The Secret Life of Songs
‘The Secret Life of Songs’ is a new podcast series exploring ten classic pop recordings to get to the heart of why they mean so much to us. I'm a musician who writes and performs under the name 'sky coloured' and in each episode, I'll discuss and perform a different classic pop song, from Sam Cooke, to the Beach Boys, to Tina Turner, and more. It's intended to be an insight into how these amazing songs work, from a songwriter's perspective, as well as a personal interpretation of what they might have to say to us. Winner of Bronze in 'Best Arts & Culture Podcast' at the British Podcast Awards 2021.
Podcasting since 2020 • 11 episodes
The Secret Life of Songs
Latest Episodes
#10 - River Deep — Mountain High / Ike & Tina Turner
How does a record make us feel like we're in a vast space, one that we've never experienced, one that may not exist? In this episode, the last of the series, I look at the Phil Spector production, 'River Deep — Mountain High', performed in 1966...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
24:11
#9 - The Makings of You / Curtis Mayfield
Since I first started listening to pop music, I've wondered about what's really going on in songs about love. Something seems to haunt expressions of romantic affection or loss, something that often seems to go beyond the strict meaning of the ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
27:30
#8 - Walkin' After Midnight & Crazy / Patsy Cline
When Patsy Cline first heard Willie Nelson's demo version of 'Crazy', she didn't like it, thinking it sounded too vulnerable and heartbroken. Talked into it by her husband and her producer, she would make a record that seemed to capture somethi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
24:46
#7 - Cigarettes and Coffee / Otis Redding
What does a chorus do in a pop song? Among our most basic assumptions about what will happen in a pop song is the expectation that it will lead us towards the fulfilment and clarity of a chorus, so it’s always interesting when a song chooses no...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
26:21
#6 - Jealous Guy / John Lennon
The history of rock music is in large part a history of men writing condescending and degrading songs about women, so it's interesting when a songwriter like John Lennon - with a track record of some of rock's most notoriously misogynistic lyri...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
20:38