Each week on Queen of Themes, a diverse set of music is explored through a single unifying theme. Here is the list of the themes featured so far on the show, listed in chronological order.
Season 1
- Royalty–songs regarding royalty or songs by musicians with honorific titles
- False Endings–songs that either come to a complete stop, pause, or fade out before coming back with a vengeance
- Murder Ballads–songs from the diverse subgenre documenting the events leading up to/the aftermath of a murder, often used as social commentary, satire, warnings, or interesting story telling
- Music vs. the Music Industry–songs written by artists who have grown discontent with fame and the record industry
- Doomsday Tunes–songs written about the apocalypse, predicted as being a nuclear, biblical, environmental, or personal occurrence.
- Cover Songs–songs originally released by a different artist being reinterpreted, specifically songs being reinterpreted into a whole new genre
- Space Jams–songs about space and the cosmos, featuring music also found on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph that was launched in the hopes of finding extraterrestial life
- Places and Spaces–songs about cities, states, buildings, and the areas in between, along with the feelings/memories associated with these places
- Questions–songs that ask questions, whether these questions are profound, philosophical, trivial, commonplace, or rhetorical
- Literary Listens–songs inspired by authors, books, stories, and other works of literature.
- War and Peace–songs rallying either for or against war, and the diverse set of outcomes and perspectives that come from battle
- Hall of Famers–music by artists who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, from either the Performer or Early Influence categories
Season 2
- Girls Only–music played by all-female bands. Not girl groups or female fronted bands, exclusively all female bands who play their own music
- Greek and Roman Mythology–songs about or inspired by Greek and Roman myths.
- Protest Songs–Protest songs, past and present, are examined along with their cultural implications. The Trump administration, the proliferation of nuclear power, the civil rights movement, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and immigration are all topics that are explored.
- 1967–To celebrate WRUW’s 50th birthday, only songs from 1967 are featured.
- Water–songs that invoke water imagery are examined, due to the various connotations it can represent: death, rebirth, baptism, power, and freedom.
- Supergroups–songs by musical supergroups (a band that is made up of members of other preexisting bands)
- Conspiracy Theory Tunes–here, we listen to songs and artists who are the centers of (absurd and often hilarious) conspiracy theories. Is Britney Spears a clone? Is Paul dead? Did David Bowie predict the the career of Kanye West? Probably not, but it makes for a good playlist.
- TV Shows–songs that appear in or are inspired by TV shows.
- Art–music inspired by or that inspired fine works of art. See facebook.com/queenofthemesonwruw for a gallery of artwork that corresponds with the playlist
- Sound and Color–songs that reference colors to convey various emotions.
- Telethon Week/Animal Audio–listener chosen theme of Animals!
- LGBT+ Tunes–songs by and for members of the LGBT+ community.
- Dreams and Sleep–anything about dreams, nightmares, and sleep (or lack thereof).