Song by Song

The dark history of a barn in Kentucky is Waits's topic this week, as Molly, Sam and Martin examine how the story behind the barn relates to the Underground Railroad of the 1800. (Please note story is only metaphorically "behind the barn" - see local maps for geographical details) website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for ill...

We welcome writer, poet and theatre maker Molly Naylor, digging into the fractured narrative of Shake it with Martin and Sam. We unpick some of the hidden stories, discuss the tribute to Bill Hicks, and then hit the dance floor for a big party anthem! website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes incl...

Three episodes of talking to Sam and Martin, and Shani is starting to check her watch, as Waits makes an exteeeeended exploration of generational trauma. Runtime does preoccupy our conversation, as well as density of imagery, hope for the future, and the logistics of bodies of water. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for...

Groovy or bleak, polemic or afterparty, M.A.S.H or Generation Kill? Shani Erez rejoins Martin and Sam to look at the anthemic second track of Real Gone, exploring the anger of Waits, the song's effectiveness beyond its anti-war context, and the big remaster choices from 2017. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustra...

Season 21 launches into an opening track with surprising energy, as guest host Shani Erez joins Sam and Martin to climb the Real Gone mountain towards the top of that hill. The sonic qualities of this album, Waits's attitude to the stories he's telling, bawdy seafaring jokes about genetalia, and the utter delight of 1980s metal… it's a pretty standard episode really. website: songbysongpodcast.com...

Next week Song by Song pushes into Waits's 2004 release Real Gone, but before we kick off, Sam & Martin acknowledge the remaster changes, how the show will deal with these different versions, and handle any other business arising. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Top of the Hill,...

Returning to wrap up our film mini-season, Leigh Singer helps Sam and Martin break down this zombie/comsumerism/meta mash-up. With some slight disappointment in this compared to other Jarmusch (and other zombie) films, we question the purpose of his story and his enthusiasm for the genre. And Tom Waits gets to be a weird hobo in the woods too. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod...

Joining Robert Redford for his retirement performance, Tom Waits robs banks, performs motel surgery and talks about Christmas adventures as Bridie, Martin & Sam get to grips with both The Old Man and The Gun. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from The Old Man and The Gun Tra...

Podcaster and theatre producer Bridie Donaghy joins Sam and Martin to consider some confusing plot and dense visuals from Heath Ledger and friends. CGI cobras, late-noughties-heart-throb recasting and the quasi-autobiographical themes of Gilliam's fairytale are all discussed, as well as Tom Waits in ear-hair prosthetics. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodc...

Song by Song is delighted to welcome film journalist Leigh Singer, as we dive into another Jim Jarmusch anthology film. We consider the relationship of Waits to Iggy Pop, his position as a film actor in 1993, as well as taking a look at the successes and failures of the other chapters (and the film as a whole). website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail....

Returning for another film mini-season, we reconvene for a sizeable Tom Waits role in a film of… debatable quality? Mostly forgotten by modern audiences, Sam and Martin find a few interesting elements to pick at, but mostly struggle to recommend this curio from the middle of Waits's acting career. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extr...

Before we move on into more films and Real Gone, Sam and Martin dig into the letters, tweets and pigeon-post sent in by listeners over the last year or so, accepting corrections, embracing re-interpretations and talking about disappointing lakes. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hear...

Rounding off our 20th season, Martin and Sam focus in on a few of the songs that appeared in Woyzeck but didn't make it to the album release, and then look back on Blood Money as the third Waits/Wilson-based collaboration (with a brief tangent onto superhero comics). website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/revi...

The final song from Blood Money sees Martin and Sam come together to discuss optimism and bleakness, some of the repeating themes of the album and the play, and a possible lineage for this track reaching back through the 20th century. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: A Good Man I...

Pete Fraser is back with Martin and Sam, breaking down this unusual chunk of instrumental music from Waits's back yard. We discuss the use and origin of this track, and have an extended conversation on the work of saxophonist Colin Stetson, as Blood Money heads into its final turns. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for i...

We consider the three roles of this song - in the play, on the album, and as a piece of music in isolation - as Pete, Martin & Sam dig into the value of variation in music, the wash of emotion in Woe, and the restrained delivery of Kitty White. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Wo...

We welcome saxophonist and composer Pete Fraser to the show, joining Sam and Martin to listen to the Tom Waits version of a song written for Ute Lemper. We discuss the performative and presentational aspects of the track, Waits as an artist, and our lives in general. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/revi...

Album fatigue begins to set in this week, with mixed feelings from Sam and Martin about the third or fourth song from Blood Money dealing with the despair humanity is endlessly surrounded by. There's some technical sonic analysis, as well as some thought about 90s images of whale-based music. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts...

There's some disappointment in Waits's bedtime song this week, as Martin & Sam consider the purpose of the lullaby in Woyzeck and beyond, and think about the perspectives we bring to the specificities of a song. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Lullaby, Blood Money, Tom Waits (20...

Theatrical music to underscore incidental events, or aggressive reenforcement of violent imagery? Martin & Sam find themselves poised between interpretations for this instrumental, along with their thoughts on other cutlery-based songs. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Knife Chas...

Repetitions of phrase and imagery dominate this song of lust, violence and betrayal, as Miss Yankey completes her journey with Martin & Sam through Blood Money. We discover more abandonment and bitterness, as well as considering images of infidelity from various different perspectives. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used fo...

It's still lyrics-first, sound-second, with Miss Yankey sharing her approach to music analysis with Sam & Martin. Waits gets straight back into the religious material with this 'masterpiece of bitterness', bridging spiritual, earthly, and cookie concerns. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes...

Performance poet and writer Miss Yankey joins Martin and Sam to take a literary approach to Waits's lyrics in this song of love, lifeguarding and colour theory. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: All the World Is Green, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002) Eden, Last Year Was Weird vol 3,...

As Waits returns to sentimentality and Americana, Babs and Fran are less struck by the qualities of the song and more curious as to the reality of the woman he's singing about. There's discussion of music vs lyrics in the appreciation of the Manic Street Preachers, whether Waits is Over/Underrated, and how classic Jim Henson characters might interpret his work. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitt...

Back with Martin & Sam, Bárbara and Fran find a little more danceability this week, albeit in a more cliched image of doomed relationships and gender roles. With some consideration of cabaret numbers and cowboys, we take a look at how Waits shapes the tone of the album, and whether everyone needs a nap. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Musi...