Club 8 - we move in silence, 2003

"song’s atmospheric quality—its soft instrumentation and understated vocals, typical of the band’s twee and dream-pop influences."

Fats Domino - blueberry hill cover live, 1989

"Blueberry Hill" was an international hit in 1956 for Fats Domino and has become a rock and roll standard. It reached number two for three weeks on the Billboard Top 40 charts, becoming his biggest pop hit, and spent eight non-consecutive weeks at number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart. The version by Fats Domino was also ranked number 82 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The Mountain Goats - rain in soho live, 2019

"Rain in Soho passionately paraphrases the Smiths (“There’s a club where you’d like to go…” ) and mourns Soho goth club the Batcave. By the final encore of The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton, he has the whole crowd feasting on his banter and singing his words, including “Hail Satan!” What a shame Andrew Eldritch wasn’t here to see it."

Far Caspian - blue, 2018

"As the very last days of warm weather start to fade away, I find myself trying to cling on to any kind of hazy, dreamy soundscape that I can find. One reason tends to be that I don’t really appreciate this style of track as the darker nights creep in, that’s where I need the gritty guitars and the rock & roll. But whilst we’re in this transition period and autumn doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing, Far Caspian have caught my attention with their lush new track ‘Blue’."

Arcade Fire - everything now live, 2017

"We live in a musical era big on grand state-of-the-world addresses, from Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly to Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy. You can see why Arcade Fire would want to do something similar: they are a band that thrive on grandiose artistic statements, whether that’s geo-personalised music videos or writing fascist-inspired national anthems for The Hunger Games. But in their haste to join in, they seem to have neglected to check whether they have anything original or interesting to say about the state of the world."

LCD Soundsystem - all my friends live, 2011

"The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden is a live album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem released in 2014. It is a near-unedited live recording of their final show held at Madison Square Garden in 2011. At the time, this was billed as the band's final show ever."

Bright Eyes And Neva Dinova - poison live, 2008

"I’ve seen Bright Eyes and members of Neva Dinova often perform shows with Bright Eyes and they will play songs from that album. I don’t know if they will tour together exclusively anymore though. They often have guests from various Saddle Creek bands and Bright Eyes will play songs from all of Conner’s work and collaborations and other bands if they feel like it (and I guess own the rights to it still)."

Sufjan Stevens - will anybody ever love me, 2023

“Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” hardly sounds lonely, though: Stevens dramatizes a far-reaching feeling of desperation with a sound that’s bright and expansive, carefully assembling each new instrumental voice—gentle piano, warm strings, a trio of backing singers—like fire logs waiting to ignite."

Genesis - burning rope, 1978

"While Banks was writing "Burning Rope", he decided to shorten the track rather than stretch its arrangements into an extended piece as he wished to avoid repeating himself and drawing comparisons to his ten-minute "One for the Vine" from Wind & Wuthering. It features a lead guitar solo that Rutherford found was a challenge to produce in the wake of Hackett's departure; he was pleased with the final result and called it his best on the album."

Pet Shop Boys - being boring behaviour version, 1990

"It's inspired by a quote by Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of American author F. Scott Fitzgerald ("… someone's wife, a famous writer in the 1920s…"): "… she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring. She was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do."

Belle And Sebastian - like dylan in the movies, 1996

"A simple, bouncy bass-line anchors the track, backed by the elegant orchestration of piano and bright guitar, which both end the song with simple, joyous instrumental solos that highlight the textural colors both provide to such a simple song. The chorus is awash in strings that provide perfect harmonies, filling out the chords with extra flavor, complimenting Stuart Murdoch’s restrained folk-singer warble."

Electronic - forbidden city, 1996

"It is a guitar pop/rock song with a heavily distorted guitar solo by Marr; lyrically it is about a young man who has an abusive relationship with his father but wants to return home despite this antagonism."

The Radio Dept - what will give, 2006

"Normally it's easy to pick and choose what songs to highlight in a review; the best or worst. This is a lot harder. All are of great, great quality, and to pick one over the other would be criminal."

New Order - superheated, 2015

"Bernard Sumner flies under the radar as a writer of love songs, and on a good day he can write a cracking one – usually involving regret, yearning, heartache and lament; all quality ingredients, and when combined with New Order’s classic alt-indie-electronic backings, we’ve all benefitted from having an atypical soundtrack to the emotional journeys of our lives."

