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Strong Songs

von Kirk Hamilton

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Music: it's good. On each episode of Strong Songs, host Kirk Hamilton takes listeners inside a piece of music, breaking it down and figuring out what makes it work.

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  1. "Peg" by Steely Dan

    Strong Songs has covered Steely Dan songs from 1976’s The Royal Scam, 1980’s Gaucho, and even 2000’s Two Against Nature, but somehow 1977’s Aja has remained unaddressed… until now. On this episode, Kirk takes a look under the hood of “Peg,”

  2. "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads

    It's time to return to Talking Heads, and their inimitable 1980 song "Once In A Lifetime." The subject of this episode was selected by the annual Strong Songs Patreon bracket vote. Thanks to everyone who voted! Written by: Talking Heads and

  3. "Song for the Dead" by Queens of the Stone Age

    Kirk returns to the Mojave, and to QOTSA's groundbreaking 2002 album Songs For The Deaf. Written by: Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan Produced by: Josh Homme and Eric Valentine Album: Songs For The Deaf, 2002 Listen/Buy via Album.Link (https://a

  4. "Little Bird" by Annie Lennox

    Strong Songs returns to the mighty Annie Lennox, for a closer look at her initially patient, eventually soaring 1992 single "Little Bird." This song allllmost beat out "Walking On Broken Glass" to get an episode last time around, and it's e

  5. "Mamma Mia" by ABBA

    It's time for a second helping of ABBA, and how could we resist "Mamma Mia"? Kirk peels back the layers of one of the band's most beloved songs, revealing a carefully crafted concoction of melodies, countermelodies, stealthy synthesizers, a

  6. The Best Way To Listen To Strong Songs (Spotify PSA)

    Find the Strong Songs podcast feed here: https://feeds.strongsongspodcast.com/main Instructions for manually adding a feed to most major podcast apps HERE (https://help.tritondigital.com/docs/podcast-apps-that-support-add-rss-feed) For more

  7. Return to Kind of Blue

    Kirk returns to Kind of Blue, taking a closer look at two more tunes off of the 1959 jazz classic. First, he digs into the modified 12-bar blues "Freddie Freeloader," with a focus on Wynton Kelly's much-emulated opening piano solo. He then

  8. "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" by Megadeth

    Kirk surfs an avalanche straight into Thrash Valley, where he delves into the depths of Megadeth's 1990 opus "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due." It's an unstoppable rockslide of layered riffs, tempo shifts, power chords, and... power thirds?

  9. "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell

    Kirk returns to the world of Joni Mitchell for a look at the many sides of her masterpiece "Both Sides, Now." From her initial 1960s live performances, to her 1969 studio recording, to the Grammy-winning orchestral rendition she released in

  10. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie

    Kirk heaps on a second helping of TWO previous Strong Songs artists: Queen and David Bowie, whose 1981 collaboration "Under Pressure" topped the charts while showing how a mid-song transformation is done. Written by: David Bowie, Freddie Me

  11. "Rosanna" by Toto

    Kirk kicks off Strong Songs Season Eight with a second helping of Toto, whose song "Africa" got the very first episode of Strong Songs he ever made. This time around he's focusing on 1982's "Rosanna," a song that shows just what Toto could

  12. Season Eight Announcement!

    Strong Songs Season Eight will kick off on Friday, January 16! If you want to listen a week early, get monthly "Inside the Episode" bonuses, and support the creation of Strong Songs, go sign up for the Patreon (https://patreon.com/strongson

  13. The Jazz Pianist's Perspective, with Peter Martin

    Kirk sits down with jazz piano legend Peter Martin to talk about Peter's musical background, his momentous early encounters with Wynton Marsalis and Kenny Kirkland, the jazz scene of the 1990s, how the Suzuki method works, and why jazz stud

  14. The Fearless Fela Kuti, with Jad Abumrad

    Writer, composer, and Peabody Award-winning podcaster Jad Abumrad joins Kirk to talk about Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, his new 12-part series on the life, music, and legacy of Afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti. DISCUSSED/REFERENCED: • “Miryea’s Deat

