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Earworms 9 February 2026

Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about the cost of living / making do.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an.mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be protest songs, as suggested by DebbyM. Please don’t limit yourself to the Pete Seeger / Bob Dylan era, good as it was, but include protest songs from other genres and cultures. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 15 February, when (all being well) LTS and I will be enjoying a very mini social in Leeds with Darceys Dad, to see Besnard Lakes.

Many thanks to all contributors – enjoy Valentine’s Day, if you celebrate it – keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify playlist:(Missing The Living Archive Band, and Two Nice Girls):

The Living Archive Band – There’s a War On – tfd: a song about food shortages and rationing during the second world war. It’s from a local documentary play I was in, back in the day in Milton Keynes. NB the young woman could’ve said she didn’t like oranges…

Two Nice Girls – I Spent My Last $10 (On Birth Control And Beer) – Fintan28: Sometimes life just makes decisions for you. Just gotta make do ain’t it?

Colter Wall – Thirteen Silver Dollars – tincanman: He ain’t got much left, for reasons he ain’t too proud to tell. The lyric captions are in Canadian and may require translation. Or a grain of salt.

The Beatles – Lady Madonna – Suzi: Maybe a bit obvious, and I know not everyone likes the Fabs😉, however, this portrait of a young mother struggling to make ends meet is one of their classics I think.

Stromae – Alors on Danse – DebbyM: A welcome opportunity to shoehorn this one in. Let’s dance to take our minds off how ghastly everything is.

Paolo Nutini – New Shoes – tincanman: Clothes maketh the man. Googled to see what Shakespeare play that’s from and turns out it’s Erasmus from his book Adagia. Still none the wiser.

Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money – tincanman: This goes out to everyone who works shit, dead-end jobs just to get by. And Earworms mods. (Cheers! Ed.)

Gang of Four – To Hell With Poverty – Fintan28: Is cheap wine the answer? Sure why not? Saving up for a nice Rioja myself.

Miu – Take the Money and Run – DebbyM: Opens with a stash of bills on the doormat…

Bobby Bland – Poverty – Fintan28: “Lord have mercy on a working man” . Bobby Bland has it all covered here.

Ry Cooder – One Meatball – DebbyM: This song has been covered by just about everyone, but this is the version I knew first.

The Full English – Arthur O’Bradley – Suzi: A song about a cheerful fellow who, judging by the description of his clothes, was very much into making do. He gets married, keeping expenses as low as possible and with a rather strange mixture of food available for the wedding guests, who nevertheless dance all night and go home happy. The folk supergroup, which included Fay Hield, Nancy Kerr, Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman, Sam Sweeney, Rob Harbron and Ben Nicholls, released this award-winning one-off album in 2013. I so wish they’d done a follow-up, but it was not to be.

Mavis Staples – Hard Times – severin: It doesn’t mention the cost of living, but it is about just getting by and I couldn’t resist sending in this song from one of 2025’s best albums.

Main Playlist, blurbs above: (Yes, I have managed to do it, thanks to shoegazer – though I ended up having to email it to myself, a bit like ‘Ricky Don’t Lose That Number’…)

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Valentine Brothers – Money’s Too Tight (To mention) – severin: 1982 single, sometimes forgotten since the Simply Red cover three years later.

Paul Young – Love of the Common People – Maggie B: Great version of a great song; posted this video with the brilliant lyrics.

Seasick Steve – Started Out With Nothin’ – LongTallSilly: Great live act, and always good humour.

Steve Miller Band – Take the Money and Run – AliM: Just to be clear, I do not condone this type of behaviour.

Si Kahn – What You Do with What You’ve Got – AliM: ‘It’s not just what you’re born with/ It’s what you choose to bear/ It’s not how big your share is/ But how much you can share…’

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Earworms 2 February 2026

King Hannah – The Mattress

Good morning, and welcome to your selection of songs about beds.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be the cost of living / making do, as suggested by DebbyM. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 8 February.

Once again WordPress has defeated me, I can’t make a playlist. So you have a Spotify list and a YouTube list with all the songs below. I will consult the oracle (shoegazer) or sacrifice my CD collection by the light of the moon while dancing naked and waving sage, to try and get it to work.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify Playlist: (contains all the songs)

Bob Dylan – Lay Lady Lay – Suzi: I expect someone else will send in this lovely song, but just in case they don’t.

The Cure – Let’s Go To Bed – severin: One of the many Cure songs where I always recognise the musical hook instantly and then have to try to match it with a title. With this one, I always have to wait almost to the end before Robert helps me.

Echo and the Bunnymen – Bedbugs and Ballyhoo – shoegazer: Some Bunnymen.

Little Johnny Taylor – Strange Bed With A Sore Head – Fintan28: Looking for comfort in all the wrong places. Might be an expensive bed.

Ellis Paul – The Bed Song – tincanman: Me and a few high school football buddies went bed racing one summer. One lad’s Dad was a metal fabricator, we were young, burly and speedy, and a lot of towns had them during civic festivities. Made some decent beer money, met some girls. ‘Twas a good summer.

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior – Captain Wedderburn’s Courtship – Suzi: From 1969, a much earlier version of the Bellowhead song that I sent in last July on the theme of, erm, courtship. Riddles must be asked and answered before the lady allows the young man to take her ‘to his own bed and lie her next to the wall.’

The Gourds – Cold Bed – tfd: All my stories are about the same things/ I find so many beds for them/ I find this package of tiny lamps/ And it makes a fiery ring…

Billy Bragg – Dry Bed – Suzi: It’s not often that you hear a songabout  about a small boy’s sense of achievement when he finally stops bed wetting, Bet mum is happy too. Words by Woody Guthrie.

Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia – Fintan28: That’s one busy bed at Cecelia’s.

Bess Atwell – Olivia, In a Separate Bed – severin: One of the more intriguing songs on Bess’s second album. The song was actually written by Robin Pecknold, ex of the Fleet Foxes, and was a very personal lyric about his break up with long time girlfriend, Olivia, but Bess must have seen something of herself in the sentiments.

Eliza Carthy – Clark Sanders – Suzi: ‘A bed, a bed,’ Clark Sanders said/ ‘A bed, a bed for you and I.’ Alas, what happens next is pretty grim. Sung unaccompanied

YouTube Playlist: (contains all the songs except Ellis Paul which I can’t share because it is for children)

Fox – S-S-S-Single Bed – MaggieB: Great fun🙂 Does anyone know if Noosha is still around?

Jurgen Drews – Ein bett im Kornfeld – DebbyM: the German Schlager cover of ‘Let Your Love Flow’, about a bed in a corn field. it’s typical 1970s in-law music, gets played a lot at fairs and carnivals once the booze gets flowing.

Al Stewart – Bedsitter Images – Mari Booker: ‘The carpet with its flowers in shreds / expires a foot before my bed…’ From 1967.

The Waterboys – Raggle Taggle Gypsy – DebbyM: How could she leave her goose-feather bed?

Seasick Steve – Walking Man – AliM: ‘If you want me to stay, then I’ll stash my roll beneath your bed’. Sounds fair – tidy, too. Always helps.

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Earworms 26 January 2026

Thin Lizzy – Chinatown

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs featuring china, in some shape or form. Or China, if you prefer.

If you have an earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be beds, of any description, as suggested by ghe. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 1 February.

Many thanks to all contributors. Keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify playlist for Suzi especially but missing John Cougar Mellancamp:

Dubblestandart – I Foo China /Dub – shoegazer: Swiss dub ensemble team up with Mr Perry (who lived in Switzerland in his later years).

Jah Wobble – Yellow Mountain – glassarfemptee: A wonderful collaboration with his Chinese wife led to Jah Wobble’s Chinese Dub. The Yellow River is the subject of many Chinese songs, and this is their take.

Abigail Washburn – Kangding Qinggeold-Timey Dance Party – tincanman: From her Sparrow Quartet with Béla Fleck, Ben Sollee and Casey Driessen, formed in 2005 to merge her twin loves of traditional Chinese folk and Appalachian music. She spent time in China after college and nearly moved there permanently to become a lawyer, but chose Nashville and the clawhammer banjo. As you do.

