Comedian, author, actor, musician and more Michelle Braisier joins Jeremy Dylan to talk about Once, the album of music by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová from the classic film of the same name.

Michelle discusses the intimacy and sincerity that powers the film, the beautiful sadness of the music, her annual rewatches of the film in memory of her brother, whether the film is a musical or not, people who hate musicals but like superhero movies, songs that she can’t sing without crying, the blurred lines between Hansard and Irglove and their characters, getting RSI auditioning for the stage musical adaption of Once and much more.

Michelle also talks about the trick to writing comedy songs that are actually funny, and shares the story of a beautiful moment in Edinburgh during one of her performances just after the passing of her brother when the comedy community rallied around her.

Today comedian/writer/musician/podcaster Chloe Maddren joins me to shine a light on the less heralded Amy Winehouse album, 2003’s Frank.

We talk about the cat she named after the album, fighting against Winehouse’s influence on her voice and lifestyle, the difference between the popular conception of Winehouse and who she was on this album, the differences between Frank and Back to Black, identifying with music beyond your age, the jazz influence on the record, being older than Amy Winehouse when she passed away, the validity of teenage pain, the pun of the album title, lyrics that haven’t aged well and much more.

We also talk about why she didn’t choose a Taylor Swift album, her pop star aspirations, how her comedy career balances with her earnest songwriting, bombing in Bondi and “the girl fedora”.

Chloe's standup special 'Hot Girl Stuff (Disordered Eating & Crippling Self-Hate) is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fMzLtyC6VMo&t=65s

https://www.patreon.com/TheFriendRequest/posts 

Today I'm joined by songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of The Lumineers, Jeremiah Fraites, to wax rhapsodic on Radiohead's iconic 1997 album 'OK Computer'.
We talk about Jeremiah's journey from hating to loving Radiohead as a teenager, the album's diverse but coherent sound, the album's sonic easter eggs, the balance of performed and constructed elements, the early live incarnations of the OK Computer songs, road testing songs in the pre-iPhone era, the power of boredom as creative fuel and more. We also breakdown Jeremiah's beautiful interpretation of 'No Surprises', featured on his new album 'Piano Piano 2', and the process of arranging the song and recording with Gregory Alan Isakov.

Australian comedy legend Colin Lane (Lano and Woodley) is a self-proclaimed sceptic when it comes to people’s deep emotional connection to pop stars, but he proves a game guest on this week’s podcast, as he and I mark Elton John’s first appearance on the show by talking about ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’. We get into the ins and outs of Elton’s partnership with Bernie Taupin, how much the songs reflect Bernie’s point of view over Elton’s, Colin’s own insights on how to keep a creative partnership together over multiple decades, the beautiful ‘naffness’ of Elton’s music, whether it’s becoming more acceptable to sing explicitly about same sex relationships in pop music and a great rollicking chat about the Elton biopic Rocket Man and why we feel like it was far superior than Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Today one Australia’s most compelling artists, Mo’Ju, joins me for a celebration of the love child of Raymond Chandler and the Cookie Monster, Tom Waits, and his classic 1978 album ‘Blue Valentine’. We talk about the Tom Waits musical universe, how Waits uses a clearly defined persona to keep his private life private, the film noir sensibility that pervades Waits’ lyrics, how Mo’Ju chased the sound of Waits’ records in her early music, how Waits made the grotesque and the mundane beautiful, the different definitions of authenticity in art, double standards around lyrical content for different types of artists and much more.

Today music journalist (People, Rolling Stone) and co-host of the Rivals podcast Jordan Runtagh joins me from New York City to finally tackle one of our white whales - The Beach Boys immortal classic ‘Pet Sounds’. Yes, somehow we are in year eight of the show without anyone doing the record. Never fear, we get into it in some detail today, from the background of the record and Brian Wilson’s shift to non-touring creative genius, the intra-family fights between Brian and Mike Love, the contrasts between Pet Sounds and the Beatles' Sgt Pepper, the starkness of the lyrics, the contributions of the Wrecking Crew and Jordan’s experiences interviewing Brian Wilson and how this album helped him connect with his father.

