Flatbasset Radio: Episode #88

You don't really care for music, do you?

Well, hello everybody! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #88!

It's been a while. How was your November? Celebratory? Terrifying? Little of column A, little of column B?

I'm sorry I was away for the whole month. As I mentioned in the previous post, November is an especially exhausting month for those of us in the retail industry. As you can imagine, December is as well, so I really wanted to make sure I got a show up before I was drowning in work again.

As always, huge thanks to everybody who checked out the last episode. I'm really proud of that one, so thanks to everybody who listened to it online or scooped up a copy at Reverie, The Fetus, or Cheapo. Hopefully you dug it.

This week's episode is yet another banter-free episode. Honestly, these shows turn out much better if my literal voice isn't involved, so I think we'll just roll with it until I get the urge to speak again. As you've likely noticed, I still manage to type out several thousand words about each show, so if you really want the story behind the mix, give it a read.

In this week's show we celebrate some anniversaries of straight-up classic albums, play some Minneapolis funk & soul, loop some tapes, check out a new(ish) voice in Twin Cities hip-hop, dive into some indie rock, re-visit one of the most consistently brilliant voices in Twin Cities hip-hop, get lost in some beats, and mourn the loss of an icon. All this plus the Cover Of The Week & the 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 #88 (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 Flatbasset Radio: Ep. #88 plays out:

01. Star Magnet - Dreaming

Decided to start of this week's show with a bit of an unknown. As I've mentioned many times before, when an artist decides to give me a follow on Twitter or Facebook I'll usually take a minute to check out their stuff. Is this a preposterous way to find out about new music? Yes. Is it a shame that bands have to play this game? Also, yes. But these are crazy times, my friends.

Anyway, Star Magnet started following me on Twitter so I hit up their Bandcamp page to see what they were all about. When I saw that they were signed to Camaraderie Records my expectations jumped significantly. Fortunately, their Quarter Moon EP more than met them. As you can hear on "Dreaming," their sound is a mix of shoe-gaze & power-pop. There's something beautifully unhurried about the way they let their hooks unfurl. Not re-inventing the wheel as much as just slowing it down and enjoying it.

02. DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World

Incredibly, it's been 20 years since DJ Shadow's masterpiece Endtroducing... was released to a bewildered audience. Honestly, I could have played any song from the album on the show and it would have fit in seamlessly, such is the malleability of Shadow's work. Listening to the album now, it's staggering to think that he constructed this whole thing without the use of computers. Just samplers and keyboards. Despite all the advancements in technology (and with respect to J Dilla), it's still arguably the high-water mark for sample-based music as an entire cohesive album.

03. Brand New - Not The Sun

Another anniversary for you. This time we're revisiting Brand New's 3rd LP The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me on the occasion of its 10th. I'll tell you, it warms my heart the way Brand New has been embraced by the rock world since this album came out. Back in 2006 it was becoming clear that many of the of-the-moment emo bands were going to be relegated to the dustbin of history (when was the last time you listened to The Used?). Anyway, I always thought Brand New & Taking Back Sunday, two bands who will be linked forever, were making music that had staying power. While history hasn't been as kind to TBS (though I'll still ride for Tell All Your Friends & Where You Want To Be), Brand New mounted a tour this year playing TDAGARIM in its entirety. The record just holds up.

"Not The Sun" has always been the late album highlight for me. This is a heavy, dark album made by men in dark places in their lives. There's something about the hook and the little touch of falsetto in "Not The Sun" that makes me want to move my hips rather than my head.

04. ZuluZuluu - Fall Behind

Newly-minted Picked-2-Click winners in this year's City Pages poll, ZuluZuluu seem to have the Twin Cities at their fingertips. It's sadly appropriate that the year Prince died was the same year that the "Minneapolis Sound" made a full-fledged comeback. Their EP wasn't my favorite thing released this year, but "Fall Behind" is an absolute stunner, letting the rhythm section drive the sound while keyboards & guitars freak the funk out over the top.

05. Lightning Seeds - Ready Or Not

It would be an understatement to say that the Lightning Seeds are not particularly well-known in America. Hell, I was a kids who grew up on 120 Minutes and was predisposed to embracing British music and I had never heard of them until 2003 when a friend of mine put one of their songs on a mix CD for me.

Well, consider this paying it forward. My friend has put the song "You Bet Your Life" on that mix and I enjoyed it so much that I eventually scooped up its parent album Dizzy Heights. That album is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, so here we are. Some quick Googling shows that "Ready Or Not" was a Top 20 single in England in 1996. And here I thought I'd dug up some lost gem.

06. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Hold on, let me explain...

Yes, pretty much everybody is sick to death of "Hallelujah" covers. Even this one. And yet here we are.

Now, as you hopefully noted in the preceding 87 episodes, I play a Cover Of The Week each week. Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is the absolute definition of a cover version transcending the original (don't @ me, Cohen stans. We'll talk about the man in a bit). Pretty much every terrible cover of "Hallelujah" is a cover of Buckley's version and nobody even comes close. Their are essentially only two versions of this song - Cohen's & Buckley's. If I was ever going to play this as COTW, this was the time.

