Song by Song is a podcast celebrating the music of Tom Waits, hosted by podcaster-musician Martin Zaltz Austwick and actor-musician Sam Pay. Sam and Martin set themselves the goal of listening to Tom Waits’s back catalogue from beginning to end, and devoting an episode to discussing each track. Song by Song is in no way officially linked to Tom Waits, or endorsed by Tom Waits, or associates. All excerpts are used for criticism purposes - please purchase your own copies of the music at your favourite shop, app, or platform to get the full experience and support musicians' work.
http://songbysong.libsyn.com/website
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 6 days 3 hours 32 minutes
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episode 9: When You Ain't Got Nobody, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits [237]
Our third episode with Michael, Sam & Martin brings us to a slightly less-excited point in the evolution of Waits's writing. We have a chat about what works for a live audience, what survives well on a recording, and the process of working through...
episode 10: Little Trip to Heaven, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits [238]
Martin & Sam welcome our guest host Jess Abbott to not only discuss this little trip, but also to provide our interval track, as we discuss another Waits demo-to-studio song in relation to Jess's own (re)writing process. website:...
episode 11: Frank's Song, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits [239]
Jess Abbott returns for some slightly contentious debate with Sam & Martin around the “bros before hags” sentiment of this song. With some strong language in our interval track and the associated sentiments between children and parents, we...
episode 12: Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits [240]
Simplicity abounds, and seems to succeed - perhaps despite the title - as Jess, Martin and Sam dig into a sweet song with a crude punchline. The origins of the title's phrase, the sentiment of leaving as embodied in the country music tradition, and...
episode 13: So Long I'll See Ya, The Early Years Volume 1, Tom Waits [241]
A final episode for this first volume of demos sees Martin and Sam mulling the stylistic choices and tone Waits is aiming for, his choice of instrument going forward, and how the material on Early Years vol 1 strikes us nearly 5 decades years after...
episode 14: Hope I Don't Fall in Love with You, The Early Years vol 2, Tom Waits [242]
For the first track from this second half of our 2-volume Early Years season, Martin and Sam are joined by Nick White from KCRW's Lost Notes to talk about this laid-back version of a Closing Time classic, including comparison to the early work of an...
episode 15: Ol '55, The Early Years vol 2, Tom Waits [243]
Nick returns for a second week’s chat with Sam and Martin about classic cars (and their parking logistics), the evolution of Ol’ 55 (from Early Years to Closing Time to The Eagles), as well as the role of the car in rock and roll (as well as...
episode 16: Mockin' Bird, The Early Years vol 2, Tom Waits [244]
It's a bit of a downer this week, as Nick, Sam & Martin get together to talk about at least one hosts' least-favourite Tom Waits song so far. We have a discussion about the success and failure of simplicity in music, as well as some of the complex...
episode 17: In Between Love, The Early Years vol 2, Tom Waits [245]
Charlie Harding of Switched On Pop returns to Song by Song to discuss this interstitial about between-moments-romance. What this love is, who it's directed towards and what that might mean is up for debate, and Charlie, Sam & Martin discuss the...
episode 18: Blue Skies, The Early Years vol 2, Tom Waits [246]
A second week with Charlie brings his brief SbS return to a close, as we revisit this excellent demo version of Blue Skies. We broadly acknowledge our love of the simple 1971 version, before digging into Solange's 2016 image of Cranes in the Sky, and...