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Plenty of alarms and surprises in store this week …
Sound effects or samples in songs that cover alerts and alarms and of all types are what could sound out this week’s creativity cacophony, from car and fire alarms to clocks and klaxons, and no doubt plenty of horns, bells or whistles
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Which voices will light a musical fire this week?
Obsessive arson to agricultural control to amorous anger, the matches in this week’s playlists come in striking form, and picked by guest swawilg from many nominations, are full of illuminating, smouldering surprises
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Jimi Hendrix. Fan of the flames
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
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They call him … Otis Redding. But what other moniker does his emotional music inspire?
There are many, and they might come from a reputation for sexual prowess, musical style, behaviour or appearance. Whatever the sobriquet, or the source, we can certainly name the result: two fantastic playlists from this week’s guest writer Uncleben
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One mask, many articulate aliases, but mainly MF Doom
Nom de plume to nom de guerre, moniker, handle to sobriquet, this week let’s dig out songs that mention substitute names, from youth and the unknown to the famous, whether they come from affection, fear, pure description or hype
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Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers
A funktastic, upside perspective set of playlists chosen by guest DJ Bear from hundreds of nominations by readers sets the new year of 2020 where it needs to be on the energetic, positive good foot
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Some people have no time to sit …
New Year resolutions, revelations or revolutions? Whether it’s from or for love, money, survival, fear, self-respect or more, let’s open 2020 with songs that may motivate, but ideally also tell us where that comes from
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Another uplifting evening of joyous anarchy with Amyl & The Sniffers
To round off 2019, please share any music you’ve especially enjoyed or discovered this year, here at the Bar, or outside it, material new or old, releases your’ve bought, or any great experience at live music events
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Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales are furnished with inspiration by a certain room at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont hotel
Tables, beds and daybeds, chairs to desks, sofas and all sorts, this week’s playlists, not only have legs, but give us the full suite of emotions, moods, settings and styles, expertly chosen this week’s guest Marco den Ouden
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The Radiogram: perhaps he most important piece of furniture in many a 20th-century childhood home
Rockin' chairs and recliners to tables and desks, sofas, wardrobes, amoires, beds, side tables to dining suites, lyrically as passing image, or as a main subject, let’s furnish this week’s song theme with some solid support
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Lotte Lenya
Sometimes you can believe, yet it doesn’t work out. But sometimes it does. This week it has, at least through hundreds of brilliant song nominations, and playlists equal that by guest Severin, spanning genres, mood and eras
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Nose. We all knows … what lies, above. And below, look out for capo alert …
There’s a UK general election today, but here it’s also time to vote for songs about trust, that fragile but vital hub around which the world spins, in love, family, friendships, the self, creativity, religion, but also played in politics and business
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Sketching out … Miles Davis and Gil Evans
It’s an artful arrangement in itself: classical to jazz, pop to prog, the parts unfold and come together beautifully in these playlists picked by this week’s guest magicman, drawn from hundreds of suggestions from last week’s topic
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Two of the greats. Ray Charles, also a great arranger as well as performer, with composer and arranger Quincy Jones
From full orchestration to carefully stripped back, this week let's consider work where in originals or later versions, added instrumentals, vocal parts, melodic fills, changing tempo or keys, have made a great song even better
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Leonard Cohen. Like no one else.
There’s noting quite like a simile playlist, and even more special is a pair. This week’s guest ParaMhor creates perfect examples for comparison, picked with impeccable taste out of a vast selection from last week’s topic
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It’s like dancing about architecture
Used in literature and everyday speech, it’s the verbal tool that compares one contrasting thing to another, by using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. But where do they come up in song lyrics, and where, ideally, are they effective and original?
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Super continent group: Les Amazones d’Afrique
When have giants of African music, jazz, indie, rock and pop and more left their egos at the door and formed a great, new integrated unit? This week’s guest Nilpferd gathers together groups of examples into superlative playlists
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Cream, with a heavy dose of Ginger
Collaborations, surprising or predictable, are of what music is made. But this week’s topic focuses on artists from different, already successful acts who collaborate not only on one song or performance, but a whole LP or more
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‘The morning is here and there’s work to be done': Who sings a story of the ‘navvies’ who built our railways?
Drivers to traders, craftsmen to carers, traffic wardens to roadies, this week’s superb playlists by guest writer ShivSidecar capture a huge spectrum of styles, emotions, toil and characters, and after so many nominations, it’s a job very well done indeed
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Panda nanny, anyone? Hours may be long …
Habitual to unusual, the professional or the manual, the skilled or the basic, gig economy to obscure and hidden, this week we look at a variety of job titles and what they all entail, all evoked through song
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