Your Custom Text Here
Time to grab a different instrument …
Revamped and newly performed by the original artists or as covers by others, the unplugged, undistorted and stripped back acoustic version can bring new feeling, meaning, audible lyrics and sometimes a sense of a whole new song
Read more
The art of trucking …
It’s a subject dominated by the country & western style, but this nomadic road freight culture is also soundtracked by other styles. Inspired by last week’s topic, Big Wheeled Marco den Ouden takes us on an international truck trip
Read more
A few members of Rome’s classic band lineup
Empires rise and crumble, but few on a scale as that of Ancient Rome. Following last week’s topic, guest playlister Marco den Ouden is inspired to create a musical arc to match Gibbon’s famous historical magnus opus
Read more
Revolutionary warnings: Crass
Coercion, violence and suppression, it’s a recurring cycle through history. Spanning the globe with philosophy and genre, guest playlister Marco den Ouden examines the big questions about autocracy and anarchy, picked from last week’s topic nominations
Read more
Some of the groundbreaking cast of The Real Ambassadors, including Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong
Traversing not just wildernesses, this week’s topic celebrates those who found forms of new territory, land, sea, or space, to those who broke new ground in their specialist field. For these, guest of the week Marco den Ouden creates landmark playlists inspired by last week’s topic
Read more
It’s time to give those records a spin, but who will get round first?
It’s a competitive world out there, whether that’s in sports, business or looking for love. A stellar set of songs and nominators from last week’s topic, chosen by excellent referee Uncleben who waves the chequered flag, and they’re off …!
Read more
Oh brother, will this playlist take off? High flyers Orville and Wilbur Wright face the music
Biblical brothers to medieval lovers, abandoned siblings to fictional detectives, inspired by last week’s topic, this week we get double the fun as guest playlister Uncleben brilliantly flies through time to interview notable pairs about their lives and attributed songs
Read more
Impossibly bending the rules: Television’s landmark LP Marquee Moon
Can it be done? Can we only dream? It’s time to bend the rules through the incomparable prism of the Song Bar theme process – and see what happens. With a vibrant vortex of wonderful nominations last week, guest playlister Maki presents the amazing choices
Read more
The Unthanks
Canny! Champion! Famous sons and daughters of Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and beyond bring a beautiful, humorous and moving portrait of this charismatic region, picked with a huge write-up, rich in historical and musical reference, by guest playlister Alaricmc
Read more
Don’t adjust the dial. Stay tuned. All the buttons and songs are on this week’s Song Bar radio
Click! Radio to romance, computers to transport, even death and destruction, those switches are primed for all occasions, so stay tuned for super songs picked by guest Marco den Ouden from nominations that push all the right buttons
Read more
Benvenuti in La Taverna Cantata!
This week, it’s the full Italian job! And there’s far more to it than exploding cars – a whole queue of hooting horns, gesticulation and finest food and wine in musical form, all picked by excellente playlister philipphilip99 from a fleet of nominations
Read more
Betty Davis has got the boots
Sweet sole music! This week’s lists are talking the talk and walking the walk with beautiful steps brilliantly picked by this week’s guest DJ Bear, using as a platform the huge pile of footwear songs piled up from last week’s nominations
Read more
Cat-alogue of course …
1) Why do them? 2) What are they for? 3) Are they positive or negative? 4) How do they appear in song? This set of questions and more are creatively catalogued and crafted into playlists by this week’s skilful guest Severin from the recent topic
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
Where to?
It’s time to give us all a lift, not only emotionally, but as Song Bar bus sets off on a road trip, picking up all sorts of musicians and other artists, in a quest to find for stories about hitching experiences – good, bad, scary or heartwarming
Read more
Which will make the album?
Photography isn’t always happy holiday snaps and selfies. This week’s musical cameraman, EnglishOutlaw, creates two albums of perceptive, sensitive, thought-provoking songs, with a tale of love portraits that develop unexpectedly
Read more
Frank Zappa: Shut Up'n Play Your Guitar
The instrument as a friend, lover, a symbol of society, or something that sings? Beatles to BB King, Stillwater to Frank Zappa, this week's guest Marco den Ouden finds that they all hold narrative, inspired by last week's topic
Read more
Silky smooth: Count Basie
Van Morrison's spiritual journey to rough seas with Gordon Lightfoot, Aretha Franklin's lover to smooth silk via Count Basie, this week's guest writer TakeitawayGuru creates two tantalisingly touching playlists
Read more
Conch or conscience? Oh, the toils of leading ...
Who's the head honcho holding the conch? Who is piggy in the middle? From bands to bloody revolutions, this week's guest writer EnglishOutlaw takes your song nominations on a wild and novel adventure
Read more
Frazier, Foreman and Ali. All friendly like.
Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Liston, and Louis? You can bet this week's round of themed song selections by guest writer Ravi Raman packs a punch – and check out even more music moves with kung fu and karate …
Read more