PãpaRadio Selections
Selected LPs and singles, curated
by PãpaRadio
TRIP-HOP / PROTEST SONG
Boots On The Ground
Massive Attack | Tom Waits
PIAS
Released April 2026
Boots on the Ground sounds like a dispatch from a world already half-burned down. Massive Attack wrap the track in dread and metallic pulse, while Tom Waits snarls from somewhere between a bunker and a broken radio, turning protest into theatre and theatre into prophecy. It’s a bruised, unflinching piece of art: less a song than a warning siren dressed in smoke, grit, and moral exhaustion. It doesn’t just reflect the chaos of the present; it gives that chaos a voice, and in doing so, makes the silence around it sound even louder.
FOLK
Against The Dying Of The Light
José Gonzalez
Mute Records
Released March 2026
Against the Dying of the Light finds José González at his most restrained and quietly urgent. Built on delicate fingerpicking, hushed vocals, and a patient sense of space, the album turns folk minimalism into something reflective and subtly defiant. Rather than reaching for drama, González lets the songs unfold with calm precision, giving the record a meditative power that lingers long after it ends.
PROTEST SONG / POLITICAL ROCK
Streets of Minneapolis
Bruce Springsteen
Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Released January 2026
With “Streets of Minneapolis” Bruce Springsteen returns as America’s ultimate storyteller, delivering one of the most direct and politically charged songs of recent years. Starting sparse and almost acoustic, the track builds gradually into a full-blown, emotionally charged rock anthem, backed by the band and choral vocals that echo the classic E Street Band sound.
Lyrically, Springsteen paints a dark, wintry urban landscape “ablaze” under the boots of a “conqueror,” directly naming the “private army of King Trump from DHS” and targeting state violence and anti-immigrant policies. References to victims Alex Pretti and Renee Good, with their “bloody stains where mercy should have been,” turn the song into both a tribute and a cry of rage against ICE terror on Minneapolis streets.
“Streets of Minneapolis” clearly dialogues with “Streets of Philadelphia”—not just in title, but in raw emotion: it’s a song of memory, collective shame, and the urgent call to resist. Springsteen writes, records, and releases it in mere days, with the raw immediacy of old protest broadsides, proving that in 2026, he’s still one of rock’s most vital, political, and essential voices.
FOLK
The man comes around
Pulp
Label Rugh Trade Records Ltd.
Released November 2025
Pulp step into unexpected territory with a haunting reinterpretation of Johnny Cash’s iconic “The Man Comes Around.” Originally released by the Man in Black over two decades ago, the song’s stark biblical imagery and solemn power have long made it a cornerstone of American songwriting.
Though Jarvis Cocker and his band rarely gravitate toward covers, they chose to revisit this sacred track for the British series The Hack, which explores the phone-hacking scandal that shook the UK fifteen years ago. Only months after their return with More, Pulp unveil this new recording — the first of three fresh tracks from an upcoming EP.
Rather than cling to the original’s sparse acoustic gravity, the band opens “The Man Comes Around” into more spectral shades, giving it a subtle, mystical groove. Cocker’s voice drifts between earthly and ghostlike, all while treating the original text with unmistakable reverence.
A masterful touch.
INDIE ROCK
Hold on to the light
Jack Johnson | Hermanos Gutiérrez
Label Jack Johnson
Released November 2025
Hold On To The Light brings together two heavyweight acts: Hermanos Gutiérrez, masters of the cinematic guitar sound, and Jack Johnson, one of the most recognizable modern singer-songwriters.
The brothers’ signature atmospheric guitars set the tone, while Johnson’s voice keeps the track grounded and direct. A stripped-back, confident piece that relies solely on the strength of its creators.
INDIE POP
Do you hate me now
Winona Oak
Label Nettwerk Music Group/Queen of Lifestyle AB
Released November 2025
Swedish singer-songwriter Winona Oak released her new single “Do You Hate Me Now” — her first solo music since the EP Salt, released earlier this year via Nettwerk.
“Do You Hate Me Now” opens small and intimate, with soft piano and her warm, husky voice. Slowly, it swells into a lush, cinematic soundscape, layering strings and subtle electronics. Stylish and modern, yet never distant, the track pulls you close and lets you feel the weight of love fading.
COUNTRY
Workin' man : Willie Sings Merle
Willie Nelson
Label Legacy Recordings
Released November 2025
The album Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle finds Willie Nelson at his 78th solo studio album — and the 155th release of his monumental career.
Here, Willie revisits some of Merle Haggard’s timeless gems, filtering them through his own effortlessly classic touch. Another chapter in his long-standing love for dedicating full albums to the songwriters who helped shape American music.
REGGAE
Know Nothing About
Marina P & The Co-Operators
Label Waggle Dance Records
Released October 2025
The Italian singer Marina Peloso and Eeyun Purkins’ British band drop an eclectic rocksteady & roots album that channels the golden spirit of Jamaica’s legendary studios — hand-crafted reggae shaped by the deep, timeless sounds of the 60s, 70s and 80s.