A personal playlist for a trip around Japan, from ‘You Only Live Twice’ and ‘Kyoto Song’ to ambient Japanese artists and a few tracks chosen purely for mood.

An in-depth look at Talk Talk’s “Happiness Is Easy” from The Colour of Spring (1986). We unpack Mark Hollis’s lyrics, anti-war sentiment, and the eerie contrast of a children’s choir.

Intended as a celebration of domestic peace and a bright new dawn, Double Fantasy ended in tragedy. Read how its closing track, “Hard Times Are Over”, became a heartbreaking prophecy for John Lennon.

The boulevards, blocks and canyons of Los Angeles have inspired countless songs, many captured on this playlist of Los Angeles songs. Grab the playlist and read some of the fascinating stories of songs inspired by, written about or recorded in the City of Angels.

Every city has its soundtrack, but New York’s is cut deep into the very grooves of vinyl history. Join us as we drop the needle on the ultimate collection of New York songs, tracing the city’s shifting sonic geography from the raw punk grit of the Ramones’ “53rd & 3rd” to the late-night, rain-slicked jazz of Lou Reed’s Coney Island Baby (1975). This is more than a list of favourite anthems—it is a journey through the storied recording studios, vibrant neighbourhoods, and historic streets that shaped the sound of a metropolis.

In 1977, Peter Gabriel released a masterpiece about leaving the corporate machinery of Genesis for spiritual freedom. That liberating transition happened on a real Somerset peak. Discover the true meaning of Solsbury Hill, where it is, and how to climb it.

A clear guide to the meaning of Kate Bush’s ‘Cloudbusting’, from Peter Reich and Wilhelm Reich to Orgonon, memory and Hounds of Love.

Elton John’s Song for Guy Meaning. A hit without Bernie, but who was Guy and what does the lyric mean?

Few songs invite interpretation like Hotel California. Often read as a mystery, the song is in fact a metaphor for fame, excess, and the hidden cost of success in the 1970s music industry. Here’s what the lyrics really mean — and why the message still resonates today.