Song By Song

We’re heading towards conclusions, both in albums and in life, as Andrea Warner joins with Martin and Sam to examine another Tom and Keith team up. The hubris of Waits’s sentiments, the juxtaposition of humour and pain in music, and a consideration of vestigial tails all feature in this week’s discussion.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Last Leaf, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Pale Green Things, The Sunset Tree, The Mountain Goats (2005) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Another Keith Richards collaboration brings Waits to a full confrontation with the Rolling Stones, as Song by Song engages with this cryptic track from the second half of Bad As Me. Determination in music and sports, the sexual or metaphorical interpretations of bullets and guns, and the lunacy of Harry Smith all feature in our third conversation with Sara Gran. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Satisfied, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Live in Paris, John Lee Hooker / Carey Bell (1970) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Waits's yearning for a new (or at least newness in) love brings Sara, Martin and Sam to some inherent features of popular music as well as human nature in general. We have conversations about changing affection in art itself, dig into the truths and lies we tell about the shape of life, and begin an extended consideration of the presence of limerence in music. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Kiss Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) And Then He Kissed Me, single / Philles Records Presents Today's Hits, The Crystals (1963) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

We’re delighted to welcome John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats for this special extended episode listening to the title track from Bad As Me. Diving into the history of Waits’s musical evolution, John, Martin and Sam consider the value of originality, Waits's reasons for producing this album after a 7 year hiatus, and some of the philosophical questions around the creation and publication of music. Plus some good Zelda chat. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Bad As Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Joined by long-hoped-for guest Sara Gran, Sam and Martin shuffle back into the crowd of emotional songs of loss and yearning, flanked by Waits in a sorrowful mode and Roy Orbison full of powerful declamatory emotion. Some lyrical interpretation, a little passive-aggression, and the question of how lonely a voice sounds all occupy our discussion, as we continue through Bad As Me. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Back In The Crowd, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Only The Lonely, Lonely and Blue, Roy Orbison (1960) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

With a brief digression into Beyoncé’s oeuvre, Kerry-Jo, Martin and Sam discuss some of the oddities in the writing of Pay Me, and what story Waits is trying to tell. We consider stories of theatrical life, where to find the end of the world, and specificities in the writing of Stephen Sondheim. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Pay Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Send In The Clowns, Good Bad but Beautiful, Shirley Bassey / Stephen Sondheim (1975) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Back with Sam and Martin, Kerry-Jo has some opinions about the honesty of Waits’s reasons for departure, as well as the comprehensibility of his Sweetums voice. We discuss the inevitability and/or duality of his departure, styles of poetic writing in both tracks, and the various ways that we get “stuck” in situations and relationships.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Face To The Highway, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Carrion, Tidal, Fiona Apple (1996) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

We welcome Kerry-Jo Reilly to the show, joining Martin and Sam for songs of travel, departure and longing by Tom Waits, Larry Taylor, and their various associates. There’s discussion of the value of 60s/70s blues-rock, Waits’s various relationships over the years, and his attitude towards The King. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Get Lost, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) On The Road Again, Boogie With Canned Heat, Canned Heat (1968) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Waits pulls on some (possibly) contemporary references this week, as Bryce, Sam and Martin consider the various meanings that “everybody talking” may relate to. Considering the tone and quality of the song, the applications to various political concerns of various eras, and taking a step into popular music of 2022, the conversation continues through Bad As Me. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Talking At The Same Time, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Late Night Talking, Harry's House, Harry Styles (2022) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Shambling on from Chicago, Waits lays down some relationship advice for Bryce, Martin and Sam to pick apart and interpret, with some mixed attitudes towards partners’ and parents’ influence over right and wrong men. We chat about the work of Aretha Franklin, overlap with Nick Cave, and of course the looming influence of Snagglepuss.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Raised Right Men, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, single, Aretha Franklin (1967) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Back for the beginning of our final(?) season, Bryce Halliday joins Sam and Martin for a journey toward the great unknown of Illinois. We examine the era of the song’s setting, the power of Mavis Staples’s singing, and the reliability of moving to "better" places. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Chicago, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011) I'll Take You There, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, The Staples Singers (1972) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

One more Megamix before we hit the final straight, with Martin and Sam taking the opportunity to consider the penultimate release of Waits, the 2009 live album Glitter & Doom Live, bouncing through the 17+ tracks at an approximate minute-per-track. We consider the different energy and interpretations of these recordings compared to studio originals, how some tracks can be perfected live, and how this compares to other live albums. It's just a bunch of Tom Waits songs… website: songbysongpodcast.com
twitter: @songbysongpod
e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Glitter & Doom Live, Tom Waits (2009) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

