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Truly beyond this world - Björk’s Utopia
Out of this world and into many wondrous others, this week’s playlists take you on a cosmic journey through genres and galaxies, skilfully steered and chosen by guest voyager Nilpferd from last week’s topic
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… you’re in for a big surprise …
Aliens to unexpected identity, unusual sounds to strange artistic combinations as well as the lyrical subject itself, guest Marco den Ouden brings a box of brilliant surprises in response to our Big 10th Birthday Topic
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Heated exchanges: Rita Moreno and Animal of the The Muppets
Silly ballads to battles of the sexes, parodies to social commentary, odd duets and witty wordplay and musical japery, guest jester Marco den Ouden picks a bundle of lyrical and other laughs inspired by last week’s comedic songs theme
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Monarch butterfly metamorphosis
It’s time for not temporary or partial, but radical change - here reflected in lyrics from lifestyle to career, to triggering experiences, love and relationships, fortune or tragedy, a sudden huge idea or even spiritual revelation, sudden or gradual
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Reflections on a musical fountain …
Spurting ornate symbols of eternity, youth, health and good fortune, some for drinking others just decoration, they’ve been a feature in villages, towns and cities for thousands of years, and some can be programmed to dance to music. How are they expressed in song lyrics?
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Simmering power? That’s Cat Power
Renewed, re-imagined, whether by the same artist or covered by another, with a stripped back, unplugged sound, a song can be opened up anew in emotions and lyrics. Guest Loud Atlas artfully explores the magic of the acoustic, inspired by last week’s topic
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Who is it? Bjork, of course, jingling a silvery Alexander McQueen number
They’re sometimes the sound of Christmas, but these resonant instruments can crop up in all sorts of situations and music. Reverberating from last week’s topic, guest VikingChild creates Xmas and non-Xmas selections and are extremely a-pealing. Let them ring out!
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Charlotte Moorman performing Nam June Paik’s TV Cello, New York, 1971
From themes to incidental music, it’s time to tune in for songs inextricably linked, either because it began life written for a TV programme, or later became indelibly associated with something on the box
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Long player: A young Diego Maradona enjoying one of his other hobbies, 1980
At the zenith of the season, with tournaments ending and beginning, let’s pass our attention to the beautiful game, skill, artistry, eccentricity, but also history, culture, with metaphors, and hopefully avoiding the bad songs, the goal is dig deep into music from around the world …
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Tea time at the Bar? Alternative servings …
Pleased to meter? 5, 7, 11, 13, 15 or even 17? We’ve got all the strange signature numbers for you here in brilliantly arrhythmic playlists by guest of the week Barbryn, making it really count from last week’s topic nominations
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After a short paws …what happens next?
Hard to beat? Not necessarily. While most songs are in 4/4 time, and others in 3/4 waltz, there are many fascinating variants that push the boundaries, often in a catchy way. It’s not necessary here to name the numbers, just how it feels when you count …
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Falling yet floating? Frozen gravity …
Mass attraction? Or falling in love? This week it’s a fusion of science and art topic, with lyrical fact or metaphor, as we examine one of the most vital and biggest physical interactive forces in our lives (but oddly the weakest of the science big four). But how will this float up or fall in the world of song?
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The classic Netherlands Elfstedentocht event. But what songs made the finish for this week’s theme?
Skating, skiing, ice hockey and other sliding, the big freeze inspired musical outdoor winter activity. But which songs made it to the finish line, and which were left on ice? Check out in this winter wonderland of playlists by guest Marco den Ouden
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Dive in …
Come on in, the music’s lovely. Inspired by all the many excellent nominations from last week’s watery topic, guest of the week Severin makes big splash with a set of playlists perfect for all the rules of the pool. Take a delicious dip
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Visions of the future: The Flaming Lips
Visions, prophets, psychics, spanning history and the future, with good news and bad – inspired by many nominations from last week’s topic, these superb playlists, picked by guest amylee, journey through time and space
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Trust your senses: Björk
intuition to the unexplained, new realms of perception to deja vu, telepathy and the astral plane, all this and more in a pair of perceptive playlists picked by guest of the week Suzi from the most recent topic
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Round and round: a timeless track coming up from Signs of Life by Penguin Cafe Orchestra …
Space, time, the rhythms of life, expressions of the divine, love? Eternity in its many permutations is to be found in these captivating playlists picked by guest ajostu, inspired by the near-endless nominations from last week’s topic
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Evelyn Glennie in action. She makes an even younger arrival on this week’s lists …
Marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, balafon and more, from 1930s jazz heyday to the present, from full fusion to bare bones tradition and across every imaginable genre, guest Nilpferd feels the vibes with a wonderful range of playlists picked from last week’s topic
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Earth, Wind, Fire and a whole lot more to be thankful for …
A truly upbeat and positive way to start off 2022, a deliciously mix of disco, funk and pop, folk and more from Detroit to Scotland, Chile to Africa and beyond, picked by guest DJ PopOff! from last week’s many song suggestions
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Lacy days … a band of knots
Tied up, tied down, in difficulty, for practicality or pleasure, dreadlocks to complex knots, this week’s guest Marco den Ouden has untangled nominations to knit together two tremendous playlists to which any listener will feel attached
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