Kirk returns to Kind of Blue, taking a closer look at two more tunes off of the 1959 jazz classic. First, he digs into the modified 12-bar blues "Freddie Freeloader," with a focus on Wynton Kelly's much-emulated opening piano solo. He then compares and contrasts how John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley approached the closing track, "Flamenco Sketches" on tenor and alto sax, respectively. Music by: Miles Davis and Bill Evans The Musicians: Miles Davis, Trumpet Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Alto ...
May 15, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 5
Kirk surfs an avalanche straight into Thrash Valley, where he delves into the depths of Megadeth's 1990 opus "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due." It's an unstoppable rockslide of layered riffs, tempo shifts, power chords, and... power thirds? Written by: Dave Mustaine Album: Rust in Peace , 1990 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "Tornado of Souls" by Mustaine/Ellefson from Rust in Peace, 1990 “The Four Horsemen” by Metallica (Hetfield, Ulrich, and Mustaine) from Kill ‘Em All , 1...
Apr 17, 2026•59 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Kirk returns to the world of Joni Mitchell for a look at the many sides of her masterpiece "Both Sides, Now." From her initial 1960s live performances, to her 1969 studio recording, to the Grammy-winning orchestral rendition she released in 2000, each version of "Both Sides, Now" shows us a different side of Joni, and of ourselves. Written by: Joni Mitchell Album: Clouds , 1969 | Both Sides Now , 2000 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: 2022 Strong Songs episode on "Help Me" fro...
Mar 20, 2026•58 min•Season 8Ep. 3
Kirk heaps on a second helping of TWO previous Strong Songs artists: Queen and David Bowie, whose 1981 collaboration "Under Pressure" topped the charts while showing how a mid-song transformation is done. Written by: David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor Album: Hot Space , 1982 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: Previous Strong Songs episodes on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and "Starman" “Killer Queen” by Queen from S...
Feb 20, 2026•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Kirk kicks off Strong Songs Season Eight with a second helping of Toto, whose song "Africa" got the very first episode of Strong Songs he ever made. This time around he's focusing on 1982's "Rosanna," a song that shows just what Toto could do when every member of the band gave it their all. Written by: David Paich Album: Toto IV , 1982 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: Guess That Record Interview with David Paich Toto Live at the Montreaux Jazz Festival , 1991 Music Radar inte...
Jan 16, 2026•1 hr•Season 8Ep. 1
Strong Songs Season Eight will kick off on Friday, January 16! If you want to listen a week early, get monthly "Inside the Episode" bonuses, and support the creation of Strong Songs, go sign up for the Patreon . We're running a sale for the whole month of January - use the code STRONG8 when signing up, and your first month will be just $1. See you in a couple weeks for the season premiere! -------------------- 💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺 July 11, 2026 | Portland, OR Buy Tickets Here ----LINKS----- 💰...
Jan 02, 2026•5 min
Kirk sits down with jazz piano legend Peter Martin to talk about Peter's musical background, his momentous early encounters with Wynton Marsalis and Kenny Kirkland, the jazz scene of the 1990s, how the Suzuki method works, and why jazz students today should be less shy about talking to their heroes. Check out Peter's online jazz education program Open Studio , as well as You'll Hear It , the music podcast he co-hosts with Adam Maness. DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: “Variations Sur ‘Le Carnaval de Venise”...
Nov 28, 2025•1 hr 26 min
Writer, composer, and Peabody Award-winning podcaster Jad Abumrad joins Kirk to talk about Fela Kuti: Fear No Man , his new 12-part series on the life, music, and legacy of Afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti. DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: “Miryea’s Death” by Jack Nitzche from Revenge , 1990 “Prologue” by Alexandre Desplat from Birth , 2004 Excerpt from Port(al), music by Paola Prestini and Jad Abumrad, performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus “It’s Highlife Time” and “Amaechi’s Blues” by Fela Kuti and his Koola...
Nov 14, 2025•1 hr 57 min
This episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz originally ran in August 2025. Kirk's 2020 episode of Strong Songs about the music of Super Mario TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ SHOW NOTES: This episode was written & produced by Casey Emmerling . From the springy jump sound to the iconic Overworld Theme, the sound of Super Mario Bros. is instantly recognizable. With just five lo-fi audio channels and 40 kilobytes of space, composer Koji Kondo created a soundscape full of unforgettable melodies. In this episode,...
Oct 31, 2025•33 min
It's fun to talk about TV theme songs, so that's what Kirk and special guest Leigh Sales did. Does this episode need any more introduction than that? Probably not. Check out Leigh's wonderful podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 A YouTube Playlist of many of the themes discussed (and some they didn't get to) DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: The Office Theme - “Handbags and Gladrags” - 1967 by Mike D’Abo, perf. Big George Webley - US theme 2005 by Jay Ferguson Parks & Recreation - 2009, by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jo...
