Take 5

I still remember the first time I heard Hot Chip, and I distinctly remember the yellow sleeve their first album came in. It didn’t reveal much about the band, except that they made this comforting electronic music, they seemed like nerds with a heart of gold, and their lead singer’s voice was an instant friend.

By their second album Hot Chip had added a whole lot more party to their sound, and from then on they’ve been part of so many of our memories. Whether on record, or live, these geeks became geniuses of songwriting and turned every performance into a euphoric experience.

Twenty years after they first formed, I invited Joe and Al from Hot Chip to Take 5. From slow jams to bangers, this is a celebration not just of jubilant music, but two jubilant fellas.

Prince – ‘Starfish and Coffee’

Fever Ray – ‘To The Moon and Back’

Teyana Taylor – ‘Hurry {Feat. Kanye West}’

Double Exposure – ‘Everyman (Has to Carry His Own Weight)’

Hot Chocolate – ‘I Just Love What You’re Doing (Kon Edit)’

It’s Girls to the Front on the Take 5 podcast! A Frankensteined special of some of my favourite recent conversations with incredible women. Celebrate International Women’s Day with some incredible humans, sharing their favourite songs by some amazing creators over the past decade.

Yumi Stynes on Janelle Monae - ‘Pynk {ft. Grimes}'

Eleanor Dixon from Kardajala Kirridarra on Emily Wurramara - Lady Blue

Jen Cloher on Camp Cope – The Opener

Kimbra on Anohni - ‘Drone Bomb Me’

Kasey Chambers on Beyoncé - ‘Don't Hurt Yourself {Ft. Jack White}’

If you came of age in the 2010’s, the sound of Hayley Mary’s voice would have been a tonic. As the lead singer of The Jezabels, she soared over big, dramatic pop songs, and drew a dedicated fanbase from all over Australia.

In early 2020, Hayley stepped out on her own with her debut solo EP; and while the sound of it showed another side of her, one thing remained the same. That voice. Always cutting through, always lifting us up when we needed it the most.

Carving out blocks of time is a tried and true way to take a snapshot on how far we’ve come, and from Lana Del Rey’s debut to the shot of coffee that is Amyl and the Sniffers, Hayley’s women of the decade captures not just an amazing ten years of music, but the growth of an extraordinary artist.

Lana Del Rey – ‘Video Games’

Solange – ‘Losing You’

Julia Jacklin – ‘Pressure To Party’

Amyl & The Sniffers – ‘The Cup Of Destiny’

Confidence Man – ‘Boyfriend (Repeat)’

American artist Natalie Mering didn’t always sing folk music. Back in the day she was into noise rock; she played bass with the kind of heavy bands you see late at night before she re-emerged as Weyes Blood.

Once Natalie got on the mic, we all melted. It’s not just her incredible 70’s pop-folk vocal, but the worlds she takes us into; whether on her breakthrough album Front Row Seat to Earth, or last year’s incredible Titanic Rising. It was after speaking to her about the latter, that I knew I wanted Weyes Blood to Take 5.

A conversation with Natalie is like speaking to a hippie with a PhD. Her connection to myth is articulated just as well as her political feelings on climate change, and her music brain is something else.

From Buffalo Springfield to Suzanne Vega to Joni Mitchell, this is a soaring conversation about what happens when we leap, and fall.

Buffalo Springfield – ‘Expecting to Fly’

Janis Ian – ‘Fly Too High’

Black Tape For a Blue Girl – ‘We Watch Our Sad-Eyed Angel Fall’

Suzanne Vega – ‘When Heroes Go Down’

Joni Mitchell – ‘Amelia’

Leigh Whannell is a guy who likes to scare you.

Back in 2004 he wrote and starred in Saw; it was a horror movie done on a budget, it’d go on to make millions, and it got Hollywood’s attention. Pretty soon, Leigh and his mate James Wan were on a role; they’d make sequels and new horror films, and these two guys from Melbourne were all of a sudden the talk of the town.

Fast forward to 2020, and Leigh is writing and directing his take on the classic HG Wells story, The Invisible Man. It’s a modern twist on a classic; the focus is much more on the victim, played by Elisabeth Moss, than the villain… and it fits into that emerging genre of social horror where often real life is far more frightening than fantasy.

We met Leigh way before all of this. Every Saturday morning, many of us would wake up early and watch Recovery; a TV show of ramshackle proportions, with live music, an even livelier host, and a 19 year old Leigh Whannell reviewing the latest blockbusters. That’s the Leigh we met again, when he joined me to Take 5. After years on both sides of the camera, I asked this local boy made good to tell me about five “songs you can see”. Music has a way of completely changing a film’s feel, and vice versa. In so many of the films we love, it’s the sounds that cement those images in our brains. From Blade Runner to The Breakfast Club, this is a heartfelt and joyful ride through a film buff’s brain.

Vangelis – ‘Main Title’ (from Blade Runner)

Simple Minds – ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ (from The Breakfast Club)

Jóhann Jóhannsson – ‘Prisoners’ (from the soundtrack to Prisoners)

Survive – ‘Hourglass’ (from The Guest)

Air Supply – ‘All Out of Love’ (from Animal Kingdom)

It’s been almost 20 years since we first met Clare Bowditch.

