Song by Song

Fran James and Bárbara Mendes-Jorge of the Over/Underrated podcast join Sam & Martin to kick off season 20 with a song about the saddest body of water you can imagine (feedback pending). We compare to other wet songs from musical theatre, discuss vocal quality and tone, and touch on the difference between enjoyment and analysis. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songby...

Returning to deliver our GCSE Drama lecture for the season, Callum Hughes chats with Martin and Sam about the theatrical history of Woyzeck, some of the themes present in the play, and gives us a jumping off point for the Waits album to come. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Mise...

Sam and Martin re-reconvene to dig into the Alice material that doesn't appear on the studio album. Great… because this show wasn't niche enough… We explore Waits's interpretation of Jabberwocky, his field-recording improvisations, the possible use of instrumentals in the play, and look back at the album as a whole. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@g...

Sam and Martin reconvene for their third centenary, concluding Alice with this delicate, pretty-yet-textured instrumental. We've got discussion of mythical creatures, we've got an unpacking of the value in novelty songs, and we've got a hard left-turn in the interval track choice. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for ill...

Waits struggles against the passing of time (and perhaps the classical form of the song) this week, as Celine chats with Martin & Sam about beauty and clarity, song forms versus meaning, and why we don't do more opera on the show. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Barcarolle, Alic...

Sound the klaxon; Martin reaches the apex of his Song by Song journey, as his discusses the beauty and elegance of this track with Celine and Sam. The contradictions of the narrative, the expression of the impossibility of (some) love, and a key link to Waits's collaboration with Brennan all feature in our conversation. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodca...

Things get a little meta this week, as guest host Celine Teo-Blockey discusses with Sam & Martin the way that this song exemplifies the ways women are seen and perceived in art and culture, and in the world in general. We chat about storytelling, being trapped in roles, and the buddhist attitudes of Bill Murray. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail...

Waits leaves the theatre and heads out to the streets, with Sean, Sam and Martin (as well as Udo Lindenberg) in tow. Discussion ranges from the image of Hamburg's red-light district across the last 50 years, German re-purposing of US rock (and vice versa), and locational nostalgia from around the world. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Musi...

Sean Real returns for a second week with Martin and Sam, to discuss a song that faces the complex and perhaps uncomfortable relationship between Dodgeson and Alice head-on. We talk about the intensity and intimacy of the recording sound, as well as the intensity and intimacy of naked women running through the streets of Coventry. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songb...

Multi-instrumentalist and 99pi music producer Sean Real joins Sam & Martin to discuss coherent and incoherent images of madness. Our discussion revolves around the song's gothic viscerality, the texture of both album and demo versions, and head back to a late 60s' image of the madness in Wonderland. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music ex...

Never lost for a conversation, Jo, Miranda, Martin and Sam take a look at the theatrical and political context of Waits's less-mannered song of longing. We return to some conversations from recent episodes, consider Kathleen Brennan's presence in these songs, and break SbS rules to revisit Lotte Lenya's presentation of the music of Kurt Weill. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod...

Miranda returns alongside Jo (not currently available on table-tops) to talk about parody and joy in this Waits track as well as it's 1992 demo version. We dig into a discussion of the entertainment industry, images of American exceptionalism, and the presence/absence of women in music. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used f...

As Waits takes a left-turn into a very different story from the 19th century, we're joined by Miranda Horvath and Jo Lewis to take a look at some of the gender politics in the tale of Edward Mordrake, and how nostalgia/fear/obsession are represented in this week's tracks. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative...

Waits mangles both minds and the German language, as translation expert Justine Houyaux rejoins Sam and Martin for this call to punctuality. We explore linguistic alterations in other directions, as well as the image of madness and the ways that meaning is projected onto misheard or uncomprehended language. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com...

Our third week with Ashleyanne sees our hosts expressing some differing opinions on both the Waits and interval tracks. Portrait of bleak mortality or optimistic reach for freedom? Upbeat flirty plan for adventure or bloodless cover? All opinions are valid, except for the ones which are definitely wrong... website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com M...

There's some examination of the value and impact of this song, as Ashleyanne discusses the prettiness and depth of music with Martin and Sam. We talk about the context of the play, as well as the presence of hope and optimism in music with a fatalistic attitude. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review pu...

Producer and DJ Ashleyanne Krigbaum joins Sam & Martin for the worst lullaby in the world, as Waits aggressively welcomes us into the body of the album. We discuss the sonic tone of this track, the use of sound effects, and the meaning of Dreamlands for Waits, Carroll and others. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illu...

Carrollian scholar Justine Houyaux rejoins Sam & Martin to look at the eponymous opening track for our 19th season, Alice. We chat about the sorrow and violence in the song, the lyrical density and the overlap between the writing of Waits and Carroll, as well as other adaptations of the Alice stories. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music...

Before embarking on our Alice season, we thought a little context on the books, the play, and the biography of the major players would be relevant (for us as well as you, dear listener). So we welcome Carrolian scholar Justine Houyaux to talk about the writing of Charles Dodgeson, his friendship with Alice Liddell, and the adaptation by Robert Wilson, Paul Schmidt, Kathleen Brennan and... who's th...

It's the silly-fun one folks! For perhaps the biggest blockbuster movie in the Waits filmography, Sam & Martin welcome Desiree Burch to get nostalgic(ish) for the 90s in this gigantic neon superhero comedy mashup. With a few frustrations and no small amount of delight, we talk about juggling the ensemble cast, how it relates to the cast and superhero films... but basically, you should give this on...

For this challenging film, Martin and Sam call on the Kiefer Sutherland of Song by Song, Philippa Spanos, to tackle this 3hr epic and possibly save her daughter and the president along the way. We grapple with both the shortcomings and the charm of this behemoth, and end up finding lots to like... although possibly not much from Waits himself. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two...

Matthew Crosby returns for another film episode, this time with at least 80% more emeralds-hidden-in-a-horse. We discuss some of the big performance choices and tonal frustrations in this mostly-forgotten 80s comedy, and assess Waits's work as an actor in perhaps his biggest film role. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Wai...

We're joined by Helen O'Hara (host of the Empire Film Podcast and author of 'Women vs Hollywood') to discuss the down-and-out misadventures of Streep, Nicholson, Waits & co in this 1987 box-office flop. 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: @songbysong...

Our second Gatmo megamix features a selection of tracks from 2007's Sideshow Seance and 2012's Thirsty? (don't forget that question-mark now), with some more positive feelings from Martin and Sam, some musings on how 'seriously' these recordings are being taken, and the visible and invisible work that goes into an artist's creative output. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-m...

Martin and Sam convene for the first of two episodes listening to a set of improvised albums, recorded between 1992 and 2012. This week we're digging into a selection of 7 tracks from Moanin' Parade and Swarm Warnings, both released in 2000, with some fairly mixed opinions from both hosts on the quality as well as the listen-ability of the music. We also do that thing where we introduce each track...