About this episode
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? To the rock? To the river? To the sea? Well, wherever you run, you'll still be starring in a Strong Songs analysis of one of Nina Simone's greatest recordings. Yes, it's time for Strong Songs' first-ever analysis of a live recording, as Kirk digs in to legendary pianist/vocalist Nina Simone's 1965 interpretation of the traditional spiritual song "Sinnerman." It's time for some syncopated piano, popless grooves, band crash-landings, hand-clap breakdowns, hip hop samples, and one spectacular vocal cadenza. Artist: Nina Simone Album: Pastel Blues (1965) Written by: Traditional, arr. Nina Simone Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "I Put a Spell On You" and "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone on I Put a Spell On You , 1965 "Strange Fruit" as performed by Simone on Pastel Blues , 1965 "Sinner Man" arranged by Les Baxter for his orchestra "Oh, Timbaland" by Timbaland from Shock Value , 2007 "Get By" by Talib Kweli from Quality , 2002 Audio from John McTiernan's underrated 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair Audio from Liz Garbus' excellent 2015 documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? OUTRO SOLOIST: Rob Reich This episode's outro soloist is the wonderful bay area pianist/accordionist Rob Reich. Rob performs all over the place with a bunch of different groups, and is a total pleasure to see play. He's got a bunch of albums you can check out and contributes to an array of interesting projects (Live silent-film scores! Circus music!) and experiments. Find more at his website, http://www.robreich.com/ . -------------------- March 2020 Whole-Note Patrons AccessViolation - Andrew Walters - Caleb Rotach - Chad Barnard - Craig J. Covell - Dan Apczynski - Dave Florey - Glenn - Jared Norris - Mark Schechter - Merlin Mann - Ryan Torvik March 2020 Half-Note Patrons AJ Schuster - Alex Singer - Alexander Polson - Amanda Furlotti - Andre Bremer - Andrew Baker - Andrew Lee - Arjun Sharma - Bill Thornton - Brant Brantphillip - Brett Douville - Brian Amoebas - Brooke Wilford - Chas Lednicky - Chris Brown - Christer Lindqvist - Cyrus N. White - Darryl Stewart - David Stroud - Earl Lozada - Eero Wahlstedt - Elliot Jay O’Neill - Emily Williams - Fishbones - Forrest Chang - Gavin Doig - Jacob Dye - Jaehoon Jeong - James Johnson - Jeffrey Olson - Jennifer Bush - Jeremy Dawson - John and Sharon Stenglein - Jon O’Keefe - Joujou - Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua - Jules Bailey - Justin Liew - Justin McElroy - Kate Albury - Kevin Morrell - Kevin Pennyfeather - Leigh Sales - Mark Steen - Markus Koester - Matt Gaskell - Max Schechter - Melanie Stivers - Michael Blackwell - Miriam Juskowicz - Mueller - Nate from Kalamazoo - Nicholas Schechter - Richard Toller - Robbie Ferrero - Sam Fenn - Samuel Gardner - Shane DeLeon - SP - Tanner Morton - Tom Clewer - Tom Lauer - Toni Isaacson ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Bluesky 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics