Song by Song

A final set of bonus tracks brings us to the end of season 22, with Christa, Martin and Sam enjoying a demo-style blues number, an extended bit of acapella storytelling, and Waits's duet with a childr...

15 Mar 202334min

Musician and writer Christa Couture joins Martin and Sam for the final few Orphans, including a Book of Knots collaboration, the tale of an unpaid grocery bill, and a bit of ol' Blue Eyes. Our penulti...

8 Mar 202334min

Heading into the final tracks from Orphans, Tim, Martin and Sam discuss the ruinous junkyard dog that is Waits's music, with another track from Brecht/Weill's Threepenny Opera, some nursery rhyme crib...

1 Mar 202338min

We welcome writer and podcaster Tim Clare to Song by Song, for more Orphaned songs about the significance of imaginary diamonds, sound-check deadlines, and a collaboration with Primus. We discuss rein...

22 Feb 202334min

Having dealt with all the Brawlers, Sam and Martin dig into the bonus disc of Orphans with a Fats Waller cover, music first performed by Johnny Cash, and a synopsis of King Kong. We discuss Waits's ca...

15 Feb 202335min

Some soothing, some heartbreak, and some extreme weather for Miss Yankey, as she examines another set of Orphans with Sam and Martin. Waits looks back on his Troubador years with tenderness, calls for...

8 Feb 202339min

Miss Yankey rejoins Martin and Sam, bringing her perspective on the writing and performance of this week's selection of neighbourhood memories, childhood crimes and old cars. We peer over Waits's fenc...

1 Feb 202333min

Jo, Martin and Sam return to the ocean, the church, and another Leadbelly cover to consider Waits's reinterpretation of various older songs. The swirling Sea of Love, the unnecessary pub singalong, an...

25 Jan 202331min