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

Well hello again, everybody.  Welcome to yet another installment of the least interesting thing on the internet (well, except for Tidal).  It's the beginning of a new month, which means it's time to recap my most played albums from the previous month with a vague collage and no real explanation!

Before I hash out the list I just want to mention that June was a pretty tough month here at Planet New Basset.  The blog and show's namesake & mascot Margo (aka Flatbasset) had a bit of a health scare this month that took up a lot of time, money, and energy.  I won't bore you with the specifics of it all, but she looks like she's getting through it.  She's a tough gal.  Send some positive thoughts her way.

Alright, let's get into it.  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. Clementine - Crooked Brain (51 plays)

02. Frankie Teardrop - Demos / B-Sides (42 plays)

03. Wild Ghosts - Joy Ranch Sessions (42 plays)

04. William Within - Lost In Writing (35 plays)

05. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment (33 plays)

06. BNLX - Good Light (33 plays)

07. Ramones - Mania (33 plays)

08. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (28 plays)

09. The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good (24 plays)

10. Various Artists - Back In Business Vol. 3 (20 plays)

11. Gulfer - Split With Fago.Sepia (19 plays)

12. Steel Tipped Dove - Centuries Long Sigh (19 plays)

13. Steely Dan - The Royal Scam (18 plays)

14. Various Artists - Give 'Em The Boot Vol. 1 (18 plays)

15. Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late (18 plays)

16. The Flagrants - The Flagrants (17 plays)

17. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (16 plays)

18. Roc Marciano - The Pimpire Strikes Back (16 plays)

19. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly (16 plays)

20. Ian Kamau - Cocoon (15 plays)

21. The White Stripes - De Stijl (14 plays)

22. Various Artists - Father/Daughter Spring Sampler 2014 (14 plays)

23. Supergrass - I Should Coco (13 plays)

24. Pixies - Bossanova (13 plays)

25. Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me (13 plays)

26. Superdrag - Last Call For Vitriol (13 plays)

27. Mike Swoop - New Love (13 plays)

28. Veronica Falls - Waiting For Something To Happen (13 plays)

29. Various Artists - Stroked: A Tribute To Is This It (13 plays)

30. Greetings From Tuskan - The Love From Afar (13 plays)

31. The Roots - Phrenology (12 plays)

32. Green Day - Kerplunk! (12 plays)

33. Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (12 plays)

34. Superhopper - Does This Sound Exciting Yet? (12 plays)

35. The Good, The Bad, & The Queen - The Good, The Bad, & The Queen (12 plays)

36. Rebels To The Grain - Fine Wine (12 plays)

37. Edger - Rudiments (12 plays)

38. Blur - The Magic Whip (12 plays)

39. Ivy - Realistic (12 plays)

40. All - Allroy Saves (11 plays)

41. Alkaline Trio - Crimson (11 plays)

42. The Replacements - Tim (11 plays)

43. Kill Sadie - Experiments In Expectation (11 plays)

44. Lifter Puller -Half Dead And Dynamite (11 plays)

45. Portishead - Dummy (11 plays)

46. Haley Bonar - Big Star (11 plays)

47. Del The Funky Homosapien - Iller Than Most (11 plays)

48. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams (11 plays)

49. Johnwayne - Cassette 3: Marion Morrison Mixtape

50. Radiohead - In Rainbows (10 plays)


There you have it, everybody.  Big thanks to everybody who read the blog & listened to the show last month. All episodes of the show are available to stream over on my Mixcloud page. If you dig it, stop by the Flatbasset Radio Facebook page & give it a "Like."


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

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: Episode #60 (Young Sandwich's Spring Mix Vol. 1)

Relax, put some sounds on, I'll brew up some decaf...

Well hello again, everybody!  Welcome to an extra special episode of Flatbasset Radio!

For those of you who've been following the show over the years you know that on occasion my good friend Nick (aka Young Sandwich) has been known to turn up and give us a mix every now and then.  He gave us a USB Mix for Episode #41.  He followed that one up by giving us an epic two-part Autumn Mix for Episodes #41 & #49.  He turned in a Cabin Fever Mix last winter too but for reasons I can't recall I never had a chance to adequately mix & post it.  It'll be fun to get that one out there this winter when he can't remember which songs he put on there.

