Flatbasset - June '09

Here it is folks. Only 8 days late. I was feeling upbeat, summer songs, so I didn't dig too deep. Chances are you already know at least 4 of these songs. That doesn't make them any worse, though. Play this one loud in your car.

Flatbasset - June '09

Click on it, type in the letters and numbers, you know how this goes.

Flatbasset - June '09 Track List

01. Graham Parker & The Rumour - Discovering Japan

I actually got turned on to Graham Parker in a very roundabout way. Back at my old job we were doing Secret Santa one year and one of my co-workers who astutely noticed that I read books, bought me a couple books from a dollar bin. One of them was a collection of short stories by Graham Parker entitled Carp Fishing On Valium. It's just a bunch of short stories about growing up and living in England. Not the most exciting book I've ever read, but charming in its own way. Kind of like a wide-angle Fred Basset strip. Anyways, turns out nothing gets written about Graham Parker without mentioning the album Squeezing Out Sparks. Well, a cult-classic British album from the late 70's? Twist my arm why don't you? I tracked it down and found it thoroughly enjoyable. Parker draws lots of comparisons to Elvis Costello, both good and bad. It seems that he's put out a few great albums and plenty of clunkers in which he dabbles in other genres. Believe it or not, I haven't pursued those yet.

A quick note for my friends in MN, Parker plays a free annual Bastille Day show on the Brit's Pub lawn. It's usually just him and an acoustic guitar. Why a British guy would travel halfway around the world to play at a faux-British Pub on Bastille Day is beyond me. Just one of the perks of living in MPLS, I suppose.

02. Jeff Hanson - If I Only Knew

I put this one on here because Jeff Hanson died a couple of weeks ago in St. Paul. By all accounts he was a very friendly and well-respected fellow. If memory serves, Sarah interviewed him a couple of years ago of the UW music pages. Unfortunately, she's not here to give me any of her impressions.

03. The Cribs - My Life Flashed Before My Eyes

Sarah and I caught The Cribs last summer at the Varsity Theatre and they definitely lived up to the quality of their records. Drunken, shambolic, unpredictable... They tore through a version of "Bastards Of Young" that really got the crowd into it. They also called Babes In Toyland their favorite Twin Cities band. Also, if memory serves, I was told they covered "Princess & The Pony" while touring with Sean Na Na. If nothing else, this band has fantastic taste. Both The New Fellas and Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever are stellar, sloppy British punk albums that should definitely have a spot in your collection. Since their last album (Men's Needs...) they've added Johnny Marr to their lineup and promised a more mature sound. I love Johnny Marr (I mean, he does turn up later in this mix), but a "mature" Cribs albums sounds like a terrible idea.

Sidenote: If you ever want to see me make an ass of myself (I mean, y'know, moreso), get some alcohol in me and put one of the two aformentioned records on. I am incapable of hearing them while drinking and not singing along like I'm in a pub in Wakefield. It's not pretty.

04. Sugar Ray - Fly

I don't know how many of you are the right age to remember this, but every year from about 1998 to 2003, Sugar Ray would unveil a new single/album for the summer. These were such a guilty pleasure for an aspring punk like I me, but they were some fantastic songs. "Fly," "Someday," "When It's Over..." These songs are all brilliant little pop gems. Anyway, it wouldn't be summer without Sugar Ray.

05. Nellie McKay - The Dog Song

A song written by a quirky vegan New Yorker claiming that hounds can cure everything from rampant profanity to alcoholism? How could I not love this song?

I played this record while Sarah was home the other night and she couldn't believe it. She said it sounded like "showtunes" or "cabaret," which, I suppose, is true. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed just about everything Nellie McKay has released.

06. Talking Heads - Lifetime Piling Up

I'm no Talking Heads junkie. The only album I own is Sand In The Vanseline, a career retrospective that came out 18 years ago. This album is chronological and if I've learned one lesson from chronological greatest hits records, it's that the quality usually decreases the nearer you get to the end. That's true with this album, with this exception. Seems to me that this one was maybe one last gasp to remind everyone how great a band they once were before they burned out.

07. Jake One (w/Freeway & Brother Ali) - The Truth

This was a Current "Song Of The Day" a while back and, much like a 13 year old suburbanite, I just had to go to the store to buy the unedited version. White Van Music is basically a complilation album produced by Jake One and featuring a ton of good MC's (from De La Soul to Slug to Young Buck to DOOM to Busta Rhymes). The beats are all stellar. This album makes me miss owning a car.

Sidenote to Pheezy: Freeway (Philadelphia), Brother Ali (Minneapolis), and Jake One (Seattle)? This should be your theme song!

