writing

This Is Spinal Tap: 35 Years Later

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!)… Read the rest

Patrick Ballantyne: An album of longing

by Michael Proudfoot

This week Song Talk welcomed Patrick Ballantyne back to our studio. Patrick is a veteran songwriter and musician who has worked with many top-selling artists such as The Trews, Meredith Shaw and Big Sugar.

On this episode, Patrick brought in a few songs from his upcoming new release so our Song Talk audience got to hear the premieres of two tracks – Vicious in Your Vanity and Beneath Your Skin.… Read the rest

What’s a cover song anyway?

by Phil Emery

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

… Read the rest

What’s the hook of a song?

by Phil Emery

Ever wondered why hit songs are so memorable? You know, the ones that you can’t get out of your mind for weeks (or years). Well, it could be the hook. In this episode the Song Talk Radio team does a deep dive into the many and various ways that songwriters have created memorable passages in songs.… Read the rest

Linda Lavender on song development

by Phil Emery

Singer/songwriter Linda Lavender shares the story of her song They Won’t Catch Me Again. Follow her journey from it’s birth on a five-hour road trip to its studio recording. We talked about:

Linda’s album The Rosseau Sessions with Often Running
Bluegrass music
Influencers like Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Alison Krauss
People on the run, rebels, a female protagonist

Listen to the whole show

… Read the rest

Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie review

by Phil Emery

Did you love the new movie Bohemian Rhapsody? Hate it? Something in between? Listen as Bruce, Neel, Phil, Michael, and Vanessa let loose! Hear their takes on the Bryan Singer helmed Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic released in late 2018. While they found much to criticize, they had a few raves too.… Read the rest

Making the most of a three-chord song

by Phil Emery

On this program Bruce, Neel, and Phil, (and Linda) each brought a three-chord song to share. We looked at what each song needed to do (if anything) to compensate for the lack of chord diversity. We talked about: