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Banjo player, 1856 by William Sidney Mount
It may immediately make you think of The Beverly Hillbillies or Deliverance, but this bright, resonant, plucky instrument has a long history with origins in another continent, and spans many stories, cultures and genres
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A carpet of cherry blossom
Fleeting but spectacular, their mutable beauty is annually inspirational, and with ideas budding from last week’s theme, guest of the week ParaMhor picks a splendid spread of musical colour
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Sakura saturation: a cherry blossom avenue
Their brevity very much integral to their beauty, they are simple yet also complex in their burst of colour. These flowers of stone fruit trees have been inspiration for artists, poets and songwriters for centuries
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Spin the music: this week’s playlists pull in a swirl of superb stories
Yaaaaar, me hearties! Troubled waters to dire straits, the world is full of hazardous seas from bad weather to human folly and war. Inspired by last week’s topic nominations, guest Captain Marconius tells many a rich tale with his canticle pickings …
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Strait of Hormuz …
Filled with stories, history, myth, trade, and conflict, these potent stretches of water sometimes connect two seas or basins, continents, cultures and east and west, and are filled with danger. So how does song capture these many passages, channels and sounds?
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The incomparable Fela Kuti
Famous classical composers to a certain theoretic physicist, as well as a wealth of unusual skilled people, this week guest Loud Atlas takes a sparklingly talented turn picking playlists from from the latest topic and song nominations
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Christ on a bike! There’s always one …
Cultural counting as a figure of superstition and bad luck, it can also have other associations, but whether number, name, place, amount, date, age or more, this week it’s time find your significant thirteens in song as we head through a new Friday 13th
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Zeugma and more … Elvis Costello & The Attractions
It’s a figure of speech in which a word applies to two or more others in different senses, giving a concise form of wordplay. Inspired by last week’s topic nominations, guest playlister magicman picks out many sparkling examples and more
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The yoke’s on you, Dad …
On this celebration day of the written word, let’s embrace the many songs which lyrically use a word to govern two or more other words or phrases in a line or sentence. It comes from the Ancient Greek meaning "a yoking together". Time to pull out words and pints …
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Fats Domino left a star-studded list of those he influenced across the many strings of his music
From early rock ‘n’ roll to pop, rock, reggae, jazz and beyond, the quietly humble, smiling pianist and singer who rose to fame in the 1950s left a huge musical legacy. Loud Atlas expertly picks up some the many big names and songs he influenced, inspired by last week’s topic
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Fats Domino - arguably the first rock’n’roll star who unusually, was also among nicest ever men in music
Let’s celebrate the birthday of that affable singer and piano playing genius who Elvis said was the real king of rock’n’roll - from key covers of his songs, his rhythm, style and delivery on others’ songs as well as lyrical references to him and his work
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