I guess I lost that cool...
Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #85!
Folks, this week I thought I'd change up the formula a little bit. This week's episode is completely banter free! That's right, not a spoken word from yours truly. This week's episode is nothing but straight jams all the way through.
You may be asking yourself, "Droogsy, why not talk in this week's show? Your nasally, barely coherent banter and popped p's are the reason I tune in!"
Wow, your really kind for hypothetically saying that, hypothetical listener. Honestly, I was putting this week's' show together and it was all flowing so well that I decided to just step away from the mic and let the jams do the talking.
That said, this week's show is still built like most of the others. I've got some anniversaries to celebrate, a Cover Of The Week, and an especially epic Flatbasset Flatclassic. If you'd like to know more about the songs, just scroll down and check out the write up.
As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. I've finally set up a decent downloading site, so if you'd like to download Flatbasset Radio: Episode #85 (with all the appropriate iTunes tagging), just click here.
If you don't have the time or desire to download the show, just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.
Here's how Episode #85 plays out:
01. The Persian Leaps - See Me Unaware
The Persian Leaps are back! They're set to release their fourth EP Your City, Underwater September 16th on Land Ski Records. The Persian Leaps have been a friend of the blog/podcast for years now and I highly suggest you check out Your City, Underwater and their previous EP's. Nothing but St. Paul's finest fuzzed out, power-pop bliss.
02. Eels - Susan's House
The record that put Mark "E" Everett on the map, Beautiful Freak turned 20 years old this week. Eels have gone on to make a career out of E's left-of-center indie rock, but they never had another album hit quite like this one. Like most people I was hooked in by "Novocaine For The Soul" back when it got a ton of plays on 93.7 The Edge. I chose not to play that (or "Rags To Riches" or "Your Lucky Day In Hell" or "Not Ready Yet...") because I really do dig "Susan's House." Also, it was likely one of the most skipped over songs of the 90's. I figured it was time to give it its due.
03. Life Without Buildings - New Town
I came upon Glasgow's Life Without Buildings via Franz Ferdinand's excellent Late Night Tales mix. Sadly they've been broken up since 2002. At least they made a lovely racket before disbanding.
04. Down By Law - Best Friends
Our Cover Of The Week! I was over at Cheapo Records the other day flipping through CD's (because it's perpetually 1996 in my world) and stumbled across Down By Law's debut album for $4.95. As you can likely imagine, I was pretty fucking pumped. I've wanted this album since I was a 15 year old leafing through the Epitaph catalog that came with my copy of their second album Blue. For whatever reason, these first two DBL albums have a different sound than a lot of the early 90's punk I loved. The production is more spacious, and Dave Smalley's definitely going in. Just listen to "Best Friends" and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, "Best Friends" was originally written by a band called The Outlets, whom I know absolutely nothing about.
05. Pet Milk - Phantom Lovers
Not a particularly flattering story, but I do not have any idea how I came upon Pet Milk's Philadelphia Punklife EP. I know I downloaded it from Bandcamp and I know it was at the suggestion of some other East Coast punk band. BIG UPS maybe? The reason I don't remember is I'm pretty sure I downloaded it about a year ago and didn't get around to listening to it until this month. I know, I'm terrible. Nonetheless, I couldn't have been more surprised by the EP. As you can here on "Phantom Lovers," the "punklife" aspect of the title is nowhere near as dominant as I was expecting. Instead it's a collection of hazy power-pop songs that nearly make up for the existence of the Philadelphia Flyers. Nearly.
06. Bon Iver - 22 (OVER S∞∞N) [Bob Moose Extended Cab Version]
Look, I don't know what to make of these new Bon Iver tracks any more than you do. There's really only so much you can take away reading blogs about a live performance at a festival and a bunch of track names that prominently feature fucking wingdings. Still, this is something. That "might be over soon" repeated bit, the strings, the saxophone! Oh, the saxophone. Much like every mid-30's white guy in the midwest I'm pretty excited to see just what 22, A Million is all about.
07. Dessa - Quinine
Like I mentioned last week when I played that new Sims jam, the Doomtree machine seems to be creaking back to life. Paper Tiger has put out a couple of excellent EP's, P.O.S has put out three new songs, hell, even Cecil Otter finally put out a new EP. With "Quinine" Dessa reminds us that she occupies a singular space in the Twin Cities. Others have tried, but few can handle this type of beat with this type of confidence.
08. The Nadas - Listen Through The Static
Again, I was fucking around in the "Local" section at Cheapo and picked up The Nadas' Listen Through The Static on the strength of its album cover alone. I didn't know that The Nadas were Des Moines' answer to Son Volt. LTTS is full of country-tinged rock music, but none of it is quite as immediately memorable as the title track. Who hasn't spent time driving and scrolling through the radio dial just to catch a bit of a jam through the hiss?
09. Astronomique - Until Daylight
I first came upon Astronomique through Radio K's excellent Track Of The Day podcast (seriously, everybody should subscribe to it). I was so taken with their song "Pretend We're Stars" that I named it the third best Radio K Track Of The Day song of 2014 back in Flatbasset Radio: Episode #53. They returned this year with a self-titled EP that is somehow more danceable and more sultry than their previous work. Highly recommended for summer nights.
10. Tom Vek - Pushing Your Luck
Another podcast find (this one via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast), I'd be lying if I said I knew much about Tom Vek. He's from London and this song is from Luck, his third album. That being said, just listen to it. There's something hypnotic about the way the way song is threatening but vaguely casual. Is that a British thing? I feel like it much be a British thing.
11. The Veils - Calliope!
I played "Calliope! to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of The Veils second album Nux Vomica. While it may be their second album, it's the album where they really found their sound. "Calliope!" is definitely one of the more accessible moments on the albums, but the Auckland-via-London band is as capable of these poppier numbers as they are of building up a Nick Cave-esque slow burn. They've got a new record coming out this autumn that will likely turn up on some "Best Of..." lists.
12. Sebadoh - The Freed Pig
And here it is, folks, your Flatbasset Flatclassic Of The Week! I've played plenty of Sebadoh over the year, but this is a special one because I'm marking the 25th anniversary of the release of Sebadoh III. As somebody who considers Sebadoh one of the great American bands of the last 30 years, this anniversary deserves to be commemorated. Sebadoh III marks the first album on which American treasure Lou Barlow is joined by Jason Loewenstein, whose lo-fi outbursts, song snippets, and country twang would force Barlow outside of his comfort zone and into the Sebadoh we know and love.
"The Freed Pig" opened the album by taking aim squarely at Sebadoh's former bandmate J Mascis and letting him know, in no uncertain terms, just how he felt about his bandmate. Tellingly, it's the most fully-formed and well-produced moment on III, which I can only imagine was done to make the song as accessible as possible, a brilliantly vindictive move by Barlow. It may seem a little awkward now since Dinosaur Jr has long-since reformed and is making arguably the best music of their career these days, but "The Freed Pig" still stands as a declaration of independence for one of America's greatest living songwriters. Long live Sebadoh!
There you have it, folks. Thanks for slogging through this one with me. I hope you enjoyed the show. Tell your friends.
For more of my rantings you can give me 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.
