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The classic poisoner’s choice …
Natural or handmade, animal or chemical, fast or slow, murderous or accidental, we inhabit a world of toxins and venoms, but how are they expressed in song? With inspiration here, the more specific and colourful the better but there’s also the mental and metaphorical …
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Hot-dog! Fingers ‘n’ everything …
This week, from a previous idea of nothing, we go to ‘everything’ not literally, but the idea of it, from big promises of love, all-encompassing importance, the the whole shebang, totality, the full caboodle, enchilada, the big ball of wax, all within the prism of song
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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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This week it’s half full
From formal politeness and etiquette to the deeply unexpressed and private, it’s time to find all forms of thankfulness in song form, covering a range of subject matter, from the self to others, simplicity in nature to wider society
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Tomorrow’s World - 1970s science TV programme from the past about the future
It’s linked to today and yesterday, but the anticipation or idea of tomorrow is the focus, and in this theme, not just word that appears somewhere in lyrics, but plays a central or prominent role or within it, expresses in many ways
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Norway’s popular Pulpit Rock or Preikestolen
Actual or metaphorical, from windows to riverbanks, doorways to cliffs, to mental or physical extreme places, this week let’s go to a variety of precipices, stare into the abyss, but also find astonishing new perspectives in song
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And this bird must sing …
Hope, fear, dreams, resolutions, giving the finger to 2020, but a welcome thumbs up to 2021? However you feel about this new chapter in the calendar of our lives, it’s time to express it in the form of song suggestions
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Malcolm Tucker, insulter in chief, from The Thick Of It
Look sharp! This week we’re adjusting our tone with lyrics that really sharpen the spear, but capture the full spectrum from light, friendly jibe, gentle put-down, discourtesy, invective to scornful verbal attack in killer lines to whole songs
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Joseph Stalin: hero turned villain. Statue torn down in 1956 in Budapest during Hungary's October Revolution
Whether it’s figures of public renown in music, film, politics or history, or private – mentors, relatives and even lovers, this week we look into songs about how the once admired and revered can seriously disappoint and fall from grace
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Towards armistice: some of the First World War determined
On the eve of the First World War Armistice centenary, this week we look at songs about striving through extremely difficult circumstances, whether in conflict or peacetime, extreme or daily situations
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Peter Norman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 200m medal ceremony, Mexico 1968
Whatever the platform, the genre or message, this week we’re exploring the issue of equality, if not being the same, from gender to race, politics to work, how to get and if it’s even possible, all through lyrics
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A different sort of lap dance
This week's topic will not only bend your minds, but also your knees. From standing up to authority or reaching other heights, to staging a sit-in, suggest songs that refer to any associations in titles or lyrics
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Vladimir, in a gesture of true hospitality, is taking his friend Donald for a ride
Language need be no barrier. Let’s reveal, explore, inaugurate, even celebrate, from classical, film to pop, from inside and out, the rich musical heritage inspired by this vast, contradictory country
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Dinner at Jack Rabbit Slims. Care to dance?
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevenses, afternoon tea or midnight snacks? This week it's time to serve up a musical smorgasbord that's as much about the social setting and time of day as the food
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