Joined by long-hoped-for guest Sara Gran, Sam and Martin shuffle back into the crowd of emotional songs of loss and yearning, flanked by Waits in a sorrowful mode and Roy Orbison full of powerful declamatory emotion. Some lyrical interpretation, a little passive-aggression, and the question of how lonely a voice sounds all occupy our discussion, as we continue through Bad As Me. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used...

With a brief digression into Beyoncé’s oeuvre, Kerry-Jo, Martin and Sam discuss some of the oddities in the writing of Pay Me, and what story Waits is trying to tell. We consider stories of theatrical life, where to find the end of the world, and specificities in the writing of Stephen Sondheim. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Pay Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Send...

Back with Sam and Martin, Kerry-Jo has some opinions about the honesty of Waits’s reasons for departure, as well as the comprehensibility of his Sweetums voice. We discuss the inevitability and/or duality of his departure, styles of poetic writing in both tracks, and the various ways that we get “stuck” in situations and relationships.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: ...

We welcome Kerry-Jo Reilly to the show, joining Martin and Sam for songs of travel, departure and longing by Tom Waits, Larry Taylor, and their various associates. There’s discussion of the value of 60s/70s blues-rock, Waits’s various relationships over the years, and his attitude towards The King. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Get Lost, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) ...

Waits pulls on some (possibly) contemporary references this week, as Bryce, Sam and Martin consider the various meanings that “everybody talking” may relate to. Considering the tone and quality of the song, the applications to various political concerns of various eras, and taking a step into popular music of 2022, the conversation continues through Bad As Me. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for...

Shambling on from Chicago, Waits lays down some relationship advice for Bryce, Martin and Sam to pick apart and interpret, with some mixed attitudes towards partners’ and parents’ influence over right and wrong men. We chat about the work of Aretha Franklin, overlap with Nick Cave, and of course the looming influence of Snagglepuss.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: ...

Back for the beginning of our final(?) season, Bryce Halliday joins Sam and Martin for a journey toward the great unknown of Illinois. We examine the era of the song’s setting, the power of Mavis Staples’s singing, and the reliability of moving to "better" places. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Chicago, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) I'll Take You There, Be Altitude:...

One more Megamix before we hit the final straight, with Martin and Sam taking the opportunity to consider the penultimate release of Waits, the 2009 live album Glitter & Doom Live, bouncing through the 17+ tracks at an approximate minute-per-track. We consider the different energy and interpretations of these recordings compared to studio originals, how some tracks can be perfected live, and how this compares to other live albums. It's just a bunch of Tom Waits songs… website:...

A second week’s break, but there’s another discussion celebrating Flixwatcher’s 300th episode, this time digging into the 1991 classic that is Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. And fear not, Sam and Martin will be back in just one short week for the Glitter & Doom megamix! https://flixwatcher.tv/episode-300-part-ii-robin-hood-prince-of-thieves-with-martin-and-sam-from-song-by-song-podcast/ website: songbysongpodcast.com
twitter: @songbysongpod
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A week off for Martin and Sam... but never ones to rest on laurels, they've headed over to Flixwatcher to guest-host for Helen and Kobi's 300th episode, discussing the Martin Scorsese epic "The Irishman". While you build anticipation for Glitter & Doom, why not head over and take a listen. https://flixwatcher.tv/episode-300-part-i-the-irishman-with-martin-and-sam-from-song-by-song-podcast/

Our third cameo compilation episode concludes Song by Song's journey through the film work of Tom Waits, with Leigh, Martin and Sam touching on the last decade of his screen appearances. This week considers Twixt (2011), The Laughing Heart (2003/2012), The Simpsons (2013), Citizen (2016), The Moon's Milk (2018), The Ultra City Smiths (2021), Licorice Pizza (2021) and a few others. Please pick up any spilled popcorn as you leave folks… website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod ...

Moving on through the shorter film appearances of Tom Waits, Leigh, Sam and Martin find some of the sparkling (and less-than-sparkling) gems from his movie roles of the 90s and into the 2000s, discussing Queen’s Logic (1991), The Fisher King (1991), Until The End Of The World (1991), Domino (2005), The Tiger and The Snow (2005), The Book of Eli (2010), and The Monster of Nix (2011). website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts...

