Mew - she came home for christmas, 1997

"She Came Home for Christmas is the second single by Danish alternative rock band Mew. The song was released after "I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)". The song originally appeared on the band's debut album A Triumph for Man in 1997, and was later included on Frengers, a compilation album of sorts, in 2003. The song was released as a single in both Denmark and the United Kingdom multiple times between 1997 and 2003."

The Flaming Lips - christmas at the zoo, 1995

"There are many beautifully-written efforts at capturing the season in musical form that fly under the radar. If you’re looking for something to add to your holiday playlist then Christmas at the Zoo by The Flaming Lips is a truly lovely example"

Lee Scratch Perry - santa claus, 2008

"The background of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's 54th studio album is the traditional reggae rhythms and chill-out vocals that have defined his sound over the years. But this time it is drenched in sharp electronic effects, fast driving beats and production by Perry's good friend Andrew W.K. The eclectic mix of influences keeps Perry pumping out tracks that are fresh and club ready."

Neil Young - powderfinger hitchhicker version, 2017

"Back then when we played this record for business folks, the reaction was that it was not a real record, but a collection of demos. I was advised to record the songs with a band, but the Hitchhicker versions are the true originals, recorded earlier than any versions you may have ever heard, and I always knew the original album would find its place and surface. That time is now."

Dumbo Gets Mad - thank you neil, 2015

"The Italian boy-girl duo Dumbo Gets Mad may harken back to the sounds of 70's soul and psychedelic rock, but their eyes are set towards the abyssal reaches of outer space. According to the band, their latest LP, Thank You Neil, is inspired by Cosmos: A Space Odyssey, a mind-blowing science show about the universe and its mysteries hosted by renowned astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson."

Sweet Unrest - sometimes, 2025

“This song started about a breakup, but I abandoned it because I couldn’t figure out the rest. Then two of my mates died in the same week, and the rest of the song just fell out of me. After their deaths, I realised how I wanted to live: to love better. If I could do that, they wouldn’t have died for nothing. Though inspired by different events, the song deals with one feeling – accepting loss in any form and celebrating the memory of people who aren’t here anymore. It starts with an aching heart, and explodes into a celebration of joy and life, working through grief in its own way. Every time we play it, I’m reminded that after sadness always comes joy.”

Crystal Castles - vanished, 2008

"an echoey tunnel of fuzzed-out synths and bouncy, cartoonish tones"

Elton John - hoop of fire, 1986

"Even the most ardent enthusiasts freely admit that Leather Jackets (1986) was nothing more or less than a final fulfillment of his six-album deal with Geffen Records."

Bob Dylan - hurricane, 1975

"Dylan had written topical ballads such as 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' and Bob wasn't sure that he could write a song [about Carter]... He was just filled with all these feelings about Hurricane. He couldn't make the first step. I think the first step was putting the song in a total storytelling mode. I don't remember whose idea it was to do that. But really, the beginning of the song is like stage directions, like what you would read in a script: 'Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night.... Here comes the story of the Hurricane.' Boom! Titles. You know, Bob loves movies, and he can write these movies that take place in eight to ten minutes, yet seem as full or fuller than regular movies"

Paul McCartney - i've just seen a face live unplugged the official bootleg, 1991

"Paul McCartney's live acoustic performance of "I've Just Seen a Face" comes from his 1991 MTV Unplugged session, released as the album Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).Recorded on January 25, 1991, at Limehouse Studios in London, this was one of the earliest MTV Unplugged appearances and the first to get an official album release. Paul performed truly unplugged (no amplifiers), with microphones capturing the acoustic instruments directly. He explained the "official bootleg" title by noting they rushed the release to preempt unofficial bootlegs from the TV broadcast."

Club 8 - daydreams, 2025

"The Stockholm-based indie pop duo (Karolina Komstedt on vocals and Johan Angergård on everything else) continues their prolific 2025 output with this track. It features their signature breezy, hooky sound—described as nostalgia-inducing, with Karolina's ethereal and yearning vocals over shimmering guitars and a steady motorik groove. The song captures a pleasant, bittersweet reverie, acknowledging that good moments are fleeting."

Neil Young - clementine, 2012

"Every one of these songs has verses that have been ignored. And those are the key verses, those are the things that make these songs live. They're a little heavy for kindergarteners to be singing. The originals are much darker, there's more protest in them — the other verses in "This Land Is Your Land" are very timely, or in "Clementine", the verses are so dark. Almost every one has to do with people getting killed, with life-or-death struggles. You don't hear much about that; they've been made into something much more light. So I moved them away from that gentler interpretation. With new melodies and arrangements, we could use the folk process to invoke the original meanings for this generation."

Pink Floyd - jugband blues, 1967

"Jugband Blues" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, in 1968. Written by Syd Barrett, it was his sole compositional contribution to the album, as well as his last published for the band. Barrett and Pink Floyd's management wanted the song to be released as a single, but were vetoed by the rest of the band and producer Norman Smith."

Paul McCartney - let it be official music video filmed on the day after the January 30th rooftop concert, 2000

"On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed a concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London's office and fashion district. Joined by guest keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career. They performed nine takes of five new songs as crowds of onlookers, many on lunch breaks, congregated in the streets and on the rooftops of nearby buildings to listen. The concert ended with "Get Back", and John Lennon joking, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition."

Neil Young - for the love of man, 2012

"For the Love of Man" dates to the 1980s. Young has released a 1987 recording of the song on his online archival album Summer Songs."

Damien Jurado - wedding cake, 1997

"Waters Ave. S is a tentative but thoroughly charming debut. Backed by a ramshackle combo, Jurado can sound like J. Mascis fronting an indie-rock Nick Drake or Gordon Lightfoot tribute band."

John Van Deusen - jesus of nazareth acoustic live, 2025

"I’ll admit that I was skeptical of a much more straightforward “Jesus song” coming from John at first, especially coming on the heels of a few albums that were much more open to interpretation in terms of how the listener could apply the lyrics to their own experience of faith."

Chumbawamba - timebomb, 1994

"Born to a working-class family in Burnley, she had a bad relationship with her dad, got involved with drugs and left school with only a couple of O levels. Fortunately, she started hanging around with a more aspirational group of kids and that basically saved her. Together they became Chumbawamba. (I get knocked down, but I get up again.)"

Melody's Echo Chamber - eyes closed, 2025

“My eyes are closed not in denial, but in devotion—to vibrant memories, to the complexity of human feelings, to seeing more deeply. It’s also driven by a resilient aesthetic that emphasizes the beauty of transient things and the bittersweet feeling of their impermanence.”

The New Pornographers - avalanche alley, 2017

"the album is perfect for the long top-down drives that we all dream of at the start of summer. Though not shockingly different from The New Pornographers’ past works, the album does seem to capture an amount of gained perspective and perfectionism"