Album Of The Week: "What A Drag" by The Person & The People

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 24th-30th, 2014:

The Person & The People - What A Drag

01. I Get Weird
02. Unwind
03. Vitamin C
04. Don't Fear The Richard
05. Give Me More
06. What You Do
07. Human Blimp Sees Flying Saucer
08. Brooklyn
09. Wrong Way
10. Year Long Drought
11. NYC FREAKOUT
12. Run

For the second week in a row here at Planet New Basset I'm dipping my toes back into St. Paul's bustling power-pop scene.

Hopefully some of you remember The Person & The People.  I spent a week with their EP Zen And The Art Of Popular Music during the first week of January this year as an AOTW.  Going back and reading what I wrote in that post I was surprised that I'd closed it out by saying "The Person & The People's St. Paul power-pop party! Alliteration, bitches!"  Way to go, start of 2014 me.

Anyway, I mentioned in that column that I'd found my way to TP&P when their song "I Was Wrong" turned up as a Current Song Of The Day.  That song was a straight-up rocker and I loved it unconditionally.  Curiously, when I went back and checked out Zen And The Art Of Popular Music (the EP that preceded "I Was Wrong") I was surprised to find that the band's sound was less straight ahead power pop and much more expansive.  The band had a habit of winding its way toward their hooks in a way that sometimes made the EP sound longer than its 24 minutes (though "Blue Haze" is a stone cold classic).



At that point I assumed that "I Was Wrong" was probably an outlier in the band's catalog, just a one-off genre exercise.  And yet, here we have What A Drag, an absolute rocker of an album.  Imagine if Superdrag defied all known scientific knowledge and impregnated Sloan. That's where we're at with What A Drag.



On this album the band continues their Benjamin Button-esque trajectory, shedding the jazzier layers of their early work and aiming straight for the pleasure center of the brain.  From start to finish What A Drag is packed with more hooks than a bait shop.  The lyrics range from indignant to saccharine to angry to exhausted, the verses swing, the choruses soar, and the production is clean & crisp.  It's just about everything you could want from a power-pop album.  Take a listen to album closer "Run" up above.  Everything that's great about TP&P is summed up in that 1:45.

What A Drag is available via Land Ski Records and on The Person & The People's Bandcamp page.  I highly suggest you pick it up in time to include it on your "Best Of 2014" lists.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #50

What ya'll really waaaant? What ya'll really waaaant?

Well hello again, free music fans!  Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #50!

That's right, everybody, we've reached 50 episodes of this damn show.  Before I get into what actually happens on this show I want to say thanks to everybody for tuning in and making this a worthwhile endeavor for this long.  Yes, it's kind of a completely arbitrary thing since I would've done this show whether anybody was listening or not, but it would have been much less fulfilling if you good folks hadn't listened to it.  Thank you.

Both appropriately and unfortunately I'm flying solo on this episode.  No MinneSarah on this episode, so my crap-tacular microphone and I are bringing the show back to its roots: playing stone cold jams while ranting like a lunatic.  Good stuff.  In this episode I discuss just how difficult it is to fuck up Big Star songs, celebrate St. Paul's finest power-pop band, confess to my very limited vocabulary, play a mini-set of Thanksgiving jams, attempt to figure out why Beck keeps turning up on the podcast, praise the value of gravy as it relates to Thanksgiving dinner, rattle of a list of things I'm thankful for this year and, importantly, rattle of a second list of things I am not thankful for, take full advantage of the one and only benefit of MinneSarah taking the week off, decide it's completely normal to have a "soft rock phase" in your early 30's, and go full cornball while bringing a tradition back to the show. All that plus the Cover Of The Week & The Flatbasset Flatclassic!

As always, this episode is available to download or stream.  Just click the episode title below for a download link or click on the Mixcloud player below to stream.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #50

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #50 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. The Persian Leaps - Fire Starter
02. Mr Twin Sister - Blush
03. Run The Jewels - Early (w/Boots)
04. Girlpool - Thirteen
05. Bad Religion - Lost Pilgrim
06. Beck - Nicotine & Gravy
07. William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer
08. Indians - I Am Haunted
09. Hall & Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette
10. Flowmack - DMX's Little Secret
11. American Scarecrows - Gods Of The West
12. Descendents - Thank You

Happy Thanksgiving!

