Ba de ya! Say that you remember! Ba de ya! Dancing in September! Ba de yah! Musical analysiiiis! It's finally time for Strong Songs to take on one of the strongest bands of all, the great Earth, Wind & Fire. In honor of September 21, Kirk does a deep dive on EWF's timeless tribute to the end of summertime - those layered grooves, those funky bass parts, and those glossy, effortless vocals. Written by: Maurice White, Al McKay & Alee Willis Produced by: Maurice White Album: The Best of Ear...
Sep 21, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Well, look at that - it's a mailbag episode! Kirk answers your questions on Bo Diddley, Minecraft, The Supremes, chorus guitar, XTC, Parquet Courts, and the mystery of the "Careless Whisper" sax solo. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Wake Up” by XTC from The Big Express , 1984 “Waterfall” and “Don’t Stop” by The Stone Roses from The Stone Roses , 1989 “The Mind Electric” by Miracle Musical from Hawaii: Part II , 201 “Minecraft” by C418, 2009 The Minecraft episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz: https://www.20k....
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Kirk picks apart not one, not two, but twenty one micro-songs by the great They Might Be Giants. What's that blue thing doing here? Who's knocking on the wall? And for that matter, who's that standing out the window? It's time to answer those questions and many more, as Kirk delves into The Might Be Giants' singular collection of mini-songs, "Fingertips." It's a stylistic smorgasbord of sound, with everything from jazz to rock to lounge to... honestly, genre doesn't exist and "Fingertips" proves...
Aug 25, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 19
A bottle of red... a bottle of white... whatever kind of mood you're in, we're talking Billy Joel tonight! Pull up a table and join Kirk for a long look into one of Joel's most enduring songs, the seven-and-a-half minute, five course musical meal that is "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." The centerpiece on Joel's breakthrough 1977 album The Stranger, Italian Restaurant has got it all: schmaltzy sax, hard rock rhythms, love, heartbreak, and a pair of harmonized clarinets. Written by: Billy Joe...
Aug 11, 2021•56 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Kirk sits down with producer, composer, and master mixer Brian Bender to talk about the state of the recording art. Brian Bender has been making records since the early 2000s, from slinging cable at legendary NY spots like Electric Lady and the Hit Factory to running his own studio, The Motherbrain, in Los Angeles. He’s worked with countless artists and worked on dozens of films and TV shows. He’s also the guy who taught Kirk how to play Street Fighter back in grade school. On this episode, Kirk...
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 17
On this episode, Kirk sits down for a conversation with composer, singer, and music technologist Imogen Heap. The two talk about the creative process, live performance in the pandemic age, the shifting relationship between artist and audience, the process of developing new music technology, several of Heap's ambitious musical projects, and of course, her song "Hide and Seek," which was the subject of an episode of Strong Songs earlier this year. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: Imogen Heap's App, home of t...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 16
It's time for Strong Songs to talk about some Strong Covers! On this episode, Kirk tackles four famous covers, comparing each with the original while trying to suss out what makes a great cover in the first place. COVERED (HEYO): "Respect" by Otis Redding, as covered by Aretha Franklin in 1967 "Satisfaction" by Jagger/Richards, as covered by Devo on Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! , 1978 "Mad World" by Roland Orzabal/Tears for Fears, as covered by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for Donnie Dar...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Mailbag time! We've got listener questions about Madonna earworms, National piano parts, Breath of the Wild music, online vocal teachers, the French horn, The Lemon Twigs, and much more. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Mira, Royal Detective Theme” by Matthew Tishler and Jeannie Luriem 2020 “Open Your Heart” by Madonna from True Blue, 1986 “Fake Empire” by The National from Boxer, 2007 “Wind Waker Theme” by Koji Kondo from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, 2002 “The Legend of Zelda Theme” by Koji Kondo fro...
Jun 16, 2021•56 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Winter, spring, summer, or fall... all you have to do is call, and Strong Songs will be there with an in-depth analysis of one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century. This episode takes a deep dive into Carole King's ever enduring, much-covered tribute to friendship, "You've Got a Friend." What starts in Laurel Canyon in the early 70s spread outward to the world, thanks to King's revolutionary 1971 album Tapestry. 50 years later, those songs are still with us, and "You've Got a ...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 13
Link it to the world, link it to yourself, link it to your podcast app, because it's time to talk about Muse. Kirk takes a deep dive into not one but two songs off of Muse's seminal 2001 album Origin of Symmetry: "New Born," which kicks the album off with a strong pop-rock approach, and "Micro Cuts," a mid-album high point that shows off their more eclectic influences. It's time for some contrapuntal harmony mixed with some good old fashioned blues riffs, and a lot of guitar fuzz on top. Written...