Anyway, Nick & I used to work 40 hours per week together and now that Nick has moved on to a better job I went full-on bro-mantic last week and dedicated the second set of last week's show to him (there's no better way to say, "Hey, bud. I miss ya" than by playing an eleven minute Pink Floyd jam).

Well, Nick was so touched by my gesture that he decided to grace the Flatbasset Radio show with a brand new mix.  So here I present to you Flatbasset Radio: Episode #60 (Young Sandwich's Spring Mix Vol. 1)!  As is usually the case with Nick's mixes, he's on a slightly different vibe than most of my shows.  Not better or worse, just a little different.  This episode is a saucy little mix of surf-rock, synth-pop, 80's grandeur, lost classics, East Coast hip-hop, a tribute to a lost blues man, and makes for a delightful twist on typical "Spring Mix" fodder. I suggest you give it a listen and if you dig it you should really check out his old shows.  He's got a real ear for these things.

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #60 (Young Sandwich's Spring Mix Vol. 1) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Rufus Wainwright - Movies Of Myself
02. The Pyramids - Penetration
03. Donald Fagen - Trans-Island Skyway
04. B.B. King - Messy But Good
05. The The - Global Eyes
06. DJ Shadow - Napalm Brain - Scatter Brain
07. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
08. Czarface - It's Raw (w/Action Bronson)
09. Mason Jennings - Ain't Not Friend Of Mine
10. M83 - OK Pal
11. Billie Holiday - Some Other Spring

There you have it! Enjoy!

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #59

Lord, to be thirty-three forever...

Well hello again, podcast fans.  Welcome to Episode #59 of Flatbasset Radio!

Sorry it's been a minute since I posted a new show.  I've been working very hard at things that aren't this blog & podcast.  It's good for me but maybe not so good for you.  I'm a very selfish man.

Anyway, show's back and June's shaping up to be a great month for the podcast so let's start it here.

In this week's episode I begin by apologizing for such a sleepy, sleepy guy before discussing the definition of "surf noir," the pros & cons of the Kent State shooting on its 45th anniversary, the moment Danger Mouse cemented his legacy, coming to terms with Pink Floyd, just what happens when you spend 40 hours per week with somebody, my unequivocal, errr... tolerance for Johnny Marr's solo career, and the real moment Craig Finn let go of Lifter Puller.  All that plus some anniversaries, the Cover Of The Week, the Flatbasset Flatclassic, and all the bro-mance one man can muster!

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #59 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Murder Shoes - Charlotte Manning

02. Gorillaz - Kids With Guns
03. The Dandy Warhols - Ohio
04. Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz
05. Pink Floyd - Pigs (Three Different Ones)
06. Los Campesinos! - Avocado, Baby
07. Johnny Marr - The Trap
08. Sims - 15 Blocks (Lazerbeak Remix)
09. Wild Ones - Golden Twin
10. The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix

Enjoy!

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 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

Album Of The Week: "Healthy Steps" by Straya

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of May 25th-31st:

Straya - Healthy Steps

01. 2.0
02. Treat Me Like Prince
03. Richard Baggins
04. Sports Song
05. Set Me Up
06. Hazel
07. Killer Mike Saved My Life
08. Sauceman's
09. Comma Spaceman
10. Brotherman
11. You Can't Put Me On The Spot Like That, Man

Straya's been bubbling under the surface of the Twin Cities guitar scene for a couple of years now.  Their indie-prog sound perhaps a bit at odds with the loud-fast-scrappy guitar sound that's been the scene's calling card for years now, they seem to have been biding their time until they were able to present their music to the standards they require. While Healthy Steps is technically their debut album, if you've been following along since 2013. you'll notice that the album is the culmination of a lot of time and attention to detail.

When Straya first turned up on my radar, the only thing on their Bandcamp page were records titled Demos & EP One.  On those early albums the band's sound was similar to local legends The Plastic Constellations.  The guitar work was intricate, the lyrics were mostly yelling, and the band staked their post-punk claim with chops & charisma more than anything else.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed them enough to play "Chronologies" way back on Flatbasset Radio: Episode #35.

