All the Playlists

Erupt and Matter – Moby with The Void Pacific Choir

7 March 2017

Moby despises Donald Trump and everything he stands for. If you’ve watched the video for Erupt and Matter, you’ll know that, even if you don’t follow the veteran DJ and activist on social media. The sheer venom and anthemic roar of the music would be enough to tell you how he feels, even if the words weren’t written in letters that fill the screen. This is a pounding techno incitement to riot under the banner “we don’t trust you any more”.

Fighting Times – The Neurotics

7 March 2017

When Neurotics frontman Steve Drewett wrote this song for the 1986 mini-album Repercussions, its chief target was the South African apartheid regime and thankfully that has long since been overturned. But every other point of reference in this rallying cry against inaction sounds depressingly contemporary. “Why are you so quiet?” Drewett asks in the chorus, “when these are fighting times?”

P.O.W.A – M.I.A.

7 March 2017

“Say this is people power / Throw up my finger and I’m taking on the Tower”. Taking pot shots at The Donald is all fine and good but it is so much better when it’s done by a daring, eclectic, unpredictable original like Ms Maya Arulpragasam. An activist and a true artist of rap, MIA’s POWA is a unique mix of doo-wop loops, laid-back, bitter rhymes and Tamil folk percussion.

Fight the Power – Public Enemy

7 March 2017

If you’ve ever seen Spike Lee’s extraordinary 1989 comedy drama Do The Right Thing, then you’ll never forget the scene where Italian-American pizzeria owner Sal (Danny Aiello) squares off with Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) as Fight the Power blares out of his boombox, lyrically laying down the gauntlet, drawing a line at which Sal’s racism has to stop and, as it turns out, laying his life on that same line.

Goodnight America – Until the Ribbon Breaks

7 March 2017

As immigrants living in the USA, British trio Until the Ribbon Breaks released this anthem during the US presidential campaigns in 2016, insisting that it’s “pro-America”, but clearly frustrated with a nation that is “sucking on its thumb” with its refrain of “goodnight goodnight goodnight” as the electorate drifted off to sleep when it most needed be awake, on the brink of doom.

Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who

7 March 2017

For almost 50 years, the words “meet the new boss / same as the old boss” have rung true, but perhaps for once that’s not quite true, with the leader of the free world who refuses to play by history’s rules. And yet one constant remains: those who lead us only ever seem to listen to us when it suits their own agenda.

Demagogue – Franz Ferdinand

7 March 2017

Smooth Scots pop art geeks Franz Ferdinand supplied this song for the excellent awareness-raising 30 days 30 Songs project in the lead-up to the US Presidential election, organised by Secretly Group’s Phil Waldorf.

I Give You Power – Arcade Fire

7 March 2017

For their first new material since 2013’s Reflektor, indie art collective Arcade Fire recruit legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples to present a clear and simple warning to our leaders: I give you power and I can take it away. This is not a threat, Mr Trump. it’s a promise.

Summer Fog – The Album Leaf

7 March 2017

I’ve received a lot of e-mails asking me how I write. The simple answer is, I write late at night, with my headphones on, listening to music. These are some songs I really like, especially for writing. They frequently find a place on my midnight playlist. I hope you like them, too.

Distant Light – Max Cooper

7 March 2017

Max Cooper creates “highly produced, emotional electronica made for both the dance floor and sit-down concerts.” When I hear this song I am immediately reminded of the deep, introspective journey that music sometimes takes me on. There I am in the middle of dance floor, surrounded by gyrating strangers and dancing lights. I close my eyes and go on a mini-vacation in my mind.

Mad World – Tears For Fears

7 March 2017

Submitted by the team at Solace Club – here’s what they do:

We offer people who are dealing with grief a care package designed by a psychologist to help make their journey in grief a little less painful. For example, our triage box has many items to help with the physical symptoms of grief in the early stages such as nausea, difficulties with sleep, forgetfulness. 

Set My Mind (Luttrell Remix) – Way Out West

6 March 2017

Throwing house parties in Berlin, if done right, can actually yield a profit (and no I am not talking about charging your friends upon entry.) In Germany, you can bring your empty glass bottles to your nearest grocery store and get money back. Today, I proudly carried a giant bag of jangly bottles to my corner market and received a whopping 3.18 eur. Woo!