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A carpet of cherry blossom
Fleeting but spectacular, their mutable beauty is annually inspirational, and with ideas budding from last week’s theme, guest of the week ParaMhor picks a splendid spread of musical colour
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Not only guitar and bass …
Across pop, rock, jazz, electronica, African and beyond, the fingers of many musicians have continued to create the timeless catchy. Guest playlister ajostu really hooks us in with excellent picks from last week’s lick-filled topic
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Edward Lear’s classic odd couple, The Owl and the Pussycat
This week we celebrate not the usual or generalised soft-focus cliches about beauty and romance, but songs which describe uniquely odd and different detail, appearance or behaviour that stirs an individual’s tastes, from alternative sex drives, emotions and attraction
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Who the Puck? A 1629 depiction of the traditional English and Celtic trickster
It’s everywhere in the modern world, particularly in politics, but the dark arts of the trickster have been around in folklore and mythology for thousands of years, so a starting point, let’s back to go forward …
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Counting down…
It’s in the eyes, but also now in the ears. From the spellbinding to the entrancing, the auto suggestive to the regressive, it’s time to subliminally enter the super spiral – this week’s countdown is by VikingChild, who will mesmerise you with playlists inspired by last week’s topic
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The full works …
Need to nail down that job you’ve been putting of? Short of tools and other materials? Inspired by songs nominated from last week’s topic, guest TatankaYotanka has a superb musical shopping list and gets it all stylishly done
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Serving now …
Seductive servings, unusual flavours, and mystery men and women. This week’s musical serving has got it all, packed with colours and innuendo, it’s a delicious combination put together by guest skilful scooper EnglishOutlaw from last week’s topic
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Allons enfants! It’s time for those anthems, but with a deeper look, as the Paris Olympics opens and celebrates its centenary
As the 2024 Paris Olympics opens, we examine the strange nature of the national anthem, for better or worse, not merely in versions thereof, but also songs and works which feature clips or renditions, or lyrically reference or talk about the concept itself even in more general terms
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Look back in Angus …
Knob gags and pranks to child savants, this week it’s about not growing up, the pros and cons that entails, from annoying, destructive self-centredness to touching naivety, lack of experience but also hunger to discover, playful creativity. Plenty of examples to inspire, but how is this expressed in song?
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Goblin: legendary Italian creators of the 1977 Suspiria soundtrack
After a marvellously monstrous nomination response to this topic, guest playlister Amylee picks out a huge house of horror to be enjoyed, from scary soundtracks to freaky folk traditional, zombie rock apocalypses to gruesome gore. The devil has all the best tunes …
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Ace solos …
What will be turned? High rollers to full houses, this week the deck, and the record player, is stacked with wonderful winners as guest George Boyland plays his hand from a selection of nominations from last week’s topic
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Honey badger: ‘Yeah? And? So what?’
As independent and tough as the honey badger, these playlists rise above any concerns. They don’t care what anyone else thinks. How come? They are brilliantly compiled by guest AmyLee, picked from hundreds of nominations
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Fragile, insecure synchronicity. Simon & Garfunkel.
What makes for a great duo and how does is that dynamic expressed? Perfect balance of sound? Unspoken understanding and harmony? Symbiosis of roles? Contrast in character? Fragility, insecurity and tension? It’s time for two’s company …
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Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing about baby Rufus …
Planned, unplanned, loved or otherwise, they bring intense emotions and also in songs and stories about them. From conception parenting, guest playlister George Boyland delivers the full package from a vast number of nominations
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Who will get a pickup this week?
Breakdowns to what’s around the bend, picking up from last week’s topic’s many passengers, our guest driver takeitawayGuru takes us on a fabulous rockin’ rollin’ journey with his pick of songs that really catch a musical ride
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Brief Encounter (1945)
Fleeting romance to brief encounters, the transient to the terse, the brusque to burnout, the concise or condensed, our time is limited on Earth, but there’s still enough to suggest songs on this universal subject
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Feeling better yet? It's all part of the service …
Hospital care, pills, patients and patience, we’ve got a musical medicine cabinet of the finest healthcare for you, administered by guest playlist writer Dr Severin and readers nursing great song suggestions
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Beyoncé. She's in Formation
Dance, hip hop, jazz, soul, indie, rock or pop, music is alive and kicking in new directions this century. Kendrick Lamar to Beyonce, Dizzee Rascal to Sleaford Mods, this week’s playlister Nilpferd picks out some pertinent themes
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You give me femur … Jack and Sally - The Nightmare Before Christmas
After a week of readers digging deep in their collections, this week's osteology expert takeitawayGuru pieces together a superb skeleton of songlists, threaded together by a story of the musically macabre
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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
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