Neil Young - long may you run, 1976

"Long May You Run is a studio album credited to the Stills–Young Band, a collaboration between Stephen Stills and Neil Young, released in 1976 on Reprise Records. It peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. The album is the sole studio release by Stills and Young as a duo."

Dean Wareham - that's the price of loving me, 2025

"Dean Wareham is about to release another solo album, the follow up to 2021's I Have Nothing To Say To The Mayor Of LA. A few songs have appeared ahead of it including this one- That's The Price Of Loving Me is a gorgeously understated song, sublime chord changes and padding bassline, Dean's voice in a lower register now than it was back in the late 80s. Kramer, the man who produced those Galaxie 500 albums, is back at the controls and it shows."

REM - boy in the well, 2004

"The song, like a lot of songs from this album, starts off in a slow and dark sounding way. We get some acoustic guitar playing a bleak progression that starts with two minor chords (Em and a variation of F sharp minor). There’s also some piano and dramatic synth strings. I think the fake strings make this intro sound a little corny and overall it’s a sound from this album we’ve heard a ton of already. Lyrically, this song starts off with this character leaving a situation or a person/people that are dragging them down. Michael sings about this character walking away and how this other person or people are “drowning” while on display. The reason I think it could be “people” is because he sings “every time I've dropped by, I've tried to say ‘the water is rising.” This gives me vibes that this character could be talking about their parents. And maybe they feel like the boy in the well because they feel like getting out this metaphorical well."

Club 8 - love in december, 2001

"Opening track “Love in December” doubles as the album’s high point, showcasing Karolina’s seductive, emotive singing and Johan’s knack for crafting memorable hooks."

Enya - one by one, 2000

"Four tales from under the Cherry tree. Four tales, four seasons, four loves. Each tale tells a different story, each season has its own time, each love ends in a different way. One by one the tales of love are told, and one by one the pages upon which they are written fall as the leaves fall."

Bee Gees - above and beyond, 1993

"The album was recorded following a time of considerable strain for the Gibb brothers. Maurice had only recently managed to overcome his long-term struggle with alcoholism and Barry Gibb's wife and prematurely newborn daughter both suffered ill health. Barry himself was also scheduled to have back surgery. Subsequently, on 6 March 1992, the brothers' father, Hugh Gibb, died, the day after the birthday of their late brother Andy, who had died in 1988. The album was dedicated to Hugh. Work on the album began in 1992."

The Housemartins - reverends revenge, 1986

"Many of the albums I loved as a kid had instrumental songs, such as “Reverend’s Revenge” by the Housemartins, “Aku Aku” by Styx, and “Musicatto” by Kansas. It’s quite common in prog rock!"

Beirut - perth, 2015

"It was a slow burnout. I remember waking up thinking my mind was going one way, my body of going the other. It's hard to describe."

Robert Forster - fortress, 1996

"It was about sweaty Brisbane nights, banana trees in the backyard, animals walking around at night, fruitbats flying in the air. I was looking at Brisbane with new eyes in this new suburb, and I was listening to this music that had more space, more rhythm. I wrote all the songs in about eight months, quicker than I had written since the late 70s."

Pet Shop Boys - one and one make five, 1993

"musically it's a masterpiece."

Of Monsters And Men - dirty paws, 2012

"Dirty Paws" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men for their debut studio album, My Head Is an Animal. It is the opening track and the title of the album comes from a line in the song, and was released as its second single in April 2012 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe. The lyrics describe a war among animals, launched by the bees against the birds, but won by an alliance of animals against them."

Keane - can't stop now, 2004

"On its surprising debut album, seemingly underpowered Brit trio Keane (piano, drums, vocals) reconfigures the high-romantic aesthetic introduced by Radiohead and mainstreamed by Coldplay as the launchpad for a serious hookfest. Hopes and Fears contains more hooks than most pop groups manage in their careers; the album brims with unabashedly grand, sun-breaking-through-the-clouds gestures."

