Kirk takes a tour through the cycling, modulating chord sequence in Belle & Sebastian's buoyant 2017 song "The Girl Doesn't Get It." Variation 1: | C | Dm7 | Bb | Gm F Variation 2: | C | D | Bm | Esus E Variation 3: | A | Bm | A/C# | Esus E FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "The Girl Doesn't Get It" by Belle & Sebastian from How To Solve Our Human Problems, Vol. 1, 2017 "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton performed by Whitney Houston on The Bodyguard soundtrack, 1992 ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONG...
Oct 20, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 7
There are so many electric guitars. Truly, there is a guitar for every mood, every season, and every feeling. But there are four types of electric guitar that are a bit more widely used than other ones. On this formely-bonus-now-main-feed episode, Kirk discusses those four guitars—the Fender Stratocaster, the Telecaster, the Gibson Les Paul, and the 335—and goes through some of the Strong Songs that have featured them. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Spanish Castle Magic" and "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix ...
Oct 06, 2023•35 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Composer John Williams is the defining sound of Hollywood and, arguably, the most widely listened to composer in the world. Kirk decided he needed some help tackling Williams' towering musical legacy, so he enlisted Australian author and musician Dan Golding as his tour guide through Williams' musical world, with a special focus on his groundbreaking score for 1980's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: Dan's book Star Wars After Lucas , his ABC radio show Screen Sound...
Sep 22, 2023•2 hr 26 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Kirk answers your questions on 60s pop counterpoint, Chaka Kahn syncopation, Taylor Swift's re-recording project, good practice habits, Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," and more. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "You've Got Your Troubles" by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cool, recorded by The Fortunes Contrapunctus 1 by J.S. Bach recorded by the Emerson String Quartet on Bach: The Art of Fugue , 2003 T.I.B.W.F. by The Budos Band, from The Budos Band , 2005 "Dying to Get To Europe" by Ketil Bjornstad from Seafarer...
Sep 08, 2023•55 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Kirk climbs inside the machine-gun rhythms and unstoppable grooves of the legendary Oakland funk outfit Tower of Power. Written by: Doc Kupka and Emilio Castillo Album: Tower of Power (1973) Listen/Buy via Songwhip ALSO DISCUSSED: "What is Hip?" "Squib Cakes" "Only So Much Oil in the Ground" "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)," "So Very Hard to Go," "Credit," all by Tower of Power "Saturday Night Live" theme by Howard Shore, feat. Lenny Pickett "Cold Sweat," "I Got the Feelin'," "M...
Aug 25, 2023•50 min•Season 5Ep. 3
It's not uncommon for a song to be written for one artist, only to become widely known after being recorded by another. It's less common for a song to have yet another rebirth decades later. That's just what happened with "Killing Me Softly with His Song." Originally inspired by Lori Lieberman's profound experience at a 1971 Don McLean concert, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox's song underwent two dramatic reinventions, first by soul titan Roberta Flack in 1973, and then by Lauryn Hill and her band...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 2
Kirk kicks off Strong Songs Season 5 with Tears For Fears' 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Rule The World." From classic synths and drum machines to surprisingly avante-garde guitar solos, this song's got a lot more going on than you might remember. Written by: Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes Produced by: Chris Hughes Album: Songs from the Big Chair (1985) Listen/Buy via Songwhip ALSO DISCUSSED: "Shout" and "Head Over Heels," both from Songs From the Big Chair , 1985 "No One Knows" by...
Jul 28, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Special guest Luigi Boccia takes Kirk on a magical journey through the world of the opera tenor, from Caruso and Lauri Volpi to Di Stefano and Pavarotti. Featuring performances by Luciano Pavarotti, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli, Giacomo Lauri Volpi, Jussi Björling, Sergei Lemeshev, and Jon Vickers. Find a Spotify playlist of Luigi's many Tenor examples here. ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal 🏠 HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com 👚 MERCH strongsongspodca...
Jul 14, 2023•4 hr 39 min
Kirk shares an update on plans for Season 5, which kicks off this week. ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal 🏠 HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com 👚 MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com 📷 SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com 💬 STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord 🎧 STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear 🎶 ...
Jul 13, 2023•6 min
John Farnham's "You're The Voice" was a worldwide hit, and nowhere was it more popular than in the Aussie singer's homeland. A couple weeks ago, Kirk went onstage with the hosts of the Chat 10 Looks 3 podcast , Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb, to talk about the song, the singer, and so much more. This episode is excerpted from Chat 10 Looks 3 episode 214 . It was recorded live at the Enmore Theater in Sydney, Australia on June 17, 2023. Performed by: John Farnham Written by: Chris Thompson, Maggie...
