Ep 25: Dylan at 85, TV paranoia, and the great Greek escape (with a side of camera lust)

Ep 25: Dylan at 85, TV paranoia, and the great Greek escape (with a side of camera lust)

Episode 25 of On The Record with Brian Wise and Michael Mackenzie begins where so many arguments in roots music eventually end up: Bob Dylan—specifically, the minor detail of him turning 85 (born 24 May 1941) and still looming over popular music like a sarcastic weather system. Plus two streaming recommendations, a bit of tech talk, and Brian’s fave Beach Boys album gets exposure on a new tour.

David Byrne at 74, Waterboys at the Palais, and a Literary Glassware “Borrowed” in Dublin

Episode 24 of On The Record with Brian Wise and Michael Mackenzie opens not in a record shop or a green room, but in the unglamorous reality of domestic collapse: Brian’s gas hot water service fails, leaving him hunting for a plumber and waiting five days for resolution. Musically, the emotional high point is a warm, informed appreciation of David Byrne.  The hosts tip their hats to Byrne’s wider career, including his work with Brian Eno, particularly ** My Life in the Bush of Ghosts **, and note his recent appearance at Jazz Fest. Show Notes Legends | Official Trailer | Netflix [https://youtu.be/VL1wuCh8IV4]  Shetland On Iview [https://iview.abc.net.au/show/shetland/series/9/video/MP2620H063C00GN1]  Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere [https://youtu.be/LQiOA7euaYA] (Official Video) Brian Eno -- David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - A1 - America Is Waiting [https://youtu.be/W9WUT4FD9-g?list=PLGwE1ohMHeyJigj9sX9hIv5a_yYlZgTrp]  Brian Eno -- David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - A4 - Help Me Somebody [https://youtu.be/VlaJJA0zELQ?list=PLGwE1ohMHeyJigj9sX9hIv5a_yYlZgTrp]  David Byrne with Choir! Choir! Choir! - Heroes [https://youtu.be/mbeq_bDRMPw?list=RDmbeq_bDRMPw]  Talking Heads – Psycho Killer (Official 4K Remastered Video, Live 1983) [https://youtu.be/JSp_uqgG6iw?list=PLWtB82fK8ulV9QvADp1W8BPd0YH42ntDd]  The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues [https://youtu.be/a4UQJwd3awQ?list=RDa4UQJwd3awQ] (High Quality) Chris Franklin Doco on Spectrum's I'll Be Gone “Someday I’ll Have Money” [https://www.franklinimage.com.au/someday-ill-have-money.html]

Split Enz 50th review, Thatcher’s heroin war, and the Zombies’ long-delayed victory lap

On The Record’s Episode 23 leans in to great songs, better stories, and the strange afterlife of pop careers. Michael Mackenzie’s big night out is Split Enz at Rod Laver Arena, a reunion-sized crowd of “people in roughly our same demographic” packed into a venue that, he notes, holds 14,860.  The gig itself? A triumph. Plus UK crime reviews and the long overdue recognition of The Zombies. Show Notes Split Enz Forever Enz Tour [https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=UMBFIJUD26]  Bergerac Series 2 [https://iview.abc.net.au/show/bergerac/series/2/video/ZW4992A001S00]  Legends | Official Trailer | Netflix [https://youtu.be/VL1wuCh8IV4]  Hung Up On A Dream: The Zombies Documentary | Official Trailer | Utopia [https://youtu.be/JctjMqtsFsU]  The Zombies - She's Not There [https://youtu.be/_2hXBf1DakE?list=RD_2hXBf1DakE]  The Zombies - Odessey And Oracle (2025 Mono Version) [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuuozTpnx5h0lJ5nroXae2aQR1MBWhMl9]  The Zombies Reveal the Real Story Behind “Time of the Season” | Hung Up on a Dream [https://youtu.be/5XSymfZUsuQ]

Still in New Orleans — the Weather Wins, Wilco Go Long, and Joni gets the Biopic Treatment

