Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums: November '17

Well hello everybody. Welcome to another edition of Album Collage Monthly!

Folks, I don't know about you, but my November was straight trash. I won't bore you with the details, but too much worky, not enough sleepy, not enough bloggy... It wasn't any fun. It was so bad, in fact, that it bled into December and pushed this post back a day. I'm sorry for that, but really, if you spent yesterday refreshing this blog waiting for the collage you have problems far worse than mine.

Anyway, as always, big thanks to everybody who checked out the lone show I posted this month. No matter how rough things are, I take sincere joy out of playing that Descendents song every Thanksgiving. It really does say the things I'd like to in a much better (and catchier) way than I can. Sincere thanks to all the bands who play the way they play and help push through the darker days.

Let's get to the thing.

(As always, one "play" equals one song. For example, the new Mozzer album has 12 songs on it, so each time I listen to it front to back it counts as twelve "plays." As usual, all stats come from my Last.FM page. Give it a follow if you really want to stay up on what's getting the most plays.)

01. Shredders - Dangerous Jumps (84 plays)

02. Morrissey - Low In High School (84 plays)

03. Yeah Wings - Tomorrow WillBe Better (63 plays)

04. Buck 65 - Situation (55 plays)

05. Blaha - 499-456 (55 plays)

06. Descendents - Liveage! (54 plays)

07. Local H - Hallelujah! I'm A Bum (51 plays)

08. V/A - EIS Sampler 2013 // 2014 (50 plays)

09. V/A - Unpop 154 (47 plays)

10. The Replacements - All For Nothing/Nothing For All (46 plays)

11. Jay-Z - American Gangster (45 plays)

12. Fragile Canyons - Adapting To The Cosmos (44 plays)

13. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (42 plays)

14. Superchunk - Superchunk (40 plays)

15. Liam Gallagher - As You Were (37 plays)

16. Vangelis - Blade Runner (36 plays)

17. Unwound - Repetition (36 plays)

18. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (33 plays)

19. The Killers - Sawdust (33 plays)

20. Bedhead - WhatFunLifeWas (33 plays)

21. Romantica - Control Alt Country Delete (32 plays)

22. Buffalo Springfield - Again (30 plays)

23. Greg Graffin - American Lesion (30 plays)

24. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now (30 plays)

25. Cream - Disraeli Gears (30 plays)

There you have it, folks. Stay tuned for more shows throughout December!

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.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #110

Thank you for playing the way you play...

Well hello again, everybody. Long time, no see. Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #110!

Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Thanks for coming back. I know it's been about a month since my last episode and, as always, I apologize. If you're really all that interested I have the usual list of excuses: busy, sleeping, working, lazy... I'm sorry for the delay. I truly love doing the show and I do appreciate that you've come back again.

Folks, I've got all kinds of jams lined up for Episode #110. A few anniversaries, a RIP to one of my favorite local bands, and RIP to one of my favorite local bars, a celebration of arena rock concerts, some Brooklyn synth-pop, some third-wave ska, a Canadian hip-hop concept album a birthday acknowledgement to one of indie rock's icons, a heartwarming Cover Of The Week, the inaugural voyage of the Minnesota Way-Back Machine, and my annual Thanksgiving 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 #110 (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 #110 plays out

01. Extraterrestrials - Speak Like A Prude

02. The Pietasters - Out All Night

03. Buck 65 - Intro/1957

04. Daniel Johnston & Jeff Tweedy - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

05. The Promise Ring - Red & Blue Jeans/How Nothing Feels

06. Yeah Wings - The Promise Bison

07. Yohuna - It's All Yours

08. Askeleton - History Is Nothing But Words Written Down Unless Video-Taped

09. Robert Pollard - The Killers

10. Dillinger Four - The Great American Going Out Of Business Sale

11. Arcade Fire - We Don't Deserve Love

12. Descendents - Thank You











There you have it, folks! Enjoy!

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.

Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums: November '16

Rabbit Rabbit, everybody. Welcome to another installment of "What was Droogsy listening to while not making any mixes this month!"

No, I didn't post any new shows this month. I wish I had found the time, but alas, between the election, the fallout, and Thanksgiving (a brutally busy time in the retail world), it just didn't happen.

