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Strait of Hormuz …
Filled with stories, history, myth, trade, and conflict, these potent stretches of water sometimes connect two seas or basins, continents, cultures and east and west, and are filled with danger. So how does song capture these many passages, channels and sounds?
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Christ on a bike! There’s always one …
Cultural counting as a figure of superstition and bad luck, it can also have other associations, but whether number, name, place, amount, date, age or more, this week it’s time find your significant thirteens in song as we head through a new Friday 13th
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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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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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Here it comes …
Dramatic, extreme, they always come as a pair, if with delayed arrival, and may be a backdrop, or an expression of stormy relationships, a high charge of emotions, or of inspiration, change, turmoil or chaos, but it can also bring a state of cosy comfort
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Double trouble: The Grady twins from The Shining (1980)
Especially when identical they almost always mesmerising, but even if not, and different genders, twins say a lot about human nature. They, as well as doppelgängers, and other sorts of pairing mirror a fascinating subject …
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Nine lives …
It’s a Song Bar Ninth Birthday Special: But where does this number come up in song? It’s idiomatic, it’s an upside-down 6, three thrices, an imperfect, perfectly odd number, associated with inspiration, the surreal, power, wisdom, evil, euphoria, looking your best, and, whether it’s morning or night, for work or rest, always a striking time
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The watchful, high-soaring Aquila audax or wedge-tailed eagle
Eagle, kestrels, vultures and more, after last week’s topic took flight and inspired nominations, keen-eyed musical ornithologist Nicko spreads his wings, swoops in and makes a skilful and erudite grab with these evocative playlists
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Arctic wolves in full song
Hunter or hunted, in a pack or working alone, in metaphor or myth, human connections from werewolf to dire wolf, this week they are all at the door, so it’s time to howl out your song suggestions referring magnificent canis lupus
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Aurora borealis in Iceland
Intangible, evasive, fleeting, precious, in constant flux, a source of awe, excitement, sometimes primal fear, of mythical beauty and infinite moods, hues and colours, its time to capture these celestial miracles in song
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Welcome to the Bar, says the Siberian
As myth or monster, pet or predator, symbol of beauty, death or power, tigers fire the imagination with their looks and behaviour. But how do they spring out of the musical jungle, literally or metaphorically?
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If you go down to the woods tonight …
If you go down to the woods today … then listen carefully. You will hear intriguing tales by guest playlister Suzi, and marvellous songs inspired last week's topic. Find out where the path might lead …
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Someone's had a bad day … a rock star from 2010's Norwegian film triumph, Troll Hunter (director André Øvredal)
Dragons to fairies, griffins to Godzilla, ogres to orks, this week it's time to troll (in the old sense) for songs that mention non-human, or part-human fictitious animals from stories, poetry, art and other forms in many cultures
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Summer in Scandinavia?
Beautiful and sparse, acoustic to electronica, folk to metal, share your musical discoveries that capture the cultures of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland
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