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6 Jan

Song 2 S.5 Ep.21: Jolly - Bad Omens, 06/01/2026

"I truly believe that an album is a journey that needs to flow from first song to the last" Bad Omen’s are having a bit of a renaissance at present with new music being drip fed and a new album touted for release in 2026, we caught up with Jolly from the band some time back – the full interview is available on RTL Play, on demand so get onto that after finishing up here. Jolly has some fantastic points on Song 2, unfortunately none of them support the theory… at all, but Jolly’s take on track-listing is a terrific listen. So go ahead and check it out. Joll of Bad Omen’s on the Song 2 theory….
6 Mar

Song 2 - S5 Ep. 28: Aretha Franklin - Say A Little Prayer, 06/03/2026

On this episode of Song 2, we’re making the case for why track two might be the most important slot on any album, and today’s example is Aretha Franklin an The song appears on her 1968 album Aretha Now, released during the peak of her legendary Atlantic Records run, when everything she recorded felt deliberate and powerful. Interestingly, the song didn’t start with Aretha, it was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and first recorded by Dionne Warwick a year earlier. The writers were inspired by the anxiety of the Vietnam War era, particularly the fear of loved ones being sent overseas, which adds surprising emotional depth to what sounds like such an upbeat pop classic.
19 Feb

Song 2 S.5 Ep.23: Harry Buonaccorsi - Maruja, 19/02/2026

“If you listen to it as one piece, it’s almost like one song anyway… it’s about taking the listener on a journey.” Welcome back to Song 2, the podcast where we try, sometimes stubbornly, mostly enthusiastically, to convince you that the second track on an album is either the best or the most important. Sometimes we win the argument. Often we don’t. This time, we put the theory to Harry from Maruja, in a slightly chaotic pre-Christmas chat recorded from a car park in Germany with questionable Wi-Fi and strong opinions on tracklisting. (image: Sony Music) Harry doesn’t fully buy into the “second song supremacy” idea but what he does offer is something arguably more interesting: a defence of albums as cohesive journeys in a streaming world that increasingly fragments them.
08/11/2024

Song 2: Dizzee Rascal - Stand Up Tall (S.4 Ep.11), 08/11/2024

Let us take you back! The year is 2004, grime experienced its first wave of success the summer previous and the wait for Dizzee’s 2nd album is finally over With “Boy In Da Corner” Dizzee Rascal put Grime well and truly on the map, but what was to follow? Was it going to be another fad like those silly tectonic dances of the early 2000’s or was it here to stay? Dizzee is set to play den Atelier in tickets at atelier.lu
25 Feb

Song 2 - Sprints: Episode: 25 25.02.26, 25/02/2026

“The second song is kind of like another opening track… if the first one doesn’t work, then the second one has to.” Welcome back to Song 2, the podcast that continues to argue (no convince) that the second track on an album might just be the most important one. This episode features a conversation Sarah Tapp had with Sprints (a little time back now) but timely, as it lands ahead of their show at Den Atelier, one of Luxembourg’s premier live venues. The band were promoting their album All That Is Over, and what followed was a refreshingly honest look at the chaos, compromise and near-existential spirals that come with finalising a tracklist. From vinyl-side constraints to anxiety-inducing sequencing, Sprints pull back the curtain on how albums are actually ordered, and whether track two really carries that much weight. (image: David Wallis)
29/09/2023

Song 2: Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (S.2 Ep.25), 29/09/2023

This week's Song 2 brings us to one of the most well-known and universally acclaimed rap songs ever…and a track listing loophole Many albums open with an intro track…nominally a skit, or an interlude, some type of meandering almost start, and, anything that’s sub 90secs is not a track in my eyes. Feel free to argue, but I am running with this as far as my middle-aged legs will carry me.
27 Feb

Song 2 - S.5 Ep.27: Jack Savoretti, 27/02/2026

“I don’t wake up trying to write the big song. I wake up trying to make a great album.” Welcome back to Song 2, the podcast still fighting the good fight for track number two. Five seasons in, we’ve converted a few believers, and this week might add another. With We Will Always Be The Way We Were on the horizon, Jack Savoretti joins the debate and, as it turns out, he doesn’t just agree with the theory… he’s been quietly living by it for years.
05/11/2025

Song 2: S.5 - Ep.11 - Prisencolinensinainciusol - Adriano Celentano, 05/11/2025

Go ahead and get the pronunciation right on first go... I dare you. Today, we’re jumping back to 1972 Italy, to an artist who somehow managed to predict mumble rap, YouTube virality, and the power of rhythm over meaning, all in one glorious nonsense track. That artist is Adriano Celentano, and the song is the magnificent, the bizarre, the utterly infectious “Prisen colinens inain ciusol”, track two on his album Nostalrock.
24/05/2024

Song 2: The Libertines (S.3 Ep.25), 24/05/2024

"I leave it to Carl to sort that out (track listing), I just write the fucking songs" Pete Doherty A rather ramshackle and impromptu take on Song 2 featuring Pete Docherty and Gary Powell, Charlie does his best to get back from QPR, 'Purple Pig Puppies', Lichtenstein and landlubbers.
23/12/2025

Song 2: S.5 Ep.18 - 23.12.25 : Skin - Skunk Anansie, 23/12/2025

"I always give an album 3 songs. If you're not into an album by track 3, then your switching off" Another one that we've had on the back burners for a little while. Skin is a fascinating character - check out the full interview (on demand) via RTL Play. Since this interview was recorded, SA have been in Luxembourg a couple of times and the band show no signs of slowing down. Skin is categorically NOT a Song 2 believer. But does take the view that artist front load their records with the best stuff.

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