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It might start with the fingers, but your ears will tell you what makes a great riff
A term coined in the early the 20th century, often played on guitar but also on piano and other instruments, this core, repetitive musical phrase could be even more memorable and catchy than the sung melody. But what riffs have you humming from the last 25 years?
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Foxy rock: the Megitsune portrayed by Babymetal
Untrustworthy, shapeshifting creatures from Japan and elsewhere, to a whole spectrum of deceitful and dodgy human behaviour spanning many genres from folk, rock, pop, funk and more, compiled in wily style by guest Suzi from last week’s topic
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A classic from Cole Porter looking at the new generation of his day. See if the pattern repeats below …
From the old Lost to the new lost, Baby Boomers to X, Z, Millennials to Alphas, patterns repeat as one generation looks at the past and future, all captured here superbly spanning selection by guest Severin, picked from last week’s topic
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À la Mod: a key book written in 1964 (before today’s Generation X were actually born) by Jane Deverson and Charles Hamblett that influenced the likes of British punk Billy Idol and later the Canadian author Douglas Coupland …
The Lost, the Silent, the Greatest, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y (Millennials), Gen Z, then Alpha and Beta, the last 125 years have generational labels now increasingly used in our language and culture. But what are their traits, and how are they reflected in song lyrics or even music?
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Bird’s eye view? Ever seen … Immortel Ad Vitam
Tricks of mind and memory to recurring lifestyle loops, our senses are sometimes working overtime, and guest Sidecar Shiv makes superb sense of it all with playlists picked from last week’s topic nominations
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Doubly great: John "Jabo" Starks and Clyde Stubblefield
Hit it! It’s a lyrical topic, where perhaps the singer might address, direct, encourage, or praise the band's drummer, any real or fictional player, or the beat, rhythm or instruments themselves
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Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak
From China to the American Wild West, Tuvan singers to Sicily and beyond, the distinctive twang of this mouth instruments has a transportive effect. Inspired by last week’s topic response, guest guru Sidecar Shiv flicks out a beautifully broad boing of playlists
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The great Dinah Washington enjoyed slipping one in
Various professions, food and all seemingly innocent activities get the full suggestive double meaning dose this week in a splendidly entertaining set of lists picked by Marco den Ouden from last week’s hot topic
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It's highly subjective, but we're throwing out there what songs, or pieces, give you that big physical or mental boost. So, what music puts a pep in your step? What pushes out the puissance, releases the pizzazz, flows the juice, brings vim, vitality, vigour, zest, zing or the zip?
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Live and Letta Mbulu
From politics to personal life, sexuality and personal liberation to broader social issues, on the back of recent elections and a topic covering freedom of speech, guest playlister Maki spans geography, genre and time to give the subject a full hearing
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Singularly different: The Undisputed Truth
Sometimes they were an inspiration improvement, sometimes an editing and style aberration. Picking out the differences from last week’s singular topic, guest playlister ParaMhor cleverly chooses the contrasts for better or worse
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Selling out? Who’s up for it?
‘Tis the season to be funny or serious, satirical, cerebral or sensual, simple or complex, abstract or expressive, imaginative and ingenious in suggesting songs for existing or fictional products that could appear in ads that don’t exist
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Deep and meaty?
This week’s topic is sensual rather than cerebral, and extremely subjective. It’s less a lyrical lookup, more seeking out music that makes you, at least metaphorically, vibrate, and even salivate. Please suggest examples and describe the accompanying feeling
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What goes around …
The end has to come, but how, in an outro or coda, does a song or piece offer something different, original, unusual or memorable, musically or even lyrical form, a twist, a mood change, upbeat, downbeat or even a sense of unresolved mystery?
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So, do you want this, or not? Well, let’s see …
Ever felt in two minds? Caught between two stools? Stuck between a rock, pop, and hardcore place? All the wobbles and vacillations about everything in life are expertly and entertainingly captured by guest Olive Butler, chosen from nominations for last week’s topic. But which list will it be?
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Quadrophenia (1979)
Crime, culture, music, identity, fashion? From family belonging to sheer survival, there are many reasons to join a gang, but how do you get out? From street kids to Mafia organisations, this huge and colourful subject has inspired many songs …
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The Go-Betweens
There’s no denying it - this is a subject that is attached to every part of our lives, private and public, and from many nominations, guest playlister AmyLee picks amazing all-encompassing selections to uncover the musical truth
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Love, hate, broken hearts, glad tidings, bills, rejections, congratulations – here came many sackfuls of mail in response to last week’s topic, and sorting through it all was guest postmaster Maki, down to two splendid playlists
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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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Something to reflect on …
Lens me your ears! This week we take more than a passing glance at eyes in song lyrics, whether as metaphor, as objects of beauty, as windows to the soul, and especially in the mystery of how what they see differs from how they are seen
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