With the Academy Awards around the corner, Charlie and Nate try something new: a break down of the movie musical La La Land through two of its key songs, "City of Stars" and "Start a Fire." These numbers, one by composer Justin Hurwitz, the other by Hurwitz and John Legend, might represent the two poles of the film's dramatic structure. But a deep dive into ... Show More
Jun 9
Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say
Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney's collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, arrived when McCartney was 83 and and he came out swinging: the opening track greets listeners with a dissonant, unresolved guitar chord that sets the album's tone. Harmonic instability runs through the en ... Show More
42m 8s
Jun 5
How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)
A sci-fi ballet imagined a 2080 where AI strips people of purpose, and the day before its New York premiere, an actual dystopia arrived. Arc Iris, the trio of Jocie Adams, Zach Tenorio and Ray Belli, built iTMRW as a concept record set in a future ruled by a mega-corporation that ... Show More
13m 2s
Jun 2
Why bands give us purpose (ft. MUNA)
A culture that rewards easily consumable individual identities produces plenty of pop stars and almost no bands. A significant exception: MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. MUNA treats the band as a structure that grounds identity beyond the ego a ... Show More
52m 19s
Jan 2021
"Space Oddity" and "Starman" by David Bowie
<p>Let the children lose it, let the children use it, and let all the children join in for Strong Songs year three!</p><p>Kirk kicks off the new year with a pair of classics by the great David Bowie: 1969's melancholy "Space Oddity" and 1972's triumphant "Starman." What goes up, ... Show More
53m 46s
Mar 2024
Oscars 2024 Best Picture Special
With the 2024 Academy Awards taking place on Sunday, the most trusted voices in film Mark and Simon are here to guide you through the 10 films in the running for Best Picture. Featuring highlights from interviews with directors Greta Gerwig, Celine Song and Jonathan Glazer, and a ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 2025
Ashley Henry and Amy Harman on Bowie and Beethoven
Jazz pianist Ashley Henry and bassoonist Amy Harman join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe to add five more tracks to the playlist, taking us from a Bowie dance classic to Marvin Gaye via an unexpected rare, live, performance by a jazz icon in a school in California, surprisingly re ... Show More
42m 53s
Mar 2021
"Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush
<p>Heathcliff! It's us, it's Strong Songs, we've come home!</p><p>The time has come for a deep dive into the music of the great Kate Bush, and what better song to analyze than her breakthrough 1978 hit, "Wuthering Heights." This song has it all - odd phrasing, shifting key center ... Show More
57m 14s
<p>Who's gonna lay the wedding table? Who's gonna make the wedding bed? And what about the rings? Funny you should ask.</p><p>On this episode, Kirk takes a deep dive into "Wedding Song," one of the signature numbers from Anaïs Mitchell's 2019 musical <i>Hadestown</i>. It's time f ... Show More
