Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Flatbasset Radio Album Of The Week: "Born Single" by Suzie


Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of September 22nd-28th, 2014:


Suzie - Born Single

01. Possession
02. Coffin In Houston
03. You Ain't Mine
04. I Am Going To Change
05. Fantasy
06. Under The Sea
07. Outro
08. The Feeling
09. Levy

No Problem Records with the hat trick!

Born Single is the third album to be released by Frankie Teardrop's No Problem Records.  The first was Teardrop's own Raiders EP, which stands as their best work to date.  That was followed by Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out, a spaced-out jungle party record from Howler guitarist Ian Nygaard.  And here we have Born Single, the debut album from Mark Ritsema of Night Moves.  Born Single follows Dee Dee Mayo's lead in establishing No Problem Records as a pace where musicians can let there hair down and hang their freak flag high.  

Though the records sound little alike, Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out and Born Single are companion albums in a way.  Like Nygaard & his Sweats It Out album, Suzie finds Ritsema taking a break from his very successful day job in Night Moves to craft a record that cares far more about grooves than hooks and lyrics.  Technically only one song on Born Single is an instrumental.  Regardless, I spent a week with the album and can't think of one lyric off the top of my head.  In fact, with the exception of the album's final two tracks, lyrics are an afterthought.  Where Dee Dee Mayo used vocals as an instrument to illustrate community via group singalongs, Ritsema uses his as yet another instrument in service of the groove.

In my write-up of Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out I wrote, "Imagine being on a beach with all your friends on a warm summer night.  Then imagine somebody has this tape "you have to hear, man!"  Now, imagine this friend puts the tape in the boombox.  As the tape warbles to life, you take a fistful of hallucinogenics. Picture all of that, but now imagine that beach is on the moon."  Well, Suzie seems to exist on that same spaced-out plane.  The difference is that instead of being in a moon jungle taking hallucinogens & bonding, these songs exist in a dark, sweaty club, taking uppers & grinding the night away. 

And yes, that club is also on the moon.

The good folks over at No Problem Records have released Born Single as a "Name Your Price" download.  If you're looking for something sexy to put on in an effort to get that certain someone out of all those oppressive layers of fashionable autumn attire, I highly suggest you swing over & pick it up.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Album Of The Week: "World Peace Is None Of Your Business" by Morrissey


Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of September 15th-21st, 2014:


Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business

01. World Peace Is None Of Your Business
02. Neal Cassady Drops Dead
03. I'm Not A Man
04. Istanbul
05. Earth Is The Loneliest Planet
06. Staircase At The University
07. The Bullfighter Dies
08. Kiss Me A Lot
09. Smiler With Knife
10. Kick The Bride Down The Aisle
11. Mountjoy
12. Oboe Concerto

Let's just get this out of the way now: I'm a Morrissey fan.  And not just a, "Yeah, I dig Morrissey" sort of fan.  More like a "I own both a hardcover and paperback version of Mozzer's Autobiography and, incredibly, both of them were given to me as gifts" type of fan.  Looking at my Last.fm account, Morrissey & The Smiths have accounted for 4,417 plays, ranking them first and fourth overall in my library.  It's bordering on unhealthy.

It's been five years since Morrissey left us with the excellent Years Of Refusal.  In the interim he's done pretty much the most stereotypically Morrissey-esque things you can imagine.  He's booked massive tours, he's cancelled said tours, he's fallen ill, he's feuded with websites, feuded with record labels, feuded with concert venues, recorded songs that never saw the light of day, fired shots at British royalty, fired shots at American politicians, and recorded PSA's for PETA.  Honestly, outside of publishing the aforementioned Autobiography, Morrissey hasn't really done anything outside of the rote business of being Morrissey for quite some time.

I suppose, then, that I shouldn't have been surprised when World Peace Is None Of Your Business turned out to be the least interesting album of old Mozzer's career.  After five years, you'd think the man would have something, anything, new to say.  Alas, World Peace is arguably his most political record to date and, for a man who's built a career out of connecting with fans via personal struggles, this is not a turn for the more interesting.

Leading things off we're treated to the album's titular "World Peace Is None Of Your Business," an enjoyable and worthy follow up to You Are The Quarry's lead track "America Is Not The World."  Morrissey and boys sound fantastic as Morrissey laments a system that's so broken the only way to stop it is complete withdrawal. "Each time you vote, you support the process..." the man laments.  It's an intriguing turn from the typical "Your Vote Makes A Difference" jargon that most of us have been fed our whole lives, however, for a man who built a life & career of dropping out of systems he didn't care for, his strategy for change shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

After the comically trivial "Neal Cassady Drops Dead," the album loses all of it's momentum on the bordering-on-self-parody ballad "I'm Not A Man."  Morrissey's track record with large scale ballads has always been hit-and-miss.  For every brillliant "I Know It's Over" and "Now My Heart Is Full" we're treated to a handful of clunkers like "You Know I Couldn't Last" and "Life Is A Pigsty."  "I'm Not A Man" is, almost unquestionably, the worst of these ballads.  Beginning with over a minute of slow-burning noise (sucking the life out of the record), Morrissey goes on to warble cliche upon cliche as to why he's "not a man" because he doesn't eat animals or play sports.  These would have been understandable laments 30 years ago, but Mozzer's 55 years old now with a legacy that's already written in stone.  It's hard to believe that this is a man who feels the need to defend his own masculinity this far into his career.