The Mary Onettes - hit the waves, 2013

"unlike the dry guitar and drums of American surf rock, Hit the Waves is absolutely drenched. That makes it a somewhat more remote pleasure than either their essential 2007 self-titled debut or its 2009 follow-up, Islands, which sounded more weightless and pretty at first but ultimately revealed itself as a result of the same sharp songwriting and carefully structured melody of the debut."

The Durutti Column - sketch for summer, 1980

"Sketch For Summer remains an otherworldly gem and Lips That Would Kiss still beguiles the listener."

Paul McCartney - richard cory cover live, 1976

"Richard Cory" is a song written by Paul Simon in early 1965, and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for their second studio album, Sounds of Silence. The song was based on Edwin Arlington Robinson's 1897 poem of the same title. The inspiration for this song comes from the poem that was required reading in English class while Paul Simon and Arthur Garfunkel were students at Forest Hills High School in New York City."

James - she's a star, 1998

"She's a Star" is a song written and performed by British alternative rock band James. It was released on 10 February 1997 as the first single from their seventh studio album, Whiplash (1997). "She's a Star" reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and became a brief hit in Australia and Canada."

Pet Shop Boys - building a wall, 2009

"Neil may have had the Berlin Wall in mind as partial inspiration for the song, or at least for much of its imagery. Neil has, in fact, confirmed this"

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - the colors aren't you or me, 2009

"fascinating is “The Colors Aren’t You Or Me”, a song that has more relation to the Swedish band The Radio Dept. circa their Lesser Matters heyday. In fact, much of the album seems to be influenced by the likes of Lesser Matters; it features fuzzy electrics and vocals that flip between mopey and lovey."

Mike Oldfield - oceania, 1994

"it is usually Mike Oldfield's differentiation of rhythms or styles on a song to song basis that makes his music thought-provoking and fresh"

Bee Gees - follow the wind, 1965

"The song is a folk rock ballad and sounded like The Beatles' "I'll Follow the Sun" (1964), "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (1965) and "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (1965). Barry and Robin Gibb sing the lead while Maurice Gibb and Trevor Gordon play lead guitar. It was recorded in August 1965 in Festival Studio at the same time as "Wine and Women", with Robin playing organ and Barry on acoustic guitar."

Belle And Sebastian - nice day for a sulk, 2000

"Songs such as “Sleep the Clock Around,” “A Summer Wasting,” “Nice Day for a Sulk,” and “We are the Sleepyheads” translate what is essentially a viral condition into a hip drowsy stance for the indie scene."

Stars - fluorescent light, 2017

"De facto title track “Fluorescent Light” is upbeat and huge in tone even as it talks about a failing relationship. Singer Torquil Campbell starts the song with lyrics about the night and yellow taxis waiting for a party to end. He sings over sparse, warm piano chords and intermittent snare drum rolls. The building music comes to a halt when Amy Millan comes in, a wash of keyboards putting everything else on pause when she sings."

Saint Etienne - penlop, 2021

"The song is off their forthcoming release I’ve Been Trying To Tell You, available September 10, 2021 via Heavenly Recordings. The LP has spawned remixes by Daniel Avery, Jane Weaver and Vince Clarke. A live tour follows in November with a limited edition box set in the works. Thirty years on from their groundbreaking debut Foxbase Alpha, I’ve Been Trying To Tell You was made largely from samples and sounds drawn from the years 1997-2001, a period that was topped and tailed by Labour’s election victory and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. Was the optimism of that era a lost golden age, or was it a period of naïvety, delusion and folly? The collective folk memory of any period differs from the lived reality. I’ve Been Trying To Tell You is an album about memory, how it works, how it tricks you and creates a dream-like state. It also taps into the way we think of our youth, a sense of place, and where we come from."

Dido - all you want, 1999

"All You Want" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the fourth and final single from her debut album, No Angel (1999)."

Coldplay - lost+ ft jay-z live, 2008

"Lost+" features a rap section by Jay-Z, with whom the band recorded the reworked track in New York. This version was premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 16 October 2008. "Lost+" was released as the lead track from "Lost!"'s digital EP release, and was included on the Prospekt's March EP. Jay-Z's rap was based on a freestyle he performed on Funkmaster Flex's show on the Hot 97 radio station. This took place on 31 October 2008, while Jay-Z was promoting his Kingdom Come album."

