What do George Michael, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, and the Powerpuff Girls have in common?

The answer, as you'll learn on this episode, is a funk drumming legend named Clyde Stubblefield. We'll also talk about flipped drum beats, Sting's taste for syncopation, the differences between cheap and expensive musical instruments, how to tell a bridge from a prechorus, the power of a four-note motif, the unexpected places you can find songwriting inspiration, and Muse's subtle hat-tip to a George Michael classic.

FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

• “Darling” by Real Estate from In Mind • , 2017 • "Ghost Story" by Sting from Brand New Day • , 1999 • “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks • , 1964 • “Walking on Broken Glass” and "Little Bird" by Annie Lennox from Diva • , 1992 Skins • theme by Segal, 2007 • “Kiss” by Prince from Parade • , 1986 • "Beneath the Snow" by Kirk Hamilton from... well, it's never been published • "Dig Down" by Muse from Simulation Theory • , 2017 • “Freedom ’90” by George Michael, 1990 • “Royals” by Lorde from Pure Heroine • , 2013 • “Funky Drummer” by James Brown feat. Clyde Stubblefield, 1970 • “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, 1989 • “Save Me” by Nicki Minaj, 2010 • “Shirtsleeves” by Ed Sheeran, 2014 • The Powerpuff Girls • theme, by James L. Venable, 1998 • A complete list of songs • that sample Clyde Stubblefield’s drum break on “Funky Drummer” • Ben Sisario’s 2011 NYT feature • on Stubblefield

OUTRO SOLOIST: Mel Carroll

Mel Carroll is a saxophonist and music teacher based in Portland, OR, where she plays with bands like like Special Purpose and the all-women 90s cover band Sideboob. Her main music project is The Flat Nines, a chill jazz funk group with a new EP, "No Hate," coming in spring of 2022. You can find more at theflatnines.com.

STRONG MERCH

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JOIN THE STRONG SONGS DISCORD

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STRONG PLAYLISTS

Kirk has condensed his Strong Songs picks into a single new list, which you can find on Spotify and Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

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JANUARY 2022 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

RR Prince M. Levy-Benitez Elliot Rosen Ashley Hoag Mark and Michelle Kelsair Rob Bosworth Kyle Cooke Donald Mackie Melissa Osborne Christopher Miller Tim Byrne Jamie White Christopher McConnell David Mascetti Joshua Jarvis Niko Joe Laska Laurie Acreman Ken Hirsh Jez Melanie Andrich Jenness Gardner Simon Cammell Guinevere Boostrom Narelle Horn Nathaniel Bauernfeind Bill Rosinger Anne Britt Erin Aidan Coughlan Jeanneret Manning Family Four Doug Paton Robert Paul Dave Sharpe Sami Samhuri AccessViolation Ryan Torvik Merlin Mann Glenn Jim Chokey Andre Bremer Mark Schechter Dave Florey

JANUARY 2022 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

Anupama Raghavan Demetri Detsaridis Carrie Schneider Alenka Grealish Anne Gerry Richard Sneddon David Judson Julian Roleff Melissa Gallardo Janice Berry Doreen Carlson mtwolf David McDarby Abigail Duffield Raphadavid Wendy Gilchrist Lisa Turner Paul Wayper Miles Forman Dennis M Edwards Jeffrey Ferris Bruno Gaeta Kenneth Jung ben Adam Stofsky Zak Remer Rishi Sahay Jason Reitman Karen Liu Greg Burgess Ailie Fraser Simon Prieto Paul McGreal Karen Arnold NATALIE MISTILIS Josh Singer Phino DeLeon Schloss Edward J. MD Amy Lynn Thornsen Adam W Kelli Brockington Stephen Rawlings Ben Machta Victoria Yu Kevin Rivers Gray Dyer Brad Clark Christopher Michael J. Cunningham Kari Kirk Mark Boggs mino capossela Steve Paquin Mary Schoenmaker Sarah David Joske Emma Sklar Bernard Khoo Marc David Blackman Robert Heuer Matthew Golden Brian Meldrum David Noah Geraldine Butler Richard Cambier Madeleine Mader Timothy Dougherty Jason Pratt Stewart Oak Caroline Miller Abbie Berg Sam Norton Nicole Schleicher Doug Belew Dermot Crowley Achint Srivastava Ryan Rairigh Michael Berman Bridget Lyons Olivia Bishop John Gisselquist Elaine Martin Kouroth Bonnie Prinsen Sharon Tree Belinda Mcgrath-steer Liz Seger Eoin de Burca Kevin Potter M Shane Borders Pete Simm Susan Plein Dallas Hockley Jana J Jason Gerry Nathan Gouwens Will Dwyer Alethea Lee Lauren Reay Eric Prestemon Cookies250 Damian Brady Angela Livingstone JeffyThanadros David Friedman Phillip Dalton Sarah Sulan Diane Hughes Kenneth Tiong Jo Sutherland Michael Casner Michael York Barb Courtney Derek Bender Jen Small Lowell Meyer Etele Illes Stephen Tsoneff Lorenz Schwarz Wen Jack Sjogren Geoff Golden Robyn Fraser Pascal Rueger Randy Souza JC Brendan Jubb Clare Holberton Diane Turner Tom Coleman Tijs Soete Mark Perry Dhu Wik Mel Eric Helm Jake Roberts Briony Leo Bill Fuller Steven Maron Michael Flaherty Jarrod Schindler Zoe Little Caro Field michael bochner Duncan Naomi Watson David Cushman Alexander Chris K Gavin Doig Sam Fenn Tanner Morton AJ Schuster Jennifer Bush David Stroud Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Matt Gaskell Jules Bailey Eero Wahlstedt Andrew Fair Bill Thornton Brian Amoebas Brett Douville Jeffrey Olson Matt Betzel Mueller Nate from Kalamazoo Melanie Stivers Richard Toller Alexander Polson Earl Lozada Jon O’Keefe Justin McElroy Arjun Sharma James Johnson Andrew Lee Kevin Morrell Kevin Pennyfeather Nicholas Schechter Emily Williams