Your Custom Text Here
Stack of 7-inches
Brutally, or mercifully truncated, radio-edited in musical mix or lyrical content, decorously tarted up with orchestra or other instruments, added or deleted solos, made dancier or more ethereal, it’s time to dig up some the contrasting versions that have surprised, delighted or frustrated you
Read more
Just the ticket: pricey or priceless?
Whether music, sport, film, travel, or wider culture, they mean different things to different individuals, but all are items that trigger or preserve memories, personal or more universal. Let’s explore these specific objects in song, overall or in specific lyrical detail
Read more
Jarvis Cocker’s student pass for the art course he took when aged 25
Days of college, university, polytechnic, art school, institute or more, this week we examine education after secondary or high school and graduation, what it all means, from learning to social experience, captured though the prism of song
Read more
Class act: John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in 1966
On the move or stuck in one place? Class snobbery to pride, social control to aspiration, it’s a hugely potent part of human life, something that never seems to disappear in stories, situations, and above all the feelings it generates
Read more
Can’t put down. The self-deprecating Keanu Reeves walks the street absorbed in The Government Inspector
Humorous or serious? Self-defence mechanism, attention-seeking, of self-aggrandisement? This week’s lyric topic is richly nuanced, ironic, and covers a range of emotions, often fuelled by love and ambition, tempered by self-belittling
Read more
Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales are furnished with inspiration by a certain room at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont hotel
Tables, beds and daybeds, chairs to desks, sofas and all sorts, this week’s playlists, not only have legs, but give us the full suite of emotions, moods, settings and styles, expertly chosen this week’s guest Marco den Ouden
Read more
His Master’s Voice
Pigeons to felines, canines to bigger hairy beasts, from humour to the historical, tales of cruelty and caring, to cartoons, this week’s magical menagerie, inspired by last week’s topic is an ark of excellence brought picked by guest writer Uncleben
Read more
The astonishing Marble cave, in Rio Tranquilo, Brazil.
This week it's time to dig deep in your record collections for find all things subterranean, whether that's in the beauty of natural geology, to man-made caverns or even the metaphorical underground
Read more
The nightingale. A star singer of the bird world.
Spring has finally sprung, and to celebrate, let’s look at, from science to poetry, how the most natural and winged songwriters have inspired humans to make reference to their work in their own through music or lyrics
Read more
Leap of the imagination? As told by … Black Beauty
New perspective? Songs with storytellers that are different and on the fringes – repressed women, eccentrics, the mentally challenged, criminals, children, otherworldly spirits from gods to ghosts, animals, aliens, plant life, or even objects
Read more
… made glorious summer by this song of York, canvassing for business …
Step right up! This week we look into the psychology of selling and the heartbeat of bargains across our culture. Retail therapy to ripoff, suggest lyrics all about the intimacy and anonymity of commercial transaction
Read more
Furr-aging for new music? What's been your favourite discovery?
How has your year been? Share your 2017 unearthed musical treasures, new or old, rediscovered or newly perceived, picked up here at the Bar or elsewhere, as well as favourite live music experiences
Read more
Frank Zappa chez parents' living room
Bluesy bathrooms to calypso kitchens, Britpop bedrooms to lovers rock lounges, whether big or small, green or blue, closet or cloister, suggest yours to create a whole building of musical adventure
Read more
1) Keith Richards by Ronnie Wood
This week the Bar becomes a special gallery filled with music stars' work! Peruse the paintings and name their famous creators, and suggest songs inspired by art and artists from any period or genre
Read more
Spongebob Squarepants. Getting it done, or just swamped?
From juggling duties and spinning plates for family, social life, relationships, work or other chores, name songs that talk about that struggle to keep concentration when there's a long list of distracting tasks
Read more
Hidden lines … Nick Drake
Digging out treasures of all shapes and sizes from last week's topic, guest playlister Maki cracks open songs ranging from Gorillaz to The Jam, REM to Nick Drake
Read more
What Easter egg has Jarvis Cocker hidden?
Hidden tracks between vinyl grooves to ghost tracks in pre-gaps or at the end of albums on CD, this week's Easter special is all about finding those secret treasures, jokey or serious, but always tasty
Read more
Serafina Steer ... disco diva
Call the cops! Are music artists not doing what they are supposed to do? This week's guest writer Detective Sergeant Uncleben investigates, and finds that those who break the rules make brilliant playlists
Read more
Bad Benny
Sleazy to sexy, rampant to repressed, Bacchanalian to baroque, hip-hop to rock, suggest your lust-based songs here to help create a playlist we might all desire
Read more