Pere Ubu – Chinese Radiation – severin: One of the best live bands I have ever seen and their first two albums are classics. The others are pretty good too tbh.

J.J. Cale – Shanghaied – Fintan28: As J.J. sings it, you don’t have to be in Shanghai to be kidnapped. We’re not talking tourism here.

Paul Kantner and Grace Slick – China – treefrogdemon: China is the name of Paul’n’Grace’s daughter, and that’s her on the cover of the Sunfighter album. Parents, eh? What are they like? (Did it inspire the Nevermind cover? Dunno.) I’ve always liked this song, though I’m not sure I’d have liked being called ‘a fat-faced goddess of nowhere’. I hope she sees some things that’ll make her time happy though. If she hasn’t already.

Tori Amos – China – Suzi: China – both tableware and place – provides metaphors for a relationship that’s increasingly fragile.

Sa DingDing – Alive (Mantra) – glassarfemptee: Chinese folk singer Sa DingDing had a moment in the West. This is sung in Chinese I think! (She sings in many languages including made up ones). This is from the 2007 album of the same name.

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden – severin: An obvious choice possibly but a great single and a little memorial of drummer Kenny Morris.

John Cougar Mellencamp – China Girl – Fintan28: Fine cover of a Levon Helm effort from the American Fool album. Just a nice love song.

Bill Mackay and Riley Walker – Rickshaw Waltz – glasarfemptee: From their live album “Land of Plenty” (2015) virtuoso guitarists Bill McKay and Ryley Walker invite you to take a ride in their rickshaw.

Booker T. and the MGs – Chinese Checkers – Fintan28: Always room for some Booker T.

WordPress Playlist hallelujah, it wouldn’t work yesterday:

YouTube playlist containing all 19 songs:

Doobie Brothers – China Grove – MaggieB: Never gets old, this one. It’s a real place too, I hope that ICE haven’t found it…

Steeley Dan – Bodhisattva – AliM: No idea what it’s about. “Can you show me the shine of your Japan, the sparkle in your China…” Great song, though.

Scorpions – China White – LongTallSilly: An uplifting positive tune from the scorpions.”How long will it take to make the world a flaming star / How long will it take ’til they stop their senseless wars”… Maybe a bad come down?🤔

David Bowie – China Girl – Long TallSilly: I’m sure others have suggested this, a good track from Bowie as he changed direction to be ahead of the curve again.

Ella Fitzgerald – Slow Boat To China – severin: Live from the Crescendo, on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. I sometimes have my doubts about the lyric of this song but Ella makes it sound wonderful as is her wont.

Suzanne Vega – Small Blue Thing – AliM: ‘Today I am a small blue thing / Made of china, made of glass / I am cool and smooth and curious, I never blink / I am turning in your hand…’

Al Stewart – Last Days of the Century – Mari Booker: ‘In the last days of the century / Leaning from your balcony / You said this is how it’s meant to be / Can’t you feel it in the air / See that light come shining down / All the way to China Town / See it shine from miles around’…

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Earworms 19 January 2026

Rory Gallagher – Walk on Hot Coals

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about gambling, or gambolling.

If you have an earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be China – the country and its customs, or its people, or tableware, or Cockney rhyming slang, or anything else you can shoehorn in. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 25 January.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify playlist: (missing Chris Thiles, Billy Strings, Cory Henry):

Tiny Davis and her Orchestra – Race Horse – severin: Tiny (or Ernestine) had been a member of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm but then formed her own band, The Hell Divers. So putting “and her Orchestra” on the credits here may be a case of bowdlerism. Anyway, a song from 1949 about a race horse. You can bet on them, can’t you? She seems very keen to ride this one, though. All night long. You’ll exhaust the poor thing.

The Pogues – Bottle of Smoke – Suzi: Although I don’t gamble on anything more daring than tombola at a local fête, I love this for the wild excitement it conveys. He bet on a horse called Bottle of Smoke and it came in at ’20 fucking five to one.’ He says that his gambling days are done, but somehow I doubt it.

Steeleye Span – Skewball – Suzi: Skewball was a famous18th century racehorse, named for his skewbald, that is, brown and white, colouration. The song recounts a race which he wasn’t expected to win, but did, costing many gamblers a great deal of money. Apparently, preceding Mr Ed by a couple of centuries, he talked as well, encouraging his rider midway through the race and ordering celebratory drinks afterwards. Sadly, this aspect of the story was lost when the song crossed the Atlantic, and, with all respect to Lead Belly and other US artists who recorded it, I don’t think that changing his name to Stewball was a good idea either.

Sarah Jane Morris – A Horse Named Janis Joplin – tincanman: Sarah Jane never could resist a flutter. And if any horse deserves her monthly wage, it’s one that speaks to a little piece of her heart.

Herbie Hancock – You Bet Your Love – severin: Not the usual kind of gambling, but you can still lose. Originally released in 1979, when I wasn’t really listening to this type of music at all, although I suppose the Talking Heads might have provided a way in.

Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – The Gambling Priest – glassarfemptee: Don’t ask me why Danger Mouse chose this title, but the album was inspired by the soundtracks of spaghetti westerns, with Jack White on guitar.

David Dondero – Laying Low in Eli, Nevada – tincanman: If NPR is to believed David Dondero is the best songwriter you’ve never heard of. And now here he is. What are the odds?

Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo – treefrogdemon: To be clear, 1) I loathe cockfighting, and any ‘sport’ that involves the killing of animals; 2) this is one of my favourite songs of all time; 3) Joe Ely died on December 15.

Bob Seger – Rambling Gambling Man – Fintan28: It’s a life!

Steely Dan – Do It Again – glassarfemptee: Steely Dan did a residency in Las Vegas, called Reelin’ in the Chips. And I bet they played “Do it again”, singing “Now you swear and kick and beg us/That you’re not a gambling man/Then you find you’re back in Vegas/With a handle in your hand”.

Squid – Match Bet – glassarfemptee: Brighton is the birthplace of a million bands. After ten years, Squid are now based in Bristol, and this track is from their Town Centre EP. “Match bet, all of the time/Racing horses ’round my mind”.

Emmylou Harris – Ooh, Las Vegas – Suzi: Touring the western part of the US many years ago, we stopped our RV at a Las Vegas campsite for one night. The city was certainly worth a look, although I’m possibly the only person who’s walked through a Vegas casino and not gambled at all, even when given a tube full of coins to get me started. This song was first recorded by Gram Parsons and was co-written by him and Ric Grech. I first saw Emmylou at Cambridge folk festival in 2006. She was superb, and thoroughly converted me to liking country music, which I had previously tended to dislike.

Hokum Boys – Gamblers Blues (St James Infirmary Blues) – tincanman: The famous versions of St. James Infirmary don’t always make clear that the down-on-his-luck narrator is a gambler. Widens the spread, I guess.

Mississippi Sheiks – Bed Spring Poker – Fintan28: Definitely a high stakes game. It’s not smart to play against the house.

ABBA – Take A Chance On Me – DebbyM: Dedicated to my Little’Un, who has a birthday coming up this week and has made very clear, despite being generally non-verbal, that she wants a ‘Honey Honey’ party.

Stick McGhee – Whiskey, Women & Loaded Dice – Fintan28: Trying to get a winner out of a dangerous combination. Odds are poor.

Main playlist – blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Bob Dylan – Rambling, Gambling Willie – severin: A studio outtake from 1962. Fortunately (for me anyway) it was released officially on a much later compilation.

Chris Thiles, Billy Strings, Cory Henry – Stewball – DebbyM: We all know that old song about betting on Stewball – I expect many of us here encountered it in early guitar lessons – but we’ve never heard it like this!

David Bowie – Labyrinth / Magic Dance – MaggieB: Dunno about gambolling, but frisking and frolicking certainly. Ten years since he left us…

The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down To Georgia – LongTallSilly: A decent gamble, a soul v a fiddle. For some reason I have loved this song since the first time I heard it.

Motörhead – Ace Of Spades – LongTallSilly: It had to be. The dead man’s hand again.

Grateful Dead – Me and My Uncle – Chris7572: Bob Weir loved a cowboy/outlaw song and he put this one by John Phillips – the tale of a friendly game of hi-lo Jack that doesn’t end well – on the Dead’s setlist over 600 times during their lifetime. Weir changed the final line to give it the right level of contempt.

Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs – LongTallSilly: Despite Mr Trower constantly eluding us, this is a beautiful track. (Bridge, geddit? *sigh*. There are those who say Bridge is not a gambling game. But it is the way LTS used to play it. Ed.)

System of a Down – Roulette – AliM: Love – it’s a gamble. From 2002.

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Earworms 12 January 2026

Cloudscape – courtesy of glassarfemptee

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about clouds.

Now updated to include DebbyM’s picks, which I forgot to include. Sorry.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be gambling, as suggested by glassarfemptee. Or gambolling, if you’re feeling sheepish. Worms should reach me by close of play on 18 January 2026.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify playlist: (missing Mark Lanegan):

The Incredible String Band – Little Cloud – tfd: inspired by the story in Winnie-the-Pooh where Pooh disguises himself as a cloud in order to sneak up on a bees’ nest. It ends badly.

Kate Bush – Cloudbusting – Suzi: Told from the point of view of Peter Reich, the son of Robert Reich, psychoanalyst and philosopher. Reich senior had invented a cloudbusting machine designed to produce rain, but the US authorities saw him as a threat, and he was arrested and imprisoned for two years. Tragically, he died in jail of a heart attack.

Portishead – All Mine – tincanman: Beth Gibbons says falling in love is like being on cloud nine.

Rickie Lee Jones – Cloud Of Unknowing – Fintan28: Rickie musing in the metaphysical cloud bank.

Beth Rowley – Only One Cloud – glassarfemptee: Classic Beth Rowley from ‘Little Dreamer’ (2008).

U2 – Trip Through Your Wires – tincanman: Sending this as representative of all the cloud imagery and shelter from the storm metaphors on The Joshua Tree.

Mark Lanegan – Big White Cloud – glassarfemptee: The distinctive tones of the late Mark Lanegan – sadly missed. So prolific. This was on an anthology, but I forget when it was first released.

Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Steve Stills – Fat Grey Cloud – glassarfemptee: An early example of a Super Group (and as short lived as most of them), here’s Stills, Kooper, Bloomfield, way back in ’68.

The Rolling Stones – Get Off Of My Cloud – Suzi: Has to be on the list somewhere!

Beach Bunny – Cloud 9 – severin: Not a cover of the Temptations psychedelic soul epic. But great in its own way. I’m always tempted to call their music charming except that sounds like an insult and it really isn’t meant to be.

Love – Mushroom Clouds – Fintan28: Remember when the thought of nuclear annihilation was on everyone’s minds. Some good good music came of it.

Joni Mitchell – Both Sides, Now – Suzi: ‘Rows and floes of angel hair/ And ice cream castles in the air.’ Joni’s classic, timeless song about illusion and disillusion, beginning with how she once saw clouds and how she sees them now.

Slowdive – Chained To A Cloud – severin: From their 2013 album, Everything is Alive, which was their first in six years. And the previous one was their first in 22 years so they do like to take their time. Mind you, so do I. It wasn’t until somebody nominated a song of theirs from the 1990s for an R/R topic I was curating in 2018 that I really started paying attention to them. I’m very glad I did, though.

Biosphere – Cloudwalker II – Suzi: A rather nice bit of electronica, suitably atmospheric!

Reinhard Mey – Über den Wolken – DebbyM: A hugely influential German singer-songwriter, this song about freedom above the clouds was particularly popular in the DDR (at least for people who were able to listen to West radio)

Pomplamoose – Nuages – DebbyM: I was going to send the Django Reinhardt 1930s Hot Club of France original, but then I stumbled upon this utterly charming cover version.

Main Playlist, Blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Evanescence – Cloud 9 – MaggieB: I haven’t thought about this number for years, now I’ve listened to it again I realise how much I like it.

Jeff Beck – Stratus Live – LongTallSilly: A change of pace for Jeff Beck, demonstrating his genius with stratus! More a uniform bass than base (if you look up the definition of stratus clouds!)

Grateful Dead – Clouds Cast – AliM: From the album Grayfolded, produced by John Oswald, a Canadian composer. It features edits and re-mixes of the Grateful Dead song “Dark Star”. Oswald used ‘plunderphonics’ to edit over a 100 different performances of the song. According to Wikipedia the album includes every musician in the group, including Bob Weir, who passed away recently. I don’t know if Chris will approve, but it sounds good to me, apart from the abrupt ending on YouTube.

Gong – A Sprinkling of Clouds – AliM: One of the many reasons why I love Gong.

Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds – LongTallSilly: I love Floyd and I have to put in Obscured By Clouds; though this instrumental isn’t the best track on a great album it does fit the brief.

Pink Floyd – Flaming – LongTallSilly: Much as I wanted to send in Greggery Peccary (and find out what Billy the mountain was making), good sense prevailed and here is a shorter bit of weird from Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Bonny Prince Billy – Hear the Children Sing – AliM: A Lungfish cover, almost 20 minutes of obscure bliss. I understand if you want to skip. But remember, the devil is a flower, plucked from a cloud.

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Bye-bye Bobby

He’s Gone. The kid whose Mom had to be promised by Jerry and Phil that they would make sure he did his schoolwork – alongside becoming the cornerstone of the musical journey called the Grateful Dead – has died. Only the drummers left now.

They tried to sack him in 1968 for his lacklustre playing but, fortunately, he ignored that and instead developed into one of the most reliable, original and inventive second guitarists in any band who could also fashion some of the most interesting and unique melodic song structures. Garcia needed his lattices of chords and fills to construct his glittering edifices on.

The documentary The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir (on Netflix) shows what a lovely, unassuming bloke he was and is a good watch even if you hate the band, particularly when he explores his own origins.

Here’s a playlist of some of the songs he wrote the music for, from the very young and quirky Born Cross-Eyed to the world-weary dark grandeur of Victim Or The Crime, via the delicate beauty of Cassidy and the oddly-natural songs in 7/8 and 10/4. I may add other songs and you are very welcome to add/suggest your favourites.

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Earworms 5 January 2026

Happy New Year on this snowy twelfth night! Here’s a warm welcome to your selection of songs about twelves, and many thanks to shoegazer, shane, spiderlander, toffeeboy, wyngate, tincanman, and everybody else for a fabulous festive ‘Spill.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be Clouds, as suggested by glassarfemptee. Any sort of cloud will do, steam, or whatever.

Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 11 January.

Spotify playlist: (missing Feste’s Song) –

Leo Kottke – Busted Bicycle – Fintan28: Being the 12th track on the 6 & 12-String Guitar Album which is, of course, 12″.

Other Lives – For 12 – glassarfemptee: Apart from the title, this song doesn’t seem to have much connection to twelve, but I like it. This is from Other Lives’ 2011 album, Tamer Animals. They had an album out last year too.

Martin Carthy – The January Man – Suzi: Written and sung by Dave Goulder in 1970, this song about the twelve months of the year has been covered by quite a few artists, Bert Jansch and June Tabor amongst them. I love the starkness of this unaccompanied version.

Moddi – 12.7 – severin: Refers to the 12.7 mm Raufoss bullet which is one of Norway’s biggest industrial export success stories, despite the country regarding itself as a peace-building nation. Moddi is not happy about this.

Cowboy – What I Want Is You – Fintan28: Being The 12th track on the 5’ll Getcha Ten Album. Which is, of course, 12″ and on the Capricorn (one of 12 signs of the Zodiac) Label.

The Beatles – 12-Bar Original – glassarfemptee: I’m not sure many people would guess this song was by the Beatles.

Feist – 1234 That famous ode to numbers, 12 + 34 – DebbyM: I do hope you’re all having a marvellous start to the year and that things will continue to Be Good!

Blondie – 11.59 – Suzi: Well, that’s very nearly 12! 😉

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited – severin: “The fifth daughter on the twelfth night”. Will this do? A passing reference but it does actually mention twelfth night. And it’s from an album I recently returned to after several years of hardly listening to it.

D12 – Purple Hills – tincanman: Rap comes by its braggado honestly, evolving as it did from the street corner verbal sparring game known as The Dozens. That may help put the sometimes-cringeworthy wordplay of Eminem, heard here fronting the Detroit rap collective named for the game, in perspective.