For many people (myself included) this was the introduction into Leonard Cohen. In the mid-90's, all I knew of him was this cover & a stray line in "Pennyroyal Tea." Like it or hate it, Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah" will always be the gateway to Leonard Cohen. It was true of my generation and true of the generation of The O.C. fans that followed me.

Second, fuck, man, it stands up. It's no secret why the Buckley version of this song has become an new standard. Still a staggering performance.

07. Phatnumber - Long Road (Road Trip)

Full disclosure: Phatnumber is a friend of mine. That said, did you listen to this beat? It's no easy task to find the right track to follow that Buckley showstopper, but I think this does the trick brilliantly.

08. Posh Lost - Waiting

Posh Lost used to be known as Gloss. I've loved their fragile, indie-pop sound so, so much. Both "Ian's Dream" & "Front Porch" stand as brilliant singles. All Johnny Marr guitars & Stuart Murdoch vocals and oh, God, I still love them so much...

However, as a wise man once said, love makes you dumb. I loved Gloss so much that I was not immediately receptive to their re-emergence as Posh Lost. On their self-titled debut album they are definitely still taking their cues from Mancunian icons, this time finding their groove in the sounds of Joy Division. I spent a week with the album earlier this year and didn't stick, however, re-visiting it now as we wrap up 2016 I've definitely come around on their new sound.

(CC: Josh Olson - this one's for you. I didn't vote in Picked 2 Click, but if I had, I would have voted for the record)

09. Dwynell Roland - Eva Change

Admittedly I didn't know a thing about Dwynell Roland until just a month ago. My ear is not as close to the streets as I may have led you to believe.

His new EP The Popular Nobody flooded my Twitter timeline upon its release and I was compelled to check it out. It has features from P.O.S, Finding Novyon, Dem Atlas, & Devon Reason, but those are just a bonus. Listen to "Eva Change" and tell me Roland isn't capable of carrying his sound all by himself.

10. Jarvis Cocker - Tonite

I suppose any Jarvis Cocker solo album was always destined to be a bit of a footnote in the man's career. That's fair, I suppose. The legacy of Pulp is only matched by a few other British bands over the last 30 years. The ten year anniversary of the release of his debut solo album Jarvis is definitely reason enough to revisit the record. He certainly isn't reinventing himself on the record, but let's be honest, Jarvis Cocker is probably the last person who should reinvent himself.

11. c.Kostra - Heart To Heart

With the release of c.Kostra's full-length Now I Feel It Pytch Records completes their 2016 hat trick. On the heels of excellent LP's from Devata Daun & Garrison Grouse, Ryan Olcott reinvents himself yet again, this time as a pop star from a different dimension, crooning semi-audible melodies over tape loops that sound like your hard drive is about to crash. I've played a bunch of Pytch songs on the show this year, so consider "Heart To Heart" a victory lap. They had a hell of a year.

12. Lady Midnight - Come (Come And See Me)

If you go back to Flatbasset Radio: Ep. #86 you'll find a song by I Self Devine & Muja Messiah called "Midnight On Jupiter" from their collaborative 9th House LP. The hook on that one is sung by Lady Midnight. It was a slinky little hook that provides a nice bit of melody to an album that is mostly focused on bars. I finally checked out her Soundcloud page. When I saw that all three of the songs on her 8:40 EP had been produced by Mike The Martyr I knew it would be solid. "Come (Come And See Me)" is only two and a half minutes, but it's a jam that'll stick in your head for days.

13. The Proper Ornaments - Cremated (Blown Away)

I don't know a ton about The Proper Ornaments. I was initially intrigued by them due to the involvement of Veronica Falls guitarist & co-vocalist James Hoare. Yes, Veronica Falls is so good that I will gleefully follow along with their side-projects.

That said, I've checked out a few Proper Ornaments singles and, for whatever reason, they never quite stick with me. They're pleasant, but as soon as they've passed I can't remember a thing. I spent a week with "Cremated (Blown Away)" and it too suffers a bit of this problem. However, that guitar figure is certainly charming and the lyrics that veer from love to death to cremation are startlingly dark for such a seemingly breezy song. In other words, it fits James Hoare M.O. to a T.

14. Big Cats - Lightworks Cult

You all know I'm a tremendous fan of Big Cats here on the show. I've played his songs (either solo or as a producer) many times over the years. His album What If It Doesn't Get Better? was one of my absolute favorites of the year, but over the years he's really won me over with his loose ends (in particular his Island Universes mixes). About a month ago he tweeted out that he'd posted this beat to his Soundcloud page. It's only 90 seconds, but there's something fascinatingly linear about it. Much like its artwork, it doesn't really have highs & lows as much as it just skips along the surface.

