The National - nobody else will be there live, 2017

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

The Beatles - long tall sally cover, 1964

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

REM - you are the everything, 1988

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

The Smith Street Band – death to the lads, 2017

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

Beirut - august holland live, 2015

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

Sufjan Stevens - tonya harding, 2017

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

Surf Rock Is Dead - tough love, 2022

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

The Mountain Goats - get famous live, 2021

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

Pope Francis - wake up go go forward, 2015

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

The Cure - lovesong, 1989

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

U2 - i will follow live, 1983

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

Belle And Sebastian - jonathan david, 2005

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

Fleet Foxes - third of may odaigahara live, 2017

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

Pet Shop Boys - the pop kids, 2016

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

REM - world leader pretend live, 2013

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

Prefab Sprout - bonny, 1985

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

Father John Misty - total entertainment forever, 2017

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

New Order - regret, 1993

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

Neil Young - after the gold rush, 1970

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

The National - day i die, 2017

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