Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #67!
Folks, everything's terrible. It's been a tough week for people everywhere around the world and, if you're anything like me, you're exhausted. In that spirit, let's all take an hour long break from the real world and listen to some jams.
In this week's episode I try to press through the sadness while sitting in the dark discussing spelling in hip-hop, getting lost in electronics, loud local legends, semi-ironic covers, underrated Australian bands, my difficulties with the French language, Pete Doherty's quality control issues, good shoegaze vs. bad shoegaze, 90's cult figures, un-Google-able bands, & how best to use a time machine. All that plus some anniversaries, some love for our brothers & sisters in Paris, the Cover Of The Week, & the Flatbasset Flatclassic!
As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. Just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.
01. icollide - Lips That Won't Stretch, Tear
02. Astronautalis - SIKE!
03. Devata Daun - Fascinate
04. The Vines - Ms. Jackson
05. Brilliant Beast - Like Dreaming
06. Kanye West - Say You Will (w/Caroline Shaw)
07. Babyshambles -A'Rebours
08. Ruth Ruth - Amnesia
09. Felix Da Housecat - Do We Move Your World?
10. Juliana Hatfield - Shining On
11. Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Cheer up, kids. It'll get better.
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.
Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 8th-14th, 2015:
The Persian Leaps - High & Vibrate
01. The Infection
02. Under The Lilacs
03. Dottie, Queen Of The West
04. Frozen
05. Anthem
Photo Credit: Jason Larkin
First of all, let me apologize for the lack of AOTW posts over the previous few months. I've been very busy. However, even though I haven't been writing posts, I have most definitely been spending lots of time with local albums.
As anybody who follows this blog knows, The Persian Leaps have been friends of Flatbasset Radio for quite some time now. Their debut EP Praise Elephants was an AOTW back in December of 2013 and its follow up Drive Drive Delay was an AOTW almost a year ago exactly. After putting out a couple of Soundcloud-only covers (including an excellent take on Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept" that became a Flatbasset Radio Cover Of The Week back in Episode #57), here we are with their third EP High & Vibrate. Considering lead singer Drew Forsberg also runs the successful & prolific Land Ski Records, the fact that EP #3 is ready to roll at all is quite an accomplishment (never mind the fact that its songs are excellent).
The Persian Leaps proved over those first two EP's that their bread-and-butter will always be power-pop. On High & Vibrate Singer/guitarist Forsberg, drummer Michael McCloskey, & new bassist/secret weapon Adam Brunner continue to write immediate, catchy power-pop that is perfectly at home in the Midwestern tradition that stretches back from Cheap Trick to The Replacements to The Promise Ring. However, like those bands before them, they continue to add wrinkles to their sound.
Praise Elephants was built on a very clean sound (so much to that I likened them, in a complimentary way, to the Gin Blossoms). On Drive Drive Delay they sanded off some of the polish, giving the EP an indie punk flavor in sound if not entirely in lyrics (which have always maintained a secretly perfect sort of Midwestern passive-aggressiveness in that regard). On High & Vibrate they keep those rough edges, but add a surprising, almost mathematical groove to the album. Give album opener "The Infection" a listen:
As you can hear there, the band's taken their Gin-Blossoms-meets-GBV sound and added a dash of Devo-esque rhythm to it. Sure, the song still gives in to those big, beautiful power chords when it's time for the hard sell, but they're clearly challenging themselves by finding new ways to get to that sweet spot. While I certainly don't know the inner-workings of the band, the addition of Brunner on bass has really given the band muscle. He & McCloskey seem to have found a chemistry that gives these songs a bit more swagger than was found on those previous EP's.
Check out the video here for "Under The Lilacs" and take note of the use of the clipped "uh oh's" that lead up to the chorus:
(Quick Video Sidenote: God, what a gloriously 90's video. The walking/singing shots, the blurred VHS-style shots, the close-ups of the instruments. If, like me, you grew up with 120 Minutes, it should be obvious why I love these guys so much.)
As you can & hear in those first couple of songs, the big, catchy chorus is still what hits hardest. However, those little detours along the way are what keep me coming back for repeated listens.
Now, traditionally the third release from an artist is a make-or-break type of affair. Think Park Life. Think The Queen Is Dead. Think Summerteeth. However, those are all from three-album cycles rather than this three-EP cycle we have here. Still, Mr. Forsberg, with his keen sense of pop history, takes the time to address the state of The Persian Leaps in closer "Anthem." "Nobody ever believed it, that guys like us could win..." he sings before heading into a chorus that simply consists of defiant "Uh uh's" and "No way's," both of which are directed at unnamed critics who seem to desire The Persian Leaps to fail.
