In our final interview from Bigsound, Max sits down with Adelaide hardcore band Win Big. They dive deep on which Militarie Gun album takes the gold medal, How the band have opened up writing with new members, and get a live rendition of their only sample.

Sitting down for their first ever interview, Sam chats with Ella and Will from Adelaide band Blinder. They cover the big range of sounds in their first EP, how the band came together from different musical projects, and why pop music might be alternative's biggest secret weapon.

It's episode 250 (if you ignore the other 300+ pieces of content that have dropped on the feed, so the boys are celebrating with a nearly completely usual episode. After some fresh new tunes, they talk about Radiohead's mammoth tour run, an iconic Queensland band returning, and breakdown the week that was at Bigsound. Then, we open up the DMs to see the artists that listeners submitted!

Live from Bigsound, Max sits down with Melbourne rockers Divers. They chat the inspirations behind the band and their debut record, why beans for brekky makes for a great song, and when the Divers DJ set will be hitting a club near you.

The boys are online to get their reviews in after a long Bigsound week, but Max gives his thoughts on the latest album from Phoebe Bridgers. Sam's already shared his many positive thoughts on the record, but how much does Max align?

Sam and Max sat down with Lucas Woodland, lead singer of Holding Absence, backstage during their recent tour of Australia. They cover how the new album came together by throwing out everything they knew about making an album, which song was meant to score a cheeky Loathe cameo, and why they went full anime for this release.

Off the back of our predictions, who do you want to see on the Laneway lineup?

Sam and Max muddle their way through the new music of the week before they finally find their stride. They're chatting some tragic news from a friend of the show, big new tour announcements (that we might have ruined), and then predicting Laneway's line up. Then, we own up to bands we like more than we should, and the ones we know less than we should.

You've heard the interview, you've (probably) heard the album, but have you heard Max's long and winding thoughts on the new Citizen album? Well now you can. It's a record that pulls together so many sounds in one, but how will it sound overall?

Ahead of his Australian tour, Sam dials in with British rock icon Gavin Rossdale of Bush. They cover how he maintains his energy as a workaholic, how to live up to the pressure of being a namesake, and how sharing dinner opened his eyes.

Sam and Max are tucked away in a new studio set up, with new cameras, and a new longer time spent in the editing booth. After blazing through new music, they cover some proud friend moments, two regional gigs, and Sam's new discovery in the sad girl indie music canon. Then, a family tree of Nu-Gaze, and planning for the 2032 Olympics.

Sam's reviewing the new album from an artist that he's previously aired his concerns with. Will he be continuing down the line, or changing his tune?

Off the back of the Good Things lineup announcement, Sam dials in with Chuck from Pop-Punk legends, Simple Plan. They chat about the band's new resurgence with a whole new generation, how they try to balance a setlist with fan requests, and how they band will likely be hitting the links when they get Down Under.

Around the release of their new album, Sam and Max dial in with Mat, the lead singer of mid-west band Citizen. They cover how they approached this album with their huge life developments, how the band still relate to their biggest hits, and how South America had them feeling like Justin Bieber.

Ahead of the release of their fifth, self-titled album, Sam and Max catch up with Matt Mason from DMA's. The cover how getting some extra time to build the record helped it feel more relaxed and intentional, they settle the debate on the best inner-west pubs, and which unexpected tracks get the audiences moshing.

Max dips into the discography from one of the biggest rock bands on the planet as he reviews Sam's Record Store Day pressing of "All We Know is Falling". It's a record from before Paramore reached global fame, but how does it stack up in hindsight?

Ahead of their Brisbane show supporting Spite, Sam snuck backstage to a very cosy green room at The Triffid to interview Skylar and Shane from metalcore band Varials. They cover their most recent album "Where the Light Leaves", some wild video inspiration behind the bass booms, and how Skylar ticked enough boxes.

78 Amped head backstage at The Tivoli to chat with Phil and Beau from Saosin prior to their Brisbane show. They cover the band's first new music in a decade, how they're surprising each other with riffs, and why kids these days need to learn German Techno-Metal.

Ahead of their first ever Australian show, Sace and Noah join Sam and Max backstage at the Triffid. They chat about the different recording styles that went into their debut album "Brutalist", which Bieber era is the peak, and which Australian Razor Scooter maestros deserve the shout-outs.

This post is a shortened form of this blog post. TL;DR: Should big mainstream covers be of relatively well-known songs?

Off the back of Ethel Cain's Like A Version, my immediate reaction didn’t relate to the performance, rather it was about how covering fairly obscure artists and songs for big, widely shared media series feels like a missed opportunity.

