Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62

I'd do the same if I had the chance, cheat the system, rig the race...

Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62!

Thanks for stopping by.  It's been a little while since I did a show where I just straight up played jams so I'm back to the old format for this one: just summer jams and banter for your ears.

Sadly, I'm still flying solo on this one, which means plenty of nasally commentary.  I discuss the tornado that may or may not have rolled through Minneapolis, a new "American Standard," the common ground between Frank Black & Bob Dylan, & the absolute greatest summer jam in the history of summer jams.  I revisit a couple of Flatbasset's Album Of The Week bands, sing the praises of one of the pillars of the Twin Cities hip-hop scene, get nostalgic over one of the great punk rock record labels of all-time, and struggle to connect old episodes of Seinfeld to Canadian hip-hop.  All that plus I celebrate some anniversaries, play my Cover Of The Week, and celebrate one of the most classic of Flatbasset Flatclassics!

As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. Just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Plums - Parking Lots
02. Holly Miranda - Waves
03. Blueprint - Boombox
04. Frank Black - The Dark End Of The Street
05. Edger - Holy Armour
06. Andrew Broder / Crescent Moon - Palms Up
07. What Tyrants - Dancehall No. 2
08. Sugar Ray - Fly
09. The Potatomen - Sam's Song
10. Felt - Morris Day
11. Lee Ranaldo - Off The Wall
12. Buck 65 - Blood Of A Young Wolf

There you go, everybody!  Thanks for stopping by for some jams!

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.

Album Of The Week: "Rudiments" by Edger

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of June 21st-27th, 2015:

Edger - Rudiments

01. Victory Gin
02. Noose
03. Primadons
04. Cautious Optimist
05. Holy Armour
06. Domestication

(Photo via Ellen Lawson)

As you likely know, I'm a huge fan of Land Ski Records.  Drew Forsberg (of Persian Leaps fame) has been working his ass off over the last couple of years to fill his label with smart, hook-happy Twin Cities bands.  He's succeeded to the point that I'll soon be referring to him as Drew Forsberg (of Land Ski Records fame).  Whether it's his own band, the power-pop of The Person & The People or the surf-noir-ish sounds of Murder Shoes, a new release from Land Ski Records has quickly become something I find myself looking forward to with high expectations.

Enter the latest member of the family: Edger.  Hailing from Minneapolis, Edger began life as a two-piece outfit with hardcore dreams.  According to legend, when singer/guitarist Justin Lawson & drummer Nate Bartley got together to begin working out songs they were struck by a bolt of hook-heavy creativity, causing them to seek out a third member (bassist Scott Hefte) and put their hardcore dreams on the back burner in favor of fuzzed out bliss.

As a debut EP, Rudiments is startlingly well-developed.  The band actually reminds me a bit of Is This It era Strokes in the sense that, even though there's a layer of fuzz around everything, the band is locked into a very precise grooves.  Bartley & Hefte particularly stand out in the way they combine to give these songs a strong backbone.  Where the band deviates from that Strokes-ish sound is in Justin Lawson's performance.  Eschewing New York cool (while keeping some of the distortion), Lawson keeps things very Midwestern with his full-throated delivery in the tradition of Paul Westerberg, Davy Von Bohlen, Dave Pirner, and a hundred other singers from fly-over country.

Opener "Victory Gin" lays it clear from the jump, with Lawson shouting "They've got me running in place!" over some thundering open chords before the band locks into place.  Single "Noose" shows off the band's rhythm section while Lawson wrangles some hardcore lyrics into the album's most memorable hook.

 
Rudiments ends on two strong notes.  "Holy Armour" stands as my favorite track on the album.  The band hits a propulsive groove while spitting dueling vocals that recall a pop-centric, romantic take on Brand New.  Proving that the band are students of the game, they end the EP with the charming, acoustic "Domestication," an ode to both the combative nature of relationships & the simple joy of clean dishes.



