Song by Song

Things kick up a gear as Martin and Sam discuss the energetic outlier of Closing Time's second half. Discussion includes explicit lyrics, comic-book ice-cream sellers and the swing era of the Big Band...

22 Sep 201512min

Sparse and open orchestration, dissonant ringing and obscure meaning all feature in the discussion of what Sam considers the most interesting song of the album, with debate over vocal authenticity vs ...

21 Sep 201512min

Utterly unable to keep their minds out of the gutter, Martin and Sam get seriously stuck on one particular lyric, but push through to talk about Closing Time as an album, falsetto singing and courtly ...

20 Sep 201510min

Sam and Martin reach the iconic, eulogic apex of Closing Time, as Tom Waits makes a long-distance call to an old flame. Narrative structure and resolution, Sam's hatred of oboes and the Meatloaf readi...

19 Sep 201512min

Lulled by children's rhymes and traditional tunes, Martin and Sam start to talk about Waits's lyrical content (or lack thereof), as well as personality vs. persona, tenderness compared with romance an...

18 Sep 201512min

We finally get some real disagreement with this fourth track from Closing Time, Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards) - as the Dylan influence starts to show Sam rails against the pointlessness of the track...

17 Sep 20157min

Closing Time continues with Virginia Avenue, a wander through the late night streets of 1970s LA and through a song that both Martin and Sam seem to have forgotten about until today. Trumpet players, ...

16 Sep 201511min

Sam and Martin follow track one of Closing Time with the bold choice of track two, I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You, discussing counting elephants, authenticity of space and the brutality of ...

15 Sep 201513min