Song by Song embarks on a roundup of Waits’s many film cameo appearances, with Sam and Martin ably abetted by film critic Leigh Singer. With discussions of his smallest early film appearances (and several of his film absences), we take this first episode to discuss Paradise Alley (1978), Wolfen (1981), The Stone Boy (1984), Candy Mountain (1987), Greasy Lake (1988) and The Two Jakes (1990).  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music...

It’s story time again, with Waits giving an almost-solo turn in the “All Gold Canyon” segment of The Coen Brothers’ anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Rico Galliano of the MUBI Podcast joins Sam and Martin to consider all six of the film’s stories, its fatal themes, and Waits’s talent for shouting at owls. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from The Ballad...

We welcome Eadie and Melia to the podcast, presenting five songs from Waits aimed at younger listeners, and discovering how the junior contingent of Song by Song feel about them. We discuss creepy voices and creepier sheds, the feeding habits of Golden Eagles, and the deep trauma of poor WiFi connectivity.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Children’s Story, Orphans:...

Sam and Martin conclude the 22nd season of Song by Song, bringing thoughts on the 60+ tracks, 21 episodes, 10 guests and many musical influences we’ve considered over the last 5 months of the show. We talk over the album order, it’s purpose for both Waits and his listeners, and attempt to form a Best Of list by making a few “adoptions”. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: ...

A final set of bonus tracks brings us to the end of season 22, with Christa, Martin and Sam enjoying a demo-style blues number, an extended bit of acapella storytelling, and Waits’s duet with a children’s choir. We conclude with some exaggerated masculinity, the Elizabethan-equivalent of Reservoir Dogs, and a bit of Christmas charidee. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: ...

Musician and writer Christa Couture joins Martin and Sam for the final few Orphans, including a Book of Knots collaboration, the tale of an unpaid grocery bill, and a bit of ol’ Blue Eyes. Our penultimate episode for the season includes a celebration of youth, silly storytelling, and a surprise vocal cameo by the one and only Kathleen. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: ...

Heading into the final tracks from Orphans, Tim, Martin and Sam discuss the ruinous junkyard dog that is Waits’s music, with another track from Brecht/Weill’s Threepenny Opera, some nursery rhyme cribs, and a bit of spontaneous(?) comedy. Waits delivers some aggressive anti-war sentiment, a song slightly lacking in specificity, and then finishes with a load of absolute bull. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for...

We welcome writer and podcaster Tim Clare to Song by Song, for more Orphaned songs about the significance of imaginary diamonds, sound-check deadlines, and a collaboration with Primus. We discuss reinterpretations of The Ramones, another version of Kerouac’s song On The Road, and a very valuable belt. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Diamond In Your Mind, Orphans:...

Having dealt with all the Brawlers, Sam and Martin dig into the bonus disc of Orphans with a Fats Waller cover, music first performed by Johnny Cash, and a synopsis of King Kong. We discuss Waits’s capability as a pianist, his treatment of history’s villains, and consider his cover of an iconic outsider-artist musician.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Crazy 'Bout My...

Some soothing, some heartbreak, and some extreme weather for Miss Yankey, as she examines another set of Orphans with Sam and Martin. Waits looks back on his Troubador years with tenderness, calls for care of the children of Seattle, and delivers a questionable hip-hop tribute. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Rains On Me, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom...

Miss Yankey rejoins Martin and Sam, bringing her perspective on the writing and performance of this week’s selection of neighbourhood memories, childhood crimes and old cars. We peer over Waits’s fence at forbidden gardens, pair greek myth with tragic violence, and visit with Kathleen’s dad. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Buzz Fledderjohn, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers...

Jo, Martin and Sam return to the ocean, the church, and another Leadbelly cover to consider Waits's reinterpretation of various older songs. The swirling Sea of Love, the unnecessary pub singalong, and behind-the-altar confessionals all get a new twist, to varied effect. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Sea Of Love, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits...

Walking back to the show only to walk away again, Jo Neary takes on another trio of Orphans with Martin and Sam. Beginning with the 90s religious material, heading back to theatre of the 80s, and then the street poetry of William Kennedy’s childhood, we also consider how Waits’s writing functions as a dusting soundtrack. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Walk Away,...