Today we’re bringing you a fascinating conversation with Batwoman’s Nicole Kang on country icon Patsy Cline’s ‘Sentimentally Yours’, the last album the legendary singer recorded before her tragically premature death at age 30. Nicole tells the story of how Cline’s music formed part of the tapestry of her childhood and became an essential shibboleth of her relationship with her taciturn immigrant father and spoke to his relationship with his adopted home country. Nicole tells the story of discovering the album anew as an adult in the midst of heartbreak and how it led her to open a new dialogue with her father about her childhood. We talk about identity, assimilation, direct emotion, the idea of Nicole playing Patsy on Broadway, the mystique around artists who died young and Nicole performs a poem from her one-woman show that speaks to the impact of Patsy Cline’s music on her.

Today New York bred Nashville based singer-songwriter Jillette Johnson joins me on the eve of her new album release, to discuss Patty Griffin’s game-changing genre-defying second album Flaming Red. Like Bob Dylan, Patty shocked a lot of people when she ‘went electric’ on this record, and we get into why this album was different to her folky debut, the reactions upon its release, why it’s impossible to put Patty in a genre box, how Jillette has been inspired to expand and evolve her sound on her new record and more. We dig into seminal songs like ‘One Big Love’, ‘Tony’ and more, the different lyrical modes Patty deploys across the record, and the contributions from producer Jay Joyce and the other stellar musicians who played on the record.

Today, legendary songwriter and Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson joins me to talk about the Joni Mitchell masterpiece that isn’t ‘Blue’ - 1976's ‘Hejira’.
We talk about where the title came from, how a teenage infatuation led Dan to Joni, why Jaco Pastorius is like Hannibal Lector, the album’s lyrical themes of groundedness vs freedom, key songs like Amelia and Furry Sings the Blues and how Dan’s relationship with the album changed when he started writing his own songs.

We’re kicking off 2021 with the legendary producer, guitarist and singer/songwriter Daniel Lanois, talking about one of the greatest debut albums of all time, The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 barnstormer ‘Are You Experienced?’
We delve into Daniel’s discovery of the record while he was a teenage record producer in Canada, how the album opened up his imagination, the idiosyncrasies and nuances of Hendrix’s guitar playing technique and how it’s influenced Lanois’ own approach to the instrument, Mitch Mitchell’s jazz influenced drumming and some of the studio innovations that made the album special. Daniel also talks about reimagining ‘May This Be Love’ with Emmylou Harris when they recorded it for her classic album ‘Wrecking Ball’.
Plus I pick Daniel’s brain about the making of my favorite Willie Nelson album ‘Teatro’, which he produced and was the subject of a previous episode of this show.

Singer/songwriter/fiddle wizard Amanda Shires joins me over chicken-fried steak to talk/argue about the great Leonard Cohen and his 1971 masterpiece 'Songs of Love and Hate'.

Is the album depressing? What is Leonard Cohen's best song? Is co-writing good or bad and should Amanda do it? Did she steal one of Cohen's coat hangers? Why did she write a song about wanting to hang out with Cohen? What about the cover of 'I'm Your Man' she did?

It's a rambling, insightful, funny and sometimes contentious chat from one of today's most engaging performers. Listen to it and then check out her new album 'To The Sunset'.

My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our lives. Each episode features a guest on their favorite album of all time - why they love it, their history with the album and how it's influenced them.

Jeremy Dylan is a filmmaker, journalist, concert promoter and photographer. He directed the the feature music documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts (out now!) and the film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins.

We’re on a break at the moment but I thought it would be interesting to revisit this episode from four years ago, our end of the year 2016 wrap up, featuring a bunch of different interviews touching on the big stories in music of the year, including the traumatic aftershock of the US election and the creeping dread of the incoming Trump administration, and the realisation that 2017 maybe was going to be getting worse not better.

Thankfully I feel like we’re coming out of this particular hell year of 2020 with a more optimistic outlook on the next year, so I’m posting this today as a way of reflecting to some extent on the horrors of the last half decade and also a feeling that we might be turning at least one page onto a better future now...

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10 conversations about the highs and lows of music in 2016:

Emmy winner Jeff Greenstein (Friends, Will & Grace) on when David Bowie guest starred on his first TV sitcom.

How Melbourne indie soul band Cookin’ on 3 Burners had a smash hit on the French dance charts with a seven year old song.

Americana singer/songwriter Melody Pool on finding her way back to her darkest emotional places to write her stellar album Deep Dark Savage Heart. 

ARIA-nominee Lisa Mitchell on struggling with how to listen to music in the modern age.

Nashville-based Aussie ex-pat Emma Swift on being artistically radicalised by the election of Donald Trump.

Filmmaker Brian Koppelman (Billions, Rounders, Ocean’s 13) on what music to listen to to get through the Trump blues, and what to expect from music in the coming years.

Crowded House guitarist/keyboardist Mark Hart on the inside story of their triumphant reunion shows at the Sydney Opera House forecourt. 

You Am I guitarist Davey Lane on a year of playing with his living heroes and paying tribute to his dead ones. 

Singer/songwriter Alex Lahey on writing some of the year’s best songs for her debut EP and what to expect from her imminent debut album. 

Host Jeremy Dylan reveals his 10 favorite albums of 2016. 

Longtime friend of the show and host of the Empire Film Podcast, Chris Hewitt, returns to talk about the classic Hollywood thriller 'The Hunt for Red October', the first film adapted from Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels, starring Alec Baldwin as Ryan and the late great Sir Sean Connery as Russian (just go with it) Captain Ramius.

We discuss if this is Connery’s best post-Bond role, why Baldwin might be the best Jack Ryan, Hollywood’s need to action up the nerd hero, the incredibly deep bench of supporting players in the cast, the subversive politics of the film, whether John McTiernan will ever direct another movie and we trade duelling questionable Connery impressions. Plus we brainstorm a modern day Broadway version of the film and pitch our dream cast - someone get me Lin-Manuel Miranda and/or Scott Rudin’s email!

Today I'm joined by Ed Nash, bassist of UK indie heroes Bombay Bicycle Club, down the line from North London to chat about Kurt Vile's modern classic 2011 album, 'Smoke Ring for My Halo'.
Ed talks about discovering the album on tour in Australia, how it became the soundtrack of BBC's breakthrough period, listening to it on repeat on tour, the sonic space and soundscape of the album, Vile's sophisticated and distinctive guitar style, how Vile disguises the sophistication of his music with his 'slacker rock' image, and how the album influenced Ed's approach to guitar, arrangements and lyrics in the years since. 

Normally on this show we venerate musicians, today we’re mocking them as we present a little compilation of music jokes guests have told me this year, never before heard until now. Listen to gags from Georgia Mooney, Fred Armisen, Stella Mozgawa, Edith Bowman, Seja Vogel, Dan Wilson and even your host.

Today, legendary Nashville singer-songwriter Kim Richey joins me to talk about Joni Mitchell’s classic 1974 double live album ‘Miles of Aisles’. We talk about how the record acts as a great entry point to Joni’s early career, the way Joni and LA Express reinterpret her early folk songs, the difference between Joni’s lyrical style and peers like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, Joni’s influence on Kim’s songwriting and what it was like for Kim to reinterpret her own back catalogue when she recorded a new album of the songs from her classic ‘Glimmer’ record, which came out earlier this year.

Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with the great gentleman of rock’n’roll Nick Lowe, in what was meant to be the first episode of a new podcast about live shows and touring. It turned out 2020 wasn’t the best year to launch a show like that, so instead I’m bringing this chat to you now.
We talk about everything from how his mid-career reinvention as the only gracefully ageing man in rock has influenced the style and approach of his shows, how his singing style has changed over the years, rearranging his back catalogue with his backing band Los Straitjackets, the surprising songs his younger fans gravitate toward, how he constructs his set lists, how he keeps playing songs like ‘Cruel to Be Kind’ and ’What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding’ fresh and fun for him and why he closes every show with a cover of his old pal Elvis Costello’s classic song ‘Alison’.

Today I’m joined by songwriting duo and hosts of the brilliant Sodajerker on Songwriting podcast, Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, to talk about Paul Simon’s classic middle-aged divorcee record Still Crazy After All These Years. We talk about how the album reflects an ‘adult’ approach in subject matter and composition, how aspects of it reveal more as the listener ages, the balance between specificity in Simon’s lyrics but still leaving a place for the listener to find themselves in the song, whether drummer Steve Gadd deserves a writing credit on 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, whether the Simon and Garfunkel reunion song My Little Town fits in the flow of the record and Simon and Brian reflect on their experience interviewing Paul Simon for their podcast.

Today, Aussie hip-hop king L-Fresh the Lion joins me to discuss the fascinating and emotionally compelling J Cole concept album ‘4 Your Eyez Only’. We delve into how Cole use’s the album to tell the story of a late friend in the guise of a first person narrative, how he intermingles stories from his own life, why the album needs to be listened to in full, Cole’s rare status as a music star who takes his privacy seriously and avoids the tabloids, the crazy true story about J Cole’s home studio being raided by a SWAT team and much more.

Today the brilliant British broadcaster and podcaster Edith Bowman joins me to talk about Midlake’s 2006 cult classic The Trials of Van Occupanther, how it soundtracked her early relationship with her husband, its qualities of instant nostalgia and why she returns to it time and time again, including as a balm during lockdown.
Plus, we talk about her experiences with live music during lockdown, who she’s most excited to see next year when touring resumes, the hidden tragedies of the absence of festivals, why she’s bad at saying no to things and her long friendship with friend of the show Drew Pearce.

Today reformed drummer and comedic genius Fred Armisen (Portlandia, SNL, Documentary Now) joins me to discuss the dreamy magic of El Perro Del Mar’s 2008 album From the Valley to the Stars.
We talk about how the album became part of his routine at Saturday Night Live, why it inspired him to go out and buy a Hofner bass, how the songs fade in and fade out (and we speculate on the history of fade outs in popular music), his relationship with the artist herself, making a music video for her, why this album is the perfect travelling soundtrack and more.
Plus, we make a plan to form the literal biggest band of all time, talk about meeting Paul McCartney, Fred’s issues with music criticism and much more.

Today I’m joined by singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow, on the eve of her new album release, to wax rhapsodic about the 2013 debut LP by friend of the show Melody Pool, ‘The Hurting Scene’. We unpack Melody’s wielding of emotional restraint to create tension, her unaffected skill as a vocalist, her literate lyrics, the emotional impact of songs like ‘Henry’, Tia’s history covering Melody’s songs and how she inspired her songwriting, why Tia makes me feel like an old man and I dig into the archives to revisit a classic conversation with Melody herself about the recording of the album.

On another format-busting episode of MFA, hosts of Light the Fuse podcast Drew Taylor and Charles Hood return to the show to bash out the eternal rivalry in spy movie world - James Bond vs Mission Impossible. Using the enduring James Bond movie formula - from gun barrels to gadgets, leading ladies to leering bad guys, we compare and contrast the two franchises and see where they differ, and more interestingly, how they’ve grown more and more similar through this current century. Plus we speculate about the casting of the next Bond, and instigate an entire new spy movie franchise which could eclipse 007 and Ethan Hunt.

We kick off our tenth anniversary year with ARIA-winner Mia Dyson, who joins me to talk about the soundtrack of the iconic Talking Heads concert film 'Stop Making Sense'.
We talk about wearing out VHS tapes in the pre-streaming era, the contrast between the band's musical eccentricity and austere aesthetic, why the film is the perfect entry point for new Talking Heads fans, how the show builds from David Byrne solo acoustic to the full expanded band extravaganza, Byrne's obsession with deconstruction, how the analogue staging and filmmaking techniques have kept the film timeless 40 years later, the overriding joyousness of the performances despite the contentious interband dynamics, the unconventional choreography in the show, the earnest emotional core behind all the weirdness and Mia's NYC David Byrne sighting. Mia talks about how this music gave her permission to be herself in her own music, different concepts of authenticity and how Talking Heads influenced her 2018 album 'If I Said Only So Far, I Take It Back', and her approach to vocal performance and revisiting abandoned material for her new album 'Tender Heart'.

