
Endless colours of music to share. Photo: Bengt Nyman


Welcome to The Song Bar, a sociable establishment where visitors enthuse and share in their music tastes, indulge in civilised discussion and create playlists on a whole variety of subjects. Feel free to drop in anytime. We profile music new and old, but our main event is the song blog, where each Thursday a topic will be set, and readers around the globe nominate and recommend music on that theme, culminating in a playlist compiled by a guest writer on the following Wednesday.
So find yourself a seat, grab a drink, have a read and listen, and if you like it, join in ...
– Your friendly Landlord
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Latest from Themes & Playlists ...
Comedy songs to Major Tom, Ziggy to Thin White Duke, all the way to Blackstar, his sheer inventive influence extends across musical time and space. Inspired by last week’s topic, big Bowie fan Vikingchild takes us on a wonderfully entertaining journey of range and reference
It’s a Bowie celebratory week, not really seeking out covers of his songs, but where he’s been referenced in the work of others, with mention of his various personas, his song titles, his lyrics and also his musical styles. It will hopefully uncover a wealth of surprises and genres
It’s a subject dominated by the country & western style, but this nomadic road freight culture is also soundtracked by other styles. Inspired by last week’s topic, Big Wheeled Marco den Ouden takes us on an international truck trip
They’re a great, sometimes romantic, sometimes tragic vehicle for human stories, and have nomadic culture of their own. This week we musically celebrate this freight transport, with all sorts of payloads and other services. Where better to listen to music?
LATEST FROM New Albums ...
New album: A striking, stylish debut by the Toronto artist, also co-written and co-produced with Duncan Hay Jennings, the frontwoman of Canadian post-punk outfit FRIGS delivers a mix of dark, deep, smoky-voiced pop, crafted krautrock, shimmery shoegaze, and goth-electronica
New album: Breezy, buoyant, musically breathless upbeat but also wistful indie with notes of folk, country and highlife, Bhundu Boys-esque guitars and fast-fill drumming by the Glasgow band formed by Ray Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers
New album: A warm, simmering, insightfully beautiful, bittersweet, gently paced, folk-country-pop album by the New Yorker Catskills Mountains-based singer-songwriter, made in collaboration with partner Sam Owens (aka Sam Evian) and including guest appearances from Sufjan Stevens and Clairo
New album: The London electronica post-punk, tree-camouflage-dressed quartet return with their vigorously inventive, infectiously dance-inspiring, krautrock-ish defiant work holding up a mirror to the absurdities and injustices of modern life
New album: This debut solo album by the seasoned frontwoman of Sweden’s acclaimed electronica/dance group Little Dragon Yukimi Nagano is a classy collection of measured pace, poise and elegance, mixing soul, jazz and pop with guest vocals by Lianne La Havas
Latest from New Songs …
Song of the Day: A pugnaciously fun, indie-post-punk new single by the Isle of Wight band formed by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers with a catchy, scratchy, angular guitar riff and their trademark, mischievous, talky asides. It heralds their upcoming new album, Moisturizer, out on 11 July on Domino
Song of the Day: Pulsating, energising new dance music by the Belfast-based producer and live electronica DJ Neil Kerr, here partly inspired by early Janet Jackson, with a French title meaning food, and lyrics (“eats me inside”) sung by Ireland’s charismatic Sprints vocalist
Song of the Day: A life-affirming, stridently positive new number about hope, perseverance and patience by Yorkshire’s charismatic Rebecca Lucy Taylor with grand, declamatory vocals and orchestral strings, heralding her forthcoming third album, A Complicated Woman, out on 25 April via Polydor/Universal
Song of the Day: Gentle, soothing, flickering, swirling electronica and dream pop by the Canadian indie guitarist and singer-songwriter from Montreal, heralding her first solo album in 15 years, I Went To Find You, out on 30 May via Last Gang Records
Song of the Day: Deliciously atmospheric, ambient, transportative dream-pop by the Irish artist from Galway, with a video directed by Daniel Swan, taken from the forthcoming album Luster out on 25 April, via 4AD
Latest from Word of the week …
Word of the week: A noun related to the term Tolypeutinae, this is a subfamily of Chlamyphoridae of the armadillo family, consisting of the giant, naked-tailed and particularly the three-banded species
Word of the week: While it’s entirely natural in animals such as sheep as well as some humans, depending on an individual’s point of view it’s either a blessing or a curse. From Greek words oûlos (crisp, curly) and -trikhos (haired), this adjective means having curly or woolly hair
Word of the week: Our latest etymological move into obscurity originates in around 1850 in Warsaw, Poland, and also known as the varsouvienne or varsoviana – a slow, graceful dance in 3/4 waltz time, which also combines elements of the mazurka and polka
Word of the week: Also variously spelled widershins and widderschynnes, this Lowland Scots dialect word term derived from German means counter-clockwise, literally “against the way”, not only on a clock face, but originally against the perceived motion of the sun in the northern hemisphere
Word of the week: It’s something in which many of us may indulge during the thick of winter, planning for holidays via booking websites, this noun meaning the study of hotels, extending also to researching their lore and history
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From wars to trade tariffs, it’s arguably never been more absent and more required in the modern world. But here, with some cinematic inspiration, how is it expressed in song? With idioms or stories, calling for, or dispensing it, and much more …