The Beatles - sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band reprise, 1967

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" is a modified repeat of the opening song at a faster tempo and with heavier instrumentation. The track opens with McCartney's count-in; between 2 and 3, Lennon jokingly interjects "Bye!" Ringo Starr starts the song proper by playing the drum part unaccompanied for four bars, at the end of which a brief bass glissando from McCartney cues the full ensemble of two distorted electric guitars (played by George Harrison and Lennon), bass, drums and overdubbed percussion. In addition, McCartney overdubbed a Hammond organ part onto the track."

Damien Jurado - museum of flight, 2012

"I heard this song at a time when things in my life had already started changing without asking for my opinion. They either just up and walked away, or slowly started to float away. It was time for me to say goodbye to being in a band with two people I love dearly. I didn’t want to do it because I knew that meant losing them, even if only for a bit, but perhaps the worst part was, it also meant losing beloved parts of our friendship. It’s scary when you realize a relationship with a loved one is changing. Even if it’s for the better, change is hard."

Les Galapiats - ohé les gars, 1970

"Le générique a été composé par "ROGER MORES" et chanté par la Chorale du Collège St Pierre de Uccle (Belgique), sous la direction de l'Abbé Caron. Le titre du générique: "Ohé les gars"

http://mp3.centerblog.net/j/jmg/90n8ebz3.mp3

The Housemartins - five get over excited, 1987

"Music writer Rikki Rooksby notes that the track's "anti-hyperbolic title" is "positively revolutionary", as the use of hyperbole in pop lyrics is pervasive but never admitted. In 2007, the Manchester Evening News described the tune as "another corking chart hit that stands as a beacon amongst the dross of the 1980s."

Suzanne Vega - st clare, 2001

"It seems odd to talk about saints, and women too poor to afford shoes, being ones who hold "all man's desire." Whether "man" means male people or all people, surely many people desire more-- or at least other-- than what it is these women offer, which is enlightenment and piety. What about the things Clare herself is patron of? Don't people "desire" gold, and fine embroidery, and television? I'm sorry, but the statistics are pretty clear-- people want good reception as much as they want godly redemption. Perhaps we are reading too much into the song. Perhaps the imagery is merely impressionistic. It is very pretty, sparse in its arrangements as an Order of the Poor Ladies' cloister. Or perhaps one needs to know more about Suzanne Vega, or Saint Clare, to truly understand it."

Bee Gees - i can't see nobody, 1967

"I Can't See Nobody" is a song by the Bee Gees, released first as the B-side of "New York Mining Disaster 1941". With "New York Mining Disaster 1941", this song was issued as a double A in Germany and Japan, and included on the group's third LP, Bee Gees' 1st. "I Can't See Nobody" charted for one week at number 128 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 in July 1967."

The Thrills - no more empty words, 2007

"Teenager is the third album from Irish band The Thrills. It was released on 22 July 2007 in Ireland and three days later in Europe. The first single from the album was "Nothing Changes Around Here". The second release taken from the album was "The Midnight Choir" which was released as a download-only single. Teenager reached No. 48 on the UK Albums Chart."

The Beatles - hey jude, 1968

"In 1967, John Lennon had left his wife and son and was living with Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney didn’t want Cynthia Lennon to think he’d also abandoned her and Julian, just because John had left, so he drove to see them in Weybridge. Being a songwriter, he naturally began making up a tune as he drove. He hoped Julian wouldn’t start crying, that would just make a sad situation worse. So he sang: “Hey Jules, don’t make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better.” In the event, although he liked the song, he thought ‘Jules’ was a bit awkward to sing. So he changed the name to Jude, and the song became ‘Hey Jude’."

Mazarin - the new american apathy, 2005

"Mazarin doesn't live in Chapel Hill, but they might as well - they've played here three times in as many months, and despite how enamored I am of We're Already There, I've managed to miss them every time until this show. I did catch their final song when they opened for the Walkmen at the Cat's Cradle a few months earlier, and I retained exactly one impression - for a pop band, they were defiantly loud, aspiring to My Bloody Valentine decibel-levels. Opening for Rogue Wave, they were quieter and fit well with the headliner; each blending sunny pop-rock and fuzzy melancholy, with Mazarin tilting more toward the former and Rogue Wave, the latter. The bands were almost too well-matched: When I walked in to the opening verse of "For Energy Infinite", it took me a minute to figure out which band it was even though I'm intimately familiar with the song."

The Parting Gifts - walking through the sleepy city cover, 2010

"Still, there is no denying the chemistry between them, leading the pair to wonder, what if the love of your life is actually your best friend?"

The Rolling Stones - tell me, 1964

"When [Jagger and Richards] began to write songs, they were usually not derived from the blues, but were often surprisingly fey, slow, Mersey-type pop numbers ... 'Tell Me' was quite acoustic-based, with a sad, almost dispirited air. After quiet lines about the end of the love affair, the tempo and melody both brighten"

Fazerdaze - jennifer, 2017

"The music of Amelia Murray, who records as Fazerdaze, is on its surface bright and summery. Pick any track at random from Morningside, her excellent full-length debut for Flying Nun, and you’ll be greeted by foamy waves of guitar and Murray’s warm, sighing voice. But zero in on the lyrics, and the sun begins to fade. A portrait of romantic uncertainty, Morningside rests Murray’s emotionally-candid lyrics in silvery latticeworks of guitar, and the resulting tension is one of the things that makes the record so alluring."

The Style Council - come to milton keynes, 1985

"The song’s lyrics suggested a reality of drugs, violence, and ‘losing our way’ behind a façade of ‘luscious houses ‘ where the ‘curtains are drawn’, the idea being to create a musical pastiche which matched the supposed artificiality of Milton Keynes itself."

Future Islands - say goodbye, 2024

"From the start, Future Islands have been singular and instantly identifiable, with Herring’s life-worn croons and cries backlit by Gerrit Welmers’ melodies and charged by the rhythms of William Cashion and Michael Lowry. That premise hasn’t changed on People Who Aren’t There Anymore, but never before has the band sounded so empathetic and Herring so integrated, with what he is singing and how they sound blended like a dioramic mosaic."

Status Quo - pictures of matchstick men, 1968

"I wrote it on the bog. I'd gone there, not for the usual reasons...but to get away from the wife and mother-in-law. I used to go into this narrow frizzing toilet and sit there for hours, until they finally went out. I got three quarters of the song finished in that khazi. The rest I finished in the lounge."

My Sad Captains - great expectations, 2009

"On ‘Wide Open’, he has a single, simple insight, singing the song’s only line “I wonder why you feel the need to talk so loud like there isn’t anybody else around” over looped, pirouetting guitar, flares of tasteful feedback and a steady krautrock beat. A lyric less than a tweet in length turned into a stunning mantra, it’s the definition of less being more. And there’s no judgement, no scabrous sneer, just encouraging acceptance in its repeated delivery. It’s one of many highlights on an LP that speaks volumes for understatement and the beauty of quiet, wounded optimism."

The National - about today, 2004

"Wow, the things you can find online sometimes. “About Today” from The National first appeared on the Cherry Tree EP released in 2004. The studio version is very good. The live version on the 2008 Virginia EP will bring you to tears, it is that incredible.The fact the song is a part of the end scene for the movie “Warrior” simply takes things to an even more incredible level. What a clip, truly capable of bringing a man to tears."

Status Quo - technicolor dreams, 1968

"Even if this is not the most representative album from Status Quo, it is a good psychedelic pop exercise that sometimes includes very imaginative guitar phrases ("Ice in the Sun"), and some brilliantly unusual sounds (the epic "Paradise Flat")."

REM - fascinating, 2001

"Michael Stipe once said, “Sometimes before we make a record I go back and listen to a few. It’s equally humbling and uplifting.” But what happens to the songs that don’t make the album, did Michael feel regret for the songs they left behind. One R.E.M. outtake that I particular love is “Fascinating” from 2001’s Reveal Sessions."

Bill Ryder-Jones - i hold something in my hand, 2024

“Even by my standards the last few years have been rocky, but I’ve chosen to soundtrack it with more positive music, you know?”