This week SongTalk welcomed our old friend Blair Packham to our studio.
The Toronto-based artist, first gained attention for his work with ’80’s power pop band The Jitters. He is now an acclaimed solo artist and musician. Blair released two strongly-reviewed solo albums before shifting his focus to composing music for TV and films, teaching songwriting at the post-secondary level and in numerous special event workshops, and co-hosting a long-running major market weekly radio show about music (“In the Studio” on the BellMedia talk radio network).…
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One of our favourite guests and friend of the show Blair Packham returned to the show to share his song ideas, from titles to bits of songs, and how he develops them into full-fledged songs.
We talked about:
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We figured it was time to talk about rhyme; a cornerstone of songwriting. So we invited one of our favourite singer/songwriters – Blair Packham – to take a closer listen to songs with a plethora of rhymes and one with virtually none!…
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Songwriting master Blair Packham stopped by and we gave a deep dive on The Beatles Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Friend of the show Mike MacInnes sat in for Bruce.
Stuff we talked about:
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For this special episode, good friend of the show Blair Packham (frontman of The Jitters, co-creator of Song Studio), brought in two of his favourite songs and together we dove deep into each song. We talked about:
Listen to the show
The Songs
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From the moment Blair Packham started to speak, we knew we were in for some great lessons from a master songwriter and experienced teacher. If You Were Mine featured a great bridge and instrumental break. In Her Dreams started out as a story of a woman in a call centre and moved to a daughter caring for an ailing mother. …
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Blair shares the very first song he ever wrote, and talks about the difference between writing from the heart and writing from the head. And the Monster Mash.
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We celebrated six years on Song Talk Radio with a little reminiscing, a few songwriting tips, and some random stuff. We talked about:
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Visiting from the United Kingdom, Pena Hughes-John joined us with two of her original songs. We talked about:
- Steampunk as a culture, fashion statement, and musical style
- Writing songs on the ukulele
- How many chords is too many?
- Collaborating with others
- Writing a song from a writing prompt
- Using time signature changes to introduce tension
- Our show all about rhymes with Blair Packham
- Using reverse vocals in your recordings
Listen to the show
Download the lyrics for:
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This week SongTalk Radio has a special episode celebrating the 35th anniversary of the classic film, “This Is Spinal Tap”. And joining us in our trip down memory lane is one of our favourite guests on the show Blair Packham. We talk about where and when we first encountered this classic cult comedy and how true it was to our own experiences in the music business (hint: very!)…
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Our own Michael Proudfoot proudly stepped into the world of cover songs. He uncovered a treasure trove of examples and ideas. Have a listen as the Song Talk Radio team plus Blair Packham (The Jitters) tackles:
- when everything was a cover
- the difference between 45, 78, and 33 1/3 rpm records
- professional songwriters writing for professional singers
- How The Beatles shifted pop culture by both writing and performing their own songs
- Jimi Hendrix covers All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
- authenticity (Sarah McLachlan) and self-expression
- Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Carole King, Leonard Cohen
- singing someone else’s song – making it universal
- Husker Du, Love Is All Around (Sonny Curtis)
Listen to the whole show
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For our 5-year anniversary, we visited moments past and our favourite bits. Song Talk Radio Superfan Mike MacInnes joined us (for the 5th time!)
Listen to the show
Some of our favourite theme shows:
Some of our favourite guest shows:
We talked about:
- How to write lyrics that are specific but open enough to allow the listener in
- The distance between being inspired to write a song and developing it with craft
- What the heck is polytonality?
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Maybe you didn’t ask for it but we did it anyway – the 90’s song draft – this time with Canadian songwriters. Blair Packham sat in for a sick Bruce, Vanessa joined the gang for her song picks, and much fun was had.…
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For this special episode, each of the Song Talk Radio hosts shared one of their own songs for discussion. We talked about:
Listen to the show
The Songs
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Join the gang as we go over our favourite bits of the last year and lots more stuff!
We talked about:
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The always surprising, risk-taking, gear-shifting, soul-belting Oh Chays are beholden to no single genre. Currently writing and recording their second album, The Oh Chays are a husband and wife duo raised on trad jazz, rockabilly, gospel, and the Detroit radio of the 70’s and 80’s.…
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Up and coming singer-songwriter and Humber College music student Sean Bertram joined us to talk about his education and his chord-based approach to songwriting. Blair Packham subbed in for Phil – thanks Blair! And welcome to Raphael, our new technical and audio specialist – welcome to the team!…
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Born in England, raised in The Netherlands, Paul Vos shared two of his songs with us at Song Talk Radio.
The first was “Lost Along the Way” a song about finding love when you least expect it. Listen for the awesome 80’s background vocals on the chorus!…
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To celebrate our 3rd Anniversary, some of our very dedicated listeners stopped by and we talked about their favorite bits from the last year. Even Nicole stopped by – and then we had cake!
Some stuff we talked about:
Listen to the whole episode:
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Often on Song Talk Radio, this question arises. Sometimes, it’s fun for the hosts to try and guess. “Your song sounds very cerebral,” or “Your song sounds very intuitive.” The guests themselves tell us how well considered every decision in their songwriting process is, or tell us “It just came to me.” …
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