The Perfect Song For ... a podcast about the perfect song

You own a bar, and things are getting rowdy; its time to close. But what song do you put on? You have a house party, but its getting late and the neighbours are complaining, the cops are prowling and you have to close things down. What do you put on the sound system? You own a club, same thing, last song. Music writers Fred de Vries and Tim Cohen provide some options, and choose the perfect song for ... closing time. E: [email protected] X: @perfectsongfor_ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/perfectsongfor?

There is a feeling .. or is there? You think their may be, you hope there is, this may be it! You want to test to see if the feeling is reciprocated. What would the perfect song be if you want to flirt ... but carefully. With subtlety. This week Fred de Vries, and Tim Cohen are joined by special guest, Fizz Carr, co-author of The River Cottage Family Cookbook. Did we hit the right note? [email protected] @perfectsongfor #perfectsongfor #fizzcarr

What do you listen to if you are looking for inspiration to write a poem? What song or what kind of song gets you into the mood, or helps you appreciate the process of writing poetry? In this podcast we have some suggestions, and also the perfect person to teach us about writing poetry, renowned poet and author Finuala Dowling, who has spent much of her life teaching poetry. Her five collections of poetry include Pretend you Don’t Know Me, a new and selected volume that brings together many of her most popular poems. She is joined by journalists and regulars Fred de Vries and Tim Cohen who try to pretend they too know something about the topic. The songs we chose are Nina Simone - My Father ; Nick Cave - Frogs ; Bob Dylan - Series of Dreams ; The Stooges - Search and Destroy ; Cat Power - Maybe Not ; Tom Waits - Come on up to the House ; Theuns Jordaan - Beautiful in Beaufort Wes ; Patti Smith - Ain't it strange ; and Gil-Scot Heron - The revolution won’t be televised. Agree or disagree with our choices, please contact us on [email protected]. More on Finuala is available https://finualadowling.com/. Full songs on Spotify

How do you feel about Saturday night? Sounds like a bit of an inane question, but is more interesting than it might seem. Traditionally Saturday night is party night, the time in the middle of the weekend when you can go wild, make love, meet people, be your total self. But ironically, precisely because that’s its reputation, not living your perfect life on Saturday night can result in depression and disappointment. Saturday night is, in short, Janus-faced, and it turns out their are songs which express both sides of the coin; songs which build you up for romance and fun on the way ... and songs which bemourn the failure of those hopes and wishes.
In this episode, journalists and music writers Fred de Vries and Tim Cohen gallop over songs you might listen to before the wild partying begins, songs you might listen to while the parting is happening, and songs that bemoan the dashed hopes that Saturday night promised. The songs in this set are: (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night by Tom Waits; Saturday Night by Herman Brood and his Wild Romance; 10:15 Saturday Night by The Cure; Forever Young by Sparks; Saturday Nite by Earth Wind and Fire and Another Saturday Night by Sam Cooke.
Finally we choose the perfect song for a Saturday night ... or do we. Maybe there should be a song for the hopeful Saturday night and another for the hopeless Saturday night. Let us know your thoughts, preferences, songs we left out and whether, in fact, the best night of the week is not actually Saturday night, but Friday night. Emails us on [email protected]; donations at patreaon.com/theperfectsongfor. Full songs on Spotify

How many of us have stood in front of a mirror, pretending we are Jimi, or Keith, or Slash, or Jimmy. And how many of us still do it, playing air guitar when we hear those screaming strings rising above the rhythm section?
We have all seen them at live concerts, faced contorted, hands cramped in the air, fingers touching invisible strings.
Air guitar, says Wikipedia, is ‘a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. What makes a great air guitarist? Are there competitions? There are compilations with dozens of perfect songs to play air guitar to. Famous ones include ‘Layla’ by Derek and the Dominos, ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd and ‘Paradise City’ by Guns ‘N Roses.
In this episode, journalists and music writers Fred de Vries and Tim Cohen
try to answer some of the questions raised above. They also confess to being amateur air guitarists, and introduce you to six of their favourite air guitar songs, with, as usual, some twists.
The featured songs are ‘I’m Going Home’ – Ten Years After; ‘Voodoo Chile’ – Stevie Ray Vaughan; ‘Bohemian Like You’ – Dandy Warhols; ‘The End’ – The Beatles; 'Painkiller' - Judas Priest; ‘Sultans Of Swing’ – Dire Straits. Song suggestions, comments, episode suggestions to [email protected]