Nov 29, 2017
For our final week with Eric Molinsky we discuss a Sesame Street crossover, oblique western storytelling, the dreamlike landscapes of Waits’s worlds, and the power of group singing folk music.
Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track...
Nov 22, 2017
For a second week with Eric Molinsky, Martin and Sam take a look at the image of police as both a mortal figure as well as an existential threat, as well as Waits’s role (through his music) as an ambassador for the strangeness of his worlds.
Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to...
Nov 15, 2017
As they continue through Rain Dogs, Martin and Sam are joined by Eric Molinsky of the Imaginary Worlds Podcast. Discussion focuses not only on the songwriting of Waits, but also the talk-show stylings of David Letterman, the idea of stepping into character for both songs as well as promotional appearances, and the...
Nov 8, 2017
Back in the studio, Sam and Martin regroup briefly for a discussion of some of the features in this fourth track from Rain Dogs. More magpie work from Waits, cherry-picking children’s rhymes and pirate songs, as well as the unique guitar stylings of Marc Ribot in both collaboration and his solo work.
Song by Song is...
Nov 1, 2017
For our third week at the London Podcast Festival, John and Helen help us pick apart some of the exaggerated family narratives at play in this third track from Rain Dogs. Waits's preoccupation with the exoticisation of deformity, the vocal effect of gauze scissors, and Helen's Aunty Susan all help wrap up our first set...