Flatbasset Radio: Episode #64 (Young Sandwich's Summer Mix Pt. 2)

Take me out beyond the stress...

I told you we'd be back!

That's right, Pt. 2 of Young Sandwich's Summer Mix is here.  I won't bore you with all the details of how this mix came to be (scroll down a post for all of that).

Pt. 2 picks up right where Pt. 1 left off, but it definitely has a few more left turns than yesterday's show.  Think of it as the indulgent Side B to yesterday's more immediate Side A. Nick & I put together a second half that takes some long detours into funk, latino prog-rock, NY hip-hop, local R&B, alt-country, pop-punk, and a whole host of other classic stuff.  If you dug the first half of the Summer Mix than this is the perfect complement.

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #64 (Young Sandwich's Summer Mix Pt. 2) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Lucinda Williams - Drunken Angle
02. Coleman Hawkins - Heart And Soul
03. Thievery Corporation - Culture Of Fear (w/Mr. Lif)
04. Niko Strums - ...A Great Oak Was
05. Whatever Forever - Miserable People
06. Edison - o-3
07. Parliament - Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good
08. Devendra Banhart - Hatchet Wound
09. The Mars Volta - Drunkship Of Lanterns
10. Joey Bada$$ - On & On (w/Maverick Sabre & Dymeond Lewis)
11. Southside Desire - The Ledge
12. John Coltrane & Wilbur Harden - B.J.
13. Yo La Tengo - Before We Run

There it is, folks! Enjoy!

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #63 (Young Sandwich's Summer Mix Pt.1)

Man, I should go get a paper route...

Well hello again, podcast fans!  Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #63!

As you hopefully tell by the extended title up above, my buddy Nick (aka Young Sandwich) is back with another one of his seasonal mixes.  He was also kind enough to stop by a few months ago with a Spring Mix and started off his seasonal appearances last Autumn with a two-part mix for Episodes #45 & #49.  He had put one together for last winter too, but that one is in the vaults.  I'll post that one once we get into the dead of winter.

But that's the past and the future.  We're here and it's summer.

As you can tell from the title, this is the first in another two-part seasonal mix.  This time around Nick & I "collaborated" on the show.  I put "collaborated" in quotation marks because when Nick gave me the CD full of his songs about half a dozen of them refused to be recognize by my computer.  Instead of digging around to find new versions of the tracks I decided to inject a few of my own choices into the mix.  In the end this Summer Mix turned into a sort of Bizarro Summer. It's got classics you'll recognize, songs from legends you might not no, indie hip-hop, raw grunge, a good dose of jazz, sun-drenched indie rock, instrumentals, and one prog-rock opus.  Hope ya dig it.

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #63 (Young Sandwich's Summer Mix Pt. 1) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Long Hot Summer Night
02. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)
03. Open Mike Eagle - Nightmares
04. PJ Harvey - The Dancer
05. Albert King - The Very Thought Of You
06. Jim Morrison - A Feast Of Friends
07. Yes - Heart Of The Sunrise
08. .phase - Sudden Affection
09. Nirvana - Very Ape
10. Outkast - Drinkin' Again (Interlude)/Snappin' & Trappin' (w/Killer Mike & J-Sweet)
11. Nina Simone - I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
12. Nik Freitas - Sun Down
13. Omaur Bliss - Summatime
14. Charlie Parker - I'll Remember You

There you have it folks!  Be back tomorrow with Young Sandwich's Summer Mix Pt. 2!

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

Well hello again, album collage fans. Thanks for stopping by.

Like I always do at this time (this time being the beginning of a new month), it's time to take a quick look back at what's been getting the most spins here at Planet New Basset.

Why would you be interested in this?  I have no idea.  Honestly, these posts exist pretty much so I have an excuse to look at these cool ass collages.

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. Buck 65 - Neverlove (105 plays)

02. Mike Mictlan - Hella Frreal (71 plays)

03. Mrs. - City (53 plays)

04. BNLX - Good Light (45 plays)

05. Homeless & Big Cats! - The Polar Bear Rug (35 plays)

06. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (30 plays)

07. Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$ (30 plays)

08. Nadastrom - The Life And Times Of Raphael De La Ghettó (30 plays)

09. Greetings From Tuskan - The Love From Afar (24 plays)

10. All - Allroy Saves (22 plays)

11. Morrissey - Your Arsenal (21 plays)

12. Aesop Rock - Labor Days (20 plays)

13. Clementine - Crooked Brain (20 plays)

14. Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters (19 plays)

15. Various Artists - A Record Label Sampler Volume 4 (19 plays)

16. A Tribe Called Quest - The Anthology (18 plays)

17. Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (18 plays)