15. Kill The Vultures - Vermillion

Folks, it's the 10 year anniversary of the release of Kill The Vultures' album The Careless Flame. Now, I know Crescent Moon is in the midst of a career renaissance right now. He's put out records with Andrew Broder, Lazerbeak, & Joe Horton. He's forged a new relationship with the folks at TGNP for his latest KTV album Carnelian, hell, by all accounts his performances at last year's Eaux Claires festival were legacy cementing.

But let's go back 10 years to this album for a moment. I remember seeing Kill The Vultures at The Uptown Bar back in 2008 or so. I was vaguely aware of their sound, but wasn't totally sure what I was signing up for (though, if I remember correctly, the show was free, so there wasn't much risk involved. God I miss The Uptown Bar). I was blown away by the ferocity of Crescent Moon as he tore through these pots-and-pans beats to a crown of maybe 35-40 people. He was obviously a staggering talent, but these Careless Flame songs do not lend themselves to easy accessibility. I'm thrilled that he seems to have finally put his name permanently among the great Twin Cities musicians, but don't forget where he came from. This record is still as raw & gripping as it was 10 years ago.  

16. Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne

See, I told you we'd get to the man himself at the end of the show. Really, what else could have been our Flatclassic Of The Week?

I'm not the biggest fan of Leonard Cohen, but reading the columns & thinkpieces that came out after his death put his career in a new light for me. I know, I know, people never get the roses while they can still smell 'em.

By now, hopefully, you're familiar with the story of the note Cohen sent along to his beloved Marianne on her deathbed. That note, coupled with the things he said in the New York Times interview & the interview I quoted here in the show reminded me that, in the end, we're all left with just a beloved few. Think about it: Cohen is a man who's lived a rich, full life. He's been to the top of the mountain & the bottom. He's had women, drink, luxury, fame, notoriety, and, during that last tour specifically, validation.

And yet, at the end of it all, he was still, in his own way, devoted to his Marianne of decades past. He had his family, a few friends, and his memories. As I get older I find myself thinking about death far more than I ever thought I would. In death Cohen reminded me that, when the end comes, if you're lucky, you'll be able to count on family, a few friends, and true love to be their by your side. As I read about people on Facebook & Twitter saying how they weren't going to visit their families this year because they couldn't deal with political conversations or other disagreements, it killed me that people would take those fleeting moments for granted in the name of temporary disagreements. Spend time with your family. Spend time with your loved ones, your friends, the people who are important. Laugh & cry about it all now and, hopefully, at the end you'll have a chance to laugh & cry about it all again.

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 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: 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.

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

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

Did you all have a nice Halloween? I didn't go out this year because I'm old and I enjoy sleeping, but thanks to the magic of social media I was able to see each and every one of your costumes. That's right! Every one of you! You all did an excellent job.

As is typically the case, this month only featured one episode of Flatbasset Radio and it came out two days ago. October is typically when business picks up and one of my jobs and this October did not disappoint. Unless you were looking forwards to more podcasts from me. In which case it was tremendously disappointing.

As always, super big thanks to anybody & everybody who checked out the show this month. I'm hoping to burn some physical copies of Ep. #87 and drop them off at Reverie, Cheapo, & The Electric Fetus, so keep your eyes peeled for those. I'm also more than willing to mail copies to anybody who asks for them. Just head over the Flatbasset Radio Facebook page and hit me up with your address. I can guarantee* you I won't sell your address to any sort of mass mailing company.

(*Guarantee void in Tennessee)

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 Bon Iver album has 10 songs, meaning each time I listen to it all the way through it counts 10 "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. The Person & The People - Unemployment Blues (72 plays)

02. Bon Iver - 22, A Million (70 plays)

03. Mux Mool - Implied Lines (64 plays)

04. Tony Peachka - Dirty Knees (56 plays)

05. Various Artists - Without A Trace (Mirror Universe Tapes Comp) (49 plays)

06. Rockthrow - In Minnesota They Call People "Folks" (39 plays)

07. Various Artists - The Future Of Music I: Electronic [A Twin Cities Compilation] (36 plays)

08. Sport - Bon Voyage (34 plays)

09. Paul Weller - Modern Classics: The Greatest Hits (33 plays)

10. The Chambermaids - The Chambermaids (30 plays)

11. Freddie Nunez - Demos From The Future (30 plays)

12. Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo (28 plays)

13. The Streets - Cyberspace & Reds (27 plays)

14. Phone Home - Songs For Real Life Games (24 plays)

15. Quarterstance - Ready For Bed (23 plays)

16. The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America (22 plays)

17. Brand New - Deja Entendu (22 plays)

18. Les Savy Fav - Go Forth (22 plays)

19. Various Artists - Adult Swim Singles Program 2016 (21 plays)

20. The Go-Betweens - Bright Yellow Bright Orange (21 plays)

21. Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman - Lice 2: Still Buggin' (21 plays)

22. Murs & 9th Wonder - Fornever (20 plays)

23. Color TV - Demo 2015 (20 plays)

24. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst (19 plays)

25. T. Rex - Great Hits 1972-1977: The A-Sides (19 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.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #87

I'm not a poet, I don't have words enough to tell you what it's like...

