No prizes for guessing why this one popped into my mind this week as Los Angeles battles the terrible wildfires.

(more…)

RIP Sam Moore, sole survivor – and soul survivor – of Sam & Dave, the duo known for their two biggest hits Soul Man and Hold On, I’m A Comin’.

(more…)

Betty Davis is so hot you might need to stand back. And so is the funky groove of Your Mama Wants Ya Back.

(more…)

Frida is the brunette from ABBA and I See Red is a song from her solo album back in 1982, produced by Phil Collins.

(more…)

David Bowie foretold his own imminent death in what would be the last song he released in his lifetime, Lazarus. Two days later he was dead at 69.

(more…)

Mogwai return with Fanzine Made Of Flesh, a characteristically bizarre and sinister new song and video from forthcoming album The Bad Fire.

(more…)

Genre-bending punk survivors The Mekons turn their ire towards British imperialism in general, and the Irish potato famine in particular, on a new album called Horror.

(more…)

Holly Beth Vincent combined a feisty punk attitude with a smouldering sexuality and pop tunes you would remember in her short-lived band Holly & The Italians. None more so than this.

(more…)

My December playlist, as you might expect, features a handful of Christmas tunes towards the end. But it’s also got some eclectic choices for a cold winter month, kicking off with a much-needed winter warmer of Electricity. There’s a prominent African flavour to blast away the chills, and some vintage jazz and funk.

I’ve only just stumbled upon this deep cut from Thin Lizzy, which seems to have been excavated from the vaults at some point last year.

(more…)