May 19, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 12
The fine folks at WNYC's fabulous opera podcast Aria Code recently reached out about doing a cross-promotion with Strong Songs, and now here we are, running an episode of their show in the Strong Songs feed. If you enjoy it, you should definitely go check out the show - Aria Code is very easy to find on all major podcast platforms. ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES (via Aria Code) Aired: March 10, 2021 Sometimes, the only thing that gets us through the darkest moments is knowing that the sun will rise again o...
May 14, 2021•34 min
The Strong Songs mailbag has gotten pretty overstuffed lately, so Kirk decided to take another crack at it. That means it's time for more of your musical questions! On this episode, we bounce around between the best songs for performing CPR, country music multiphonics, Noname's strung beats, the slide saxophone, Stevie Nicks guitar tones, Roxanne syncopation, how to find a voice teacher, whether competition is good for music, and what it means when people say jazz is about "the notes you don't p...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 11
If an emotion is too big for talking, you sing. If it's too big for singing, you dance. And if it's too big for dancing, well, you just gotta podcast! Author, podcaster, and video essayist Lindsay Ellis knows a thing or two about outsized Broadway emotions—in addition to her many other pursuits, she's created a whole side endeavor talking about them on her musical theater podcast, Musicalsplaining . Ellis guested on last year's Strong Songs episode about Hadestown, and it seemed only natural to ...
Apr 30, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Mailbag time! Kirk peruses the Strong Songs inbox to answer your questions about jazz drum solos, practicing with play-a-longs, Tame Impala tunes, saxophones with traffic cones, vocal technique, sidechain compression, and several tricky rhythms. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Tubes” by Moon Hooch from their NPR Tiny Desk live concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwBhxBBa7tE “Strangers” by The Kinks from Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround , Pt. 1, 1970 “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield from Tubula...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 9
Jazz is all about the contrast between the individual and the collective, and few recordings embody that as beautifully as "Stolen Moments," the opening track from Oliver Nelson's 1961 hard-bop record The Blues and the Abstract Truth . On this episode, Kirk dives deep into Nelson's classic tune, starting with his dense horn arrangement, then considering the three improvised horn solos as distinct creations that reflect the at-times wildly different ambitions of each individual player. Also, ther...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 8
Open up your heart! Open up your heart! Open up your heart, let Kimbra pull you out! On this episode, Kirk goes for a swim in the extra-buoyant waters of Kimbra's 2011 pop stomper "Cameo Lover." It's an intricate musical narrative told through shifting time-feels, retro drum beats, leaping vocals, and sneaky key changes, and it's just the song to raise our spirits after a long, dark winter. Written by: Kimbra Johnson Album : Vows (2011) Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Someb...
Mar 24, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 7
What's this? An off-week episode of Strong Songs?? Indeed it is! For this episode of Strong Conversations (working title), Kirk hopped on a call with New York pianist Carmen Staaf to talk about the fundamental elements of music, learning to sing as an instrumentalist, teaching jazz and ear training, her collaborations with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and drummer Allison Miller, and the similarities between jazz and chess. Learn more about Carmen at her website: https://www.carmenstaaf.com/ Chec...
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Heathcliff! It's us, it's Strong Songs, we've come home! The time has come for a deep dive into the music of the great Kate Bush, and what better song to analyze than her breakthrough 1978 hit, "Wuthering Heights." This song has it all - odd phrasing, shifting key centers, soaring vocals, character narration, an epic guitar solo, a red dress, and a celesta. Written by: Kate Bush Album: The Kick Inside (1978) Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “James and the Cold Gun” and “The M...
Mar 10, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Time for the first Q&A episode of Strong Songs year three! On this episode, Kirk digs into the mailbag for your questions on Jack White's guitar tone, Shabaka Hutchings' sax sound, 70s kitsch jazz, concept albums, drummers learning mallet instruments, Celtic sounds, "saving" jazz, and SOPHIE. Also, a listener shares a song that came to him in a dream. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson from Big Science , 1982 “Let Down” by Radiohead from OK Computer , 1997 “Icky Thump” by ...
