Flatbasset Radio: Episode #56

Get bit by the hounds...

Well hello again, everybody!  Welcome back to Flatbasset Radio!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was incredibly busy in March as such I haven't been able to post a new show in about six weeks.  Sorry.  I'm a busy guy.  You know what they say about the devil & idle hands...

Anyway, I'm back and I promise you that I will crank out new blog posts and new episodes of the podcast all summer long.  Word is bond, son, word is bond.

So, let's get on with it then.  In this week's show I attempt to justify my month-long absence from the show, play a forgotten jam from 2014, attempt to explain how Tim Armstrong was my Dylan, discuss my expectations of Blur's reunion, celebrate the anniversary of Bloc Party's best album, dig into my theory as to why EP's are sometimes the best work an artist puts out, struggle, yet again, to pronounce "Citroën," and, as is par for the course, go all fanboy on a Smiths Flatbasset Flatclassic.  All of that plus all the popped "P's" and audio drop-outs you can possibly stomach.  Enjoy!

As always, this episode is available to stream for free. Just click the Mixcloud player below

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #56 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Twin Graves - Love You To Death
02. Mike The Martyr - Build Clinton (w/Toki Wright)
03. Tim Armstrong - Black Lung
04. Greg Dulli - Paper Thin Hotel
05. Eric Mayson - Capital
06. Bloc Party - This Modern Love
07. Blur - Go Out
08. Aesop Rock - Zodiaccupuncture
09. Jens Lekman - Postcard #3
10. Citroën - Ghost
11. The Smiths - Well I Wonder

There you have it.  Feels good to be home, baby!

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

Hello again, everybody.  February is upon us and, if you haven't noticed, it's fucking frigid outside.  I blame that goddamn Punxsutawney Phil.  Can't be too mad, though.  Clearly that shadow-seeing rodent knows his shit.

Anyway, like I always do at the start of the month, it's time to take a look back at the 50 Most Played Albums around Planet New Basset.

As always, you can keep up with what's being played here in real time by checking out my Last.fm page, though honestly, I have no idea why you would want to do that.  Frankly, I'm not even sure why you're still reading this.  Whatever. It's your life.

As always, larger pictures indicate more plays:

01. Mike The Martyr - Marbury (80 plays)

02. Rupert AngelEyes - Young Sunset (70 plays)

03. Rogue Valley - False Floors (66 plays)

04. Cruel Love - Cruel Love (64 plays)

05. Steel Tipped Dove - Centuries Long Sigh (38 plays)

06. Oasis - The Masterplan (28 plays)

07. Billy Joel - 52nd Street (27 plays)

08. Fastball - All The Pain Money Can Buy (26 plays)

09. Pulp - We Love Life (25 plays)

10. Jimmy Eat World - Futures (22 plays)

11. Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights (22 plays)

12. Kanye West - Late Registration (21 plays)

13. Earl Boykins - Everybody Likes Dogs (20 plays)

14. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds Of Silver (19 plays)

15. The Person & The People - Live On Radio K (2014) (19 plays)

16. Jack DeJohnette - Sorcery (17 plays)

17. Lil' Wayne - Sorry For The Wait 2 (17 plays)

18. The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow (16 plays)

19. Jazz Spastiks - Singles Collection (15 plays)

20. Stereolab - Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night (15 plays)

21. Atmosphere - Southsiders (15 plays)

22. The Streets - Original Pirate Material (14 plays)

23. Blur - Blur (14 plays)

24. The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night (13 plays)

25. Face To Face - Don't Turn Away (13 plays)

26. The Verve - Urban Hymns (13 plays)

27. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire (13 plays)

28. Gorillaz - Demon Days (13 plays)

29. Blink-182 - Blink-182 (13 plays)

30. Astronautalis - The Mighty Ocean And Nine Dark Theaters (13 plays)

31. The Plastiques - 101 (13 plays)

32. Museum Mouth - Sexy But Not Happy (13 plays)

33. Dosh - The Lost Take (12 plays)

34. Piebald - We Are The Only Friends We Have (12 plays)

35. Morrissey - Viva Hate (12 plays)

36. Armchair Martian - Who Wants To Play Bass? (12 plays)

37. Danger Mouse - The Grey Album (12 plays)

38. Husker Du - Flip Your Wig (12 plays)

39. Dosh - Daytrotter Session (12 plays)

40. Alpha Consumer - Gary Victorsen's (12 plays)

41. Kougar - Cold Room (12 plays)

42. Jets To Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary (11 plays)

43. Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis (11 plays)

44. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (11 plays)

45. Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be (11 plays)

46. The Replacements - Don't Tell A Soul (11 plays)

47. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (11 plays)

48. Edison - No Sun No Food (11 plays)

49. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (11  plays)

50. The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land (10 plays)

Photo via Don't Drink And Root

Album Of The Week: "Marbury" by Mike The Martyr

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of January 19th-25th, 2014:

Mike The Martyr - Marbury

01. Marbury Intro
02. Players Of The Past
03. Nautica Van (w/Ali Vegas)
04. YSN
05. Dogg Pound
06. The Devils Plan (w/Joe Blow)
07. Karlton
08. Calendars (w/Muja Messiah & Termanology)
09. Build Clinton (w/Toki Wright)
10. Pager Codes

Flatbasset Radio's first hip-hop AOTW of 2015 comes from Twin Cities veteran Mike The Martyr.  As a semi-dedicated follower of the Twin Cities music scene I've heard Mike The Martyr's name about a thousand times over the years, but this is the first of his solo albums that I've spent any time with.