Well hello again, everybody. Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #87!

First things first, I want to give a huge thank you to everybody who checked out the last episode. If you'll recall (or scroll down) you'll see that Episode #86 was a completely Minnesota-based episode of the show. No speaking from me, just an hour of straight jams. A bunch of the artists on the show were kind enough to share the show via social media which is huge for me. Pretty much the only reach I have is via social media and every like, share, retweet etc... helps out quite a bit. That's actually a tremendously sad sentence, but that's culture these days.

On a more old-fashioned note, thank you to everybody who scooped up one of the copies I burned and left around town. Hopefully those of you who picked up a copy gave it at least one listen before whipping it out of your car window in a traffic-induced rage. Thanks to Cheapo, Reverie Cafe, & Electric Fetus for letting me hock wares at their fine establishments. Everybody, go to Cheapo, Reverie, & Electric Fetus and buy music & sandwiches. They're the best.

Alright, let's get to the show. No, I haven't put out any shows yet this October. Yes, I've been very busy and/or sleepy. I'm sorry if anybody was waiting with bated breath for a new episode. If that's the case you have my most sincere apologies, however, I'm awfully skeptical that you exist.

I continued my absence from the microphone this week in favor of jamming as many, errrr.... jams onto the show as possible. In all I managed to fit another 19 songs into an hour long show. Since I took most of the month off we have a bunch of anniversaries to acknowledge, some new jams, the Cover Of The Week, and, of course, the 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 #87 (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 Flatbasset Radio: Episode #87 plays out:

01. Fountains Of Wayne - Radiation Vibe

Decided to open this week's show with one of those aforementioned anniversaries. Can you believe it's been 20 years since Fountains Of Wayne's first album? Holy Jeebus we're all getting old. While a large chunk of the world remembers them as a one-hit wonder and nothing else I will forever carry the flame for Fountains Of Wayne, the finest power-poppers the post-grunge era produced.

02. Ras Dude - Germ I-Nation

I've played Ras Dude on the show before, but his beats never go out of style. Pulled this one off of his 2013 EP Well Red. It's a fantastically enjoyable beat tape that I would highly recommend for anybody who spends more than two hours each week on public transportation

03. The Dirty Banks - Dardanelles

I've had very good luck in the past with bands who have decided to follow me on Twitter (The Persian Leaps, Brilliant Beast...). Honestly, I'm not trying to be egotistical (I have no idea why anybody follows me on Twitter), but if you give me a follow I'll likely check out your work.

I mention this because The Dirty Banks randomly started following me a few weeks back. I hit up their Bandcamp page and decided to check out their latest single "Dardanelles." As you can hear, it's a delightful little tune. If the Talking Heads had formed in 1996 they might have put out something that sounds like this.

04. Kanye West - Famous (w/Rihanna)

It's not secret that I am a tremendous fan of Kanye West. I've played him on the show so many times I've lost count and I'll probably play him a dozen more times before someone pries my laptop from my cold, dead hands.

I decided to play "Famous" on this week's show because I wanted to mention that I was at Yeezy's show at the Xcel Energy Center (the upper-midwest's finest sports & entertainment complex) the other night. It was a tremendous show. Just Kanye on a floating stage hovering above a huge open pit dropping hits for 95 minutes (with enough bass to move the hair on your forehead). Focus on the Taylor Swift line if you'd like, but for me "Famous" will always be watching the crowd go off when that "Bum-bum..." part kicks in halfway through the song. Yeezy 2020!

05. These Arms Are Snakes - Perpetual Bris

In my years of making mixtapes, mixes, & podcasts I've learned many things. Perhaps the most important of which is to follow monster hip-hop jams with difficult post-hardcore. These Arms Are Snakes album Easter turned 10 the other day and it doesn't feel like it's aged at all. "Perpetual Bris" is definitely one of the calmer moments of the album, but even as a chance to exhale it's still a necessary piece of rollercoaster album.

06. Goodbye Harry - I Don't Mind

If you've been following along for the duration of the show you likely know that I"m a huge fan of the Descdendents & All discography. So much so that I'm fully invested in the various side projects that have come and gone in the wake of the band. Goodbye Harry was singer Scott Reynolds first post-All band and even though they only put out two records (with different lineups), they hold a special place in my heart.

"I Don't Mind" comes from their second album I Can Smoke (which turned 20 since we last spoke) and it's an all-time classic in my world. Back when I was in my late teens/early 20's I was just a mess. I'd screwed up enough to drop out of technical college (technical college!), I had no idea what to do with my life, and I was definitely at the nadir of figuring out how to deal with my crippling introversion. As corny as it sounds, "I Don't Mind" came along at a time in my life when I needed it. Scott Reynolds ode to his own inability to cope with life somehow helped me cope with mine.

