Don't Look Back Podcast

Radiotopia's Julie Shapiro shares her love of riot grrrl and The National on Don't Look Back

From hard partying clubhead to hard hitting journalist, get to know the real Emma Alberici and why one pivotal Sting song means so much to her.

How Karen Carpenter’s virtuosic percussive skills and haunting vocal qualities fuelled Bic’s rebel heart

Gawurra reflects on the people and events that got him to where he is today and contemplates where his music might take him into the future.

Whether she’s fronting Blue King Brown, in solo mode or collaborating with Jamaica’s most talented artists, her creative drives are almost always focused on elevating consciousness and the greater good.

Most of the things he stated 30, 40 years ago are playing out in 3D slow motion. And it’s unfortunate that Nigeria has not moved forward in the last 40 years.

The Clean's raw infectious melodicism would mark an important turning point in the comedian's life

Living Colour erupted in the mid 80s with some of the most raucous and distinctive sounds of the day

Naoko Yamano tells us about the first time she heard The Beatles

Rob Snarski of The Blackeyed Susans reflects on the power of Nancy Sinatra's 'Bang Bang'

Def FX's Fiona Horne lets us know which song got her through the highs and lows of her life.

Over four decades on, the magnificence of this classical piece still transports him back into his eight-year-old self.

Sarah Blasko was told in high school that she didn't have a musical bone in her body. She has carried that with her over her prolific and successful career.

The song ‘seared’ in Giarrusso’s heart comes from a seminal album by Van Morrison. It speaks to his romantic Italian sensibilities.

As a journalist and host of the ABC’s ethics and faith based program Compass, Kumi Taguchi has a passion for life’s important questions. George Michael helped create that passion.

Andrew Bird talks about a Townes Van Zandt song that flicked a switch in him, challenging his views as a musical artist.

Dionne Farris was singing about, not just me, but all women out there who wanna say it but can’t.

Released in 1981, the Talking Heads hit Once In A Lifetime made its mark as an instant classic. To David Bridie, who has had a long, varied and distinguished career, this song, and the album it’s from, provide him with the simple pleasure of enjoyment as a listener.

Millie Jackson's classic 1974 track ‘(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right’ blew a young Kylie Auldist's mind. But she won't be following in the footsteps of the legendary soul singer when it comes to subject matter of her songs.

It’s not entirely surprising that Descendents drummer Bill Stevenson would have a broad and rich range of musical influences. He recounts loving each of the hundreds of 7” singles his parents owned and allowed him to play to ruination on his little record player. Songs by Frank Sinatra, the swinging jazz of Louis Prima, for instance. What is a little surprising is that he chose a country pop tune, made famous by Kenny Rogers, for Don't Look Back.

Dave Graney’s creative longevity has been sustained by his need for re-invention but also by knowing when to borrow ideas, phrases or melodic licks from others to fashion into something of his own. Caz Tran sat down with Dave Graney to hear about the influence of blues and groove, hip hop acts like Public Enemy and Schoolly D, Radio Birdman and The Pop Group and many more. However, his song choice by New York’s Television, is almost too perfect to touch.

Katy Steele admits, with some embarrassment, that she’d never even heard about Joni Mitchell’s 1971 masterpiece Blue until fairly recently. Now, one song in particular continues to stop her in her tracks; the vividly depicted, melancholic seasonal song ‘River.’ Hear more about the song that changed it all for Katy Steele on Don't Look Back.

Inspiration has also come to her from two sprawling pieces of intricate, minimalist and ambient music, Steve Reich’s ‘Music for 18 Musicians’, and Laraaji’s ‘Essence / Universe’.

Ash Grunwald recounts a time in his life when there was only room for one type of music. He’d picked up the guitar at 10 years old, discovered blues music, and never looked back. That was, until he finally came around to the music of Jimi Hendrix.

Writer, musician and newly appointed co-curator of Women of Letters, Angie Hart shares tales of struggle with her personal demons, her habit of snubbing her musical heroes and the song that changed everything for her.

“Winemaking is the long game,” Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan says. “You have to pay attention and understand that there's a big picture attached to it.

Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual or a roadmap. Sometimes you just bumble through, faking it til you make it. Some of us are lucky enough to find that role model, mentor or guardian angel who shows us a possible way forward. Missy Higgins was one of those lucky ones. At a time in her life when she needed it most, she discovered the music of Canadian songwriter Sarah McLachlan who helped kickstart her musical life and later on changed her perspective on what it is to be a musician.

Ben Lee is back with a new album Freedom, Love and the Recuperation of the Human Mind. It’s possibly the most stripped back that we’ve heard him, and his approach to sharing his stories has shifted. There’s an openness that invites your ears inwards. Ben says it’s something that’s come with getting a little older and becoming a parent. He talks about the influence of really good art, the Dalai Lama and a Gillian Welch song that literally was a revelation.

Mum of three, beloved musician, sometime actor and now popular radio host on her Melbourne ABC local radio show, Clare Bowditch has a lot of irons in the fire. A natural story teller, Clare talks with warmth and openness about a dark time in her life, a time when she couldn’t read the paper or even listen to music and shares the song that was her constant and healing companion.

Michael Franti shares intimate tales of the evolution of his music and its message

Life Without Buildings showed her how language can spark an emotional response

Whether he’s re-interpreting the songs of French icon Serge Gainsbourg, or assisting the likes of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey to bring their artistic vision to life, Mick Harvey’s renown as a trusted and insightful collaborator is well known. In this episode, Mick Harvey shares his deep appreciation of the fearless and uncompromising work of Nina Simone and how her song ‘Four Women’ with its blurring of musical lines and mysterious story telling continues to inform his own captivating work.