My curiosity was piqued a few months back when I spent a week with Manny Phesto's Southside Looking In back in August as an AOTW.  Mike The Martyr produced the entirety of that record and inspired me to write this:

"Mike The Martyr brings a sturdy set of beats that sound like they've been influenced equally by RZA & Kanye's early "chipmunk soul" sound.  In fact, the only real break in the beats are the interludes, otherwise Martyr continues to do his thing throughout without throwing in the token "slow song" or "banger."  It's just consistently excellent, good time beats."

Southside Looking In was definitely an album meant for summer spins and, in some ways, Marbury picks up on that same vibe.  Mike's flow is definitely more conversational than anything else, which suits his storytelling well.  Subject-wise, he sticks to such tried-and-true topics as how hard he works, how his crew is better than your crew, and the day-to-day struggle to get by.

Where Mike The Martyr's rapping really shines, however, is when he waxes nostalgic.  The easy highlights of Marbury are "Nautica Van" and "Build Clinton," both of which feature other rappers (which give a nice contrast to Mike's laid back tone) and which tell stories of the fun & innocence of growing up.



As you can hear above, "Nautica Van" is built around the childhood goal of, well, owning a Nautica van.  Mike & Ali Vegas trade verses like old friends who remember that dream like it was yesterday.



"Build Clinton" features local legend Toki Wright remembering what Minneapolis was like back before hip-hop & Target came to be the city's defining traits.  Here again, the excitement in Wright's voice plays nicely off of Mike The Martyr's matter-of-fact tone.

All of that being said, the real star of Marbury is yet another set of stellar productions.  Where I mentioned RZA & Kanye above, it's clear on this album that Mike's heart lies on the West Coast (a fact he makes crystal clear in his G-Funk homage "Dogg Pound").  Clearly a devotee of Dr. Dre's work as a producer, Mike puts his own Midwestern twist on the sound by scaling back the bass, thereby removing the warmth of California, and giving the individual instruments a cold, crisp feel that, intentionally or not, definitely reflects the feeling of Minnesota in January (give "Nautica Van" another listen, but this time just focus on the beat. You'll see just what I mean.).

Mike The Martyr's been a player in the Twin Cities scene for a long time now.  He's been aligned with the luminaries of Minnesota hip-hop forever.  While I have no idea if Marbury is going to be the album that finally causes the gate-keepers of Minneapolis to sit up and take notice, it won't be for lack of effort on his part.  Marbury is a thoroughly enjoyable album front-to-back and I definitely suggest you give a spin for yourself.

Marbury is available at Mike The Martyr's Bandcamp page as a "Name Your Price" download.  He's also having a Marbury release party February 14th at First Avenue, so, happy Valentine's Day on that one.

Album Of The Week: August 18th-24th, 2014

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of August 18th-24th, 2014:

Manny Phesto - Southside Looking In

01. Reality Check
02. Cedar Ave
03. The Account (w/Mike The Martyr)
04. Rooftops Interlude
05. Eternity In The Cities
06. Standards (w/Metasota)
07. HI LAKE (w/Axel Foley)
08. Goodnight Moon Interlude
09. Full Scope (w/Akrite)
10. To The Sea
11. Rabbit Hole (w/Greg Grease)
12. Fork In The Road
13. Rigamarole
14. Before The Storm
15. Outro

Truth be told I'm actually a week late naming Southside Looking In my AOTW.   I actually spent the entirety of last week with it.  Fortunately, writing this post after spending a week with an album as opposed to while I'm spending time with it has given me a bit more time to digest the record.

Let me tell you, this one only gets better with more spins.  Manny Phesto's rhymes & Mike The Martyr's beats make Southside Looking In a perfect, laid back summer album.

A lot of recent albums from the Twin Cities hip-hop scene have stuck to sparse, downbeat production while rappers vent either anger, confusion, or a sense of surprised contentedness.  While those sort of practical emotions are undeniably Midwestern in nature, Manny Phesto & Mike The Martyr seem to have decided it's time for a bit of a celebration.  Mike The Martyr brings a sturdy set of beats that sound like they've been influenced equally by RZA & Kanye's early "chipmunk soul" sound.  In fact, the only real break in the beats are the interludes, otherwise Martyr continues to do his thing throughout without throwing in the token "slow song" or "banger."  It's just consistently excellent, good time beats.

Manny Phesto matches that energy with a collection of verses that stick to the positives of life.  He spends a majority of the record enjoying his hometown and his friends.  Now, this being an album from a Minnesotan, it couldn't be all party time raps.  However, when Manny Phesto does take a break from the positivity, he still manages to crib his concerns in a mostly positive outlook.  His problems are weighing on him, but he seems confident that they'll be solved before they become overwhelming.

With Southside Looking In, it seems that Manny Phesto & Mike The Martyr have taken up the torch from local legends Kanser.  It's mostly positivity here, and even when the clouds turn grey, the focus is on the silver lining rather than the rain.

Southside Looking In is available as a "Name Your Price" download over on Manny Phesto's Bandcamp page.  I highly suggest you pick it up and give it a spin.  Especially if you have a car.  Or enjoy BBQ's.  Or just need a dose of positivity.