Musical Essays

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