The Chieftains (with Joni Mitchell) : The Magdalene Laundries [ purchase ] “Today, if you walk into the centre of Stephen's Green, just ...

To wrap up my thoughts on this week's theme, I wanted to span the various ways women (and song) have dealt with domestic violence: confu...

Sheryl Crow: Strong Enough [ purchase ] On the face of it, Sheryl Crow's 1993 triple-Grammy debut doesn't seem to speak explicitly t...

Suicide : Frankie Teardrop [ purchase ] Doc & Merle Watson : The Lawson Family Murder [ purchase ] Two songs which are worlds apart mu...

Jo Serrapere: Dream, My Girl [ purchase ] (scroll down to My Blue Heaven) I first heard Jo Serrapere , a musician from the Detroit area, at...

Gaye Adegbalola : You Don‘t Have to Take It (Like I Did) [ purchase ] I’m going to tell a story. It may not seem to have anything to do with...

Tracy Chapman: Behind the Wall [ Purchase ] I thought a good follow up to Suzanne Vega's "Luka" would be to post Tracy Chapma...

Blind Willie McTell : Southern Can Is Mine [ purchase ] Sometimes, needing a break from the music, I'll turn on the police scanner for a...

Suzanne Vega : Luka [ purchase ] One thing that happens in abusive relationships is that the abuser isolates the victim. She knows that any ...

Tori Amos: Me and a Gun [ purchase ] I will never forget the effect this song had on me when I bought the CD upon its 1992 release - it ha...

The Beatles: Run For Your Life [ purchase ] This week's theme finds our hardy band here at Star Maker Machine turning to a serious topi...