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.
"Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell
58 mins; March 19, 2026
"Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie
60 hours 39 mins; February 19, 2026
"Rosanna" by Toto
60 hours 27 mins; January 15, 2026
Season Eight Announcement!
5 mins; January 01, 2026
The Jazz Pianist's Perspective, with Peter Martin
86 hours 21 mins; November 27, 2025
The Fearless Fela Kuti, with Jad Abumrad
116 hours 37 mins; November 13, 2025
Super Mario Bros: Koji Kondo's 8-Bit Masterpiece [Twenty Thousand Hertz]
33 mins; October 30, 2025
Our Favorite TV Themes, with Leigh Sales
78 hours 5 mins; October 16, 2025
Strong TV Songs: HBO Edition [Recast]
68 hours 44 mins; October 02, 2025
A Bob Dylan Beginner's Guide, with Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell
114 hours 17 mins; September 18, 2025
Singing and Songwriting, with The Wailin' Jennys
71 hours 3 mins; September 04, 2025
Talkin' Tower of Power, with Adam Maness and Peter Martin [You'll Hear It]
72 hours 30 mins; August 21, 2025
A Song For My Father
39 mins; August 07, 2025
"Lean On Me" by Bill Withers
58 mins; July 10, 2025
Bluegrass, Blue Prince, and the Blues
59 mins; June 26, 2025
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police
60 hours 16 mins; June 12, 2025
"All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II
59 mins; May 29, 2025
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Jim Steinman and Bonnie Tyler
60 hours 19 mins; May 15, 2025
Bluey, Background Jazz, and the 'Best' Metal Guitar Solo
68 hours 0 mins; May 01, 2025
The Music of the Muppets
63 hours 43 mins; April 17, 2025
"Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" by The Mars Volta
59 mins; April 03, 2025
"Fast As You Can" by Fiona Apple
52 mins; March 20, 2025
"Where The Streets Have No Name" and "With Or Without You" by U2
59 mins; March 06, 2025
Season Seven Announcement!
5 mins; February 20, 2025
A Bunch of Great Music Recommendations
36 mins; January 30, 2025
Remembering Janis Stockhouse, The Great Band Director
56 mins; January 02, 2025
Rediscovering Stevie Wonder, with Wesley Morris and Josh Gwynn
79 hours 12 mins; October 03, 2024
Stevie Wonder: Music of My Mind [The Wonder of Stevie]
62 hours 2 mins; September 27, 2024
Behind the Scenes of Strong Songs [Gig Gab]
68 hours 33 mins; September 12, 2024
Post-Season Update, Summer Plans, & Some Music Recs
30 mins; July 11, 2024
"Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen
60 hours 17 mins; June 27, 2024
Summer Synths, Fluteception, and "The Diablo Chord"
64 hours 55 mins; June 13, 2024
"Easter Theatre" by XTC
57 mins; May 30, 2024
"Limb by Limb" by Phish
59 mins; May 16, 2024
"Heart of Glass" by Blondie
56 mins; May 02, 2024
"The Way" by Meshell Ndegeocello
57 mins; April 18, 2024
Strong Covers, Vol. 3
57 mins; April 04, 2024
"Águas de Março (The Waters of March)" by Antônio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina
56 mins; March 21, 2024
"Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
56 mins; March 07, 2024
"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
53 mins; February 22, 2024
Some Bonus Beatles Covers
27 mins; February 08, 2024
Season Six Announcement!
5 mins; February 01, 2024
The Genius of Sonny Rollins (and Max Roach)
22 mins; January 25, 2024
Weird Al For Nothin' And Your Jokes For Free
19 mins; January 11, 2024
How Clyde Stubblefield Evolved Funk Drumming
22 mins; December 28, 2023
The Band: The Last Waltz
65 hours 39 mins; December 14, 2023
Phish, Evanescence, and a Taylor Swift Dispute
59 mins; November 30, 2023
Strong Solos, Vol. 2: Electric Guitar-aloo
64 hours 3 mins; November 16, 2023
The Music of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
63 hours 16 mins; November 02, 2023
A Little Extra Zelda
24 mins; October 26, 2023
Belle & Sebastian's Very Good Chord Progression
21 mins; October 19, 2023
The Four Electric Guitars
34 mins; October 05, 2023
John Williams' Star Wars Legacy, with Dan Golding
146 hours 27 mins; September 21, 2023
Counterpoint, Chaka Kahn, & Peter Gabriel
54 mins; September 07, 2023
"Soul Vaccination" by Tower of Power
49 mins; August 24, 2023
"Killing Me Softly With His Song," as sung by Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack, & Lori Lieberman
59 mins; August 10, 2023
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears For Fears
47 mins; July 27, 2023
An Operatic Odyssey, with Luigi Boccia
218 hours 37 mins; July 13, 2023
Season 5 Announcement!
6 mins; July 12, 2023
"You're The Voice" by John Farnham, Live in Sydney
46 mins; June 29, 2023
The Light and Dark of Music, with Lily E. Hirsch
64 hours 45 mins; May 25, 2023
From Bach to Miles Davis, with Emily Reese
78 hours 17 mins; February 16, 2023
"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" by Kate Bush
20 mins; December 29, 2022
The Music of Star Wars: Andor
57 mins; December 15, 2022
Year Four, In Review
49 mins; November 17, 2022
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
60 hours 41 mins; November 03, 2022
"The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" by "Weird Al" Yankovic
54 mins; October 20, 2022
Singing Drummers & Jazz Flute
59 mins; October 06, 2022
Strong Grooves, Vol. 1 (feat. Russ Kleiner)
59 mins; September 22, 2022
"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco
53 mins; September 08, 2022
Lofi Beats & The Circle of Fifths
55 mins; August 25, 2022
"Help Me" by Joni Mitchell
55 mins; August 11, 2022
A Jazz Mystery, Solved
12 mins; July 28, 2022
The Music of Final Fantasy VII
40 mins; July 14, 2022
"Silent All These Years" by Tori Amos
51 mins; June 16, 2022
Three to Tango, with Alex Krebs and Andrew Oliver
57 mins; June 02, 2022
Strong Solos, Vol. 1
53 mins; May 19, 2022
"Wichita Lineman" by Jimmy Webb & Glen Campbell
53 mins; May 05, 2022
Robot Composers & Horror Music
56 mins; April 21, 2022
The Music of The Legend of Zelda
54 mins; April 07, 2022
Mario Kart & That 'Musical' Sound
56 mins; March 24, 2022
"Just What I Needed" by The Cars
52 mins; March 10, 2022
Story of a Session Guitarist, with Andrew Synowiec
53 mins; February 24, 2022
Strong Covers, Vol. 2
55 mins; February 10, 2022
Funky Drummers, Cheap Guitars & Sting
50 mins; January 27, 2022
"Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon
42 mins; January 13, 2022
Year Three, In Review
46 mins; November 16, 2021
Singing Like A Star, with Eric Vetro
55 mins; November 09, 2021
Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
59 mins; November 02, 2021
Metroid Music, Bond Themes & Jazz Philosophy
64 hours 23 mins; October 19, 2021
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)" by Janet Jackson
