Bluegrass, Blue Prince, and the Blues

Kirk answers a bunch of listener questions on topics like bluegrass guitar, the music of Blue Prince, good apps for training theory skills, Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics," a mysterious sound on a Gene Clark song, different types of music notation, and the legacy of the blues. All that, and a trio of terrific singer/songwriters stops by the studio to help answer a question about lyrics.

Come see Triple Click Live! Friday, July 11 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. Tickets Here

Kirk has new music for sale on Bandcamp: Music For Podcasting and his original score for Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

Thanks to The Wailin' Jennys for coming on the show! Stay tuned for a full-length interview episode this summer, and go see them live if you can. They are amazing.

7/27/2025 Update: Several people wrote in with theories about the "Lady of the North" sound, and Kirk has been convinced it's an electric violin.

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

• “White Trash Wedding” by The Chicks from Home, 2002
• A live performance of “White Trash Wedding”
• “Simon’s Theme” by Trigg & Gusset from the Blue Prince original soundtrack, 2025
• Kirk’s recent essay about Blue Prince and music
• Two good free music sites: musictheory.net and muted.io
• “What Am I Here For” by Jade Bird from Something American - EP, 2017
• “Across The Sea” by The Wailin’ Jennys from Bright Morning Stars, 2011
• “Lady of the North” by Gene Clark from No Other, 1974
• Bass legend Lee Sklar on YouTube
• Mark Lager's 2024 No Other retrospective in Under The Radar Magazine
• The terrific Wonder of Stevie podcast
• Tantacrul’s tremendous video about the history of music notation
• “Hammond Song” by The Roaches, 1979
• Chords of Orion video explaining and re-creating Frippertronics
• “The Heavenly Music Corporation II” by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno from No Pussyfooting, 1973
• “St. James Infirmary” rec. Joseph “King” Oliver, 1930
• “Cross Road Blues” rec. Robert Johnson, ~193x
• “Down Hearted Blues” rec. Bessie Smith, 1929
• Two versions of "Wedding Song" by Anaïs Mitchell from Hadestown, 2018
• Kirk’s essay about musical creation and “The Spark”

OUTRO SOLO: Rob Reich, prolific bay area multi-instrumentalist, died unexpectedly a few weeks ago at the age of 47. It's an unfathomable loss. Rob recorded an outro solo for Strong Songs back in its very first year, so we're including it in this episode as a tribute to him and his generous musical spirit. Read more about Rob here.

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JUNE 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

Thomas McIlheran – Andy – Lisa Crotty – Rick Keeler – Elizabeth Culver – Meryl Allison – Robyn Metcalfe – Cesar – Corpus Frisky – Ben Barron – Catherine Warner – Damon White – Jay Swartz – Rush – Daniel Hannon-Barry – Christopher Miller – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joe Laska – Ken Hirsh – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Nathaniel Bauernfeind – Paul Delaney – Sami Samhuri – Jeremy Dawson – AccessViolation – Dave Florey

JUNE 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

Ian Steding – Margaret McReynolds – Alison Dugan – Princess of Whales – Dave Douglass – Suzanne Crawford – PhantomMare – Kym Griffith – Rachel – Aruni Jayatilleke – Ryan Gillen – TB – Daniel Kaberon – Wiggy Hash – Whit Sidener – Julie Kellman – Simon Hellman – Bea – Claudia Carty – Dani – Glenn Jackson – Christopher Selby Spink – Philip Kelly – Daniel Nervo – Kevin Stafford – Lawrence – Sy Jacobs – Irritable – Ian Pidd – Andrew Hof