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
Read morePlaylists: songs about artificial intelligence (AI)
You put in the data and ideas, but what came out? Choosing from many highly non-artificial acts of the intelligence and imagination, guest Loud Atlas used his sharp human instincts create excellent playlists and see what an AI chatbot thought of them.
Read morePlaylists: songs about omens and prophecies
Visions, prophets, psychics, spanning history and the future, with good news and bad – inspired by many nominations from last week’s topic, these superb playlists, picked by guest amylee, journey through time and space
Read morePlaylists: Boastful songs
Bombastic braggadocio to self-applauding swagger, sexual prowess and stamina to super-clever slick, non-stop self-description, guest playlister ShivSidecar picks supremely sharp and entertaining sets of songs from early rock’n’roll to soul, hip hop and beyond
Read morePlaylists: songs about indifference
As independent and tough as the honey badger, these playlists rise above any concerns. They don’t care what anyone else thinks. How come? They are brilliantly compiled by guest AmyLee, picked from hundreds of nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs with non sequiturs
From the witty to the weird, the irreverent to the irrelevant, the poetic to the potty, after a huge outpouring of nominations, guest playlister severin serves up a superb menu of cutting-edge and classic musical conundrums
Read moreCan you hear it? Songs with notable key changes
No technical knowledge required. Michael Jackson to the Beatles, they've all done it. From a single step up to lift or alter the mood, to more complex modulations, if you can feel or hear a significant change in the song, it could be a key one
Read moreGet on the wrong foot: songs with misleading or incongruous titles
This week we look at titles that appear to have nothing to do with the songs they signpost, using words that don’t appear in the lyrics, and seem to create an interesting and entertaining dissonance
Read moreTitular spectacular: songs with provocative, strange, or humorous titles
Tantalising, striking, quirky, perhaps violent or sexually strange, offbeat, bizarre combinations of words, numbers or symbols and more, awful, wonderful, suggest songs that cry out to be heard and live up to their title
Read morePaws and play: share your musical discoveries of 2017
How has your year been? Share your 2017 unearthed musical treasures, new or old, rediscovered or newly perceived, picked up here at the Bar or elsewhere, as well as favourite live music experiences
Read morePlaylists: songs about fear
A shivering Shivaree to the phobias of Jasmine Sullivan, Public Enemy's politics to Kate Bush running, this week's lists by guest writer DiscoMonster will shake you awake
Read moreWhat comes next? Songs with surprising, strange or disguised intros
Unrecognisable after the first few seconds? It begins with odd sounds or another style? This week let's play with songs that initially keep you guessing, and don’t start as a they mean to go on
Read more