18. Billy Joel - 52nd Street (18 plays)

19. X - The Houston Museum Of Natural Science (18 plays)

20. P. Morris - Daydream (18 plays)

21. Various Artists - Ghostly Swim (17 plays)

22. Whiskeytown - Pneumonia (16 plays)

23. Felt - Felt 2: A Tribute To Lisa Bonet (16 plays)

24. Iggy Pop - New Values (15 plays)

25. Babyshambles - Down In Albion (15 plays)

26. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate (15 plays)

27. Big Quarters - Cost Of Living (Instrumentals) (15 plays)

28. Bad Religion - Recipe For Hate (14 plays)

29. The Potatomen - Now (14 plays)

30. Erykah Badu - Baduizm (13 plays)

31. Millencolin - For Monkeys (13 plays)

32. Ruth Ruth - Laughing Gallery (13 plays)

33. Dillinger Four - Situationist Comedy (13 plays)

34. Pulp - Different Class (12 plays)

35. The Libertines - Up The Bracket (12 plays)

36. Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue (12 plays)

37. Why? - Elephant Eyelash (12 plays)

38. Paul Westerberg - Eventually (12 plays)

39. Warpaint - Warpaint (12 plays)

40. Blur - The Magic Whip (12 plays)

41. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic (11 plays)

42. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated (11 plays)

43. The Stand4rd - The Stand4rd (11 plays)

44. Human Kindness - Not Apathetic (11 plays)

45. Wilco - Star Wars (11 plays)

46. Rupert AngelEyes - Young Sunset (10 plays)

47. Various Artists - Adult Swim Singles Program 2015 (10 plays)

48. Superchunk - Majesty Shredding (10 plays)

49. William Within - Lost In Writing (10 plays)

50. Suede - Coming Up (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: "Crooked Brain" by Clementine

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of July 26th-August 1st, 2015:

Clementine - Crooked Brain

01. The Psalmist's Shadow
02. Blood Diamonds
03. Float
04. Ate Baby Porcupine
05. Strongarm
06. Elephant And The Attic Tern
07. The Leaves Are Changing Brown
08. Mother's Song
09. In Praise
10. The Sun It Still Rises

(Photo: Kyle Kotajarvi)

It's no secret that the 90's are back in a big way these days. The glorious, lo-fi sounds of bands like Guided By Voices & Sebadoh can be found all over the indie rock world yet again. Bands like Titus Andronicus & Speedy Ortiz have taken the jangled, post-grunge model and added their own mono-genre-endorsed anthemic qualities to give us a welcome reminder that there will always be a place in the world for bands that embrace plugging in and turning up the volume as steps 1 & 2 to being a great band.

Why do I bring this up?  Because Minneapolis band Clementine represents a different sort of 90's renaissance. Their debut album Crooked Brain gazes back at the slower-burning sounds of post-grunge. They emphasize texture over bombast, moments over hooks.  It's a throwback to a time of longer attention spans and delayed gratification.

To really grasp Crooked Brain it's best to break it into two halves LP-style.  The first half of the record finds the band dabbling in stylistic turns.  "The Psalmist's Shadow" opens the album with over a minute of instrumental build-up before finally giving way to a verse and a mid-tempo pace that, as we find out over the course of Side B, is the band's forte. The three song run of "Blood Diamonds-Float-Ate Baby Porcupine" finds the band at their most daring, channeling Faith No More, Pixies, and... Live? It's a dynamic run that doesn't always hit, but when it does it works wonders.  "Ate Baby Porcupine" in particular rides some sneaky great guitar work and the band's most hummable hook to Crooked Brain's early peak.

Beginning with "Elephant And The Attic Tern," Side B provides an elongated look at Clementine as rafter-reaching balladeers. Abandoning the experimentation of Side A, the band aims big with a full set of slow-burners with big ideas, stepping away from post-rock and toward straight-up arena rock.

Now, I'm fully aware that some folks may take the term "arena rock" as a criticism, but that's preposterous stance to take. It's especially preposterous when a band is this damn good at it. Toeing the line between personal lyrics and universal sentiment, Clementine aims big and mostly hit their mark. "The Leaves Are Changing Brown" may be the stereotypical "acoustic jam," but it sounds more like a Brand New deep cut than some sort of watered-down R.E.M. cast-off.  Late cuts "Mother's Song" and "In Praise" are nearly 11 minutes total, but while they sort of blend together on first listen, repeated plays reveal hooks that reward patience. And of course, like any great 90's album, the band keeps a killer in the pocket for album closer.  "The Sun It Still Rises" takes the other four songs from Side B and gives them a jolt, speeding up the tempo, doubling down on the riffs, and riding an upward melody to a bit of catharsis.



