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An Anna’s hummingbird at work
A hum-dinger, or at least a hum-singer of a topic, one in which we're seeking songs that feature that sound, perhaps mostly by the vocalist when not singing lyrics, but perhaps other effect and forms of vibrating hum, from rock and pop, famous classical operatic passages, jazz, R&B, reggae and much more
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Beautiful Golden Sebright
Start from scratch? No, there's a lot more fun in the farmyard and beyond with a brilliantly entertaining fluffy bird songs chosen by guest of the week Nicko from last week's topic. Now for the pecking order ...
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The red junglefowl of southeast Asia are the grandaddy of poultry species, giving rise to today's many breeds of domesticated chicken
Playing chicken, strutting rooster, cock crowing, or cold turkey? In sound or style, metaphor or symbolism, this week it’s time for to play fair or fowl, with your songs about chicken, turkeys, and other poultry of the farmyard scene
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What’s been added to your cat-alogue this year?
It’s holiday time, so let’s take stock of music seen and heard this year, either here, but in fact anywhere, releases old or new. So please recommend and share in comments. These can be put into personal or collective playlists
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Serving now …
Seductive servings, unusual flavours, and mystery men and women. This week’s musical serving has got it all, packed with colours and innuendo, it’s a delicious combination put together by guest skilful scooper EnglishOutlaw from last week’s topic
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Like notes and chords, here are some essential flavours, but how will you mix them?
A flood of flavours, associations, colours and shapes may spring to mind, but in song, leisure and pleasure or perhaps ice-cold pain, metaphor or titular in song, contrasts with sourer realities, melting hearts, but what also of the ice-cream man, and van, and surrounding culture?
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Music in the air …
Take a world trip from standup straight to unusual traditionals, or distorted version radicals, alternative interpretations to parodies, as well as new lyrical angles, guest Severin creates a truly global selection from last week’s Olympic-inspired topic
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Allons enfants! It’s time for those anthems, but with a deeper look, as the Paris Olympics opens and celebrates its centenary
As the 2024 Paris Olympics opens, we examine the strange nature of the national anthem, for better or worse, not merely in versions thereof, but also songs and works which feature clips or renditions, or lyrically reference or talk about the concept itself even in more general terms
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Gil Scott-Heron: Detroit disaster just averted …
From the almost did to only just happened, close encounters of all kinds – from romantic situations, haircuts, or averting nuclear meltdown, inspired by last week’s nominations, guest playlister Loud Atlas just makes it happen in the best possible lyrical way
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Crosstown traffic: he’s luckier even than Donald Trump …
This week it’s the almosts, the nearly happenings, the white-knuckle moments, the narrow escapes, for better or worse, however, and whatever way you look at them, the tiny marginal could-have-gone-either-way events that make you think, gasp, feel relieved, grateful, sorry, or change your perspective
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Doubly happy: Stevie Wonder jokes around with a wax double of himself at London Piccadilly’s Rock Circus in 1989
It’s an emotional state that comes in many forms and has attracted waves of joyful nominations. Guest playlister of the week MussoliniHeadkick picks a selection that will give a spring to your step and a leap to your heart with a personal expression of love
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It’s a goal we can all aim for …
It’s elusive, often temporary, sometimes found in solitude, or in the company of others, and is open to wide spectrum and interpretation, from calm, inner, tranquility and bliss, to electric, excited collective ecstasy. But how is it captured in song?
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Live and Letta Mbulu
From politics to personal life, sexuality and personal liberation to broader social issues, on the back of recent elections and a topic covering freedom of speech, guest playlister Maki spans geography, genre and time to give the subject a full hearing
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Don’t bin your vote … satirical parliamentary candidate Count Binface outside Westminster, today standing against the PM
In the light of today's UK and other forthcoming elections, let's sing out about freedom of expression through lyrics, whether political, personal, serious or silly – at least it's a right we still have left
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Take a seat, sip a drink, and soak up the easy sounds …
From the becalming, serene and romantic – bars to hotel lifts, airports and shops with mood-affecting orchestral pieces of the 1950s and 60s, all the way to retro nostalgia in the 1990s and contemporary sounds, guest playlister pejepeine perfectly captures this broad genre topic from a huge wave of nominations
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Sit back, suggest and fill the lounge …
Lounge to exotica, Les Baxter to James Last, tiki bars to the space age, it’s a broad genre that extends into jazz, Latin and electronica and pop, across hotel bars, lifts and film sounds, so this week let’s relax with a cocktail, a soft chair and see what makes us get into the mood …
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The fabulous Nicholas Brothers
Foot stomping and clogging to the click of fingers, flamenco and castanets, these playlists, picked by guest Marco den Ouden from last week’s topic, take a tour of the world from Canada to Mexico, Spain to Japan, with music that’s right on tap
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Elvis snaps to it
Got that rhythm? This week, songs on which we hear prominently the body percussion rhythms of dexterous human extremities – of fingers, hands, feet and toes, snapping, tapping, and stamping, though not the more common hand-clapping which has been a separate topic
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Trumpet solo …
Trumpet solos, roar power to the sound of mew-sic, after a melodious menagerie of nominations from last week’s topic, nature-loving playlister Uncleben cleverly tracks down creatural participants for their own perspective on fabulous avine, bovine, elephantine, feline, galline, leonine, lupine, phocaenine and porcine contributions to the genre
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Three-part harmony …
It’s a vast sonic language, mostly beyond our understanding, but with a more subconscious appreciation, has been incorporated in different genres of music, from field recordings and samples, or even those mimicked by the human voice or by instruments
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