From Mixtapes to MTV: The Music of the 1980s with Tony Wellington
Tony Wellington returns to the show to race through the 1980s in a single episode. It's a decade of contradictions, where big hair, commercial pop hits, lip syncing and the music video meet rap, independent rock, and house music. From girls on film to video killing the radio star, from talking about a revolution to being touched for the very first time: how do you sum up the triumphs and tragedies?
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JJJJJerome Ellis on the musicality of stuttering, and a masterclass in the chromatic harmonica
JJJJJerome Ellis styles their name with five Js because it’s the word they stutter on the most. The artist, writer, composer and multi-instrumentalist has released a new album Vesper Sparrow which layers spoken word, vocals, saxophone, hammered dulcimer, organ, electronics and more. JJJJJerome speaks to Andrew Ford about the musical opportunities that speech disfluency provides, and what we can learn from the spaces and clearings between words.And we get a chromatic harmonica masterclass from musician and composer Ariel Bart, who blends European jazz traditions with Middle Eastern music. She’s about to begin her debut Australian tour, teaming up with a local cellist and pianist.
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Reed and Oak: DOBBY & Cate Kennedy
Reed and Oak - composed and performed by DOBBY, words by Cate Kennedy.One of two winning poems from our Middle of the Air competition, run in collaboration with Red Room Poetry.
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The Arbour: Leah Senior & Giles Watson
The Arbour - composed and performed by Leah Senior, words by Giles Watson.One of two winning poems from our Middle of the Air competition, run in collaboration with Red Room Poetry.
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Poetry becomes song: Middle of the Air winning songs revealed with DOBBY and Leah Senior
In August, ABC Radio National and Red Room Poetry put out the call for Australian poets to submit new poems to be set to music by two great local musicians, DOBBY and Leah Senior. Now, to mark the end of AusMusic Month, the two winning poems, and the songs that they have become, are premiered on The Music Show. Andy talks to DOBBY, Leah, and the two winning poets Cate Kennedy and Giles Watson, as well as David Stavanger and Nicole Smede of Red Room Poetry to celebrate the alchemy of song: how music and words combine to affect each other's meaning and make something completely new.Plus, to mark Jane Austen's 250th anniversary, a dive into Austen's relationship with music, with academic Gillian Dooley. And we remember Guy Ghouse (1969-2025), the Western Australian musician who, with his collaborator and wife Gina Williams, brought Noongar language music and opera to the fore.
Ireland