Music: it's good. On each episode of Strong Songs, host Kirk Hamilton takes listeners inside a piece of music, breaking it down and figuring out what makes it work.
https://strongsongspodcast.com
Q&A: Nirvana, P!nk, Jethro Tull, Radiohead
Kirk opens up the Strong Songs mailbag to answer your questions about Marty McFly's musical instructions, Ian Anderson's flute style, Kurt Cobain's guitar tone, how to count songs by P!nk and Radiohead, and what to do if you play an "unsexy" instrument.
REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE:
- Back to the Future, a 1985 movie that you've probably seen
- "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry, 1958
- "Walk Me Home" by P!nk
- "Where the Boys Are" performed by Connie Francis, 1960
- "Come as You Are" by Nirvana from Nevermind, 1991
- "Cross-Eyed Mary" by Jethro Tull from Aqualung, 1971
- "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits from Brothers in Arms, 1985
- "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead from Amnesiac, 2001
PYRAMID SONG COUNTING BREAKDOWN:
Keyboard (eighth notes):
[(3 3 4 3 3) + (3 3 4 3 3)] x 2 = 64 eighth notes, aka 32 beats
Drums (quarter notes):
[(3 2 3) + (3 2 3)] x 2 = 32 quarter notes, aka 32 beats
Kirk also made this ludicrous infographic: https://twitter.com/kirkhamilton/status/1164239460604641280
Other links:
The Wikipedia entry for the Mere-Exposure Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect
OUTRO SOLOIST: Dan Nervo
No new outro soloist this episode - we're re-sharing a guitar solo by the fantastic Dan Nervo. Dan plays guitar all around the San Francisco Bay Area in bands like Neon Velvet, and also teaches private guitar lessons. Hit him up if you want to get really good at guitar: https://www.facebook.com/DanNervoGuitarLessons/
NEWSLETTER/MAILING LIST
Sign up for Kirk's mailing list to start getting monthly-ish newsletters with music recommendations, links, news, and extra thoughts on new Strong Songs episodes: https://tinyletter.com/KirkHamilton
STRONG PLAYLISTS
You can find playlists containing every Strong Song as well as all of Kirk's weekly music picks from his other podcast, Kotaku Splitscreen, on both Spotify and Apple Music.
SUPPORT STRONG SONGS ON PATREON!
The biggest possible thank-you to everyone who's signed up to become a patron of Strong Songs—your support is making it much easier to dedicate the time that the show deserves!
If you want to support the show, check out the Strong Songs Patreon. Here's the link: https://Patreon.com/StrongSongs
AUGUST 2019 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS
Caleb Rotach
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