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and one of the best drummers of her generation Stella Mozgawa joins me for a look at the legendary Brian Eno’s final 70s pop masterpiece (before his turn into ambient music) Before and After Science. We delve into the most interesting man in rock’s creative process, how he used the studio as his instrument and enlisted collaborators from Robert Fripp to Phil Collins (and we defend Phil’s legacy), why it’s a good thing that Eno has kept his archival vaults locked, how Warpaint have used Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards in the studio, and why you should always turn down dinner invitations from an EGOT.

Longtime friend of the show and one of my favorite people in the world to talk music with, writer/director/showrunner Brian Koppelman (Billions, Rounders, Ocean’s 13) joins me to talk about Lou Reed’s mid-career classic ‘New York’ album. We talk about how Lou got sober and political simultaneously, the powerful simplicity of the music and the carefully crafter lyrics that Reed agonised over, Brian’s memories of living in NYC when this album was released, how the city looms large over both Lou and Brian’s writing, how Brian has deployed Lou’s songs in his TV series ‘Billions’, Lou’s enduring influence and much more.

Today a friend of the show becomes a subject of it, as emerging singer-songwriter Essie Holt joins me to rave on Megan Washington’s 2010 debut album ‘I Believe You Liar’. We talk about the benefits of discovering artists at live shows, Meg’s iconic ARIAs performance of ‘Sunday Best’, the will in song form ‘Underground’ and whether it holds legal legitimacy, songwriting as therapy, being the victim in your songs, how releasing music has changed over the last ten years and more.

Today, author and broadcaster Stuart Coupe joins me to discuss his new Paul Kelly biography and some of the lesser known tales from Paul’s life and career. We talk about Paul’s early years, why he struggled to be part of a band, the albums that Paul doesn’t want you to hear and why he’s made them unavailable, why Paul is Australia’s answer to Elvis Costello, what it’s like to write a book about someone you used to manage, how Paul went from being sceptical of the book to an enthusiastic contributor and why Paul didn’t mind losing his luxurious hair.

Beatles nerds rejoice again, as synth queen Seja Vogel joins me to delve into the album that brought Paul McCartney back to the toppermost of the poppermost in 1973, 'Band on the Run'. We talk about Paul’s uneven solo trajectory after the Beatles breakup, the volatile story of how the album was made in Lagos (band members quitting, stolen demo tapes, Fela Kuti, etc), Paul’s drumming, the use of synths on the record, covering Let Me Roll It, how McCartney has become the ambassador to Beatledom, our experiences seeing Paul live, our love for Nineteen Hundred and Eight-Five and Mrs Vanderbilt and the song we think should’ve been left off the album.

1. Dick Powell - Lulu’s Back in Town
2. Elizabeth Welch - Yesterday
3. Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man
4. Tim Carroll - What’ll We Do Til Then?
5. Lizz Wright - Leave Me Standing Alone
6. Willie Nelson - What Was It You Wanted?
7. Willie Nelson - Last Man Standing

Today, Tony-nominated musician and actor Sarah Stiles (Tootsie, Billions, Avenue Q) joins me on the release day of her new EP ‘You Can Ukulele With Me’ to celebrate the wonderful world of Cyndi Lauper. We delve into loving the album as a kid, her intense emotional reaction to seeing Cyndi sing ‘Time After Time’ in person, the real feminist themes of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, Cyndi’s incredible music videos, her vocal influence on Sarah, how Sarah’s album eschews the traps of most actors-turned-musicians and whether some music legends have unknowingly already played their last gig.

