After You Die - Bad As Me [429]

WE DID IT! Just over 8 years and several hundred episodes since Ol’ 55, we’ve songed all the songs there are to Song by Song. Along with a little look back at Bad As Me, Kirk, Sam and Martin also give this alphabetically-first-but-chronologically-last track full consideration, and quickly check in to see how The Eagles have been doing. Plus - BONUS! A final appearance of the Smooth Marble Egg theory of art!

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
After You Die, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

I Wish You Peace, One Of These Nights, The Eagles (1975)

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Tell Me - Bad As Me [428]

A quintessential and sincere song of advice and experience for Kirk, Martin and Sam this week, perhaps also bordering on the sentimental? We discuss the paired imagery in the lyrics, more rhythmic shifting, and examine the questions these songs are asking (along with the answers they suggest).

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Tell Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Why, Diva, Annie Lennox (1992)

Why, music video, dir. Sophie Muller (1992)

"Walking On Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox, Strong Songs podcast, Kirk Hamilton (2020)

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She Stole The Blush - Bad As Me [427]

Diving into the three bonus tracks from the Bad As Me Deluxe edition, Sam and Martin welcome Kirk Hamilton of the Strong Songs podcast to explore isolated sax stabs, irregular rhythmic structures and sparse arrangements. We consider Waits's continued vocal experimentation, the oblique details of his lyric writing, and the politics and history of dancehall/pop crossovers from reggae star Shaggy.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
She Stole The Blush, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Way Down In The Hole, Franks Wild Years, Tom Waits (1987)

It Wasn't Me, Hot Shot, Shaggy feat. Rik Rok (2000)

'Deny, Deny, Deny' from A Guide For The Married Man, dir. Gene Kelly (1967)

'It Wasn't Me' from Eddie Murphy: Raw, dir. Robert Townshend ((1987)

It Wasn't Me, music video, dir. Stephen Scott (2000)

The Story of 'It Wasn't Me' by Shaggy, The Story Of, VICE Media via YouTube (2020)

"Kiss" by Prince, Strong Songs podcast, Kirk Hamilton (2020)

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New Year's Eve - Bad As Me [426]

At the end of the album-proper, Andrea, Martin and Sam consider the festive season as well as all its associated traumas. We return to Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Rickie Lee Jones as well as 1970s Tom Waits, debating possible autobiographical elements, poverty tourism, and which lullaby is best used to ring in the new year.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
New Year's Eve, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Just For Now, Speak For Yourself, Imogen Heap (2005)

A Sight For Sore Eyes, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)

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Hell Broke Luce - Bad As Me [425]

With serious discussion of disturbing events from the start, Andrea illuminates for Sam and Martin some of the context for this song of military trauma. We consider musical presentation of problems and solutions to injustice, sonic and lyrical density, and Waits’s political engagement more broadly 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Hell Broke Luce, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

The Ground Truth trailer, dir. Patricia Foulkrod (2006)

Universal Soldier, It's My Way, Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)

Song 33, single, Noname (2020)

Snow On Tha Bluff, single, J. Cole (2020)

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Last Leaf - Bad As Me [424]

We’re heading towards conclusions, both in albums and in life, as Andrea Warner joins with Martin and Sam to examine another Tom and Keith team up. The hubris of Waits’s sentiments, the juxtaposition of humour and pain in music, and a consideration of vestigial tails all feature in this week’s discussion. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Last Leaf, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Pale Green Things, The Sunset Tree, The Mountain Goats (2005)

Pocket Narratives from the Mountain Goats, NPR Interview with Linda Wertheimer (2005)

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Satisfied - Bad As Me [423]

Another Keith Richards collaboration brings Waits to a full confrontation with the Rolling Stones, as Song by Song engages with this cryptic track from the second half of Bad As Me. Determination in music and sports, the sexual or metaphorical interpretations of bullets and guns, and the lunacy of Harry Smith all feature in our third conversation with Sara Gran.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Satisfied, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Out Of Our Heads, The Rolling Stones (1965)

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Live in Paris, John Lee Hooker / Carey Bell (1970)

Time Is On My Side, Wish Someone Would Care, Irma Thomas (1964)

When You're Gone, Some Girls (Deluxe Edition), The Rolling Stones (1978/2011)

The Ghost Of Tom Waits, via YouTube (????)

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Kiss Me - Bad As Me [422]

Waits's yearning for a new (or at least newness in) love brings Sara, Martin and Sam to some inherent features of popular music as well as human nature in general. We have conversations about changing affection in art itself, dig into the truths and lies we tell about the shape of life, and begin an extended consideration of the presence of limerence in music.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Kiss Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Escape (The Pina Colada Song), Partners In Crime, Rupert Holmes (1979)

Babooshka, Never for Ever, Kate Bush (1980)

Let's Do It (The Ballad Of Barry And Freda), clip from As Seen On TV, Victoria Wood (1986)

Victoria Wood: Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (2007) (Waits pick at 21m25s)

The Paris Match, Cafe Bleu, The Style Council / Tracey Thorn (1984)

Marcus Shelby spotlight, KQED Arts via YouTube (2014)

Blue Valentines, Blue Valentine, Tom Waits (1978)

And Then He Kissed Me, single / Philles Records Presents Today's Hits, The Crystals (1963)

