Take 5

Laurie Anderson is bucket list. The artist, violinist, and poet has been exploring the world in her unique way for decades. She caught our breath releasing O Superman, and has continued to bring play, humour, and curiosity into all she does.

Laurie was also the yin to Lou Reed’s yang, as a life and creative partner; putting on concerts for dogs, and most recently feeding her and his writing into a supercomputer to see what AI would spit out, in their voice.

That was the catalyst for me asking Laurie to Take 5; and her work in AI as an artist over the past few years explores all the questions we’re having today about machine learning. Settle in, this is such a poetic conversation, full of great wisdom and plenty of laughs as well. I loved speaking with Laurie about music, and loved how much she embraced the theme I gave her, of duality. From Marianne Faithfull to Maggie Rogers, this is an extraordinary conversation with an all time great.

• Marianne Faithful – Falling in Love Again 
• Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman
• Lou Reed – Magic And Loss (The Summation)
• Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
• Maggie Rogers – Alaska

Kate Crawford's atlas of sound.

Jack Antonoff is one of the most celebrated producers working today. With 10 Grammys under his belt, including three in a row for Producer of the Year, he has shaped the sound of pop music over the last decade.

Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, The 1975, Lorde… these are just some of the names he’s produced and co-written with. And within the industry, he’s known as a brilliant collaborator – opposite to the classic Svengali directing himself into the story. Jack listens, guides, and celebrates the song. For him, it’s about the feel more than anything else.

Jack is also a muso himself; for years he’s played in bands and written songs. And you can tell what a fan he is, and how his big heart is filled with music. From R.E.M. to Joanna Newsom to Waterboys, this is a glorious celebration of songwriting, from a Jersey boy who followed his dreams.

• R.E.M. – At My Most Beautiful
• Saves The Day – Hold
• Joanna Newsom – Sadie 
• Tom Waits – Hold On
• Waterboys – The Whole Of The Moon

It’s fair to say, boygenius’ debut album was highly anticipated. But did you know that it was an Australian producer that helped bring it to life? Catherine Marks was born and bred in Melbourne, but made her way to the UK where she’s been working with everyone from PJ Harvey to Foals, The Killers to, yes, boygenius.

Her work is lauded across the world, winning awards and fans as one of the rare women to celebrated in the field. And while home in Australia for a hot minute, Catherine joined Zan Rowe to Take 5. The magic of what happens when crafting a song or an album can sometimes be intangible, and it’s made up of a million elements that bring music to life. You're invited into her studio to see the big picture of making five extraordinary songs.

• Wolf Alice – Storms 
• The Big Moon – Bonfire 
• Manchester Orchestra - The Silence 
• Roman Lewis - Mindless Town
• boygenius - Not Strong Enough 

In the early 00’s The Streets burst onto the scene. Original Pirate Material was like nothing else around, combining garage beats with everyday stories from a geezer we could all relate to. Mike Skinner wanted to literally push things forward, taking the garage genre in a new direction and using his lyrics to talk about what was really going on inside the hearts and minds of people in the clubs. It struck a chord, and The Streets got a lot of attention.

Over five albums Mike Skinner would tour Australia a whole lot, always playing festivals and always drawing a huge crowd. Then in 2011 he called it a day, releasing his final album and doing his final shows as The Streets. Music stayed in his life though. He threw himself into producing, directing, and most notably DJ-ing, behind the decks instead of out front on stage.

Across his five songs choices we get a snapshot of a kid writing raps in his notebook in a hostel in Sydney. As well as the man today who is older, wiser, more grounded but with plenty of stories to tell. From Johnny Cash to Grim Sickers to Daft Punk, this is The Streets, Taking 5 with Zan Rowe and playing us his songs from then and now.

• Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue
• Snoop Dogg - Serial Killa [Ft. D.O.C., RBX & Tha Dogg Pound] 
• Grim Sickers - Open The Till [Ft. Ghetts & Darker The Shadow Brighter The Light]
• Daniel Bedingfield – Gotta Get Thru This
• Daft Punk - Human / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better with You / Stardust (Instrumental) [Live]

Comedian Cameron James loves music. For years he’s been telling his stories through song, ploughing through personal history with a hook and a melody. You would have seen him pop up on funny panel shows, or heard him in hit podcast Finding Drago.

Cameron’s latest comedy show is called Mixtape, and it’s a love letter to the songs that shape our lives. Which is why he’s the perfect person to Take 5. From Silverchair to Gladys Knight & the Pips, settle in for some ripper stories and the art of the mixtape.

