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.
