Weirder Together with Ben Lee and Ione Skye

This week: Ben drives five hours to the Snowy Mountains with 17-year-olds, visits the Yarrangobilly Caves — and completely freezes when the punk rock tour guide turns off the lights and says "if anyone here is a singer, this is your moment." We also get into: Ione discovering Girl in Red wrote a song called "Say Anything" named after her iconic film, but describes it as "an old movie your mom showed you." The night at the Unholy Playhouse — a historic Sydney church turned queer performance venue — and why Catholicism and queer nightlife were always going to end up together. The Otherworld Zine Fair in Glebe, including the "Hotness Review: 80s Australian Newsreaders" zine. King Street Crawl — why it might be the most important day on the Australian music calendar. Tropical Fuckstorm live at the Enmore Theatre, Zia from the Dandy Warhols, and why Gareth Liddiard is the best songwriter in Australia. Ben's Japan tour announcement — Tokyo and Osaka shows on sale now, with Shonen Knife on the Osaka bill. Plus: Ione working on a secret project with John Goodman, and how they resolved a morning fight at the Marrickville markets while Ione's mum hovered nearby.
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weirdertogetherpod@gmail.com

Before TikTok, before OnlyFans, before anyone used the phrase "sex positive" — there was Robin Byrd on New York public access cable. Sarah Jessica Parker just produced a documentary about her called Bang My Box on Max, and it's worth your time. Ben and Ione break down why Robin Byrd was genuinely radical and why she was impossible to put down.
Also: why 90s indie artists were culturally forbidden from wanting success (and how that's completely changed), the Miles Davis quote that explains every artist's journey, Ninajirachi’s victorious homecoming and why the horror film Obsession is better than it has any right to be.

Hit us up with your questions
weirdertogetherpod@gmail.com

Ione is about to shoot a new film. Ben is thinking about covering Georgia Maq’s “Joe Rogan” song on their upcoming Australian tour. We found a 1990 Elle magazine article where legendary LA writer Eve Babitz profiled Ione and her brother (attached in full below), which includes a birthday party guest list featuring Robert Downey Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker (before anyone knew her), Adam Horovitz, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Also: Lars Von Trier once challenged Baz Luhrmann to make a Dogme 95 film. Baz’s response is perfect. Plus — why the Hal Hartley clip went viral on film Instagram, Sofia Coppola and Zoe Cassavetes competing over a French director, and Ben’s theory about how Baz Luhrmann changed the way every film gets edited.
Dive deeper into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com