Thanks for all your love songs. Some were too saccharine for my tastes but it would be mean to say which ones. Whatever strikes a chord with you is fine by me. I'll just give you the B-list: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Lou Rawls, Paul McCartney, Björk, David Bowie, the Faces, Ben Folds, the Smiths and the Love Affair. Unfortunately, the Jimmy Radcliffe song on this week's playlist isn't available on iTunes, but the equally good, if less celebrated, Irma Thomas version is.
After three upbeat topics in a row, I don't feel bad about making the most of Good Friday by asking you to choose songs about death. That's a big theme so (pardon the capitals) PLEASE READ THIS BIT CAREFULLY. I only want songs that deal with the singer's own mortality or the wider concept of death. Bereavement merits its own playlist, so don't suggest anything about losing someone specific. And murder is a separate category too, so please don't nominate Stagger Lee for the umpteenth time. There will be grey areas, I'm sure, but if you stick to the theme as specified it will help a lot.
As an aside, I was amused by Buxton69's comment that "everyone has a Bob Dylan", based on his Dylan-hating girlfriend's theory that everyone has a canonical artist they cannot bear. So I want to know yours. I don't mean people you think are overrated yet sort of like, or even people who have one song which breaks down your resistance. I mean artists whose every note provokes something like an allergic reaction. I'll kick things off with a name that won't come as a surprise to regular readers: Steely Dan.
As always, the Readers recommend resources: the invaluable A-Z and the Readers recommend archive. All suggestions by midday on Monday please.
