Tactile sensations are among our most primitive and deep-seated of the five senses, but how are they expressed in lyrics? From the gentle, sensual and pleasurable to the painful, it’s time the channel the somatosensory system in song form
Read moreBrief notes: songs inventively using acronyms
They’re a very common part of our language, but in lyrics or titles where are they consciously and creatively used? With meaning instantly recognisable or more cryptically unpacked, their sound might perhaps be used musically or to help create memorable lines or rhymes
Read morePlaylists: songs about prayers and praying
From Africa to Jamaica, punk, to soul to jazz and church choirs, the act of prayer in song covers many styles and gods, and sometimes isn’t even about religion. Guest playlister Severin picks a heavenly selection from last week’s theme
Read moreDear God! It's songs about prayers and praying …
What does it mean, and what form does it take? From formal religion to private conversation, hope and supplication to comfort and meditation, and even parody of well-known prayers, it’s time explore this mysterious human activity in song
Read moreOh Lord! It's songs about preachers, priests and other religious leaders
From the divine to the ridiculous, they’ve accompanied others’ lives from birth to marriage and death, stand for moral guidance but sometimes go badly astray, but are fascinatingly charismatic, flawed and human. With inspiration here from real life to film and fiction, how are they captured in song?
Read moreScandalous! It's songs about shame
Far bigger than embarrassment, shame can be private, deep-seated and complex, covering all sides of society, psychology, religious, private or public life, a many-sided identity that can be corrosive but also controlling, useful but also harmful. How does it show in song?
Read moreNothing? No, it's only ... songs about '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
Read moreBare with us: songs about nudity and nakedness
Ancient art to modern exposure, Emperor’s New Clothes to strippers, streakers and various performers, exposed souls in songwriting, what is the different between naked and nude, and how does it express itself in song? All revealed here and more
Read morePlaylists: songs about raptors
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
Read moreNever too witty: songs about owls
Nocturnal, silent, spooky and mysterious, or curious, wise and cute? Owls represent richly contrasting associations in culture, but how are they used and portrayed in song, whether in lyrics or in sampled calls. Let’s explore and have a hoot
Read moreBeware the Ides of March? Songs about prophecies and omens
From Julius Caesar feeling the sharp end in the Roman Senate to Nostradamus and his verse of things to come that will make the world worse. But what predictions will come from this week’s quatrains? Some playlists, for sure …
Read moreFor the permanent collection: songs about eternity
How to we capture or express it? Through love, art, death, heaven, hell or other forms? Particularly song. This week’s largely lyrical topic ponders on the forever, the permanent, the endless and goes to infinity and beyond …
Read moreIt's that time again: songs about tradition
From the ceremonious to the cerebral, the wonderful to the weird, the historical to the hysterical, let’s explore the world of traditions through all spheres and societies, from religion to culture, relationships and death, and of course, Christmas
Read moreTrumpet this: songs about elephants and mammoths
The big tusk ahead: actual or metaphorical, fictional, real, or idiomatic, in nature or captivity, it’s time to gather the herd, stroll or stampede through your musical collections and celebrate these magnificent huge creatures of trunk in song
Read moreSoft and sharp: songs about roses
Romance, death, pain or beauty, petals or thorns? In titles or lyrics of song, literal or metaphor, as symbols or even as names, including also instrumentals, it’s time to gather musical blooms inspired by this particular flower
Read moreEasy, or burning bright? Songs about tigers
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?
Read moreEureka! Songs about realisation, discovery and enlightenment
Moments of realisation? From scientific to practical, physical, emotional, philosophical or spiritual, expressed in one lyrical line, one musical rush, or building slowly, and then suddenly and unexpectedly coming into focus in song
Read moreWiccan work it out: pagan-themed songs – a Halloween special
Ritualism, celebration, sacrifice, worship of nature, sex and food? Ancient and 20th-century traditions come a procession of all kinds of colourful characters in this week’s theme that heralds horror or pleasure in equal measure
Read moreIncendiary notes: songs about deliberate fire starting
What happens when we do it on purpose? This week’s sparky topic might well be illuminating, fanning the flames of human life in all its creativity energy and destructive tragedy, from hearth to ritual, entertainment to war
Read moreHerd this one? Songs about four-legged livestock
From cows to horses, sheep, pigs, ox, goats, donkeys, alpacas, llamas and more, this week let’s look into songs about the farming and husbandry of quadrupeds, our relationship with them and also what they say about us
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