For this playlist we have picked out some great tracks from around the world - and this time, none of them are sung in English (well there might be the off word or two snuck in there). Don't let that stop you listening, as they are all great tracks. What's more, we have traversed six decades and a wide range of genres to bring these to you. 1. Hinds: Mala Vista Photo: Far Out / Hinds Madrid pair, Carlotta Cosials and Ana Garcia Perrote , were back to the original Hinds duo

I cast the net out for ideas for themes for the next playlist and it was my son who came up trumps this time. So, this time around we will be focusing on Insects - ten interesting and varied tracks about everyone's favourite part of the animal kingdom! *** 1. Adam & The Ants: Antmusic This was the last single off of debut Kings Of The Wild Frontier , only being held off the UK top spot by Lennon's Imagine (fair enough). Interestingly, the video was the first directed by Ste

She had a musical career that spanned three decades or more, but remains something of an unknown figure despite having been a part of three fairly well known bands during that time. Then, for the last twenty years, she melted into the background, seemingly content to live the family life. But, who is Patricia Morrison. Patricia Rainone , as she was originally known, was born in Los Angeles in 1962. Now, she may not be a name familiar for many of you, but her life and musical

I don't generally stray far into the world of politics here, but it is time to show some solidarity with the people of Greenland. It would be wrong to ignore that there are, of course, existing issues around the existing colonial situation there - and it seems their connection to Denmark may not always be 100% happy and strong - but also being threatened by the orange man baby who lives next door is not something they needed or bargained for. Their land, their decision - it's

Now, I tend to avoid doing Top 10 lists of anything musical, as orders of preference constantly change with moods, time and the like. But as 2025 concludes and 2026 hopefully dawns with some fresh hope and optimism, now seemed like a good time to pull together something a little more meaningful for my first playlist of the year. There were some great things going on in 2025; lots that I am proud of, both personally, and with my family and friends - but, perhaps sounding a tad

Here is my annual effort to do a broadly holiday based playlist without getting involved with any overtly Christmas music - a genre I generally don't like all that much. As ever, I get around this thorny issue by picking some more generally winter themed tunes. However, on this occasion I have failed somewhat, with one or two such songs managing to sneak their way in. 1. Aztec Camera: Walk Out To Winter Roddy Frame brought his latest venture to roaring, jangly post-punk life

I know have a reputation for not bringing much of the festive joy to the table at this time of year, but here is my vague effort at overcoming that. This latest in our collection of interesting stories and anecdotes surrounding musicians we know and (sometimes) love, takes on a few that have a Christmas theme. Christmas in the Summer! Mel Tormé and Bob Wells wrote the classic seasonal tune, The Christmas Song - you know, the one about "chestnuts roasting" . The Nat King Co

Last week the world lost one of its most celebrated and important musicians, when Steve Cropper died aged 84 on 3 December. The 1960s was the era of the session band; the US was stacked full of them, pretty much every major label had them - there was the Muscle Shoals crew, the Memphis Horns, the Wrecking Crew and of course, Booker T. and The MG's at Stax. Photo: Don Paulsen / Michael Ochs Archive / Getty Images Cropper was a core member of that last lot, through much of the

There are myriad Texas musicians who have become household names over the last six or seven decades; Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Janis Joplin, Waylon Jennings, Stevie Ray Vaughan, not to mention Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce. But for all those, there are many more who probably deserve much more acknowledgement and credit for their part in music history; there was the much troubled Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators), the taken far too soon Selena, and the subject of tod

Well, it's been a few months, but it was high time to roll out another bunch of top cover versions for you. They might not be originals, but that shouldn't detract from the quality. So, for our seventh selection of covers, we have ten great alternate takes on older tunes - and this time, we cover a wealth of genres, from classic pop, indie and alt-rock, through country and garage punk. As ever, there should be something in here for everyone.... 1. Echo & The Bunnymen: People

A post that cropped up on one of my social media feeds, gives us the idea for today's story... and it's not entirely music based, but an interesting one nonetheless. Rhoda Dakar was at the heart of the 2 Tone ska scene of the late 1970s and 80s. She had hits with the all-girl ska band, The Bodysnatchers , who toured with The Selector - and then teamed up with Jerry Dammers in his post The Specials band, handily named The Special AKA . Later on, she released solo work, worke

It's mid autumn, getting chillier and damper, and that can only mean that over the pond, the NFL is getting towards the business end of its season. So, I wondered if we could make a playlist out of it? The two teams I mostly follow (49ers and Chiefs) are both having something of an up and down season, but our official family team - the Denver Broncos - are having a stormer so far and are well on track for the play-offs. So, just in case it all goes wrong, we are running with

At times it felt like Courtney Love’s infamous relationship with Kurt Cobain was more of a circus sideshow than a marriage built on love. The pair were seemingly drowning in their drug habit, yet somehow trying to raise a small child at the same time. For many fans of Nirvana, it seems that Love has always been very much a persona non grata; a bad influence and possibly the ultimate ruination of Cobain. So, was it as simple as that - is Courtney Love really a manipulative, ta

It was an interesting, and potentially pivotal time, for the rising stars of Scottish rock music. The four years leading up to the release of Once Upon A Time, Simple Minds eighth studio album, had seen a massive commercial boom for them, but also witnessed a few seismic changes to the band. You could go all the way back to 1981, when founding drummer Brian McGee broke up the original dynamic when he quit the group after recording what would become the fourth and fifth recor

In the UK (and the northern hemisphere more generally), we have truly entered that autumnal time of year (a.k.a. fall) - the temperature has finally chilled a bit, the air seems damper and most of all, the nights are becoming way too long. So, to help with that, we have gathered ten more songs broadly (and occasionally tenuously) about this season. It's not everyone's favourite time of year, so these songs will help ease that pain..... possibly. 1. Weezer: Undone (The Sweater

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