Song By Song

For this challenging film, Martin and Sam call on the Kiefer Sutherland of Song by Song, Philippa Spanos, to tackle this 3hr epic and possibly save her daughter and the president along the way. We grapple with both the shortcomings and the charm of this behemoth, and end up finding lots to like... although possibly not much from Waits himself. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from At Play In The Fields Of The Lord, dir. Hector Babenco (1991) 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.

Matthew Crosby returns for another film episode, this time with at least 80% more emeralds-hidden-in-a-horse. We discuss some of the big performance choices and tonal frustrations in this mostly-forgotten 80s comedy, and assess Waits's work as an actor in perhaps his biggest film role. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from Cold Feet, dir. Robert Dornhelm (1989) 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 joined by Helen O'Hara (host of the Empire Film Podcast and author of 'Women vs Hollywood') to discuss the down-and-out misadventures of Streep, Nicholson, Waits & co in this 1987 box-office flop. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Clips from Ironweed, dir. Hector Babenco (1987) 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.

Our second Gatmo megamix features a selection of tracks from 2007's Sideshow Seance and 2012's Thirsty? (don't forget that question-mark now), with some more positive feelings from Martin and Sam, some musings on how 'seriously' these recordings are being taken, and the visible and invisible work that goes into an artist's creative output. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Augminished Returns, Sideshow Seance, Gatmo/Waits et al (2007) Winged Audition, Sideshow Seance, Gatmo/Waits et al (2007) J.B.'s Choir, Sideshow Seance, Gatmo/Waits et al (2007) Laz Is Late, Thirsty?, Gatmo/Waits et al (2012) Crow's Landing, Thirsty?, Gatmo/Waits et al (2012) Waterphone Moan, Thirsty?, Gatmo/Waits et al (2012) My Clap Cuppeth Over, Thirsty?, Gatmo/Waits et al (2012) 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

Martin and Sam convene for the first of two episodes listening to a set of improvised albums, recorded between 1992 and 2012. This week we're digging into a selection of 7 tracks from Moanin' Parade and Swarm Warnings, both released in 2000, with some fairly mixed opinions from both hosts on the quality as well as the listen-ability of the music. We also do that thing where we introduce each track separately and bump up our "episode" count significantly. I'm amazed you're still listening to be honest, we're utterly unbearable. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: I'm Big In Japan, Moanin' Parade, Gatmo/Waits et al (2000) Variations Europa/Hurling Indecencies, Moanin' Parade, Gatmo/Waits et al (2000) White Rabbit's Lament, Moanin' Parade, Gatmo/Waits et al (2000) Mudhump, Swarm Warnings, Gatmo/Waits et al (2000) You See Her Eyes, Swarm Warnings, Gatmo/Waits et al (2000) In Your Underwear, Swarm W

Sam and Martin return for a bonus episode and a bonus track, as Waits collaborates for the first time with his son on this short explosion of music from the special edition of Mule Variations. We also look back at our feelings on this fin de siècle album, consider the positives and the negatives and try to put them in their proper perspective. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Big Face Money, Mule Variations (Australian/New Zealand/Japanese bonus track), Tom Waits & Casey Waits (1999) 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 a bit mixed on this final Mule Variations track, with Shelley questioning whether Waits completely captures the gospel sound and energy. We compare it with older revivalist music, talk about the earthly imagery in songs about the afterlife, and discuss the presence of onanism in the work of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Come On Up To The House, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) This Train, The Authorised Sister Rosetta Tharpe Collection (recorded live in Manchester, UK), Sister Rosetta Tharpe (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.

After a week away, Shelley Maxwell returns to celebrate this emotionally affecting track with Martin and Sam, one that seems to hit both the personal and the universal. We dig into the specifics of the lyrics, the memories linked to physical sensation and activity, and different ways "end of life" songs can be heard. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Take It With Me, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Two Slow Dancers, Be the Cowboy, Mitski (2018) 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.