As a writer and performer with a huge love of musical theatre, Eddie Perfect sees songs as serving very precise and multilayered functions. He says the 1970 soundtrack for Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy ‘Company’ and in particular the weary but scathing performance by Elaine Stritch illuminated the various important roles that musical pieces can fulfil within a broader story setting.

Eleanor Friedberger invites us into her childhood, one filled with her own tastes and musical discoveries but also one that’s been influenced by a kind hearted older brother. Matthew Friedberger not only bought Eleanor her first guitar but introduced her to the quintessential New York band. Find out the iconic Velvet Underground song that stoked her long fascination with The Big Apple and helped her take her first artistic strides.

Richard Fidler takes us back to the much darker and despairing times of his youth in Canberra. The recession 80s and looming nuclear crisis threatened to wipe out civilised society. In this climate some menacing and melancholic music captured the mood of the time and the imagination of a young Richard Fidler. Join him as he shares the magnificence and bleak tones of Killing Joke's 'Requiem' which gave him a sense of dancing to the impending apocalypse and ultimately, an odd sense of inspiration.

He’s a talented singer, songwriter and showman, but Felix Riebl has had a lifetime of constant push and pull in his relationship with music. It began with the search for identity, then the struggle for expression and these days it’s about allowing himself to enjoy the mystery of the language of music. Felix shares some of the moments that have shaped his journey, his secret burning six string regret & the song by Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin that opened up a whole world of music to him.

Wonder of the natural world is the key inspiration for acclaimed visual artist Patricia Piccinini. Through her works, she’s aiming to coax us out of our accepted ways of thinking to take a walk along the line that divides the natural and the unnatural, the beautiful and the grotesque. She shares how the emotional complexity of Morrissey’s ‘November Spawned a Monster’ stirs her with its intense poignancy and yearning, and a song that’s a true reflection of the focus of her evocative work.

Touring speaker, writer, broadcaster, actor & former frontman for hardcore punk legends Black Flag, Henry Rollins has a packed CV for a guy who’s professed never to have had any concrete plans in life. His intense enthusiasm & a restless curiosity are the fuel that’s sustained a lifetime of pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Here, Henry Rollins tells the story of pioneering punk band, Bad Brains, one mind blowing gig & how their song ‘Pay To Cum’ continues to fill him with awe.

Ivan Aristeguieta says every comedian has two jobs. Ivan is also a food technologist and it’s his knowledge in the culinary arts that’s helped him break through cultural barriers in his adopted Aussie homeland. But the sights, smells and sounds of his birthplace are never far away from his thoughts. Join Ivan Aristeguieta as he takes you on a trip to Venezuela to hear the broad musical influences that he absorbed in his teens and how one song from a very special concert changed him forever.

‘The last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone…’, an unmistakable lyric that playwright Kate Mulvany recalls hearing everywhere from radio through to blue light discos growing up. However, it wasn’t until she heard the word ‘Vietnam’ in the Cold Chisel classic, Khe Sanh, that she sat down to really listen to the story that was being told. It brought emotional demons out of the woodwork, opened up a dialogue with her Vietnam Veteran father’s life and was a catalyst for great personal upheaval.

Over Sean Lennon's career he’s had three solo albums but what he’s found is that at heart, he’s a collaborator. He’s recently teamed his surreal guitar licks with the brilliance of Les Claypool for a psych-pop partnership called The Claypool Lennon Delirium. As a musician, he’s constantly exploring and intrigued by how melodies and lyrics interact to produce something wholly unique. As a guitarist he finds one of rock's greatest, Jimi Hendrix, a continuous source of learning and inspiration.

Dr Karl loves the sound of loud guitars, but he can't tell us why.

From Elvis and Chuck Berry to The Sex Pistols and The Beatles, with plenty of 80s influences in between, they’ve all been a part of Chris Cheney’s musical landscape. But there’s a certain flamboyant Piano Man who continues to intrigue and inspire him to this day.

Peggy Frew tells the story of how PJ Harvey’s ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’ empowered her as a shy and quiet teenager.

Arj Barker knows a thing or two when it comes to making people laugh. Much of it comes down to understanding human behaviour. But sometimes life throws some curveballs which test one’s resolve and emotional capabilities. Arj shares his story of a devastating heartbreak which coincided with one of the highest points of his comedy career and how Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ came to soundtrack this turbulent time.

Jason Isbell is a songwriter who approaches his craft with a strong, honest work ethic. It’s a reflection of his childhood roots. Growing up around hard working Southern folk, he would overhear conversations about their daily troubles or just everyday observations. To his young eager ears, there was something magical about the simplicity of what was said as well as the hidden layers of meaning within them.

American songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom developed her musical concepts and sensibilities very early in life, long before she really began to actively listen to other people’s music. She realises that she was very fortunate to develop her own expressive style, mostly free from external influences. But there was one larger than life 80s anthem which also played a vital role in shaping the artist she is today.

Sammy J went from class clown to comedy stardom. As a musical comedian, he trades in subverting serious subject matter with catchy bright melodies, direct conversational lyrics and a bright eyed smile. He tells the tale of how he came to the understanding that laughter can bring empowerment and the song that showed him the limitless possibilities of music and comedy.

The Beatles changed The Flaming Lips' frontman's life.