Wild Nothing - summer holiday, 2010

"Right from the drop, it has a late Velocity Girl-type sound to it. I love that. You know. After they quit being so noisy. Not that I dislike the noise. To the contrary. Just that they were almost a completely different band. Anyway, there’s that. And it’s such a bubbly, bright, “summery” song. I like it quite a bit."

Saint Etienne - this is tomorrow, 2008

"When Saint Etienne were chosen as the first ever artists-in-residence at London's Southbank Centre, their mission was clear: to document the historic £100m reconstruction of the Royal Festival Hall. The resulting documentary, This Is Tomorrow, depicts that process in parallel with the story of the venue's original construction in 1949. It's a beautiful celebration not only of the Royal Festival Hall, but also of a certain British optimism about the power of the arts, and of London itself."

Enya - china roses, 1995

"Everyone has their own idea of heaven. What creates the beauty of the world is the love we have for it, connected to memories, wishes, desires. For each of us it is a different treasure we embrace – a changing sky, the crimson flower of the Keys of Heaven, a love token, the endless delight of fairy-tales, the ever-shifting pictures of our world that we find in the words of poets. For each one of us a different love becomes our own wood of dreams."

The Cranberries - ode to my family, 1994

"Let Dolores be your station's guardian angel. Real Christmas family spirit is generated by this ballad which surpasses all the rest currently available when it comes to sincerity."

Pet Shop Boys - gin and jag, 2009

"Boredom deplores a vacuum" – At least that what how this line of the song reads in the lyrics section of the Pet Shop Boys' official website. But in the actual recording, Neil clearly sings "Boredom abhors a vacuum" [my emphasis], which more closely matches how the original phrase that inspired this line is most often rendered. It's a takeoff on the ancient dictum "Nature abhors a vacuum," attributed to the Greek philospher-scientist Aristotle (384-322 BC). I know of no reason for the deplores/abhors discrepancy aside from a simple mistake on someone's part."

AC Newman - chantry's ticket, 2014

"Eighteen months later, Wallace and Chantry return home from Taiwan after becoming engaged. They marry and contemplate the rest of their lives while sitting on Wallace's rooftop."

REM - make it all okay, 2004

"The song begins with some piano which is quickly accompanied by Michael’s vocals and an acoustic guitar. The first thing I noticed was Michael’s melody, especially during the “Didn’t you now?” part. It’s really catchy and sounds just nice in general. Mike’s bass comes in with some tasty fills and we get a little distorted guitar bends from Peter which starts filling out the song’s space quite well. So why isn’t this song better? I think it’s because the verses are by far the best part about it. When we get into the chorus, it’s kinda hard to tell it’s even a chorus. It’s becomes a little more minor key and when the drums come in they just don’t add anything to the song."

Mr Kitty - glycerin, 2023

"glycerin was great and remind grew on me, the other singles I didn't like. I'm scared but I'm also excited since I have around 25 Mr Kitty songs on repeat for years. His music really connects with me, especially Time"

The Lightning Seeds - the life of riley, 1992

"The Life of Riley" is a song by British band The Lightning Seeds. It was released in 1992 from the album Sense. The song was a minor hit when it was first released on 2 March 1992, reaching number 28 on the UK Singles Chart, and even reaching the top 100 in the US. However the song later gained popularity when the BBC football programme, Match of the Day, began to use it frequently for segments including "Goal of the Month", throughout most of the 1990s. The song was still associated with the programme many years later and featured in a similar "Goal of the Day" segment in the mid-2000s. It is still occasionally used for the same section as of 2023."

Keane - somewhere only we know, 2004

"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs...It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message...Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."

The National - slow show, 2007

"So, what’s so special about Slow Show? Just a miserable middle-aged man reflecting on his youth right? Well take the opening 20 seconds, an electric guitar swells, bristling with electric ambiance and a sense of tension. An acoustic guitar chops in with that rhythm, and it is so simple, yet so sophisticated, like a well made cocktail or a Michelin stared meal the devil is in the detail. This is before you even get to the first lyric"

The Flaming Lips - the sound of failure, 2006

"It was tough to find a snippet of lyrics that did justice to the beauty of this song. One thing I’ve liked about past Lips record is that they seemed blissfully unaware of the pop culture around them; mentioning such pop idols as Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani in their lyrics is tantamount to putting up a big red sign that says “Forgettable lyric with a shelf life here – move along, folks.” But don’t judge it by that. The temporary nature of said stars may serve as an adequate contrast to the “failure” of a girl who just wants to do, or be, something unique. What, I can’t tell. Her insecurity plays out against a backdrop of lovely guitar strumming and faint orchestral elements that builds to such a beautiful crescendo, that part of me doesn’t really care what weirdness is being discussed here. As if self-conscious regarding the beauty they’re creating, the Lips throw in an insistent, nervous, blurting electric guitar, but it just adds to the idiosyncrasy, not managing to divert the beautiful melody despite the guitar’s relative monotony. The whole thing is very 70’s, and just to be a little more “prog-rock” than normal, the song expands into a second section, with a brief, slow verse and gentle guitars and bells, before the calming sounds of flutes, synthetic bells, and humming insects conclude the song, which has now stretched leisurely past the seven-minute mark. A bit much for only track three, but who cares, it’s a lovely piece of work."

Enya - my my time flies, 2008

"The lyrics are based on a conversation Enya, Roma and Nicky had that particular day and evolve around passing time and Jimmy’s favourite music, making references to The Beatles or Tchaikovsky. This up-tempo song marks a slight departure from Enya’s usual style as it features guitar solos performed by Pat Farrell."

My Morning Jacket - time waited, 2025

"I made a loop of that piano intro and listened as I went for a walk, and all these melodies started coming to me. For a long time, I didn’t have lyrics, but then I had a dream where I was in a café and a song was playing, and the lyrics to that song became the lyrics to “Time Waited” — the melodies just fit perfectly. And the lyrics are about how flexible time is, how we can bend and warp time, especially if we are following our hearts, the universe and time itself can flow to work with us."

America - tin man live, 1985

“Tin Man” was manufactured from the chunks of thoughts and themes that I was putting together into a kind of mosaic. It wasn’t a common thread."

Club 8 - kinky love, 2015

"A blubbery bassline cradles Komstedt’s glass heart across a solitude fortress of crystalline synths as cymbals shatter like flying bottles against the walls."

The Housemartins - paris in flares, 1987

"Paul realised that he hated writing about love...and that writing politically came easier to him"

AC Newman - dropping chantry off, 2014

"A.C. Newman’s (of the Vancouver band The New Pornographers) score coupled with songs by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Patrick Watson, Marsha Hunt, and the Parting Gifts help set just the right mood and energy to carry us through the hip, urban landscape, which leads me to…"

Saint Etienne - stars above us, 2005

"Amazing pop. If this had been by a more fashionable band at the time it would have been a massive hit."

Pet Shop Boys - nothing has been proved live, 2006

"A fascinating footnote is the fact that, in his book The Complete Dusty Springfield, author Paul Howes says that Neil — ever the historian, having long been intrigued by the Profumo Affair — wrote the original version of this song, with pretty much the same lyrics but a different melody, before he even met Chris. It was resurrected for Dusty and Scandal, with Neil and Chris collaborating on a new melody."