The Moody Blues - eternity road, 1969

"I was born in 1941 and during the war I was taken down the air raid shelter. There was our family and two other families who were our neighbours. Sometimes the Luftwaffe were all over us before even the sirens came off. Every night my grandmother would go "Hark" and her friend Mrs Ackland, next-door, would go "Listen". Mrs James lived on the other side would then go "Here he comes." So they became known as "Hark", "Listen" and "Here he comes." So that stuck in my head so that’s how I started "Eternity Road".

James - crash, 1999

"Although similar in style and taste with previous efforts while still sounding contemporary, James managed to include a new twist on a familiar model. In fact the first four songs are fabulously James, yet refreshingly unfamiliar. And as with all James’ records they managed to mix in a few tracks with decidedly ambient inclinations and ethereal moods amongst the rockers. Standout tracks such as “Crash,” “Just Like Fred Astaire,” and “Shooting My Mouth Off” show off their majestic amalgamation of anthemic stadium rock and alternative pop hooks while slow cookers “Hello,” “We’re Going to Miss You,” and “Vervaceous” are more effusive as they flirt with more ambient, experimental sounds."

Moby - at least we tried, 2002

“At Least We Tried” also makes me think of 1970s soul with the arrangement of the percussion and keyboard. Lyrically and musically, this song is bit redundant, and I think the song probably would’ve been stronger if it was a little shorter."

Sufjan Stevens - john wayne gacy jr live, 2015

"Buried Dreams brings to vivid life the real John Wayne Gacy—his complex personality, compulsions, inadequacies, and torments—often in the murderer’s own words."

Agnes Obel - broken sleep, 2020

"the architect of eerie, otherworldy music that straddles neo-classical, jazz and chamber pop".

Genesis - follow you follow me, 1978

"Like much of the rest of the album, the slower, sentimental "Follow You Follow Me" was a departure from most of their previous work as a progressive rock band, featuring a simple melody, romantic lyrics and a verse-chorus structure. Although previous albums contained love ballads, such as Selling England by the Pound's "More Fool Me" and "Your Own Special Way" from Wind & Wuthering (1976), "Follow You Follow Me" was the first worldwide pop success by the group. The band felt that their music was attracting mainly male audiences, so this song was written specifically to redress the imbalance."

Pet Shop Boys - go west cover live, 2007

"Nothing better captures the tone of bittersweet joy and drama that permeates Very than PSB's cover of the Village People nugget, 'Go West'. Covered with thick layers of pillowy synths, the track swaps the male-bonding vibe of the original with a wistful demeanor that's lined with a pensive subtext of loss"

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - dreaming, 1988

"Stewart Mason, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, described the song as "dynamite", and wrote: "['Dreaming'] is easily the group's best single since 1983's 'Telegraph'... It's a near-perfect pop song, perhaps the last great single by an '80s synth-pop band." Classic Pop's Mark Lindores called it a "massively underrated OMD anthem". Conversely, McCluskey named "Dreaming" as a track he wishes OMD had never released, while criticising its lyrical content. The song has nevertheless been ranked among the best of 1988, and of all time."

Del Amitri - as soon as the tide comes in, 1992

"songs like the brilliant ‘As Soon As The Tide Comes In’ still maintained that folky storytelling vibe while ‘Just Like A Man’ introduced a soulful element to the repertoire. If I wasn’t already in love with Justin Currie’s writing then this album cemented the love affair for me – in fact, it is this album that I go back to again and again."

Saint Etienne - girl vii, 1991

"Girl VII proved a showpiece as Cracknell recited a list of the capital's least glamorous places ("Old Ford, Kennington, Dollis Hill") over a flute-filled tune that could have come from a 70s travelogue"

The New Pornographers - adventures in solitude, 2007

"it’s always a tricky balance of wanting lyrics that sound good — just the sound of the words — and then I know what I want the vocals to sound like but then I have to take that and try and create some kind of vague story, or some kind of motif, or a theme that runs through them. And that’s always a tricky balance. A lot of them are kind of cryptic relationship songs or something from my past that I’m writing about or some fictionalized version of the past but always written in so cryptic a way that nobody can tell what I’m writing about."