I did manage to find the time to drop off some copies of Flatbasset Radio: Ep. #87 at Cheapo, The Electric Fetus, & Reverie. If you didn't scoop up a copy feel free to hit me via Facebook Message on the Flatbasset Radio Facebook Page with your address and I'll mail you a copy. Honestly, I'm exceeding proud of Ep. #87. I think it's the best show I've ever put together. If you've got an hour, head over to my Mixcloud page and give it a spin.

Alright, let's get to the collage. As always, remember that every song listened to counts as a "play." Seems obvious, right? So, for example, that new Ghostband album has 8 songs, meaning each time I listen to it all the way through it counts 8 "plays." As usual, all stats come from my Last.FM page. Give it a follow if you really want to stay up on what's getting the most plays around Planet New Basset.

01. Sims - More Than Ever (94 plays)

02. Ghostband - Colder (64 plays)

03. Dwynell Roland - The Popular Nobody (60 plays)

04. The Umbrella Sequence - Sparkler Cliché (36 plays)

05. Royal Brat - Negative Bone (35 plays)

06. Selby Tigers - Charm City (31 plays)

07. c.Kostra - Now I Feel It (30 plays)

08. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield (25 plays)

09. Blur - The Magic Whip (25 plays)

10. Darkside - Psychic (24 plays)

11. Howler - America Give Up (22 plays)

12. Grant Hart - Good News For Modern Man (22 plays)

13. Leonard Cohen - The Songs Of Leonard Cohen (22 plays)

14. Radioheaed - In Rainbows (22 plays)

15. The Pooches - Dinner Date (19 plays)

16. Yeah Wings - It Feels Like Laughing With You (18 plays)

17. Various Artists - Late Night Tales: Four Tet (18 plays)

18. The Dirty Banks - Lida (18 plays)

19. Donald Fagen - Karmakariad (18 plays)

20. Star Magnet - Quarter Moon (18 plays)

21. Sophia Eris - Sophia Eris (16 plays)

22. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (15 plays)

23. Billy Brag & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue (15 plays)

24. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid (15 plays)

25. The Persian Leaps - Your City, Underwater (15 plays)

There you have it, folks. Stay tuned for more shows to help you through the holidays.

Image via Tap Music
Stats via my Last.fm page

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: "It Feels Like Laughing With You" by Yeah Wings

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of April 24th-30th, 2016:

Yeah Wings - It Feels Like Laughing With You

01. Trust
02. A New Place To Live
03. The Hill
04. To Human Kindness
05. Streetsboro Accent
06. By My King's Command
07. Grave
08. It Feels Like Laughing With You
09. Neak

My introduction to Minneapolis slow-core band Yeah Wings goes back to the Ecstattic Studios compilation ECS 019: Make A Star (Part One: Shining Bright) and their track "Sharkswords." It's a six and a half minute slow-burner closing out a compilation heavy on punk rock & crunch.  It's raw & confessional, with singer/bandleader Collin Dall laying out his affection & surprise at a woman named Sally. While it doesn't necessarily fit the mold of the most of the Ecstattic sound, it stands as a fitting introduction to the world Dall creates under the Yeah Wings name.



It Feels Like Laughing With You picks up where "Sharkswords" left off. Rather than rebel against the "slow-core" label (which would have been an understandable reaction some potential pigeonholing), Dall doubles down on the album's opener "Trust." Opening the first act of an album with a song that's 9:44 takes some stones. Waiting until you're 4:00 in to even utter a word is an act of defiance. Once Dall, percussionist Nico Ciani, bassist Alex Depompei, & pianist Matt Ciani have set the mood, Dall lays out the album's thesis is three simple words: "You, loving you."

Now, make no mistake, It Feels Like Laughing With You is dedicated to love in the most real way possible. While Dall certainly has time for deep, true affection, over the nine songs on this record he explores the loneliness, bitterness, joy, & sorrow that come from something so seemingly simple as love. Hell, the second couplet of "Trust" reads, "You, hating you..."



All of these emotions make IFLLWY a heavy album. To his credit, Dall doesn't shy away from his statements by trying to make things more accessible during the album's second act. "To Human Kindness" is limited to two brief verses, slowly picked guitar work, and enough negative space to feel like you're suffocating in your own head. I don't have any idea what the first half of "Streetsboro Accent" means, but when Dall sings "Words mean more to you than my beating arms around you" before letting loose a distortion-fuelled racket of a coda while claiming, "I'm not the same boy I was, I am the same boy you loved," he lays it out with crystal clarity, a mix of anger, longing, & confusion acting as the mid-album peak and second act closer.

