… 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 moreHave love will travel: songs about long-distance relationships
Transcending distance and time, and sometimes in another dimension, space itself, this week we look to go the full distance to explore the trials and triumphs of enduring love, or otherwise, made or broken by absence
Read morePlaylists: songs about fixing, repairing and solving
From gaffer and duct tape, housing to mending a broken heart, let’s repair towards fantastic playlists created by the handy skills of our guest treefrogdemon, who was inspired by a full toolkit of suggestions from last week’s topic
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 morePlaylists: songs that sound like other songs
Is there an echo in here? Those with sharp ears will enjoy some remarkable and fun comparisons as this week’s playlister Olive Butler perfectly picks out some of the soundalikes from a double topic over the festive period
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 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 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 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 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 morePlaylists: songs about fractions and portions
How do you separate so many great nominated songs into two playlists? This week’s guest, ParaMhor, divided and conquered hundreds of suggestions into two brilliant divisions, from Beatles to Steely Dan
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 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 moreShiny, shiny: songs about silver and other non-ferrous metals
Leaving aside gold, steel and iron, let’s dig out songs that lyrically refer, in literal or metaphorical terms to the poetic or practical qualities of silver, copper, brass, tin, aluminium, tungsten, magnesium and much more
Read moreGoing up? Songs about stairs, ladders, steps, elevators or escalators
Steep, sweeping, stone, wood or metal? This week we're exploring how music give us a certain kind of lift – through lyrics that describe all ways to up or down, on foot or via mechanical means, actual or metaphorical
Read moreJust keep on dancing: songs about staying and remaining
We’re not leaving, but showing endurance, fortitude and steadfastness. There’s a whole lot of staying power going on in this week’s topic, from physical to mental strength …
Read morePlaylists: songs about caves and other subterranean places
A rocky entrance to cool, calm caverns, deadly and beautiful tales of coal miners to digging dwarves, guest playlister takeitawayGuru, inspired by hundred of nominations, takes us on a fantastic underground musical journey
Read moreWorld Cup? Not quite. It's songs about substitutes
Are they meant to be better, or not as good, artificial or the real thing? From sport to food, people to plans, work to worries and distraction, let’s explore substitutions in life and music
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