Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums: October '15

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)

02. Murder Shoes - Daydreaming (66 plays)

03. Loud Sun - (((Loud))) (60 plays)

04. Oaks - Animal Life (56 plays)

05. Ego Death - Ego Death (40 plays)

06. Eels - Souljacker (24 plays)

07. Buffalo Springfield - Again (21 plays)

08. Halloween, Alaska - Halloween, Alaska (20 plays)

09. The Mammoth Catches Fire - Live On Radio K (2015) (20 plays)

10. Aimee Mann - Magnolia (18 plays)

11. Tree - Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out (18 plays)

12. Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers (17 plays)

13. Luna - The Best Of Luna (17 plays)

14. Rites Of Spring - Rites Of Spring (17 plays)

15. Danger Doom - The Mouse & The Mask (16 plays)

16. Jay-Z - The Blueprint (15 plays)

17. Atmosphere - Southsiders (15 plays)

18. Morrissey - Maladjusted (Legacy Edition) (15 plays)

19. The Libertines - Anthems For Doomed Youth (Bonus Tracks) (15 plays)

20. DJ Shadow - The Private Press (14 plays)

21. Deerhoof - Reveille (14 plays)

22. Everclear - Sparkle And Fade (14 plays)

23. Lou Reed - New York (14 plays)

24. Melvins - Houdini (13 plays)

25. Son Volt - Trace (13 plays)

Good stuff. I've got a new show all ready to roll this weekend, so be sure to check back.

Image via Tap Music
Stats via my Last.fm page

Most Played Albums: April '14

The 50 most played albums around Planet New Basset for the month of April, 2014:

(Larger picture indicates more plays)

01. Edison - No Three Men Make A Tiger (90 plays)

02. Rogue Valley - Crater Lake (87 plays)

03. The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams (71 plays)

04. Oaks - Field Beat (56 plays)

05. mk Ultra - mk Ultra (31 plays)

06. All - Allroy For Prez... (30 plays)

07. The Replacements - All For Nothing/Nothing For All (30 plays)

08. Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop (25 plays)

09. Nas - Illmatic (24 plays)

10. The Raveonettes - Whip It On (24 plays)

11. Supperbell Roundup - At Station Four (22 plays)

12. The Lemonheads - The Lemonheads (22 plays)

13. Flagland - Tireda Fightin (21 plays)

14. Sebadoh - Harmacy (20 plays)

15. Lakutis - 3 Seashells (20 plays)

16. Green Day - Nimrod (18 plays)

17. Superchunk - On The Mouth (16 plays)

18. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs (16 plays)

19. Big Pauper - Beyond My Means (15 plays)

20. After The Smoke - Microwaves (15 plays)

21. Beady Eye - Be (13 plays)

22. Constantines - Shine A Light (12 plays)

23. Har Mar Superstar - Dark Touches (12 plays)

24. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening (12 plays)

25. Weezer - Make Believe (12 plays)

26. Boots - Dust (12 plays)

27. Badly Drawn Boy - How Did I Get Here? (11 plays)

28. Straya - EP One (10 plays)

29. Drake - Nothing Was The Same (Bonus Tracks) (10 plays)

30. Dosh - Powder Horn (9 plays)

31. Metasota - Still Happy I'm Present (H.I.P. 2) (9 plays)

32. Minor Kingdom - Singles (7 plays)

33. Blueprint - Respect The Architect (7 plays)

34. Straya - Demos (7 plays)

35. Blue Ruiin - Demo (7 plays)

36. Imperial Railway - A Young Cliff Diver (7 plays)

37. Damacha - Auspicious Clouds (5 plays)

38. The Hood Internet - Future Seasons (5 plays)

39. G-Side - Gz To Godz (5 plays)

40. Twin Shadow - To The Top (5 plays)

41. The Ashtray Hearts - Old Numbers (5 plays)

42. Killer Mike - The Boondocks Mixtape (5 plays)

43. Glenn Jones - Welcomed Wherever I Go (5 plays)

44. Dinowalrus - Complexion (5 plays)

45. Young Thug - Stoner (5 plays)

46. La Sera - Hour Of The Dawn (5 plays)

47. King Of Prussia - Zonian Girls... And The Echoes That Surround Us All (5 plays)

48. Metro Thuggin - Metro Thuggin (5 plays)

49. Yumi Zouma - It Feels Good To Be Around You (5 plays)

50. Mirror Kisses - Heartbeats (5 plays)

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

Album Of The Week: April 21st-27th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of April 21st-27th, 2014:

Oaks - Field Beat

01. All Mine
02. Dreaming Arrows
03. Field Beat
04. Clouds
05. Falls
06. Some Of Them Do

I'll be honest, I know pretty much nothing about Oaks.   I took a walk down to Extreme Noise last week to film a bit with Ryan for Newest Industry (a bit that was, sadly, lost when my memory card became full halfway through).  As I've mentioned before, I have a real weakness for checking out the "Local" section anytime I'm in a record store.  On a whim I picked up Field Beat because it was described as "shoegaze" and because it was only 6 songs long which, let's be honest, is the perfect length for a shoegaze record.

Thanks to the internet I've learned that Oaks consists of husband & wife duo Jim Kolles & Erica Krumm.  You may know Krumm as the lead singer/guitarist for the band Sharp Teeth or, if you're like me, you may not.

Field Beat is, I suppose, a shoegaze album.  There's loud, buzzsaw guitars that come in waves.  There's heavy basslines.  There's a drum machine.  All the "shoegaze" boxes are checked off.  Fortunately, Krumm's vocals elevate the whole record, coming through clear and with a minimum of effects.  If you subtracted a bit of the punk edge from BNLX or the electronics from Wiping Out Thousands you'd have Oaks.  The songs here are thorough, heavy, and consistently excellent (with the exception of "Some Of Them Do," which is just feedback).  Field Beat is just the kind of record I hope to find when I go plunging into the "Local" section.

If you're so inclined, Field Beat is available as a "Name Your Price" download over at Oaks Bandcamp page. I strongly suggest that you be inclined.