They’re a very common part of our language, but in lyrics or titles where are they consciously and creatively used? With meaning instantly recognisable or more cryptically unpacked, their sound might perhaps be used musically or to help create memorable lines or rhymes
Read moreNew meets old: songs where different-era elements combine
This week we seek strange combinations from starkly different times – old songs covered on new instruments, new songs played on old instruments, traditional musicians playing with younger, or old styles mashed up with the new
Read moreTake your pick: songs about collecting, cataloguing and lists
Galleries to grand libraries, public or private, unusual or colourful objects, from the oddball to unhealthy obsession, this week we enter the extraordinary world of collecting, listing and cataloguing and everything that motivates it
Read moreGot the bottle? The last straw? It's songs about plastic
It’s multi-shaped, everywhere, and incredibly flexible and versatile, but it’s also an eco nightmare. But how is it represented in song? Fake, cheap, inferior, comical, colourful or weirdly fashionable? Time for a straw poll …
Read moreWorld Cup? Not quite. It's songs about substitutes
Are they meant to be better, or not as good, artificial or the real thing? From sport to food, people to plans, work to worries and distraction, let’s explore substitutions in life and music
Read moreReach for your smartphone: it's songs about addiction
Drink, drugs, sex, creativity, the internet, or whatever takes over all of your energy, this week suggest songs that touch on the causes or effects of addiction. Can you resist?
Read morePlaylists: songs inspired by machinery, industry and technology
Dripping oil to pistons pumping, hammering anvils to steamy stovepipes, this week's guest writer Violet Vivid playfully recreates your suggestions into lists framed in the style of erotic fiction. Satisfaction will be reached ...
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