El Perro Del Mar - do the dog, 2006

"there are those moments, perhaps in a burst of joy or a surge of self-discovery, where we find ourselves doing the 'Dog' — a metaphorical dance, maybe, where we embrace both the social butterfly and the solitary wanderer within us. It's a dance of being human, of recognizing our need for both connection and personal space, and of celebrating that duality with a carefree spirit"

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - the ship song, 1990

"I never seen the artist tell what the song means to them on this site, it's rare that they even say that in interviews. Very cool song."

Mayer Hawthorne - a strange arrangement, 2009

"It’s heavily inspired by classic soul and Motown, but it’s new music, and it’s also very hip-hop influenced (in that), you know, there’s just as much J Dilla in there as is Holland-Dozier-Holland. And, you know, as far as artists that I’m feeling right now, it’s mostly non-soul artists — like there’s a Norwegian singer-songwriter named Hanne Hukkelberg that I love right now. I really liked the Santogold album. Lykke Li. Uh, what else…and I listen to a lot of stuff like The Smashing Pumpkins and The Police and Steel Pulse."

Liquido - i won't try, 1999

"Liquido was a German rock band formed in Sinsheim, Germany in 1996 by four friends: Wolle Maier (drums, programming), Wolfgang Schrödl (vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano), Stefan Schulte-Holthaus (bass) and Tim Eiermann (vocals, guitar). The vast majority of their songs are sung in English. Their debut single “Narcotic”, recorded in 1997, was a hit in many European countries in 1998. This song was later remixed and became a German, Austrian and Dutch hit for YouNotUs in 2019."

The Thrills - hidden track plans, 2003

"During a trip to San Francisco, they finally decided on the name The Thrills. Back home they went into Sun Studios in Temple Bar to record two tracks, ‘Old Friends, New Lovers’ and ‘Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)’. In August, they received a call from Alan Culivan who was working for Lakota Records at the time. At the end of October they recorded a Fanning Session which included ‘Plans’ (secret track on So Much for the City), ‘No One Likes to be Upstaged (b-side of ‘One Horse Town’), ‘Car Crash’ (‘Santa Cruz’ EP) and ‘Don’t Play it Cool’. They also played their first gig as The Thrills at the Temple Bar Music Centre supporting Turn. Another support in Whelan’s followed. And around this time, Alan Culivan left Lakota and decided to give it his all as The Thrills’ manager."

Tame Impala - feels like we only go backwards, 2012

"More than 40 years after the rise and fall of Syd Barrett, there's no shortage of bands making lysergic-laced psych-rock. The bomb could drop tomorrow and within a few months the cockroaches would probably be writing songs influenced by Magical Mystery Tour. And yet the form isn't fully exhausted; in fact, as Tame Impala proved on the fantastic Lonerism's best track, "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards", this music can still blow your brain back to its most purely joyous and least cynical recesses."

Suzanne Vega - luka, 1987

"Luka" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released as the second single from her second studio album, Solitude Standing (1987), in May 1987. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Worldwide, the song charted the highest in Sweden, peaking at No. 2, and reached the top 10 in Austria, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. Shawn Colvin sings background vocals on the record."

Pet Shop Boys - always on my mind cover demo version, 1987

"Always On My Mind (Demo Version) also known as unspecified version, ('Love Me Tender' version) produced by David Jacob."

Sambassadeur - kate, 2006

"Of all the Swedish groups in recent years, Sambassadeur have perhaps the most in common with likely indie-kid preconceptions of Swedishness - no blog-house attitude or hip posturing here."

We Are Revolution - all alone in this town, 2021

"Dminor and Falcon Chest, the two members of We Are Revolution, have dug into their parents record collections as well as exploring the record stores of their hometown to come up with an eclectic mix of the last 30 years of electronic pop music."

The Seekers - cloudy cover, 1967

"Cloudy" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It was co-written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley of the Seekers; that band later covered it on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green. The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball. The title track, Red Rubber Ball, was also written by the duo of Woodley/Simon."

Darksoft - utopia, 2023

"Darksoft is a singer-songwriter from Portland that makes dreamy alternative rock. Last month he released a new single via Spirit Goth, This Is Pop?"

