Max Richter: Dream 3 (in the midst of my life) and the sound of serenity
Russell Cunningham In 1951 the composer John Cage visited the anechoic chamber at Harvard University. Upon entering he had expected to...
Thanks for stumbling upon my retirement project and labour of love, Here Comes The Song. Here you'll find the latest blogs from music fanatics about their favourite songs and the artists who wrote them. It really is about the music that moves us...
Kate Ellis: The story behind my song The Story You’ve Been Told
Kate Ellis And when you feel you’re breaking It’s just your past unmaking You’re perfect, you are whole I don’t know what you’ve been...
Kurt Vile: Like Exploding Stones and the pain of the creative process
Rob Steen Time to fess up. I was more or less a Kurt Vile virgin until last week. My son, Joe, had raved aplenty but only one song, One...
Jukebox Story: A magical music machine for the single-minded
Phil Shaw In the days before ubiquitous mobiles, a mate who owned a jukebox was having it repaired when the engineer asked if he could...
Elvis Presley: In The Ghetto and its enduring relevance
Rob Steen I probably shouldn’t be writing this. After all, I am by no means an Elvis fan. I giggled at his movies, never bought anything...
Brian Wilson at 80: The Beach Boys and You Still Believe In Me
Phil Shaw It scarcely seems possible but Brian Wilson – still celebrated for his sumptuous teenage symphonies for The Beach Boys six...
From Red to blues: Got My Mojo Working by Muddy Waters
Ian Tasker If you are talking blues standards then they don’t come much more ready-made, boil-in-the-bag than Muddy Waters’ Got My Mojo...
The Beatles: I Need You and a personal appeal for Help!
Tim Woods What kind of Beatles fan are you? Maybe the obsessive type, the sort who whistles the chorus to Honey Pie without even...
Cowboy: Please Be With Me – and please remember Duane Allman
Ian Tasker Today is a day for remembrance, reflection and wondering what might have been, for exactly 50 years ago on October 29, 1971,...
Steely Dan: Bodhisattva and the outfunking of The Skunk
Rob Steen Bodacious cowboys. Snook-cocking hipsters. Coolest white dudes on the Seventies block. Steely Dan, aka The Dan, are the...
Duster Bennett: Worried Mind and British blues of the vintage kind
Phil Shaw Perhaps Robert Johnson’s deal with the devil at the crossroads was to blame for all the blues artists, here and in America, who...
Lindsey Buckingham: Swan Song and the spoils of an inner war
Rob Steen Lindsey Buckingham has pulled off quite a coup with his latest album. Emulating Sting, not to mention leaving Paul, Mick, Keef...
The Band: In cahoots with Van Morrison for 4% Pantomime
Rob Steen Freddie and Bowie. Crosby and Bowie. Crosby and Nash. Mahalia and Mavis. Aretha and George Michael. Michael McDonald and Joni....
Jason Mandell: The story behind my song Soul Of America
Jason Mandell in Los Angeles There’s a great Julian Barnes line: ‘I don’t believe in God, but I miss him.’ That’s kind of how I felt...
Whitney Houston: How Will I Know and a daughter's dance of delight
Tim Woods As a parent, you have certain responsibilities towards your children. You need to keep them safe, provide them with a home, put...
Allison Russell: How a Nightflyer became an angel of the morning
Neil Morton Reading the harrowing back story of Allison Russell while listening to her remarkable debut solo album is a humbling...
Ronald Isley at 80: Behind A Painted Smile lies a voice for the ages
Phil Shaw OK, so who’s the oldest singer or musician from the rock ‘n’ roll era onwards still performing? When the question was posed at...
World Party: Karl Wallinger, Always and the McCartney parallel
Rob Steen So I sat in the attic, a piano up my nose And the wind played a dreadful cantata (cantata, cantata) Sore was I from a crack of...
Billy Connolly: Everybody Knows That and the ballad years
Shug Hanlan It is impossible to mistake the looks of genuine joy and affection on the faces of the various ‘celebrities’ assembled for...
The Beautiful South: I'll Sail This Ship Alone
Tim Woods Record sales that topped 15 million. Eight top 10 studio albums, with two reaching No1 in the charts. Twenty-two singles that...