From there we're treated to a run of songs that wouldn't have passed muster as You Are The Quarry B-sides.  "Istanbul" is an uninteresting re-working of Ringleader Of The Tormentor's "I Will See You In Far Off Places,"  "Earth Is The Loneliest Planet" is what you would title a song if you were making a novelty Morrissey playlist, "Staircase At The University," "The Bullfighter Dies," "Kiss Me A Lot..."  these tracks are all as lackluster as their titles imply (though "Kiss Me A Lot" features the albums best singalong hook, assuming you can make your peace with singing lyrics like "Kiss me a lot, kiss me all over the place...").

"Smiler With Knife" stands as the lone late album standout.  A curious little ballad that harkens back to Ringleader's "The Father Who Must Be Killed."  Guitarist Jesse Tobias takes a break from his usual punk-ish rush to pen a thoughtful, slow-burning number in which Mozzer mixes sex & violence in a manner that only three decades of pathos could sell. Unfortunately, "Smiler With Knife" also stands as an example of just what's wrong with World Peace Is None Of Your Business.  Morrissey's lyrics & melody are nearly completely separate from Tobias intriguing instrumentation.  They essentially take turns.

Now, if you'll allow the Mozzer nerd in me to come out (er... more so...), I'd like to bring up something Vini Reilly once said.  Reilly is known to some as the man behind Factory Records guitar nerds The Durrutti Column.  He's best known to Morrissey fans as the guitarist & sometimes co-writer on Viva Hate.  After recording Reilly's "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me," Reilly mentioned how impressed he was with Morrissey's ability to find new melodies in the instrumentals.  He was most surprised that Morrissey put the verse where Reilly had envisioned a chorus and vice versa.

Now, I'm not saying Morrissey has suddenly lost his ear for such a thing, but nearly every track of World Peace Is None Of Your Business reeks of a chosen path of least resistance.  Nowhere on the album are we treated to one of Morrissey's trademark melodic let turns.  Those brilliant moments when the listener expects the song to zig and Morrissey, with his unparalleled command of vocals, zags, giving the song a jolt of life, are sorely lacking here.  Even more than the lyrics and the persona, those hooks are the bedrock of Morrissey's career.  Even Morrissey, if he'd set his ego aside, would likely acknowledge that his career has had more than its share of clunker lyrics.  However, he'd also likely acknowledge the power of a good hook over lyrics.  I read Autobiography.  There's a reason he fell in love with Mott The Hoople just like there's a reason he's taking shots at Allan Ginsburg on "Neal Cassady Drops Dead."

All of which is a real shame because Morrissey sounds great.  His vocals, whatever lyrics they may be in service of, sway and soar throughout the album in a manner usually reserved for merely a track or two.  His band, likewise, is in fine form.  They work their way through tried-and-true formulas and new experiments alike with aplomb, helping to give the album (and Morrissey) a solid foundation.  Sadly, that's only two-thirds of the equation and Mozzer's lackluster, hookless lyrics leave the album flat and tired.  Here's hoping he'll have something interesting to say in 2019.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #44 (w/MinneSarah)


Working these war pig cyphers with Ted Striker stability...



Well hey there again, podcast fans.  Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #44.

As you can probably guess from the title, Episode #44 brought me back to St. Paul to record the show with MinneSarah.  Admittedly, it was kind of a shitshow.

Like most of our podcasts, we were drinking.  Unlike most of our podcasts, we decided (at MinneSarah's behest) to suck down shots of Akavit on the air.  It was rough.  In between drinks we discussed MinneSarah's trip to the dentist, English pub rock in the 60's, Silence Of The Lambs, Ty Segall's breakthrough record, the existence of Bryan Ferry, the second level of the local hip-hop scene, MinneSarah's Turf Club heritage, MTV in the mid-90's, the artistic merits of the Stone Temple Pilots' discography, and, as per usual, lil' dudes.

Episode #44, like all Flatbasset Radio episodes, is free to stream and download.

Here's how the show plays out (again, click on the title to download the show):

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #44



01. Aesop Rock - Labor
02. Blood Red Shoes - An Animal
03. Haxsaw & Dugin - Goodbye Horses (Remix)
04. Ty Segall - Susie Thumb
05. The Stranglers - Golden Brown
06. Movement - Like Lust
07. Toki Wright & Big Cats - Lonely (w/Eric Mayson)
08. Bass Drum Of Death - Crawling After You
09. Washed Out - Don't Give Up
10. James - Moving On
11. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song

There you have it, everybody! Enjoy!