Back in 2003 she grabbed our attention with her brooding debut single “Human Being”. This writer was one we wanted to hear more from, and over the years we’d hear Clare craft many more beautiful songs, star on TV in “Offspring”, and become a leader in the music community as a collaborator and mentor.

Until now though, we didn’t really know what came before that first song. But last year Clare Bowditch wrote her memoir, Your Own Kind of Girl, and opened up a childhood story she’d never shared before.

That turbulent beginning is why I gave her the theme hurricane songs; music that upended her, turned Clare’s world from black and white to technicolour, and ultimately, gave her a sense of renewal.

From Donny Hathaway to Bjork to Stella Donnelly, we heard how music had been a commanding force and steady hand throughout her formative years. And how songs had given her the strength she needed when the walls were closing in.

This is a beautiful conversation; as much about the healing power of music as it is the kindness we can, and should show ourselves.

Nena - ‘99 Luftballons’

Donny Hathaway - ‘Little Ghetto Boy’

Björk - ‘Hyperballad’

Archie Roach - ‘Down City Streets’

Stella Donnelly - ‘Tricks’

Pennywise are Cali punk legends.

From backyard parties in Hermosa Beach, to touring the world over the past quarter of a century, the band have built a huge fan base; particularly in Australia.

So when they came back again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their “Straight Ahead” album, I asked the guitarist Fletcher Dragge, to Take 5. Fletcher has always been a good chat, as up for a party as he is a solid dive into politics and punk. And it’s clear that the latter, in both genre and ethic, has informed his whole life.

From Devo to Bad Brains to NWA, this is as much a trip through his musical education as it is a story of how music saved him.

Devo – ‘Freedom of Choice’

The Jim Carroll Band – ‘People Who Died’

Bad Brains – ‘Pay to Cum’

Minor Threat – ‘Screaming at a Wall ‘

N.W.A. – ‘F*ck Tha Police’

Norman Cook is a legend.

Under the moniker Fatboy Slim the British producer and DJ has been making us dance for decades. His breakthrough album “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby” gave us ‘Right Here Right Now’, ‘Gangster Trippin’, ‘The Rockafella Skank’, and of course ‘Praise You’. Twenty years ago that song came in at #4 in the Hottest 100, but his popularity has never waned, and when he visited Australia to play massive outdoor shows, I asked him to Take 5.

Norman’s background is textured; in the 80’s he was playing bass with The Housemartins, he had a hit with Beats International, and in 1996 was born again as Fatboy Slim. But at base level, he’s a fan. So I asked him to Take 5 with his “dancefloor evergreens”; the songs that never left his crate, that he always returned to. What I didn’t realise, is that Norman Cook was about to show us the musical blueprint of who he was today.

From the turning point of how he became a DJ, to late nights with British Big Beat legends, and where his musical head is at today, this is an incredibly rich convo with a helluva soundtrack.

Arthur Conley – ‘Sweet Soul Music’

The Clash – ‘Magnificent Seven’

Donna Summer – ‘I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley remix)’

J Walter Negro And The Loose Joints – ‘Shoot The Pump’

Underworld - ‘Rez’

It’s been a massive year for the Take 5. Since 2006 I’ve been having conversations that go well beyond music, but in the last couple of years I feel as though these co-hosts have gone deeper than ever. In 2019 alone, I had so many pinch myself moments, so I wanted to share them with you here in a frankensteined best of: a Take 10 to cap off a big year. 

Over the next little while you’ll hear why this segment is so special. And if this is your first time listening, it’s a great smorgasboard to feast on. A taster plate that may spur you to scroll back into your feed and dig into some of these other wonderful conversations.

Neneh Cherry: Stevie Wonder - ‘Living for the City’

Kurt Vile: Neil Young 'Ambulance Blues'

Mark Ronson: Kasey Musgraves - Slow Burn 

Kasey Musgraves: Tame Impala - ‘Eventually

Jimmy Barnes: Led Zeppelin - ‘Immigrant Song’

Vika & Linda Bull - The Staple Singers - ‘I'll Take You There’

Peter Hook: The Velvet Underground - ‘Venus in Furs’

Christine & The Queens: Kate Bush - ‘Wuthering Heights’

Jessica Mauboy - Baker Boy - 'Marryuna (ft Yirrmal)'

Warren Ellis: Beethoven -  ‘Symphony 7 slow movement number 2 Allegretto’

Ever since we first met American duo Best Coast, they’ve worn their love of California on their sleeves. Bethany Cosentino & Bobb Bruno have visited our coastal country a few times too and in 2012 they did the Take 5.

The theme was “west coast is the best coast” and after listening to this, you’ll be convinced. Get ready for some California love, as the charming Best Coast take you on a holiday to LA.

Randy Newman - ‘I Love LA’

Tupac - ‘California Love’

The Mamas & The Papas - ‘California Dreamin’

The Beach Boys - ‘California Girls’

N.W.A. - ‘Straight Outta Compton'