Electronic - tighten up album version, 1991

"Writing in Melody Maker, Paul Lester described the song as "the devastating marriage of Smiths guitars and New Order technology that nervously excited fans the globe over were anticipating from Electronic. Imagine a sublime splicing of 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' and 'Dream Attack', then multiply by 12". In Vox Keith Cameron wrote: "'Tighten Up' gives Marr a chance to relive The Smiths' halcyon days with an exhilarating semi-acoustic dynamism".

REM - try not to breathe, 1992

"Try Not to Breathe" is a pretty bleak command. And, indeed, the second track from R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People is about death. But the song's title originated with a much more innocuous statement. During the demo stages for the album, which would come out in October 1992, guitarist Peter Buck was recording the groundwork for a possible new tune on acoustic guitar. "We were doing the demo, and I had the mic for my guitar right up against my mouth. I was kind of huffing," Buck told Melody Maker in 1992. "So John [Keane], the engineer, said, 'You're making too much noise.' So I said, 'OK, take two. I'll try not to breathe.' I just meant that I wouldn't breathe during the take. But Michael [Stipe] heard it and said, 'Oh, that’s a nice title.'"

The House Of Love - audience with the mind, 1993

"Audience With the Mind was recorded following the departure of the band’s third successive lead guitarist in three years, Simon Mawby. This resulting in group leader Guy Chadwick recording most of the album’s guitar parts himself (although Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas provided additional acoustic and slide guitars). As had been the case on the band’s previous album, Babe Rainbow, former band member Andrea Heukamp provided backing vocals."

Pedro Abrunhosa - momento uma espécie de céu, 2002

"His album Momento (2002) was written and composed solely by him. It has the participation of the Helicon String Quartet. Manoel de Oliveira, the famous Portuguese director, directed the short film "Momento", as a video for the first single and title track off the album."

Of Monsters And Men - mountain sound, 2012

"Mountain Sound" is a single by Icelandic indie folk/indie pop band Of Monsters and Men. The song was released as the second single from the international version of their debut studio album, My Head Is an Animal. It was written by Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson; and produced by Jacquire King."

Pet Shop Boys - left to my own devices seven inch version, 1988

"Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat" – Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967) was a Marxist revolutionary born in Argentina who became a major figure in the Cuban Revolution of Fidel Castro. (His visage has become such a commonplace symbol of the counterculture that it's now a virtual cliché.) Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a French composer, one of the leading figures of the impressionist movement (though he himself apparently disliked having the term "impressionist" applied to his own work). Both Guevara and Debussy may be viewed as revolutionaries in their respective realms. Their juxtaposition and association with a "disco beat" has often been interpreted—rightly or wrongly—as the Pet Shop Boys' own encapsulization of their musical style and ambitions."

Keane - your eyes open, 2004

"Blame Coldplay. Since their success - and subsequent absence - everyone with half a tune and a long-lost love thinks they're sensitive. But three-piece band Keane actually are. And they don't need guitars to prove it. Instead, they rely on singer Tom Chaplin's choirboy vocals and some tender piano melodies."

Saint Etienne - duke duvet, 1993

"The drum pattern of "Duke Duvet" is taken from Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence".

Stars - celebration guns, 2004

“There’s been a lot of tears, tears of emotion. The way that music lives in your body, it can bring you back to a certain time, and that’s quite visceral and intense.”

The Moody Blues - question, 1970

"It was written at a time when we were touring America, and a lot of young people of our generation were living in fear of being called up into a terrible conflict [the Vietnam War], so I think we were speaking for them in a way. When I wrote it, I knew what the bass line was going to be and what it needed from the drums, and fortunately I had Graeme [Edge], who could do that on the high hat. He was well up for doing that beat. And it was great — we didn’t do many takes. There’s no real double tracking on ‘Question.’ It was one of those things where we got back to basics. The Question of Balance album had that philosophy, to get back to basics and a simple way of recording."

Saint Etienne - andrew mccarthy, 1999

"Oh, what a headache this one gave us. Our tribute to the St. Elmo's Fire star never quite worked out - this is the demo which sounds better to us than either the lost vocal version or the Sylvie b-side. The original lyric was a haunting tribute to the originator of the 'eye method'."