Jun 30, 2023•46 min
Author and musicologist Lily E. Hirsch joins Kirk to talk about the many different aspects of music she's explored in her books. REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: Lily Hirsch's many books, including A Jewish Orchestra in Nazi Germany: Musical Politics and the Berlin Jewish Culture League , Weird Al: Seriously , and Can't Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Gilbert Kaplan w/ th Vienna Philharmonic Oliver Sacks' bo...
May 26, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Kirk sits down with musician and podcaster Emily Reese to talk about the beauty of Bach's "Goldberg Variations," the distinct sound of Davis/Evans/Mulligan's "Birth of the Cool," the joys of the Knight Rider theme, and her podcast Level with Emily Reese , which focuses on the wide world of video game music. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: Emily's music podcast Level with Emily : https://www.levelwithemily.com "Singin' the Blues" feat. Frankie Trumbauer on C Melody Sax "Move," by Miles Davis and "Jeru," "Roc...
Feb 17, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Happy holidays! Here's a Patreon minisode Kirk published last summer about Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." See you in 2023! ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES, 6/24/2022: The whole world is talking about Kate Bush's masterful 1985 song "Running Up That Hill," so Kirk figured he might as well talk about it, too. On this bonus Patreon episode, he takes a crack at re-creating the song's iconic sound and digs into some of the digital recording technology that Bush used to make it sound so distinct. FEATURED/DI...
Dec 30, 2022•21 min
Look, sometimes a TV soundtrack is so good that you have no choice but to make a whole podcast episode about it. And so here we are, as Kirk takes a deep dive into Nicholas Britell's ever-evolving musical score for the new Disney+ show Star Wars: Andor . Listen to Britell's Andor Score (via Songwhip): Volume One | Volume Two | Volume Three REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: Tracks from Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back , composed by John Williams Tracks from Solo: A Star Wars Story , St...
Dec 16, 2022•57 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Kirk takes a look back some of his many musical memories from Strong Songs, Year Four. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon from Leviathan, 2004 "Gotta Get You Into My Life" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney, as covered by Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978 "Eleanor Rigby" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney, as covered by Cody Fry in 2021 and Zoot in 1970 "Second Story" by Andrew Synowiec from Second Story, 2020 Andrew Synowiec on Instagram "Just What I Needed" by Ric Ocasek and The Cars...
Nov 18, 2022•49 min•Season 4Ep. 20
For the 100th episode of Strong Songs, Kirk takes a deep dive into one of the most famous concept albums ever recorded. Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" is an instantly recognizable, widely discussed album, played and replayed to the point that it's easy to forget that it was made by a handful of young people with some instruments and a mixing desk. So buckle in for a whirlwind tour of the entire record, with pauses along the way to highlight some of the sounds, styles, and techniques th...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 19
It's time for a Strong Songs road trip, as Kirk unravels one of "Weird Al" Yankovic's most understated, grandiose songs. So come along, for a journey through long-form story songs, sea shanty refrains, synth feelings, and an unexpectedly grand finale. We'll stay until the security guards throw us out. Album: UHF: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff, 1989 Listen/Buy via Songwhip Also Featured/Discussed: "Spam," "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies," "Hot Rocks Polka," "Attack of ...
Oct 21, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 18
It's time to answer more of your musical questions, with topics including singing drummers, Elvis Costello harmonies, how to find a music teacher, unusual odd-meter counting, similar-sounding songs, and Anchorman's jazz flute scene. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance” by Anderson .Paak from Malibu , 2016 “You & I” by Jamison Ross from Jamo , 2022 "Take The TIme" by Josh Dion Band from Live! , 2006 "Sunshine, I Can Fly" by Roul Midón live in NYC, 2013 “Seventeen” by Lake Street Dive ...
Oct 07, 2022•59 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Drummers like Clyde Stubblefield, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Bernard Purdie defined the sound of the bands they played with not because of their flashy chops, but because they knew how to lock down a groove. On this episode, Kirk goes deep into one groove apiece by each of those drummers - Stubblefield on James Brown's "Cold Sweat," Modeliste on The Meters' "Cissy Strut," and Purdie on Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" - with help from special guest drummer Russ Kleiner. FEATURED/DISCUSSED Cold Sweat ...
Sep 23, 2022•59 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them "means." There's only what they mean to you, right then, in the moment, as you listen to them. That's certainly true of "Jesus, Etc." one of many standout tracks off of Wilco's groundbreaking 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot . On this episode, Kirk exp...