To be completely honest, Crooked Brain didn't click with me right away. However, that's why I spend a week listening to these albums everyday. Sometimes it takes a while for them to really reveal themselves.  Once I was able to put understand Clementine's strengths (clean sound, universal themes, hooks that turn up like little shots of sunlight through clouds) I found Crooked Brain to be a unique & enjoyable record among the Twin Cities rock scene that doesn't always breed this sort of patience over immediacy and subtlety over volume.

If you'd like to check out Crooked Brain for yourself head on over to Clementine's Bandcamp page. The band is also undertaking a tour of the midwest this summer.  Check out their Facebook page for dates.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62

I'd do the same if I had the chance, cheat the system, rig the race...

Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62!

Thanks for stopping by.  It's been a little while since I did a show where I just straight up played jams so I'm back to the old format for this one: just summer jams and banter for your ears.

Sadly, I'm still flying solo on this one, which means plenty of nasally commentary.  I discuss the tornado that may or may not have rolled through Minneapolis, a new "American Standard," the common ground between Frank Black & Bob Dylan, & the absolute greatest summer jam in the history of summer jams.  I revisit a couple of Flatbasset's Album Of The Week bands, sing the praises of one of the pillars of the Twin Cities hip-hop scene, get nostalgic over one of the great punk rock record labels of all-time, and struggle to connect old episodes of Seinfeld to Canadian hip-hop.  All that plus I celebrate some anniversaries, play my Cover Of The Week, and celebrate one of the most classic of Flatbasset Flatclassics!

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Plums - Parking Lots
02. Holly Miranda - Waves
03. Blueprint - Boombox
04. Frank Black - The Dark End Of The Street
05. Edger - Holy Armour
06. Andrew Broder / Crescent Moon - Palms Up
07. What Tyrants - Dancehall No. 2
08. Sugar Ray - Fly
09. The Potatomen - Sam's Song
10. Felt - Morris Day
11. Lee Ranaldo - Off The Wall
12. Buck 65 - Blood Of A Young Wolf

There you go, everybody!  Thanks for stopping by for some jams!

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: Episode #61 (American Album Hall Of Fame Vol. 1)

The dogs on Main Street howl because they understand...

Well hello again, everybody! Welcome to a very special, very epic two-part edition of Flatbasset Radio!

Folks, it's 4th Of July weekend and, in the spirit of celebrating America's birthday and our long, rich history of over-indulging, I've decided to start a new tradition here on the Flatbasset Radio.  Allow me to welcome you to the inaugural edition of...

THE FLATBASSET RADIO AMERICAN ALBUM HALL OF FAME

That's right, I've decided to start a new 4th Of July tradition of celebrating the glorious melting pot that is American pop culture by inducting albums into my newly-created Hall Of Fame. Now, like any good Hall Of Fame, I've laid out some criteria for the FRAAHOF (or, if you'd like, "Fraaaahoffff").

01. An album must be at least 10 years old to be inducted into the FRAAHOF

02. Only 6 albums per year may be inducted

03. Only 2 of those 6 albums may have been released over 30 years ago

04. No artist can appear in consecutive years

There you go.  Now, I came up with a list of nominations and passed them along to the FRAAHOF Executive Committee* to vote on the inaugural class.

(*Note: I am the only member of the FRAAHOF Executive Committee)

So, without further ado, here are the inaugural entrants into the Flatbasset Radio American Album Hall Of Fame.

                        Lifter Puller                                     Public Enemy

                            Big Star                                                Foo Fighters

                             Aesop Rock                                       Bruce Springsteen

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to the music.  I decided to play three songs each off of these classic albums. As you can imagine, this wasn't easy considering the fact that they wouldn't be Hall Of Fame Albums if they weren't packed with great songs.

Give the show a listen if you have a lot of time to kill and would live to re-visit these Hall Of Fame records.  As always, the show's free.  Just click the Mixcloud player below and enjoy!

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #61-A (American Album Hall Of Fame Vol. 1) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Lonely In A Limousine
02. Nice, Nice
03. The Flex And The Buff Result

04. Rebel Without A Pause
05. Louder Than A Bomb
06. Don't Believe The Hype

07. When My Baby's Beside Me
08. In The Street
09. The Ballad Of El Goodo








That's the first half.  If you dig it, have a go at the second half.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #61-B (American Album Hall Of Fame Vol. 1) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. This Is A Call
02. Big Me
03. Oh, George

04. No Regrets
05. 9-5ers Anthem
06. Daylight

07. Prove It All Night
08. Streets Of Fire
09. The Promised Land









There you have it, folks. America: #1.  Happy 4th!

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: 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