Is it best to set light slowly or start with a big bang? In what turned out to be topic of epic proportions and suggestions, this week's guest ParaMhor creates a superb selection of illuminating playlist openings
Read moreSing out for unsung heroes: songs with great backing vocals
They're the brilliant singers who blend beautiful and really make the music. From Motown and soul to to church and gospel, barbershop to pop or even punk, suggest songs made backed brillliantly by the unknown or famous
Read morePlaylists: songs about snow and ice
Clearlake to Cocteau Twins, Tchaikovsky to Jethro Tull, last week's topic included an avalanche of nominations, from which this week's guest takeitawayGuru has sculptured two of fine flakes and frozen shapes
Read morePlaylists: songs about reunions
Allman Brothers to Viv Albertine, Rolling Stones to Robert Earl Keen, Lene Lovich to Thin Lizzy, this week brings a wonderful wave of reunion and homecoming in playlist form, compiled by Ravi Raman from last week's topic
Read morePlaylists: Songs about sitting and standing
Standing up to sitting pretty, benches to balconies to boats, this week's guest playlister treefrogdemon takes on a beautiful and poetic knee-bending tour, arranged after very long legs of nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs about windows
Aphex Twin's wet windscreen to Sonny Boy Williamson escaping out the bedroom window, it's all going on here. Guest playlister nosuchzone is pure glass – giving us stunning sights and sounds from last week's topic
Read morePlaylists: songs about mythical beasts and creatures
If you go down to the woods today … then listen carefully. You will hear intriguing tales by guest playlister Suzi, and marvellous songs inspired last week's topic. Find out where the path might lead …
Read morePlaylists: songs about guitars
The instrument as a friend, lover, a symbol of society, or something that sings? Beatles to BB King, Stillwater to Frank Zappa, this week's guest Marco den Ouden finds that they all hold narrative, inspired by last week's topic
Read moreDon't fret about the riff: it's songs about guitars
Thrum! This week let's pluck out out songs that mention guitars in lyrics or title, whether electric, acoustic or bass, and what role or meaning they have – companion, inspiration, religion, weapon, language or more
Read morePlaylists: songs about bread, cakes, pastry and biscuits
Baked bread to perfect pies and pastry, Bessie Smith's Sweet Jelly Roll to Jake Thackray's Roly Poly, this week's guest chef Maki pulls it all out of the oven into two tasty playlists, inspired a big dollop of song nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs about alternative outcomes
If only, maybe or perhaps it happened differently? From Beyoncé to Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian, this week's guest playlister EnglishOutlaw skilfully treads alternative paths inspired by last week's song nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs about innocence
Talking Heads tothe Tams, the Seekers to Stevie Wonder, childhood to cherished days, this week's guest playlister megadom captures a perfect and purer state of mind, inspired by last week's nominations
Read morePlaylists: songs about unexplained phenomena
Aliens to Bigfoot, ghouls to ghosts, sea monsters to hairy hominids, Blondie to Brownsville Station, inspired by last week's avalanche of nominations, guest playlister Sidecar Shiv takes us on a marvellous musical journey into the unknown
Read morePlaylists: biographical and autobiographical songs
It began with a letter. Schoolboys to murderers, fist-fighting ruffians to race horses, from last week's voluminous nominations, peruse these superbly compiled playlists by guest biographer Uncleben through the muse of James Boswell
Read morePlaylists: songs about asking, begging or pleading
Undertones to Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen, if you're asking for two excellent playlists, then this week's guest writer angryirishpunk, inspired by last week's topic, has all he answers
Read morePlaylists: songs about natural disasters and climate events
Pompeii to pollution, plague, pestilence and pressure drop, volcanoes, falling rocks, Fiery Furnaces to forest fires, this week's playlists by guest writer ParaMhor, whipped up by last week's topic, will surely go down a storm
Read morePlaylists: songs about bones
After a week of readers digging deep in their collections, this week's osteology expert takeitawayGuru pieces together a superb skeleton of songlists, threaded together by a story of the musically macabre
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