For more of my rantings you can give me 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: "Drive Drive Delay" by The Persian Leaps

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 17th-23rd, 2015:

The Persian Leaps - Drive Drive Delay

01. Fire Starter
02. Pretty Boy
03. (Goodbye To) South Carolina
04. Truth = Consequences
05. Permission

Who's ready for some power pop!?!

Hopefully you all remember The Persian Leaps.  I wrote about their last EP, the excellent Praise Elephants as my Album Of The Week almost a year ago. I also played their song "Hard Feelings" as part of a three song local set way back on Flatbasset Radio: Episode #24.  Basically, if you follow the Flatbasset world at all you should know these guys.

Drive Drive Delay is an interesting turn for the band.  Back when I was writing about Praise Elephants I mentioned that the band sounded like the Gin Blossoms and that I meant that as a compliment.  Drive Drive Delay is still laden with the kind of pop hooks that remind me of the 90's, however, Drew Forsberg and the boys have removed a layer of sheen from the proceedings.  Drive Drive Delay is a little bit louder and a little bit more raw than its predecessor.  These texture of these songs has more in common with Guided By Voices or Archers Of Loaf than they do Gin Blossoms.

Now, lots of bands have decided to strip back their sound and take on a more straight ahead punk edge.  What makes this development interesting in the case of The Persian Leaps is that removing that layer of gloss has actually revealed more depth in Forsberg's songs.  Little guitar fills turn up, backup vocals become more noticeable, the drums hit harder, and the songs sound much more like the work of a band firing on all cylinders in the same room.

Forsberg's also grown as a songwriter.  Part of what made Praise Elephants so instantly enjoyable was the way the songs seemed instantly familiar.  Here Forsberg still traffics in instantly hum-able hooks, but also finds more little left turns.  Both "Fire Starter" and "Pretty Boy" are kiss-off tracks delivered with beautifully Midwestern passive aggressiveness.  "(Goodbye To) South Carolina" features an almost deadpan delivery before building launching into all-out guitars on the chorus.  Album closer "Permission" is the most ambitious song the band has put to tape yet.  Taking his foot off the gas pedal Forsberg crafts a mid-tempo rocker that finds its energy in elongated washes of guitar.  Lyrically he turns the tables on the angry guy from the album's opening tracks, riding the song out with the lyrics, "She said, she said, I don't need your permission."  It's a surprising turn to close the album and the best example yet of The Persian Leaps coming into their own.  With two stellar EP's in the bank it's hard not to be excited to find out what they do next.

Drive Drive Delay was released on Drew Forsberg's new Land Ski Records label.  It's available on The Persian Leaps Bandcamp page.  You should really look into it.

Album Of The Week: "Run The Jewels 2" by Run The Jewels

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 3rd-9th:

Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2

01. Jeopardy
02. Oh My Darling Don't Cry
03. Blockbuster Night Part 1
04. Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) (w/Zack De La Rocha)
05. All My Life
06. Lie Cheat Steal
07. Early (w/Boots)
08. All Due Respect (w/Travis Barker)
09. Love Again (Akinyele Back) (w/Gangsta Boo)
10. Crown (w/Diane Coffee)
11. Angel Duster

So I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring on this one.

Look, there's nothing I can say about Run The Jewels 2 that hasn't been covered by, almost literally, every other music website on the internet.  Stereogum had their profile of Killer Mike & El-P.  Pitchfork had theirs too.  Rave reviews have been written from the largest websites to the smallest blogs.  It's all been covered.

If, incredibly, this is the first you've read about Run The Jewels 2, here's the skinny.  El-P and Killer Mike teamed up a couple years ago for Run The Jewels and it was fucking legendary.  On the backs of two of their best solo albums (El-P's Cancer For Cure & Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music), the two teamed up for a tour, bonded, and decided it would be fun to release a shit-talking album together.  It worked out so well that, suddenly, Mike & El are having the peak years of their respective careers at the age of 39, certainly a first in the youth-oriented world of hip-hop.

RTJ2 picks up where RTJ left off.  The shit talking is still epic, however, the act has grown both lyrically and personnel-wise.  El-P & Killer Mike spend time on this album exploring their own troubled pasts, the state of the union, and the state of hip-hop with both smirks and fists firmly in tow.  As you can see form the track listing above, they weren't short on talented musicians eager to contribute to the group.

All things considered, RTJ & RTJ2 have been wild successes.

Now, let me digress just a bit.  I'd like to present you with a little anecdote from the other day.