Oct 17, 2025•1 hr 18 min
Originally Aired October 20, 2020 The Wildlings are south of the wall, the robots are rising up, Seventh Kavalry's on the move, and two percent of the world's population has vanished. Time for another edition of Strong TV Songs! This time around the focus is on HBO, a network that has defined much of the broader TV landscape over the past couple of decades. So let's dig into a bunch of great music from a bunch of good shows, with themes for Dothraki raiders, Alethiometers, robot farmgirls, nuns ...
Oct 03, 2025•1 hr 9 min
With so many dozens of albums over so many wildly disparate eras, it can take a lifetime to truly get your arms around Bob Dylan. On this episode, Kirk is joined by two guests who have spent their lifetimes doing exactly that. Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell, in addition to co-hosting the terrific political history podcast Know Your Enemy , are both lifelong Dylan fans. This spring, they came on the show to give listeners a tour of Dylan's many eras, and to give newcomers a place, or places, they...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 54 min
The Wailin' Jennys have been singing together for more than two decades - recording albums, touring the world, and filling venues large and small. After all these years, the trio—Ruth Moody, Heather Masse, and Nicky Mehta—have reached both a plateau and an inflection point. What's it like for a musical group that's been together for that long; for singers who've found such perfect vocal harmony for one another? How do they each think of songwriting, and of creative work in general? On their rece...
Sep 05, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Back in May, Kirk joined pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin of the You'll Hear It podcast to talk about what makes Tower of Power great. It was a very fun conversation, so he asked if he could run their episode in the Strong Songs feed. And here we are! Listen to You'll Hear It anywhere you find podcasts, and find both Adam and Peter (and many others) teaching jazz lessons at OpenStudio.com . ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES May 19, 2025 We hand the mic to Kirk Hamilton from the Strong Songs podcast to he...
Aug 22, 2025•1 hr 13 min
THE APOCALYPSE WERE: Tony Capuano - Guitar, Lead Vocals John Shorb - Alto Sax Gene Meros - Tenor Sax Greg Novik - Bass, Backing Vocals (guitar on Stormy Monday) Oggie Hamilton - Drums, Backing Vocals Featuring The Apocalypse playing: “Good Good Lovin’” and “Try Me” by James Brown “Hi-Heel Sneakers" by Tommy Tucker “The Shadow of Your Smile” by Mandel & Webster "I Don't Want To Cry" by Dixon/Jackson “Sack of Woe” by Cannonball Adderley “Think” by Lowman Pauling "The Midnight Hour" by Steve Cr...
Aug 08, 2025•40 min
For the Season Seven finale, Kirk takes a look at Bill Withers' enduring hit "Lean On Me." In the process, he takes a broader look at a bunch of Withers' other most famous songs to better understand how this plainspoken, seemingly ordinary guy managed to write so many extraordinary songs. Written by: Bill Withers Album: Still Bill , 1972 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers from Just As I Am, 1971 “Lonely Town, Lonely Stre...
Jul 11, 2025•59 min•Season 7Ep. 10
Kirk answers a bunch of listener questions on topics like bluegrass guitar, the music of Blue Prince, good apps for training theory skills, Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics," a mysterious sound on a Gene Clark song, different types of music notation, and the legacy of the blues. All that, and a trio of terrific singer/songwriters stops by the studio to help answer a question about lyrics. Come see Triple Click Live! Friday, July 11 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. Tickets Here Kirk has...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 9
In 1981, Sting brought a demo of a song he'd been working on down to AIR Studios in Montserrat to see what his bandmates thought of it... and they wound up keeping the demo and just recording their parts on top. The result was "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," an unusual Police song, but an enduring hit. On this episode, Kirk goes deep on every aspect of Sting's exuberant yet frustrated love song, unearthing the magic that lives in each piece of the music. This episode's subject was chosen...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 8
The jazz standard "All The Things You Are" has been performed countless times by master jazz vocalists, 30s big bands, bebop small groups, hard-bop combos, modern deconstructionists, and even soon-to-be Kings of Pop. On this episode, Kirk takes listeners through the history of the now-famous tune, from its humble Broadway origins all the way to his recording studio in Portland, where he and some friends recorded an all-new arrangement just for Strong Songs. Music/Lyrics: Jerome Kern & Oscar ...
May 30, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 7
Turn around... every now and then I get a little lonely and the snare is sounding small Turn around... every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of sleigh bells Turn around... every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the cannons will not fire Turn around... ...every now and then Kirk decides to take on a classic 80s power ballad, and winds up learning a thing or two about when to use castanets and how to pull off an elegant key change. (Are you still singing...