Helen Rosner returns after a week away for one more episode with Song by Song. She brings her culinary expertise to the party, explaining for Martin & Sam (and the audience) some of the gastronomic details Waits is bringing in this Bone-Machine-era rework. We discuss the musical and geographical locators in the song, and contrast this American perspective on the Philippines with a 1990s opposite. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Filipino Box Spring Hog, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Not All The World Is America, Smokey Mountain, Smokey Mountain (1990) 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.

Shelley Maxwell joins Martin and Sam to discuss the haunting and brutal true story of Georgia Lee Moses, and Waits's description of circumstances surrounding her death. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Georgia Lee, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) 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.

Is Waits talking about confectionary, Christianity or something else in this week's track? Helen Rosner returns to discuss her perspectives on all sides of the equation with Sam & Martin, along with communion wafer recipes, Brazilian religious statuary, and exactly how one goes about eating a saviour. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Chocolate Jesus, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Christo Redemptor, Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band, Charlie Musselwhite (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.

Food writer and Tom Waits fan Helen Rosner joins Martin and Sam to curate her end-of-life mixtape, as well as interrogate the central message of this tender and minimal love song. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Picture in a Frame, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, First Take, Roberta Flack (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.

As Tom Waits explores his frustrations around the business of music/entertainment, Amrita shares some of her own experiences with Martin and Sam. We discuss the managerial perspective of the song, how that compares to Wait's own position in the industry, and the different strategies The Ting Tings use to express similar sentiments. Note: Sam refers to Eddie Campbell as Australian; he is actually Scottish and just lived in Australia for a number of years. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Eyeball Kid, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) That's Not My Name, We Started Nothing, The Ting Tings (2008) 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 responsibl

Images of illicit women blur with dangerous spousal descriptions, as Amrita rejoins Sam and Martin for a second Mule Variation. The value of heartbreak in the production of art, the prevalence of the male gaze in popular music, and feline solutions to romantic difficulties all feature in our discussion this week. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Black Market Baby, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Undercover, Music for People in Trouble, Susanne Sundfør (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.

Actress Amrita Acharya joins Martin and Sam to kick off the new year with voyeurism and construction in this creepy Mule Variations classic. We chat about musical intention, whether Sam is funky (spoilers; he's not), and images of neighbourhood in 1970s America. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: What's He Building?, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) We Are Neighbours, (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People, The Chi-Lites (1971) 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.

A brief seasonal diversion into listener mail sees Martin and Sam discussing Elton John, winters in South London, and of course the second SbS appearance of Australian spin-bowler Mike Whitney . Nothing says Christmas like Mike Whitney. Happy Holidays all - we'll see you in 2021 for the second half of Mule Variations! website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Big In Japan, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Innocent When You Dream (Barroom), Frank's Wild Years, Tom Waits (1987) 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.

Martin and Sam fly solo this week, discussing Waits reaching back to his hyperbolic storytelling style of the 70s, how mixing draws the eye and ear to certain elements of film and music, as well as the mechanics of equine taxonomy. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Pony, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?, Chocolate And Cheese, Ween (1994) 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.

Waits returns to stories of wandering America with a chainsaw guitar and a towel in this sleeper hit from Mule Variations. Justin, Sam and Martin discuss the revivalist gospel sound, the image of water in this and other music, and take an extended diversion into possible Tom Waits/Guillermo del Toro collaborations. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Cold Water, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Water Me Down, Vagabon, Vagabon (2019) 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.

Justin returns to discuss the nature of abandonment and housing with Martin and Sam, as well as our feelings about Waits's sentimental tone. We dig into Kathleen's involvement in the composition, his vocal quality, and then get massively side-tracked by the recording history of the deepest man in showbiz. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: House Where Nobody Lives, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) This Ole House, single, Rosemary Clooney (1954) 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 breadth and intimacy of Waits's writing is highlighted by our new guest host, director Justin Audibert, who joins Martin and Sam for this quasi-title track from Mule Variations. We discuss the emotional expression of singing through popular music, how Waits paints a portrait of America with specifics and generalities, and yodelling. Lots on yodelling. You didn't ask for this, but you're getting it. Yodelling. You're welcome. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Get Behind The Mule, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999) Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues), Jimmie Rodgers (1930) 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.