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Bad As Me - Bad As Me [421]

We’re delighted to welcome John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats for this special extended episode listening to the title track from Bad As Me. Diving into the history of Waits’s musical evolution, John, Martin and Sam consider the value of originality, Waits's reasons for producing this album after a 7 year hiatus, and some of the philosophical questions around the creation and publication of music. Plus some good Zelda chat.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Bad As Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

If You See Light, Get Lonely, The Mountain Goats (2006)

Clean Slate, single, The Mountain Goats (2023)

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Back In The Crowd - Bad As Me [420]

Joined by long-hoped-for guest Sara Gran, Sam and Martin shuffle back into the crowd of emotional songs of loss and yearning, flanked by Waits in a sorrowful mode and Roy Orbison full of powerful declamatory emotion. Some lyrical interpretation, a little passive-aggression, and the question of how lonely a voice sounds all occupy our discussion, as we continue through Bad As Me.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Back In The Crowd, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Only The Lonely, Lonely and Blue, Roy Orbison (1960)

Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison and Friends Black & White Night 30, Roy Orbison (1988)

Behind the scenes of Roy Orbison and Friends Black & White Night 30 (1988)

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Pay Me - Bad As Me [419]

With a brief digression into Beyoncé’s oeuvre, Kerry-Jo, Martin and Sam discuss some of the oddities in the writing of Pay Me, and what story Waits is trying to tell. We consider stories of theatrical life, where to find the end of the world, and specificities in the writing of Stephen Sondheim.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Pay Me, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Jack Langrishe arrives in Deadwood, clip from Deadwood s3e3, w. Regina Corrado & Ted Mann, dir. Gregg Feinberg (2006)

Send In The Clowns, Good Bad but Beautiful, Shirley Bassey / Stephen Sondheim (1975)

Send In The Clowns, The Broadway Album, Barbara Streisand / Stephen Sondheim (1985)

Send In The Clowns, A Little Night Music (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Glynis John / Stephen Sondheim (1973)

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Face To The Highway - Bad As Me [418]

Back with Sam and Martin, Kerry-Jo has some opinions about the honesty of Waits’s reasons for departure, as well as the comprehensibility of his Sweetums voice. We discuss the inevitability and/or duality of his departure, styles of poetic writing in both tracks, and the various ways that we get “stuck” in situations and relationships. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Face To The Highway, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Carrion, Tidal, Fiona Apple (1996)

Goddess on a Hiway, Deserter's Songs, Mercury Rev (1998)

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Get Lost - Bad As Me [417]

We welcome Kerry-Jo Reilly to the show, joining Martin and Sam for songs of travel, departure and longing by Tom Waits, Larry Taylor, and their various associates. There’s discussion of the value of 60s/70s blues-rock, Waits’s various relationships over the years, and his attitude towards The King.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Get Lost, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Summertime / Burma Shave (including 'The Day That Elvis Presley Died' intro), live recording, Tom Waits / Herb Hardest (1984?)

Jim never has a second cup of coffee at home, from Airplane, dir. Jim Abrahams / David Zucker / Jerry Zucker (1980)

On The Road Again, Boogie With Canned Heat, Canned Heat (1968)

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Minneapolis Institute of Art listing for 'Tom Waits and Madonna', Ramon J. Muxter (1982)

Talking At The Same Time - Bad As Me [416]

Waits pulls on some (possibly) contemporary references this week, as Bryce, Sam and Martin consider the various meanings that “everybody talking” may relate to. Considering the tone and quality of the song, the applications to various political concerns of various eras, and taking a step into popular music of 2022, the conversation continues through Bad As Me.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Talking At The Same Time, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Scene from 'The Man With Two Brains', dir. Carl Reiner (1983)

Late Night Talking, Harry's House, Harry Styles (2022)

Late Night Talking music video, dir. Bradley Bell / Pablo Jones-Soler (2022)

Levitating, Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa (2020)

I Will Survive, live at Cochella, Harry Styles / Lizzo (2022)

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Raised Right Men - Bad As Me [415]

Shambling on from Chicago, Waits lays down some relationship advice for Bryce, Martin and Sam to pick apart and interpret, with some mixed attitudes towards partners’ and parents’ influence over right and wrong men. We chat about the work of Aretha Franklin, overlap with Nick Cave, and of course the looming influence of Snagglepuss.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Raised Right Men, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Red Right Hand, Let Love In, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (1994)

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, single, Aretha Franklin (1967)

Think, Aretha Franklin / Matt Guitar Murphy / The Blues Brothers / Lou Marini, from The Blues Brothers, dir. John Landis (1980)

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Chicago - Bad As Me [414]

Back for the beginning of our final(?) season, Bryce Halliday joins Sam and Martin for a journey toward the great unknown of Illinois. We examine the era of the song’s setting, the power of Mavis Staples’s singing, and the reliability of moving to "better" places.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Chicago, Bad As Me, Tom Waits (2011)

Way Down Hadestown, Hadestown, Anaïs Mitchell (2010)

I'll Take You There, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, The Staples Singers (1972)

Liquidator, single, Harry J Allstars (1969)

Respect Yourself, live at Lagunitas Brewing, Mavis Staples & Tom Waits (2017)

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