Strong Songs

Kirk wasn't expecting to make a full-length episode about the music of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , but then he played the game. And here we are. Picking up on 2022's deep-dive in the music of the Zelda series , this episode takes a deep dive into the score of the new game, covering the many ways it builds on the past and charts a new musical future. SPOILERS: The first 40 minutes o...

On this bonus episode, originally recorded as a Patreon bonus in 2022, Kirk goes through a few great Legend of Zelda pieces that he didn't manage to get into on last year's Zelda-focused Strong Songs episode .  If you want to hear next week's new episode on Tears of the Kingdom early, go become a patron now ! FEATURED: "Tears of the Kingdom Theme" from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , c...

Kirk takes a tour through the cycling, modulating chord sequence in Belle & Sebastian's buoyant 2017 song "The Girl Doesn't Get It." Variation 1: | C | Dm7 | Bb | Gm F Variation 2: | C | D | Bm | Esus E Variation 3: | A | Bm | A/C# | Esus E FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "The Girl Doesn't Get It" by Belle & Sebastian from How To Solve Our Human Problems, Vol. 1, 2017 "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton...

There are so many electric guitars. Truly, there is a guitar for every mood, every season, and every feeling. But there are four types of electric guitar that are a bit more widely used than other ones.  On this formely-bonus-now-main-feed episode, Kirk discusses those four guitars—the Fender Stratocaster, the Telecaster, the Gibson Les Paul, and the 335—and goes through some of the Strong Songs t...

Composer John Williams is the defining sound of Hollywood and, arguably, the most widely listened to composer in the world. Kirk decided he needed some help tackling Williams' towering musical legacy, so he enlisted Australian author and musician Dan Golding as his tour guide through Williams' musical world, with a special focus on his groundbreaking score for 1980's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes...

Kirk answers your questions on 60s pop counterpoint, Chaka Kahn syncopation, Taylor Swift's re-recording project, good practice habits, Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," and more. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "You've Got Your Troubles" by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cool, recorded by The Fortunes Contrapunctus 1 by J.S. Bach recorded by the Emerson String Quartet on Bach: The Art of Fugue , 2003 T.I.B.W.F. by...

Kirk climbs inside the machine-gun rhythms and unstoppable grooves of the legendary Oakland funk outfit Tower of Power. Written by: Doc Kupka and Emilio Castillo Album: Tower of Power (1973) Listen/Buy via Songwhip ALSO DISCUSSED: "What is Hip?" "Squib Cakes" "Only So Much Oil in the Ground" "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)," "So Very Hard to Go," "Credit," all by Tower of Power "S...

It's not uncommon for a song to be written for one artist, only to become widely known after being recorded by another. It's less common for a song to have yet another rebirth decades later. That's just what happened with "Killing Me Softly with His Song."  Originally inspired by Lori Lieberman's profound experience at a 1971 Don McLean concert, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox's song underwent two d...

Kirk kicks off Strong Songs Season 5 with Tears For Fears' 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Rule The World." From classic synths and drum machines to surprisingly avante-garde guitar solos, this song's got a lot more going on than you might remember. Written by: Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes Produced by: Chris Hughes Album: Songs from the Big Chair (1985) Listen/Buy via Songwhip ALSO D...

Special guest Luigi Boccia takes Kirk on a magical journey through the world of the opera tenor, from Caruso and Lauri Volpi to Di Stefano and Pavarotti. Featuring performances by Luciano Pavarotti, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli, Giacomo Lauri Volpi, Jussi Björling, Sergei Lemeshev, and Jon Vickers. Find a Spotify playlist of Luigi's many Tenor examples here. -----------------...

John Farnham's "You're The Voice" was a worldwide hit, and nowhere was it more popular than in the Aussie singer's homeland. A couple weeks ago, Kirk went onstage with the hosts of the Chat 10 Looks 3 podcast , Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, to talk about the song, the singer, and so much more. This episode is excerpted from Chat 10 Looks 3 episode 214 . It was recorded live at the Enmore Theater...

Author and musicologist Lily E. Hirsch joins Kirk to talk about the many different aspects of music she's explored in her books. REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: Lily Hirsch's many books, including A Jewish Orchestra in Nazi Germany: Musical Politics and the Berlin Jewish Culture League , Weird Al: Seriously , and Can't Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono...

