Strong Songs

You came, you saw, you voted, and you picked Blondie as Strong Songs' first listener-selected artist! After weighing a number of possible songs to focus on, Kirk decided to go with the 1978 hit that took them from the punk clubs of New York to dance floors around the world.

Wanna pick an artist for Season Seven? Go join the Patreon!

Written by: Deborah Harry and Chris Stein

Produced by: Mike Chapman

Album: Parallel Lines (1978)

Listen/B...

Meshell Ndegeocello is: a fearless songwriter, an outrageously funky bassist, and a groundbreaking producer who knows just how to get the most out of each musician she hires. On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into "The Way," the second track off of her 1996 record Peace Beyond Passion, and shines a light on some of the things that make her one of the greats.

Written by: Meshell Ndegeocello

Album: Peace Beyond Passion (1996)

Spec...

For the third edition of Strong Covers, Kirk takes on two famous covers of two equally famous songs: Jimi Hendrix's 1968 cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," and The White Stripes' early 2000s cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

Written by: Bob Dylan & Dolly Parton

Albums: 
Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding, 1967 — Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland, 1968
Dolly Parton: Jolene, 1973 — White Stripes: Live Under Blackpool Lights, 2004

...

Kirk digs into the work of master composer Antônio Carlos Jobim via his timeless 1974 duet with Elis Regina on his song "Águas de Marçco," known Stateside as "The Waters of March." He's joined by special guest Frederico Barros, Professor of Musicology at Federal University of Rio De Janeiro.

Written by: Antônio Carlos Jobim

Performed by: Jobim and Elis Regina

Album: Elis & Tom (1974)

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

ALSO DISCUSSED:

• "The Girl ...

Turns out some songs stand on their own, however memorable-slash-horrifying their music video might have been.

Written by: Chris Cornell

Produced by: Michael Beinhorn

Album: Superunknown (1994)

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

ALSO DISCUSSED:

• "Spoonman" and "The Day I Tried to Live" by Chris Cornell and Soundgarden from Superunknown, 1994
• Kim Thayil interview at Songfacts
• Norah Jones' cover of "Black Hole Sun," Live in 2021
• "In My Life" by Lenno...

Strong Songs Season Six kicks off with a widely requested classic: Peter Gabriel's 1986 yearner "In Your Eyes." Because why hire one rhythm section when you can hire two for twice the price?

Written by: Peter Gabriel

Produced by: Daniel Lanois

Album: So (1986)

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

ALSO DISCUSSED:

• Rick Beato's Interview with So producer Daniel Lanois
• "DIY" by Peter Gabriel from Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch, 1978
• "Sledgehammer," "Don't Gi...

On this bonus episode from May 2022, Kirk goes through a handful of other covers of the three Beatles songs he recently discussed on the show.

• "Gotta Get You Into My Life" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney as covered by Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers (1966) and Blood, Sweat & Tears (1975)
• "Eleanor Rigby" by Paul McCartney/Lennon-McCartney as covered by Aretha Franklin (1968), Cody Fry (2021), Joshua Bell and Frankie Moreno ...

(Originally recorded in May 2022) There's always more to say about Sonny Rollins, so Kirk shares a few of his other favorite Sonny moments, along with some additional love for Max Roach's drumming on Saxophone Colossus.

REFERENCED:

• "St. Thomas" and "Blue 7" by Sonny Rollins from Saxophone Colossus, 1956
• "St. Thomas" as performed by Joshua Redman on Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Village Vanguard, 1992
• "Four" by Miles Davis perfo...

Weird Al has been writing songs and recording parodies for four decades, and his musical footprint is unfathomably wide. In this minisode, originally released in October 2022, Kirk gets into a few things he didn't have room for in the main feed episode about "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota."

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

• "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" by Yankovic, a parody of "Money for Nothing" by Mark Knopfler & Definite...

Recorded in August 2022 as an addendum to the main feed episode "Strong Grooves, Volume 1," special guest Russ Kleiner takes Kirk through the evolution of James Brown drummer Clyde Stubblefield's playing from 1967 to 1970.

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

"Cold Sweat" (1967), "I Got The Feelin'" (1968), "Mother Popcorn" (1969), "Funky Drummer" (1970), all feat. Clyde Stubblefield on drums.

SPECIAL GUEST: Russ Kleiner

Russ is one of Kirk's oldest fr...

For the Season Five finale, Kirk takes a look at The Band and Martin Scorsese's beloved 1978 concert film The Last Waltz - "The beginning of the beginning of the end of the beginning."

Featuring music by The Band: Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Album: The Last Waltz (1978)

Listen/Buy via Songwhip

ALSO DISCUSSED/REFERENCED:

• "The Weight" by Robbie Robertson as cov...

It's time for another mailbag episode, as Kirk takes on questions about Evanescence piano, Kelis bells, and counting in songs by Phish, Vessels, Ten Years After, and Kishi Bashi. All that, and a friendly dispute about a Taylor Swift song.

• "Milkshake" by Neptunes/Kelis from Tasty, 2003
• "Going Under" by Evanescence from Fallen, 2003
• Joe Lovono plays the Aulochrome
• Pat Metheney plays the Pikasso 42-string Guitar
• Matt Glassmeyer and Jan...

The electric guitar is a beautiful, maddening instrument, and man does it sound good in the right hands. On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into solos by guitar legends Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, and Larry Carlton.

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

• "Seven Come Eleven" by Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman, recorded by the Benny Goodman Sextet in 1939
• "Fried Pies" by Wes Montgomery from Boss Guitar, 1963
• "Hey Joe" by B...

Kirk wasn't expecting to make a full-length episode about the music of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but then he played the game. And here we are.

Picking up on 2022's deep-dive in the music of the Zelda series, this episode takes a deep dive into the score of the new game, covering the many ways it builds on the past and charts a new musical future.

SPOILERS: The first 40 minutes of the episode feature some discussion o...

On this bonus episode, originally recorded as a Patreon bonus in 2022, Kirk goes through a few great Legend of Zelda pieces that he didn't manage to get into on last year's Zelda-focused Strong Songs episode. 

If you want to hear next week's new episode on Tears of the Kingdom early, go become a patron now!

FEATURED:

• "Tears of the Kingdom Theme" from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, comp. Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, M...

Kirk takes a tour through the cycling, modulating chord sequence in Belle & Sebastian's buoyant 2017 song "The Girl Doesn't Get It."

Variation 1: | C | Dm7 | Bb | Gm F
Variation 2: | C | D | Bm | Esus E
Variation 3: | A | Bm | A/C# | Esus E

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

"The Girl Doesn't Get It" by Belle & Sebastian from How To Solve Our Human Problems, Vol. 1, 2017
"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton performed by Whitney Houston on The Bodyg...

There are so many electric guitars. Truly, there is a guitar for every mood, every season, and every feeling. But there are four types of electric guitar that are a bit more widely used than other ones. 

On this formely-bonus-now-main-feed episode, Kirk discusses those four guitars—the Fender Stratocaster, the Telecaster, the Gibson Les Paul, and the 335—and goes through some of the Strong Songs that have featured them.

FEATURED/DISC...

Composer John Williams is the defining sound of Hollywood and, arguably, the most widely listened to composer in the world. Kirk decided he needed some help tackling Williams' towering musical legacy, so he enlisted Australian author and musician Dan Golding as his tour guide through Williams' musical world, with a special focus on his groundbreaking score for 1980's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

REFERENCED ON THIS EPISODE: