Strong Songs

"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 Valen

"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 "W

"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 cra

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 For more on F

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," wit

"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 rocksl

"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

"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

"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

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

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 j

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 o

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 Mario TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ SHOW NOTES

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

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

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 g

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,

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 conversatio

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 Ham

"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 famou