08. Wilco - Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Back before Wilco became "the American Radiohead" they were just a really, really good; forward thinking alt-country band. Don't get me wrong, I love pretty much their whole catalog, but they haven't sounded like they're actually having this much fun since Being There. Plus, tell me this one doesn't fit the "summer song" theme of this mix?

09. Dan Deacon - Snake Mistakes

Believe it or not, a couple of months ago I actually got a little bored with indie rock and hip-hop. I know, I didn't think it could happen either! So, in my desperation for something new, I downloaded a couple of Dan Deacon records (Spiderman Of The Rings & Bromst). I'm not really a fan of electronic records, but I needed a change of pace. Anyway, I wasn't sure an electronic album would be able to hold my attention (I always lose interest in Daft Punk albums after about 4 songs), but these two albums are actually pretty great. There's enough going on to hold your interest and enough left field sing alongs to make it fun.

I've heard that Dan Deacon live shows are more a circus then a concert. I read a review of his recent show at the Triple Rock and, apparently, at one point a giant conga line went from the stage through the bar, outside the bar door and back into the venue door. Good times.

10. Exit Clov - Sing Your Life

In celebration of Morrissey's 50th birthday last month, music blog TheMusicSlut had a bunch of indie groups record covers of Moz/Smiths songs and then gave them away over the course of the month. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the covers varies greatly. I thought this version of "Sing Your Life" (a vastly underrated Mozzer single) was just too charming not to share. Apparently Exit Clov is a SF-based psych-pop group fronted by two asian girls. Adorable!

TheMusicSlut is one of only two music blogs that I check daily (Culture Bully being the other). Definitely a nice site to stay up on things. Check it out if you get a minute. http://www.themusicslut.com/

11. The Replacements - I'm In Trouble

Oh Paul Westerberg... Such an asshole.

12. Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak (w/P.O.S.) - Shux

In "Savion Glover" P.O.S. raps, "Smoking on kush made cats so apathetic/Can't beat 'em with a bat so we join 'em and spit the ethics." What P.O.S. meant by "ethics" is the DIY punk rock ethics that he grew up on and that the MPLS hip-hop scene has embraced to great success. This track off Hand Over Fist (which, if you haven't already, you should ABSOLUTELY pick up. In a year where Cecil Otter, Doomtree, and Atmosphere put out career-defining albums, this one was the best) is just an extension of those ethics. "We don't need no egos to be dope we just need a couch to crash on." Is this hip-hop or a H2O record? Good stuff.

13. Modest Mouse - Missed The Boat

This is a track that you've all probably heard enough times. Well, make your own mix. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank was released within a month or two of my initial move to Uptown. I used to blast this record with the windows down while I was shooting down 35W trying to get to work on time. The whole album is such a "summer in Uptown" album to me. Nothing but warm memories. Also, this track always makes Phil cringe. He knows why.

14. Outkast - Behold A Lady

Poor Andre 3000... Here he is trying to pull a decent girl while Paul Westerberg just tosses them aside. Life's tough, homey.

15. Kaiser Chiefs - You Can Have It All

This is pretty much the only track I enjoyed off the Kaiser Chief's first album Employment. I think it has a nice summer vibe. I love that looping synthesizer line that flows through the song.

Just for fun, here's a couple of Noel Gallagher quotes regarding Kaiser Chiefs:

"I did drugs for 18 years and I never got that bad as to say, 'You know what? I think the Kaiser Chiefs are brilliant'."

"I'm right into the Blur reunion, 'cause it'll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs" and put them to bed. There's nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I'm bang into the Blur reunion."

Ha! That Noel. He's something special.

16. Atmosphere - Horny Ponycorn Horns

Margo Basset - She plays her horn!
Mack & Pee Wee - They play their horns!
Theodore Lawson - He plays his horn!
Joey Owen - He plays his horn!
Domino & Penny - They played their horns!
Tasha & Pinkerton - They play their horns!
Mikey Westphall - He plays his horn!
Buster & Rico - They play their horns!
Trixie & Soggy - They played their horns!
Hammy & Sherlock -They played their horns!

Some Things Will Always Be Great...

Last week The Mercury Lounge was declared an "irony-free" zone as Art Brut was in town for a week long residency. Thanks to an uncharacteristic amount of foresight, I managed to talk Sarah into buying tickets for the last night of the stand months ago.

I've actually seen Art Brut once before, when they were the openers for The Hold Steady at The State Theatre in Minneapolis. That was a fun show, but The State is waaaaay too big a venue to enjoy this band. However, The Mercury Lounge is about the size of the Triple Rock, which is a pretty small space for a band that has gotten fairly big.

