Stella Donnelly's radical honesty

14/11/2025 37 min
Stella Donnelly's radical honesty

Listen "Stella Donnelly's radical honesty"

Episode Synopsis


If you’ve ever lost touch with a friend or been heartbroken by a platonic breakup, Stella Donnelly’s new album is for you. Documenting the end of a friendship, it’s a brutally honest, heartbreaking, and hopeful record so many of us can relate to. And Zan couldn’t wait to talk with her all about it.Stella is one of the best songwriters around today. She has always shot from the hip, told it like it is, and been unafraid to share the truth.Hearing her speak about the songwriters who do the same is a masterclass in the power of song, and the influence of these incredible songwriters on us all.Stella Donnelly's song choices:Billy Bragg — The Short Answer Kev Carmody + Paul Kelly — From Little Things Big Things Grow Sharon van Etten — Every Time the Sun Comes Up Big Thief — Mythological BeautyLily Allen — Relapse 00:00 - Introduction01:11 - The relief of releasing Love & Fortune as a whole album03:38 - SONG 1 : Billy Bragg - 'The Short Answer'06:40 - Stella on Billy Bragg and the token record of her childhood08:58 - Radical honesty in songwriting12:12 - SONG 2 : Kev Carmody & Paul Kelly - 'From Little Things Big Things Grow'15:30 - Looping mantras & the difficulty of being honest19:01 - SONG 3 : Sharon van Etten - 'Every Time The Sun Comes Up'23:44 - Making the album in a homemade cocoon26:03 - SONG 4 : Big Thief - 'Mythological Beauty'28:22 - Self critiques & hope for the future33:50 - SONG 5 : Lily Allen - 'Relapse'36:23 - Closing thoughts and next weeks guest!Watch Take 5 on ABC iview:https://iview.abc.net.au/show/take-5-with-zan-rowe