Real, fictional or metaphorical, these grand buildings have found inspiration across musical genres, opening the drawbridge to many fabulous narratives and sounds. Inspired by last week’s topic, guest Marco den Ouden takes us on a grand tour
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: instruments played by hand-held hammers and mallets
Marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, balafon and more, from 1930s jazz heyday to the present, from full fusion to bare bones tradition and across every imaginable genre, guest Nilpferd feels the vibes with a wonderful range of playlists picked from last week’s topic
Read moreA magic number: songs and music by trios
Triangles and holy trinities, this week let’s explore the musical dynamic within groups in which three artists perform as a self-contained unit, not merely pop, jazz, classical, or folk, but across all all genres
Read moreHang on a minute … it's songs about waiting
Anticipation, excitement or apprehension, for anything from the rapture to Robert De Niro, opportunity or a bus, the light, love or in limbo, place your songs in our waiting room and see what happens …
Read moreFlatter, sharper, stranger, stronger: successful out-of-tune songs
Whether through emotion, offbeat oddness, anger, charisma, or for effect, suggest songs where the voice or instrument’s note-imperfect wavering somehow works wonders
Read morePlaylists: songs with patterns and sequential lyrical lists
Days, marks, knocks, tears, murders and magpies? Can you spot these and other patterns in this week's themed playlist? You can certainly count on our guest writer takeitawayGuru for a great listen …
Read morePlaylists: Songs with misheard, nonsense or inaudible lyrics
Magical mondegreens to oddball earslips, tongue-twisting turns to total incoherence, guest writer swawilg takes us on an inspired and entertaining playlist journey into lyrics that just aren't quite how they sound
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