Today we’re bringing you the first in a new regular feature on the podcast. Once a month, I’ll be joined by a guest from music, movies, politics, literature or more, but not to discuss their favorite album. These will be compelling conversations about their favorite film, or book, or maybe even important world events.
Today, friend of the show, Emmy-winning writer/director Jeff Greenstein (Friends, Will & Grace, Mom, Desperate Housewives) returns to delve into the eerily relevant 1976 Alan J Pakula classic thriller ‘All the President’s Men’, which tells the true story of how Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke open the incredible Watergate scandal and helped bring down President Richard Nixon.
We talk about the film’s commitment to truth and authenticity, the blending of real archival footage with actors playing real people, how Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman compare to the real life Woodward and Bernstein, differences between the book and film, the way Deep Throat has entered the pop culture lexicon, screenwriter William Goldman’s contentious relationship to the project, the comparisons and differences to the film ‘The Post’ and how to make a thriller compelling when everyone in the audience knows the ending.

Today I’m joined by composer David Hirschfelder (Australia, Strictly Ballroom, Sliding Doors) to take the show’s first cautious steps into the world of jazz fusion, with Weather Report’s 1977 classic ‘Heavy Weather’.
After a brief discussion of David’s majestic 80s mullet, we dive into all of it - fusing electronic sounds and rock attitude into celebrations of trad jazz, the surprising hit status of ‘Birdland’, how it inspired David to fuse electronic and acoustic sounds and influenced his scores for films like ‘Strictly Ballroom’, how the album has dated in a positive way, seeing the band live in their heyday and the genius of bass legend Jaco Pastorius.

It's that time of the year again.... we are signing off for 2023 with a blockbuster episode celebrating the best movies to hit cinema screens in the past 12 months. Joining me as usual are filmmaker Charles Hood and film journalist Drew Taylor, hosts of the legendary Light the Fuse podcast.

Strap in a for an epic celebration / discussion / fight about a bunch of movies you should go seek out if you haven't already seen!

Long time friend of the show and queen of the sadcore bangers Emma Swift returns to mark release day for new album ‘Blonde on the Tracks’, which features her beautiful interpretations of songs from across Bob Dylan’s vast songbook. We delve into how the project came to be, how each song was chosen, the different challenges in recording obscure and well known Dylan songs, why ‘I Contain Multitudes’ forced her to learn to record at home during lockdown so she could add it to the record, lyrical pronouns and subverting gender norms, how to cast songs for her voice, recording the album in the city where Dylan cut some of his own masterworks and much more. Songs discussed include Queen Jane Approximately, I Contain Multitudes, One Of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later), Simple Twist of Fate, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, The Man in Me, Going Going Gone, You’re A Big Girl Now

Guitar icon Joe Satriani joins me to dive into Jimi Hendrix’s magnum opus ‘Electric Ladyland’. Starting with discovering Hendrix through his older sisters back in the late 60s, Joe opens up about what makes the album so special and how its influence has loomed over him for more than fifty years. We discuss how music of the era reflected social upheaval, the progression and maturation of Hendrix’s music leading up to this album, how the album was recorded and how it pushed the technological boundaries of the era, the contributions of guest musicians and engineer Eddie Kramer, the influence Hendrix had on his 60s guitar hero peers and more. Plus, we talk about Joe’s time playing Hendrix’s material live on the Experience Hendrix tour and his philosophy on how to approach the songs and how to avoid doing an impression of his hero.

Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist wunderkind Sarah Jarosz joins me to talk about Shawn Colvin’s classic ‘A Few Small Repairs’ album, from discovering it as a prepubescent growing up in Texas to falling in love with the album on a whole new level during an I’m With Her tour a few years ago. We dig into the way the Texas singer-songwriter scene loomed over Sarah as a child, meeting and working with Shawn and other legendary musicians including Paul Simon, the many subtleties in the arrangements throughout the album and how she teamed up with the album’s producer, friend of the show John Leventhal, to make her brilliant new album ‘World on the Ground’.

Note: This interview was recorded before the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests.