07. Dosh - Everybody Cheer Up Song

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Dosh's album The Lost Take I thought I'd dig out one of the lesser known songs from the album. Everybody should cheer up. It could always be worse. Stretch out and enjoy.

08. Porches - Morpha Too

Our Cover Of The Week comes courtesy of Aaron Maine's Porches. By my count this is the third Big Star cover I've played on the show and, while it's curious to hear Big Star minus guitars, there's something enjoyably tossed off about Maine's keyboard-and-microphone take.

09. Joey Bada$$ - Front & Center

Joey Bada$$ is another artist who's made multiple appearances on the show and will continue to make appearances as long as he keeps bringing the heat. While he seems to be easing away from the neo-boom-bap that made me a fan, rapping about having sex over the Narcos theme is a fine direction to take for a one-off.

10. R.E.M. - E-Bow The Letter (w/Marianne Faithfull)

For years and year "E-Bow The Letter" stood as one of the most confusing singles I'd ever heard in my life. And all of that stems from the fact that I was born in 1982.

Let me explain.

Since I was born in 1982 it means I was 12 years old in 1994. Admittedly this may have something to do with the fact that I think 1994 is the greatest year in music history. Now, in 1994 I was just a precocious pre-teen sitting like a lump on the couch devouring a whole summer's worth of MTV. At the time R.E.M. had just released Monster's first single "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" a song that I adored at the time and still count as my all-time favorite R.E.M. song. Now, this being the pre-internet era, "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" made up the totality of my knowledge of R.E.M. I thought they were a sorta-psychedelic, sorta-glammy rock band whose singer had a cool t-shirt with a star on the front and somehow was worse at dancing than I was. That was all I knew.

Fast forward two years later and I'm now 14 years old and sitting like a lump in my room listening to 93.7 The Edge with my fingers on the "Play" & "Record" buttons of my stereo. The DJ tells me that we're about to listen to the new R.E.M. single and that it's called "E-Bow The Letter." Needless to say, I was excited. On faith alone, I pushed down the buttons, sat back, and... became very confused very quickly. What was this? Where are the guitars? Why is this dude just talking? Who's this woman singing? Why is there nothing here for me to sing along with? Why won't Mom let us have pizza for dinner? What time is Simpsons on? It was a real whirlwind.

I spent the whole school year listening to that dubbed tape on my walkman and between the sugar rush of Green Day's "Basketcase" and the emotional heft of Tonic's "If You Could Only See" I always listened to "E-Bow" and I could never figure out why I was supposed to enjoy it.

Obviously both me & the internet have come a long way since then. I now fully grasp how "E-Bow The Letter" fits into the R.E.M. story and that "What's The Frequency?" was the obvious outlier. However, even today, listening to it takes me back to 1996.

11. Earl Sweatshirt - Balance (w/Knxledge)

For the last three years I've spent the spring/summer/fall months playing along with Adult Swim's Singles Program. Every Sunday I download whatever that week's song is and spend the week with it. Some are great, some are not. Whatever.

A couple weeks ago though they dropped this 80 second Earl Sweatshirt jam into my lap. Who knew a rapper could say so much with so little? I've been late to the Earl show for years now (even though everything I hear from the dude is stellar). Are we still saying that Earl is showing tons of promise or have we decided that it's been realized? "Balance" is a jam.

12. The Future Sound Of London - Max

Another 20 year anniversary with this one and I have almost nothing to say about Dead Cities. Four or five years ago a friend of mine sent me home with his copy of the album because he thought I would like it. I don't know. We'd been drinking at the the time. Anyway, I'll bet I didn't play the thing for two years before finally giving it a spin out of curiosity. It sounds like that album cover looks: a dystopian future as imagined in 1996. Acid house & ambient sounds co-mingle for much of the album, but "Max" stands as bright spot. I'll bet this shit was incredible if you were on ecstasy in the 90's.

13. Oasis - Don't Go Away (Demo)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Be Here Now Oasis is going with a full-on re-issue of their notorious third album. Part of the re-issue is the release of Noel Gallagher's demos for what would become Be Here Now.

Now, I could spent another 500 words talking about Be Here Now and how, while not a "lost classic" by any stretch, it's nowhere near as bad as people would have you believe. It has its merits (bloated and coked out though they may be). I still think it stands as a fascinating album for its time & circumstances and hearing Noel's demo of "Don't Go Away" only adds another layer to the story. As you can here, there is a legitimately great Oasis single here. The hook is there, the guitar is there... I mean, it would have made perfect sense for this to come out after What's The Story? The fact that it was eventually bogged down with strings & more guitars is just so damn bizarre. I like the finished product, but this was gold! How did they fuck this up?!?

14. Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin' (w/Jill Scott)

It's hard to believe Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor came out 10 years ago already, but hell, if Fountains Of Wayne came out 20 years ago then anything is possible.