This isn't technically a review, so it's going to be a bit scattered.

First, there was a couple of guys billed as "DJ's" providing music in between sets. I don't recall the name of these two jerk offs, but they were the saddest excuse for DJs I've ever seen (and I'm immediately skeptical of anyone calling themself as a DJ). There were two turntables, but zero vinyl, merely one cord plugged into the table and two guys with iPods. Two iPods, one plug. They actually took turns. And, evidently, neither one of them as ever used an iPod before, because they had the volume all the way up, distorting everything into a fuzzed out mess. AND they would randomly switch songs in the middle (again, a real DJ does this on turntables, sequencing and fading songs into each other. This was just a full stop, followed by a new song). Have you ever been in a car with someone who was hellbent on playing songs for you, so they just keep clicking new songs and you can't tell what you're listening too? Don't you hate that guy? Actually, that rings a little close to home... I digress...

So, if you've ever heard an Art Brut record (and if you've downloaded my podcasts, you have) it's easy to see how well these songs can translate live. The show was an absolute blast. Lots of energy (despite this being the fifth night) and lots of fun.

I was surprised by how much personality the rest of this band has. The show would have lacked quite a bit if it was just Eddie Argos doing his post-Jarvis Cocker strut, but each member of the band was fun to watch and didn't seem at all like Eddie's "backing band."

Here's the track list (sorry, it's not in order) followed by whatever random Eddie Argos quotes I can remember about/during/relating to each song:

Alcoholics Unanimous ("I can no longer just shout for coffee and tea when I'm hungover. All my friends think I'm just singing now.")

Rusted Gun Of Milan ("Here's a song about how bad I am at sex.")

What A Rush ("I've since overcome my sexual problems. Here's a song about that.")

DC Comics & Chocolate Milkshake ("Even though I'm nearly 30!")

The Passenger ("I used to think Iggy Pop's 'The Passenger' was about riding the bus but then I found out it was about doing heroin in a limousine. So I thought I should write a song about how much I love riding the bus. Here's the real 'The Passenger.'")

Demons Out! (Everyone should go out and start a band. Look how much fun we're having! Look at our faces! We're all hungover, but we're having loads of fun! Here's three reasons you should start a band: 1. More records in record shops 2. It's loads of fun 3. If you don't, I'll kick your head in!)

Slap Dash For No Cash ("My sex...is on fire...My SEX is on fire!...Am I human or am I dancer? Millions of dollars and this is the best they could come up with?!?)

Summer Job

Formed A Band ("Then we're going to write the song that brings the Indians and Pakis together. Easy Peasy.")

My Little Brother ("He's downloaded nothing but bootlegs and B-sides. He burned them onto a CD, which he then taped and gave to me." Absolute crowd favorite. Everybody was loving it.)

Emily Kane ("I've actually met Emily now. She's got a boyfriend and I've got a girlfriend, so we're both happy in our own way, but this song helped me meet her. Can you believe it? So this song in no long about Emily Kane, but about the power of rock n roll." Also, the fade out featured Argos singing "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out." Clever.)

Modern Art (Actually performed twice, first as "DC Comics Makes Me Want To Rock Out." He prefaced this new version with a story of going to the DC offices and how great it was. "Of course, I phoned my mum right afterward and I was very excited. 'I've just gone to the DC Comics headquarters!' To which my mum replied, 'Oh that's nice. Did you meet Spiderman then?'"

Good Weekend (Still very enthusiastic about seeing this girl naked twice. Twice!)

Bad Weekend

St. Pauli (Allegedly this wasn't on the set list. A couple of superfans who had been there all week got them to play it.)

Nag Nag Nag Nag

"On the bass guitar: Art Brut!"
"On the lead guitar: Art Brut!"
"On rhythm guitar: Art Brut!"
"And on drums: Art Brut!"

So that's it. I was actually a little disappointed they didn't play a little more from It's A Bit Complicated, but that's minor complaint. If they turn up in your city, be sure to catch them.

Oh yeah, and one quick piss off to the hipsters standing behind us who acted too cool to buy into the "encore" routine. "Oh yeah, I'm going to cheer. Like they're not coming back out." Art Brut returns, "Oh yeah! Three more songs!" Listen, we all know it's kind of ridiculous, but just shut the fuck up. You're not more clever then the rest of us for realizing they'd probably come back out regardless of the amount of applause. If it bothers you that much, just leave after the intial set. Or vote with your dollars and don't go to shows featuring bands who perform encores. Or better yet, stay the fuck in Williamsburg and just be too cool for any show that's in a proper venue.