Song by Song

Sam and Martin return for a bonus episode and a bonus track, as Waits collaborates for the first time with his son on this short explosion of music from the special edition of Mule Variations. We also look back at our feelings on this fin de siècle album, consider the positives and the negatives and try to put them in their proper perspective. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod...

We're a bit mixed on this final Mule Variations track, with Shelley questioning whether Waits completely captures the gospel sound and energy. We compare it with older revivalist music, talk about the earthly imagery in songs about the afterlife, and discuss the presence of onanism in the work of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcas...

After a week away, Shelley Maxwell returns to celebrate this emotionally affecting track with Martin and Sam, one that seems to hit both the personal and the universal. We dig into the specifics of the lyrics, the memories linked to physical sensation and activity, and different ways "end of life" songs can be heard. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@...

Helen Rosner returns after a week away for one more episode with Song by Song. She brings her culinary expertise to the party, explaining for Martin & Sam (and the audience) some of the gastronomic details Waits is bringing in this Bone-Machine-era rework. We discuss the musical and geographical locators in the song, and contrast this American perspective on the Philippines with a 1990s opposite....

Shelley Maxwell joins Martin and Sam to discuss the haunting and brutal true story of Georgia Lee Moses, and Waits's description of circumstances surrounding her death. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Georgia Lee, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) We think your Song by Song expe...

Is Waits talking about confectionary, Christianity or something else in this week's track? Helen Rosner returns to discuss her perspectives on all sides of the equation with Sam & Martin, along with communion wafer recipes, Brazilian religious statuary, and exactly how one goes about eating a saviour. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music...

Food writer and Tom Waits fan Helen Rosner joins Martin and Sam to curate her end-of-life mixtape, as well as interrogate the central message of this tender and minimal love song. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Picture in a Frame, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) The First Tim...

As Tom Waits explores his frustrations around the business of music/entertainment, Amrita shares some of her own experiences with Martin and Sam. We discuss the managerial perspective of the song, how that compares to Wait's own position in the industry, and the different strategies The Ting Tings use to express similar sentiments. Note: Sam refers to Eddie Campbell as Australian; he is actually S...

Images of illicit women blur with dangerous spousal descriptions, as Amrita rejoins Sam and Martin for a second Mule Variation. The value of heartbreak in the production of art, the prevalence of the male gaze in popular music, and feline solutions to romantic difficulties all feature in our discussion this week. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmai...

Actress Amrita Acharya joins Martin and Sam to kick off the new year with voyeurism and construction in this creepy Mule Variations classic. We chat about musical intention, whether Sam is funky (spoilers; he's not), and images of neighbourhood in 1970s America. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review pu...

A brief seasonal diversion into listener mail sees Martin and Sam discussing Elton John, winters in South London, and of course the second SbS appearance of Australian spin-bowler Mike Whitney . Nothing says Christmas like Mike Whitney. Happy Holidays all - we'll see you in 2021 for the second half of Mule Variations! website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast...

Martin and Sam fly solo this week, discussing Waits reaching back to his hyperbolic storytelling style of the 70s, how mixing draws the eye and ear to certain elements of film and music, as well as the mechanics of equine taxonomy. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Pony, Mule Vari...

Waits returns to stories of wandering America with a chainsaw guitar and a towel in this sleeper hit from Mule Variations. Justin, Sam and Martin discuss the revivalist gospel sound, the image of water in this and other music, and take an extended diversion into possible Tom Waits/Guillermo del Toro collaborations. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gm...

Justin returns to discuss the nature of abandonment and housing with Martin and Sam, as well as our feelings about Waits's sentimental tone. We dig into Kathleen's involvement in the composition, his vocal quality, and then get massively side-tracked by the recording history of the deepest man in showbiz. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Mu...

The breadth and intimacy of Waits's writing is highlighted by our new guest host, director Justin Audibert, who joins Martin and Sam for this quasi-title track from Mule Variations. We discuss the emotional expression of singing through popular music, how Waits paints a portrait of America with specifics and generalities, and yodelling. Lots on yodelling. You didn't ask for this, but you're gettin...

Waits returns to the vignette form (at least by Sam's estimation) in this sentimental track that (in Martin's estimation) doesn't manage to hit on all levels. The value of sentiment, the origins of songwriting and the "truthfulness" of expression in music writing, and the ever-present question of authenticity all feature in this third conversation with Chad Clark. website: songbysongpodcast.com tw...

Chad Clark rejoins Sam & Martin to discuss the second track of Mule Variations... or is it just a retread of the first? We pick apart the synthesis of old/new Waits, alongside more modern music fusions. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Lowside of the Road, Mule Variations, Tom Wa...

We return and begin again, this time with Chad Clark of Beauty Pill joining Martin and Sam for the first track of 1999's Mule Variations. We discuss Chad's perspective on music label relationships, the production choices and where the album sits at the end of the 20th century, plus how Waits relates to the energy of punk music. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbys...

A couple of weeks out from the return of Song by Song to your podcatcher, here's a little preview of some of the conversations we've already recorded. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Big In Japan, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Chocolate Jesus, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (199...

Martin and Sam conclude the Early Years with a slight shrug towards this Closing Time demo, albeit with some sadness and mixed feelings. Looking back on both albums, we consider what they illuminate in Waits's writing, and how the Early Years songs may inform the coming phase of his career. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts us...

Waits taps his inner animal (or two) as Martin Seagull-perches and Sam Puppy-scampers through this penultimate track from The Early Years. And, as a bonus, we take the space to listen to a trio of intervals speaking directly from an animal's perspective. Spoilers; we go a bit long talking about the Virtute cycle, so make sure you give those songs a listen. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @...

Dan's working on a crush this week (apologies Sarah), as we dig into crunchy chords, excited grunts and more examples on the piano in this plea by Waits to a wandering love. Personal and instrumental yearning, the interplay between flaws and personality, as well as the shift from "And I" to "But You're" in the lyrics all get some vigorous debate. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysong...

A knee-slappingly good episode with Dan and Sarah, as we return to Waits's love of the beat poets in this sung demo of his spoken-word track from The Heart of Saturday Night. Again we discuss choices and changes as Waits moves from demo to studio, the intimacy that is gained and lost with speaking and singing, and ideas around performance and interpretation. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter:...

Actor/musicians and vocal coaches Sarah Mahony and Dan De Cruz join Martin and Sam for some fruit-based imagery, a little demo/studio comparison, and some proper musical illustration courtesy of a guest with real musical facility. Also, 250 episodes, woo! website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes...

Still no pirate-clown voice for Jeremy and Elizabeth, as Song by Song revisits this most sea-faring of Waits songs. We discuss its eulogistic tone, Waits's other oceanic music, as well as comparisons to a very different style of singing. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Shiver Me...