This week on Song by Song we (finally) examine the influence of Tom Waits on the musical writing of Joss Whedon, as well as a perhaps inevitable comparison with The King of Rock and Roll. As Martin, Jen, Dave and Sam discuss more of the density and ambiguity of Waits's lyric writing, the question of how to represent danger and evil in songwriting arises, along with the extent of Elvis's influence on... everything?
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Whistling’ Past the Graveyard, Blue Valentine, Tom Waits (1978)
Trouble, King Creole, Elvis Presley (1958)
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