I really can't recommend Rudiments enough.  The Twin Cities are awash in great guitar music right now.  As much as I like scrappy bands plugging in and tearing things up, it's always a breath of fresh air when a band combines that fuzz with sturdy hooks & precise playing.  With repeated spins, it becomes clear that Edger is a band that takes their craft seriously.  Give those tracks up above a listen then head over to Edger's Bandcamp page & pick up Rudiments for yourself.

Flatbasset Radio's 50 Most Played Albums: May '15

Well hello again, everybody.  Welcome to yet another installment of the least compelling running post on a blog filled with them.  That's right, it's time for another edition of Flatbasset Radio's 50 Most Played Albums of the last month.


Now, I know it hasn't been a particularly productive month here at Planet New Basset.  What can I say, I'm a very busy & tired guy, so real world work & sleeping take up a lot of my time.  Fortunately (or, perhaps unfortunately), that lack of productivity only applies to the blog as I still found time to listen to a ton of records throughout May.  Let's have a look:

(As always, one "play" = one song.  So an album with ten songs on it would be registered as ten "plays."  Larger pictures indicate more plays.)

01. Johnny Marr - Playland (89 plays)

02. Blur - The Magic Whip (84 plays)

03. Tree Blood - I Am A Disgusting Pig (70 plays)

04. Edger - Rudiments (42 plays)

05. Various Artists - Expansion Sound Vol. 2 (40 plays)

06. All - Mass Nerder (32 plays)

07. M. Ward - Post-War (24 plays)

08. Various Artists - Circle Into Square Label Compilation Vol. 2 (23 plays)

09. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams (22 plays)

10. Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty (22 plays)

11. Brand New - The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me (21 plays)

12. Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic! (20 plays)

13. Dfalt - Take (20 plays)

14. Various Artists - The Best Love Is Free Vol. 3 (20 plays)

15. Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves (19 plays)

16. I Self Devine - Self Destruction (19 plays)

17. The Incredible Moses Leroy - Electric Pocket Radio (16 plays)

18. The Dust Brothers - Fight Club (16 plays)

19. True Deceiver - True Deceiver (15 plays)

20. Jawbreaker - Dear You (15 plays)

21. MF Doom - MM.. Food (15 plays)

22. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (15 plays)

23. R.E.M. - Eponymous (15 plays)

24. Straya - Live On Radio K (2015) (15 plays)

25. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (14 plays)

26. Descendents - I Don't Wanna Grow Up (14 plays)

27. The Cribs - For All My Sisters (14 plays)

28. Gorillaz - Demon Days (14 plays)

29. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl (14 plays)

30. Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed The Fish? (14 plays)

31. DJ Rashad - Double Cup (14 plays)

32. Uncle Tupelo - Still Feel Gone (14 plays)

33. Freez & Mike Frey - Freez's Frozen French Freys (14 plays)

34. Various Artists - Circle Into Square Label Compilation Vol. 1 (14 plays)

35. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Hearts Of Oak (13 plays)

36. Superchunk - On The Mouth (13 plays)

37. Various Artists - Best Of 86/06 (13 plays)

38. Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning (12 plays)

39. Eyedea & Abilities - E & A (12 plays)

40. Vermont - Calling Albany (12 plays)

41. Ash - Nu-Clear Sounds (12 plays)

42. Warpaint - Warpaint (12 plays)

43. Big Pauper - Beyond My Means (12 plays)

44. P. Morris - Debut (12 plays)

45. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder (11 plays)

46. Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman (11 plays)

47. The Coral - Magic And Medicine (11 plays)

48. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I See A Darkness (11 plays)

49. Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV (11 plays)

50. Danger Ron & The Spins - These Teeth (11 plays)

There it is, folks. Good stuff.  Try to stay tuned to the blog or the Flatbasset Radio Facebook page.  I've got three new episodes of the show nearly finished, so there'll be plenty of jams & ranting throughout June. Of course you can always check out the old jams by heading over to my Mixcloud page if you're really desperate to hear my nasally voice ramble on about things nobody cares about.

Information via my Last.fm account
Photo via Don't Drink And Root