Adrian Sherwood – Majestic 12 – glassarfemptee: Dub aficionado Adrian Sherwood thinks 12 is majestic.

Ray Charles – I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town – Fintan28: Ray’s Plan. Move to the outskirts of town and have a dozen children. Unclear if he’s got the go ahead on that one.

Nina Simone – Twelfth Of Never – tincanman: Nina’s true love lasts longer than Willie’s 12 nights. She doesn’t change partners every time the wind shifts, either.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Johnny Mathis – The Twelfth of Never – Suzi: I never used to like Johnny Mathis, but this is rather lovely.

Wilson Pickett – In The Midnight Hour (1965) – MaggieB: 12 midnight, and a song from the great Wilson Pickett, Love the choreography 😂

Pee Wee Hunt – Twelfth Street Rag – AliM: All the way from 1948.

Ragnar Ólafsson – Dozen – AliM: I don’t know anything much about this, except that the female singer is Aldís Davíðsdóttir, and they both come from Iceland. It’s from Ragnar Ólafsson’s first album, Urges (2017).

Shakespeare – The Rain It Raineth Every Day – treefrogdemon: by Feste (Victoria Elliott) and the cast of Twelfth Night at the Globe, 2021: The company at the Globe Theatre like to end the show with a song and a dance and here, obligingly, Shakespeare has written a song for them to do it to. No, there’s nothing about Twelfth Night in the song – but then there’s nothing in the play either, whose actual title is Twelfth Night, or What You Will.

Shakespeare – Feste’s Song – Brent Carver at The Globe – MaggieB: And a different version for you.

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Here We Go Again

You know the sequence: Christmas, New Year, ‘Spill Subscription Renewal…

Yes, it’s time to use the postal order Gran gave you and club together to pay for the next year’s fun and frolics in the neighbourhood. Our WordPress subscription expires at the end of this month and I assume we want to retain our Premium package for the next year costing £102, including VAT. It has been paid anyway – so don’t panic about timing – but all contributions will be gratefully received.

Instructions below……

Continue reading →
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Wyngate’s favourite albums of 2025 : 5 – 1

Sorry for the delay , it’s been a bit busy. I’m fitting this in between playing a gig last night and going to panto with family later today – a cheap and cheerful , amateurish but fun event ( by which I mean both the gig and the panto ). I did wonder more than once if it would be better to do what Panthersan did last year and just film a short video instead , but I like to waffle so here it is. Meanwhile contenders for 2026 are already emerging.

THE DOGS Total Dog Shit ( Mendeku Diskat ) A new band from Wales, The Dogs were another band playing an unlikely blend , this time garage punk mixed with oi but with a drum machine. And occasionally throwing what sounded like a karaoke Elvis impression. The result was a brilliantly primitive sounding version of punk with snarly vocals that fitted the band name. Lyrically they sum it up best on We Are The Dogs – “We are the Dogs and we don’t give a fuck”, old fashioned punk petulance and aggression on songs such as Khazi and Everybody Loves You ( Til They Don’t). Chuck in a cover of Velvet Underground’s Rock & Roll which would probably piss off the majority of Velvets fans and what more could you want?

FRENZY Beyond The Edge Of Madness (Distort Reality records) The second album from this band from punk hotbed Portland , Oregon ( not to be confused with the UK psychobilly band in case you were wondering – which you weren’t obviosuly). Their debut album sounded very much influenced by noise punk and the rawer end of UK82 like Chaos UK. That influence is still present on this album , but here they sound even tighter , with perhaps a US hardcore influence. There’s even a smidge of melody in places – not too much – such as on the outro of Poison World and Urban Alienation , but overall this is fast and relentless , with 13 tracks in less than 20 minutes. Lyrically they cover the destruction of the environment on Poison World and Zero Population and internet hysteria on Collective Psychosis , but mainly as the title suggests the internal effects of the world. A short bracing blast of noise that probably doesn’t need to be any longer.

No individual tracks on youtube but if you have 20 minutes spare for an ear battering here’s the whole thing

DISPOSABLE DOGS Disposable Dogs ( No Front Teeth / Take The City records ) Every time I’ve done one of these rundowns there has been at least one album by a project by ridiculously prolific Londoner Marco Palumbo. This year looked like it would be the first time that he wouldn’t show up until a couple of months ago when this was released, featuring Palumbo on vocals and members of US mock oi band Oil! as per usual we were given a “for fans of list” that bore little relation to what the album sounded like. This time Cock Sparrer , Menace , The Crack and Action Pact were among the names that sounded nothing like this. Lower Class Brats were also namechecked though, and I can hear that one , so well done , a broken clock moment. But what does the album actually sound like? Like a band playing punkified AC/DC/Rose Tattoo-ish riffs with extra reverb in a basement ( or more likely on separate continents via the magic of the internet) , but given a different edge by Marco’s distinctive vocals giving it almost a glam edge. The lyrics that never pin down specifics but suggest some kind of dystopia, possibly the one we’re already in. And big choruses as well.

NORTH CITY LAGER SYSTEM On It Til We Vomit ( self released CD) It’s moments where I post something like this after listening to the Festive Spill where I realise how out of sync I can be with The Spill. This is not for those with a sensitive disposition. This band feature ex-members of Short N Curlies one of my favourite bands of the 90s, and musically they’re in similar territory, so much so that I felt nostalgic listening to it. The opening track kicks in with a pummeling bass riff and soon sets out their stall , not least because it’s called Dwinking Song (sic… or perhaps sick). This is raucous punk Oi all the way through – shouted vocals, gang choruses but also comedy backing vocals and occasionally a spoken (but still shouted ) intro to warn you what to expect. These are songs about drinking, toilet mishaps , drinking , masturbation, drinking , pickled onion eating contests , and more drinking, all with a distinctly Norfolk feel. Song titles such as Ale Not Kale, Mousehold Wanknest, I’m Not A Bigger C*** As You Think I Am ( chorus: “Yes you are, yes you are, yes you fucking are”) give you a pretty good idea. Only one track on youtube , but happily it’s the fully representative Chocolate Windsock.

BAD SAM Trauma (Property Of The Lost records) North City Lager System were looking a shoe in for my album of the year until the last couple of months when Newport’s Bad Sam finally got round to releasing their third album. I really liked the last two albums and was looking forward to this one but then they announced that for this album they had reduced to a duo of singer Beddis (ex-Cowboy Killers) and multi-instrumentalist Richard Glover (ex-Dub War) with everything else being eelctronic. What to expect? Opening track Emotional Hostage starts off with an almost drum & bass backing track and babbled vocals buried in the mix describing some kind of childhood trauma before a punky chorus kicks in. This sets the scene for the rest of the album nicely – there’s nothing else as strange , but there’s a mix of electronic experimentation and melodic hardcore punk throughout. Lyrics describe various dystopian scenarios , either real and current : the use of mobile execution vans in China on The Van, the bombing of Gaza on Silent Death; or imaginary but plausible – the poor being fed dogfood on the jagged, jarring Pedigree Poor or executions providing entertainment on Popcorn & Blood. The thing that really distinguishes Bad Sam though is Beddis’ voice , somewhere between yodelling and a Welsh Jello Biafra. Appropriately the album finishes on Tupperware Death Party which has a touch of the Dead Kennedys about it. They have said they intend to play gigs with a full band but it will be interesting to see if on record they push this experiment further.

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Best of 2025, eh

There’s a few Canadians on this year’s best-of/festive lists that you don’t need me to tell you about because, well, duh, they’re on the lists. Here’s a few others you might want to look into:

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Wyngate’s favourite albums of 2025 : 10 – 6

On to the mid section , a mixture of new discoveries and the latest offerings from old favourites , and one band mixing together some unlikely influences , so without further ado

THE MASSACRED Nightmare Agitators (Active 8 Records) The debut vinyl album from a Boston band who to my ears hark back to sound of UK82 bands such as the Exploited and Varukers once they got to the mid-80s, although some have noted a Boston hardcore influence as well, but I wouldn’t claim to know much about US hardcore so I’ll take their word for it. Regardless this is a hard and heavy sound with lyrics covering the horrors of mass slaughter, war and the encroaching dystopia – titles such as The Gash You Can’t Close and Butchers For The Rich give you a pretty good idea. Apparently some have expressed dissatisfaction that the band have slowed down slightly since their earlier recordings, but I think it works really well recalling in places the sound of Horror Epics , the Exploited’s most experimental album ( and a sound that they soon abandoned) , with mid-tempo tracks such as the doom laden Extermination.