A second week’s break, but there’s another discussion celebrating Flixwatcher’s 300th episode, this time digging into the 1991 classic that is Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. And fear not, Sam and Martin will be back in just one short week for the Glitter & Doom megamix! https://flixwatcher.tv/episode-300-part-ii-robin-hood-prince-of-thieves-with-martin-and-sam-from-song-by-song-podcast/ website: songbysongpodcast.com
twitter: @songbysongpod
e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

A week off for Martin and Sam... but never ones to rest on laurels, they've headed over to Flixwatcher to guest-host for Helen and Kobi's 300th episode, discussing the Martin Scorsese epic "The Irishman". While you build anticipation for Glitter & Doom, why not head over and take a listen. https://flixwatcher.tv/episode-300-part-i-the-irishman-with-martin-and-sam-from-song-by-song-podcast/

Our third cameo compilation episode concludes Song by Song's journey through the film work of Tom Waits, with Leigh, Martin and Sam touching on the last decade of his screen appearances. This week considers Twixt (2011), The Laughing Heart (2003/2012), The Simpsons (2013), Citizen (2016), The Moon's Milk (2018), The Ultra City Smiths (2021), Licorice Pizza (2021) and a few others. Please pick up any spilled popcorn as you leave folks… website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from The Simpsons 'Homer Goes To Prep School', dir. Mark Kirkland (2013) Clips from Twixt, dir. Francis Ford Coppola (2011) Clips from The Laughing Heart, dir. John Dullaghan/Travis Carr (2003/2012) Clips from A Brief History of John Baldessari, dir. Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman (2012) Clips from Citizen, dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (2016) Clips from The Moon's Milk, dir. Ri Crawford (2018) Clips from Ultra City Smiths, dir. St

Moving on through the shorter film appearances of Tom Waits, Leigh, Sam and Martin find some of the sparkling (and less-than-sparkling) gems from his movie roles of the 90s and into the 2000s, discussing Queen’s Logic (1991), The Fisher King (1991), Until The End Of The World (1991), Domino (2005), The Tiger and The Snow (2005), The Book of Eli (2010), and The Monster of Nix (2011). website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from Queen's Logic, dir. Steve Rash (1991) Clips from The Fisher King, dir. Terry Gilliam (1991) Clips from Until The End Of The World, dir. Wim Wenders (1991) Clips from Domino, dir. Tony Scott (2005) Clips from The Tiger and The Snow, dir. Roberto Benigni (2005) Clips from The Book of Eli, dir. The Hughes Brothers (2010) Clips from The Monster of Nix, dir. Rosto (2011) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the sho

Song by Song embarks on a roundup of Waits’s many film cameo appearances, with Sam and Martin ably abetted by film critic Leigh Singer. With discussions of his smallest early film appearances (and several of his film absences), we take this first episode to discuss Paradise Alley (1978), Wolfen (1981), The Stone Boy (1984), Candy Mountain (1987), Greasy Lake (1988) and The Two Jakes (1990).  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from Paradise Alley, dir. Sylvester Stallone (1978) Clips from Wolfen, dir. Michael Wadleigh (1981) Clips from The Stone Boy, dir. Christopher Cain (1984) Clips from Candy Mountain, dir. Robert Frank / Rudy Wurlitzer (1987) Clips from Greasy Lake, dir. Damian Harris (1988) Clips from The Two Jakes, dir. Jack Nicholson (1990) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your

It’s story time again, with Waits giving an almost-solo turn in the “All Gold Canyon” segment of The Coen Brothers’ anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Rico Galliano of the MUBI Podcast joins Sam and Martin to consider all six of the film’s stories, its fatal themes, and Waits’s talent for shouting at owls. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, dir. Coen Brothers (2018) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

We welcome Eadie and Melia to the podcast, presenting five songs from Waits aimed at younger listeners, and discovering how the junior contingent of Song by Song feel about them. We discuss creepy voices and creepier sheds, the feeding habits of Golden Eagles, and the deep trauma of poor WiFi connectivity.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Children’s Story, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) Heigh Ho, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) Army Ants, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, Bone Machine, Tom Waits (1992) Bend Down The Branches, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists

Sam and Martin conclude the 22nd season of Song by Song, bringing thoughts on the 60+ tracks, 21 episodes, 10 guests and many musical influences we’ve considered over the last 5 months of the show. We talk over the album order, it’s purpose for both Waits and his listeners, and attempt to form a Best Of list by making a few “adoptions”. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Sea Of Love, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) Diamond In Your Mind, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.