For ten years Joe Hogar has been a steady presence at 4ZZZ, making radio, hanging out, and is the only volunteer who consistently helps with the vacuuming. So he's basically worth his weight in gold. His weekly program, The Soundtrack Show, has recently celebrated its 500th episode- Liz Witt joined him for a chat about his journey.

How long have you been doing The Soundtrack Show?
Ten years this Saturday night. a bit over five hundred. Five hundred and five? Something like that. 

What were you thinking when you decided to start a soundtrack show?
(During training) they told us to try to play music that we like that we're used to, and I’ve collected soundtracks for years. I thought, “I can put that to use.” My mum used to say to me, when I was collecting records in the early days, “Joe, you can't listen to all those records!” Because my cupboard was filling up, mostly secondhand ones from Skinnies and Rocking Horse in the city. I never had an answer for her.

I’ve listened to Triple Z since 1980. I got into it after [listening to] heavy metal- the usual Van Halens and Black Sabbath and things. Then Triple Z got me into alternative, Punk rock stuff, with The Clash and things like that. The cool stuff. 

Where did the Passion for soundtracks come in?
Well…soundtracks change over the years, but a lot of the time there's at least one really good song on there, that's hard to find if you went looking for the record. So that comes in handy. I’d buy the soundtrack just for two songs, and I’ve still got them all, they did come in handy after all! I wish my mum was still around so I could have had an answer for her. Yeah. But the thing is…I was pretty nervous starting out. Michelle Brown [former station manager] was trying to figure out what to do with me. And I was nervous starting.

I was training on Nothing But The Blues and The Rock n’ Roll show, two of the longest running shows on Triple Z. I think I was ready and Michelle said, “stick Joe on the graveyard on Sunday mornings, then he can play all that weird shit.” I thought, how does she know what I'm going to play?

Anyway, I like the comedy records as well. I was a sucker for the comedy records on Triple Z late at night. Blues, country…I got right into that. Different stages you go through when you record collecting. It all had no intention of doing any radio one day at all. Judy let me talk on her show one afternoon on Subterranean, and I was crapping my pants. 

But was there a part of you that was like, "Oh! I like this…"
It was fun, yeah. It was fun.

If your house was on fire, what's the soundtrack that you would reach for?
Probably from the movie Top Secret. And my Valley Girl record, which I got from England. And-. I forgot about the Get Crazy soundtrack. I have to grab that.

All right, three under your arm and you're out. Is there anything you would like to sell the listeners about your Zed journey?
I've never missed one soundtrack show in 10 years. 100%. And I bet you no one else in this place has ever done that. Or any other damn radio station in this country, possibly overseas, though. 

You can hear The Soundtrack Show every Saturday night/Sunday morning from 12AM-2AM. Congratulations on 500 episodes!

In traditional terms, the 50th anniversary is celebrated with GOLD. While we're not particularly interested in being traditional, this is one we can get behind. Since 1975 we've been broadcasting radical radio to South East Queensland, and to mark 50 years we're releasing a limited edition GOLD 4ZZZ50 tee! 

This AS Colour black tee features a purple and metallic gold print designed by our friends at Inkahoots. It's a celebration of lo-fi digital, DIY bitmap, pop-punk tech, the clash and colour of subcultures blending to form a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

These shirts are strictly limited- don't miss out!

2025 marks the 50th year of broadcasting for 4ZZZ! From our first broadcast on December 8th 1975, we've been connecting and amplifying the voices of our local community. Keep an eye out for our 50th birthday celebrations that will be taking place in later in the year- a smorgasbord of live music, visual art, panel talks and on-air celebrations awaits!

We're also collecting stories from zedders throughout the years- if you were ever a volunteer, announcer, or staff member we want to hear from you. 

As we reflect on the last 50 years we're also looking forward to the next 50! If you love what we do, there's never been a better time to show your support by subscribing, donating, and listening to Brisbane's realest radio.