Kirk sits down with musician and podcaster Emily Reese to talk about the beauty of Bach's "Goldberg Variations," the distinct sound of Davis/Evans/Mulligan's "Birth of the Cool," the joys of the Knight Rider theme, and her podcast Level with Emily Reese , which focuses on the wide world of video game music.  FEATURED/DISCUSSED: Emily's music podcast Level with Emily : https://www.levelwithemily.co...

Happy holidays! Here's a Patreon minisode Kirk published last summer about Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." See you in 2023! ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES, 6/24/2022: The whole world is talking about Kate Bush's masterful 1985 song "Running Up That Hill," so Kirk figured he might as well talk about it, too.  On this bonus Patreon episode, he takes a crack at re-creating the song's iconic sound and digs i...

Look, sometimes a TV soundtrack is so good that you have no choice but to make a whole podcast episode about it. And so here we are, as Kirk takes a deep dive into Nicholas Britell's ever-evolving musical score for the new Disney+ show Star Wars: Andor . Listen to Britell's Andor Score (via Songwhip): Volume One | Volume Two | Volume Three REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: Tracks from Star Wars: A New H...

Kirk takes a look back some of his many musical memories from Strong Songs, Year Four. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon from Leviathan, 2004 "Gotta Get You Into My Life" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney, as covered by Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978 "Eleanor Rigby" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney, as covered by Cody Fry in 2021 and Zoot in 1970 "Second Story" by Andrew Synowiec...

For the 100th episode of Strong Songs, Kirk takes a deep dive into one of the most famous concept albums ever recorded.  Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" is an instantly recognizable, widely discussed album, played and replayed to the point that it's easy to forget that it was made by a handful of young people with some instruments and a mixing desk. So buckle in for a whirlwind tour of th...

It's time for a Strong Songs road trip, as Kirk unravels one of "Weird Al" Yankovic's most understated, grandiose songs. So come along, for a journey through long-form story songs, sea shanty refrains, synth feelings, and an unexpectedly grand finale. We'll stay until the security guards throw us out. Album: UHF: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff, 1989 Listen/Buy via Songwhip Also...

It's time to answer more of your musical questions, with topics including singing drummers, Elvis Costello harmonies, how to find a music teacher, unusual odd-meter counting, similar-sounding songs, and Anchorman's jazz flute scene. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance” by Anderson .Paak from Malibu , 2016 “You & I” by Jamison Ross from Jamo , 2022 "Take The TIme" by Josh Dion Band from...

Drummers like Clyde Stubblefield, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Bernard Purdie defined the sound of the bands they played with not because of their flashy chops, but because they knew how to lock down a groove. On this episode, Kirk goes deep into one groove apiece by each of those drummers - Stubblefield on James Brown's "Cold Sweat," Modeliste on The Meters' "Cissy Strut," and Purdie on Aretha Franklin...

Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them "means." There's only what they mean to you, right then, in the moment, as you listen to them.  That's certainly true of "Jesus, Etc." one of many stan...

Kirk answers a crop of new listener questions on topics ranging from Steve Perry's vocal technique, Art Garfunkel's guitarmonies,  the Carolina Crown's viral brass section warmup, Ram Jam's chaotic riffs, and how to explain complex music theory concepts to non-musicians. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Elbow Grease” by Scott Pemberton from Timber Rock , 2015 “A Song for You” by Leon Russell from Leon Russell...

There are few singer-songwriters as inimitable as Joni Mitchell, with her swirling song forms, leaping melodies, and that magical voice, untethered by the laws of gravity. On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into Joni's 1974 song "Help Me," a hummingbird of a tune hovering between commitment and flight, tumbling and falling past love and toward freedom. Written by: Joni MItchell Album: Court a...

After more than two years, a Strong Songs jazz mystery is finally solved. Thanks to listener (and outro soloist) Jeff Bean, who finally cracked the case of the mysterious lick played by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and may others. I can finally sleep at night. FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE: "Moanin" by Bobby Timmons recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers for Moanin' , 1958 "Jordu" by Duke Jordon...

Back in July 2020, Kirk made a special episode of his video games podcast Triple Click all about the music of Final Fantasy VII. It was basically an episode of Strong Songs, it just ran in a different podcast feed.  Now it's July 2022, and with Strong Songs on break for the month, it seemed like a good time to run that episode in the Strong Songs feed. So, here it is! Original Show Notes: July 16,...