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Beneath the song’s jovial call-and-response melody lies a dark story of drug addiction
The song, which has its roots in Irish balladry, has become part of the recent TikTok craze
From soft porn to satire, this wordless song has a long and surprising history
The track’s six-second drum solo became a key element in the history of hip-hop
Our new series on TV that is perfect for lockdown and isolation begins with a meditative documentary about making things
George’s Michael’s song reflects the bitterness and vulnerability of a betrayed romantic
The song made famous by Nat King Cole began life on a film soundtrack
The choral movement of the composer’s Ninth Symphony has featured in politics and popular culture
Like the cuckoo call in the lyrics, this 13th-century song has continued to echo down the years
Civil rights and dub reggae were among the strands in the track’s DNA
Even the absence of ‘Primark-wearing’ Posh could not dull the fans’ rowdy party spirit
Recorded for the soundtrack to Four Weddings and a Funeral, the song was eventually withdrawn from sale
They’re known for melancholy songs and have adapted poems drenched in death — but insist they do ‘like a laugh’
The singer moves between self-pity and spite in a tune that has been widely covered right up to the present day
Played annually at the Cenotaph, the haunting tune has been widely performed and recorded
The song was a patchwork of styles and samples, performed by the singer while heavily pregnant
At 71, the singer is part of rock and roll royalty, and she’s just made a raw and mesmerising new album
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song has been covered by artists as wide-ranging, musically and politically, as Kid Rock and Neil Young
From glam-rock to reggae, artists have been lured by the song’s siren sax
The Malian singer-actor talks about the life-changing traumas that helped shape her work
The country’s most translated female author talks about populism and cultural taboos
Every label rejected the song, but a teenage music studio receptionist heard its potential
The singer-songwriter talks about stage fright and the social media pressure on women
The California-based duo’s music brilliantly combines dancefloor beats and nuanced social critique
How a song almost entirely in Korean by a business school drop-out in his mid-thirties ‘broke’ YouTube
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