Miss Chatelaine

Katie welcomes Indigenous soul singer Emma Donovan to the show for a chat about her forthcoming new album with Melbourne band The Putbacks; the influence of Ruby Hunter, Christine Anu and Tiddas; and the current wealth of Aboriginal women musicians. As well as Emma and her music, there are great new songs by other Australian artists, including Miss Chat favourites Alex the Astronaut and Michael Waugh. Here is the playlist:

* Caught in the Middle – Alex the Astronaut

* Be There – Michael Waugh

* Pink Skirt – Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

* Dawn – Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

* In the Delta – Stevie & The Sleepers

* Saved – Myllo

* Centrelink – Thibault

* Waiting to Happen – Eastbound Buzz

Visit Emma Donovan’s official website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Above: Photo of Emma Donovan by Michelle Grace Hunder

Katie is back after two weeks off, refreshed and ready to play some awesome songs that were released while she was away. They include tracks from all around Australia – Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Western and Australia and Queensland – and one from the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama. Here is the playlist:

* Spring – Stephen Grady

* Over & Over – MANE

* Stay on the Gospel Side – The Blind Boys of Alabama

* Here Comes the Rain – Hannah Frances

* Do Your Worst – Harves

* Can’t Get You Out of My Head – Tom Snowdon

* Little Sister – Sam Buckingham & Sarah Humphreys

* Nothing’s Gonna Change – The Money War

* We Sing – Kutcha Edwards

* It Works – Monique Clare

* Love Like That – SKŸE

* Brighter Days – Përolas

Above: Kutcha Edwards’ ‘We Sing’ single artwork by Dixon Patten Jnr

Mark Blankenship joins Katie on the line from New York City to talk about the everlasting fascination of cover songs. He and Katie agree that a great cover version unlocks something else inside a song – the artist doing the cover finds something in it that wasn’t evident in the original – and then look specifically at covers done by queer artists of songs originally by straight artists. They vehemently disagree about one particular cover, but their friendship and mutual respect survive! Here is the playlist:

* One – Mary J. Blige and U2 (original by U2)

* Romeo and Juliet – Indigo Girls (Dire Straits)

* Believe – Adam Lambert (Cher)

* Helpless – k.d. lang (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

* Dancing on My Own (acoustic) – Calum Scott (Robyn)

* You Can Leave Your Hat On – Etta James (Randy Newman)

* When the Party’s Over – Cub Sport (Billie Eilish)

Photo of Mark Blankenship and Katie at JOY in February 2019 (above) by Betty Sujecki

Mark Blankenship is a New York–based podcaster and writer who co-hosts the podcast Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs (MASTAS) with Sarah D. Bunting; visit MASTAS’s Patreon page and follow the podcast on Facebook and Twitter. He also hosts the iHeartRadio Showtune Countdown podcast and is the founder and editor of the new publication The Flashpaper: Theatre’s Thoughts on Right Now. Follow Mark on Twitter and Instagram.

This might be Katie’s favourite playlist so far this year, with stunning new music by past Miss Chat guests Emily Barker, Mo’Ju and Përolas; and tunes by a bunch of well-known artists and by some up-and-coming talents. There are songs about speaking up and fighting for what you believe in, about wanting everything to stop for a minute so you can catch your breath, about being hopelessly in love, and much more. Here is the playlist:

* Let the River Flow – Franny and Zooey

* When Stars Cannot Be Found – Emily Barker

* Mirrorball – Taylor Swift

* Apart Together – Tim Minchin

* In the Crowds – Segers

* Simple Twist of Fate – Emma Swift

* Think of You (for Jessie Bellette) – Steve Kilbey

* Put It on Hold – Mo’Ju

* From Little Things Big Things Grow – Electric Fields

* For All You Give – The Paper Kites ft. Lucy Rose

* My Girl – Stella Bridie

* Weird Fishes / Arpeggi – Përolas

Above: Mo’Ju’s ‘Put It on Hold’ single artwork by Cristian Campano

Katie welcomes Chelsea Allen from queer Melbourne duo Great Aunt back to the show (via Zoom) to chat about their two new songs – one a handclapping gospel celebration of perseverance, the other a jazzy tale of homophobia in suburbia – and life in locked-down Melbourne after all their planned gigs were cancelled due to the pandemic. There’s plenty of other music, too! Here is the playlist:

* One Step – Ida Wenøe

* Wildflowers – Segers

* On the Run – Robbie Miller

* Oh, Won’t You Save Me – Great Aunt

* Rock Paper Neighbour – Great Aunt

* I Went Down – Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes

* Greens of June – case/lang/veirs

* Vertigo – Elsie Lange

* I Know the Soul by Its Presence in Others – Chloe Alison Escott

* The One That You Love – LP

Visit Great Aunt’s official website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Above: Photo of Great Aunt by Jade Robinson