Club 8 - breakdown, 1996

"Club 8, who are Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård, began their career in 1995 and have not stopped making their signature brilliant music since. Each of the seven albums they have released is testimony to Karolina and Johan’s mastery of their talent, the band’s evolution and the refinement of their sound. They make for an interesting study in the life of the pop sensation that they have become."

Prefab Sprout - cars and girls, 1988

"Lyrically, "Cars and Girls" is a comment on Bruce Springsteen's use of romantic metaphors in his songs. McAloon felt Springsteen utilised "a poetry that an Englishman can’t understand". The song is often seen as indicating a personal distaste for Springsteen, but McAloon elaborated on the lyrics in a 1992 interview; "The point of the parody is this: not that I think Bruce Springsteen is crap, it's that I think a lot of his audience get into him on a patriotic level that he doesn't intend. They misinterpret him, their enjoyment of him is inaccurate, all very imperialist American. I wanted to write a song about someone who was thick white trash, listening to Springsteen, and saying 'But our lives aren't like that'".

The Cure - homesick, 1989

"It’s not just that they were making great music; they’d been making great music for roughly a decade already. But these were the years during which they coalesced into this whole iconic thing, the Cure—a sound, a look, and a sensibility that a few kids in every other high school could build whole identities around. Or at least whole wardrobes, decoration schemes, and notebook scribbles. One of my first big memories of listening to Disintegration involves wandering around the Colorado State Fair, from the agriculture show to the gang fights by the midway. This is a kind of reach I doubt Robert Smith ever imagined."

Belle And Sebastian - the wrong girl, 2000

"Chamber-pop arrangements recall the ‘60s pop group the Left Banke, and the alternating of two male and two female singers evokes a softer version of the Mekons - into Romantic poetry rather than revolutionary polemics. But it’s frontman Stuart Murdoch’s wispy voice and fragile lyrics that give the album its identity. In capturing the nature of an easily bruised psyche, he seems directly descended both from ‘70s tragic hero Nick Drake and from Morrissey at his most vulnerable and resigned."

Stars - on the hills, 2017

"There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light is the sound of a band that know themselves. Stars speak to the truths we grapple with, and the internal nature of our emotional experiences. It's a gift to hear this realized."

Paul McCartney - getting better live, 2002

"he's playing for the crowd even more than usual, filling out the set list with sentimental favorites"

Tim Buckley - song to the siren live, 1970

"I would write lyrics, hand them to him and he'd come back with a fully fledged piece. There was some kind of uncanny connection between us."

New Order - round and round, 1989

"The song is about New Order's then-souring relationship with Tony Wilson, the owner of Factory Records, which was the band's label at the time. On the documentary "New Order Story", Bernard Sumner discusses that he did not originally intend the song to be about Tony Wilson and the tension between Wilson and the group, but Sumner admits that growing tension between the two men ultimately was channelled into the song when it was being written."

Pet Shop Boys - london, 2002

"What a strange song: a beautiful melody, a gorgeous production, but strange nonetheless. It's the story of a pair of deserters from the Russian army who make their way to London in hopes of forging a new life for themselves—which they do, although they wind up resorting to credit card fraud in order to get by. Singing to a largely acoustic backdrop, Neil adopts the role of one of these emigrés, his voice digitally (and oddly) manipulated throughout the song in such a way to exaggerate his usual vocal idiosyncracies."

Dido - life for rent, 2003

"This song was one of the first songs I wrote there and it still resonates with me. There's a line in there that says I want to live by the sea"

Beach House - silver soul, 2010

“Silver Soul” has the thick, churning gloom familiar from earlier Beach House records, but they acquire more force by being placed alongside tracks that allow for more light. Front to back, the arrangements and sequencing are superb."

Elton John - the man who never died, 1985

"Released as a B-side to "Wrap Her Up." The instrumental tribute to John Lennon was written soon after he died. But with Taupin having separately written "Empty Garden," this song, strongly resembling "Song For Guy," remained unreleased for five years."

The Mary Onettes - dare, 2009

"With huge melodic choruses, soaring strings, and vocals filled with emotional gut-wrench, “Dare” is four minutes of anachronistic bliss."

