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SF0186 He’s on the phone
From dial tones to iPhones via payphones, a short history of great phone-related tracks.
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SF0185 In the city
City life can be thrilling or alienating. Here are some tracks about city life to suit every mood.
SF0184 RIP Clem Burke, Dave Allen, David Thomas, Rick Buckler
A tribute to Clem Burke of Blondie; Dave Allen of The Gang of Four; David Thomas of Pere Ubu; and Rick Buckler of The Jam.
SF0183 Your full name please
Not just your name, but tracks with your full name.
SF0182 The Carolinas, North and South
Take a trip to the Appalachians for a selection of tracks from North and South Carolina.
SF0181 Hey!
Tracks with “Hey!” in their title. A plentiful supply: it’s tough to leave so many good ones out.
SF0180 Bonus Ep: Steve Pringle hosts Ian for Mix Tapes podcast
A bonus episode, essentially the first episode in the podcast Steve’s Mix Tapes; Ian is interviewed by Steve Pringle.
SF0179 The Transgender Episode
In a darkening world, aiming to throw light on transgender musical artists with this episode featuring their work.
SF0178 The Third Man (and The Third Woman)
Three-piece bands, sometimes called power trios, in the third part of our Graham Greene inspired trilogy of episodes.
SF0177 The End of the Affair
Valentine’s Day is upon us once more. But the flowers of romance can fade and die – as these tracks tell us, all too sadly.
SF0176 Brighton Rock
Brighton Rock was a novel by Graham Greene. But there’s also plenty of great (alternative) Brighton rock music (and post-punk and other genres) – as this episode demonstrates.
SF0174 Break’s over, get back to work
Getting 2025 off to a depressing start with a selection of alternative songs about work
SF0173 Festive Forthy Pt 3 2024, #14-1
The third – and Top 14 – in our trilogy of the best alternative tracks from 2024.
SF0172 Festive Forthy Pt 2 2024, #27-15
Episode 2 of a trilogy looking back on some of the best alternative music tracks from 2024.
SF0171 Festive Forthy Pt 1 2024, #40 – 28
The first of 3 episodes rounding up the best alternative tracks of 2024. Starting with #40-28.
SF0170 The Days of our Lives
A selection of day tracks with yesterdays, todays, tomorrows, weekdays – and starting with “This Perfect Day”.
SF0169 Broadcast And Their Influence
A celebration of the music of experimental pop artists Broadcast and some of the band they influenced.
SF0168 Deep Waters
Songs about water – murky, deep, still, treading, tables, coolers, edges and living adjacent to.
SF0167 – Steve Pringle Unleashed
Steve Pringle, author of the definitive Fall chronicle “You Must Get Them All” takes us through his life in music.
SF0166 History and Some People Who Made It
Whether you believe individuals make a difference to history or not, here are some songs about history and the people in it.
SF0165 – Britpop: An Alternative History
Some great songs from Britain in the mid-90s. May or may not qualify as Britpop.
SF0164 Insecurity
A selection of tracks on the subject of feeling like an impostor, inadequate or out of our depth.
SF0163 Angels and Ghosts
The subject is angels and ghosts but the mood ranges from visceral to joyous to reflective on these afterlife tracks.
SF0162 50 Years On: 1974 Revisited
A reassessment of 1974, 50 years on. An almost themeless era as music wondered where to go next after the 60s, psychedelia, heavy metal, glam rock and the golden age of reggae. (And before punk came thundering in.) A fascinating tracklist.
SF0161 Boredom
An uplifting episode – though ironically the tracks are about boredom.
SF0160 Song for Europe, or Sombr-Euro Fallout – The Return
Alternative songs about Europe and European cities to celebrate Euros 2024.
SF0159 Songs For, Songs Against … and simply “Songs”
A multi-genre selection united by all containing the word “Song” in their title.
SF0158 Family Life
An episode featuring fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, grandmothers, half sisters, little sisters and the family tortoise.
SF0157 Steve Albini Tribute
A tribute to the legendary Steve Albini (RIP), featuring tracks from his bands Shellac and Big Black; and some of the myriad bands he audio-engineered.
SF0156 Pedal Steel Special
A celebration of alternative bands incorporating the pedal steel guitar into their sound.
SF0155 Female bass players
A tribute episode to the iconic female bass players – and also some you may not have heard of.
SF0154 Fame, Fame, Fatal Fame
When will I be famous? Me, probably never, which is fine because, as these tracks show, it is very much a double-edged sword.
SF0153 Tiring, Sleeping, Dreaming
You snooze, you lose, or so they say. Not on this episode though. Alternative tracks about sleeping and dreaming.
SF0152 The Enduring Legacy of The Kinks
Hundreds of groups have been influenced by The Kinks. Here’s a few of them plus some original tracks themselves.
SF0151 – Money: Too much or not enough
An episode about the perils of either striving after too much money or not having enough of it.