For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.



 




For more MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah).


Friday, September 5, 2014

Flatbasset Album Of The Week: September 1st-7th, 2014


Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of September 1st-7th, 2014:


Dee Dee Mayo - Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out

01. New York's Alright If You Like Shitty Reverb On Your Drums
02. Waking Up On The Beach/Jungle Party
03. The Aloe Drips (Nanana)
04. Love Is Slow
05. Sweet JuJu
06. All My Friends
07. It's Not Hard
08. Anyone Who Lives Without It

Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out is the new solo album from Howler guitarist Ian Nygaard and let me tell you, it's a curious little thing.

Imagine being on a beach with all your friends on a warm summer night.  Then imagine somebody has this tape "you have to hear, man!"  Now, imagine this friend puts the tape in the boombox.  As the tape warbles to life, you take a fistful of hallucinogenics.

Picture all of that, but now imagine that beach is on the moon.  That's kind of what you're dealing with on Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out.

(Yes, I realize the moon does not have beaches and is not warm. You also wouldn't be able to breath. Shut up.)

Like I said, it's a curious little record.  It's 85% spaced out, guitar-centric instrumentals that seem to catch on grooves and just ride them as far as they'll go.  It's, not "jaunty," but definitely upbeat.  Whenever vocals turn up they're basically repeated phrases that are half lead instruments and half mantra.  And again, you're on the moon.  Needless to say, I highly recommend checking this record out (especially while we have a few straggling summer days left).

Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out is the first full-length release from Frankie Teardrop's No Problem Records, which is a very encouraging sign.  It shows that they're not afraid to take chances on potentially niche records provided the records are great. It's even more encouraging that the record is available as a "Name Your Price" download over at their Bandcamp page.  It shows the No Problem Records is a labor of love (which is true of all the best record labels).

Anyways, I highly suggest you follow that link and name your price for the record.  Considering that it's a side-project, I suppose it's possible that this will be the only recording we ever hear out of Dee Dee Mayo.  Whether it's the start of a long career or a one-off, Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out is definitely worth your time.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Most Played Albums: August '14


Here's a look at the 50 most played albums around Planet New Basset as summer wound down over August:


(Larger picture indicates more plays)

01. Manny Phesto - Southside Looking In (96 plays)

02. Dee Dee Mayo - Dee Dee Mayo Sweats It Out (51 plays)

03. Franz Diego - Equinox (40 plays)

04.  New Order - Singles (33 plays)

05. All - Greatest Hits? (32 plays)

06. Lil' Wayne - The Dedication 2 (25 plays)

06. De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising (24 plays)

07. Pete Doherty - Grace/Wastelands (24 plays)

08. Fountains Of Wayne - Fountains Of Wayne (24 plays)

09. Kool A.D. - Word OK (22 plays)

10. Hot Hot Heat - Make Up The Breakdown (20 plays)

11. Electric Light Orchestra - All Over The World: The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra (20 plays)

12. Wilco - Being There (19 plays)

13. Jaylib - Champion Sound (18 plays)

14. H2O - Thicker Than Water (18 plays)

15. Young Jeezy - The Recession (18 plays)

16. Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me (18 plays)

17. R.E.M. - In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. (16 plays)

18. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner (15 plays)

19. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising (15 plays)

20. MF Doom - MM Food (15 plays)

21. Hymie's Basement - Hymie's Basement (15 plays)

22. Golden Smog - Another Fine Day (15 plays)

23. Sparta - Porcelain (14 plays)

24. Deer Tick - War Elephant (14 plays)

25. The Lemonheads - Come On Feel... (14 plays)

26. The Suburbs - Chemistry Set: Songs Of The Suburbs 1977-1987 (14 plays)

27. Fountains Of Wayne - Utopia Parkway (14 plays)

28. Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape (13 plays)

29. R.E.M. - Eponymous (13 plays)

30. The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good (13 plays)

31. MK Ultra - MK Ultra (13 plays)

32. The Replacements - All Shook Down (13 plays)

33. A-Plus - Think Tank (13 plays)

34. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (12 plays)

35. The Promise Ring - Wood/Water (12 plays)

36. Supergrass - In It For The Money (12 plays)

37. Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine (12 plays)

38. Sloan - Smeared (12 plays)

39. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary (12 plays)

40. Frankie Teardrop - Raiders (12 plays)

41. The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant (12 plays)

42. Queens Of The Stone Age (11 plays)

43. At The Drive-In - In/Casino/Out (11 plays)

44. Brand New - Deja Entendu (11 plays)

45. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (11 plays)

46. Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience (11 plays)

47. Modest Mouse - Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again(11 plays)

48. Portishead - Dummy (11 plays)

49. Paper Tiger - Made Like Us (11 plays)

50. Dark Time Sunshine - Cornucopia (11 plays)

All info via my Last.fm account. Stop by to keep track of everything we're listening to here at Planet New Basset.

Photo via Don't Drink And Root