Singer-songwriter Olivia Wolf joins me to discuss the definition of a cult classic, Bobby Charles's self-titled 1972 record, and the qualities that made it an enduring source of comfort and inspiration. We explore its relaxed Woodstock-era sound, the involvement of the members of The Band and the various legends that have sprung up around the album, the influence of collaborative recording on Wolf's own work, songwriting and cover song choices, and memorable musical encounters with Buddy Miller and Robert Plant.

Today, ARIA winning singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden joins me to talk about a contemporary classic to be, the 2024 album by Paul Kelly, 'Fever Longing Still'. We talk about Fanny discovering Paul as a child through the film The Castle, how the album captures the chemistry and energy of his incredible touring band, how Fanny's perspective on the songs changed hearing them night after night when she toured with Paul, the non-musical influences on Paul's songwriting, working with Paul's producer Steve Schram on her new album 'Traditions', how her duet with Paul on the album came about and much more.

Hollye B's career has already taken her from New York dancer to punk frontwoman to vocalist in Mike Campbell's Dirty Knobs and now as a compelling Americana singer-songwriter. Hollye joins me to talk about the modern classic album from Jenny Lewis, 2008's 'Acid Tongue'. We delve into how Hollye discovered Jenny through Grey's Anatomy while in high school, how the album balances artistic freedom and expansiveness with discipline, Jenny's genius at creating intimacy as a vocalist, sexism in the indie world, how the album and its creation harkens back to the 70s Laurel Canyon scene, the sprawling cast of LA backing musicians featured across the album, how Lewis marries different forms and approaches in her lyrics and more.

The brilliant Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville ('Won't You Be My Neighbor?', '20 Feet From Stardom', 'Man on the Run') joins me today to talk about the epic insanity of The Clash's legendary triple album 'Sandinista!'. We talk about the album as 'the ultimate onion to keep peeling back', the ahead-of-its-time meta commentary and self-deconstruction on the album, how the band recorded the album during a frenzy of activity around the world, the album's status as The Clash's 'White Album', the political underpinnings of the album and its title, the wild diversity of music influences that come together on the album, and much more. Plus, we touch on Morgan's recent Paul McCartney documentary 'Man on the Run'.

Today, Nashville-based Australian country hitmaker Melanie Dyer joins me to talk about the modern classic album from Kacey Musgraves that redefined the borders of country music for a generation, 2018's 'Golden Hour'. We talk about how the album represented a major sonic shift from Musgraves' first two albums, the fork in the road she was faced with in her career, how some of the songwriting harkens back to early 20th century American standards, the importance of space in the production, the story of the glass slipper shooey and how Musgraves continues to face forward and break new ground with each record.

Today, emergent honky tonk hero Alicia Blue joins me to talk about her hero Waylon Jennings and his seminal album from 1975, 'Dreaming My Dreams'. We talk about how Waylon puts himself in the context of his country forebears with songs like 'Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?', 'Bob Wills Is Still The King' and 'Waymore Blues', the outlaw movement and how artists like Waylon and Willie reinvented themselves after the earlier Nashville chapters of their careers, how Alicia navigated bringing Waylon's influence into her own Shooter Jennings produced new album, the different interpretations of the meaning of 'Bob Wills Is Still The King' and much more.

It is rare for a character to have survived and thrived through almost 90 years of continuous reinvention, adaptation and exploitation. It's even rarer for a consensus to emerge as to a definitive incarnation of such a character. Well, Batman: The Animated Series is that unicorn, a coming together of incredible talent to produce the most elegant distillation of decades of storytelling, along with its own innovations and contributions to the mythos. 30 plus years since it premiered, the reputation of the series has grown even further and now the behind the scenes story has been told in a fantastic new book by my guest today, Daniel Dockery, in I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series. We talk about how Daniel finds the nuances and untold stories in shows' creation myths, celebrating the unheralded behind the scenes heroes, the pro-social humanist version of the Bruce Wayne character, how the show captured the storytelling elegance of classic Hollywood and film noir, how limitations breed creativity, the difference between darkness and maturity, Paul Dini's 'misplaced love' theory of Batman villains and his case for the most underrated episode of BTAS.

Americanoir singer-songwriter Ben de la Cour joins me to dive into Warren Zevon's iconic self-titled album that relaunched him as a solo artist after years toiling away as a songwriter and sideman. We talk about how the album served as a sort of re-debut album after the little-heard 'Wanted Dead or Alive', Zevon's Forrest Gump-esque early life and career, the autobiographical nature of the songs, Jackson Browne as Zevon's guardian angel, Dylan vs Zevon, the superstar guests that populate the record, the unlikely cover versions, the pitch black humour of Zevon's lyrics and more.

We finally bury the classic 60s rock'n'roll feud as the most acclaimed man in Beatles broadcasting Steven Cockcroft returns to the show to sing the praises of The Rolling Stones and their TWENTY-FIFTH (!) studio album 'Foreign Tongues'. We discuss the incredible hot streak the Stones are on following years of inactivity, the incredible creative stamina of Mick Jagger and his shifting dynamic with Keith Richards, the crucial role Steve Jordan has played in revitalising the band following the death of Charlie Watts, the unsung hero Matt Clifford, how the record captures the chemistry of the current era of the band better than Hackney Diamonds, whether the band will ever tour again, the unexpected joyfulness of the album and much more...

Singer-songwriter Caitlin Cannon shares a knack for quotable lyrics with her album of choice, and lyrics are quoted liberally through this celebration of Jason Isbell's seminal 'Southeastern', as Caitlin discusses how the album's closing song 'Relatively Easy' hit her for six and led her to the record, an early encounter with the Drive By Truckers, the excitement of loving a contemporary artist like a classic music hero, how Isbell's singing voice has evolved over the years, the difference between poetry and song lyrics, and much more.

Singer, producer and the songwriter behind iconic songs of Carrie Underwood, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Faith Hill and many many more, Gordie Sampson joins me this week to talk about the 1985 Dire Straits classic 'Money for Nothing', how Mark Knopfler and co chased the edges of new digital music recording technology, the stories behind 'Money for Nothing' and that signature guitar sound, the personnel changes in the band during recording, how Gordie connected with the album as a Canadian teenager, how 'Brothers in Arms' has found a second life in some of TV's greatest moments and more.