TMN Tastemakers: Kathy McCabe shares a track, album & playlist you need to stream

Welcome to TMN Tastemakers, a new column where industry influencers – from suits to stars – share what they’re listening to right now.

Each tastemaker will spotlight a track, album and playlist.

Next up is News Corp Australia’s national music writer, Kathy McCabe.

McCabe has been covering music and the people who make it for over 25 years.

She has interviewed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Dave Grohl, Keith Urban, Josh Homme, Noel Gallagher, and even travelled the UK with P!NK. She’s also a constant on the promo trail for Australian acts.

If you want McCable to write about your project, just don’t mention the words “journey” or “cohesive” in your presser. Here’s why, and what she’s listening to right now.

Track: DFTM – Cry Club

Haven’t been able to get this song out of my head.

The Wollongong pop disco punk duo nail the Zeitgeist with this emphatic warning to creeps who inappropriately grope people. An empowering message (Don’t F…ing Touch Me) paired with an earworm of a chorus melody, which should be the goal of every songwriter.

Album: Run Fast, Sleep Naked – Nick Murphy

My least favourite word – next to journey – when it comes to the description of music is cohesive.

I don’t want cohesive; I want eclectic and surprising and wholly unexpected. Murphy’s second solo album – his first under his “real” name – is exactly that, each song inhabiting its own musical world from Motown-inspired soul music to experiments in electronica. Repeated listens reveal the devil in the detail, particularly his bold use of horns and woodwind instruments, while lyrically he offers new takes on universal themes.

Playlist: Alternative 80s on Spotify

Discovered this glorious collection of earworms hanging out with some friends on a Friday night.

When you have to listen to so much new music each week, when it comes to the weekend, I love to indulge nostalgia. Kicking off with the sublime brilliance of The The’s Uncertain Smile (the air-keys it inspired had me crying with laughter), this is one of those collections which will have music fans of a certain age exclaiming “I love this song” every four and a half minutes.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76j7ATOPJ0ZYX3JClDMsQd