Paul McCartney - freedom, 2001

"Freedom" is a song written and recorded by Paul McCartney in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. McCartney was in New York City at the time of the attacks and witnessed the event while sitting in a plane parked on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport."

Voxtrot - kid gloves, 2007

"There are obvious political overtones, and parts of it make a lot of sense being about his father. It's probably mostly a mix of those two ideas."

Beach House - used to be, 2008

"Recorded over the summer of 2008 after many exhaustive months of touring, “Used To Be” contemplates the spiritual and physical effects of life on the everchanging road, love and getting older."

El Perro Del Mar - somebody's baby, 2008

"At first listen, From the Valley plays like the musical backdrop to a picturesque snow-topped village, the kind of whimsical setting where ponies pull sleighs and little girls in tam hats carry oversized lollipops. Except there’s something slightly off about this otherwise storybook scene, something just below the surface—a moodiness or an impish patter. Consider the opening track “Jubilee,” which is essentially a one-word song, a celebratory tune if the title is any indication; perhaps it’s the pulsating organs or Assbring’s choirgirl harmonization, or the combination of the two that creates a spooky sound effect. For whatever reason, the result is less festive than it is peculiar (in a positive way)."

Cocteau Twins - know who you are at every age, 1993

"I've always really been drawn to Know who you are at every age and Half-Gifts in particular. I think Half-Gifts is one of a few of their songs that really says something and has a lot of meaning."

The Go-Betweens - when people are dead, 1987

"I don't know if her name was originally Marion Stout but that's what she called herself when I knew her. (I wrote the article fredrik found). Marion used to go to poetry gigs in London in the late 1980s including 'Wooden Lambs'. I haven't seen her nor heard of her for years now; still have some photographs of her though which I could post if that would count as evidence."

U2 - when i look at the world, 2000

"When I Look at the World" is about a person's faith being shaken by tragedy. Lead vocalist Bono said that the song was told from "the point of view of someone who is having a crisis of faith looking at someone who has built their house upon the rock." The Edge interpreted the lyrics as being about seeing the world from someone else's perspective and finding comfort in that."

James - all good boys, 1999

"All Good Boys is a b-side from the James single I Know What I’m Here For released in July 1999. It was never played live at the time of release, but was introduced into the set for the 2014 La Petite Mort tour where it went down a storm with UK and Portuguese audiences."

Cat Stevens - father and son, 1970

"The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny."

REM - the flowers of guatemala, 1986

"This song is an interesting one because although it’s a fairly simple song musically, there’s some background to it lyrically. The song starts off with some pretty picked out electric guitar arpeggios from Peter, a light drum beat from Bill that includes some type of percussion that sounds like a triangle, and a somewhat buried bassline from Mike. It’s a very pleasant sound and if the song was twice the speed, it sounds like it would belong on Murmur."

A-ha - a little bit, 2002

"A Little Bit” is an expert dose of classic a-ha melancholy that starts gently and gradually pervades with increasing instrumentation"

Amy Macdonald - barrowland ballroom, 2007

"Going to see gigs at Barrowlands was always a big event. Playing there myself was even better."

Voxtrot - every day, 2007

"Ramesh Srivastava was born on June 26, 1983, in Austin, Texas, to Patricia Noel Goettel and Rajendra Kumar Srivastava. His father is from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, while his mother is American, from New Jersey. He attended Leander High School in Leander, Texas, and later attended the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland, majoring in literature."

Pet Shop Boys - love comes quickly, 1986

"Many years later, the Boys would write another song, "You Choose," that seems completely contradictory to "Love Comes Quickly."

The Moody Blues - the balance, 1970

"The final track, "The Balance," centers around a spoken narration. The accompanying music was originally arranged for Lodge's song, "The Tortoise and the Hare", which was later reworked."

U2 - city of blinding lights, 2004

"The song's underlying theme reflects lost innocence and was inspired by an image Bono saw of himself from the early 1980s."

Maria Taylor - smile and wave, 2007

"In 2015, Taylor Swift included "Sleep" in a 6-song "breakup playlist" made for a fan via her official Tumblr. Azure Ray released their second album, Burn and Shiver in 2002. Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf) produced both records. After meeting the band in Athens, Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst invited the band on tour and introduced them to Saddle Creek. Saddle Creek released their following records, November EP, and The Drinks We Drank Last Night. In 2002, the duo co-wrote and recorded "The Great Escape" (which appeared on Moby's 18) and "Landing" (which appeared on the XXX soundtrack), and afterward joined Moby on tour. Following the release of 2003's Hold on Love, Taylor and Fink began a 6-year hiatus."

A-ha - afternoon high, 2002

"The son of Reidar, a chief physician at a hospital, and Henny, an economics teacher, and brother to Gunvald, Håkon, Ingunn and Kjetil, Morten grew up in Asker in southern Norway. His early musical influences included Uriah Heep, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Johnny Cash, Simon and Garfunkel, David Bowie, and James Brown. Morten's father had contemplated becoming a classical pianist; Morten also took piano lessons for a while but lacked the discipline to practice. At the age of four he started writing music and playing piano."

Bee Gees - to love somebody, 1967

"In a 2017 interview with Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Barry was asked "of all the songs that you've ever written, which song would you choose?" Barry said that "To Love Somebody" was the song that he'd choose as it has "a clear, emotional message".

Wim Mertens - the scene, 1997

"Mertens has released more than 60 albums to date, the majority of which were issued by Les Disques du Crépuscule from 1980 until 2004. Mertens also produced a number of Crépuscule releases and consulted with the label on its choice of works by contemporary composers such as Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars, and Glenn Branca. Mertens also curated a series of releases for a Crépuscle imprint, Lome Armé, that featured works from the classical era as well as contemporary jazz."