Sometimes the visual and audible become inextricable. From nostalgia to drama, guest of the week Loud Atlas channels nominations from last week’s TV topic into playlists that are must-sees and required listening
Read morePlaylists: songs about underdogs
From the financially underprivileged to the militarily outnumbered, sporting longshots to those barred by the race, from last week’s topic suggestions, guest Loud Atlas’ powerful picks show how the apparent minnows can become mighty
Read morePlaylists: songs about D-Day
Following the 80th anniversary of one of the most significant events of the 20th century, guest playlister Maki picks poignant and powerful selections abuot that event as well as other do-or-die metaphors inspired by last week’s D-Day topic
Read morePlaylists: songs featuring crooners
How do you demonstrate the craft of crooning? It brings a broader range than you imagine. After the many nominations springing from last week’s topic, defining as all about style and using the microphone, guest playlister ParaMhor brings some perfect performance picks …
Read moreMicrophone closeness? Songs featuring crooners
This week it’s time to to get close to the microphone explore the evolution of crooning in the full range, the style, the technique, the good, bad and ugly, emotive, intimate and excellent, the creative, the cosy, and the cringeworthy, the sensitive and sentimental
Read morePlaylists: music without percussion
Jazz, classical, acoustic rock to neo-folk, gentle pop and soul to ambient electronica, there’s a whole texture of sounds audible when the bang of drums and other struck percussion are absent. Inspired by last week’s topic, guest Nilpferd brilliantly guides us through a more delicate, nuanced musical experience
Read morePlaylists: songs inventively using acronyms
From catchy hooks to deeper meanings revealed, a combination of letters can be a clever way to compose lyrics or a song title. Guest playlister ajostu unscrambles hundreds of suggestions from last week’s topic to superbly spell it all out
Read morePlaylists: songs about immaturity
Life’s SO unfair! NOBODY understands! After a huge outpouring of song suggestions on this angst-ridden subject, guest of the week Olive Butler picks out two wonderfully entertaining playlists that really reach for the inner child
Read morePlaylists: songs about resilience
Love and marriage, fighting alcoholism, fearless drag queens, 400 years of black resilience, to being able to bend rather than be brittle and break – there’s something very strong going on here, thanks for playlists picked by guest magicman inspired by last week’s topic
Read morePlaylists: songs about nightingales and the song thrush family
They must sing on, and will not stop. From the national bird of Ukraine to a whole variety of vocally dextrous thrushes, this enduring topic, coming from a huge flock of nominations last week, is given full and beautiful playlist flight by guest Severin
Read morePlaylists: songs about tradition
Ancient religions to strange festivals, drinking rituals to counting sheep to chasing cheeses, small slices of history to long formed social behaviour, enjoy wonderful stories and playlists picked by guest Marco den Ouden from last week’s topic
Read morePlaylists: songs for the spirit of 2021
From party bangers to soulful sensitivity, guest playlister DJ Bear aka PopOff! kicks off the new year with poignancy and positivity inspired by a tonne of nominations. After all what other way is there to go but up?
Read morePlaylists: songs about the colour orange
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
Read morePlaylists: songs about Paris
Jacques Dutronc to Jacqueline Taieb to Joni Mitchell, all the sights and sound of the great French city are captured in deux listes belles by our guru du semaine fantastique, swawilg. Take a stroll, stop at a café and enjoy …
Read morePlaylists: songs and music by trios
Intricate jazz to country three-part harmony, postpunk, pop, indie, hip-hop, Cuban traditional to perfect Persian drumming, playlister Nilpferd picks a perfect ‘triumph-virate’ of holy trinities across genres
Read morePlaylists: great songwriting 1900-1955
Armstrong and Astaire to the Boswell Sisters and Al Bowlly, Whispering Jack Smith to Sarah Vaughan, this week's guest playlist writer DiscoMonster digs out many a treasure in a golden age of discovery
Read moreIn the lap of the gods: songs about sitting or standing
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
Read moreWell tasty: songs about meals and mealtimes
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevenses, afternoon tea or midnight snacks? This week it's time to serve up a musical smorgasbord that's as much about the social setting and time of day as the food
Read morePlaylists: songs about renewal, rebirth and starting over
From cleaning up to getting dirty, leaving the country to new life at forty, black eyes to old blues, this week's guest writer Marco den Ouden's playlists show brilliant breadth of perspective on ways to start again
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