EASTFIELD – Eastfield ( Grow Your Own Records ) By contrast Eastfield sound positively bouncy. Originally formed in Birmingham , Eastfield have been slogging away since the 90s and are a popular fixture on the UK punk scene. They have also developed a unique sound. Ramones comparisons are sometimes made , but they don’t really sound much like them , it’s more that they stick to a tried and tested formula of short , three chord upbeat songs. Lyrically they are certainly unique , with their words a jumble of anecdotes , train references , politics and pop culture references. For this album they have rerecorded a load of their previous songs , basically a studio version of their live set, and although I’m usually interested in albums of rerecordings I’m making an exception here because most of the new versions actually sound better than the originals, making this the ideal place to check them out, certainly the most cheerful thing you are likely to hear on my list ( None of the new versions are on youtube but the whole album is on Grow Your Own records; Bandcamp page https://growyourownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eastfield ).

CONFLICT This Much Remains ( Mortarhate / Cadiz Records ) This was the first album from Conflict for over 20 years , but this was overshadowed within weeks by the unexpected death of front man and sole original member Colin Jerwood. Even without the sudden new significance , the album was the bands best release since their mid 80s heyday. Intro track The Impossible Soul has an epic almost cinematic feel but this soon gives way to the familiar fury against the status quo with the title track and The Collusion Exclusion, and the album tackles a number of targets that you might expect – animal exploitation, the climate crisis, the power of the super rich – as well as some moments where Colin appears to have gone off on a tangent (elf on the shelf? OK , I sort of get what he was driving at) but there is more to the album than just ranting hardcore punk. Cut The Crap features a posthumous guest appearance from Benjamin Zephania, and That Other Song shows Colin’s personal , reflective side. In fact throughout Colin’s voice is sounding rough, but that adds to the feeling of this being a last statement of defiance, and he is joined throughout by co-vocalist Fiona of Coventry band Dragster who adds some energy where needed. The closing piano ballad Concluded is a poignant end to the album and to Conflict.

HOME FRONT Watch It Die ( La Vida Es Un Musa records ) On the face of it Home Front are an unlikely band, but of all the bands on my list they are the one that seem set to go on to be the biggest. Back in the 80s influential UK oi band Blitz managed to alienate most of their audience with their second album by switching to synths and post punk introspection. Never the twain shall meet and all that. In recent years though a whole sub genre , cold oi, has arisen , initially in France comprised of bands that like Blitz’s first and second album , and synth-based moodiness is very much in vogue. Home Front are from Canada and comprise members of Canadian streetpunk bands , but are offering what seems to be a more accessible take on cold oi. Their sound has shades of OMD, Depeche Mode and New Order as well as Blitz and the Angelic Upstarts, and the first side of the album (with the exception of the juddering, statacco New Madness that appears to take aim at Trump ) is predominantly melancholy synth pop , with songs such as Light Sleeper, Between The Waves and Eulogy dealing with facing up to loss and death. Side 2, kicking off with the more anthemic For The Children (Fuck All) is the punkier side, and even then there’s an unlikely mix of influences : Kiss The Sky sounds like the Cure around the time of Lets Go To Bed and The walk, but if they were remixed by the Pet Shop Boys ; DWA (which appropriately stands for “dancing with anxiety”) sounds a bit like Killing Joke if they’d formed in the Blitz Club instead of late 70s squats and Always This Way sounds like a synth pop update of a 70s glam rock update of 60s rock and roll. And somehow all this works.

SYMPOS To The Dogs ( Primator Crew / Distro-y / Tough Ain’t Enough / Mister Face records) More Irish oi , this time from Waterford this is the young-ish bands second album. A collection of songs about life in their home city from the usual working class skinhead perspective, while this album has a definite sound to it the songs are all catchy and individually memorable , not always a given with punk albums. While the bands have plenty of the usual targets – the police, various social miscreants and inevtitably fake skinheads – and celebrations of boozing, there is a bit wit here which along with the tunes sets this album apart from some of the more generic oi. In places they sound ever so slightly folky ( the title track ) and elsewhere there’s rock and roll energy ( Where Have All The Winos Gone?). I also like the use of backing vocals on some of the tracks such as Soft Society or the amusing doomy chanting on Bogey Magnet. They also clearly have a lead guitarist who is a bit more technically adept than an oi band needs, but clearly only let him do his thing sparingly. All this and another namecheck for Runnin’ Riot .

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Wyngate’s favourite albums of 2025 : 15 – 11

It’s been a bit of a crazy year for buying albums this year – I’ve bought plenty , there’s been lots of good ones , but a couple of things make this list difficult. One is that household circumstances have not always made listening to music easy – I need to sort out the spare room and sort out a fully functioning CD player, so knowing this time next year nothing will have changed. The other problem is that after a quiet start to the year suddenly there was a big rush of albums that I wanted being released in the last couple of months. So placings are approximate at least until the top 3 , and don’t expect lots of insight , analysis or even attempts to distinguish what makes one oi album different from another. That said here is the first part of my niche as always list (there might be one that sounds a bit different mid table)

15. SPLIT DOGS – Here To Destroy ( Venn Records ) It doesn’t seem that long since I was arguing with one of my Rebellion companions about whether these were punk or not – he said not really, I said don’t be stupid of course they are. But while I maintain they are punk he has a point – you could also just call them rock and roll – fast, loud rock and roll with an attitude, but rock and roll. Tellingly that’s how they label themselves , and there are other influences here both in the sound – closing track All In has a very 70s bovver rock sound to it, and Lafeyette is lyrically nostalgic for nights out at Northern Soul clubs. It;s a short album , around 20 minutes , but makes up for it with memorable tunes and frontwoman Harry’s distinctive vocals. They pulled a huge crowd at a lunchtime slot on the main stage at Rebellion this year and this album was 3rd in Vive Le Rock’s albums of the year , so they are one of a couple of bands in my list that look like they are headed for bigger things, not just Weston Super Mare’s answer to Amyl & The Sniffers.

14. TRI-SUBVERSION – Free Chopper Rides ( Uber Troll Recordings) Local favourites of mine with their latest budget recording ( one day session apparently) d.i.y release. Frontman Clive warned me I might not like it as some of it was a bit weird , but I don’t think that’s particularly the case , they’ve just expanded on their established moody proto-punk influenced sound , which in places seems to drift into 70s pre-punk rock but without losing their way too much, and as is usual for them the effects peddles see plenty of use. There are a couple of issues for me. One is at 17 tracks and 45 minutes , a few songs could have been dropped and it would have had more impact but that’s a minor quibble. The other issue , the elephant in the rabbit hole perhaps , is that they seem to have gone further down the conspiracy theory route. At times they are thought provoking , eg on 4 Days where they challenge you to consider what would happen if power or food supplies broke down. Other times I’m not convinced, often during the best tracks musically speaking. Popcorn is a great rocker , like Motorhead going mad with an effects peddle , lyrically it deals with a conspiracist favourite topic, that celebrities are involved in a literal evil cult (I can’t say for sure they aren’t, Hollywood seems pretty fucked up, but I’m certainly not convinced either). Standout track NGO War is a mid-tempo Stooges-ish bulldozer of a track and Clive’s best vocal, but lyrically seems to be an attack on Greta Thunberg , the wrong target if you ask me. So there it is , decent guys and a great band, “anti fascist and anti communist” which is fair enough, I just don’t agree with everything they are saying. “We don’t even agree with each other” as I was once told. ( NOTE : No tracks on youtube , but the whole album can be listened to free of charge on Reverbnation).

