Prepare for a journey into the unknown and deeply strange. Whether in lyrics or musical sound or structure, guest playlister severin leads us through canticular caverns of wonder, inspired by last week’s topic
Read morePlaylists: songs about or featuring national anthems
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
Read morePlaylists: songs about close shaves and near misses
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: 7-inch singles that differ from album versions
Sometimes they were an inspiration improvement, sometimes an editing and style aberration. Picking out the differences from last week’s singular topic, guest playlister ParaMhor cleverly chooses the contrasts for better or worse
Read morePlaylists: songs with tautonyms and other repeat-word phrases
Echoing syllables and words across history, the animal kingdom, cultures and genres, this poetic linguistic effect brought a bountiful and vibrant supply of nominations. Guest playlister Maki picks a poetic selection to capture their glory
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 morePlaylist: songs about blessings and curses
Mysterious places, songs and secrets. This week’s wonderfully vivid playlist, inspired by last week’s topic, sets an intriguing narrative in a mysterious establishment run by a shady figure. But will it take a dark or a light path? Guest writer Maki sets the scene …
Read morePlaylists: songs with unusual time signatures
Pleased to meter? 5, 7, 11, 13, 15 or even 17? We’ve got all the strange signature numbers for you here in brilliantly arrhythmic playlists by guest of the week Barbryn, making it really count from last week’s topic nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs with psychedelic sounds
LSD, mushrooms and more, after a truly epic session of song suggestions from last week’s topic, It’s time to take a trip in playlist form, carefully prepared by guest of the week MussoliniHeadkick. Hold on to your ears and let the audio hallucinations commence …
Read moreMind-bending: songs with psychedelic sounds
Delay, fuzz, distortion, flanger, echo, sitars, and mind-altering drugs? It’s a style chiefly associated with the late-60s but what are it’s key characteristics and where else do they come up in the world of music? Let’s go on a journey through time and space …
Read moreRush hour: songs about taking recreational and illicit drugs
Trip up, or down? Hallucinogens, amphetamines, barbiturates and more, it’s time to feel stimulated and inspired by a big creative subject in the world of music, with songs about and expressing the ups and downs and experience of taking illicit, recreational drugs
Read morePlaylists: songs featuring conversations
Duelling tablas to bar-room or bandmate banter, flirty duets to star-crossed lovers, chatty parody to skilful dissing, all the questions and answers are here in a creatively conversation playlist picked by guest Amylee from an enormous offering of nominations last week
Read morePlaylists: songs featuring steelpan bands
They make a beautiful sound, created in Trinidad & Tobago, one that has since spread around the world. Picking from the nominations from last week’s topic, guest Loud Atlas presents global, genre-spanning panoramic lists that are pan-tastic
Read morePlaylists: songs with more questions than answers
Inspired by Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave cinema movement, music poses questions in all forms - in sound, form, structure, as well as lyrics. Picking from last week’s topic, guest playlister pejepeine has excellent answers by example
Read morePlaylists: songs about the impossible
Can it be done? Can we only dream? It’s time to bend the rules through the incomparable prism of the Song Bar theme process – and see what happens. With a vibrant vortex of wonderful nominations last week, guest playlister Maki presents the amazing choices
Read morePlaylists: songs about punctuality
Something changed around the Enlightenment, with the advent of universal timepieces, but how did that affect human relationships? Inspired by last week’s nominations, Marco den Ouden clocks in with perfectly timely playlists
Read morePlaylists: songs about bees
So what’s buzz? Literal or metaphor, and collecting nectar from a wide range of sources from last week’s topic, guest musical beekeeper Alaric gives takes on a world of the bluesy, folky and much more as his playlists fully bloom
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: songs about the sixth sense
intuition to the unexplained, new realms of perception to deja vu, telepathy and the astral plane, all this and more in a pair of perceptive playlists picked by guest of the week Suzi from the most recent topic
Read morePlaylists: songs about gratitude
A truly upbeat and positive way to start off 2022, a deliciously mix of disco, funk and pop, folk and more from Detroit to Scotland, Chile to Africa and beyond, picked by guest DJ PopOff! from last week’s many song suggestions
Read more