May 16, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 6
How should you count The Police's "Bed's Too Big Without You?" Why do so many people revere Marty Friedman's solo on Megadeth's "Tornado of Souls"? What's going on with those pauses during the Bluey theme? And what the heck is that sound on Sly and the Family Stone's "Sex Machine"? Those questions and many more on the first mailbag episode of Season Seven. Thanks to Nevada Jones (voice) and Scott Pemberton (guitar) for their expert contributions! REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "Bed's Too Big Without You"...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Kirk pays a visit the musical world of The Muppets, from their Sesame Street origins in the 60s to the globe-hopping, cinematic heights of the 70s and 80s, with plenty of detours along the way. FEATURING: "Sesame Street Theme" by Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, and Bruce Hart "Mah Na Mah Na" by Piero Umilliani from Sweden: Heaven and Hell "Pinball Number Count" by Walt Kraemer and Ed Bogas, feat. The Pointer Sisters "Rainbow Connection" by Paul Williams (Lyrics) and William Ascher (Music), sung by Jim He...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Kirk digs into one of the most dense and challenging records in his collection, with an analysis of "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" from The Mars Volta's 2003 progressive rock opus De-Loused in the Comatorium . Written by: Omar Rodríguez-López, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Jeremy Ward Produced by: Omar Rodríguez-López & Rick Rubin Album: De-Loused in the Comatorium , 2003 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: Excerpts from Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird (2023, dir. Nico...
Apr 04, 2025•59 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Kirk digs into Fiona Apple's breakneck 1999 single "Fast As You Can," a cornerstone in her late 90s collaborations with Jon Brion, as well as her work with drummer Matt Chamberlain. Written by: Fiona Apple Produced by: Jon Brion Album: When The Pawn..., 1999 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: Jon Brion in Performing Songwriter Magazine , 2000 "Criminal" by Fiona Apple from Tidal, 1996 "Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song) by Fiona Apple from Extraordinary Machine, 2005 "Monday" by...
Mar 21, 2025•53 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Strong Songs Season Seven kicks off with two of the most famous songs ever recorded, from one of the biggest bands in the world. U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "With or Without You" make up two-thirds of the three-song "suite" of hit singles that kicked off their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. As it turns out, the two songs have a lot to say to one another! They also have a lot to say about how U2 wrote music, and about the beautiful, messy human process of collaborative creativity. Writ...
Mar 07, 2025•59 min•Season 7Ep. 1
In between seasons, Kirk re-ran a bunch of old episodes and prefaced each one with a new music recommendation. He's taking those down recasts in preparation for season seven, but it seemed like a good idea to put all the music recommendations in one place. So that's what this episode is! DISCUSSED AND RECOMMENDED: "The Meadow" by Nickel Creek from Celebrants , 2023 "Chip Monkey" by Kick the Cat from Weirdo , 2002 "Fade to Black" by Howard Levy and Chris Siebold from Art + Adrenaline , 2018 "Disc...
Jan 31, 2025•36 min
In light of Janis Stockhouse's unexpected death at the tail end of 2024, we're re-posting Kirk's 2019 interview with her for anyone who might want to listen to it. Janis started teaching at North high school in Bloomington, Indiana, in the early 1980s. It was a time when "jazz education" as a concept was still a relatively new thing. She retired 38 years later, having grown the North band program into a well-known Midwest institution, winning countless awards at festivals around the world and re...
Jan 03, 2025•57 min
Kirk talks with Wesley Morris and Josh Gwynn about the endless world of Stevie Wonder. Morris and Gwynn are host and producer, respectively, of the brilliant new six-part podcast series The Wonder of Stevie . Check out Josh Gwynn's terrific pop culture podcast Back Issue , Wesley Morris's culture podcast Still Processing , and Morris' essential writing on Aretha Franklin , Jam & Lewis , Meshell Ndegeocello , and his mustache , as well as his 2019 essay about Black American Music . REFERENCED...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 19 min
A cross-post of the first episode of "The Wonder of Stevie," a new six-part podcast series from Higher Ground and Pineapple Street Studios. It's a great show - find it on Apple , Amazon , Spotify ... it's a podcast, you know the deal. Next week, we'll run a conversation between Kirk, host Wesley Morris, and producer Josh Gwynn all about what they learned making the show, and how they've come to think about Stevie and his music. In the meantime, check out some of Wesley Morris's writing on Aretha...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Back in August, Kirk went on Dave Hamilton's music podcast "Gig Gab" to talk about music, Strong Songs, podcasting, and life. It was a fun conversation, and seemed worth republishing here. You can find the full show notes here , watch a video version here , and can check out Gig Gab at giggabpodcast.com or anywhere you get podcasts. -------------------- 💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺 July 11, 2026 | Portland, OR Buy Tickets Here ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOME...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 9 min
