Songs and Objects

In this episode, Richard talks about some songs and objects in the work of Taylor Swift. He discusses evocative objects, versions, reworkings, uncanny doublings, and song itineraries. He questions whether the 10-minute version of 'All Too Well' and its accompanying 15-minute film were really necessary and concludes, reluctantly, that they probably were. 

In this episode, Richard talks about some songs and objects in the work of the British singer-songwriter Richard Dawson. He discusses tensions that build when what we want to focus on is people and lives and memories and communities and connections, but all that seems to remain are traces and trails of objects. He argues that Richard Dawson’s songs are both a brilliant response to such tensions and an example of how songs bring both objects and people to life.

In this episode of Songs and Objects, Richard talks about list songs and the inherent musicality of lists more generally. He explores how the listing of objects, events or people in prose and poetry creates some of the necessary conditions for song and describes songs that employ lists as a structuring device, pulling examples from Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Billy Joel, Blackalicious, Nina Simone, Robert Wyatt, John Grant, Joe Pug, Tom Lehrer and Gilbert & Sullivan.

Welcome to Songs and Objects, a podcast that explores the materiality of song. In this episode, Richard talks about some songs and objects in the work of the American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. Topics covered include shirts, maps and other evocative objects, songs as transformational objects, and the ways in which songs use objects to chart the life course.

Welcome to Songs and Objects, a podcast that explores the materiality of song. In this episode Richard sets the scene for future episodes by talking about foolish things, little things, and how songs relate to objects.