Friday's Playlist - Fuck Trump! Go vote.

For a long time I've resisted putting forth any political opinion on here, for two reasons. The first reason is that this is a music site, and music unites us regardless of who we chose to vote for. The second reason is that nobody cares about my opinions. I've been a lot more vocal on the Twitter account associated with the site, and I've shared a playlist or two that might have betrayed my leanings but essentially I've tried to keep this page free of anything overly topical or potentially divisive.

Friday's Monday's Playlist: Bootsy Collins: Sessions & Contributions

Today is Bootsy Collins' 69th birthday (he he, 69) so in his honour we're scrambling our schedule and are presenting Friday's Playlist on (GASP!) a Monday. This is the type of lunacy we're capable of. Watch out, we're funkin' crazy.

This Playlist explores some of Bootsy's sessions and contributions outside of his main gigs in Parliament, Funkadelic, the Rubber Band or his solo output. This is in no way an exhaustive list but rather an overview of the breadth of his talents.

Friday's Playlist: Rap and Hip Hop

Full disclosure: we're very ignorant when it comes to Hip Hop or Rap. It's just not our scene. But it's just a massive, ubiquitous cultural force. And it has infiltrated, informed, permeated, influenced every other musical genre, from Jazz to Blues to Metal. So one can't not be aware of its impact, pardon the double negative.

Musée de la Musique, Paris

The Cité de la Musique in Paris is a huge complex in the north-east section the capital which sits next to the Philharmonic and comprises a beautiful performance hall in which I've seen several acts including Comus, Bill Frisell and P.I.L. and a splendid museum which I visited back when it first opened in the early nineties.

Renaud: Putain d'Expo! @ La Cité de la Musique, Paris

À deux pas de la Philharmonie de Paris, temple de la Grande Musique, sérieuse et imposante, et à quatre pas du Zénith que Renaud a inauguré et rempli des centaines de fois, la prestigieuse Cité de la Musique consacre une belle exposition au chanteur énervant, l'occasion de retrouver son univers alors même que son activité musicale est en berne, hormis la sortie il y a quelque mois d'un single bâclé, le médiocre Corona Song.

Friday's Playlist: Awesome Beatles Covers (part 1)

This Friday's Playlist is a selection of Beatles songs played by other artists. Of course, these songs are given some new guises: soul, hard rock, jazz... Because a good song can be played in any style.

Friday's Playlist: Just Cool Rock Shit

No real theme to this one, just ninety minutes of cool, hard rocking songs, some old, some new, most of which might have been a little overlooked. Play this one extra loud.

Leslie West @ New Morning, Paris - October 8th, 2010

Eddie Van Halen: 1955-2020

For some reason, Van Halen never did anything for me growing up. It should have, in theory it should have ticked all the right boxes. But I never got them. Sure, I did enjoy some of their classics and hits the same way I enjoy Don't Stop Believin' or Too Shy. But I never went beyond that until a few years ago. 

Friday's Playlist: Eponymous Songs

This Friday's Playlist is a non-exhaustive list of bands or artists that have named songs after themselves. Bonus points of course when that song comes from an album that is also also self-titled! There are many, many more but we had to stop somewhere. Which ones would you include?