This week, TV legend Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield, SWAT, Timeless and more) takes me back in time 30 years to talk about the debut album by The Beautiful South ‘Welcome to the Beautiful South’.
Shawn talks about discovering music in the pre-internet age, the lineage of the Beautiful South in cult heroes The Housemartins, the contradictions between the albums’ sound and lyrical content, the controversial album cover and how the album served as a bizarre soundtrack to the Rodney King police brutality and aftermath in 1991.
Plus we talk about how Shawn has used music in his TV projects, discovering new music through his work, the music he loves to write to and why Coldplay earned his respect on The Shield.

Jasmine Rae caps off her release week by joining me to discuss Taking the Long Way, the 2006 album that saw The Chicks rising from the ashes of controversy and persecution to create one of their best records. We dig into the album’s backstory, frontwoman Natalie Maines taking a leading role in the band’s songwriting for the first time, parallels to their new album ‘Gaslighter’, the rock’n’roll collaborators who joined the band on this album, their decision to make the lyrics explicitly personal and specific in a way they never had on previous records and more.
Plus, we discuss what it’s like to launch a new record (and play shows) in the midst of the pandemic in Australia, and the precarious nature of planning anything.

Writer/director Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors, Johnny English, Dangerous Parking) joins me for a good old fashioned Beatles deep dive. We talk about Abbey Road, discovering the records as they came out, why the fascination has endured for over 50 years, Lennon and McCartney’s own ‘sliding doors’ moment, George Harrison’s post-Beatles songwriting trajectory, the Giles Martin remixes, what John Lennon’s music would have been liked if he had lived and much more.
Plus, Peter tells me the story of acting with Paul and Linda McCartney on the classic British sitcom ‘Bread’ in 1988.

Today, country hitmaker Cassadee Pope joins me to talk about the Queen, Shania Twain, and her classic 1995 album ‘The Woman In Me’. We talk about the influence that Shania had on the genre and on successive generation of female country stars, her strength and vulnerability (and why those qualities aren’t in opposition), what Shania taught Cassadee, their in person encounter and her fantasies of them one day duetting.

Singer/songwriter and country hitmaker Jimmie Allen joins me to talk about Learn to Live, the 2008 album that launched Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish frontman into country superstar. Jimmie talks about sneaking on to Darius’s tour bus when he first moved to Nashville, what it meant to see black artists achieving success in genres outside RnB and hip-hop, the advice Darius gave him, and the historic duet he recorded with Darius and Charley Pride on his new EP Bettie James.
Plus, Jimmie reveals why he turned down pop record deals to pursue a career in country music and how even before Jimmie was an established artist, Darius was getting him backstage without even knowing it.

The great Katie Noonan returns to the show to talk about the classic self-titled debut album by Crowded House.
We talk about the band’s origins out of the dissolution of Split Enz, the band’s hit ratio across their four original albums, the classic organ solo on Don’t Dream It’s Over and how Katie reinterpreted the song on her new album, being in bands with siblings, how to deicide if, when and how to reunite a long broken up band, our shared experiences at the Crowded House shows in 2016 and Katie’s childhood aspirations to be a nun.

Today I’m joined by the delightful and amazing Emma Watkins aka Emma Wiggle, to talk about her friends the East Pointers and their most recent album ‘Yours to Break’.
How does Australia’s most iconic family entertainment unit intersect with a Canadian progressive folk outfit? Find out as Emma takes me through the story of the Newfoundland family musical tradition and how it birthed the East Pointers, the collaborations between the band’s members and the Wiggles, modernising traditional celtic folk sounds, the unexpected part Emma was playing in their Australian shows and more.

As a writer and director, Thomas Schnauz has been responsible for some of the most legendary TV of the last 30 years, from The X Files to Breaking Back to Better Call Saul, and he’s been sneaking Pink Floyd references into all of them. Thomas joins me to finally talk about ‘The Wall’ (we’ve only been going for 7 years and not a single Floyd record in that time), Syd Barrett, the Roger Waters spitting incident that inspired the record, his wild journey as a young man to see Roger Waters perform the record in full at the Berlin wall and more…
Plus I pitch Thomas what is sure to be the main storyline of Better Call Saul season 5.