A sweeping, insightful and entertaining exploration of 100 songs that shaped the Australian sound. From the 60s to now, these are the songs and artists that have made a seismic impact, sending tremors throughout the musical, social and cultural landscape that can still be felt today.
Each episode of this Music + Talk podcast focuses on one song, looking forwards and backwards to consider where it came from, how it fit within the existing scene, and how it influenced the future of Australian music. Spotify Premium users will have access to full-length songs throughout the podcast, while Spotify Free users will hear a 30 second sample of each song. Solely plays through the Spotify app (desktop or mobile).
Currently on hiatus - watch this space!
Ep 25: ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ by Gotye and Kimbra
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke reflects on the global success of the most unexpected mega-hit of the 2010s: 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye and Kimbra.
How did two of alt-pop's most eclectic stars combine heartbreak and xylophone to create the song that took over the world for all of 2011?
Ep 24: ‘My People’ by The Presets
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke explores the golden age of Australian dance music and the song that launched a revolution: The Presets' towering festival-dominating behemoth, 'My People'.
How did The Presets lift Australian electronic music out of grimy warehouse raves and into stadiums and global festival stages?
Ep 23: ‘Treaty’ by Yothu Yindi
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke pays tribute to revolutionary rock group Yothu Yindi, their politically-charged anthem 'Treaty', and other powerful Indigenous voices that have called for unity and reconciliation over the past fifty years.
How did Yothu Yindi's combination of rock and folk, Indigenous and non-Indigenous members, didgeridoo and electric guitar, English and Gumatj, create a defining generational call to action, and the first international hit by a First Nations band?
Ep 22: ‘You Should Be Dancing’ by The Bee Gees
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke encourages a much overdue re-appraisal of one of Australia's most divisive and influential bands - the Bee Gees.
How did the Bee Gees transition from talented Beatles impersonators to disco-driven world domination, and why should we appreciate their greatness forty years later?
Ep 21: ‘Untouched’ by The Veronicas
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke celebrates Australia's defining power pop banger, 'Untouched' by The Veronicas.
How has the identical twins' 2007 hit endured as one of the best loved pop songs of the 2000s, become a queer anthem, and inspired a generation?
Ep 20: ‘Tomorrow’ by Silverchair
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke explores the immense impact of Silverchair, one of Australia's greatest and most influential alt-rock bands.
How did a couple of high school kids from Newcastle find international success and single-handedly change the sound of Australian alt-rock?
Ep 19: ‘I Am Woman’ by Helen Reddy
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke celebrates International Women's Day by exploring some of Australia's greatest and most stirring feminist anthems.
How did Helen Reddy channel the spirit of second wave feminism into a global pop megahit, and inspire future generations to craft their own anthems of empowerment?
Ep 18: ‘Crave You’ by Flight Facilities
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke shines a spotlight on Flight Facilities, perhaps the most underrated and quietly influential artist of the 2010s.
Initially overlooked, how did Flight Facilities' perfect debut single subtly change the direction of Australian indie electronica?
Ep 17: ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ by Crowded House
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke looks at Australia and New Zealand's greatest shared musical export: Crowded House.
How did Neil Finn recover from the demise of off-beat art pop project Split Enz to create an even bigger cultural footprint with the folk-pop brilliance of Crowded House?
Ep 16: ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ by The Angels
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke travels back to the 70s to investigate the origins of Australian pub rock, and the definitive anthem of that fertile time in Aussie music: 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again' by The Angels.
How did The Angels define and refine the uniquely Australian genre of pub rock, and how did a random Queensland DJ transform their song into an all-time great audience participation moment?
Ep 15: ‘Island Home’ by Christine Anu
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke explores the diverse and powerful pop stylings of some of Australia's First Nations women. In particular, the singular impact of Torres Strait Island woman Christine Anu and her uniquely impressive debut record, Stylin' Up.
How did Christine Anu bring Indigenous stories, culture and language into Australia's mainstream pop consciousness, and lay the platform for Indigenous pop stars to break out over the next two decades?
Ep 14: ‘Fruit Salad’ by The Wiggles
On this very special episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke picks his jaw up off the floor in order to celebrate The Wiggles, following their astonishing victory in the 2021 Hottest 100.
How did The Wiggles go from a middling pub rock band, to the greatest children's entertainment group in Australian history, to unlikely alt-rock heroes?
Ep 13: ‘The Nosebleed Section’ by Hilltop Hoods
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke pays tribute to perhaps the most game-changing Australian song of the 2000s, and the group that rocketed Aussie hip hop out of the shadows and onto the radio.
How did three lads from Adelaide develop an accessible, distinctly Australian take on hip hop, and convince listeners to take it seriously?
Ep 12: ‘Bombora’ by The Atlantics
Sun, surf, sex and sadness - it’s surf rock week!
On the first episode of Spinning Around for 2022, your host Tom Clarke takes you back to the early 60s, to see how surf rock launched Australia’s first successful rock band, The Atlantics.
How have bands channeled the uniqueness of the Australian summer into great rock music over the past 50 years?
Ep 11: ‘White Wine In The Sun’ by Tim Minchin
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
On the final episode of Spinning Around for 2021, your host Tom Clarke takes a look at Australia's contributions to the ever burgeoning genre of Christmas songs.
Half a world away from the snow, fireplaces and ugly sweaters that dominate traditional Christmas media, how have Australian musicians captured the unique peculiarities of Aussie Christmases, celebrated under a blazing southern sun?
Ep 10: ‘Let There Be Rock’ by AC/DC
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke pays tribute to the most successful, most enduring, hardest rocking band in Australian history: AC/DC.
How did AC/DC become one of the greatest and highest selling rock bands of all time, shaping hard rock and heavy metal worldwide in their highly-electrified image?
Ep 9: ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ by Tame Impala
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke explores the mind-expanding, world-shifting psychedelic pop of Australia's most important musical act of the 2010s: Tame Impala.
How was a one-man band from Perth able to become one of the most globally successful Australian artists ever, all while staying true to his artistic principles and continuously pushing the boundaries of what pop music could be?
Ep 8: ‘Streets Of Your Town’ by The Go-Betweens
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke looks back at one of Australia's greatest and most underappreciated bands, The Go-Betweens, and the closest thing they ever had to a pop hit, 'Streets Of Your Town'.
How were The Go-Betweens so easily ignored in their own time, and what influence did their incredible songwriting have on generations of Australian musical storytellers?
Ep 7: ‘Scar’ by Missy Higgins
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke marvels at the remarkable combination of immense talent and authentic relatability that is Missy Higgins, and her 2004 breakout hit 'Scar'.
How did a teenager's last minute school assignment launch the career of a national treasure, and open the doors for a new and diverse breed of Aussie singer-songwriters to embrace the power of just being themselves?
Ep 6: ‘! (Song Also Known As)’ by Regurgitator
On this episode of Spinning Around, your host Tom Clarke looks at the genre-trampling weirdos from Regurgitator, and their masterpiece of 90s electro-rock, '! (Song Also Known As)'.
How did Regurgitator transform themselves from irreverent rap-rockers to supreme overlords of synthpop, paving the way for indie rock bands to unashamedly embrace dance music in the decades since?