Spare Parts II and Closing - Nighthawks At The Diner [035]

With this final collection of Spare Parts, and varying levels of relief, we arrive at the end of Nighthawks At The Diner, no wiser but at least eleven weeks older. With thanks to guest-hosts Andrea and Catherine, Sam and Martin conclude their ongoing disagreement about this album and swear to remain friends, or at the very least disagree in more varied ways next time. As always, thanks for joining us for this season of Song by Song, and we really hope you'll be back for Small Change in a few weeks time...

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Spare Parts II and Closing, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

The Nazz, Royal Best Of, Lord Buckley (1955/2011)

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Big Joe and Phantom 309 - Nighthawks At The Diner [034]

Yeah, that’s right, we’re messing with your heads this week, turning your preconceptions about the show totally upside-down… or at least marginally back-to-front… or perhaps fractionally out of sequence… whichever way you phrase it, yup, we did that…  Song by Song takes a trip out east (or west?!?!) to discuss the quiet ghostly storytelling of Red Sovine and Tom Waits, the subtle re-writing that Waits makes to the original story to make it his own, and how this very different track affects the feeling of the album as a whole.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Big Joe and Phantom 309, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Phantom 309, Phantom 309, Red Sovine, (1967/2012)

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Nobody - Nighthawks At The Diner [033]

Changing tempo and style somewhat, we rejoin Tom Waits as he winds down Nighthawks at the Diner for these last few numbers. There’s some disagreement between our hosts over Joni Mitchell’s vocal chops, a few comparisons (and anticipations) regarding the kinds of musical reinvention Waits could go through, and we even have Martin saying he likes a song from the album; all part of another offering from the somebodies of Song by Song.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Nobody, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Car On A Hill, Court And Spark, Joni Mitchell (1974)

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Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission) - Nighthawks At The Diner [032]

Song by Song welcomes our latest guest-host Andrea Solomon as we head into the closing episodes of our third season. On the table today: more conversations over Waits's humour (as compared to his contemporaries); the musical accomplishments of his band and the value that adds to the lyrical content; and what a square Martin is.

The call is out for thoughts and opinions on our next series, Small Change - get in touch with your thoughts, opinions and outrages on this or any other upcoming albums, and have your say on Song by Song.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission), Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Nanook Rubs It, Apostrophe('), Frank Zappa (1974)

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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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Eggs And Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson) - Nighthawks At The Diner [027]

Nighthawks gets in a car, with a girl, and heads to the diner as Song by Song continues into season three. Does Waits rely on pretentious intellectual language? Is the man at the diner immersed in society or separated from it? Did Susan Michelson have some kind of tray table to balance those eggs and sausages? All these questions and more are posed... if not necessarily answered.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Eggs And Sausage (In A Cadillac with Susan Michelson), Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

Tom’s Diner, Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega (1987)

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On A Foggy Night - Nighthawks At The Diner [026]

We move from a weather update into traffic news, as Song by Song charts a late night drive by Tom Waits, vice-gripped but nonetheless askew as Nighthawks heads onwards. With Martin playing guitar and Sam impersonating iconic vocal styles of bygone eras, credentials are on the line as we head out through a Foggy Night and Day.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
On A Foggy Night, Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits (1975)

A Foggy Day, Ella and Louis, Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong (1956)

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Emotional Weather Report - Nighthawks At The Diner [025]

Sit back, pour yourself a drink, maybe put a little smooth music on the stereo and put your arm around Song by Song, as Martin and Sam embark on an improvisational adventure through the metropolitan sprawl of Nighthawks At The Diner, Tom Waits's third studio(ish) album. There's a definite divide in attitude as we settle into this first track, with variable high feelings and low-pressure thoughts throughout the discussion. So umbrellas up and ears open for Season three. How's your drink, can I freshen that up for you...?

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

Young Americans, Young Americans, David Bowie (1975)

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