Sea Of Love / Goodnight Irene / Altar Boy - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [371/372/373]

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, and behind-the-altar confessionals all get a new twist, to varied effect.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Sea Of Love, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Sea of Love trailer, dir. Harold Becker (1989)

Sea Of Love, single, Phil Phillips (1959)

I Want to Hold Your Hand, Pinkus Abortion Technician, The Melvins (2018)

Goodnight Irene, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Goodnight Irene, The Best of Leadbelly, Leadbelly (1939?)

Goodnight Irene, single, The Weavers (1950)

Goodnight Irene as sung by Bristol Rovers fans around the UK, via YouTube

Altar Boy, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

What Became Of Old Father Craft, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)
Still sadly unavailable on streaming
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Ain't Goin' Down To The Well / World Keeps Turning / Two Sisters - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [350/351/352]

We welcome Nightvale’s own Jeffrey Cranor back to Song by Song, joining Martin and Sam to explore a Lead Belly cover, sentimental material from the film Pollock, and a murderous song of sibling rivalry. We talk about mutability and adaptation in the blues tradition, supernatural extensions in folk ballads, and Martin experiences a moment of emotional crisis.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Ain't Goin' Down To The Well, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Ain't Going Down To The Well, from Freedom Highway, dir. Phillip King (2001)

World Keeps Turning, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Pollock trailer, dir. Ed Harris (2000)

Two Sisters, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Bow And Balance / Two Sisters, Old Town School of Folk Music, Horton Barker (1962)

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Trampled Rose - Real Gone [325]

Actor/musician David Ahmad joins Sam and Martin to discuss the religious material, consider the game-of-telephone lineage of folk classics, and celebrate this (perhaps overlooked) track of sorrow and loss.

Note: we mention Mark Rylance this episode; between recording and release, his brother Jonathan was killed - sympathies from all of us for this loss. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Trampled Rose, Real Gone (remastered), Tom Waits (2004/2017)

Trampled Rose, Real Gone (original), Tom Waits (2004)

If It Wasn't For Dicky, Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, Lead Belly (1941-47)

Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, single, The Weavers (1951)

Where Did You Sleep Last Night, MTV Unplugged In New York, Nirvana (1994)

The Phantom of the Open trailer, via YouTube (dir. Craig Roberts, 2021)

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