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The violin bridges many a genre …
Bridging huge swathes of musical genre from folk to classical, reggae to hip hop, India to China, it's time for our guest writer amylee to take a 'bow' for superb playlists inspired by last week's huge and fiddly topic
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The Cipriani Potter Stradivarius. Other models are available (if you've got a few quid)
Classical, folk, pop, rock, traditional or contemporary, Irish to Romanian, Hungarian to American to the far east, suggest music about or featuring this beautiful stringed instrument in a prominent role
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Foucault? Swing low, sweet pendulum
North, south, east, west, left to right, Ayers to Zeppelin, this week's guest writer nosuchzone took charge of the musical swingometer, and inspired by nominations, created marvellous playlists that really move
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Hang out at the Bar. You'll enjoy it.
Folk to rock, pop to hip hop and more, from grisly executions to leisure time with friends, to ending phone calls, let's hang out at the Song Bar and explore songs using these many idioms
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Gone!
Sold! Paddle at the ready, and waiting for the gavel to drop, this week's excellent guest playlister EnglishOutlaw takes on a musical journey through the auction house, watching other punters and bidding for with some fabulous songs
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Blast off: many bright openings illuminate this week's playlists …
Is it best to set light slowly or start with a big bang? In what turned out to be topic of epic proportions and suggestions, this week's guest ParaMhor creates a superb selection of illuminating playlist openings
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It's a 2018 curtain raiser …
Songs or instrumentals, suggest music that sets a tone, a pace, a mood or is a statement of intent, and makes a great start to an album, at the top of a radio show or any other work or event
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The Andantes: backing vocal mainstays of Motown – Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps. Who didn't they sing for?
They're the brilliant singers who blend beautiful and really make the music. From Motown and soul to to church and gospel, barbershop to pop or even punk, suggest songs made backed brillliantly by the unknown or famous
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Furr-aging for new music? What's been your favourite discovery?
How has your year been? Share your 2017 unearthed musical treasures, new or old, rediscovered or newly perceived, picked up here at the Bar or elsewhere, as well as favourite live music experiences
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Chill out and listen to this week's playlists …
Clearlake to Cocteau Twins, Tchaikovsky to Jethro Tull, last week's topic included an avalanche of nominations, from which this week's guest takeitawayGuru has sculptured two of fine flakes and frozen shapes
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What songs will be preserved in the ice and snow of this week's nominations?
Flakes that meander down to frozen formations, beautiful and deadly, used literally or metaphorically in emotions or landscapes, let's explore songs that preserving this water in lyrics and titles
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Which music got the readers buzzing and landed on this week's lists?
Bees buzzing to cement mixers churning, Bowie's garden to Mingus hogging to Cramps' chickens clucking, enjoy two noisily evocative playlists picked by guest Severin from last week's nominations
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Holy smoke, Batman, it's onomatopoeia time …
Boing! Bash! Splash! Whoosh! This week it's time to get noisy with songs containing words that mimic the sounds they describe, but also those with conventional instruments that copy other sounds
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Fierce embrace: Christian the lion and old friends
Bumping into ex-lovers to family occasions, high-school meetups to friends reunited, tales of long-lost lust to saved revenge, it's time to catch up with those songs that capture all the emotions and ties of old acquaintance
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Strat in your lap …
Standing up to sitting pretty, benches to balconies to boats, this week's guest playlister treefrogdemon takes on a beautiful and poetic knee-bending tour, arranged after very long legs of nominations
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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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What strange sights might been seen through … the car window?
Aphex Twin's wet windscreen to Sonny Boy Williamson escaping out the bedroom window, it's all going on here. Guest playlister nosuchzone is pure glass – giving us stunning sights and sounds from last week's topic
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Shine some light through this topic
Clear or stained-glass, from or into rooms, trains, windscreens or more, literal or metaphorical, from the soul to an opportunity, it's time to shine light through and suggest titles or lyrics with this theme
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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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