Granite Island Discs: Tyler Jenke

Interviews
Written By Tobias Handke
 

Tyler Jenke, former Rolling Stone editor and author of 33 1/3’s TISM's Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, chats about favourite songs, album and music moments.

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What five songs would you take to the island?

1. Something For Kate – ‘Pinstripe’

2. The Bronx – ‘Shitty Future’

3. Archers Of Loaf – ‘Web In Front’

4. The Methadones – ‘Suddenly Cool’

5. R.E.M. – ‘The Great Beyond’

It pains me not to include anything by The Mountain Goats or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but maybe those are best suited for another desert island while I lament how I ended up on a second desert island…

If you could only pick one, what would it be?

‘Pinstripe’ – Something For Kate. If you ever see Something For Kate or Paul Dempsey live, fans will always request this one, and with good reason. It’s the greatest Aussie song ever written, in my opinion. Track down the acoustic one for extra effect.

What’s your favourite album?

Art Guards – Fishboy. I saw Fishboy perform this album in Oklahoma City in 2017 and I was hooked. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a lyrical masterpiece with intricate, interconnecting songs, with themes of triumph, heartbreak, and everything in between.

What’s your favourite song by a South Australian band or artist?

‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Where I Hide’ – Dave Graney ’N’ The Coral Snakes. I could praise Bad//Dreems, Flat Stanley, The Mark Of Cain, and others, but I can’t go past Mount Gambier’s own Dave Graney. A prolific heavyweight of Aussie music, he can’t make a bad song, and this one is a sonic journey that you need to take.

Favourite music-related memory?

Finally seeing TISM in 2022. I’ve been a diehard fan for two decades, and – like all of us fans – never thought a live comeback would be on the cards. But catching two secret shows last year, and going around the country for their Good Things festival appearances with fellow diehards I’ve known for the majority of my life was a pretty special experience.

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Tobias Handke
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