Fleetwood Mac - mystified, 1987

"The mid-80s were not the kindest time for 60s and 70s rock legends. For every gimlet-eyed operator who successfully navigated an alien and unforgiving landscape of power ballads, crashing snare drums, Fairlight synthesisers and MTV moonmen – the Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey; Tina Turner – there were scores who seemed utterly lost. It was a world in which the natural order of things had been turned on its head to such a degree that the drummer from Genesis was now one of the biggest stars on the planet. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed … at best, they ended up making albums that diehard fans pick over for tiny morsels that suggest they’re not as bad as the reputations preceding them; at worst they made stuff they’d spend subsequent years loudly disowning, involving terrible clothes, inappropriate producers, awful cover versions and – in extreme cases – attempts to rap. In theory at least, Fleetwood Mac should have been in more trouble than anyone. The band that reassembled after a four-year hiatus to record 1987’s Tango in the Night was in even greater disarray than usual. The celebrated complications in their personal lives that had fuelled 1977’s 40m-selling Rumours were still taking a psychological toll, as was the band’s celebrated capacity for excess. Singer Stevie Nicks emerged from rehab, free of cocaine but soon to become addicted to clonazepam, a tranquilliser so strong she claimed not to remember a subsequent four-month US and European tour. Nicks rarely turned up to the recording sessions at guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham’s home studio; when she did, Buckingham banished her and drummer Mick Fleetwood to a Winnebago on the driveway, horrified at the state they were in. Bassist John McVie’s drinking was out of control; he had an alcohol-induced seizure the year Tango in the Night was released. The era was brought to a suitably miserable close when Buckingham and Nicks had a physical altercation after the former announced his departure from the band."

Etienne Daho - au commencement, 1996

"Daho re-recorded the song "Au Commencement" in English as "A New World" for the Anglophone market."

Pet Shop Boys - between two islands, 2012

"Recorded during the Release sessions and very nearly part of that album, this vaguely "tropical" number was deleted during the final determination of the tracklist. The lyrics revolve around an extended metaphor for a failed love affair, described in nautical terms. The narrator and his erstwhile lover—at one point referred to as the "crew" and the "captain," respectively—charted a course between the two islands of the title: the "Island of Lovers" and the "Island of Whores." According to Neil (as reported in the April 2003 issue of the Boys' fan-club magazine Literally), these aren't merely a metaphorical fantasy; they're the names, when translated, of two actual islands off the coast of Estonia. The fact that there's "a very treacherous passage between them" inspired this song."

The Moody Blues - the voice, 1981

"With "The Voice" this whole period of my life was quite a difficult one, I suppose. I was sort of searching and seeking. It was a very insecure time. I think it was for all of us, and it reflected in the album as well. I was trying to relearn a lot of things in my life and set some kind of standard. I didn't feel I had a lot of things in common with a lot of things that were going on around me. I felt apart from it. I was kind of expressing those insecurities, really."

The Thrills - til the tide creeps in, 2003

"From the melancholic opening strains of 'Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)' to the closing bars of 'Til The Tide Creeps In' - and a rather sumptious bonus track - it's one pop confection from beginning to end."

Editors - the phone book, 2013

"When we were recording and looking out over the mountains, it was just stunning."

Swallow - sugar your mind, 1992

"Any early-'90s 4AD release is bound to have certain Cocteau Twins qualities, and Blow is no exception -- unfortunately, Swallow's vaguely danceable grooves add about three cups of water for every cup of pure art-rock influence, and the album comes across as a dated exercise in marginal blissfulness."

Cocteau Twins - cico buff, 1988

"The Cocteau Twins' song 'Cico Buff' is a poetic exploration of love's ephemeral and fragile nature, wrapped in the band's signature ethereal soundscapes. The lyrics, delivered in Elizabeth Fraser's distinctive, almost otherworldly voice, weave a tapestry of emotions that oscillate between the celestial and the earthly. The song opens with a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty in love, as the narrator reflects on the fickleness of affection and the vague nature of their partner's feelings. This sets the stage for a deeper contemplation of love's transient beauty and the comfort found in the cosmic order."