Aaaaaaand finally... we're delighted to welcome Sam Clements to the show for an extended farewell to the podcast, discussing the process involved in producing a weekly music show for 8+ years. Martin and Sam fess up to a few things, talk about the work involved behind the scenes, and consider what a project like this affects the people involved.
It's been a pleasure folks, the time went so quickly. Speak soon. x
The first of our Stripped Media film crossovers finds Sam Clements & Louise Owen of the 90 Minute Or Less Film Festival joining regular SbS hosts Sam & Martin for the only Tom Waits film short enough for us to both discuss. With some mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the film, albeit with general enthusiasm for specific elements, we debate some of the details of this debut film by Dukić and try to trace the reasons for some of its shortcomings.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Wristcutters Trailer, via YouTube (dir. Goran Dukić, 2006)
Tom Waits - The Acting Years, Leigh Singer supercut (2019)
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Happy New Year! It’s 2020 and that means Song by Song is taking the opportunity to delve into some of the listener mail we've received over the last year or so. Check out the show notes below for more links and details of the songs discussed.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
News From The Duke from The Black Rider: The Casting of the 12 Magic Bullets (filmed at the Weiner Festwochen, via YouTube), Wilson/Burroughs/Waits (1990)
16 Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Ford Favourites (1955/1957)
Town With No Cheer, Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits (1983)
The Black Rider, Black Letter Days, Frank Black & The Catholics (2002)
The Black Rider - 2, Black Letter Days, Frank Black & The Catholics (2002)
Episode 21 - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm with Sam Pay, 90 Minute Or Less Film Festival Podcast (2019)
Episode 22 - Safety Not Guaranteed LIVE with Colin Trevorrow, Helen Zaltzman and Martin Austwick, 90 Minute Or Less Film Festival Podcast (2019)
2015 Aphex Waits (Aphex Twin & Tom Waits mashup), Eskmo, via Soundcloud (2015)
Tom Waits Podcasts, Andy’s Podcaster Podcasting Podcast (2019)
Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits, various artists (2019)
Soldier's Things, Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits (1983)
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Martin & Sam welcome back friends of the show Simon Renshaw and Sam Clements to have a little chat about Coppola's jazz-odyssey The Cotton Club. There's some real difficulties for all four hosts with this one, although there are some standout scenes which seem to generate a little more enthusiasm; from the dancing of Gregory Hines, the crosscutting of dance-numbers and train stations, and the horse-drawing of Bob Hoskins.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
The Cotton Club trailer, via YouTube (dir. Coppola, 1984)
Ill Wind, from The Cotton Club, Lonette McKee (1984)
"This is the Hoofers Club", from The Cotton Club via YouTube (1984)
Gregory Hines talks about The Huggies from Muppets Take Manhattan, via YouTube (1984)
Nicolas Cage breaks down his most iconic characters | GQ, via YouTube (2018)
Coming to the end of another season, Martin, Simon and the Sams discuss the resolution (or lack thereof) in the "concept" of this film-inspired album, as well as some of the charm and experimentation in the individual tracks on Foreign Affairs. With a certain amount of struggle to keep our shit together at the end of this very long, very hot recording session, the conversation breaks down for a while, but there's still some worthwhile… oh, forget it, we totally fall apart at the end here. Sorry folks, sorry. See you next season…
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Foreign Affair, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)
Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home), That Stubborn Kinda' Fella, Marvin Gaye (1963)
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As Foreign Affairs edges towards its conclusion, Sam and Simon rejoin Sam and Martin for a quick haircut and an upbeat tune, as well as some confrontational discussion about the energy, technicality and commitment of four-part harmony as compared to the music of Tom Waits (who else?). With a bunch of diversions into the films of Alex Proyas, the music of “Weird Al” Yankovic and the beauty of glassblowing (it was very hot, so so hot, we got very distracted and hot, sorry), we deliver an enthusiastic (if slightly distracted) penultimate episode for season 5 of Song by Song.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Barber Shop, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)
That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day), That Lucky Old Sun, Crossroads/Beasley Smith & Haven Gillespie (2010/1949)
… or to watch them sing it live..
… and for silly fun…
Word Crimes, Mandatory Fun, “Weird Al” Yankovic (2014)
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Sam and Simon return to Song by Song for more film-inspired musical discussion as Tom Waits sings of doomed love on the dusty roads of America, heading to (or trapped in) a little town called Burma Shave. The physical appeal of Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, the early successes and failures of Nicholas Ray's debut film They Live By Night and the roadside rhyming stylings of the Burma Shave adverts all feature in this week's episode.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Burma-Shave, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)
They Live By Night (film), directed by Nicholas Ray (1948)
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Out on the edge of Potter’s Field, Martin and Sam congregate with their latest guests to discuss film, music, storytelling and Communism. Sam Clements and Simon Henshaw of the Picturehouse Podcast weigh in on this track and the film that inspired it, Pickup On South Street. The musical stylings of film noir, the clarity (or lack thereof) of Waits’s storytelling and the dramatic performance of Thelma Ritter all feature as part of the discussion this week on Song by Song.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Potter’s Field, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)
Pickup On South Street (film), directed by Samuel Fuller (1953)
Log into the Spotify web player to hear these tracks.