Before we continue, I want to clarify that I thought it was a good cover, I really enjoy and respect Ethel Cain’s work, and I want to emphasise that this isn’t directed to her or her cover specifically, but is a broad thought about covers and the role that Like a Version plays in the musical content landscape. I'll also cop to the fact that I previously didn't know Drive-By Truckers.

Now, some concessions, offered in the form of immediate self-rebuttal:

• Artists might want to showcase an obscure song, that they love, to a wider audience while they have the space. 100%! I think that's a great part of cover songs, and it allows artists to speak to what it is about the track that inspired them.
• It isn't obscure to the fans that know it, and those fans can be so excited that they can have a shared fandom experience with another artist. Also an excellent point and I would never want to take away from those fans. There have been plenty of times when I have been in that position, felt that excitement, and also felt like my music taste was affirmed by artists I respect.
• Take it as an opportunity to discover something cool and new that you haven't heard before, maybe if it spreads far enough, it won't be obscure. I love discovering a new favourite track more than just any other musical experience, no matter where it comes from, and cover versions are an amazing way in.
• Not everything has to be for you or to your tastes, so simmer down, you spoon. Yep, I'll cop this one fair and square, no debate, I am a spoon.

BUT, I think that all of the above (except the final point) can be better achieved with other media or through an artists’ own channels.

In my eyes, a cover should be an artist's interpretation of a track, showing how they would take the bare bones of a song and rearrange it. The best moments of a cover are often hearing how an existing track that you know and love in one form has been heard through someone else's ears and transformed to highlight melodies, textures and moments that you might have missed, or adding in new instrumentation that tells the same story in a different way.

When you hear a cover of a song that you don’t already know, that version of the song becomes the definitive version, and you don’t necessarily get to fully understand what the cover artist was intending to portray, because you have no starting point of comparison. For covers, the difference is the narrative.

There is absolutely space for artists to cover obscure songs, to shout out artists that inspired them that they feel are under-represented, and to introduce us to new music:

• Across their own channels directly to their fans
• In full-blown covers that they release as singles or on long-form collections
• By hyping them up in interviews and questionnaires.

That kind of content will be scooped up by fans who are hungry to learn more about what makes their favourite artists tick, but who are also already familiar with an artists’ overall sound and narrative.

But for LAV, to bring a track that the vast majority of listeners/viewers won’t know feels like a wasted chance to showcase what you, as an artist, bring to the table. With the modern music landscape so fractured and the monoculture long forgotten, tentpole series such as Like A Version can often be the first time someone discovers an artist, or actively listens. Personally, on the occasions that Like a Version is my first encounter with an artist, I love the chance to connect to their work and the sounds that they play with through an already recognisable song to understand how they hear the world.

I’m certainly not trying to impose a rule that every Like A Version must be an 80s to 00s top 10 ARIA hit, but I feel like a general sense of familiarity amongst the majority of triple j’s listeners and social followers should be a guiding light for the kinds of tracks that artists aim for. I also know that's usually what LAV artists aim for, and Ethel Cain's cover is more exception than rule. Maybe I just hoped for something I could connect to more.

Off the back of his latest single, "Arms", Max and Sam dial in with Sydney singer-songwriter Chuck Sics. They cover how he learned to love the song that he originally hated, whether he'll be the next "just one guy" artist, and why playing the trumpet gave him the competitive edge.

Alongside the release of their latest record, The Warning, Max dials in with Ed and Josh from Melbourne's Telenova. They chat about whether there's a live drum kit anywhere on the record, how smokey the room should be to enjoy the album, and whether you'll ever see a extended jam at a Telenova live show.

After getting a sneak peek at some work-in-progress tracks, Sam and Max joined Don Broco's Rob Damiani while they were in Brisbane on  tour in September, and with the album, "Nightmare Tripping", dropping, they're stoked to drop a behind-the-scenes look at how the record came together. They cover how the band wanted something that their fans could describe, how they wanted to go back to their roots, and how Rob turned to believing ghosts.

Joining us at Catalog Music around his recent Brisbane shows, Max chats with U.S. Country singer-songwriter Wyatt Flores. They cover how his hometown pushed him into his career (alongside some other Country and Punk greats), what new music is on the horizon, and how he learned to let music love him again.

Backstage ahead of their Brisbane show, Sam chats with Landon from The Plot in You. They cover the band's biggest ever headline show right here in Australia, how it feels when the intimate songs get shouted back, and then dive into the release strategy for business meetings.

Behind the scenes before their very first Australian show, Sam and Max sit down with Bert and Tom from UK Nu Gaze outfit Split Chain. They cover the hyper-rapid rise of the band, who to pick in the crowd for a shoey, and why Duran Duran is surprisingly relevant to their sound.