With everybody under stay-at-home orders I figured now was as good a time as any to dust off last episode I attempted to post. It's been nearly a year since the last episode of the show and if I had anything resembling a long-time fanbase I'm sure they'd be upset.
Anyway, part of the reason this show never got posted was that I got worn out trying to write up each song. It's time consuming and I found that the writing wasn't coming across the way I had hoped. So, long story longer, I'll spare you all the writing and just play the jams. As always we've got the Cover Of The Week, a trip in the Minnesota Way-Back Machine, and the Flatbasset Flatclassic.
OK, I lied, one exception:
Since Episode #135 had gone up in April Ric Ocasek, Kim Shattuck, Ed Ackerson passed away. That's why they all make appearances on this episode.
No agenda, no banter, no algorithms, just 12 songs over 46 minutes to help close out your week.
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 #136 (with all the appropriate iTunes tagging), just click here.
Here's how Episode #136 plays out:
01. The Persian Leaps - Sweet Nothings
02. The Cars - Touch And Go
03. Kevin King - On Your Mind
04. Morrissey - Wedding Bell Blues
05. Tiny Moving Parts - Medicine
06. Vanity 5 - Flight Of The Phoenicians
07. Bon Iver - Naeem
08. Wild Age - Motel Family
09. The Muffs - I Need A Face
10. Sherman Electric - Run Baby Run
11. The Swell Season - Low Rising
12. Polara - The Longest Day
There you have it, everybody.
Beats by Phatnumber
Flatbasset Radio Artwork by Ross Auger
Thanks for listening!
For more Flatbasset Radio you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are
archived on my Mixcloud page and are available to download on my Archive page. Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.
Well hello again, music fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #128!
Folks, it's a stormy Monday night here in Minneapolis, but that doesn't mean we're taking the night off. In fact, if you listen to the show, you'll notice that I recorded it on Saturday night, which means I've already taken several days off - but no more! It's time to get down to business. No agenda, no algorithms, just 12 songs over 57 minutes lovingly assembled by yours truly.
This week's show is 100% jams. I've got a nice slate of new local music, a bit of old local music, some 80's British pop, some 70's LA punk, some 90's alternative, a very meta song about songs, another gem from Community Radio Tapes, our continued exploration of the Disposable America catalog, yet another classic Mozzer B-side, a "high and lonesome" country ballad (waltz time alert!), and, sadly, another in memoriam for an artist lost too soon. All that plus the Cover Of The Week, deep dive into Nate's Archives, a trip in the Minnesota Way-Back Machine, and a quintessentially American Flatbasset Flatclassic.
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 #128 (with all the appropriate iTunes tagging), just click here.
10. Lucid VanGuard - I Don't Wanna Miss You Tonight
11. Sixo - Clearly Nothing/Eye Of The Needle (w/Grace Park)
12. Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson
Beats by Phatnumber
Flatbasset Radio Artwork by Ross Auger
Thanks for listening!
For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are
archived on my Mixcloud page. Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.
(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY.)
"Hoping that the truth just might be drowned out..."
Oh hello again, music fans!
Local bedrock BNLX released their debut full length, appropriately titled BNLX this week. To celebrate they're hosting a two night BNLXFest at Cause this weekend.
With all of that going on we thought we ask TCDroogsma to give us his take on the first single from the album, "1929."
TCDroogsma, thoughts?
Hello again, everybody. Before I get into this song, I, regrettably, feel obligated to go into a little background for those of you who somehow may not know who BNLX is.
They're a three-piece operation consisting of Ed Ackerson on guitar, his wife Ashley on bass, and David Jarnstrom on drums. Ackerson is probably best known as the ringleader of the alterative pop band Polara, who were nearly flawless.
Now, I mentioned I regretted bring all this up because initially BNLX went to great lengths to avoid being known as an "Ed Ackerson Project." That seems to be a reasonable request considering his longevity in the Twin Cities scene. Presumably they didn't want anybody to hear the name "Ed Ackerson" and dismiss them out of hand simply because they didn't like Polara or had a bad night at a DJ night that Ackerson was hosting.
Again, all of this seems understandable. However, given how seemlessly "1929" would fit on to a Polara album it all seems kind of unnecessary.
The song opens with a beautifully fuzzed-out, poppy guitar line that sounds straight out of 1994 (which is, in my world, a great compliment). Ackerson opens the song with the line, "You're a hazard to yourself..." which, if you didn't know any better, you'd easily mistake as the opening of a jilted-lover song.
However, as the first verse gives way to the bridge (and Ashley Ackerson's lovely vocals turn up), the "we" of "we're moving on up..." makes it clear that this is no boy-done-wrong song, but rather a statement of a collective. When the chorus kicks off with the line, "Everybody in the house just sings along..." it becomes clear that the "we" is everybody and that this song is meant to be taken as a statement.
The titular "1929" is a reference to the year before the stock market crash that led to The Great Depression, and Ackerson implored us to draw the parallel between those good times and our modern times. To finish the line from the last paragraph, "...hoping that the truth just might be drowned out by the desire to throw down like 1929."
As a political statement, Ackerson seems to be sounding the siren a couple years late. I don't know anybody who's still "throwing down" like a young F. Scott in his hey... It should be noted, however, that if you're buying a BNLX album for its politics you're likely missing the point.
The brilliance of this song as a single has almost nothing to do with the lyrics. BNLX work up a perfectly distorted, reasonably dancy pop gem. Like something along the lines of early Fountains Of Wayne if they enlisted Peter Hook & Stephen Morris as their rhythm section. And then got Steve Albini to "record" it. I realize that's a lot of stupid things to try to add up, but, in my mind at least, it adds up to something brilliant.
I hate to say it (and Ackerson may hate to hear it), but a working knowledge of who Polara was and a loose knowledge of Ackerson's DJ nights actually helped me to appreciate this song. Even though I likely would have been sold on it regardless (those boy/girls vocals get me everytime...), knowing that this was the same guy who used to pen those brilliantly blurry pop gems made the political slant of the song seem more like a compliment to the work done earlier in his career than a stand alone political rant.
If you're new to BNLX, this is an excellent jumping off point. If you're already familiar with the Ackerson sound, this is a welcome addition.
Final Score - 4/5
There you have it, folks. Four stars...er, points? We're not totally sure. Still, four of five is pretty solid. Again, BNLX will be playing two nights this weekend (Nov. 16-17) down at Cause. Each night has a unique lineup (headlined by BNLX) and starts reasonably early at 9:00.
For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma) or over on his personal blog Flatbasset.He doesn't throw down like a young F. Scott Fitzgerald, but he certainly has a taste for the brandy.
For more Newest Industry we can also be found on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1). Give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our regular contributors. More importanly, we have a Facebook page here. Stop by and give us a "like" before the stock market crashes and "likes" are rationed out by the government.