Electronic - gangster, 1991

"its strength is in conflict ... The inexorable pounding of the beatbox versus the fragile sadness of Sumner's voice and the he's/she's leaving stories; the symmetry of the synthesized or sampled sounds versus the sheer blood and bone physicality of Marr's guitar"

Sambassadeur - small parade cover, 2010

"Small Parade is a cover song present on Sambassadeur's album European. The original song was written by Tobin Sprout (ex-Guided by Voices) and released in the What's Up Matador compilation."

Belle And Sebastian - piazza new york catcher, 2003

"I was almost instantly drawn to Piazza. That’s the thing about him; he was a talisman wherever he went. He was the kind of player people tended to follow, and we thought he was a good guy."

El Perro Del Mar - do not despair, 2008

"Assbring handles the production chores with a gentle and caring touch, mostly forsaking the chamber pop sound she previously utilized for a sparser, more delicate sound, though she can still create miniature symphonies with ease when the song calls for it. With the production, the songs, and above all her amazing vocal persona, Assbring and El Perro del Mar create a world of their own here. It's not a world for everyone - you need a hearty soul to survive - but if you can hack it, From the Valley to the Stars is a fairly magical trip to the center of heartache."

Soft Cell - say hello wave goodbye, 1981

"Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" is a song from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret by English synth-pop duo Soft Cell that was released as a single in January 1982 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart."

Saint Etienne - sugarhouse lane, 2006

"There is history aplenty in the Lower Lea Valley, for all the neglect and decay that now characterises the landscape. The street names alone are steeped in it: Pudding Mill Lane, Sugarhouse Lane and Waterworks River. The building that housed the Bryant and May match factory, where the match girls famously went on strike and begat the Labour Movement, still stands in nearby Bow. Around the corner on Wallis Road, a tiny plaque stuck absurdly high on a brick wall announces with little fanfare that plastic was invented here. As Bob Stanley puts it: 'Right here, in Hackney Wick, they invented the future.' Elsewhere, nature has started to take over again, with algae and moss creeping over concrete and steel."

Beirut - august holland, 2015

"No No No is a world away from its predecessor. That album shared some common ground with the rest of the Beirut catalogue in that at its heart was genuine, ramshackle charm; this new record, though, is an exercise in elegance and poise. Given the bleak personal circumstances that frame its gestation, it is remarkably mellow - chirpy, almost, on the likes of ‘Perth’, a song named after the town in which Condon reached his nadir in 2013, and ‘Gibraltar’. The tracks sound low-key, but in fact, they’re cleverly taut compositions - the album runs just short of 30 minutes, and not a second goes to waste."

Mike Oldfield - our father, 2005

"Well, the human mind – consciousness – is a very complicated thing. We don't begin to understand it. So if you're a creative person, "everything that happens to you must come out in what you do."

Electronic - for you, 1996

"For You" is a song by English band Electronic, comprising Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, with guesting co-writer Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, released as the second single from their second album Raise the Pressure. "For You" reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart."

The National - heavenfaced, 2013

"The National has a knack for songs that make me feel like I’m gently resting just underneath the water, away from everything, and the emotions are still there but they’re distant. Heavenfaced is one of those songs."

The Moody Blues - king and queen, 1977

"This is one of the greatest bands ever, better than Pink Floyd but vastly underrated. I loved the Search for the Lost Chord, did not think the psychedelic songs forced in the least. All amazing talents. Why did they not make an Odds and Sods type album of unreleased material (King and Queen, What Am I doing Here, The Dreamer etc) I will never know. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will forever be diminished by not electing the Mooodies until after Ray Thomas died. A top ten of all time band"

Laurent Voulzy - rockollection belle-île-en-mer mille neuf cent soixante-dix-sept - mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-huit, 1977

"Locomotion, A Hard Day's Night, I Get Around, Gloria, Satisfaction"

Fanfarlo - cell song, 2014

"This one song on the record, ‘Cell Song,’ you could sort of listen to it and it could be a love song. And that’s fine. But what it’s actually about is coming from a place of thinking of the billions of cells in your body. In a sense, each cell is an organism. It’s just that that organism has adapted to other organisms in a slightly fascist structure where you will do what you’re told, otherwise you will die”

Vaya Con Dios - at the parallel live, 2017

"I used to sing that song written by Geert Kliphuis long before Vaya Con Dios existed. Geert wrote beautiful songs and I produced one of his albums he recorded under the name Jay Conrad, called ‘A Penniless Gentleman’. I love his songs."

