Your Custom Text Here
It’s the most famous town in the world. This week our songs are about the place itself – its famous streets, landmarks, studios as well as the fascias, finery, or fakery of its people – their hopes, dreams, triumphs, failures, feuds and fantasies
Read more
Sensational song suction: a huge hoover-up of hope in these week’s big playlists
Spring cleaning takes energy, but the results can also generate even more. The same applies to this week’s serenely and clean playlists chosen by guest DJ Bear, who whizzes around the Bar with a hopeful heart and a spring in his step
Read more
Gratuitous gif of Freddie and Roger from a song that is nothing to do with this topic
It’s time for some lockdown relief. While doing them, let’s also think up and sometimes dance to some numbers about those chores we all must now face, not just cleaning or sorting, but also the psychological cleanse and clear out
Read more
Einstein’s brain and music. Always connected.
Albert Einstein to neuroplasticity, this week’s topic mixes the clever, complex cerebellum with music. Taking in last week’s many nominations, guest Marco den Ouden created a trio of mind-blowing playlists to educate and entertain
Read more
Which way are you thinking?
Let’s celebrate the cerebrum and engage with the encephalon through lyrics and song subject, whether it is the biological makeup of this squidgy Tardis, or mindful thoughts and functions it can control. Worth a thought, anyway …
Read more
David Bowie of course. Star from start to finish.
An astronomically huge topic resulting in a galaxy of nominations. This week’s guest playlister Amylee not only listened to them all, but turned them into a stellar set of songs spanning the musical universe
Read more
Bootsy Collins. The bass line being he ticks more than one star box
From astronomy to celebrity, shapes to symbols, this week we escape earthly concerns and reach into the musical firmament for a rich lyrical topic that will cover all aspects and life as well as death. It’ll be stellar production
Read more
Turn it up to 11? Some decor is, well, quite loud
It’s time to take some artistic licence through enforced isolation, and pick from your palette of musical paints to harmonise, fix up, adorn, and help create playlists that decorate the Song Bar, as well as the mind
Read more
Bashful kids: Edwyn Collins and Orange Juice back in the day …
Don’t listen to these playlists. They’re not really that good at all. Then again they might be. What do you reckon? Actually they could actually be brilliant, chosen by guest playlister megadom from a whole set of funny and moving suggestions …
Read more
Can’t put down. The self-deprecating Keanu Reeves walks the street absorbed in The Government Inspector
Humorous or serious? Self-defence mechanism, attention-seeking, of self-aggrandisement? This week’s lyric topic is richly nuanced, ironic, and covers a range of emotions, often fuelled by love and ambition, tempered by self-belittling
Read more
Pop art? The playlist is the thing … and Shakespeare comes in many colours
Prithee, come along, the bell doth ring! Hear thy song, the playlist is the thing! Rock, classical, funk, soul, hip hop, the Bard is present in all genres, here played out in three splendid acts by guest magicman from a cast of nominations
Read more
We are mere players …
We fling open the doors of the Bar to the great Bard, and his incalculable influence on our language and thought patterns as shown in song lyrics, key words and phrases, perhaps also characters and narratives, knowingly, wittily, or unconsciously
Read more
SInging. Part of our evolution …
It’s time to sing out suggestions on this lyrical, meta-topic – from the perspective of singer or listener, by humans, animals or birds, whether for love, warning, fear, joy or despair, or singing simply to exist, make others aware
Read more
Which accessory do the B52’s wear big time?
Head to foot, wrist to chest, this week’s musical accessorising, picked by guest playlister Mnemosene2 from last week’s highly fashionable topic stylishly covers many parts and genres, including postpunk, calypso and jazz
Read more
Koko and friend
Soothing words, a light touch; holding baby, stroking an animal; lifting a fragile glass a measured, restrained response to tense moments, rage or violence; the soft caress of a light breeze across the eyelids, let’s gently let it out in song
Read more
Nice guitar licks …
From Beautiful Pea Green Boat to Rockabye, they float up in a whole range song contexts and genres. Picking out perfect examples nominated in last week’s topic, guest playlister EnglishOutlaw takes us from innocence to experience
Read more
Cat on a fiddle.? Dashing dish? Hey diddle diddle, just about anything can happen this week
Their words and images are variously bizarre to banal, entrancing or exciting, rhythmical, repetitive, surreal, but also cruel and brutal, even utterly terrifying, and above all, powerfully manipulative and controlling. But how are they used in other songs?
Read more
There’s no dictating to Pauline Murray from Penetration …
An impressive collection of tough cookies feature in this week’s lineup of artists ready to take no nonsense from anybody, covering the full spectrum obstinacy, from soul to punk and beyond, picked by discerning ear of guest Maki
Read more
Captain Beefheart. Not exactly a shrinking wallflower in the obstinacy stakes
Stupid or inspired? Annoying obstinacy, obduracy, inflexibility and bullheadedness, or admirable persistence, pertinacity, tenacity and indomitability? It can go both ways, but how might it shape up in song lyrics?
Read more
Sound the foghorn! What’s on this week’s playlists?
Alarm clocks to church bells, foghorns to sirens, this week let’s sound the alert - two fantastic playlists featuring these sounds and more are on the musical horizon, picked by this week’s lighthouse keeper pejepeine
Read more