Your Custom Text Here
Some activities are rarer than others … Thomas Rowlandson’s satirical work of 1811
Looking up or down, from sights of rare astrological bodies to unusual encounters with unusual or unique people or events, from birth to death, it’s time to capture the rare in song form, from personal or universal perspectives
Read more
Pointed dialogue: John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction
Can you tell me what this is all about? Sure. Whether between two or more vocalists, or reported within the lyrics by one, or even involving instrumentalists, songs that include communication between more than one person. There’s lots of examples to get your ideas flowing. OK, thanks.
Read more
Just the ticket: pricey or priceless?
Whether music, sport, film, travel, or wider culture, they mean different things to different individuals, but all are items that trigger or preserve memories, personal or more universal. Let’s explore these specific objects in song, overall or in specific lyrical detail
Read more
Warning: diversions expected ahead …
Prepare for the unexpected. This week in song, it’s all about moments of divergence, digression, and distraction, of interruption and intervention, leading to the unplanned, whether that be because of oneself, another person, events, or circumstances
Read more
Not a curtain-raiser for 2023, but a hair-raiser …
Not a curtain raiser, but a hair-raiser for 2023. It’s a sign that music is at its optimum effect, but when and why does it happen? From Darwin’s explanation to more recent studies, and some musical examples, it’s time to share your goosebump inducting songs and explain why …
Read more
Water year it’s been …
It’s time to reflect on an extraordinary year, about events public or personal, to celebrate those artists who have sadly left us, and also include in particular your discoveries in music old or new, here at the Bar or elsewhere
Read more
Shadows and light: Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra have all the angles …
Jazz, funk, classical, African, Cuban, Balkan and beyond, this week it all came together beautifully in these fabulously powerful and erudite selections by guest of the week Nilpferd, from a many more nominations from last week’s ensembles theme
Read more
Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Winter Landscape with Ice-skaters and Bird-trap, 1565
Competitive events to leisure and pleasure, skis to skates, sleds and other sliding and outdoor winter fun, it’s time to embrace the cold in song with the literal or metaphorical, and recall that this is also something very much from our past
Read more
Keys to happiness: Blossom Dearie
Sunrise to sunset and everything in between, food to flowers and all the joys of the natural world, these are just some of the many simple pleasures rendered beautifully in perfect playlists by guest writer Barbryn picked from last week’s topic nominations
Read more
Float your moments …
This week we aim to strip away life’s stresses and complexities to search for songs that capture moments of calm simplicity, enjoying the little things in life. Setting sail with this becalming poem, what moments might float your boat?
Read more
Yes, b’Lady: FAB 1 - Lady Penelope pink Rolls Royce inspired by Thunderbirds
Flowers, champagne, the moon, and even an elephant, it’s a colour that covers many shades and contexts, and from many blossoms of nominations, you’ll be tickled pink by the playlists perfectly arranged by guest of the week Severin
Read more
A chance to dance …
Neither red nor purple, this very particular colour has a strong identity and effect, from changing cultural and gender associations to distinctive animals, plants or minerals, how does it come up in song? Read these verses for inspiration …
Read more
Yuri’n the hotseat: Gagarin
After last week's orgasmic theme and playlists, it’s time for thrusting engines over another kind, rockets and space ships, real or fictional, fantastic, wondrous, frightening journeys of all kind, as we boldly go to new musical territory
Read more
Barbarella tries the musical ‘Excessive Machine’
Expressed in lyrics literally, euphemistically and metaphorically, or in the sheer sound the music or delivery of voice, promises of, or the act itself, few things concentrate the mind and body more. So how to they come together in song? First, enjoy a brief social history of the orgasm by hitting this button …
Read more
Fomo-sapiens
FOMO? A social phenomenon term derived in the last 30 years of internet culture and social media, but fear of missing out is nothing new. From big events to looking for love, don’t miss out on this fun topic with songs related to it
Read more
Quadrophenia (1979)
Crime, culture, music, identity, fashion? From family belonging to sheer survival, there are many reasons to join a gang, but how do you get out? From street kids to Mafia organisations, this huge and colourful subject has inspired many songs …
Read more
Judgement has arrived: scales played and gavel struck
The musical evidence has been weighed up, the scales balanced, and the verdict has arrived. Guest judge Lord Justice Nicko has made his full summary, and after forensic deliberations, has made supremely tasteful and sound judgement from last week’s submissions
Read more
Sing out the scales of justice …
It’s time for the musical scales of justice to sing out as we explore songs about trials, short or long, from or about any perspective of those present, accused or accusers, jurors or judges, or even lawyers, as long as as the action is in court
Read more
Panoramic range
With origins from slavery, then made in Trinidad & Tobago, let’s explore how this beautiful instrument appears across genres, within original material or bringing a new timbre to covers, or mixing with other sounds
Read more
The monarch butterfly: a profound life cycle, and ‘a rainbow of chaos’
It’s a big question. But how might it be answered in song lyrics? Not merely through broad definition or metaphor, but also through philosophy, practical advice or experience. See many inspirational ideas here, but it’s also time to let your answers take flight …
Read more