From personal turmoil of the human brain to total tumult of the planet, Temptations to Kate Tempest, this week’s playlist writer ParaMhor turns last week’s whole world of fabulous nominations into a cri de crisis par excellence
Read moreWhere did it all go wrong? Songs about crisis …
… and how can it all go right? This week let’s see if we can make musical manoeuvres in the current climate, causes and cures for crises, whether they be political social, economic or personal
Read moreTune up for 2019: songs about fixing, repairing and solving
From cars to people, mind and body, clocks or guitars, the world at large or little local difficulties, let’s start 2019 by fixing up and looking sharp with skills and toolkits on this topic
Read moreFamiliar? It's a Christmas special: songs that sound like other songs
The topic over the Christmas holiday season is a form of convivial, parlour game in which pairs of songs can be nominated that share musical or other echoes - but which came first and where are the comparisons? You decide …
Read moreAll you need is: songs about platonic love
The non-sexual, non-romantic sort is what makes up most of the love we experience in life, so whether that concerns real or fictional experiences, let’s define and explore it as expressed in song lyrics
Read moreA magic number: songs and music by trios
Triangles and holy trinities, this week let’s explore the musical dynamic within groups in which three artists perform as a self-contained unit, not merely pop, jazz, classical, or folk, but across all all genres
Read morePlaylists: songs about shooting
Lou Reed to Tom Waits, Susanne Sundfør to Sandy Denny, inspired by a salvo of superb nominations, this week’s chief arms officer Suzi shoots out in all contexts to hit the target with two sharp-shooting playlists
Read moreBang! Trigger your ideas for: songs about shooting
Bang bang! This week it’s time to find your range, come out with all guns blazing with songs about bullets, guns, cannons, bows and arrows. Gun culture arguments and more, let’s shoot from the hip
Read morePack up your troubles: songs about determination
On the eve of the First World War Armistice centenary, this week we look at songs about striving through extremely difficult circumstances, whether in conflict or peacetime, extreme or daily situations
Read moreStrident in song: music that expresses the movement and feeling of walking
We all walk slightly differently, so this week it’s all about music that expresses various strolls, swings, swaggers, ambles or strides, and whether in politics or personal, marching bands or military, let’s capture the movement of the people
Read moreJust for the hell of it: songs about the Devil, Satan, Lucifer …
Who’s your devil in disguise? Who has all he best tunes? This week, in a fun week leading up to Halloween, let’s explore songs that mention, in whatever form, the Devil, Satan and any other names he takes
Read moreStand up for your mics: songs about equality
Whatever the platform, the genre or message, this week we’re exploring the issue of equality, if not being the same, from gender to race, politics to work, how to get and if it’s even possible, all through lyrics
Read morePluck up courage: songs and music with harps, lyres and zithers
From the serenity and complexity of fingers sweeping strings to the twanging of the Jew’s harp, from the lyricism of the lyre to the zing of the zither, let’s stretch out with suggestions featuring these instruments
Read moreMerry? Divided? Dreaming? It's songs about England
Let’s take a musical trip around this strange, sceptr’d isle, this land of eccentric frontmen, this place of punk and flourishing fashion, to pick up lots of place names and perhaps also define the nature of being English
Read moreCheeky half? Semi-quaver? Songs about fractions and portions
The world is divided, but not always in a bad way. This week we look for songs with lyrics that mention halves, thirds, quarters, eighths and smaller, and any words that pertain to fractions that make up the whole or one …
Read moreGrandiloquent to gavotte: song lyrics with strange, rare or unlikely words
This week let’s delve deep into the musical lexicon for instances where unusual, oddball, inappropriate, funny, pretentious, antiquated or obscure words jump out, sometimes working well, or otherwise
Read moreThe real thing? Songs about authenticity and fakery
Being true to yourself or others to genuine article in objects, this week we’re seeking songs that, in lyrics, are about searching for authenticity, but might sometimes find the opposite from forgery to falsehood, bootleg to bullshit
Read moreTime is short: songs about brevity
Fleeting romance to brief encounters, the transient to the terse, the brusque to burnout, the concise or condensed, our time is limited on Earth, but there’s still enough to suggest songs on this universal subject
Read morePlaylists: songs about oddballs, outcasts and outsiders
Bunny Wailer, Blind Melon, Beastie Boys, Blur … there all here, you know, and very different. And that’s just a few of the Bs. This week’s guest playlist writer amylee gives you a whole lot more than fantastic playlists inspired by last week’s topic.
Read moreLet them all in: songs about oddballs, outcasts and outsiders
Eccentric historical figures to those who are currently out there, black sheep to persons offbeat, songs that express the outsider/insider paradox, this week let’s open our doors to songs about difference
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