Putnam County - Nighthawks At The Diner [031]

Where is Putnam County? Is it a state of mind? Small-town anywhere? Or really a place that lives in all our hearts? Nope, it's in Tennessee, sorry, should have said that earlier. Song by Song bids farewell to Catherine Hirst as we take one last road-trip together down the two-lane before realising the battery's gone flat in the… the pick-up truck of our… er… podcast feed aggregator… anyone got some jumper-cables for this analogy?

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Putnam County, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

John Wayne Gacy, Jr., Illinois, Sufjan Stevens (2005)

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Warm Beer And Cold Women - Nighthawks At The Diner [030]

What can you cover in a 14 minute podcast? Punk-Rock/Country vs. Jazz? The social implications of applause in live performances? Drinking culture as a mirror for the decline of American society? Sure, why not! Throw in a comparison of ages by your hosts and discussion of the kind of cigarettes Martin smokes… it’s another packed episode of Song by Song!

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Warm Beer And Cold Women, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Theme from “Cheers”, The Monitor, Titus Andronicus (2010)

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Nighthawk Postcards (from Easystreet) - Nighthawks At The Diner [029]

This week Song by Song takes a stern look at the underpinnings of the drunken vagrant Tom Waits character, using the expertise of our guest host Catherine to explore what some of the poetic imagery of this stream-of-consciousness travelogue of a track actually represents, both in terms of Waits himself as well as the world he occupies.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Nighthawk Postcards (From Easystreet), Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Nighthawk Postcards (From Easystreet), PBS Soundstage recording, Tom Waits (1975)

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Better Off Without A Wife - Nighthawks At The Diner [028]

Sam and Martin are joined by their latest guest-host Catherine Hirst, who finally confronts the fact that their perspective on 1970s America may be slightly… incomplete? Surely not?!? Working their way through both the lyrical implications as well as the musical storytelling in this weeks tracks leads to a casual discussion of sex and religion, topics guaranteed to generate zero controversy.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Better Off Without A Wife, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Icicle, Under the Pink, Tori Amos (1994)

… and for angling context, Fishing With John (episode 2) - Jamaica with Tom Waits

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