Weirder Together with Ben Lee and Ione Skye
A weekly culture-recap podcast from Ben Lee and Ione Skye - two eccentric, married, artists.
Episodes
Listener Question: To Be Adored or To Be Known?
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Kate Moss, Nirvana Unplugged & Why AI Music Misses the Entire Point
This week: moving stuff out of our LA storage and crying over a broccoli pan, Ione’s first visit to Phoenix Central Park, and a young band called Mouseatouille doing something genuinely exciting.We talk about Kelly from Camp Cope’s book “It’s Not For You” — about female musicians in Australia — and what it made us think about fighting for sensitivity in a cutthroat industry. Then a big conversatio
Listener Question: Memories of Jill Sobule?
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2charm's Horny Show, Stassi's Comeback & What Cancelled People Never Learn
This week we’re back together after Ione wraps filming her mysterious Melbourne movie. We talk about the impossible position the music industry puts beautiful women in (you need the looks to get in the door, then you get dismissed for them), the incredible 2charm show at the Enmore Theatre — think Pet Shop Boys if they took peptides — and what Stassi Schroeder’s comeback show gets right that Drea
Listener Question: What Have You Had To "Unlearn"?
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Australian Drug Slang, The Odyssey & A Clockwork Orange
Ben issues a formal apology for confusing his Pingers from his Nangs from his Yippers after an uproar in the comments section — the Australian drug slang correction nobody asked for but everyone needed. Ione reveals she was once hurt not to be invited to do cocaine on the set of a famous movie — connected to why dating Anthony Kiedis put her off drugs entirely. We also discuss Zooey Deschanel clai
Listener Question: Chaos Agents vs Stabilisers?
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Girl in Red Called 'Say Anything' an "Old Movie"
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 "a
Listener Question: The Secret to Long Term Relationships?
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Robin Byrd, Why 90s Artists Were Terrified of Success & Ninajirachi's Victorious Homecoming
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 cultural
Listener Question: Will Ione Ever Direct a Feature Film?
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Eve Babitz Wrote About Ione Skye, Baz Luhrmann's Perfect Dogme 95 Comeback
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
Listener Question: Should I Take My Art "Pro"?
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Olivia Rodrigo's Festival, Wham!'s 40th & The German Croc Warning
Dive deeper into our world + tour ticket presales at https://weirdertogether.substack.comBen's back from 60 shows around Australia (and avoided all crocodiles). Ione has been nursing a six-foot baby. And we have a lot to catch up on.This week: Olivia Rodrigo just announced Daisy Chain Fields — an all-female festival with Bikini Kill, Stevie Nicks, Mitski, Chappell Roan, Karen O, and more — and
Listener Question: The Songs You Couldn't Write?
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DTF St. Louis, AI Music & Why You Need a Normie Friend
This week we got completely sucked into DTF St. Louis on Max — and we have thoughts. David Harbour plays the most likable character in a show about suburban kinks, male loneliness and consensual weirdness, and we can't stop thinking about two middle-aged men tenderly dancing in their tighty-whities. Also: a woman yelled "you're my hall pass" at Ben during his Richmond show, and w
Listener Question: Favorite Movie Soundtrack?
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Tasmanian Devils, Butthole Surfers & Charli xcx
Ben and Ione are fresh off Ben's Tasmanian tour — and they have opinions. They break down their first encounter with actual Tasmanian devils (terrifying, zombie-like, cannot be explained), rave about Woolworths Flu Shot (a six-piece punk band from Hobart who just might be the best new band in Australia), and dissect the Butthole Surfers documentary The Whole Truth and Nothing But — asking the
Listener Question: Finding Courage to Try New Things
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Swifties Picked the Wrong Bitch: Joan Baez, Jay-Z's Freestyle & Kylie's Hidden Masterpiece
Joan Baez suggested pop stars should be more politically active. Swifties went on the attack. Ben and Ione have thoughts — including why picking a fight with someone who marched alongside Martin Luther King might not be your best move.Also this week: Jay-Z showed up at the Roots Picnic and did a 10-minute acapella freestyle attacking Drake, Kanye, Nicki Minaj, and Dame Dash. Ben breaks down why a
Listener Question: Desert Island Stuff?