13. TAKERS N USERS – 10 Year Hangover (Randale Records) We now get into a run of 3 oi albums which despite being different takes on the genre I found difficult to choose between , so the placings coukd easily be swapped . Takers N Users are a Belfast oi band that I was aware of but didn’t pay too much attention to until I saw them live a couple of times and decided they were worth checking out further, and this album is pretty impressive. Hard hitting musically , full of the sort of unapologetic in your face attitude you expect from the genre, sometimes dealing with serious subjects as on Resistance, Bombscare and the pro-trade union Stop That Line, but also with plenty of humour (” This Friday night I’ll drink this city dry , call me ambitious at least I fucking try” ). Being an oi band from Belfast the obvious comparison to those in the know is the great Runnin’ Riot , who get a namecheck, but this album sees Takers N Users emerging in their own right as one of the best current oi bands.

12. AN SLUA – Sure Look It ( Distroy Records / Longshot Records ) A different take on the oi sound , this time from the Republic of Ireland. Echoes of the likes of Cock Sparrer and maybe AC/DC can be heard in their sound , but all given a d.i.y punk makeover , and among their main influences seem to be legendary anti-racist oi band The Oppressed and anarcho-oi pioneers Oi Polloi. It’s a rough sound but with solid playing and catchy tunes and what seems to be solidly left wing politics with songs referencing Irish political history , and calling out racist far right politics on the emphatically named Thick As Shit.

11. CLAIMED CHOICE – Claimed Choice ( UPVR Vinyles) The French oi scene continues to be one of the strongest with even The Guardian covering the French “cold oi” scene this year, but it’s not all about mixing up oi and synths. Claimed Choice instead mix oi together with it’s close relatives pub rock, bovver rock and bootboy glam and on this their second album the result is one of the hardest sounding oi albums of the year. Kicking off with Bootboy (Don’t Stop) there’s no let up even with when a harmonica comes in unexpectedly. Lyrics deal with life at the rough end and calling out fakers, and Knock You Out has possibly my favourite riff of the year. I don’t often use the word rocking, but it seems like the right word to use here.

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2025 playlist

Assuming I get this post to work here is my usual annual list I put together for some mates. inevitably less eclectic and noisier than the festive spill list. not saying there’s something for everyone in here but you never know! My apols that it’s on spotify – I will only ever have a free account with them and haven’t yet researched the alternatives to see if they also do freebies.

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Wyngate’s moderately easier than previously quiz …. or is it?

Another quiz for your “enjoyment” as you recover from festivities. I stumbled across Babryn’s quiz earlier in the year a bit late for some reason , and only got 4 . This quiz is slightly easier , ie I anticipate you’ll get at least 5 right, but then it’s easy when you know the answers. As usual feel free to post answers below the line, if playing steer clear of look below the line , and answers will be posted in a couple of days.

  1. Who had a no 1 single this year referencing the tragic death of a Shakespeare character?
  2. Why were Joy Division at the centre of an unlikely controversy in October this year?
  3. Country artist Joe Ely who died recently sang Spanish backing vocals in 1982 on which future no 1 hit?
  4. How did Velvet Sundown controversially manage to release four albums this year?
  5. Who said in 2014 about their most recent album release “I’m sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea and we might have gotten carried away with ourselves” and “We wanted to deliver a pint of milk to people’s front porches … People were like “I’m dairy free”” ?
  6. Who donned an eyepatch and became Halloween Jack in 1974.
  7. Which band’s 80s hits included songs about hostility towards a mixed raced pregnancy , buying condoms and IRA informers?
  8. No 1 albums by AC/DC have been subject to speculation that they are indicators of what events?
  9. What anthem’s writer claimed it was written after a hearse he’d bought was removed from outside his house by order of the Queen Mother?
  10. What are Snaggletooth, Eddie The Head , and Vic Rattlehead?
  11. Who is the odd one out? And why? The Beatles ( August 1966 ) ; Rudimentary Peni (June 1993) ; Sisters Of Mercy ( August 1993 ) ; Talking Heads (February 1984) ; XTC ( April 1982)?
  12. Which succession of John/Jons between 1977 and 1995 was temporarily broken by a famous Robert?
  13. What links “rubbers” in 1979 and the Falklands War in 1982?
  14. Why did Soft Cell later decide that putting Where Did Our Love Go? on the b side of Tainted Love might have been a mistake?
  15. “It cannot be louder than war, can it?” was whose response to a warning from the Manic Street Preachers that their live show might be a bit loud?
  16. Which “quirky new wave band” were formed as a reaction to the Kent State University massacre in 1970 which two of the band were caught up in?
  17. What links the following a) a 1967 William Burroughs-referencing album title by Hapshash and the Multicoloured Coat or ; a description of Jimi Hendrix’s music , or ; a review of MC5 by Lester bangs or; a line from Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf b) a 1979 TV interview with Tony Wilson discussing Joy Division or ; a tongue in cheek comment in a 1981 Sounds interview with UK Decay or ; a term used by Ian Astbury for Sex Gang Children’s following c ) John Robb in the late 80s or ; Stuart Maconie in 1993
  18. Speaking of Steppenwolf – many bands get sick of playing their best known song, but why did they have more reason than most and what drastic action did they once take to get out of playing Born To Be Wild again?
  19. US District Judge Fernando Olguin ruled this year that “neither the pose, focal point , setting , nor the overall context suggest the album cover features sexually explicit content” in relation to which album cover? And who had brought the lawsuit?
  20. Which record did the FBI investigate for 31 months in the 60s for obscenity before concluding it contained none , despite Indiana Governor Matthew E .Welsh believing it to be pornographic because his “ears tingled” when he heard it?

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Festive ‘Spill, 2025 – Gold

Art by Shane

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Have Yourself an Indie Little Christmas

If you feel like you need a downbeat and, let’s face it, ever so slightly miserable playlist to get you through the next few days, you’ve come to the right place!

Yes, it’s the return of my ever-popular Indie Christmas playlist, featuring a few additions to last year’s version. Suggestions for other appropriate tracks most welcome…

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4nAaLfV6uaJtpsyqUsxAR6…

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/…/have…/pl.u-06oxN7zTB8Geg

Have Yourself an Indie Little Christmas…

Screenshot
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Festive ‘Spill, 2025 – Silver

Art by Shane

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Festive ‘Spill, 2025 – Bronze

Art by Shane

‘Spillers assemble for the annual listening party. These are your DJs:

Albahooky
Alimunday
Barbryn
Bethnoir
Blimpymcflah
Darceysdad
Debbym
Drawnface
Fintan
Fuel
Garethi
Glasshalfempty
Leaveitallbehind
Longtallsilly
Loudatlas
Magicman
Nilpferd
Pairubu
Panthersan
Partiallystars
Saneshane / Rantaghost
Severin
Shoegazer / Shoey
Toffeeboy
Treefrogdemon
Vanwolf
Wyngatecarpenter

See if you can guess who picked what? Let’s go……

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Earworms 15 December 2025

William Shatner – Common People

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about shopping, and gifts. I bought some Christmas stamps the other day – the Post Office assistant said: ‘Oh, we’ve had a run on these’. ‘It must be Christmas!’ I replied, without a hint of irony.

On that note, we have the Festive ‘Spill to look forward to, courtesy of Shoegazer. Which also gives me a great excuse not to curate Earworms for two weeks, because you will need lots of time to listen to the festive lists. So the next Earworm post will be on 5 January 2026, and the theme will be ‘twelve’, as it’s Twelfth Night. If you can’t think of anything involving twelve, I will take songs about 1 or 2.

If you have an Earworm on this topic that you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 4 January.

Many thanks to everyone for all the worms and chat over 2025, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year. Keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify Playlist: (Missing Late Night Shopping):

The Kinks – Dedicated Follower of Fashion – Suzi: My first thought, the absolutely magnificent Kinks with one of their classics. The hero ‘flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly,’ in pursuit of all the latest fashion trends.

Pandamonium – No Present for Me – glassarfemptee: No presents for me’ is a good sentiment – I’ve too much stuff already. Though the song is a bit more subversive than that, effectively about inequality…

Sublime – Pawn Shop – Fintan28: Department stores just don’t have the funk needed for these boys.

Late Night Shopping – Late Night Shopping – glassarfemptee: Late night shopping: I can only assume that this weird song is from RR days. But I like it. I’m regularly guilty of rushing around late on Xmas eve desperately searching for a gift suitable for my love.