Sep 09, 2022•54 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Kirk answers a crop of new listener questions on topics ranging from Steve Perry's vocal technique, Art Garfunkel's guitarmonies, the Carolina Crown's viral brass section warmup, Ram Jam's chaotic riffs, and how to explain complex music theory concepts to non-musicians. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Elbow Grease” by Scott Pemberton from Timber Rock , 2015 “A Song for You” by Leon Russell from Leon Russell , 1970 "Scissors Cut" by Art Garfunkel from Scissors Cut , 1981 “ Carolina Crown’s Hornline Drops th...
Aug 26, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 14
There are few singer-songwriters as inimitable as Joni Mitchell, with her swirling song forms, leaping melodies, and that magical voice, untethered by the laws of gravity. On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into Joni's 1974 song "Help Me," a hummingbird of a tune hovering between commitment and flight, tumbling and falling past love and toward freedom. Written by: Joni MItchell Album: Court and Spark , 1974 Listen/Buy via JoniMitchell.com Also featured: “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell fr...
Aug 12, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 13
After more than two years, a Strong Songs jazz mystery is finally solved. Thanks to listener (and outro soloist) Jeff Bean, who finally cracked the case of the mysterious lick played by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and may others. I can finally sleep at night. FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE: "Moanin" by Bobby Timmons recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers for Moanin' , 1958 "Jordu" by Duke Jordon recorded by the Clifford Brown quintet, 1954 "Seranade to a Cukoo" by the Rahsaan Roland Kirk quart...
Jul 29, 2022•13 min
Back in July 2020, Kirk made a special episode of his video games podcast Triple Click all about the music of Final Fantasy VII. It was basically an episode of Strong Songs, it just ran in a different podcast feed. Now it's July 2022, and with Strong Songs on break for the month, it seemed like a good time to run that episode in the Strong Songs feed. So, here it is! Original Show Notes: July 16, 2020 It’s time for a new segment called “Hey, Listen!”, where Kirk takes listeners deep inside the m...
Jul 15, 2022•41 min
Tori Amos was one of the most distinctive songwriters of the 90s, and remains a powerful musical voice decades later. "Silent All These Years," one of many strong singles off of her 1992 solo debut, is a perfect encapsulation of so many of the things that make her music special. On this episode, Kirk takes a close look at this delicate, tenuously balanced song, from its floating opening piano line, to its expansive, time-warping bridge, to its hopeful conclusion. It's our turn now to stand where...
Jun 17, 2022•52 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Tango is more than just dance, and more than just music - it's a whole artistic genre. For some people, it's a way of life. One such person is Alex Krebs, a Portland-based tango instructor, Bandoneon player, and bandleader who has dedicated the past couple decades to spreading a love of tango around the world. On this episode, Alex and pianist Andrew Oliver take Kirk (and all of you) on a journey into the wide, enchanting world of tango. FEATURED/DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE: Alex's Portland Tango ...
Jun 03, 2022•58 min•Season 4Ep. 11
There's nothing like a good instrumental solo—that moment when a lone player stands in the spotlight and takes the helm, leading the band in an uncharted direction. On the first edition of Strong Solos, Kirk takes apart a few of his favorite solos, which a special focus on players who use motivic development, also known as theme and variations. SOLOS FEATURED: Eric Shenkman on "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors from Pocket Full of Kryptonite , 1991 Sonny Rollins on "St. Thomas" from Saxophone Colossu...
May 20, 2022•54 min•Season 4Ep. 10
I hear you singin' in the wire... I can hear you through the whine... and the Strong Songs podcast is talking about one of the best songs of all time. On this episode, Kirk takes on Jimmy Webb & Glen Campbell's ethereal workin' song "Wichita Lineman," an ode to the profound poetry within all of us. It's a song without a chorus or a bridge that still feels complete, thanks largely to the way it subtly climbs from the street, to the wire, and up into the heavens. Written by: Jimmy Webb Produced by...
May 06, 2022•53 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Ever wonder what makes some music sound scarier than other music? Same. Kirk answers listener questions about music in horror movies, Tune-Yards horn arrangements, funky drum sounds in Biggie and Paul Simon tunes, randomly generated music, and why musicians are their own worst critics. He also revisits the intro to Guns 'n Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle," and shares some listener emails about being a left-handed musician. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ’n Roses from Appetite ...
Apr 22, 2022•56 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Few video game series have a musical tradition as rich as The Legend of Zelda . From Zelda's Lullabye to Epona's Song to the Great Fairy Fountain and Dragon Roost Island, Kirk unravels some of his favorite Zelda music and explores how Nintendo's composers keep weaving them back together into beautiful new patterns. Written by: Main themes by Koji Kondo, with additional compositions by Kenta Nagata (Wind Waker), Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai (Breath of the Wild) Featuring music ...
Apr 08, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 7
