"Dating an arsehole is just dating an arsehole. There's nothing cute about it. You don't have to do it."
Melbourne's Amyl and the Sniffers have just released their second album Comfort To Me, another widely acclaimed slab of garage rock that sees frontwoman Amy Taylor writing the best lyrics of her career thus far.
The frontwoman gives the impression of someone who is comfortable existing without much need for a filter. On Comfort To Me, she gets a lot off her chest, delving into issues ranging from inclusion in rock'n'roll to gendered violence to matters of the heart.
"I just want to try and be as open as I can," Taylor told Double J's Zan Rowe on the Take 5.
"I really respect people who can show their emotions and talk openly about things. I like hearing that in other people, so that's how I would like to try and be as well."
From supermarket to “famous c*nt”: Amyl and The Sniffers are funny, fierce, and fist-pumping
For the first Take 5 of Ausmusic Month, Amy Taylor chose five songs that represent Australia to her in one way or another. While music is her life now, Taylor admits it wasn't always the case.
"We weren't much of a musical family, to be honest," she says.
"If we were going to listen to music, we'd listen to, I don't know, a compilation of 20 Best Beer Songs or 20 Best Fleetwood Mac songs or 20 Queen Songs. We wouldn't really listen to that much music at home."
Music was adjacent to other activities in Taylor's formative years though, no doubt planting a seed for her future.
"Sometimes we'd go to car shows and there'd be rockabilly bands playing," she recalls. "And mum really likes bush bands, she'll dance to that stuff."
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But it was the hugely popular Byron Bay hardcore scene of the 2000s and 2010s that showed Taylor how to be the frontwoman she'd become.
"I definitely have to give a lot of credit to those shows and that energy," she says. "But honestly, at the time, I didn't really think about it. I didn't really know I was going to be a musician or anything.
"I just thought, 'Oh, this is sick, I want to be a part of this'. But I honestly didn't consider it really as something that I'd be doing."
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Here are the five songs Taylor has selected as part of her ultimate Australian soundtrack.
AC/DC – 'If You Want Blood (You've Got It)'
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Should AC/DC manage to get one of their behemoth tours happening again, Amyl & the Sniffers need to be the first support act they call.
It's no surprise to hear that Taylor's a fan, and that she's been inspired by their music and the antics of legendary, much-missed frontman Bon Scott.
"Even though they're AC/DC and everybody knows them, they're worth the hype," Taylor says.
"Every time it gets sunny I chuck on AC/DC on my runs and stuff. It just feels good. I'm sweating and I'm thinking 'Hell yeah! AC/DC rock!'.
"Frontpeople like Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics, Bon Scott, Dolly Parton… all those people who have charisma, character, and charm and [who are] also just f*cking raw as well. I like all that."
Maureen Elkner – 'Rak Off, Normie!'
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Amy Taylor's knowledge of Maureen Elkner is very much in line with what most people know about the veteran Australian singer.
"It's terrific," Taylor says. "I love her sweet little voice. I don't know anything about Maureen Elkner, I don't know what she does. I only know this song."
This little-known novelty track is Elkner's best known work, but she's never really been a novelty artist. Since the 60s she's been a part of some incredible moments in Australian entertainment.
She sang on Russell Morris' classic 'The Real Thing', she was one of John Farnham's backing singers, she entertained the troops in Vietnam. Hell, she was even on Water Rats.
While Elkner's best known song – which was written by former Double Jay DJ Bob Hudson is light-hearted, Taylor says there's some real messages in there.
"I think there's a big culture around females to really laugh and join in in the fact of dating deadsh*ts or being attracted to arseholes," she says. "It's kind of like a funny joke between females or whatnot.
"I like this song because it should be a big reminder to everyone that dating arseholes is just dating an arsehole and there's nothing cute about it. You don't have to do it."
Taylor also likes the way its written, and how the narrative progresses.
"The whole song she's saying like, 'There was a Normie'. His name is Norman, but I like the thought of him being a normie," she says.
"He's after her or whatever, but she tells him to f*ck off and goes with a biker. Then, in the end, she ends up on the deserted wife's pension.
"I think it's a really good tale. I wish people told me more, 'Don't date arseholes'. There's nothing good about dating arseholes. And I wish I could tell everyone, 'Don't date an arsehole'."
Mackridge x Barkaa – '22 Clan'
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When it comes to the music coming out of this country today, Taylor can't go past Malyangapa, Barkindji woman Barkaa.
"Oh my god, I just think Barkaa is the real f*cking matriarch of this country," Taylor says.
"She's a boss. She's a strong female. She's an honest female. She's a powerful female. I love rap music heaps and I think her lyrics are great."
Taylor says that songs like '22 Clan' are what we need to be talking about when talking about 'Australian' music.
"We can talk about Amy Taylor's Australia or whatever, but there's no Australia," she says. "We colonised it and it's just stolen land, I guess is the simplest way to put it."
While Taylor finds this song especially affecting, she could have chosen any of Barkaa's tracks.
"Powerful and emotional," she says of '22 Clan'. "All her songs are really great. She's got an album coming out pretty soon, I think. I can't wait for that."
Slim Dusty – 'Looking Forward, Looking Back'
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When Slim Dusty was set to release his 100th album in the year 2000, the great Don Walker of Cold Chisel wrote the song that would open the album, give it its title, and end up as one of Slim's late-career highlights.
"Slim Dusty, he just rules," Amy Taylor says.
"I like that song. I like [the] lyrics. I think it's a positive song, a hopeful song.
For Taylor, the song serves as a reminder of the importance of living in the moment.
"Whenever there's a tough time, if you kind of take yourself and think, 'What would future me think about this moment?' it ends up feeling like this moment is just perfect as it is," she says. "It's not even that bad."
"Most likely future you will just want present you to be present and not worry too much. I like that song because it reminds me of that."
Taylor admits she's only present about 30 percent of the time, but has an expert life tip for anyone looking to stay grounded.
"I think staying hydrated is probably the main thing," she quips. "You can never have any problems if you're hydrated."
Yothu Yindi – 'Treaty'
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There are a million reasons why anyone would choose to play Yothu Yindi's stone-cold classic 'Treaty', but Taylor breaks it down succinctly.
"It's pretty simple: it's a good message.
"It is Indigenous land, they're the traditional owners, and this song just slaps. It's simple as that really."
As anyone who's heard Amyl & the Sniffers' latest would know: simple messages are often the strongest.
Comfort To Me is out now
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