• Silverchair – The Greatest View
• Iggy Pop – Candy
• New Radicals – You Get What You Give
• Gladys Knight & the Pips – Midnight Train To Georgia
• Tyler, the Creator – See You Again

Zoë Coombs Marr has been making us laugh for years. You might have seen her doing award winning stand up comedy, often doing meta shows that twist our brains. Maybe you caught her alter ego Dave, or have seen Zoë pop up on The Weekly, The Project and watched her brilliant 3 part series Queerstralia.

Zoë is one of my favourite creators; she always keeps me guessing with what she’ll do next, and she always does it differently to everyone else.

Her 2024 comedy show seems to be her most personal to date, cos it’s her story. “Every Single Thing In My Whole Entire Life” will see her dig through it all, on stage across Australia. It’s an idea that lends itself well to a soundtrack, which is why I asked her to Take 5. From Elaine Stritch to Yothu Yindi to Romy, this is a funny and glorious conversation about life itself.

• Yothu Yindi - Treaty 
• Elaine Stritch - Are You Having Any Fun 
• The Lemonheads - The Outdoor Type 
• Hot Chip - Bath Full of Ecstasy
• Romy - Enjoy Your Life 

It’s been a big week for Kylie Minogue. 20 years after she won her first Grammy, she backed it up; grabbing Best Pop Dance Recording for "Padam Padam".

It caps off one of the biggest recent peaks of Kylie’s career, and that’s saying something. Since most of us were little kids, Kylie has been in our lives. As an actor who became a pop star who became an icon in Australian music. She’s a chameleon, a stayer, and she fills every dancefloor with her magic.

I love Kylie Minogue, and I thought it’d be fun to crank open the Take 5 archives, and share the brilliant convo I had with her back in 2020.

It was the first year of the pandemic, she’d been working away for months on a shimmering new record, and on the day she joined me to Take 5, Disco was released everywhere.

It felt like the perfect salve in a tough time; the community and dancefloor we all craved, and who better to gift it than the Queen of Pop. From Donna Summer to Daft Punk, this is a glorious celebration of Kylie's foundations.

• Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby 
• Earth, Wind & Fire – September 
• Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive 
• Bee Gees – Night Fever 
• Daft Punk – Around The World 

We’re kicking off the 2024 Take 5 season with an absolute legend. He’s a star of the small screen, a comedian, a children’s book author, he’s part of the very fabric of Australian life, and 20 years ago he won the Gold Logie.

As we celebrated the Hottest 100 of 2003 on Double J, I jumped into the time machine to relive it ALL with the brilliant and delightful Rove McManus. And from pop stars to drummers to nerds, he shared the songs that were gold, to him. 

• Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
• P!nk - So What
• They Might Be Giants - Doctor Worm
• G Flip - The Worst Person Alive
• Powderfinger - Burn Your Name

It’s fair to say 2023 has been a year for Caroline Polachek. Her second solo album soared into our hearts on Valentines Day, and stayed there. It solidified her place as one of the most remarkable musicians operating today; her voice as one of the most incredible of our time, and her output an unflinching celebration of art in all forms. Sonically, visually, and spiritually, Caroline Polachek defies genre and time. She’s just a marvel.

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You has topped many best of lists this year, and it’s Double J’s #1 album of 2023. So what an absolute treat to see out this year with the woman herself, and Take 5. Volcano’s have featured heavily in her live shows, and capture the energy of what she does in every way. So I asked her to pick “volcano songs” and she really delivered.

From wild American composers to glitchy electronic trailblazers, and the mysterious world of Sault... this is a joy for the senses, the heart, and the mind.

• Harry Partch – Daphne of the Dunes      
• David Sylvian – Before the Bullfight
• Greetje Bijma & Oceanic – Step Snakes   
• Pink Floyd – The Great Gig in the Sky
• Sault - Air

Spoon are one of those bands that are quiet achievers. Over 25 years they’ve put out 10 albums and toured all over the world… they’ve weirdly never become super famous, but have a very dedicated bunch of fans. And I say weirdly, cos frontman Britt Daniel knows how to write a hit.

He’s one of my favourite songwriters, and you can hear in Spoon’s songs and their curiosity that there’s a deep love for music and melody. From Sinatra to Prince to Gambino, this is a fall down the rabbit hole of a great musical mind.

• Gloria Jones - Tainted Love
• Frank Sinatra - Strangers in the Night
• Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend
• AC/DC - Rock And Roll Damnation
• Childish Gambino - Redbone