Robb Johnson – Father Xmas Down Hounslow High Street – tfd: This is from the concept album The Ghost of Love, the story of one family’s struggle to stay afloat told over several Christmases in Hounslow – which is where RJ himself was born, seventy years ago come Dec 25.

Tom Lehrer – A Christmas Carol – Suzi: Tom takes his usual cynical view of Christmas and gift-giving.

Lovin’ Spoonful – Full Measure – Fintan28: Learning the art of giving with a big assist from love.

The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping – glassarfemptee: “Bah humbug” indeed, from Blondie-sounding Waitresses. Merry Christmas, all!

Chumbawamba – Buy Nothing Day – DebbyM: I can’t be the only Grinch at this time of year.

Kate Rusby – Awkward Annie – Suzi: Lovelorn swain gives his beloved various animals in the hope of winning her heart, to no avail.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Paul Simon – Shoplifting Clothes – MaggieB: I think this is inspired by, The Coasters “Shopping for Clothes”.

Goldie Lookin’ Chain – The Middle of Lidl – AliM: It’s a terrible place. That’s what led to my first purchase of acrylic paint for a fiver, a weird muriel involving flying ducks and (so far) ten months of art lessons. Caveat emptor.

Tom Paxton – I Give You the Morning – AliM: Awww, Ali, you big soft dollop… it’s over 50 years since I saw him in concert.

Julian Slade – Shopping in Bedminster – Mari Booker: My first and only thought was ‘Shopping in Bedminster’. The song was from a musical, ‘Christmas in King Street’ performed at The Bristol Old Vic. It was written by Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds. I think I saw it in 1959. I can’t find a link to the song, but can still sing the chorus. (I couldn’t find a link, either. Can any Bristol friends help? Ed.)

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Stupid and Contagious Podcast – Catch up

Sorry for being remiss with the S&G Podcast updates. Here is what has been going on on the pod over the last several weeks:

In the latest episode, after the passing of Mani, we take a deep dive into the Stone Roses’ “difficult” second album:

Before that we chatted to music journalist and author Ian Winwood about the dark side of the music industry.

We also had a lovely chat with Jake Shillingford from orchestral Britpoppers My Life Story.

And Sice from the Boo Radleys on the transition from Shogazers to Britpop heroes.

We looked back at the 90s Shine compilation series with special guest presenter Ross from Symposium.

We also chatted to the ‘dance Oasis’, Space Monkeys.

Talked feminism and witches with the awesome Chicks on Speed.

Covered the East Bay punk scene of the 90s with Jesse from Blatz and The Criminals.

Went Britpoptastic with a look back at the music of 1995.

Had a lot of fun with internet viral sensation 90s guy Jacob Givens.

And finally, chatted to Crashland about almost making it.

OK, you are all caught up, will try to be more consistent in 2026.

Most recent mixtape:

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Earworms 8 December 2025

Madilyn Mei – A Can of Worms

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of Earworms about… worms.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be shopping, and/or giving or receiving gifts. No matter how strange. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 14 December.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify Playlist: (Missing Wor Geordie):

Reverend Horton Heat – Loco Gringos Like a Party – tincanman: When gringos party they drink tequila and fight for the worm. Sounds like a first-hand observation from the Rev.

Kings of Leon – Crawl – Fintan28: From 2008 a reckoning for America is called for. If She wants to stand tall She may have to crawl first. And here we are again with the worms counting the days when they can gnaw on the bones of the Republic.

ZZT – The Worm (Original Munich Version (Edit) – glassarfemptee: ZZT was a collab of Zombie Nation and Tiga, so Wiki tells me. Here’s ‘The Worm’ from 2008.

Stillste Stund – Von der Tiefe (From the Depth) – DebbyM: Shoehorn par excellence, this is a song about life originating in the depths of the abyss. And it was used in a Buffy episode where they battle with a giant worm.

The Pogues – Worms – Suzi: Bitterly regretting having not thought of Rainy Night In Soho for the last topic, so here’s a cheery number from the same band…. 😉

Florence and the Machine – Perfume and Milk – severin: The rot, the ruin, the earth and the worms. The seasons change, the Earth turns.

They Might Be Giants – Dr Worm – Suzi: Perhaps best described as a silly song about a silly person who’s learning to play the drums and who’d like to be called Dr Worm. No, I don’t know why either.

The Clint Boon Experience – Do What You Do (Earworm Song) – glassarfemptee: Have your cotton buds handy, cos here’s the Earworm song, from Clint Boon.

Peggy Lee – You Was Right, Baby – Fintan28: Can’t say she wasn’t warned. Now the Worm has turned. Right or wrong I could listen to Peggy all night.

Beth Orton – Worms – severin: Worms don’t dance, they haven’t got the balls. There is a similar put down of chickens in the second verse so I’m assuming some kind of metaphor for timidity and a lack of courage. His or hers. Mind you, someone on Song Meanings says it’s “clearly about the new world order” so what do I know?

AGGRASOPPAR – Ballast Millum Maðkar (Vibing with Worms) – DebbyM: Weighing between worms and eating snakes at lunchtime, one of my all-time favourite Festive ‘Spill picks.

The Amazing Rythm Aces – A Jackass Gets His Oats – Fintan28: A worm turns to the distaff side. Shoulda seen that coming fool!

Main playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist – blurbs below:

Bryan Ferry – The Lambton Worm – Suzi: Not really a worm, but a wyrm, that is, a dragon or similar beastie. Unless after all it’s a very big worm, in which case be careful, because this one grows to an enormous size and terrorises the neighbourhood. If you find one, whatever you do, don’t hoy it doon the well.

The Lambton Worm with Wor Geordie – MaggieB: Fond memories of a very giggly night around a campfire 🪱🪱🪱

Diet of Worms – Diet of Worms – treefrogdemon: No, it’s Worms the place, but when I found out there was a band called Diet of Worms I couldn’t resist… (it’s about Martin Luther – the lyrics are under the post on YT).

Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song – LongTallSilly: Obviously they are going to be in dragonboats (vessels with dragon or serpent heads were called drakkar) crossing the North Sea, and “The descendent term worm remains used in modern English to refer to dragons, such as those similar to snakes or without wings, while the Old English form wyrm has been borrowed back into modern English to mean “dragon”.” Therefore this is my favourite worm song!

Pink Floyd – Waiting for the Worms – LongTallSilly: Sorry to be predictable, but had to be done.

Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two Soundtrack | Worm Ride | WaterTower – AliM: From the film of the book. LTS really likes the book, I never got on with it, but the film is good.

Have a Nice Life – A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Conneticut – AliM: Well, I’m game if you are.

The Yobs – Worm Song – Severin: Hopefully, someone will have sent this in… (they have now – Ed.)

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Earworms 1 December 2025

The Cars – My Best Friend’s Girl

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about companionship, friendship and affinity.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve selected it. Next week’s theme will be worms, as suggested by Severin. I know we’ve had the theme before but I can’t remember when; feel free to be as inventive as you like. I might even allow snakes although I know they’re not related. This will probably open a can of innuendo… Your suggestions should reach me by close of play on Sunday 6 December.

Many thanks to all contributors – keep calm and carry on! And don’t forget shoey’s Festive ‘Spill!

Spotify playlist: (missing Robb Johnson)

Rose Betts – Doodles – DebbyM: The affinity to fcuk things up, aka debbym’s theme tune.

Honeyhoney – Old School Friends – glassarfemptee: I’m in my seventies, yet some of my best friends are former schoolmates. And here’s Honeyhoney with the urge to see old schoolfriends again (from 2011’s Billy Jack). Nostalgia for teenage years is very powerful.

Ry Cooder – 3 Cool Cats – Fintan28: Street Corner companions overplay their hand.

Bill Morrissey – Harry’s Last Call – tincanman: They were best friends for life, and oh the stories they could tell. But when Bill settles down he gets increasingly reluctant to take Harry’s calls.

Richard Hawley – Nothing Like a Friend – glassarfemptee: The honeyed tones of Richard Hawley with a paean to the value of real friends.

Bruce Springsteen – Back Streets – tfd: Long long ago, before they decided all my musical choices were unbearable, my kids used to enjoy counting the number of times Bruce sings ‘hiding on the back streets’ in this song. (Clue: it’s a lot.)

