Song by Song

Song by Song welcomes Jo Neary to the show to discuss repeated musical themes in the writing of Waits, surreal lyrical imagery, and the influence (or lack thereof) of Captain Beefheart. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songb...

Waits seems to reach beyond himself to make a more meaningful connection in this week's song. Philippa bids goodbye to Sam and Martin with some discussion of the yearning tone and the lyrical elegance in Waits's writing. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com tw...

As Waits takes his first dive into the rich world of non-narrative meat-worker music, Martin, Sam and Philippa discuss some ideas of intention and improvisation, as well as the politics of food production. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbys...

On this second track from Swordfishtrombones, Philippa Spanos returns to discuss with Sam and Martin some of the spaces created by the instrumental choices, and processes of musical reinvention of reinterpretation. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter:...

Back again for season 9 (we'll do this one properly, I promise), Martin and Sam are joined by Philippa Spanos to discuss the subterranean influence on Waits's early 80s work. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcas...

It's a bonus extra-sized bumper megamix episode this week, as Martin and Sam dive headlong into One From The Heart... then quickly dash out of it again! Taking a quick-fire approach to season 8, we spend a minute (that's right, a whole 60 seconds) on each track, getting our thoughts, concerns and analysis of 14 tracks condensed into one easy-to-swallow download.  Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austw...

Sam and Martin join forces with Dave and Cathy of the Cinemile Podcast this week to take on the film that Francis Ford Coppola wouldn't even put his middle name to... One From The Heart. Debating the intention and execution of the film, as well as it's narrative strengths and weaknesses, the performances therein, as well as some of the sexual politics of a failed romance story with a happy ending,...

The question this week is whether Waits is walking away from a long-term lover or a one-night-stand, as Vera, Sam and Martin take one last longing backwards look at Heartattack And Vine before walking away and catching a train. There's some discussion across the gender perspective here as well, with the boys buying into some of Waits's romance while Vera reminds us that it takes two to tango… or a...

More detritus of Americana this week, as Vera, Martin and Sam look at the inspiration provided by Bugsy Siegel, Murder Inc. and the early days of Las Vegas on this Waits track. With some discussion of the juxtaposition of sexiness and violence in this track (and many, many others), as well as the contributions of listener Mike Smith speaking on behalf of London's own Chas & Dave, we edge towards t...

This week on Song by Song, Vera Chok takes us all the way back to the beginning by questioning "this whole Tom Waits thing", as well as going through one of Waits's most hobo-centric songs in this lullaby for the down-and-out. We also revisit the perennial question of authenticity, as well as some of Larry Taylor's bass-playing excursions outside of his Heartattack work. Also: Martin has a cold. S...

We have some difficulties parsing the meaning of the track this week, as Sarah, Martin and Sam visit some confusing (and perhaps terminal?) lyrics in 'Til The Money Runs Out. With side-by-side comparisons between this and Downtown a couple of episodes ago, as well as some pretty explicit interval track work by Mr Ronnie Barron, Song by Song continues its journey along Heartattack and Vine. Song by...

There's some confused feelings this week on Song by Song, despite feeling overwhelmingly positive about the track. Leading off with spirited debate about the pros and cons of the line "sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la" (I think that's the correct number of "la"s) as well as the simplicity of some of the other lyrics, Sarah, Martin and Sam discuss Waits's relationship to Kathleen Brennan, Kylie Minogue and...

Martin and Sam welcome Sarah Cook to the show, as Waits returns to the street life he loves (or despises?) so well. As the song explores the geography as well as the politics of the city's downtown in the 1980s, we also look at some alternate interpretations of this location, as well as Petula Clark's influence on resource-management games. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two mu...

Back one more time with Miranda and Andy, we dive right into the gender politics of criticising women for breaking their shoes and dressing up like cars, as well as Waits borrowing the childrens television music of Bryan Daly (circa 1981, not 1986, apologies for that). With Whitney Huston's smooth stylings as counter-point, Song by Song continues its journey along Heartattack and Vine. Song by Son...

As Waits gives his voice a well-earned rest, Andy and Miranda return to listen to this electric instrumental. With some biographical details, an honest exploration of our own ignorance regarding hip hop, and a trip through Andy's eBay history, Song by Song continues to explore new material. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single To...

We're back! Kicking off season seven we play host to Martin's in-laws, as the power-couple of Lawyer Miranda Zaltzman and Beggarman/Thief Andy Zaltzman join Song by Song for a rundown of children's rhymes, breakfast foods and cricket statistics. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website:...

Putting a bow on Blue Valentine, Kit, Sam and Martin dip back into Waits-adjacent material to listen to Rickie Lee Jones singing a Waits song. With some nerdy (and possibly inaccurate and impenetrable) music chat and also some slightly weird guess-work about their relationship chronology, Song by Song wraps up season six. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening t...

Bonus episode #1 for season six sees us visiting Waits's first foray into film, with this track from the Paradise Alley soundtrack. Kit, Sam and Martin discuss his use/reuse of music, the image of women in his songs and the possibilities in their re-interpretation. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronolog...

Whether Waits is a hunter, being hunted, or simply avoiding a vengeful highway patrolman, Sam, Martin and Kit look into the heartbreak of both this track as well as the album as a whole. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: song...

Song by Song welcomes Kit Lovelace, author of Romantic Misadventure, to discuss some of the bleak storytelling on this penultimate track of Blue Valentine. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music e...

As we head towards the close of this album (and bid farewell to Jen and Dave), the music and storytelling make a radical departure from the tone so far, into a nostalgic and autobiographical ballad of innocence and childhood. We look at both the specificity of the song as well as some of the implications of writing about and for a specific time and place. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and...

More lyrical density and ambiguity on this week's Song by Song, as this track flirts both with a life on the railroad as well as the bad luck omens. Sam, Dave, Jen and Martin find multiple interpretations of this track (in Martin's case, a physical interpretation!) as Waits goes further than ever before into vocal experimentation. Groundbreaking! Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay;...

Trying to stay on the right side of each other, Dave, Jen, Sam and Martin get into the magical realist stylings of this witches brew of a track, examining the density of lyric writing, their integration with the music, as well as possible comparisons with Waits's own life and relationships. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single To...

Jen Adamthwaite and Dave Pickering from The Family Tree podcast (http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/) join Song by Song for this fifth track from Blue Valentine, to discuss the adequate musical choices of Tom Waits and the need for clarity of storytelling. There's some differences of opinion, as well as debates over Waits's judgement of the song's protagonist (and our judgement of him for that), an...

As we come to Elizabeth and Caspar's final episodes with Sam and Martin, Song by Song returns to the bleak streets of LA for the violent shooting of a Latino gang-leader. Revisiting some of the structural issues from the previous episode, more of Waits's musical experimentation (even as he re-explores story ideas already covered in previous albums) and the sense of reality delivered by Waits and J...