You’re about to see a side to Aaron Chen you’ve never seen before. 

You might know him as George in Fisk, or Guy Montgomery’s sidekick on Spelling Bee. 

Maybe you cheered his win on Taskmaster Australia season 3. 

He’s also an acclaimed stand-up comic. But when I sat down with Aaron in his new home in New York City, I got a totally different sense of what makes him tick.

This podcast is a companion to the TV episode you can see now on ABC iview. But here, you’re getting a whole lot more. More stories, silliness, and backstory to Aaron Chen. 

I really loved this conversation, mainly cos I had no idea what to expect. And what I walked away with was a rich portrait of a really beautiful human with his heart in the right place.

Aaron Chen's song choices:

• Arcade Fire – 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)'
• Matt Berry – 'Take My Hand'
• Vampire Weekend – 'Jerusalem, New York, Berlin'
• Faye Wong – 'Dreams (夢中人)'
• Kacey Musgraves – 'Deeper Well'

00:00 Introduction to Aaron Chen

01:26 Aaron's Move to New York

02:49 Comedy and Music

04:38 Growing Up in Suburban Sydney

12:06 Early Comedy Days

16:05 First TV Show Experience

20:43 Friendship with Sam Campbell

25:38 Journey to America

27:49 Auditioning for Fisk

29:44 Meeting Kitty Flanagan

30:29 Finding My Comedy Voice

34:29 Faith and Grounding

41:50 Marriage and Moving to New York

44:27 American TV and Movie Roles

48:36 Final Reflections and Future Plans

Watch Take 5 on ABC iview:

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/take-5-with-zan-rowe

As one-fifth of the Spice Girls, she's one of the most famous people on the planet. But you wouldn’t know it. The Liverpudlian's down to earth beginnings define who Mel C is today.

Take 5 is back on your screens for a fourth season on ABC iview, and we kicked off the series with Sporty Spice. 

In a beautiful HIFI bar in east London, we unpacked her remarkable story… of a kid who daydreamed about the pop stars she’d one day become friends with.

This is the story of the Spice Girls you haven’t heard, where against all odds they did it their way. It’s also the story of Melanie’s path to a solo career, and her full circle return to the rave culture she grew up in.

Settle in for a fireside chat with an absolute legend, in this extended uncut edition of Melanie C's Take 5.

Melanie C's song choices:

• Stevie Wonder — 'Sir Duke'
• Wham! — 'Everything She Wants'
• TLC — 'Waterfalls'
• Orbital — 'Chime'
• The Beatles — 'Eleanor Rigby'

00:00 Introduction to Mel C and the Spice Girls

00:24 Mel C's Musical Beginnings

00:36 Take Five Podcast and Mel C's Story

01:35 The Power of Music in Mel C's Life

02:50 Mel C's First Musical Influences

03:38 SONG 1: Stevie Wonder — 'Sir Duke'

05:43 Meeting Stevie Wonder

09:22 Growing Up in Liverpool

11:07 The Birth of Sporty Spice

15:37 The Spice Girls' Early Days

19:28 Living Together and Early Struggles

20:55 Breaking into the Music Industry

23:55 SONG 2: Wham! — 'Everything She Wants'

30:38 Childhood Memories and First Friendships

32:17 SONG 3: TLC — 'Waterfalls'

35:59 Going Solo and Collaborations

41:12 SONG 4: Orbital — 'Chime'

42:23 Rave Culture and DJing

51:33 SONG 5: The Beatles — 'Eleanor Rigby'

54:44 The Beatles and Liverpool's Influence

55:48 Reflecting on Spice Mania

58:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Watch Take 5 on ABC iview:

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/take-5-with-zan-rowe

The transgressive trailblazer celebrates 25 years since The Teaches of Peaches. A boundary-blurring blend of electroclash, sex-positive feminist themes, and fun. 

It would become a defining album of the early noughties, and kick off a career that made our heads spin time and time again.

Peaches has been pushing the boundaries and conversations around gender and sexuality since the beginning, and she’s someone I always relish sitting down with.

So I’ve dug into my Take 5 archives this week to a chat I had with Peaches back in 2018 when I invited her to Take 5 with songs that bite. And oh boy, did she deliver.

Peaches' song choices:

• PJ Harvey - '50ft Queenie [4-Track Demo Version]'
• Rough Trade - 'High School Confidential'
• DAF - 'Der Mussolini'
• Missy Elliott - 'Get Ur Freak On'
• Diamanda Galás - 'My Love Will Never Die'

00:00 Introduction to Peaches and Her Impact

00:50 Peaches' Musical Inspirations and Influences like AC/DC

04:39 Exploring PJ Harvey's Influence

05:06 SONG 1: PJ Harvey - '50ft Queenie [4-Track Demo Version]'

07:59 SONG 2: Rough Trade - 'High School Confidential'

08:02 Rough Trade and Carol Pope's Legacy

13:36 Peaches' Role in Queer Culture and Feminism

14:21 Influencing artists like Janelle Monáe

17:31 SONG 3: DAF - 'Der Mussolini'

18:13 The Power of Minimalist Punk

19:32 Peaches' Unique Stage Presence

20:51 SONG 4: Missy Elliott - 'Get Ur Freak On'

22:33 The Evolution of Peaches' Art

23:28 SONG 5: Diamanda Galás - 'My Love Will Never Die'

25:15 Upcoming Take Five Episodes and Conclusion

Take 5 with Zan Rowe is back on your screens from Tuesday 9 September, and Season 4 is our biggest yet.

• Kevin Bacon
• Melanie C from the Spice Girls
• Lorde
• Paul Kelly
• Comedian Aaron Chen (Fisk, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee)
• Pulp's Jarvis Cocker

Across this new season, you’ll hear revealing, funny, and deeply personal conversations with some of the most fascinating artists around. Each guest takes on a theme and chooses five songs that speak to it, and what unfolds is always unexpected.

Like Jarvis Cocker, who didn’t say “I love you” until he was 40. Or Aaron Chen, whose wild comedy days led him back to a deep Christian faith.

Want a Spice Girls story?Melanie C takes us back to the early days of sharehousing with the band – and spills on who scored the solo room. That chat was filmed at Hidden Grooves, a high-end London hifi bar owned by Richard Branson. The speaker behind us? Worth £55,000. No joke.

We also sit down with songwriting legends Paul Kelly and Lorde, diving into the tracks they obsess over and the stories behind them.

You’ll catch all the episodes from Tuesday September 9 on ABC TV and ABC iview.

PLUS: every week, we’ll drop extended cuts of these chats right here on the podcast. All the bits we had to leave out of the TV episodes, the stories that didn’t make the edit, the moments that stayed with us.

So hit follow and get ready for a season of Take 5 that’ll shift your perspective, make you laugh, and maybe even make you cry.

And while you wait for Season 4, there’s plenty to explore. From Eddie Perfect to Meg Washington, Bernard Sumner to Antony Green – Take 5 has been a radio and podcast favourite for years. Dig in.

Watch the first 3 seasons of Take 5 on ABC iview:

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/take-5-with-zan-rowe

Other Take 5 episodes you might like:

Eddie Perfect https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/eddie-perfect-take-5-source-material-beetlejuice-musical/105463030

Bernard Sumner from New Order https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/bernard-sumner-take-5-still-uses-blue-monday-synth-unbeatable/104908428

Meg Washington https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/meg-washington-take-5/105628150

Antony Green https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/take-5/antony-green-take-5-song-preferences/105234670

Mac DeMarco has long been loved for his laid-back guitar noodlings and so called “slacker” rock. He sometimes calls it "jizz jazz", but whatever it is, it’s gained him a loving fanbase across the world.

For the past few years, Mac has moved away from traditional albums in favour of brain dumping huge swaths of music – a lot of it without lyrics. But now he’s returned with an old school album, and for him he says it’s capturing the essence of where he’s at right now. What matters.

On the day he released Guitar, I invited Mac to Take 5. Fall into Mac's world, you'll feel better for it.

Mac DeMarco's Take 5 song choices:

• Martin Kolberger + Ralf Illenburger – 'Waves'
• Akiko Yano – 'A Worried Girl'
• Michael Manring – 'Welcoming'
• Bruce Cockburn – 'You Get Bigger As You Go'
• Bob Dylan – 'Alberta #1'

00:21 Mac DeMarco's Musical Journey

01:13 Reflecting on Life and Music

03:06 The Essence of Music and Collaboration

05:45 Martin Kolberger + Ralf Illenburger – 'Waves'

06:23 Philosophical Musings and Personal Anecdotes

09:25 Akiko Yano and Musical Inspirations

13:39 Akiko Yano – 'A Worried Girl'

14:08 Guitars and Their Stories

16:37 Canoeing and Nature's Influence on Music

19:27 Michael Manring – 'Welcoming'

20:18 Exploring Jazz and Its Mystique

23:01 Creating Music Independently

25:58 Reflecting on Canadian Roots

29:39 Bruce Cockburn – 'You Get Bigger As You Go'

30:06 Reflecting on new album Guitar and singing falsetto more

33:26 The Influence of Bob Dylan

37:20 Bob Dylan – 'Alberta #1'

38:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Other Take 5 episodes like this:

Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne

Lucy Dacus

Sharon Van Etten

Bert McCracken from The Used shares 5 songs that 'got him through'.

The frontman and founding member of The Used found his tribe through music, and he’s gathered a huge community of fans over the last 25 years.

It's the occasion of that quarter century that’s taking them around the world, to play out their first three albums in full night after night.

It’s why I invited Bert to Take 5. His music has helped so many people overcome the hardest of times, you can see people’s faces and memories as they sing back the classics to their favourite band… and I wanted to know about the songs that got him through. From the godfathers of emo, to vampire punk, to synth pop, this is a beautiful window into a big-hearted Bert.

• Sunny Day Real Estate - 'How It Feels To Be Something On'
• Nirvana - 'Molly’s Lips'
• Ink & Dagger - 'Philapsychosis'
• Elliott Smith - 'Angeles'
• Robyn - 'Call Your Girlfriend'

Bert McCracken's Take 5 song choices:

• Sunny Day Real Estate - 'How It Feels To Be Something On'
• Nirvana - 'Molly’s Lips'
• Ink & Dagger - 'Philapsychosis'
• Elliott Smith - 'Angeles'
• Robyn - 'Call Your Girlfriend'

01:33 Bert McCracken's Musical Journey

02:08 Life in Australia and Citizenship

04:03 SONG 1: Sunny Day Real Estate 'How It Feels To Be Something On'

09:52 SONG 2: Nirvana 'Molly’s Lips' 

11:47 Impact of Kurt Cobain and Growing Up Mormon

15:49 Band Beginnings and Personal Struggles

16:58 The Brotherhood with Jeff

19:02 SONG 3: Ink & Dagger - 'Philapsychosis'

22:04 Memories of Ozzy Osbourne

24:01 Connecting with Fans Through Music

26:53 SONG 4: Elliott Smith - 'Angeles'

30:04 Performing Nostalgic Songs

32:57 SONG 5: Robyn - 'Call Your Girlfriend'

34:02 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

It’s been five years since Meg Washington released an album of original songs, but that time hasn’t been wasted. 

Starring in Bluey as Calypso, and co-writing the Paul Kelly inspired film How To Make Gravy have dominated her last little while. 

But now she’s back with GEM, and it’s a welcome return.

When talking about the album, Meg said she conjured a treasure island while writing these songs, finding music as an oasis, and that was the catalyst for her Take 5. 

What she revealed, was a deep love of songwriting in an age where being a musician is harder than ever. And the music that has been a refuge, and inspiration, for her.

• Sade - 'No Ordinary Love'
• The Bangles - 'Eternal Flame'
• Kevin Morby - 'Harlem River'
• Eugenio Bennato - 'Ogni uno'
• The Roches - 'Hammond Song'

Sophie Payten has had a wild five years. Better known as Gordi, she’s been living all over, put music on hold to work her day job as a doctor during the pandemic, and has been reassessing her place and space in the world through it all.

It’s been that long too, since her last album, and she’s captured the intensity, beauty, and whirlwind of her experiences on Like Plasticine.

Ahead of her third album dropping, I invited Gordi to Take 5. I was thinking it’d be a lil album preview, what I got was something a lot deeper. This is a special conversation, full of deep reflection and beautiful music.

• Missy Higgins - 'Any Day Now'
• MUNA - 'I Know a Place'
• Big Red Machine - 'Forest Green'
• Taylor Swift - 'epiphany'
• S. Carey - 'Take It With Me'

Patience Hodgson is no stranger to the Hottest 100. 

As lead singer of The Grates, she is certified alumni – with 8 entries and plenty of memories with her beloved band. And as we celebrate a special Hottest 100 of Australian songs, who better to wear their love of local on their sleeve. 

I roped Pae in for a pre-party and she delivered; not just with incredible songs but a peek behind the curtain of the beautiful community in the Australian music scene.

• The Mavis’s – 'Cry'
• Violent Soho – 'Covered In Chrome'
• WAAX – 'Labrador'
• Sekiden – 'Up In The Air'
• Regurgitator - '! (The Song Formerly Known As)'

Howlin’ Pelle is a joy to be around. As the longtime lead singer for Swedish garage rock legends The Hives, he brings big energy on stage and off. The band are known for their live shows, and their forthcoming new album is one they wrote with a stadium sensibility in mind. So when The Hives returned to Australia for the first time in 10 years, I asked him to choose his blockbuster songs. From AC/DC to Outkast to Billie Eilish, this is a fist pumping, heart filling conversation about music's power.

• AC/DC - Thunderstruck 
• OutKast - Hey Ya 
• Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
• Billie Eilish - Bad Guy 
• Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit