronic renaissance, 1996

"In reviews most people have latched onto the danceable elements, the lovely bubbling synths and the sharp electropop, which I don't think is that much of a strange departure because there's been disco and pop all through your history, if you go back as far as 'Legal Man' and stuff like that, there's disco in the DNA."

Genesis - get 'em out by friday, 1972

"The backing instrumentation on this track is really intricate, and almost demands a close listen to really appreciate. You’ve got Tony with his fast-paced semi-melodic chord playing, and doing countermelodies over Steve’s guitar. Steve for his part has a short guitar solo that really rends the air. Mike’s playing against all that with a bass riff that doesn’t sound like it should work with the rest, but it does. And of course there’s Phil doing some really snazzy things on drums. You’ve got gentler sections with Peter playing some really lovely flute. It’s fascinating how it all flows together, and as an instrumental it’s arguably one of their best pieces."

Asobi Seksu - thursday, 2006

"New York’s Asobi Seksu certainly had their unique angle in the mid-aughts shoegaze revival with their blend of dreampop and J-pop, complete with bilingual vocals from frontwoman Yuki Chikudate, but as the decade rolled over, their attempts to move away from the elevator pitch that made their early work so appealing yielded diminishing returns and they called it a day after 2011’s Fluorescence. But their relatively brief career still produced four studio albums, one of which was and still is damn near sublime – 2006’s Citrus. On that record, everything they were doing and trying to do with songcraft and sonics came together perfectly. There’s highlights a-plenty on the album, but one of my faves is “Thursday"

Allo Darlin - some people say live, 2012

"Allo Darlin' began as a vehicle for the solo songwriting exploits of Elizabeth Morris. Australian by birth, Morris moved to London, England in 2005, where she began making recordings under the name the Darlings. Morris would only release one disc under this name, a three-track affair called The Photo EP, which came out on the U.K.-based indie pop label WeePOP! in late 2007. Morris changed the project's name to Allo Darlin' the following year. In a 2010 interview with Spinner.com, Morris explained that she got the band name from her time working in Soho. "I used to work near the market sellers," she said. "Every day I'd walk past and the old guys would yell out "Allo darlin'" as they ashed into their fruit bowls."

The Moody Blues - higher and higher, 1969

"Higher and Higher" is the opening track of the Moody Blues 1969 album To Our Children's Children's Children, a concept album about space travel. The verses of the song are spoken by Mike Pinder, rather than sung. Sound effects of a rocket launching begin the song and last for the first minute. "Higher and Higher" was also the Moody Blues' first full length song that was written by the band's drummer Graeme Edge. Edge was usually the writer of short spoken-word interludes that appeared at the beginning and end of previous albums. In the recordings, they were usually recited by Mike Pinder. The album was one of those listened to, on cassette tape, by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971."

Alvvays - party police, 2014

"It's so melancholic and yet has such a great groove. If ever my heart breaks, this will be one of the songs I turn to. Molly does such an amazing job capturing the desperation in the lyrics."

Belle And Sebastian - le pastie de la bourgeoisie, 1997

"3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light was Belle & Sebastian's third EP, released in 1997 on Jeepster Records. The lead track on the EP, "A Century of Fakers," uses the same backing track as "A Century of Elvis" from Lazy Line Painter Jane. Another song, "Songs for Children" (sometimes known as "On the Radio") plays directly after "Put the Book Back on the Shelf" (on the same track) on both the CD and 12" versions of this release. The front cover features band member Stuart Murdoch with Victoria Morton. The EP was later re-packaged as part of the Lazy Line Painter Jane box-set, and all four tracks were collected on the Push Barman to Open Old Wounds compilation. Both NME and Melody Maker made the release their Single of the Week, and the EP became the band's first to reach the UK top 40 singles chart, peaking at #32."

Raised By Swans - recaptured, 2023

"Raised by Swans is the recording alias of Canadian solo artist Eric Howden. A singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Howden chose the name 'Raised By Swans' in 1997 following a cathartic dream he had after leaving his previous band, The Gandharvas; the name relies on a homonym (‘raise’: to rear; to elevate) to convey a simultaneous sense of connection and freedom."

The New Pornographers - if you can't see my mirrors, 2010

"This song is absolutely revelatory. Perfect song for the summer, driving down some deserted stretch of road, windows down, feeling vaguely wistful but you can’t pinpoint why. The lyrics and the backing vocals are truly haunting. Easily Dan’s most underrated and one of his best ever."

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."