Having gone through all of Waits's music Song by Song, we're obviously well-placed to say which ones are best... or maybe least-worst... perhaps just from our perspective... subjectively good in these two people's opinions... but then who are we to say? Anyway, in this penultimate episode, Sam and Martin have a little chat about The Old Favourites as the podcast enters the final straight. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include (deep breath): All The World Is Green, Blood Money, Tom ..read more

Having done the work, put in the hours and carefully considered all the options, Martin and Sam discuss exactly where they think a new listener to Waits's music might want to start, considering the various angles and perspectives one might have, as well as a little discussion of Tom's compilation albums. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Martha, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973) Lonely, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973) Closing Time, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973) Downtown Train, Ra ..read more

Our second set of music videos brings Philippa back to Martin and Sam for the last decade-and-change of Waits music videos. Sampling the work of Jesse Dylan, Matt Mahurin and various others, we consider what these videos mean in a post-YouTube world, as well as Waits's filmed promos in the 21st century. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Hold On, Tom Waits music video from Mule Variations, dir. Matt Mahurin (1999) Come On Up To The House, (unauthorised?) Tom Waits music video f ..read more

Our final season wouldn't be complete without a look at the emails sent in by you, dear listeners, covering some errors and omissions, new theories, questions about remasters and several lovely well-wishes as we head towards the end of the show.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: You Have Beautiful Eyes, Over The Garden Wall OST, The Blasting Company (2014/2016) Glitter & Doom tour performance from The Fox Theatre, Atlanta GA (5 July 2008) Cold River, Master of Disast ..read more

Continuing our season of specials on material outside the show’s main remit, Philippa Spanos returns to help Martin and Sam consider the creative and commercial aspects of Waits’s music videos. Starting with a long-overlooked animation experiment from the 70s, we chart how these films function in relation to the music, the commercial purpose of a video, as well as all the tiny tiny guitars. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Tom Waits For No-One / The One That Got Away, short f ..read more

Our final season wouldn't be complete without a look at the emails sent in by you, dear listeners, covering some errors and omissions, new theories, questions about remasters and several lovely well-wishes as we head towards the end of the show.  website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: You Have Beautiful Eyes, Over The Garden Wall OST, The Blasting Company (2014/2016) Glitter & Doom tour performance from The Fox Theatre, Atlanta GA (5 July 2008) Cold River, Master of Disast ..read more

We're delighted to bring you an extended interview with the man who literally wrote the book on Tom Waits, Barney Hoskyns. Bouncing through a selection of Waits's material from the 70s to the present day, we discuss what it's like to interview and write about artists, what changed (and stayed the same) in Waits's music, and how you should always take a suggestion from Nick Cave seriously. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Ol' 55, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973) Tom Traubert's B ..read more

Just imagine... at one point we thought this surprisingly epic True Orphans series might fit in two episodes, HA! Anyway, for this final episode Martin and Sam consider the Waits material from 2010 to the present day, including several contributions to tribute albums, a few live recordings, and his beautiful-yet-flawed farewell to David Letterman. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing, Preservation - An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall and The Prese ..read more

As we enter the new millennium, Waits pushes into new sonic territory with various collaborations, covers and spoken word pieces, including nostalgic re-inventions and some more full-blooded engagement with hip hop music. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Helium Reprise, Helium, Tin Hat Trio (2000) I’ll Tell You Why That Is, Beatin' the Heat, Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks / Tom Waits (2000) Mahfouz, Witness, Dave Douglas / Tom Waits (2001) Go Tell It On The Mountain, Go Tell It ..read more

Just a brief FYI that Song by Song is taking a (previously unannounced) seasonal break for two weeks. We'll be back on January 10th 2024 with the penultimate episode of our True Orphans series. Have a lovely Winterval everyone ..read more