I got to work the other day and a co-worker of mine says, "Hey man, have you heard that new Run The Jewels yet?"

"I have," I replied.  "It's my Album Of The Week on my blog."

"Nice."

A few hours later, we're chatting again.  I ask him, "Hey, didn't I try to get you to listen to El-P's stuff a while back?"

"I don't know.  Obviously it didn't really work.  Isn't he more of a producer?"

SCENE

Now, here's why I bring this little anecdote up.  I came to Run The Jewels (and R.A.P. Music) as an El-P junkie.  As such I've thoroughly enjoyed the Run The Jewels album and the subsequent widespread success El-P has found.

(And please, make no mistake, I don't wish El-P would stay an underground secret forever.  I'm genuinely thrilled that one of the most uniquely talented rapper/producers ever is finally getting his due.)

What concerns me is that a whole new audience of people is just finding out about El-P via Run The Jewels and, perhaps much like my co-worker, view him as "more of a producer."  Will those people go back through the catalog and discover Cancer For Cure, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, Fantastic Damage, & Funcrusher Plus?  Undoubtedly, yes, some of them will.  And that will be awesome.

But part of what made those albums so special (and make no mistake, they are some of the best albums of my lifetime, with ISWYD easily in the top five regardless of genre) is that they seemed to be singuluar, long-gestating dispatches from a man out of step with the world.  El-P obsessed over those records like a conspiracy theorist poring over newspaper clippings.  They stand as invaluable snapshots of the bizarre post-9/11/pre-Snowden days that we're just now emerging from. Now that he's finally getting the success he deserves, is that artist gone?  I mean, honestly, could El-P ever afford to take five years off between LP's again?  It seems unlikely and, more importantly, like a bad idea from both a relevancy & financial standpoint.  All of which is a shame since everything that's happened post-Snowden has proven that El-P wasn't crazy, but that he was actually the most sane man in the room.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it seems like that second act of El-P's career has come to an end and, from a very, very selfish perspective, that's a shame.  I'm know that El would much rather spend his forties making music with his friends and making money than hunkered down in Brooklyn sending out rattled, coded, 75 minute manifestos every five years, but those manifestos were fantastic, special albums.  Sad to see that chapter close.

If you'd like to check out Run The Jewels 2 it's available as a free download from the Run The Jewels website. Be sure to pick that up.  And be sure to listen to I'll Sleep When You're Dead.  The second half is mind-blowing.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #49 (Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 2)

She's got tofu the size of Texas...

Well hello again, podcast fans!  Welcome to a special edition of Flatbasset Radio!

For those of you who are longtime listeners of the show, most of what I'm about to say will be redundant.  Sorry.  Thanks for being longtime listeners. For those of you who are new to the show, here's what you're looking at this week.

I have a buddy named Nick (aka Young Sandwich).  Now, Nick and I don't always agree on music or sports or food or alcohol or... well... lots of things.  Regardless, he's my dude and he's always trying to turn me on to new music.  Now, most of the time that "new" music consists of old music made by dead or nearly dead people (I see you, Neil Young).

Over the past year Nick's passed on a couple of USB drives worth of music that he thought I should check out.  Of course, being in my early 30's, I have trouble doing anything without sharing it on the internet.  I figured hell, since I have a radio show, I may as well explore these songs with a little help from my friends.  Back in July Nick passed along his first USB full of songs, which I listened to, evaluated, and sequenced into a show that became Flatbasset Radio: Episode #41 (Young Sandwich's USB Mix).  To date it stands as the most popular show Flatbasset Radio's ever produced.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #41 (Young Sandwich's USB Mix) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

Emboldened by the success of his first mix, Nick loaded up a second USB with songs he thought I should check out.  There was just one problem: the first USB had just enough songs to put together a show.  This second USB had a whopping 56 songs! 56! That's a lot of songs to sort through (especially when I was unfamiliar with nearly all the artists).

To make things a little easier on myself, I split the songs into bite size chunks.  Five songs per week, each receiving two spins.  Math being math, I reached the halfway point about six weeks after receiving the USB.  Again, being completely unable to just enjoy something myself, I decided to go through those first 28 songs, trim them down to an hour worth of music, and assemble them into a show.  Voila!  Flatbasset Radio: Episode #45 (Young Sandiwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 1), a particularly gonzo mix of songs that nobody (myself included) ever expected to hear on the show.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #45 (Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 1) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

As you probably gathered by the title of that episode, there was an Autumn Mix Pt. 2 coming. Well, today's the day.  Again, I've spent five weeks going through the remaining songs, chopped them down into about an hour of music, assembled them into a show, and present them here for your enjoyment.

Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 2 is, again, a pretty gonzo affair.  It's worth noting that, according to the man himself, the songs that make up the second half of that USB were picked as he eased into beers number 5 & 6.  It's a crazy mixture of East Coast rap, Venezuelan funk, old Grand Royal records, dead jazzbos, English hard rock, Southern rap, spaced out indie doo-wop, and a heartbreaking turn from Tom Waits.  It's a fantastic show if I do say so myself.  Good work, Young Sandwich.

As always, this episode is available to download or stream.  Just click the episode title below for a download link or click on the Mixcloud player below to stream.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #49 (Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 2)

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #49 (Young Sandwich's Autumn Mix Pt. 2) by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Devo - S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)
02. RZA - Lab Drunk
03. Los Amigos Invisibles - Ultra Funk
04. Ween - Drifter In The Dark
05. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Salvation And Reminiscing
06. Guru - Take A Look (At Yourself)
07. Beastie Boys - Futterman's Rule
08. Tom Waits - Soldier's Things
09. Black Sabbath - Am I Going Insane (Radio)
10. Taj Mahal - Cajun Waltz
11. Beck - Nitemare Hippie Girl
12. Beastie Boys - Tough Guy
13. Outkast - Movin' Cool (The After Party)

Boom! Companion pieces for nearly two hours of Autumn music! Enjoy!

For more of my rantings you can give me 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: October '14

October was a long, long month.  Here's the 50 albums that were most played here at Planet New Basset:

(Larger picture indicates more plays)

01. Franz Diego - Float (91 plays)

02. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2 (59  plays)

03. Sims - Field Notes (49 plays)

04. Rogue Valley - Geese In The Flyway (37 plays)

05. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (36 plays)

06. Babyshambles - Down In Albion (30 plays)

07. Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth (30 plays)

08. The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone (26 plays)

09. Buck 65 - Heck (26 plays)

10. Alkaline Trio - Goddamnit (25  plays)

11. The Beatles - Let It Be (24 plays)

12. Sean Na Na - Dance 'Til Your Baby Is A Man (20 plays)

13. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (20 plays)

14. The Persian Leaps - Live On Radio K (20 plays)

15. Hollow Boys - Live On Radio K (2011) (20 plays)

16. The Clash - London Calling (19 plays)

17. Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On (19 plays)

18. Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues (18 plays)

19. Eyedea & Abilities - First Born (18 plays)

20. Hall & Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette (18 plays)

21. Rancid - Rancid (1993) (16 plays)

22. Heaven For Real - Wanton (16 plays)

23. Sonic Youth - Dirty (15 plays)

24. MK Ultra - MK Ultra (15 plays)

25. Everclear - Sparkle & Fade (14 plays)

26. Ian Camau - Cocoons (14 plays)

27. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (13 plays)

28. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (12 plays)

29. The Coral - The Invisible Invasion (12 plays)

30. The Potatomen - Now (12 plays)

31. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (12 plays)

32. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology (12 plays)

33. El-P - Cancer For Cure (12 plays)

34. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots (12 plays)

35. Mally- The Colors Of Black (12 plays)

36. Sloan - Between The Bridges (11 plays)

37. The Lemonheads - The Lemonheads (11 plays)

38. P.O.S. - We Don't Even Live Here (11 plays)

39. The Velvet Underground -The Velvet Underground (10 plays)

40. The Beatles - Anthology 1 (10 plays)

41. Dark Time Sunshine - Cornucopia (10 plays)

42. Drag The River - Hobo's Demos (10 plays)

43. Radiohead - In Rainbows (10 plays)

44. Howler - World Of Joy (10 plays)

45. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation (9 plays)

46. Spirit Club - Spirit Club (9 plays)

47. The Current - October '14 (8 plays)

48. Bad Cop - Wish You Well... And Goodbye (7 plays)

49. TV On The Radio - Seeds (7 plays)

50. Big Cats! - Island Universes (7 plays)

All info via my Last.fm account. Stop by to keep track of everything we're listening to here at Planet New Basset.

Photo via Don't Drink And Root