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Jacob Elordi's Fake Injury, the Kylie Doco & Georgia Maq Is Going to Be Huge
Ben and Ione discuss ribbon collections, Minnie Mouse comparisons, and a theory about why the first guy in your friend group to have sex always had great posture.Then: Ione and Ben went to see Georgia Maq (of Camp Cope) perform her first solo show back in Australia — and Ben has a bold prediction about her new song "Rearranging Chairs on the Titanic." Also: Ben's track record of ter
Listener Question: 3 Words to Describe You?
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SZA's Freckles Are Fake (And Other Adorable Lies)
Ben and Ione take refuge from the Sydney gloom to pod. Beck plays the Palais with a full symphony orchestra and becomes the unlikely lens for a deep dive into sellout culture, punk idealism, and whether anti-commercialism has always been a rich person's sport. Keli Holliday was turned away at the US border — Ben thinks strong men politicians and the Real Housewives are basically the same show.
Listener Question: Can A Podcast Succeed Without Celebrities?
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Trent Reznor is Actually a Terry (And Other Truths)
Ben and Ione celebrate Ione's daughter graduating from Sydney Uni — the first in her family — and unpack what an Australian graduation ceremony actually looks like (part Downton Abbey, part casual). They dissect the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Part 3 reunion, debate the ethics of celebrity course-selling, and induct Mac DeMarco, Leonardo DiCaprio and Trent Reznor into the Ione Skye Hall o
Listener Question: Parenting Kids & Technology
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How The Rolling Stones Accidentally Created The Wiggles
Tony Hawk and Vincent Gallo slid into our DMs this week — turns out Gen X icons are feeling the pod. We dig into Beef Season 2 and whether art should have off-limits subjects after Zendaya's controversial new film "The Drama". We uncover the genuinely wild link between The Rolling Stones and The Wiggles. Plus: Ione's mural at the Beastie Boys' G Son Studios was just rediscove
Listener Question: Dream Cover Versions?
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High on Your Own Supply
Ben and Ione open with childhood party games (Catch and Kiss vs Seven Minutes in Heaven), then riff on their Pulp/Dave Grohl clip going viral and what it means to be living in "clip culture" where people quote your Shorts but never listen to the pod. Ione shares a tantalising story about a famous actress at a Hollywood party she can't name. They debate Gen X restraint on the internet
The Geese Psyop, A Dave Grohl Fight, and Why Ione Wants to Play Foot Bass
We are back with a wide-ranging one — was the rise of indie rock darlings Geese artificially manufactured? Ben recounts his debate with Dave Grohl about whether popular always means good. They dig into what happens to psychedelics when they get institutionalized. Ione has a life-changing moment at the Mountain Goats show. And The Bens almost played Coachella in 2003.Dig deeper into their world at
Listener Question: Do You Get Paid On Old Work?
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Ninajirachi & Justin Bieber Won Coachella
Chatting Coachella, Love on the Spectrum. Trust Me: The False Prophet.Dive deeper into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Hanging with Gerry Beckley (America)
Legendary songwriter ("Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Highway"), member of the band America, Gerry Beckley, joins us today to chat wedding songs, George Martin, his relationship to Australia and how its all about "the show".We also chat about Billy Corgan/Courtney Love vs Kim Gordon/Steven Malkmus class war....Take a deeper dive at https://weirdertogether.substack.com#
Listener Question: Favourite Flight Memories?
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Why "Cool" Died in 1999
We chat Chappell Roan, accountability, Ione's new role as a rep for Tourism Australia, Rupert Murdoch and the death of #sellout culture in the late 1990s.Dive deeper into #weirdertogether world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Australian Pronunciations
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Looksmaxxing, Pambula Airport, Politics, Art, Gary Shandling
Fresh from the cutest airport in Australia, we chat Clavicular and Looksmaxxing, Gary Shandling’s insights into war consciousness, and why Gomez and Morticia Adams are the eternal role models for horny older couples.
Listener Question: Athleticism vs Acceptance
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Melissa Auf Der Maur. Alex Cameron. Courtney Love. Escarpment Villages. Say Everything Paperback.
This week we discuss Melissa Auf Der Maur’s memoir “Even the Good Girls Will Cry”, Courtney Love, and 90s mysticism.We also chat about the new out of Sydney hipster hotspot, the Escarpment Villages north of Wollongong. Also, why do women love short kings?Head over to our newsletter to dive deeper into Weirder Together world https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Damon Herriman. Napa Boys. Elvis EPIC. Brisbane.