Corinne Bailey Rae – Breathless – tincanman: From her sparkling debut, a sweet and tender song about having romantic feelings for your best friend.

Kate Rusby – Underneath the Stars – Suzi: She met him underneath the stars and now she’s leaving him there before he leaves her. She’s left with the stars as her companions, although they too ‘come and go of their own free will.’ Laws of gravity, etc, I think, Kate, but still a beautiful song.

Lady Nade – Call Yourself a Friend – severin: Betrayal and the end of a friendship. Nade is from Bristol and is currently touring the UK with her set of Nina Simone songs. Of which this is not one.

T-Bone Burnett – Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend – Fintan28: Looking for a companion with staying power? Marilyn knew the answer and T-Bone rocks the rock she sang about.

Cécile McLorin Salvant featuring June McDoom & Kate Davis – Take This Stone – DebbyM: This just missed out on my Festive ‘Spill, so I’m on the lookout for somewhere to shoehorn it in. Passing a stone on seems a pretty companionable thing to do.

boygenius – We’re In Love – tincanman: Lucy Dacus wrote this about the love and deep friendship between herself and fellow bandmates Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers.

Ange Hardy – Friends of Three – Suzi: From her album Esteesee, about Samuel Taylor Coleridge (STC). Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy lived for about a year in or near Nether Stowey in Somerset, Coleridge in the village, Wordsworth and his sister at nearby Alfoxton House. They used to wander about the Quantock Hills and Exmoor together. They were full of ideals about creating a better society, but, being very different characters, Wordsworth and Coleridge eventually fell out. There’s a lovely book, The Making of Poetry by Adam Nicholson, which tells of their time there.

Unthanks – Dear Companions – severin: “You’ll be near me through whatever fate will bring” From the Unthanks In Winter album. It must be Christmas.

The High Llamas – Sisters Friends – glassarfemptee: The High Llamas are fallout from the break up of the legendary Microdisney. This is a real earworm, for me. Love the tambourine.

Zaz – Si jamais j’oublie – DebbyM: Friendship is reminding someone who they are, where they came from and their great loves.

Robb Johnson and the Irregulars – My Very Best of Friends – tfd: Robb tends to sing this as the final song at his gigs these days, thus including all the audience as his friends. Which is nice.

Todd Snider – The Ballad of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern – Fintan28: A friend is that one who really sees you. Even better when they hand you crucial knowledge at the right time.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube Playlist, blurbs below:

Free – Be My Friend – LongTallSilly: Luckily I’ve found my friend 🧡 A shame that this guitar talent went too soon. (Aww, shucks – Ed.)

Placebo – Pure Morning – AliM: “A friend in need’s a friend indeed, a friend with weed is better…”

Dave Nachmanoff – Kindred Spirits – Mari Booker: I can remember singing ‘Freight Train’ when I was about three. I wonder if my dad learned it from Jean Ritchie who was a folk music collector from the USA, visiting the UK. “And we sang, ‘Freight Train’ on the Monument Lawn / With a statue of Abe, looking over us / Over seventy years apart, but we were singing from the heart / Like two kindred spirits in the night, we were two kindred spirits in the night.”

Al Stewart – Modern Times – Mari Booker: “Hello old friend, what a strange coincidence to find you / It’s been fifteen years since we last met, but I still recognised you…”

Elbow – Sad Captains – AliM: Drinking buddies. “Another sunrise with my sad captains / With whom I choose to lose my mind / And if it’s so, we’d only pass this way but once / What a perfect waste of time…”

Joan Armatrading – Willow – MaggieB: The amazing Joan, singing a classic.

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Festive ‘Spill, 2025

Did you think I forgot? It’s time to gather our favourite songs of 2025 to playlist on The ‘Spill: starting with bronze medal choices on Friday, Dec 19, silver on Sunday, Dec 21 & gold on Tuesday, Dec 23.

Send your 3 nominations to [email protected] (artist, tune name & which playlist to put them in) along with either mp3s/4s or YouTube links.  If sending actual music files, one mail at a time usually works best. You can nominate again if someone has snagged one of your choices.  Don’t wait too long – we only have a couple of weeks to gather everything. Any and all errors, omissions & cock-ups will be blamed on the elves, as is traditional.

Will send an e-mail to everyone who took part last year

Please join us if you can for the annual Festive ‘Spill (#18).

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Earworms 24 November 2025

Wooden Finger – Marjoram

Good evening, and welcome to your selection of songs about Herbs. Sorry, it isn’t long since we last covered herbs and spices (May 2025), but we have some different songs for your listening delight.

If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3, .m4a or a link to [email protected], together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be companionship / friendship / affinity, not necessarily romantic (it could be companionship with a pet, or affinity with the universe, for example) – anything along these lines. Worms should reach me by close of play on Sunday 30 November.

Many thanks to all contributors – and a Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. Keep calm, and carry on!

Spotify playlist:

The Bangles – Stealing Rosemary – DebbyM: Because rosemary symbolises love and fidelity? There’s a lovely late 60s feel to this one.

The Pinecones – Sage – glassarfemptee: The Pinecones hail from Toronto. Not sure if they are still together. This is from the 2010 album of the same name.

The Gourds – Pickles – treefrogdemon: ‘A lot of people I know use dill weed/Why don’t you be more adventurous?’ I don’t know why they call it ‘dill weed’ in the States. But they do.

Suzanne Vega – Rosemary (Live at the Barbican) – severin: Rosemary. That’s for remembrance. And I remember being at this concert so it must be true. She played the whole album Solitude Standing as it was its 20th anniversary.

Bob Marley and the Wailers – African Herbsman – glassarfemptee: The late great Bob Marley, who I’m sure was an African Herbsman himself…

Pentangle – Let No Man Steal Your Thyme – Suzi: Recorded live during their 2008 tour, a reprise of a song from their 1968 album, Sweet Child. In folk songs, thyme is both a pun and a symbol of virginity.

Dick Gaughan – Wild Mountain Thyme – treefrogdemon: Dick Gaughan with Emmylou Harris, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright and the Transatlantic Sessions band: this is a proper folk club staple and everyone in the world has sung it…but have they got the fourth line right? (Clue: it’s got to rhyme, you see.) (Although as Tom Lehrer says, it sounds more ethnic if it ain’t good English and it don’t even gotta rhyme…excuse me, rhyne.)

The Imagined Village – Scarborough Fair – Suzi: A dreamy, evocative arrangement by Martin Carthy of a song which will be familiar to many. Chris Wood sings.

Green Day – Sassafras Roots – Fintan28: Just a couple of kids hanging out. No mention of the roots in the lyrics. Maybe they were making root beer.

Black Sabbath – Sweet Leaf – Suzi and LongTallSilly: Suzi: Well, it’s definitely a herb! LTS: This is obviously about marjoram or something similar! I wonder if fairies wearing boots came from a similar mental state🤔

Kathleen Edwards – Mint – DebbyM: Never say no to the taste of mint (shalalalala).

Ray Charles – One Mint Julep – Fintan28: Tasty little herbal concoction from Brother Ray.

Ida Maria – I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast – severin: With oregano, basil and thyme, apparently.

Main Playlist, blurbs above:

YouTube playlist, blurbs below:

Totorro – Destiny’s Chives – DebbyM: There’s a French band called Totorro with a track Destiny’s Chives but it’s an instrumental which feels like cheating this week. (You have nothing on LongTallSilly – Ed.)

System of a Down – Pizza Pie, aka ChicN’Stu – AliM: “Pepperoni and green peppers, mushrooms, olive, chives…” Sounds fine, but I don’t understand the concept of ‘pizza pie’?

Pink Floyd – Time – LongTallSilly: Having just seen Aussie Floyd, who played a great version, I thought I’d try and sneak this one past Ali. A great song from a great album, who cares it’s spelt with an I instead of a hy? 😂😂

Emerson Lake and Palmer – The Sage – LongTall Silly: ELP are one of those groups that either inspire or I think they are disappearing up their own fundament! In my opinion this is one of the former.

The Herbs – Bayleaf – LongTall Silly: I can’t help but sing this to myself whenever bay leaf is mentioned! Ridiculous childhood memories.