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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:

Last Leaf, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [424] Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

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.

Satisfied, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [423] Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

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.

Kiss Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [422] Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

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.

Bad As Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [421] Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

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.

Back In The Crowd, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [420] Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

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.

Pay Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [419] Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

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.

Face to the Highway, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [418] Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

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.

Get Lost, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [417] Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

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.

Talking at the Same Time, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [416] Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

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.

Raised Right Men, Bad As Me, Tom Waits [415] Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

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.

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