Star of the new play "ART" and all-round Aussie legend Damon Herriman joins us in studio to chat gentrification of the Inner West, David Mamet, acting, vulnerability and the way the Aussie community in LA has evolved.We also talk the new meta-comedy "Napa Boys" as well as Baz Luhrmann's "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert". Take a deeper dive into our world at https:/
Listener Question: Why Do I Exist?
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Redd Kross Documentary. ART - the Play. RHOBH. The TryOuts.
We dive deep into LA legends Red Kross and their new documentary "Born Innocent: The Red Kross Story". We went to see the play ART with Damon Herriman, Richard Roxborough and Toby Schmitz. We love The Tryouts. And Dorit's shopping spree makes us ask questions.Dive deeper into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Holding On To Your Innocence/Openness
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Talking Oscars with Alexei Toliopoulos
Our guest on today’s pod is Australian podcaster, comedian and film critic Alexei Toliopoulos! We discuss the Oscar race, why Matt Johnson (Nirvana The Band, The Show, The Movie) believes Aussie cinema has the strongest voice in the Commonwealth, whether Mr. Chalamet is too young to win best actor, and what kind of dirty campaigns are being run by studios behind the scenes! Dive deeper into our wo
Listener Question: Do You Have Any Hidden Talents?
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Music Festivals. Gut Health. Take That. Benee. Robbie Williams.
Should Ben Lee and Benee collab on a cover of “Benny & the Jets”? Why do some festivals lose their soul? Whats in the water thats making experimental music in Melbourne pop off once again? Were we team Gary or team Robbie in the Take That doco?Lots to discuss!Dive deeper into our world https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Why Do Artists Revisit Old Work?
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RHOBH Cults, Blackheath, Holiday Sidewinder, 2nd Wave Grunge, Spike F*ck
Which cult was Amanda from RHOBH in? Why does 2nd wave grunge suck? Why did Ione love watching Holiday Sidewinder put on her makeup? Who could have predicted Abbie Chatfield becoming a Spike F*ck fan? All these questions and more answered on todays pod!Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Competition within Relationships
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Triple J Hottest 100. Marty Supreme. DeepFaith.
We're in our new studio (excuse the reverb!) and we chat about the great performance of Aussie tunes in this years Hottest 100. We also get into Marty Supreme and why it is the Gen Z "Pulp Fiction". As always, we were blown away by DeepFaith's recent Sydney show and chat live band karaoke.Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Do You Really Like It When We Say "Hi!"?
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Kate Bollinger. Pep Talks. Flea. The Replacements. Nina Oyama. How Did This Get Made?
We chat about Kate Bollinger’s “adorable/hot” Australian audience, how Ione feels about introducing Flea to her Sydney, what we want out of pep talks, why Finn Wolfhard was wearing a Replacements shirt on SNL last night, and what we do to comfort ourselves during a dark night of the soul.Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Who is Your "Spirit Musician"?
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Rose Byrne. Heated Rivalry. Regional Touring.
Friend of the pod Rose Byrne wins a Golden Globe! Straight women swoon over gay hockey players! We take a regional tour! Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: How Do You Deal with Rejection?
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Megadoc, Tarot, Sinners, Frangipanis
First pod of the year and we just saw the Mike Figgis documentary "Megadoc" about the making of Francis Ford Coppola's troubled epic "Megalopolis". This leads to a big chat about aging as artists, delusion, and the vulnerability of taking big swings.Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Does Your Old Work Make You Cringe?
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2026 INS & OUTS LIST
What do Ben and Ione predict is gonna be in and out in 2026???LFG!!!Visit us at https://weirdertogether.substack.com to dive deeper into our predictions
With Love from Bondi
We reconvene after this week's tragic events in Bondi Beach, Australia. Ione is in LA, Ben is in Sydney and we do what we can to process everything.Sending love and warmth to everyone affected by the Bondi terror attack.Visit us at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Can A Musician Be "Ethical" in a Corporate Industry?
Great complex question via Hot Dub Time Machine today!Send your questions to weirdertogetherpod@gmail.com
NGV Gala. Cobra Starship. Preatures. Diddy Doc.
