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

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

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

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

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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I realised something a few years back. While as you might suspect, a decent proportion of my music collection comes from the UK and USA,...

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I may have gone too early with the ' Scorchio ' playlist last week, as temperatures have topped 31 °C (88°F) round these parts (probably...

I don't know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods recently, but round here over the last few days, it has most...

M*A*S*H* is undoubtedly one of the greatest television shows ever made - a wonderful blend of great scriptwriting, empathetic acting, a...

May 18th was the date of two tragic events - both of which are marking their 45 year anniversary in 2025. One has a musical connection,...

I'm not sure if this is peculiar to England - a sporting fixation with one particular venue - but every young football fan in this...

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It's an emotive subject at the best of times, but migration has been a fact of life throughout human existence. Everyone, if you go back...

Today's playlist celebrates some of the languages of the world, albeit very loosely. Yes, all of these song titles do have a language in...

I was up in Birmingham last week for work, and it got me thinking - what is there to draw you into the city? The strange giant metal bull...

Well, I know what you are thinking - no Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras is complete without a (loosely at times) pancake themed...

So, 14th February - Valentine's Day - synonymous with romance and love songs. But you know us, we would never take the traditional route...

After fully embracing the blues in our first playlist of 2025, reflecting on what a dismal, torturous month January can be - now we look...