We welcome Nightvale’s own Jeffrey Cranor back to Song by Song, joining Martin and Sam to explore a Lead Belly cover, sentimental material from the film Pollock, and a murderous song of sibling rivalry. We talk about mutability and adaptation in the blues tradition, supernatural extensions in folk ballads, and Martin experiences a moment of emotional crisis.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Ain't Goin' Down To The Well, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)
Ain't Going Down To The Well, from Freedom Highway, dir. Phillip King (2001)
World Keeps Turning, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)
Pollock trailer, dir. Ed Harris (2000)
Two Sisters, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)
Bow And Balance / Two Sisters, Old Town School of Folk Music, Horton Barker (1962)
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