In a way "Anthem" brings closure to a cycle started on Drive Drive Delay's opener "Firestarter," a call-to-arms to bandmates, fans, or simply to Forsberg himself. Bringing it all back home on "Anthem," he seems to be taking a victory lap after three excellent EP's, his own record label, & a growing fan base that wasn't built on gimmicks or buzz, but rather, at its heart, on well-crafted, thoughtful pop songs. In a music industry that's seems to place less and less emphasis on quality songwriting with every surprise album drop and pop-up venue, that's cause for a celebration.
If you'd like to pick up a copy of High & Vibrate for your very own you can head over to The Persian Leaps Bandcamp page. I'd also recommend checking out the Land Ski Records site. They've got an impeccable track record as well as some fantastic stuff coming out in the very near future.
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.
I stopped sharkin' a minute to get chips & drinks...
Well hello again, podcast fans. Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #66!
It's fall outside, kiddos, and that means it's time to put on your hoodies, pull out your hats, and indulge in Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix!
As he always does when the seasons change, my buddy Nick (aka Young Sandwich) stopped by to drop off an hour long seasonally-appropriate mix and this year's no exception. As you can see from the track list below, this Autumn Mix sticks to Nick's format of covering as many bases as possible in an hour. There's East Coast rap, impovisational jazz, 90's grunge, iconic folkies, 60's British rock, ska-punk, old-timey guitar theatrics, British hip-hop, 90's refugees, and one epic prog-rock jam. Somehow he makes all this work. What a beauty.
As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. Just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.
01. Beastie Boys - Alright Hear This
02. Junior Brown - Peelin' Taters
03. Roxy Music - Both Ends Burning
04. Cibo Matto - Beef Jerky
05. Scott Weiland - Circles
06. Ghostface Killah - Holla
07. The Rolling Stones - She's A Rainbow
08. John Scofield - Freepie
09. The Pfifers - Show No Fear
10. Nirvana - Molly's Lips
11. Wu-Tang Clan - Only The Rugged Survive
12. Bob Dylan - Autumn Leaves
13. The Streets - Fit But You Know It
14. This Town Needs Guns - In The Branches Of YGGDRASIL
15. Styles P - Hoodie Season
16. King Crimson - One More Red Nightmare
17. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
There you have it, folks. Tie up your hoodies.
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.
Well hello again, everybody. Welcome to yet another in a seemingly endless string of monthly album recaps.
First off, I want to say thank you to anybody who checked out last week's episode of Flatbasset Radio. It was great to be back doing the show again and certainly hope you enjoyed it. One of the perks of taking two months off from doing the show is that when you come back you can pack it full of white hot jams and I think that's what we accomplished here.
Second, sorry this post is a couple of days late. I'm assuming nobody noticed since everybody is probably just now finishing cleaning up after their Halloween parties (looking in your direction, Dr. Bill). Frankly, if you've been frequently checking this page to see if I've posted the monthly recap yet you probably need to reevaluate some of your life decisions.
Lastly, you may notice that there aren't any dead spots in this month's album collage. Unfortunately Last.fm still hasn't resumed allowing its users to post album pics (which, to the OCD music junkie you see before you is absolute torture). However, necessity being the mother of invention, I learned how to use the most basic photoshopping program ever to add the albums that weren't showing up. Oh, sweet completism.
Anyway, here's Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums Of October 2015:
01. The Libertines - Anthems For Doomed Youth (86 plays)
Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome back to Flatbasset Radio!
How ya been? I know it's been a while since I last posted a show and I apologize for that. In my defense, I'm very busy & very sleepy.
However, this past weekend was Flatbasset Radio's three year anniversary and that seemed like an appropriate reason to get back on the mic.
As usual, this week's show has jams for days. I also find time to discuss the pros & cons of reunion albums, one of the 80's biggest bands, what type of music is done best by Brits & what style is done best in the Midwest, & getting lost in the bass. I also check in on some of the show's friends, celebrate some anniversaries, get into the Cover Of The Week & celebrate one of my favorite albums with the Flatbasset Flatclassic.
As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. Just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.
01. The Libertines - Barbarians
02. Danger Doom - Benzi Box
03. Braid - East End Hollows
04. Ryan Adams - I Want To Know What Love Is
05. The Persian Leaps - The Infection
06. Nick Monaco - Private Practice
07. Shopping - Straight Lines
08. Son Volt - Live Free
09. Your Old Droog - 48th Street
10. Cars & Trains - Ten Lions & The End Of The World
11. Frankie Teardrop - End Of Summertime Blues
12. Rancid - Roots Radicals
There you have it, folks. Feels good to be home.
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.
