155. Japanese Wallpaper on Tame Impala 'Currents' (2015)

Today legendary singer-songwriter and founder of iconic band The Go-Betweens, Robert Forster, joins me to pay tribute to the legendary Texan troubadour Guy Clark and his debut album Old No. 1. We revisit the fateful night in Santa Monica on the promo tour for 16 Lovers Lane where Robert saw Guy play live and had a damascene conversion to his music, how it impacted the the second act of his career as a solo artist, why Clark never achieved the broad fame of contemporaries like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt, Clark’s economy of language and melody and why this is “the Astral Weeks of country music”. Plus we delve into Robert’s brilliant new album ‘The Candle and the Flame’, knowing when to stop writing, growing into a better singer as he gets older and how his approach to recording has changed over the years.

16 Feb 202346min

Today legendary Australian actor and comedy renaissance man Francis Greenslade joins me to talk about Paul Kelly’s classic album Comedy. We talk about how Francis discovered the record when he was performing with Paul in an Adelaide theatre show, how Paul leaves space in his lyrics for audience interpretation, how his vocals serve the lyrics and he never over sings, From Little Things Big Things Grow, Paul’s off stage introversion and the agelessness of Paul’s music.

26 Jan 202343min

Returning champion Eves Karydas (aka Hannah Karydas) joins me for round three as we finally talk about Carole King’s iconic album Tapestry. We talk about the Laurel Canyon scene of the early 70s and the involvement of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, Carole’s history as a hit successful songwriter in her teens and early 20s, the lost idea of musical communities, the comforting quality of the record, Tapesty as soul music and Hannah’s spellbinding cover of Natural Woman she recorded for Triple J’s Like A Version.

12 Jan 20231h 1min

Filmmaker Charles Hood and film journalist and author Drew Taylor return for their fifth appearance on the show to once again count down our three warring lists of the best films of the year just gone. It's been another brilliant year at the movies, and we hope this spoiler-free conversation inspires you to check out some of our choices that you might not yet have seen. Happy New Year everyone!

31 Dec 20221h 21min

Reposting this episode in memory of Peter Cooper, who we sadly lost today. Journalist and singer-songwriter Peter Cooper of the Country Music Hall of Fame joins me to talk about Jim Lauderdale’s classic ‘Pretty Close to the Truth’ album and how the changes in country music in the 90s created the need for the Americana music genre, the migration of people like Jim and his friend and collaborator Buddy Miller from California to Nashville, and how Jim helped Peter propose to his wife.

8 Dec 202236min

Reposting this episode in memory of Peter Cooper, who we sadly lost today. After crouching to fit under the doorway, singer/songwriter/journalist and gentle giant Peter Cooper steps into the portable pod booth to chat with host Jeremy Dylan about a classic from one of the classiest songwriters in country music - Tom T Hall’s 1971 album “In Search of a Song”. Along the way, they break down tracks including “The Year Clayton Delany Died”, “Trip to Hyden” and “A Million Miles to the City” and talk about Hall’s songwriting research trips, how he broke his own songwriting rules, the difference between poetry and song lyrics and why you shouldn’t waste time complaining about music you hate.

8 Dec 202239min

Reposting a classic episode while we take a few weeks off to take a breath and record. Former Deputy Prime Minister, long-serving parliamentarian and occasional DJ Anthony Albanese MP joins me on the show to talk about his favorite album by one of his favorite artists - “The Good Son” (1990) by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. We talk about the origins of his Nick Cave fandom, seeing him live with the Birthday Party and later with the Bad Seeds, how this album represents a period of Cave in transition, why ‘The Ship Song’ ended up on his playlist when he guest hosted Rage and which Nick Cave song got people moving in his recent DJ set. Also, we talk about why his electorate has Australia’s best concert venue (the Enmore), the advantages of going to gigs in Canberra, why bad governments breed good music, protest songs and the Reclink Community Cup.

29 Nov 202246min

Today we celebrate out milestone 400th episode with a special tribute to one of the all time great TV dramas, which recently concluded it's brilliant run. Better Call Saul is the rare spinoff that not only lived up to its parent show, it actually surpassed it. Today I'm joined by writer/director/executive producer Thomas Schnauz, actors Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin) and Peter Diseth (Bill Oakley), casting director Sharon Bialy and journalist and cultural critic Carrie Wittmer, plus I revisit my 2020 conversation with Jimmy McGill himself, Bob Odenkirk. Thanks for everyone who joined us today, producer Georgia Mooney for helping pull this together and to everyone who has joined me for the past eight years and 400 episodes, either as guest or listener. We're just getting started!

4 Nov 20222h 45min