  15. Super Mario Bros: Koji Kondo's 8-Bit Masterpiece [Twenty Thousand Hertz]

    This episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz originally ran in August 2025. Kirk's 2020 episode of Strong Songs (https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/world-1-1-from-super-mario-bros?_pos=2&_sid=1b71eaaf8&_ss=r) about the music of Super Ma

  16. Our Favorite TV Themes, with Leigh Sales

    It's fun to talk about TV theme songs, so that's what Kirk and special guest Leigh Sales did. Does this episode need any more introduction than that? Probably not. Check out Leigh's wonderful podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 (https://www.chat10looks

  17. Strong TV Songs: HBO Edition [Recast]

    Originally Aired October 20, 2020 The Wildlings are south of the wall, the robots are rising up, Seventh Kavalry's on the move, and two percent of the world's population has vanished. Time for another edition of Strong TV Songs! This time a

  18. A Bob Dylan Beginner's Guide, with Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell

    With so many dozens of albums over so many wildly disparate eras, it can take a lifetime to truly get your arms around Bob Dylan. On this episode, Kirk is joined by two guests who have spent their lifetimes doing exactly that. Matt Sitman a

  19. Singing and Songwriting, with The Wailin' Jennys

    The Wailin' Jennys have been singing together for more than two decades - recording albums, touring the world, and filling venues large and small. After all these years, the trio—Ruth Moody, Heather Masse, and Nicky Mehta—have reached both

  20. Talkin' Tower of Power, with Adam Maness and Peter Martin [You'll Hear It]

    Back in May, Kirk joined pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin of the You'll Hear It podcast (https://youllhearit.com) to talk about what makes Tower of Power great. It was a very fun conversation, so he asked if he could run their episode

  21. A Song For My Father

    THE APOCALYPSE WERE: Tony Capuano - Guitar, Lead Vocals John Shorb - Alto Sax Gene Meros - Tenor Sax Greg Novik - Bass, Backing Vocals (guitar on Stormy Monday) Oggie Hamilton - Drums, Backing Vocals Featuring The Apocalypse playing: • “Goo

  22. "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers

    For the Season Seven finale, Kirk takes a look at Bill Withers' enduring hit "Lean On Me." In the process, he takes a broader look at a bunch of Withers' other most famous songs to better understand how this plainspoken, seemingly ordinary

  23. Bluegrass, Blue Prince, and the Blues

    Kirk answers a bunch of listener questions on topics like bluegrass guitar, the music of Blue Prince, good apps for training theory skills, Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics," a mysterious sound on a Gene Clark song, different types of music n

  24. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police

    In 1981, Sting brought a demo of a song he'd been working on down to AIR Studios in Montserrat to see what his bandmates thought of it... and they wound up keeping the demo and just recording their parts on top. The result was "Every Little

  25. "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II

    The jazz standard "All The Things You Are" has been performed countless times by master jazz vocalists, 30s big bands, bebop small groups, hard-bop combos, modern deconstructionists, and even soon-to-be Kings of Pop. On this episode, Kirk t

  26. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Jim Steinman and Bonnie Tyler

    Turn around... every now and then I get a little lonely and the snare is sounding small Turn around... every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of sleigh bells Turn around... every now and then I get a little bi

  27. Bluey, Background Jazz, and the 'Best' Metal Guitar Solo

    How should you count The Police's "Bed's Too Big Without You?" Why do so many people revere Marty Friedman's solo on Megadeth's "Tornado of Souls"? What's going on with those pauses during the Bluey theme? And what the heck is that sound on

  28. The Music of the Muppets

    Kirk pays a visit the musical world of The Muppets, from their Sesame Street origins in the 60s to the globe-hopping, cinematic heights of the 70s and 80s, with plenty of detours along the way. FEATURING: "Sesame Street Theme" by Joe Raposo

  29. "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" by The Mars Volta

    Kirk digs into one of the most dense and challenging records in his collection, with an analysis of "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" from The Mars Volta's 2003 progressive rock opus De-Loused in the Comatorium. Written by: Omar Rodríguez-Lóp

  30. "Fast As You Can" by Fiona Apple

    Kirk digs into Fiona Apple's breakneck 1999 single "Fast As You Can," a cornerstone in her late 90s collaborations with Jon Brion, as well as her work with drummer Matt Chamberlain. Written by: Fiona Apple Produced by: Jon Brion Album: When

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