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Recent Episodes
S8E5 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…
S8E4 "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…
S8E3 "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…
S8E2 "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…
S8E1 "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…
S7 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…
S7 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…
S7 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…
S7 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 about the music of Super MarioTWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ SHOW NOTES:This episode was written &…
S7 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…
S7 Strong TV Songs: HBO Edition [Recast]
Originally Aired October 20, 2020The 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…
S7 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…
S7 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…
S7 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 to talk about what makes Tower of Power great. It was a very fun conversation, so he asked if he could…
S7 A Song For My Father
THE APOCALYPSE WERE:Tony Capuano - Guitar, Lead VocalsJohn Shorb - Alto SaxGene Meros - Tenor SaxGreg Novik - Bass, Backing Vocals (guitar on Stormy Monday)Oggie Hamilton - Drums, Backing…
S7E10 "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…
S7E9 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…
S7E8 "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…
S7E7 "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…
S7E6 "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 smallTurn around... every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of sleigh bellsTurn…
Frequently Asked Questions
Strong Songs has published 174 episodes since November 2018, covering topics in Music, Music Commentary.
Strong Songs is currently active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 56m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Strong Songs, including email and social media links.
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