While neither of those albums appears to be available any longer, the fact that I was able to spend time with them gave me a deeper appreciation for where they're trying to go on Healthy Steps. The first half of the album opens with an instrumental titled "2.0," which, considering how the first half of the album gives us definitive versions of previously released songs, is an appropriate jumping off point.  "Chronologies" grew and morphed into "Treat Me Like Prince," previous stand-alone single "Richard Baggins" has been given an atmospheric scrubbing, while early classic "Set Me Up, Hazel" has been broken up into a two-part, high-octane centerpiece.  The lone new song on the records first half, "Sports Song" is a keyboard-inflected 5:00 epic that features Rush-esque time signature changes and vocals that wouldn't be out of place on a These Arms Are Snakes album.

With the instrumental "Killer Mike Saved My Life" acting as a mid-album palette cleanser (and most of Straya's older songs having been given their "definitive version" treatment) the second half of the album is where Straya 2.0 shines.  The four song "Man Suite" (as I've taken to calling the second half) is easily the band's most ambitious statement yet.  Over the course of 18:35 the band indulges in keyboard plunks, time changes, stops, starts, screamed vocals, shoegaze, clarity & fuzz.  "Sauceman's" opens with some keyboard/drums/bass work that would make both Donald Fagen & Geddy Lee proud before going full Minus The Bear.

A reworked and expanded "Comma Spaceman" follows and stands as the band's most fully realized track to date.  For the first three minutes the keyboards soothe, the rhythm section stretches out and breathes, and lovely vocal melody floats to the forefront.  However, at the 3:00 mark, the band eschews their prog-rock leanings and launch into a full-fledged, thirty second My Morning Jacket-esque guitar solo before returning the songs to its roots.  Of course, they break it down & build it up one more time just for good measure because hell, "definitive version" should mean "definitive version."



Penultimate track "Brotherman" is the hyperactive brother of the multi-part monster that was "Comma Spaceman," still packed with ideas, but delivered in rapid succession.  Straya almost seems to be testing their own limits by seeing how many ideas they can pull off in 4:00.  Turns out: quite a few.

After the speed workout of "Brotherman," all of the pieces of Healthy Steps are assembled on "You Can't Put Me On The Spot Like That, Man."  As much as I've compared the band to Rush so far, this is the point where the comparison becomes clear and valid.  The speed of "Brotherman" is gone.  The well-known & well-rehearsed pieces of "Comma Spaceman" are also gone.  What we have with "YCPMOTSLTM" is a brand new mission statement from Straya.  Combining their prog-rock cues with a Zeppelin-esque flair for the dramatic, it's an epic album closer that seems to double as the opening salvo for where the band hopes to head next.

Healthy Steps is an expansive, rewarding listen, but if the band makes one thing clear with this album it's that the decks are now clear.  All of those older songs have been set in stone while the new tracks seem to be just scratching the surface of what the band is capable of.  Whether Healthy Steps ends up being the beginning of a long-proggy journey or and as an end point for a band pushing as many ideas as possible onto one record, it's bound to stand as one of the most unique albums to come out of Minnesota this year.

If you'd like to check out Healthy Steps for yourself, head over the Straya's Bandcamp page to download the album or order one of the limited-to-100 CD's that I'm assuming are still available since they're still on the Bandcamp page.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #58

Don't be sad at all...

Well hello again, pseudo-radio fans!  Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #58!

That's right, for the first time in as long as I can remember I managed to actually post two episodes a week apart.  I feel like you owe it to me to give this one a listen.

I'm flying solo yet again this week (long story), but I still managed to complain about the NHL playoffs, wonder about my dog's actions, fall for a rapper's (possibly false) back story, struggle with my French accent, begin the healing process with America's largest purveyor of exceptionally addictive coffee, rail against this "May the fourth be with you" crap, make a case for 2015 as one of the greatest music years ever, reintroduce Sweden's greatest hardcore band, revisit a classic from my teenage years, celebrate the redemptive power of loud guitars, and remember how ridiculous I was in my 20's.  All that plus the Cover Of The Week & the Flatbasset Flatclassic!

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #58 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. The Cribs - Burning For No One
02. X - Amoir Nior
03. Nostalgia 77 - Little Steps
04. The Strokes - Life's A Gas
05. Jawbreaker - Sluttering (May 4th)
06. Junior Boys - Hazel
07. Refused - Elektra
08. All - Miranda
09. Jack DeJohnette - Epilog
10. BNLX - Light It Up
11. The Jayhawks - I'd Run Away

There you have it. Enjoy!