Funky Drummers, Cheap Guitars & Sting

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,” one of the most loved songs on The Dan’ ... Show More

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 Brian EnoProduced by: Brian EnoAlbum: Re ... Show More

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 Episode photo by Kirk Hamilton @ Joshua Tree, 2026 ... Show More

Cory Wong is a Minneapolis native and Vulfpeck collaborator known for pushing rhythm guitar from a background instrument to the star of the show. Wong’s a walking encyclopedia of funk guitar, and he takes us through the riffs and styles—from Nile Rodgers to Quincy Jones—that powe ... Show More

Guitars that don’t sound like guitars, drums from hell and a dancer stepping up to the mic for the first time. In this episode of Inspired, Liam Howlett and Keith Flint from iconic UK act The Prodigy dissect the song that made them famous around the world. 

We look at the Rhythms that make us dance, those primal beats, the “Boom Bang Pow” that make us want to move. We’ll ask what makes them work and why is that we’re hearing that untz untz everywhere we go from the dance floor, to the coffee shop, to the insides of our minds? FEATUR ... Show More

Charlie and Nate sit down with up-and-coming producer duo Grey—fresh off their hit "Starving" with Zedd and Hailee Steinfeld—to uncover the secrets behind Alessia Cara and Zedd's dramatic dance track "Stay" and Grey's own deep cut "I Miss You" (ft Bahari). Snare drums as currency ... Show More

Parliament Funkadelic has had waves of influence on popular music. Their Afrofuturist message and infectious grooves built the backbone of 70s funk, was revived in the 90s with Dr. Dre's G-Funk, and is once again in vogue with in the music of Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and ... Show More

Tracklist:Conan Liquid - Shake Down Alexny - Oye DiscoGram - Zohra Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (Michael Gray Remix) Shabi - Oh I Got U Four - Heavy on the Bacon Stardust - Music Sounds Better with You Doug Willis - People Power (Micky More & Andy Tee Flute Mix) Sla ... Show More

One of the songs we anticipate playing on repeat this summer is “Twerkulator” by Miami rap duo City Girls. It’s a track with enough sonic energy to power a small town, but that’s not all we dig. The song’s music includes a chain of samples that stretch back through pop music hist ... Show More

How does a song with nonsense lyrics capture our attention, making us want to move? It is called the groove. Enter Calvin Harris' "Feels" (ft. Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean). Known for mainstreaming EDM, Harris throws out the software and picks up hardware instrument ... Show More