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Song by Song — Music
Song by Song

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.

Copyright: © All rights reserved

Latest Episodes:

Misery is the River of the World, Blood Money, Tom Waits [302] Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

Fran James and Bárbara Mendes-Jorge of the Over/Underrated podcast join Sam & Martin to kick off season 20 with a song about the saddest body of water you can imagine (feedback pending). We compare to other wet songs from musical theatre, discuss vocal quality and tone, and touch on the difference between enjoyment and analysis.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Misery Is the River of the World, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002) Ol' Man River, Showboat, Paul Robeson/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1936)

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.

Woyzeck background - Blood Money [301a] Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Returning to deliver our GCSE Drama lecture for the season, Callum Hughes chats with Martin and Sam about the theatrical history of Woyzeck, some of the themes present in the play, and gives us a jumping off point for the Waits album to come.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Misery Is the River of the World, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002)

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.

The Alice Demos, Tom Waits [301] Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

Sam and Martin re-reconvene to dig into the Alice material that doesn't appear on the studio album. Great… because this show wasn't niche enough… We explore Waits's interpretation of Jabberwocky, his field-recording improvisations, the possible use of instrumentals in the play, and look back at the album as a whole.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: One Two and Through (Jabberwocky), The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) What Became Of Old Father Craft, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) Falling Down The Lane, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) Instrumental 5, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) Instrumental 4, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) Instrumental 9, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased) Instrumental 10, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)

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.

Fawn, Alice, Tom Waits [300] Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

Sam and Martin reconvene for their third centenary, concluding Alice with this delicate, pretty-yet-textured instrumental. We've got discussion of mythical creatures, we've got an unpacking of the value in novelty songs, and we've got a hard left-turn in the interval track choice.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Fawn, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) French Toast Man, Car Radio Jerome, Fred Lane & the Hittite Hot-Shots (1986)

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.

Barcarolle, Alice, Tom Waits [299] Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Waits struggles against the passing of time (and perhaps the classical form of the song) this week, as Celine chats with Martin & Sam about beauty and clarity, song forms versus meaning, and why we don't do more opera on the show.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Barcarolle, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour (Barcarolle), The Tales of Hoffman (Act IV), Ann Murray / Jessye Norman / Jacques Offenbach (1988/1881) Instrumental 1 (early version of Barcarolle), The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)

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.

Fish and Bird, Alice, Tom Waits [298] Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Sound the klaxon; Martin reaches the apex of his Song by Song journey, as his discusses the beauty and elegance of this track with Celine and Sam. The contradictions of the narrative, the expression of the impossibility of (some) love, and a key link to Waits's collaboration with Brennan all feature in our conversation.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Fish & Bird, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) Exit Music (For A Film), OK Computer, Radiohead (1997)

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.

I'm Still Here, Alice, Tom Waits [297] Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Things get a little meta this week, as guest host Celine Teo-Blockey discusses with Sam & Martin the way that this song exemplifies the ways women are seen and perceived in art and culture, and in the world in general. We chat about storytelling, being trapped in roles, and the buddhist attitudes of Bill Murray.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: I'm Still Here, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) Playing Nancy, Groundhog Day The Musical, Rebecca Faulkenberry / Tim Minchin (2017)

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.

Reeperbahn, Alice, Tom Waits [296] Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Waits leaves the theatre and heads out to the streets, with Sean, Sam and Martin (as well as Udo Lindenberg) in tow. Discussion ranges from the image of Hamburg's red-light district across the last 50 years, German re-purposing of US rock (and vice versa), and locational nostalgia from around the world.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Reeperbahn, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) Reeperbahn (Penny Lane), Lindenbergs Rock-Revue, Udo Lindenberg (1974) Reeperbahn, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)

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.

Watch Her Disappear, Alice, Tom Waits [295] Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

Sean Real returns for a second week with Martin and Sam, to discuss a song that faces the complex and perhaps uncomfortable relationship between Dodgeson and Alice head-on. We talk about the intensity and intimacy of the recording sound, as well as the intensity and intimacy of naked women running through the streets of Coventry.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Watch Her Disappear, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) Peeping Tom, Monkey Man, The Metals (1969)

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 All Mad Here, Alice, Tom Waits [294] Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

Multi-instrumentalist and 99pi music producer Sean Real joins Sam & Martin to discuss coherent and incoherent images of madness. Our discussion revolves around the song's gothic viscerality, the texture of both album and demo versions, and head back to a late 60s' image of the madness in Wonderland.

website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: We're All Mad Here, Alice, Tom Waits (2002) White Rabbit, Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane (1967) Hang Me In The Bottle, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)

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.

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