The album, out of necessity, takes a 35 second breather of amplifier buzz with "By My King's Command" before launching into its third act.

When we rejoin Dall, he seems to be in the morning-after phase of "Streetsboro's" climax. "Everything moves back while you fight forward..." he sings, seemingly to himself while Matt Ciani's piano & wurlitzer add color a color and the sense of wonder that comes with reflection.

As an album title, It Feels Like Laughing With You seems to imply an in-the-moment feeling of affection. However, the title finds clarity on the track "It Feels Like Laughing With You." It is still an in-the-moment feeling, but it's a feeling brought by memories of those times when affection was simple and pure, an idealized version of the past that does its best to neglect the raw emotion of "Streetsboro Accent" and instead focuses on how things used to be, how they should have been, and how they couldn't be. Matt Ciani's piano is again a standout during the coda, bringing a necessary sense of playfulness to Dall's reflection. It's the audio equivalent of shaking your head and smiling to yourself.



In this narrative, the title track brings closure (or, at least as much closure as possible) to the IFLLWY arc. In that sense, closer "Neak" seems like an odd way to end the record. However, it stands as probably the most accessible stand alone track on the album. Drummer Nico Cianni picks up the pace while Dall eschews the drama & slow-core for an out-and-out jangling indie-pop rocker (it even has whistling!). The way it does fit on the album, however, is as a sort of palate cleanser, playing over the credits of a deep, heavy film.

Honestly, spending a week with IFLLWY was exhausting. Dall tells his tale in a way that's both obtuse and brutally confessional. It's not an album meant for casual listening. It's themes will cut deeply for anybody willing to open up and listen, though, and in that sense it's an incredibly rewarding album.

If you'd like to check out It Feels Like Laughing With You for yourself, head over to Yeah Wings Bandcamp page and pick it up. The band also has a show coming up May 12th at The Kitty Kat Club that you should probably look into.

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.

Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums: March '16

Well hello again, everybody, and welcome to yet another installment of the most important running column on the internet: Flatbasset Radio's 25 Most Played Albums.

Thank God it's April. No joke. I won't bore you with the details, but March of every year is far & away my busiest month each year. I have a lot of work between my jobs and honestly, once I finish those my priorities are sleep, basset hound, food... and that's pretty much it. It's not just the blog/podcast that gets neglected, it's friends, family, personal appearance, nutrition, cleanliness... Pretty much everything.

That's a roundabout way of apologizing for the lack of posts over the last month. However, with March behind me, it's time to get back to work. What better way to ease my toes back into the cold, harsh waters of the internet than recapping which albums were getting the most play while I slogged through another brutal March? Let's get to some instant nostalgia!

As always, please remember that one song = one play. If I listen to, Blur's The Great Escape once all the way through, it counts as 15 plays. These stats are all pulled from my Last.fm page, which you should definitely follow if you're certain you've checked out absolutely everything else on the internet.

Here we go!

01. Poliça - United Crushers (84 plays)

02. Yeah Wings - It Feels Like Laughing With You (63 plays)

03. Tony Peachka - Hello Tony (44 plays)

04. The Kelley Deal 6000 - Go To The Sugar Altar (32 plays)

05. Big Cats - What If It Doesn't Get Better? (32 plays)

06. Blur - The Great Escape (31 plays)

07. DJ Shadow - Excessive Ephemera (30 plays)

08. Bad Religion - The Gray Race (30 plays)

09. Motion City Soundtrack - I Am The Movie (29 plays)

10. Son Volt - Wide Swing Tremolo (28 plays)

11. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger (26 plays)

12. Superdrag - Head Trip In Every Key (26 plays)

13. Poolboy - Poolboy (25 plays)

14. Prince - 3121 (24 plays)

15. Bill Withers - Just As I Am (24 plays)

16. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (24 plays)

17. The Stone Roses - Second Coming (24 plays)

18. Still Life Still - Girls Come Too (22 plays)

19. Rancid - Life Won't Wait (22 plays)

20. The Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me (20 plays)

21. Down By Law - All Scratched Up! (18 plays)

22. Pale Spectre - Live On Radio K (2016) (18 plays)

23. CFCF - Do U Like Night Bus? (17 plays)

24. Tiny Deaths - Night Flowers (17 plays)

25. Sloan - Peppermint (16 plays)


Image via Tap Music
Stats via my Last.fm page

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.