Full recap of our trip to Melbourne for the NGV Gala celebrating the opening of the Westwood/Kawakubo retrospective. Ben gets up to sing with Cobra Starship. Ione ponders YouTube family channels and "baby moon" holidays. We watch the Diddy doc.Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: What Kind of Cult Would You Lead?
Our 16 year old daughter (and work experience kid) asks us a question this week. You can ask us one too - just email us at weidertogetherpod@gmail.com!
Spam Email Threads, Being "Unco", Baron's, Wearing Your Own Merch
On today's pod Ben wears his own merch but doesnt feel as cool as when Skid Row or The Strokes did it, Ione tries to find the American equivalent of "being unco", Goldie helps re-enact the most insane email spam thread of all time.Take a deeper dive into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: What Projects Shoulda/Woulda/Coulda Happened But Didn't?
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ARIAs 2025 Round-Up
We get into all the fun, scandal and gossip from the 2025 ARIA awards last week in Sydney. Dive deeper into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Tips for Throwing Great Parties?
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Hanging with Tay Blunt (FVNERAL)
Fresh of the release of FVNERAL's single with Ben "Friendly Fire", Tay joins us in studio to discuss activism, pop songs, JK Rowling and building community.Dive deeper into our world at https://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Tell Us About Gus Van Sant & Late 80s Hollywood
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Oasis. Scorsese. Rob Thomas. Jacaranda Season.
Oasis-mania takes over Sydney which means Ione can maybe sort of finally tell the difference between Liam and Noel. The Scorsese documentary is brilliant. People hating on Rosalía are crazy. Rob Thomas is an enigma. Jacarandas are terrorists.Dive deeper into our world at http://weirdertogether.substack.com
Listener Question: Who Turned You Onto Good Music?
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Rosalía. One Battle After Another. Bjork. Ausify. Stiller & Meara. RHOSLC.
Greetings from our new Weirder Together HQ in Marrickville! We jump straight into Ione’s review of the new PT Anderson, why Rosalía’s “Berghain” means pop music won’t be the same again, the Utah Housewives, the Aussie music initiative #AUSIFY, the documentary Ben Stiller made about his parents, and lots more!For access to Ben's tour tickets and lots more head over to https://weirdertogether.su
Listener Question: How Do You Deal With Unprofessional People?
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The Chair Company. Tyra Banks. Kenny G. Griffin Dunne. Byron Spencer.
After a one week hiatus, we have moved into our new house in the Inner West, and have a lot to discuss! Does moving house edge you closer to divorce? What is Tim Robinson’s The Chair Company all about? Is Tyra Banks a secret visionary for hiring Byron Spencer? Why do jazz musicians hate Kenny G? What happened at Griffin Dunne’s book dinner in Sydney?Take a deeper dive into our world at https://wei
Listener Question: What Was "Bed Bath & Beyond"?!?!
Ione spills the tea on the never-released short film she cp-directed with Sofia Coppola and Andrew Durham.For more info and more on Andrew's new film FAIRYLAND visit us at http://weirdertogether.substack.com
Luscious Jackson. Diane Keaton. Alan Partridge. Griffin Dunne.
Ione is back from Brisbane Writers Festival where she and Griffin Dunne did a panel on Hollywood memoirs. Today she is wearing a tie in honour of Diane Keaton. Ben played a life-changing gig in Melbourne. They remember the impact of Luscious Jackson, and tell the tale of Steve Coogan inadvertently blessing their union at the Marie Antoinette premiere.Take a deeper dive into our world at http://wei
Listener Question: Tell Us About the Cults & Essential Oils!
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Evan Dando's Memoir. Taylor vs Charli. Stagediving. Censorship.
This week we share our thoughts on Evan Dando’s memoir “Rumors of My Demise” out this week, the lessons we can learn from the mythological battle between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX, why Ione will never stage dive, and the hard lessons the left are learning about censorship.Visit us at https://weirdertogether.substack.com to dive deeper into our world!
Listener Question: Did Your Mom Really Date Jim Morrison?!?!
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Hanging with Sally Seltmann
On a break from opening up for Ben on the “Awake is the New Sleep” 20th anniversary tour, Sally Seltmann joins us in bed to chat about losing pillows on tour, angel voices, lipstick, the ARIAS, competitiveness and writing Feist’s biggest hit “1234”.Take a deeper dive into our world, and for lots of links to everything we chat about, visit us at http://weirdertogether.substack.com/
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