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Fancy a lift? Taxi balloons and more, satirising the trend for ‘lofty projects’ by George Cruickshank, 1825
Floating escape and adventure to crashing tragedy, this inflatable movement can bring delight and disaster. Inspired by last week’s topic, guest pejepeine picks perfect playlists to lift spirits and transport the musical imagination
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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
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Musical vision: double-bass player Charlie Haden and friends gets eyes and ears firmly on the topic
Protective sunglasses to corrected vision, what songs are in the frame? They are often about what is hidden, but also what is revealed, especially in love, and guest Marco den Ouden brings everything into focus with fabulous playlists inspired by last week’s 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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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
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Roxy Music – everyone gets their moment
Covert crushes, hopeless longing or sinister obsession? All this and more with two lists of brilliance and passion from the Temptations to Divine Comedy and beyond, skilfully picked by this week’s guest Severin from last week’s topic
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The divine Joanna Newsom: diluvian shoulders to magnetic embrace, balletic and glacial, of bear’s insatiable shadow
From antirrhinums of Jake Thackray to the pretentious Pet Shop Boys to the hyperbolic hippopotamus of Sparks, this week’s guest EnglishOutlaw articulates wonderfully wordy playlists from last week’s topic
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There's something in the room …
What, or who is the elephant? Is anything obvious? Is it obvious when we're in love? Who is the right person to be leader? Is winter coming? This week we examine all these questions and more with lyrics and music …
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Cat Power
Candi Staton to Cat Power, Camera Obscura to Cherry Smash, guest playlister Barbryn creates two beautifully reflective playlists inspired by many marvellous nominations on last week's meta-topic
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I'll be your mirror: The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon
It's a musical meta-topic! Hear examples, then suggest more songs that refer to others in lyrics, titles, artists, through musical echoes, or, with nuance, those that variously praise, seek or reject love songs
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