Musician Ben Lee Is Watching the Fall of America ('Awake Is the New Sleep' - 'Ripe' - 'I'm Fun!')

This week, I'm joined by an Australian musician whose career I’ve been following since I first interviewed him in a Detroit club 20 years ago. I’m talking about BEN LEE here, and  we’ll be discussing his music (from the 20th anniversary of his seminal album 'Awake Is the New Sleep' to his stunning new single 'The Fall of America'), the death of the American myth that once inspired us to chase our dreams, and our complicated relationships with the country we once called home.This episode includes Ben performing 'The Fall of America', so no need to hunt that down elsewhere. You can follow along with the lyrics found here: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/benlee/thefallofamericaacoustic.htmlA BONUS EPISODE with Ben is available via Apple Podcasts or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠at ⁠Substack⁠. In it, we discuss a foundational piece of art from his life - the iconic short story 'THE BALLOON' by Donald Barthelme, first published in The New Yorker in 1966.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonus-ben-lee-talks-donald-barthelmes-the-balloon/id1807437928?i=1000738078697Substack: https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-ben-lee-talks-donaldLINKSLearn more about Ben Lee: https://www.ben-lee.com/If you live in Australia, Ben is on tour from January to May 2026. Find his show list here: https://www.ben-lee.com/tour-datesListen to 'The Fall of America': https://open.spotify.com/album/6t1Rkg2CTLX5aeL6b5NRoS?si=VeQojEbUTeaaVZwkKvUNdgRead Donald Barthelme's 'The Balloon': https://engl211-ux1.community.uaf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/432/2021/01/The-Balloon-Donald-Barthelme.pdfSUBSCRIBE TO THE '5AM STORYTALK NEWSLETTER'⁠⁠https://colehaddon.substack.com/⁠⁠You'll gain access to both the 5AM StoryTalk newsletter and all episodes of this podcast – including exclusive bonus episodes in which my guests discuss seminal pieces of art from their lives. Ask questions in the comments section there, too!SUBSCRIBE TO THE '5AM STORYTALK PODCAST' AT APPLE⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5am-storytalk/id1807437928⁠⁠A paid subscription at Apple will get you access to all of my bonus episodes in which my guests return to break down a seminal artwork from their lives.TIP JARNot up for a paid subscription but appreciate the work that’s gone into making this podcast happen? You can “buy me a coffee” ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/colehaddon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SOCIAL MEDIAFollow Cole/5AM StoryTalk at…⁠⁠5AM StoryTalk @ Instagram⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/5amstorytalkpodcast/⁠⁠⁠Cole Haddon @ Instagram⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/colehaddonwashere/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/colehaddon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.com/Colehaddonwashere⁠⁠⁠EMAIL⁠[email protected] StoryTalk would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.This podcast's music is by ⁠⁠Cary Brothers⁠⁠. ⁠⁠https://www.carybrothers.com/⁠⁠