Food & Liquor was one of the albums that helped bridge the gap from indie hip-hop to mainstream (at least for me). While "Kick, Push" was the bait, it was "Daydreamin'" that got me on board with the Lupe Fiasco experience. I still think that first verse that works its way from the top of the robot to the bottom is genius.

15. Cheap Fantasy - Fluoresce

Oh shit, waddup! Jordan Bleau may have put the Frankie Teardrop moniker to bed, but he's still kicking out jams. This is his first release under the Cheap Fantasy moniker and it's charming. The guitar isn't buzzing like it used to, but it's glowing like 1980's arcade machine. I've spent the last three years on this blog saying I can't wait to see what Frankie Teardrop does next. Well, let the record state, I can't wait to see what Cheap Fantasy does next.

16. Novak - The Lighthouse

Alright, folks, time for a little bit of crowd-sourcing. I picked up this album a month or two ago at Cheapo just out of curiosity. As you can see if you squint it's titled Beat Oven Volume 1 (Serving Up The Best Of Minneapolis Dance Music). It came out in 1995 and contains this keyboard jam. It's credited to "Novak" and the liner notes say "written by M Daugherty." That's all I've got. Anybody know anything about this? Great jam.

17. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Wail

 Now I Got Worry turned 20 and yet Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is still #1 in the USA!

18. The Person & The People - What If I Don't Want To Go Home?

Now, under normal circumstances I try not to play the same artist on two consecutive shows. However, since Ep. #86 our old friends The Person & The People released a new album Unemployment Blues.

Well, sort of. You see, Unemployment Blues is the work of lead singer/songwriter Nick Costa and... that seems to be it. It's a collection of down & out songs sung by Costa with pretty much just his guitar as accompaniment. As you can hear, the hooks are certainly still there (no way Costa could turn off the tunesmith in his head, no matter how tough times got), but everything's been scaled back. I'm hopefully going to find the time to write more about this album in the near future, but it represents an intriguing turn for TP&TP. Pretty much anything is on the table now. They could go back to the jazzier leanings of their early work, crank the guitars back up to Superdrag levels like their What A Drag LP, or revisit the pyrotechnics of last week's show closer "Paranoid And Sleepy." Credit where it's due, these guys definitely keep me guessing.

19. Nirvana - Drain You

I really did want to play that Goodbye Harry songs as the Flatbasset Flatclassic this week, but Nevermind just turned 25! I couldn't just drop "Drain You" into the middle of the set. For better or worse, 25 years on Nevermind still casts such a daunting shadow that it can really only exist on its own pedestal.

There have been plenty of thinkpieces about the album on the occasion of this anniversary and this certainly isn't the place for me to contribute to the pile. I would like to leave this with a couple of thoughts:

1. Even if you prefer Pearl Jam's Ten or Metallica's Black Album (two other albums celebrating 25 year anniversaries this year), I have a hard time believing that either of those albums is as significant as Nevermind. For better or worse, it was the key to the Pandora's box of indie guitar music. Yes, plenty of bands were doing in before Nirvana. Yes, many artists trajectory weren't even affected by Nirvana. However, for the first time since the late 60's, it seemed like money was flowing toward artists as opposed to artists chasing money. Perhaps that's just my comically dated aversion to "selling out" that still lives inside my 90's kid brain, but I feel like Nevermind opened the door for people to be fucking weird on album and have someone support it.

(Sidenote: I may be a 90's kid, but I'll make my peace with the guilt of "selling out" if somebody wants to give me some money. Or a larger platform. Or a sandwhich. Or a Facebook "like.")

2. As an example of Nevermind's looming shadow, it took all of my restraint not to mention the record in all the other anniversaries I wrote about in this post. Can you believe it was only five years from Nevermind to Fountains Of Wayne? How about the five from Nevermind to Be Here Now? It seems like a whole generation should have passed between those two albums.

3. "Drain You" has always been my favorite song from this album. Take away the screaming and the mid-song breakdown and at it's core there's a timeless, strummy pop song in there. Still classic.

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 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: September '16

Well hello again, folks. It's the first of the the month, which means it's time for a little instant nostalgia.

Incredibly, September's already in the rearview mirror. It was a compelling month of presidential debates, undefeated Vikings, and Minnesota Wild preseason games. Sadly, it was also a month that only featured one Flatbasset Radio show. Sorry about that. For what it's worth, though, it was a 20 song, hour long mix of nothing but local music. As always, a big thanks to everybody who gave it a listen. Also, big thanks to all the artists & listeners who shared the show. You folks are literally my only promotional department, so I appreciate each of those shares.

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 Total Gaze album We Need More Condos has 11 songs, meaning each time I listen to it all the way through it counts 11 "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.

So, here we go:

01. Graveyard Club - Cellar Door (79 plays)

02. Atmosphere - Fishing Blues (72 plays)

03. The Pooches - The Pooches (70 plays)

04. Total Gaze - We Need More Condos (70 plays)

05. Cruel Love - CRUELLOVE/RECORDPORN (50 plays)

06. Polara - Polara (34 plays)

07. The Beatles - Abbey Road (33 plays)

08. Young Scum - Autumn August (33 plays)

09. Various Artists - Beat Oven (Vol. 1) (33 plays)

10. R.E.M. - In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (30 plays)

11. Wretch Like Me - Calling All Cars (28 plays)

12. Descendents - Cool To Be You (28 plays)

13. Blink-182 - Blink 182 (26 plays)

14. The Owls - The Owls (25 plays)

15. Various Artists - Without A Trace (Mirror Universe Tapes Compilation) (25 plays)

16. The Plastic Constellations - We Appreciate You (24 plays)

17. Radiohead - Amnesiac (23 plays)

18. BNLX - BNLX (22 plays)

19. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (22 plays)

20. Various Artists - Adult Swim Singles Program 2016 (22 plays)

21. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head (21 plays)

22. Tek & Metasota - What's That 4? (21 plays)

23. Buffalo Springfield - Again (20 plays)

24. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (18 plays)

25. The Hi-Fives - ...And A Whole Lotta You! (17 plays)

There you have it, folks. Stay tuned for more shows to help ease into autumn.

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.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #86 (Local Show!)

Who cares about music anyway?

Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #86!

As you can see from the title, this week's show is a special episode. As you've hopefully noticed if you've been listening over the years, I do my best to work in plenty of local music on the show. There really is so much good stuff coming out of Minnesota that it's nearly impossible to keep up.

So, with that in mind, I decided that I was well overdue for a strictly-MN based show. I'm also feeling pretty good about the way last week's show turned out (if you recall, it was just a 45 minute mix with none of my usual speaking parts). With that in mind I thought I'd just go all in and put together an hour long mix of some of Minnesota's finest jams.

Of course, just because I didn't take the time to speak during the show doesn't mean I don't have things to say about these songs. Like last week, if you scroll down you'll find the track list and some random thoughts about each of the jams.

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 #86 (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 #86 plays out:

01. Color TV - Meat Wagon

Rather than ease into this mix I figured we start it off with a bang. I got turned on to Color TV a couple of weeks ago when one of my co-workers said, "Hey, my buddy's band is going to be opening up for the Descendents. You should check them out." As somebody who's been counting down to that Descendents show for 20 years you better believe I had tix tucked away at Planet New Basset. I figured I should find out what these guys were all about before the show. As you can hear on "Meat Wagon," these guys are definitely... ummm... descended from their headliners. The concert acted as a bit of a release party for this new 7", which you should probably look into.

02. The Social Disaster - Bad Boys With Big Hearts

Duluth's lone representative on this mix. I did a write-up of The Social Disaster's Dark Side Of The Roller Rink earlier this year, so I won't bore you by re-hashing that (because I know you all read those posts religiously). "Bad Boys With Big Hearts" is the lightest moment on the album and it is also the most charming.

03. P.O.S. - Wearing A Bear

P.O.S. has been bringing the fire since fully recovering from his kidney transplant. "Sleepdrone/Superposition" stood as a renewal of his mission statement, "Waves" was a stellar, collaborative one-off, and the crew track "Spill Me Up" sounded like a 'Welcome Home" moment. With "Wearing A Bear" we have P.O.S. & Lazerbeak teaming up to bring the best out of each other just like they've been doing since high school. A bananas Lazerbeak beat, straight throwback P.O.S. flow, in-jokes, Minnesota accents... It's good to have Stef back fully functional.

04. Total Gaze - Pink Line

Checked these guys out strictly because of a Facebook share from my buddy Dr. Bill. I trust his taste in music completely and he did not disappoint with Total Gaze. Their album We Need More Condos just came out and, like "Pink Line," it's an off-kilter affair. It's like the band wrote all these tight, scrappy indie rock songs and ran them through a Sonic Youth filter. I mean that as a compliment. It's a delightful little album.

05. Cruel Love - Kissing In The Corner (w/Botzy, Beasthead, & Godelt)

Mo Bluntz & Bonnie Stitches put their self-titled album out back in October of 2014 and I've been meaning to play something off of it ever since. Sorry about that. "Kissing On The Corner" is a fascinating entry in their catalog because it pulls back just enough layers of fuzz to make this song sound spaced out as fuck.

06. Graveyard Club - Nightcrawler

Graveyard Club seems to have turned up out of nowhere. I'd never heard of them and then, with the release of Cellar Door they were suddenly tearing up my Twitter feed. Turns out they've been active since 2013.How was I to know?!? It's not like a write a blog focused on local music or anything.

Better late than never though. While popular taste implies that they've missed the halcyon days of the 2010's synth-pop boom, they're doing it better than almost anybody I can remember. Their secret? Hooks for days. Even when the lyrics turn dark, the band sells every chorus like it might be their last.

07. Eric Mayson - Flatspin

Another artist I've been meaning to play since before his album came out. If I remember correctly, Detail was my second or third most-played album of last year. In my defense, the album is really meant to be taken as a whole. As you can hear on "Flatspin," most of the songs are between two & three minutes and have little room for fat. While that makes for a delirious listen as an album, it can be difficult to work the songs into this show. Consider that problem resolved though. Even standing alone, "Flatspin" is a gem.

08. Psymun - Banani

Psymun is probably now best known as 1/4th of The Stand4rd, and that's cool, but before their breakthrough he was cranking out beat tapes at a ferocious pace. "Banani" is taken off his Heartsick tape from 2013. I enjoyed that Stand4rd album (and really enjoyed his album with K.Raydio), but there's a special place in my heart for these crazy old EP's. Great bus-riding music.

09. I Self Devine & Muja Messiah - Midnight On Jupiter (w/Lady Midnight)

Yet another I've been keeping in my back pocket for too long. This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but once you get past the more nationally known hip-hop artist in the Twin Cities, these two guys are two of the kings of the Twin Cities. Both are long-running, well-respected rappers who have found success as solo artists and as collaborators. Both sound completely at ease on 9th House.
 

10. The Farewell Circuit - Birdless Sky

Moment of truth: This is the only Farewell Circuit song that I know. That's a bit unfair to a band that has been around since 2009 and has a nice following around town. I'm trying to make up for that by making this 3/4-time powerhouse the centerpiece of the show. That seems fair.

11. Tony Peachka - Idle Hands

I was so taken with Tony Peachka's debut EP Hello Tony that I dug into the Radio K In-Studio tracks to download their performance from earlier this year. As you can here from this charmingly smutty little jam, the gals in Tony Peachka have a way of seeing the glass as half full (nevermind that the beer in the glass is likely room temperature).

I just read the other day that Jordan Bleau (of Frankie Teardrop fame) has recorded their new album and plans to release it on No Problem Records, all of which bodes well for the ascendant trajectory of Tony Peachka.

12. Big Quarters & Mux Mool - Dragon Princess

Back in 2008 when I was a younger & more social person my buddy and I went to the EP release show for Big Quarters & Mux Mool's Fall in Love EP. We were there to see BQ and left mostly confused by Mux Mool. I've since come to appreciate both artists and what they do. And this EP is still killer (with one of the great covers of all time).

13. Al Church - You And I

I picked up Next Summer in one of my frequent Cheapo Records "Local" Section scavenger hunts. I had no idea who Al Church was, but it was summer and I was definitely digging that artwork. Turns out the sound on the album matches the cover to a T. Take note of the dual saxophone/G-Funk keyboard about halfway through the song. Classic.

14. Ego Death - Untitled (In The Morning)

I was a huge fan of Ego Death's self-titled LP, so I was pretty pumped when I heard that they were releasing a new EP. While Daze's opening track "Deceiver" left me afraid that the band had abandoned their hooky-roots, "Untitled (In The Morning)" came rolling in second and picked up right where their debut record left off. Can't wait to here what these guys cook up next.

15. The Plastic Constellations - We Are Genius Millionaires

Fresh off their triumphant appearance on Sunday Night Football, the semi-defunct Plastic Constellations return to fill the coveted "late-mix-instrumental-interlude" spot here on Episode #86. Nice week, boys.

16. Tiny Deaths - Ever

I was digging Tiny Death's Night Flowers EP so much back in February that I opened Flatbasset Radio: Episode #74 with their song "Away." Here we are seven months later and I'm still digging the EP. Grant Culter and Claire De Lune certainly bring out the best in each other.

17. Allan Kingdom - Believe

Allan Kingdom started the year on a high after being featured on Kanye West's track "All Day." He followed that up by releasing this excellent Northern Lights album. If there was any justice in the world Northern Lights would have continued pushing him into the national consciousness. I suppose it's possible that it has and I just haven't noticed because I'm not reading the right sites or listening to the right people. Hopefully that's the case because this album is still fantastic.
 

18. The Karma Kicks - False

Technically The Karma Kicks released the song "False" on their 2014 album It's All Gone Wrong. However, I found out about the song (and the band) on yet another outstanding Ecstattic Studios compilation. This one was lingering near the tail end of ECS 013: Toward A Better Future (Through An Uncertain Past). These St. Paul boys were kicking up a playful jam that stood out from the rest of the more serious work on the album. Part pre-Beatles rock, part GBV, it's good clean fun.

19. Sophia Eris - Dust

I already spoke about Sophia Eris when I played her song "Blue Dream" back on Episode #84, so I won't re-hash everything. Just know that her debut solo EP Sophia Eris definitely stands up. She's deserved her moment in the spotlight for a long time. It's nice to see her getting her due.

20. The Person & The People - Paranoid And Sleepy

To be honest, the chance to close the show with "Paranoid And Sleepy" was the impetus for putting together this episode. The song is the opener on The Person & The People's latest album Dark And Low, but the dual-guitar, "Impossible Germany"-style freakout during the song's second half made the song seem like an ideal closer to me, one last lunge toward the peak before retreating back down the mountain.

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 his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.