Katie presents an hour of beautiful new folk, roots and acoustic pop tracks by some pretty famous non-Australian artists – Ireland’s Luka Bloom, the UK’s David Gilmour, Taylor Swift, Gillian Welch and The Chicks from the USA, and New Zealand’s Stan Walker – and some awesome Australian artists. Here is the playlist:

* Linen Girls – Leah Flanagan

* My Old Friend the Oak Tree – Luka Bloom

* August – Taylor Swift

* Yes, I Have Ghosts – David Gilmour with Romany Gilmour

* Blind on the Inside – Gillian Welch

* Bigger – Stan Walker

* Where Have the Sparrows Gone? – Emily Barker

* While You Sleep – The Bamboos ft. Ev Jones

* You Sad – Tkay Maidza

* She’s a Rainbow – The English Rain

* March March – The Chicks

* Long Night’s Journey to Day – Van Walker

Above: Emily Barker’s ‘Where Have the Sparrows Gone?’ single artwork by Ange Mullen-Bryan

In a wide-ranging chat, Katie talks to queer Sydney singer-songwriter Alex the Astronaut about her forthcoming debut album, The Theory of Absolutely Nothing; how ‘Not Worth Hiding’, her 2017 song about coming out, resonated with our communities; her powerful song about family violence, ‘I Like to Dance’, which Katie named as her no.1 song of 2019; surviving as a musician during isolation; and much more. And continuing the ‘all women, all the time’ theme of the first hour, there are five other songs by artists who identify as women. Here is the playlist:

* Batflowers – Washington

* Extraordinary Life – Gordi

* Amen – Anita Lester

* Not Worth Hiding – Alex the Astronaut

* I Like to Dance – Alex the Astronaut

* Banksia – Alex the Astronaut

* Christmas in July – Alex the Astronaut

* Red Flags (guitar mix) – Maya O’Loughlin

* I Dream of Spring – k.d. lang

Visit Alex the Astronaut’s official website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Above: Photo of Alex the Astronaut by Jess Gleeson

This week Katie received a huge number of new releases by artists who identify as women, so today’s show is (almost) all women, all the time! The first hour includes a great new cover of the classic Sinatra/Hazlewood song ‘Summer Wine’, the return of Miss Chat favourites Tinpan Orange and Great Aunt, and a beautiful song by an Australian artist whose gorgeous vocal tone approaches that of the great k.d. lang. Here is the playlist:

* Oh, Won’t You Save Me – Great Aunt

* First Place Ribbon – Gillian Welch

* Walking Home in the Rain – E^ST

* Summer Wine – Alex Kapranos & Clara Luciani

* Adelaide – Elsie Lange

* Turn It On Again – Tinpan Orange

* Lose Your Love (acoustic) – Dirty Projectors

* Lonely – Christine Jane

* Pedestal – Kate Jukes & The Blue Healers

* Edithvale – Bec Sykes

* When I’m Alone – Brittany Holt

* First Time – Sam Buckingham & Sarah Humphreys

* Betty – Taylor Swift

Above: Tinpan Orange’s ‘Turn It On Again’ single artwork by Hamish McCormick from Carnival Cinema

Katie talks to two great Pauls of Australian music, Kelly and Grabowsky, about their gorgeous new album, Please Leave Your Light On. The conversation covers the influence of Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, the logistics and techniques of working as a duo, collaborating with Archie Roach and the late Ruby Hunter, and more. Here is the playlist:

* Winter Coat – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

* You Can Put Your Shoes Under My Bed – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

* One for My Baby – Frank Sinatra

* You Make Me Feel So Young – Frank Sinatra

* Young Lovers – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

* Petrichor – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

* Rally Round the Drum – Archie Roach ft. Paul Kelly

* Every Time We Say Goodbye – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

Visit Paul Kelly’s official website and follow him on Facebook and Instagram. Visit Paul Grabowsky’s official website and follow him on Instagram.

Above: Photo of Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky by Pia Johnson

It’s another hour of stunning new and recent releases by artists from around the world. Some of the artists are well known (Dylan, Welch and Rawlings, Bloom, Goodrem); others are up-and-coming; and a few of them identify as queer. Here is the playlist:

* My Own Version of You – Bob Dylan

* Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

* Born Again – Jess Cornelius

* The Hunger – Luka Bloom

* Who I Am – Sonia Disappear Fear

* Everybody’s Cup of Tea – Bambibrains

* Wheels Won’t Roll – The Weeping Willows

* Sometime, This Lifetime – Woody Pitney

* Call On Me – Siberian Tiger

* I’m Not Funny Anymore – E^ST

* Paralyzed – Delta Goodrem

Above: Bambibrains’ ‘Everybody’s Cup of Tea’ single artwork by Katie Elyse