Coldplay - speed of sound, 2005

"the song was written in mid-2004 and was inspired by Martin's daughter, Apple, and English alternative rock singer Kate Bush: "That's a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it. I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles." The drumbeat of the song was inspired by Bush's 1985 song "Running Up that Hill". In a separate interview, bassist Guy Berryman said: "We were really trying to recreate the drums on that song for this song, and the chords. Some bands are reluctant to admit that they take things from other artists and bands that they listen to and we're shameless in that respect, we don't mind telling."

Saint Etienne - the clothes show sad refrain, 1999

"'Built On Sand’, originally pressed on CD only and mailed to members of the Saint Etienne fan club for Christmas 1999, ‘Built On Sand’ gathered together 14 previously unreleased nuggets. Highlights include Suburban Autumn Lieutenant, recorded by Etienne Daho as Le Baiser Francais; a pitch for a new theme to BBC TV's The Clothes Show; Tomorrow Never Dies, another pitch, this time for a Bond theme; and the minimal techno-pop Keep Nothing. There are also outtakes from Good Humor and Sound Of Water, unavailable anywhere else."

Moby - love theme, 1997

"in the afternoon, I clean, which, weirdly, I love. When I was growing up, my mum cleaned people’s houses to make extra money and I would help. If the music doesn’t work out, I can always go back to that."

Stars - walls, 2012

"the closing track “Walls” is a gorgeous duet between Campbell and Millan that is, again, a bit of a return to form, with drum machines overlaid with throbbing bass and various percussive sounds and ambiance. Their voices weave in and out of each other’s melody, creating a type of harmony that is neither traditional nor trivial. It divulges the intense heartfelt-ness of this band, that is the cornerstone of exactly what Stars as a group is– sometimes excessive, but never without sincerity, profundity and the type of passionate enthusiasm that few bands possess."

Grant McLennan - horsebreaker star, 1994

"I wanted it to be the kind of record that could be played by anyone, but not too obvious. You know, the London Symphony Orchestra doesn't have to do the ballads, Johnny Cash doesn't have to do the country songs. I don't like to be that predictable. I like surprises"

Keane - bedshaped, 2004

"It's a sad and angry song, but also full of hope. I think I'm right in saying that in hospital when someone is ill and has to spend a lot of time in bed they can become 'bedshaped'."

The Cranberries - dying in the sun, 1999

“I was looking back at the negative me, that kind of sad period I went through and I was kinda say I never want to go back to that, now I’m moving forward and I’m becoming a happy person like I used to be always.“

The Housemartins - there is always something there to remind me, 1988

"I’m constantly amazed and humbled that people still listen to it after 32 years. I write kids’ books now and work in schools engaging primary school children in reading and writing. Sometimes I joke with them, “Hey, I used to be a pop star! Who believes me?” They never do"

New Order - vicious streak, 2001

"Vicious Streak is the fourth track off of New Order's Get Ready. In his book, Substance, Peter Hook says that the song has one of his favorite basslines of all of his work."

Stars - lights changing colour, 2012

"A nice beat, fun synths, a very catchy melody, and a dose of cheese. Stars have made some pretty cheesy music (“Don’t Be Afraid to Sing” comes to mind) but they usually make it work. Not so on this album’s unfortunate “Do You Want To Die Together?” which lays its god-awful call and response (“I may look alive but inside I’m dead / Well let’s make it true”) over a tried-and-true guitar figure. Good thing it’s wedged between two of the album’s best songs, the pretty Amy-sung numbers “Through the Mines” and “Lights Changing Colour”.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - bulletproof girl, 2012

"We have a soft spot for Austin, Texas outfit Letting Up Despite Great Faults, thanks in large part to their fusion of dreampop with a more metronomic, New Order referencing sound."

Echo And The Bunnymen - rust, 1999

"Rust" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in March 1999. It was the first single to be released from their 1999 album, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?. It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and currently remains their last UK Top 40 hit."