On his final night in New Orleans, Brian Wise files a slightly frayed dispatch that captures Jazz Fest’s defining tension: a festival big enough to feel infinite, and a schedule brutal enough to make you choose your regrets in advance. Episode 22 becomes a story about how festivals actually unfold—less like neat recaps and more like a sequence of weather calls, crowd-panics, and last-minute pivots. With the festival reckoning done, the conversation swings to another kind of canon-building: Joni Mitchell. Sparked by a Mojo “top 50 songs” feature, the hosts trade favourites (Wise namechecks “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter” and multiple Court and Spark staples, plus “Magdalene Laundries,” “Amelia,” and “River”), and Wise recalls seeing Mitchell at Jazz Fest in 1995, performing with her VG-8 guitar setup. They also discuss an attention-grabbing industry development: a Joni Mitchell biopic being directed by Cameron Crowe, with Meryl Streep cast as the older Mitchell and Anya Taylor-Joy as the younger. The enthusiasm is tempered by a journalist’s instinctive question: can a close friend make an objective film? Show Notes Fred Wesley & The New J.B.'s | Live at Moods  [https://youtu.be/TTGLeqOt2Lc?list=RDTTGLeqOt2Lc] Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) [https://youtu.be/QKzMLp3NxzM?list=RDQKzMLp3NxzM]   Wilco - Impossible Germany with full solo recorded live at the Saenger Theatre May 2026 [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V23K5k7v2wACyT-gWhQ7E2MQCMK5H_3u/view?usp=sharing] Mavis Staples Chicago May 3 2026 New Orleans Jazz Fest [https://youtu.be/cjUd1tCmGjg?list=RDcjUd1tCmGjg]  Herbie Hancock - Chameleon (Official Audio) [https://youtu.be/iqomTAiRnVM?list=RDiqomTAiRnVM]  Joni Mitchell's 50 Greatest Songs In The New MOJO! [https://share.google/kQDmci8gLJkOwVJA1]  Little Feat - Spanish Moon (Official Music Video) [https://youtu.be/cwESiisp27U?list=RDcwESiisp27U]

Gumbo, Blues and Batiste: On The Record Finds Its Rhythm in New Orleans

By Episode 21, On The Record has moved beyond anticipation and into immersion. Brian Wise is no longer circling Jazz Fest—he’s in it, navigating its scale, its heat, and its constant, often punishing, decisions. Broadcasting from the French Quarter, Wise paints New Orleans as it always is: chaotic, convivial and faintly surreal. One moment it’s a communal gumbo dinner with locals and visiting friends; the next, pre-dawn screams echo through the street—mercifully revealed to be part of a film shoot rather than something more sinister. But Jazz Fest remains the centre of gravity. The conditions alone are a test: 30-degree heat, heavy humidity, and crowds pushing well beyond 80,000 across the main days. It’s a physical endurance exercise as much as a musical one, and Wise is candid about the toll—even for a seasoned attendee. Show Notes Brother Tyrone and The Mindbenders - 6/1/2025 - Maple Leaf Bar Live [https://youtu.be/43IILej--Ww]  Nicholas Payton + Butcher Brown - “All Blues” (Official Live Performance)  [https://youtu.be/yao8XuvEL3Q?list=RDyao8XuvEL3Q] GA-20 - Naggin' On My Mind [https://youtu.be/IGx3iwp60uY?list=RDIGx3iwp60uY] (with Charlie Musselwhite & Luther Dickinson) Ani DiFranco: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert [https://youtu.be/T7xWl50pKyo?list=RDT7xWl50pKyo]  Joy Clark - Lesson (Official Music Video) [https://youtu.be/WZQ1w7cMmGo?list=RDEMhsOe0L5IyeiXHzMeGMI6Dg]  Glen David Andrews - Medley: Iko, Iko & Right Place, Wrong Time [https://youtu.be/UQHuTaYhFEE?list=RDUQHuTaYhFEE]  Marcia Ball - They Don't Make Em Like That [https://youtu.be/GXeRuZE-Ifw]  Things They Like To Do [https://youtu.be/JLVEjcb6Hc0?list=RDJLVEjcb6Hc0] by Jon Batiste Swamp show New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival April 26 2026  Ron Carter: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert [https://youtu.be/9ix2DCAzDp0?list=RD9ix2DCAzDp0]  Lucinda Williams Bus To Baton Rouge [https://youtu.be/aZoadNxK4o0?list=RDaZoadNxK4o0] (Album Version (New Mastering)  Bob Dylan I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You [https://youtu.be/BaSujamTbvg?list=PLW3MNZDD-K8rvfF8LpFeD-DlajPQSll9x] : Beacon Theatre Mar 2022  The Lowdown | Official Trailer | Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Keith David | FX [https://youtu.be/cE9bq37W3Qo]  Elvis Costello Meets Jeff Tweedy in Mojo [https://elviscostello.com/uncategorized/elvis-costello-meets-jeff-tweedy-in-this-months-issue-of-mojo/] New Elvis Costello Boxset To Feature A Wealth Of Never Before Heard Punk Era Recordings [https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/new-elvis-costello-boxset-to-feature-a-wealth-of-never-before-heard-punk-era-recordings/]  Bruce Springsteen My City of Ruins [https://youtu.be/0Irenk0E1R4?list=PLJ3gKh8Ty5pZHPNfXH8OrXBrsFLpmZvIi] (Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2006)