SF0150 – 150th Retrospective Episode
A cherry picking exercise from the archives on the occasion of the podcast’s 150th episode.
SF0149 Music about music
An episode about music itself – the songs, the singers, the radio, the ballroom, the dances.
SF0147 Festive Forthy 2023, #14-1
The final countdown of the best tracks in 2023, according to Sombrero Fallout.
SF0146 Festive Forthy 2023, #27-15
The second of three shows rounding up some of the best alternative tracks from 2023.
SF0145 Festive Forthy 2023, #40-28
The first of 3 episodes dedicated to the best tracks of 2023. Well, some of them.
SF0144 – Neutral Milk Hotel 25 years later
It’s a quarter of a century since Neutral Milk Hotel effectively stopped. Here’s a celebration plus some bands who owe a debt to their unique sound.
SF0143 Same band, same song, different version
What happens when artists first demo a familiar song or re-imagine it years later.
The demos, the reimaginings, the minimalisms, the maximalisms.
SF0142 Lanes, Ways and Automobiles
The thrill of the open road. An episode about cars, roads and motorways.
The art of driving.
SF0141 Sibling Bands
Ending up in the same band as your sibling. Here’s some of the best tracks that combination can produce.
This is what feels like to never escape your childhood: an episode about bands containing siblings.
SF0140 Talking Heads 40 Years On
As ‘Stop Making Sense’, the Talking Heads live concert film is re-released and given the IMAX treatment, we look back on the group and their legacy.
SF0139 Lovers of Today
An outstanding selection of alternative love songs from the 2020s.
SF0138 Guest Host, Gideon Haigh
I was stoked when Gideon Haigh, one of the world’s pre-eminent cricket journalists, joined me to share his love for alternative music. A brilliant on-brand tracklist inevitably resulted.
SF0137 False Endings
Tracks with false endings, codas and late changes of direction from a variety of genres.
SF0136 Chicago Now
There’s a brand new alt-scene in 2020s Chicago and here’s some great examples of what’s happening there.
SF0135 On returning
Refreshed and back from its holidays, Sombrero Fallout wants to share some classic alternative tracks about returning with you.
SF0134 Over the Oceans
An Ocean’s Eleven of songs. Well, an Ocean’s Fourteen, to be accurate.
SF0133 Simon Reynolds, Guest Host
Renowned music critic and author Simon Reynolds joins the podcast to choose some of his favourite tracks.
SF0132 Remembering Tom Verlaine
Paying tribute to the great Tom Verlaine and some of the groups his band Television influenced.
SF0131 Tara Emelye Needham, Guest Host
Tara Emelye Needham, an integral mover within the Millennial Long Island music scene, introduces us to some tracks which have influenced her – and some of her own bands’ tracks as well.
SF0130 Young Marble Giants
Young Marble Giants left a slim volume of work but a disproportionately large legacy. Here we listen to their music and its influence.
SF0129 Liverpool and Merseyside
An open top bus tour around the best alternative tunes from Liverpool and Merseyside
SF0128 30 Years On – 1993 Revisited
None of the smash hits, but some of the alternative tunes from 1993.
SF0125 Those We Lost In 2022
A commemoration of the alternative music artists we lost in 2022.
SF0124 Festive Forthy 2022, Pt 3, #14-#1
So, here it is: the best tracks of 2022. And it’s the best year for music ever, as always, with all these songs to add to all the ones from every other year.
SF0123 Festive Forthy 2022 , Pt 2, #27-#15
Part Two in our trilogy of episodes celebrating the best tracks of 2022.
SF0122 Festive Forthy 2022, Pt 1, #40-#28
Part One of three episodes rounding up the best in alternative listening for 2022. Not definitive, not meant to be.
SF0121 Before they found their sound
The sounds before the sounds. What successful bands sounded like before they sold out stadiums. Often better.
SF0120 RIP Mimi Parker (Low) and Keith Levene (PIL)
A tribute to Mimi Parker of Low, and Keith Levene, a founding member of early PIL and The Clash.
SF0119 John Cale at 80
John Cale is 80: no second invitation needed to celebrate the Velvets, his solo work, his musical contributions and his production as well.
SF0118 Don’t let our youth go to waste
Braces, tire swings, then love and other catastrophes. Songs about the indignities and thrills of being young.
SF0117 Perth
Perth, a thousand miles from anywhere else, and West Australia more broadly have always had their unique thing going on. Here’s their unique musical thing.
SF0116 25 years of Mogwai (plus their influences)
25 Years of living under the reign of Mogwai. Interlaced with some influences on the band themselves.
SF0115 Tributes, Odes and Homages
Tributes, hymns, odes to. Songs for, Homages about. Not people though. Binoculars, divorce and androids amongst others.
SF0114 Class and Inequality
Songs about the class system, about the bourgeoisie, about unfairness, about inequality. But with humour too.
