Mick and the PhatMan Talking Music

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Just because you’re successful doesn’t mean everyone likes you.  In fact, success can often draw criticisms that might not be given to other performers.  In Australia, we call that the “Tall Poppy Syndrome”, where people look for reasons to bring successful people down! We look at some criticisms (not by us - mainly!), of highly successful artists and try to find a reason ...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

A while back, we talked at length about Warren Zevon, one of the great American songwriters and one of our idols.  So, this year, Warren Zevon has been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, along with Bad Company and Cyndi Lauper, and we thought that was a perfect excuse to close the loop on our coverage of his career.  It’s all here – his later career, final album, ...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

The late Steve Harley was most famous for his 1975 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), but there’s much more to the story than one good single.  We look at the band’s early albums and Steve Harley's career around and after that single and the band's break up.  As usual, Mick says their early stuff is way better than their later stuff!

Our Album you Must Listen to B...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Why do you like the music you do?  Is it as simple as “It’s what I heard on the radio”? Or something deeper? People with elder siblings may be exposed to music earlier than first children.   Jeff had an older brother, so was exposed earlier to cool music - Beatles, Janis, Hendrix, and so on.  Mick was the eldest in his family and had to find his own taste. (No surprise con...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

This episode, we look back at two hugely influential women artists – Patti Smith, whose 1975 “Horses” album inspired so many artists, and Marianne Faithfull, whose passing in January, 2025, is a huge loss.  

“Horses”, with its confrontational approach - “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine” - changed the landscape of rock music for the next few decades.  Produced by Joh...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Radio Birdman's Rob Younger.  From music production styles, to why some people can't keep it in their pants, and the disgraceful lack of credit given to Stevie Wright for the success of The Easybeats, there's never a dull moment in this wide-ranging discussion.  

Enjoy!

References:  Rock producers, production styles, guit...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

A special treat for you this episode!  Rob Younger, lead singer of legendary Australian group, Radio /Birdman, joins us in the studio to give us his thoughts on everything from music production to the influence of the Beatles on all rock music.   

Rob’s near-encyclopedic knowledge of the rock era is impressive, and it's eye-opening to hear his opinions on the shameful treat...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

In case you hadn’t noticed, we love a good cover version! This episode, we’re looking at covers - staples, covers from strange sources, and some songs that have had a LOT of covers, including a bunch of covers of David Bowie's “Heroes”, one of Mick's favourite songs of all time. 

Our Album You Must Hear before You Die is “Is This It?” by The Strokes. This punk/Britpop-...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Every band/artist has to have a first album.  Sometimes those albums are good, sometimes they’re not, and sometimes they just show potential.  This episode, we look at some first albums over the gamut of the rock era that we regard as great, including some Australian albums. You've probably heard of most, but not all. 

In rock news, we look at Neil Young, The Wiggles (yes!)...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Well, this is the last episode of Season 4, and once again, it’s been a ball of fun (and music). 4 years and still going strong – bigger and better than ever! 

We look back at “Knockin’ on Heaven's Door” and "Rock News", as well as some of our favourite episodes.  We recall some of the albums we’ve listened to (before we die), some of the shows we’ve seen, some of...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Everyone knows and loves Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their run of hits at the end of the '60’s, and their enduring popularity, has rarely been equaled. Not so well-known is the story of the clashes that caused their run to end so abruptly. We take a look at how the band split and the many personal and legal issues that led to it.  It ain’t pretty! 

Well, we also kept our ...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

The 80's is a decade with many musical failings.  But they produced some great music, too. This episode, we look at what Rolling Stone magazine considers to be the best songs of the 80’s.  We have criticised Rolling Stone in the past for the quality of their lists, and this time is no different.  However, there’s some good stuff in this list, which we’re happy to acknowled...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

This episode spends time with Nick Lowe, a British performer, who started out with pub rock band, Brinsley Schwarz, and Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile. Lowe’s solo career has produced a huge bunch of great songs – many of which you’ve heard, even if you’ve not heard of him - which have been hits for him AND covered by some amazing people! A suggestion from listener Nick from Victoria, ...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” is, for many fans, his last great album.  Mick regards it as one of Bowie’s best, while “Ashes to Ashes” is Bowie's confession to a decade of hedonism.  Mick and Jeff talk through what makes this album great, and look at the music environment as Bowie, along with many other 70’s greats, faced the changes in a new decade.   

...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

As we grew up, music was the most important thing there was.  As part of that, we bought some albums that weren’t great, and time has generally proven our assessments right! This episode, we talk about some of those "dud" albums, by artists like Bowie, U2, Led Zeppelin, Golden Earring, Neil Young, Alice Cooper, Phil Collins and Yes, to name but a few. 

In Rock News, we...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

In today’s episode, we look at how social media gives us a grab-bag of people’s memories of stars and some who weren’t quite so successful, or scarcely successful at all.  Nonetheless, they are remembered by some and lionised on social media. 

The other side of "on-line" is the channels that present video imagery of any and everything, such as YouTube, TikTok and so on...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

All bands need a name, but the process of getting that name is different for each band. This episode, we look at how a bunch of well-known bands got their names.  Some are amusing, some are horrifying, some are dark or seedy – be ready for surprises! 

Our “album you must listen to before you die” is Arc of a Diver, by Stevie Winwood (1980).  This was a formative album during our...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

It’s not unusual for bands to change their sound or style as they move through their career.  We take a look at bands that changed their sound substantially (or started a completely new sound) for a whole lot of reasons - from The Beatles, Bowie and Dylan and Black Sabbath through to Japan, The Cure and Split Enz.   

Our album you must hear before you die is Let it Bleed by...

Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking!

Nick Cave.  After a career that would exhaust a lesser man, he’s still recording and performing breathtaking work.  Mick’s just seen him live with only his piano, and a bass guitar, and can’t stop raving! We look at how he started and the difference between his performances and attitudes then and now.   

In other news, Lenny Kravitz is still sticking to his vow of celibacy, The...