Feb 24, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Here comes that Santa Ana wind again, blowing us right into the slightly skewed world of Steely Dan. It was never a question whether Strong Songs would do a Steely Dan episode, it was more a question of which song to focus on. In the end, Kirk chose "Babylon Sisters," a culmination of the band's incredible 1970s run that exemplifies Fagen and Becker's brand of pristine, laser-focused groove. It's also arguably the definitive recording of Bernard Purdie's signature Purdie Shuffle. Written by: Wal...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 3
Where are we? What the hell is going on? Oh right, we're here with our podcast device, listening to an episode of Strong Songs. On this episode, Kirk dives into Imogen Heap's one-woman choral masterwork "Hide and Seek," taking a closer look at the technologies and processes Heap used to get that bewitching sound, her striking use of breath and dynamic contrast, and the many subtle ways she took the oh-so familiar "four chords" and made them sound unique. Written by: Imogen Heap Album: Speak for ...
Jan 27, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Let the children lose it, let the children use it, and let all the children join in for Strong Songs year three! Kirk kicks off the new year with a pair of classics by the great David Bowie: 1969's melancholy "Space Oddity" and 1972's triumphant "Starman." What goes up, as they say, must come down. Written by: David Bowie Albums: David Bowie (1969), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) Listen/Buy Bowie via Album.Link Listen/Buy Ziggy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED...
Jan 13, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 1
As Year Two of Strong Songs draws to a close, it's time to take a look back. SCHEDULING NOTE: Strong Songs will be off for the month of December, and will be back for Year Three at the start of January, 2021. But before that! Let's go back, back, back in time one hundred years, to the start of 2020. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin from Led Zeppelin IV , 1971 "Lovefool" by The Cardigans from First Band on the Moon , 1996 "Tom Sawyer" by Rush from Moving Pictures , 1981 ...
Nov 25, 2020•58 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Wake up, fall out of bed, and drag a comb across your head, cause Strong Songs is finally doing an episode about The Beatles. It's time for Kirk to tackle the fab four, and what better Beatles song to analyze than Lennon and McCartney's two-tune casserole of a closer, "A Day in the Life." Get ready for some lilting Lennon dreamscapes, some meticulous McCartney melodies, a really big glissando, and an even bigger E chord. Written by: John Lennon and Paul McCartney Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hear...
Nov 11, 2020•58 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Mailbag episode! Kirk answers your burning musical questions about songs from Parks & Rec , Black Sails , Lovecraft Country , and What We Do in the Shadows , as well as microtones, minimalist songwriting, the bebop scale, practicing habits, and more. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Parks & Recreation” by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jones, 2009 “Black Sails” by Bear McCreary, 2014 “You’re Dead” by Norma Tanega from Walking My Cat Named Dog , 1966 “Lonely World” by Moses Sumney from Aromanticism , 2017...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 24
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 with guns, monstrous moguls, and l...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 23
It's early in the morning; no one is awake. From the top of the mountain, the soft light of dawn comes into view. You take a deep breath, and prepare for a journey with the great genius of musical travel. On this episode, Kirk dives into Björk's 1995 electro-pop masterpiece "Hyperballad," paying special attention to how carefully she weaves together music and lyrics to create a sense of space, and thus a feeling of travel. Written and produced by: Björk Co-produced by: Nellee Hooper Album: Post ...
Sep 30, 2020•48 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Mailbag episode! Kirk tackles your questions on subjects ranging from a Warren Zevon piano part, to the unfortunate prevalence of bad acoustics at live shows, to why Moana is such a good movie. It's been a rough week; thanks everyone who wrote in. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Flaming” by Pink Floyd from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn , 1967 “Golden Brown” by the Stranglers, 1981 “Woke Up Today” and “In My Room” by Jacob Collier from In My Room , 2016 “Reckless” by Nate Wood/Four from X.it , 2019 “Stra...
Sep 16, 2020•54 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Thunder only happens when it's raining, and Strong Songs only crams two songs into an episode when it's super warranted. This episode warrants just such a pairing, with a focus on two tunes by the great Fleetwood Mac. First there's the collaboratively written group-sing stomper "The Chain," and then comes Stevie Nicks' heartbeat anthem "Dreams." Both were featured on the band's classic 1977 album Rumors , and both have more than stood the test of time. "The Chain" was written by Lindsey Buckingh...
Sep 02, 2020•58 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Who's gonna lay the wedding table? Who's gonna make the wedding bed? And what about the rings? Funny you should ask. On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into "Wedding Song," one of the signature numbers from Anaïs Mitchell's 2019 musical Hadestown . It's time for some conversational song form, a bunch of key changes, a touch of Jeff Buckley falsetto, and just a biiiiiit of trombone. Turn off your snares, and let's do this. Written by: Anaïs Mitchell, w/ arranging by Michael Chorney Directed ...
Aug 19, 2020•59 min•Season 2Ep. 19
