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The fabulous Supremes
It’s a group dynamic. This week we celebrate landmark, iconic or noteworthy songs by groups of exclusively female artists of three or more, spanning genres from early classical to jazz and swing, 60s soul, to 70s, 80s, 90s and 21st century pop
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Follow the eyes … Annette Hanshaw
Innocent following to sinister stalking, this week’s guest magicman has got all the exits covered across two excellent playlists chasing down last week’s topic to cover all musical streets from romantic threats to thrilling car chases
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Play Misty For Me? Be careful what records you choose … Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walter in 1971
Do you follow? This week it could well be a creepy, but also complex topic, with tracking and pursuing people in all contexts, done or from the perspective of either party, for love or perhaps more sinister reasons
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Take a gallop through our musical landscape …
Will it be all white on the night? The time is certainly white to suggest songs relating in every way to this colour, from skin and race to ghosts, food, clothing, weddings, purity and innocence to noise and light …
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Little Richard
Feel the magnetism. It’ s a quality of presence, an aura, a warmth, an energy, eyes and voice. It inspires and attracts others to good, or sometimes bad effect. But it isn’t only in the famous, but also unknown people brought to light in song
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Walk this way and press play …
Shoes, boots, slippers, high-heels, trainers, loafers, brothel creepers, brogues, to clogs to spats and a whole lot more, from the sexy to the silly, the stylish to the smart, let’s get the sole of this subject in this lyrical theme
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There is a light …
With this week’s topic cycle straddling two months, let’s capture both in songs that may be autumnal, seasonal, celebratory or mournful, during a time of year of change, activity and a strange red-tinged beauty
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Pick collection …
Galleries to grand libraries, public or private, unusual or colourful objects, from the oddball to unhealthy obsession, this week we enter the extraordinary world of collecting, listing and cataloguing and everything that motivates it
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Smokin' Sabrinatini
Let’s distil down and mix: from brandy to gin, whisky, rum, absinthe, vodka, rum, baijiu, tequila, pisco, mezcal and more, and all the exotic, strong, elegant and sexy combinations are on offer in this week’s lyrical topic
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Shadow play. Where? On the square
This week we enter the world of the topsy-turvy and the back-to-front, all reflected in song lyrics, literally or metaphorically, here with a perspective on other work, from reversed or mirror images to the distorted or refracted
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His Master’s Voice
Pigeons to felines, canines to bigger hairy beasts, from humour to the historical, tales of cruelty and caring, to cartoons, this week’s magical menagerie, inspired by last week’s topic is an ark of excellence brought picked by guest writer Uncleben
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Maya Angelou: “I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”
I feel for you. Reach out and I’ll be there. This week we’re seeking song-related understanding and connection the form of songs about empathy, and though it’s different perhaps also little secondary sympathy, in form or content
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Woolly thinking? Alpacas are in on the act, of course.
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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Onwards!
They express the joys, hopes, triumphs and tragedies of the human race coming together, – mixed emotions, war to civil rights, weddings to funerals, religious and sports to military might to floral festivals. But where do they come up in song?
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Where to?
It’s time to give us all a lift, not only emotionally, but as Song Bar bus sets off on a road trip, picking up all sorts of musicians and other artists, in a quest to find for stories about hitching experiences – good, bad, scary or heartwarming
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John, Yoko and Paul. Compromise is a divisive but potent issue …
It’s all about the C-word in song, but does it strengthen or weaken us? Does it hold society together or kill artistic integrity? You can’t always get what you want, but can you give a little, take it a little? Can we work it out, or just do it my way?
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What orange-ments are playing out this week?
Fresh, funky, bright and effervescent, spreading from Jamaica to India, France and America and all the way to Japan, this week’s guest playlister Hoshino Sakura captures the essence of this colour in all forms, sky to fruit to street
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Orangutan. Of course
From animals to objects, plants to birds, and all of its cultural associations, the meeting of red and yellow, symbol of change, joy, entertainment and also warning, this week let’s explore songs are about anything clearly of this colour
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Biscuit time? Deer think so, in Nara Park, Japan
Foxes, deer, ducks, ospreys, to blossoms and orchids, leaping up into life from last week’s topic, guest writer barbryn picks a magical musical menagerie and floral fanfare in playlists about the wildlife that inhabit our towns and cities
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They might well appear in a playlist near you … The Stranglers
Warnings about false friends, to advice about keeping things secret, one appearance doesn’t deceive - this week’s playlists are skilfully strung together by this week’s guest Suzi, covering everything from love to personal life, politics to parties
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