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Getting into the swing of it: Trapeze artists, 1890
Roll up! Roll up! This week we’re going under the big top and looking to capture the excitement, the artistry, the adventure, tragedy and also cruelty of circus culture. For audience or performers, it’s all about the show, in music and lyrics
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Shadowplay: from the video for Come, by French singer-songwriter Jain
Visual, auditory, via media, rumour, or any other distortion of perceptions, from personal experience to the political, this week we search for songs about the interplay of the senses and idea of illusions as a primary focus
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This week’s topic attracted a rainbow range of music and lyrics
Multi-coloured and international, from caterpillars to these winged insects in their full glory and the beauty, tragedy and majesty that they represent, all are captured in beautiful playlists gathered by guest Severin from last week’s topic
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Hey, this way. Don’t forget the moths, says the rosy maple
Fragile mutability, intangible beauty, or a hairy horror with collecting obsessives? Metaphor or more, in lyrics or music, with a four-stage life cycle, from egg to pupae, caterpillar to winged wonders, let’s hear it for all these wondrous lepidoptera, with as much for the moths as for the butterflies
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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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Are you fur staying on the fence?
From the many various situations and vacillations of love to shopping, voting, moving or staying and more, it’s finally time to plump for indecisiveness on song lyrics. The choice of what to nominate is yours. If you can …
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Aldous Harding: intense imagination … about her man
Childhood dreams to grownup fantasy, emotional flowering to practical, creative necessity, this week’s playlists, picked from last week’s topic by guest Shiv Sidecar, perfectly stimulating our brains and ears, cerebrally and musically
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Vladmir Kush’s African Sonata
From practical life problems, work, relationships, craft or crisis, to all sorts of creative problems, or even channelling dreams, it’s time to access the right hemisphere and see how the imagination can be used, as expressed in song lyrics. Read on for more stimulation …
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Take a world tour of music that captures market culture here under one roof
Apples, ackee, okra, all odds and sods are for sale from Africa to South America, Turkey to Vietnam, Jamaica and more, a vibrant, tasty, colourful selection of world markets and genres are all here under one roof, expertly picked by guest Suzi from last week’s topic
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Sands of time …
It’s time to celebrate the Bar’s seven years with poetic inspiration for a topic that also endures – and songs about romantic love or friendship that’s perpetual through life, or forever enshrined in in the memory even if tragically cut short
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Rare, and always on the move: Halley and Billie
From celestial to historical, the fictional to the emotional, while rarities are exactly as described, there’s a huge variety, and many songs about them. Picking from last week’s huge range of nominations, guest Marco den Ouden makes heavenly choices
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Some activities are rarer than others … Thomas Rowlandson’s satirical work of 1811
Looking up or down, from sights of rare astrological bodies to unusual encounters with unusual or unique people or events, from birth to death, it’s time to capture the rare in song form, from personal or universal perspectives
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Pointed dialogue: John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction
Can you tell me what this is all about? Sure. Whether between two or more vocalists, or reported within the lyrics by one, or even involving instrumentalists, songs that include communication between more than one person. There’s lots of examples to get your ideas flowing. OK, thanks.
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Visited any of these? Take it to the fridge …
Memories fond to tragic, travel to mementos of lost lovers, all kinds of objects and emotions are on display this week as guest Loud Atlas picks out a colourful and poignant range of objects and songs to spark stories and feelings
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Just the ticket: pricey or priceless?
Whether music, sport, film, travel, or wider culture, they mean different things to different individuals, but all are items that trigger or preserve memories, personal or more universal. Let’s explore these specific objects in song, overall or in specific lyrical detail
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Driven to distraction? Amy Winehouse
Relationships, work, TV, the internet - we all get pulled towards things that perhaps aren’t planned, but is this also all losing control and trying to regain it? Guest of the week ajostu picks two perfect playlists to focus on this topic out of last week’s nominations
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Warning: diversions expected ahead …
Prepare for the unexpected. This week in song, it’s all about moments of divergence, digression, and distraction, of interruption and intervention, leading to the unplanned, whether that be because of oneself, another person, events, or circumstances
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The inner beast: Sinéad O’Connor
Was it the music, the voice, the lyrics, or all three? In a truly hair-raising (in the all the right ways) opener to 2023, guest playlister Maki creates two superbly shivery and inspiring lists from a wide choice of possibilities from last week’s topic
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Not a curtain-raiser for 2023, but a hair-raiser …
Not a curtain raiser, but a hair-raiser for 2023. It’s a sign that music is at its optimum effect, but when and why does it happen? From Darwin’s explanation to more recent studies, and some musical examples, it’s time to share your goosebump inducting songs and explain why …
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Water year it’s been …
It’s time to reflect on an extraordinary year, about events public or personal, to celebrate those artists who have sadly left us, and also include in particular your discoveries in music old or new, here at the Bar or elsewhere
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