SF0113 Neo-Psychedelia
The inheritors of the ’60s psychedelic bands are the latter-day Neo-Psychedelia practitioners. Here’s an episode featuring them.
SF0112 – Bonus Episode: Bands Listeners Are In
The conch is handed to listeners of the podcast who feature here in the bands they play in.
SF0111 Songs about Actors and Movies
Songs about actors, songs about movies, songs about actors in movies.
SF0110 Great Songs on TV Shows
Great tracks from TV shows, good, bad and indifferent.
SF0109 Cameras and Photos
More songs about cameras and photography.
SF0108 Jowe Head (Swell Maps), Guest Host
Guest host this episode is Jowe Head, veteran of many groups and especially beloved by post-punk aficionados for his time in the legendary Swell Maps.
SF0107 Two Tone and its Jamaican Origins
Now there’s a Two Tone museum in Coventry, here’s a celebration of the label and the original ska sound from Jamaica in the ’60s that inspired it.
SF0106 Milestone Birthday Episode
To celebrate a certain milestone, the first letters of the these favourite Sombrero tracks spell out BIRTHDAY EPISODE.
SF0105 30 years of Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted
It’s 30 years since Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted landed on our CD shelf. Here’s an episode celebrating its tracks and tracing its influence.
SF0104 Collaborations
Collaborations don’t always work, but these alternative examples of the art form are inspired.
SF0103 Guest Host Guy Haslam
A guest host episode with a member of the Haslam Musical Dynasty – and the UK’s leading cryptic crossword exponent, Guy Haslam.
SF0102 Music of Ukraine
A celebration of the music, mostly alternative, being made in Ukraine today.
SF0101 International Women’s Day Special
To celebrate International Women’s Day, an episode of alternative female artists to watch out for in 2022.
SF0100 Special Extended Edition – All New Artists
For the 100th edition of Sombrero Fallout, listeners have written in with their choice of an artist never previously featured. Plus some surprise guests towards the end behind the mike.
SF0099 Happy Alternative Valentines Day
An alternative world of music for Valentine’s Day
SF0097 Guest Host Terry Edwards
Terry Edwards, go to session man, but also member of The Higsons, Gallon Drunk and the NJE guest hosts this eclectic episode.
SF0095 – Festive Forthy 2021, Part Two: Numbers 26-14
The second of three episodes rounding up the best alternative tracks from 2021.
SF0094 – Festive Forthy 2021, Part One: Numbers 40-27
The first episode in this year’s best tracks selection, in the opinion of Sombrero Fallout.
SF0093 Australian Post Punk Today
A survey of all that’s great in Australian post-punk over the last few years.
SF0092 – MBV’s Loveless 30 Years On
A celebration of the debt owed by the bands who listened to My Bloody Valentine’s soundscape masterpiece from 1991: Loveless.
SF0091 – Berlin
Berlin, internationally famous for its clubs, its lifestyle, its vibe. Take a tour with a collection of songs about Berlin or recorded in the city.
SF0090 Guest Host Pinko Fowler, Part 2
Part 2 of the Sombrero interview with indie music maven Pinko Fowler. Tales of Mark E Smith, Snub TV and the full-on craziness of Hunter S Thompson, plus classic alternative tracks.
SF0089 Writing, Reading and Libraries
Songs about books, reading, writing, libraries. Unfashionable these days, maybe, but the inspiration for some great tracks.
SF0088 Is modern life rubbish?
Modern life can often be very vexatious, even if cognitively we know we’re better off than ever. Here’s a celebration of how rubbish modern life is.
SF0087 – Richard H Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire (1956-2021) – A Tribute
Another musical visionary leaves the scene, far too young. Richard H Kirk along with his Cabaret Voltaire bandmates, was a primary architect behind today’s electronic music, as this episode amply demonstrates.
SF0086 Guest Host Pinko Fowler, Part 1
Pinko Fowler has videoed every indie star in the known universe (just about). Friends of the Fall, Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, Nick Cave, the Go-Betweens, Pulp, Cabaret Voltaire and dozens more, here’s Pinko’s choice of tracks from his life in indie – plus all the anecdotes on top.
SF0085 Covers from another genre
The very best type of cover song adds something new to the original. The icing on the cake? These tracks switch genre as well.
SF0084 Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry- A Tribute
A tribute to the recently departed Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the architect behind reggae and dub.
SF0083 – Guest Host Andrew McClelland
Alternative improv comedian and DJ to the stars (e.g. Cher) Andrew McLelland co-hosts this eclectic mix of Australian indie-folk, post-punk, post-rock – and sea shanties.
SF0082 Confessional Songs
Confessionals, memoirs, autobiographies – call them what you like, a collection of brilliant, highly personal songs.
SF0081 The Sparks Brothers and Their Influence
To coincide with the release of Edgar Wright’s outstanding Sparks Brothers movie, here’s 50 years of the Maels and the bands they have influenced.