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Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Lee Morgan on trumpet
From fanfares to fantastic technical feats and emotional melodies, the trumpet’s bold, bright but versatile sound is captured from classical to jazz, pop and beyond in perfect playlists picked by Loud Atlas from last week’s topic
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Single-minded pursuits: Roxy Music
It might mean concentration, determination, persistence, relentlessness, and even obsessive behaviour, but while that perhaps thinking of one thing, or one person, but this is a topic has gathered a broad range of music and ideas. Guest Sidecar Shiv reveals more in fabulous playlists picked from last week’s topic
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Talking Heads - but what’s in the book?
Read all about it! Or in some cases, don’t believe a word. From books to letters to the media and more, guest of the week George Boyland picks out a classy selection from last week’s topic nominations. Browse and enjoy …
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Chet Baker: in search of the ideal
Days, nights or settings, love, relationships, words, compliments or phrasing, sounds, singing and so much more, guest of the week Loud Atlas comes up with all the aces with series of immaculate playlist choices reflecting last week’s perfect topic
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Just before the second plane hit the South Tower
Twenty years on from that most dramatic and tragic day of 9/11, from anger and outrage to soft, sensitive memorials, guest playlister Loud Atlas picks a poignant and sensitive set of lists from an outpouring of excellent nominations
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Shhh! It’s Björk
What does it mean to have quiet in your life? Inspired by hundreds of song nominations from last week’s topic, guest playlister DiscoMonster, puts together music through the prism of a story about truths, conflict and stillness
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Woolly thinking? Alpacas are in on the act, of course.
From cows to horses, sheep, pigs, ox, goats, donkeys, alpacas, llamas and more, this week let’s look into songs about the farming and husbandry of quadrupeds, our relationship with them and also what they say about us
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Finding Julian? More than one saint is involved this week …
On a mission for the missing to a feast of the found, from the divine inspiration of last week’s nominations, guest guru Maki turns to to more than one source of saintly wisdom to help ‘cope’ with choosing two supreme playlists
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Rokia Traoré … dancing with a constant companion Mélancolie
The Bar is delighted. Places, emotions, elements, the weather and even music itself take human traits as this week’s guru Uncleben is excellence personified, guiding through two exhaustive and illuminating playlists on this topic
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Elvis Costello: rich in idioms, allusions, vernacular phrases and rictus-inducing puns
How do you reduce more than 1,000 song suggestions into two perfectly phrased playlists of just 26 songs? If that feels beyond the pale, then the play’s the thing for this week’s superb guest ShivSidecar
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Bunny Wailer
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.
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Heading your way .. Julian Cope as Mr Squbbsy in London, 1990.
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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A voice everlasting: Mahalia Jackson
Want to achieve immortality? After a fountain of youth of song nominations last week, guest playlist writer treefrogdemon takes amusing musical solutions via reincarnation to science, Neil Young, Bob Dylan to David Bowie
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This week's playlists are whipping up a storm
Pompeii to pollution, plague, pestilence and pressure drop, volcanoes, falling rocks, Fiery Furnaces to forest fires, this week's playlists by guest writer ParaMhor, whipped up by last week's topic, will surely go down a storm
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The art of the opening
Profound statements to emotional exclamations, sexual provocation to oddball situation, suggest your favourite and outstanding starter lyrics as we examine a host of musical and literary examples at the bar
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Faust in their Wümme studio in 1971
Kraftwerk to Neu! Bowie to The Fall! Leaping into last week's surprise topic, guest writer Flatfrog takes a voyage of discovery to playlist prime originals and others hugely influenced by this German genre
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Cosmic machines ... Kraftwerk
Experimental electronica, or meditative riff and beat repetition? This week from man to machine, Can to Krafwerk, Neu! to Faust, let's celebrate the work and influence of 60s and 70s Germany music revolution
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Johnny Depp and Patti Smith - mutual admiration
Marilyn Monroe to Jodie Foster to Johnny Depp, Sidney Poitier to Sigourney Weaver, this week's playlists made by guest Mnemosene2 from last week's topic create a constellation of stars. Let's roll the credits …
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Jump, they say. But where next? David Bowie
Rock band does reggae? Punk band goes country? Rapper does jazz? This week we explore genre-switching or surprise moments in artists’ careers that confounded fans’ expectations
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