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

Well hello again, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Things I Listened To On The Bus Monthly!

That's right, another month is in the rear view mirror, which means it's time for a dose of instant nostalgia.

Before we get to the list I'd like to throw a big thank you out to all artists & labels that took a moment to like, share, or retweet the show. I literally have no other means of exposure,so each of those shares means a lot to me.

Of course, those shares don't mean much if nobody listens to the show so I'd like to extend a XXL thank you to anybody who gave it a listen. Hopefully you enjoyed it.

Alright, let's get to the list.

(As always, one "play" equals one song. For example, the new Dizzy Fae mixtape has 10 songs on it, so each time I listen to it front to back it counts as ten "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.)

01. Panther Ray - Twilight Drips (103 plays)

02. Dizzy Fae - Free Form (72 plays)

03. Ten Grand - What I Should Have Said Vol. 1 (58 plays)

04. Badly Drawn Boy - One Plus One Is One (56 plays)

05. Straya - Sobereyed (56 plays)

06. The Muffs - Really Really Happy (54 plays)

07. Foxes In Fiction - Swung From The Branches (54 plays)

08. Pearl Jam - Yield (44 plays)

09. A Grave With No Name - Passover (43 plays)

10. V/A - Unpop 157 (40 plays)

11. The Broken Bicycles - Restlessness Of Youth (40 plays)

12. Shannon And The Clams - Sleep Talk (36 plays)

13. Loden - Lit For Exits (Extinct) (36 plays)

14. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (35 plays)

15. V/A - Minnesota Sur Seine (35 plays)

16. Pat Keen - Live On Radio K (35 plays)

17. Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis (33 plays)

18. INTL FALLS - INTL Falls (33 plays)

19. Shopping - The Official Body (32 plays)

20. Bob Mould - District Line (31 plays)

21. Andrew Broder - Live On Radio K (31 plays)

22. Gary Louris - Vagabonds (30 plays)

23. Run The Jewels - RTJ 3 (29 plays)

24. Polarnecks - Winter Demos (26 plays)

25. The Riverboat Gamblers - Something To Crow About (24 plays)

There you have it, folks. Thanks for listening!

For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on my Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #116

Dodging eye contact with anyone who looks my way...

Well hello again, everybody. Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #116!

Folks, we're back to our regularly scheduled program this week. 13 songs, 62 minutes, some banter, jams on jams...

Before I get to that, however, big big thanks to everybody who made a donation to Secondhand Hounds last week. I was hoping to raise $50 for the Houndoos and we ended up raising $130. Of course I'm happy to send along the Flatbasset Radio: Secondhand Mix to anybody else who'd like to step up to the plate. Just $5 and I'll e-mail two 30 minute mixes as a show of gratitude.

Also, look at that Mixcloud player down below - Yeah, that's the new Flatbasset Radio logo. Pretty damn sexy, eh? A gentleman named Ross Auger of Wet Eyes Productions was kind enough to put that together for me and he knocked it out of the park. If you're ever in need of some graphic design, give him a call.

Alright, on to this week's show. As I was saying, 13 songs, 62 minutes, all the banter you could ever want, all the jams you could ever want. Along the way we discuss a new album from one of St. Paul's finest indie rock bands, some upcoming shows, a long-overdue spotlight for one of Minneapolis' finest guitar players, a Minnesota band that may not be from Minnesota, the softer side of one of pop-punk's angry young men, and the moment an Alternative Nation legend transitioned to a Great American Rock Band. All that plus some anniversaries, the Cover Of The Week, a dip into Nate's Archives, a trip in the Minnesota Way-Back Machine, and, of course, the Flatbasset Flatclassic.
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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 #116 (with all the appropriate iTunes tagging), just click here.



Here's how Ep. #116 plays out:

01. Panther Ray - In My Head

02. A Grave With No Name - Path

03. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Head Up High

04. Andrew Broder & Spank Rock - Violent Past (Live On Radio K)

05. Mission Of Burma - This Is Not A Photograph

06. Jeremy Ylvisaker - Bob Ross Saying Maybe/Malibu Hymnal

07. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

08. Davenport - This Time

09. Jeff Rosenstock - 9/10

10. Astronomique - 23rd Century

11. Pearl Jam - In Hiding

12. Air - Sexy Boy










Thanks for listening!

For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on my Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62

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

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

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

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

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

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #62 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

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

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

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #57

Right on time, right on the money...

Well hello again, podcast fans!  Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #57!

Thanks for stopping by again.  I promised back in Ep. #56 that I would be more consistent this spring & summer with the show and here I am sort of sticking to my promise.  Mathematically, having done zero episodes in March, the fact that I've now put up two episodes in April means I'm being infinitely more productive, so there ya go.  Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

Unfortunately, you're stuck with me flying solo yet again on this episode.  Along the way I apologize for not making my way to St. Paul, try one last time to sell you on my favorite local band, praise the bonding power of old-school hip-hop, demand free coffee from Starbucks, check in on some Twin Cities legends, question the validity of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, go in for my European heritage, attempt to explain growing into an album ten years after its release, make amends for mispronouncing things months ago, mispronounce a whole new batch of things, and make my case for the best Radiohead album.  All that plus the Cover Of The Week, Flatbasset Flatclassic, popped "p's," mumbled commentary, and all the other features you've come to know & love/enjoy/tolerate from Flatbasset Radio.

As always, the Flatbasset Radio podcast is free to stream.  Simply click the Mixcloud player below.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #57 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. Human Kindness - Blunder Road
02. Jazz Spastiks & Rebels To The Grain - Tapes
03. Beck - Missing
04. The Persian Leaps - The Concept
05. Crescent Moon & Andrew Broder - Ashes (w/Greg Grease)
07. Moods - Rain Or Shine
08. Lou Reed - Vicious
09. Ben Folds - Give Judy My Notice
10. Fraternal Twin - Skin Gets Hot
11. Ivy - Thinking About You
12. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

There you have it, everybody.  Open the windows and enjoy!

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.

Album Of The Week: January 6-12, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of January 6th-12th, 2014:

The Cloak Ox - Shoot The Dog

It sounds strange, but I'm a little disappointed that I'm making this my first AOTW of the new year.  Shoot The Dog came out in 2013 and, had I taken the time to pick it up then, I'm almost sure it would have been one of my favorites of the year.

For those who don't know, The Cloak Ox is a group consisting of longtime Twin Cities musicians Andrew Broder, Martin Dosh, Mark Erickson, & Jeremy Ylvisaker.  Shoot The Dog is their first full-length LP, but it could hardly be considered a "debut."  If you're a fan of any of the musicians above, you probably have some sort of idea what you're getting into.

What makes this album intriguing to me is the fact that, while Andrew Broder & Martin Dosh have built their careers around music that could be deemed "difficult" or "inaccessible," The Cloak Ox finds these guys indulging in hooks & accessibility (by their standards, at least.  I mean, the album does open with the 9:00 "Yesterday's Me" and ends with 6:17 of a title track).  Regardless, the album sounds like Ted Leo trying to write a Radiohead record (which I mean as a huge compliment). 

If you follow my music writing/podcasts at all, you're probably already familiar with The Cloak Ox.  MinneSarah & I reviewed their song "King Rope" in Songs Of The Week #57.  I also opened Flatbasset Radio: Episode #23 with their track "Josephine."

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #23 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

While I don't agree with their dog shooting policy (or, theoretically, their ox cloaking policy), I'm genuinely excited to spend the week with this one.  Considering the weather outside, Shoot The Dog seems like the type of album I could spend a week getting lost in while hunkering down at Planet New Basset.