Song by Song

Just a brief FYI that Song by Song is taking a (previously unannounced) seasonal break for two weeks. We'll be back on January 10th 2024 with the penultimate episode of our True Orphans series. Have a lovely Winterval everyone!

Having determined not to waste everyone's time with a comprehensive coverage of ALL of Waits's recordings... Sam and Martin return to the podcast to do exactly that. Sorry? In this first of several episodes, we consider some of the most prolific years...

Our second episode dealing with the non-album work of Tom Waits (and our second from the 1970s) brings a variety of covers, live performances, outtakes and re-uses from studio sessions... including the Hokey Pokey. Check the show notes for versions of...

More discussions of Waits's unreleased recordings brings us to the 1980s, featuring several demos, a bunch of covers, and significant collaborations with other musicians, both big and small. Highlights this week include his contribution to a poetry...

Into the 1990s, Martin and Sam return for more unreleased Waits tracks, splitting the decade into two more manageable chunks. This first episode sees some repurposed music, a few live songs, as well as Waits delivering heart-felt advice alongside...

Rounding out the second half(?) of the 1990s, Waits explores collaborations with old friends and some unusual covers, as well as the building of experimental musical instruments, including his own mouth. It's a weird one, no doubt about it! website:...

As we enter the new millennium, Waits pushes into new sonic territory with various collaborations, covers and spoken word pieces, including nostalgic re-inventions and some more full-blooded engagement with hip hop music. website:...

Just imagine... at one point we thought this surprisingly epic True Orphans series might fit in two episodes, HA! Anyway, for this final episode Martin and Sam consider the Waits material from 2010 to the present day, including several contributions...

We're delighted to bring you an extended interview with the man who literally wrote the book on Tom Waits, Barney Hoskyns. Bouncing through a selection of Waits's material from the 70s to the present day, we discuss what it's like to interview and...

Our final season wouldn't be complete without a look at the emails sent in by you, dear listeners, covering some errors and omissions, new theories, questions about remasters and several lovely well-wishes as we head towards the end of the show. ...