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“Actually, I think you’ll find these are not stocks, it’s a pillory …”
Far bigger than embarrassment, shame can be private, deep-seated and complex, covering all sides of society, psychology, religious, private or public life, a many-sided identity that can be corrosive but also controlling, useful but also harmful. How does it show in song?
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Trickle down economics, all the way down to …
During a time of fiscal crisis, while policy helps the wealthy avoid paying what’s due, here at Song Bar we’re open and pennywise with our playlists. So what contribution might you have on this taxing subject of social justice? Spend your time wisely …
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The flurry of first light
Morning always comes, but how might you start it musically? This is a topic not about the morning and everything that goes with it, although those details may figure, but is one more about complementary mood, style, feeling and pace
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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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Brief Encounter (1945)
Fleeting romance to brief encounters, the transient to the terse, the brusque to burnout, the concise or condensed, our time is limited on Earth, but there’s still enough to suggest songs on this universal subject
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Sounds of silver …
Leaving aside gold, steel and iron, let’s dig out songs that lyrically refer, in literal or metaphorical terms to the poetic or practical qualities of silver, copper, brass, tin, aluminium, tungsten, magnesium and much more
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Don't be alarmed. Something to whet the whistle, darling?
From gloom to horny joy, scary or strange surprises to dire straits, this week let's explore all the lyrical and musical sides of regain consciousness in song, with some stimuli here from other forms – film and books
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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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Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach
Golden Age rogues from Blackbeard to Anne Bonny, Calico Jack to Treasure Island, from the Caribbean to modern marauders of Somalia, in folk to rock, metal to reggae, set sail with your song suggestions
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