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Stack of 7-inches
Brutally, or mercifully truncated, radio-edited in musical mix or lyrical content, decorously tarted up with orchestra or other instruments, added or deleted solos, made dancier or more ethereal, it’s time to dig up some the contrasting versions that have surprised, delighted or frustrated you
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Revolutionary warnings: Crass
Coercion, violence and suppression, it’s a recurring cycle through history. Spanning the globe with philosophy and genre, guest playlister Marco den Ouden examines the big questions about autocracy and anarchy, picked from last week’s topic nominations
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There’s something inside … Labi Siffre
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
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Portrait of Laurence Sterne by Joshua Reynolds, 1760. Sterne’s revolutionarily divergent meta-novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, became a huge influence on great 20th century novelists from James Joyce to Italo Calvino and Thomas Pynchon
In the spirit of Laurence Sterne’s wonderfully original novel, and inspired by a hive mind of nominations, guest guru Uncleben embarks on a marvellous meandering journey of deliberate divergence to explore a self-referential mirror-hall of lyrical meta
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John, aka 9hairs9knots in a classic pose …
Pull up a chair, pour a drink and soak in this extensive farewell, filled with anecdotes, quotes and songs to John, aka 9hairs9knots, mischievous, articulate, knowledgeable, funny, warm, sensitive regular here at the Song Bar for years. Rest in peace.
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The Go-Betweens
There’s no denying it - this is a subject that is attached to every part of our lives, private and public, and from many nominations, guest playlister AmyLee picks amazing all-encompassing selections to uncover the musical truth
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Captain Beefheart. Not exactly a shrinking wallflower in the obstinacy stakes
Stupid or inspired? Annoying obstinacy, obduracy, inflexibility and bullheadedness, or admirable persistence, pertinacity, tenacity and indomitability? It can go both ways, but how might it shape up in song lyrics?
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They call him … Otis Redding. But what other moniker does his emotional music inspire?
There are many, and they might come from a reputation for sexual prowess, musical style, behaviour or appearance. Whatever the sobriquet, or the source, we can certainly name the result: two fantastic playlists from this week’s guest writer Uncleben
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Stock image? Gazelle Twin – definitely, possibly otherwise
What indeed does it all mean? Weaving in and out of lyrics and songs like an outer-body radio station, inspired by last week’s nominations, guest magicman creates two mesmerising playlists that ask as many questions as they answer
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Roxy Music – everyone gets their moment
Covert crushes, hopeless longing or sinister obsession? All this and more with two lists of brilliance and passion from the Temptations to Divine Comedy and beyond, skilfully picked by this week’s guest Severin from last week’s topic
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Elvis Costello: rich in idioms, allusions, vernacular phrases and rictus-inducing puns
How do you reduce more than 1,000 song suggestions into two perfectly phrased playlists of just 26 songs? If that feels beyond the pale, then the play’s the thing for this week’s superb guest ShivSidecar
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Bunny Wailer
Bunny Wailer, Blind Melon, Beastie Boys, Blur … there all here, you know, and very different. And that’s just a few of the Bs. This week’s guest playlist writer amylee gives you a whole lot more than fantastic playlists inspired by last week’s topic.
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Machines unmasked: Hideki Matsutake from the Yellow Magic Orchestra
Hums, beats, squelches and clicks, banks of sound and theremins, Delia Derbyshire to Bowie, Eno to the Yellow Magic Orchestra, this week’s guest magicman turns it all on with two brilliant playlists from a host of superb nominations
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Ray Charles and The Raelettes
Aretha and her sisters to Ray and the Raelettes, Louis and Keely to Gladys and the Pips, this week's brilliant backing vocals came from a chorus of nominations topic, led by a masterful guest playlister magicman
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Holy smoke, Batman, it's onomatopoeia time …
Boing! Bash! Splash! Whoosh! This week it's time to get noisy with songs containing words that mimic the sounds they describe, but also those with conventional instruments that copy other sounds
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Love was good to him: Johnny Cash, set to rest next to his beloved June Carter Cash
Cash to Cohen, Brown to Bhundu Boys and Fauré's farewell, this week's guest playlister Uncleben lays to rest a sublime set of beautiful goodbyes, moved by many great nominations from last week's topic
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