Kirk answers questions about Guns 'n Roses, Mario Kart 64, phasers, and what makes a song sound like it's from a musical. DISCUSSED/REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: "Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns n’ Roses from Appetite for Destruction , 1987 "Results Theme" from Mario Kart 64 by Kenta Nagata A video kirk made in 2014 about the dynamic music of Mount Wario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8TBS75U1p8 “Dig” by Incubus from Light Grenades , 2006 “Waiting On A Miracle” feat Stephanie Beatriz, “What Else...
Mar 25, 2022•57 min•Season 4Ep. 6
It's not the perfume that you wear... it's not the ribbons in your hair.... I guess it's just the perfect blend of synths and electric guitars that you bring to every song. Yes, it's time for Strong Songs to tackle The Cars, and their 1978 pop-rock classic "Just What I Needed." But while that song encapsulates everything that made the brilliant Boston five-piece great, Kirk decided to use his Walkman to occasionally fast-forward to compare and contrast with a second Cars classic from 1984. Writt...
Mar 11, 2022•52 min•Season 4Ep. 5
You might not know Andrew Synowiec's name, but chances are you've heard his guitar playing. Heck, chances are you heard his guitar playing this week. Synowiec makes his living as an LA session guitarist, with a list of credits as long as the California coastline. Among those credits: you can hear him on the score for pretty much every recent Disney film ( Frozen , CoCo , Zootopia ), as well superhero flicks like Logan and Spider-Man: Far From Home , TV shows like The Simpsons and The Good Place ...
Feb 25, 2022•53 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Three different artists! Three different covers! Of songs by one beloved band! On the second edition of "Strong Covers," we're digging into covers of three Beatles classics: Earth, Wind & Fire's maximalist remake of "Gotta Get You Into My Life," Ray Charles' saucy reimagining of "Eleanor Rigby," and Bobby McFerrin's delicate recitation of "Blackbird." Come for the English-accented rhyme schemes, stay for the impeccable voice leading. Covered (lol) on this episode: "Gotta Get You Into My Life" by...
Feb 11, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 3
What do George Michael, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, and the Powerpuff Girls have in common? The answer, as you'll learn on this episode, is a funk drumming legend named Clyde Stubblefield. We'll also talk about flipped drum beats, Sting's taste for syncopation, the differences between cheap and expensive musical instruments, how to tell a bridge from a prechorus, the power of a four-note motif, the unexpected places you can find songwriting inspiration, and Muse's subtle hat-tip to a George Michael...
Jan 28, 2022•51 min•Season 4Ep. 2
White! Whale! Holy! Grail! Strong Songs kicks off year four by getting H-E-A-V-Y, with an analysis of Mastodon's "Blood and Thunder." Pass straight past the Mellow Meadows, through the Forests and the Foothills of Rock, and see if you can reach the summit of Hard Mountain. The view from up there is amazing. Written by: Mastodon Album: Leviathan , 2004 Listen/Buy on all platforms via Songwhip OUTRO SOLOIST: Kirk Hamilton Kirk is the host of Strong Songs, and he's been having a lot of fun with the...
Jan 14, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Kirk takes a look back at the many musical memories of Strong Songs Year Three. Year Three is over, and it's time to revisit the songs analyzed, the questions answered, and the interviewees interviewed. SCHEDULING NOTE: The show will be off for December, and will return for Year Four in January 2022. 2022! Feels weird to type that out. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "Space Oddity" by David Bowie from David Bowie , 1969 "Starman" by David Bowie from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From...
Nov 17, 2021•47 min•Season 3Ep. 26
What do Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, John Legend, and Katy Perry have in common? They all study with Eric Vetro, one of the most in-demand vocal coaches in the world. On this bonus episode, Kirk sits down with Vetro to talk about his fascinating job, how to build good habits for a strong voice, and the art and discipline (and diet!) of professional singing. CHECK OUT ERIC'S PODCAST! Eric has a fantastic new podcast called Backstage Pass with Eric Vetro , where he sits down with his superstar stu...
Nov 10, 2021•56 min•Season 3Ep. 25
What is this, a film podcast?? It's time for something a little different, as Kirk puts down his record player and climbs onstage for Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads' classic 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense . It's a tour through the first hour of the film, from "Heaven" to "Burning Down the House" to "Once in a Lifetime," with some quick stops along the way. Songs by: Talking Heads (David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison) Featuring: Steve Scales (Percussion), Lynn Mabr...
Nov 03, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 24
Polish your reading glasses and pour a cup of tea - it's time for a Strong Songs mailbag! On the last Q&A episode of year three, Kirk answers questions on Metroid meter, mystery Bond instruments, (more) Tuvan throat singing, how to count odd meters like The Terminator theme, actors who pretend to play instruments, and how to define a musical "work," even if the work in question is improvised. REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Wishing” by John Frusciante from The Will to Death , 2004 “ Super Metroid Theme” ...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 23
They said it couldn't last, so we had to prove them wrong... by making an episode of Strong Songs all about Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis. It's time to go back to the late 80s, when New Jack Swing was all the rage and a budding superstar named Janet sat down with a pair of Minneapolis producers named Jimmy and Terry to produce some of the most groundbreaking pop music of the decade. This episode takes a look at "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," one of the most complex of their coll...
Oct 06, 2021•56 min•Season 3Ep. 22
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 Earth, Wind...
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 The ...
Feb 24, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 4
