Bandsplain

Bonj, good people: Your dear host is still transmitting from abroad. Jason Isbell is a top-notch musician and songwriter and, like how Yasi was born with a podcasting mic in her hand, Jason picked up a guitar at an early age and never put it down. In this episode he answers the 24 questions with gravitas and charm, and we hear what “Demna” sounds like in a Northern Alabama accent. Host: Yasi Salek...

Welcome back to '24 Question Party People.' This week's episode is one day late because of the holiday, but we'll be back Tuesdays starting next week. In this episode, we bring our 24 questions to Counting Crows front man Adam Duritz, and we manage to reflect on a range of topics, from the virtues of sincerity to his favorite blended alcoholic bev to what meme encapsulated his and Chris Carrabba's...

Welcome to 24 Question Party People, hosted by Yasi Salek. Each week, a guest will be asked the same set of 23 questions (with one wild card) to wildly different results. On our inaugural episode, we welcome the legendary Liz Phair in the wake of the 30th anniversary of her first album 'Exile in Guyville' to talk music, doubters, lives unlived, and why she will never see that DM you sent. Let’s ge...

What can be said about the original 80’s Los Angeles freak band that hasn’t been said before? Gotta listen to find out, babe. Jessica Hopper joins us this week to track Los Angeles legends Jane’s Addiction from their formation, through Lollapalooza, and back to reforming the band and living más. Follow Jessica Hopper on Twitter @jesshopp Listen to the songs we detail in the episode HERE Learn more...

It wasn’t the future of rap, but it was the future of rock. In 1993, one of the strongest music years in popular memory, a quirky soundtrack was released that ended up eclipsing the movie it was made for. Perennial Bandsplain favorites Sean Fennessey and Rob Harvilla join us to talk about what led to this moment, and what followed. Follow Sean Fennessey on Twitter @seanfennessey Follow Rob Harvill...

Two people fell in love at University and then they started writing good pop songs. Decades later they still can’t see what the big deal is, but they released three albums as The Sundays, and people never got over it. NPR editor Hazel Cills joins us to discuss the idyllic sounds and reasonable attitudes of this short lived, yet perpetually ongoing band.  Follow Hazel Cills on Twitter @HazelCills L...

Are you a tote carrying member of the Sad Dad’s club? What does it look like if you tell a different guy to draw a man? You’re going to find out, babe. This week on Bandsplain, frontman, writer, label owner and podcast host Jeremy Bolm joins us to discuss Brooklyn’s own Cincinnati band, The National.  Follow Jeremy Bolm on Twitter @JeremyXBolm Listen to the songs we detail in the episode HERE Lear...

Part 2 of the DMB resplaining picks up right where we left off. Dave and the guys are jammed up recording, and things get a little off the rails from there. Host Yasi Salek and returning guest Grayson Haver Currin take the listener from the early internet confusion of the Lillywhite Sessions to present day and the band’s latest album, 2023’s Walk Around the Moon.  Follow Grayson Haver Currin on Tw...

Sometimes when you really love something, you don’t let it go, you revisit it again and again. That’s why we’re resplaining the Dave Matthews Band, babe. Longtime music critic and newspaper editor Grayson Haver Currin is back with us to give Dave and the Band the full Bandsplain treatment they deserve. This first episode takes us from long before Miller’s bar in Charlottesville to the heights of p...

Rob Harvilla joins Yasi to go through listener questions. Should you resent your poser ex boyfriend? Will there ever be a cult band again? And what do you playlist for your HIIT class?? Plus a special guest you’ve all missed as much as we have.  Follow Rob Harvilla on Twitter @Harvilla Follow Producer Jesse on Twitter @ItsMeJMG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Six Albums, two members. The White Stripes were there and then they weren’t. Breaking through from Detroit’s garage scene and rock n’ roll tradition to worldwide success, you now hear Seven Nation Army in arenas around the world they’ve never been to and will never play week after week. Find out how a complicated sounding relationship was simple, and a legend took shape. This week we are joined by...

Paramore exploded into the popular consciousness in the mid aughts only a couple short years after forming, releasing their first records while the members were still hovering between teenagerdom and adulthood. Through all the push and pull this band has managed to grow and continue to put out compelling music with an evolving sound. We are joined by the amazing and prolific writer and podcaster I...

Would you believe us if we told you there was a moment in 1995 when some people wondered out loud if Anaheim was the new Seattle? To find out how this happened, join Yasi and this week’s returning guest Bethany Cosentino as they dig deep into their SoCal roots and traverse the career of Orange County’s No Doubt. From their late 80’s formation to mid 90’s explosion and eventual early aughts pop ren...

Chris Ryan and Rob Harvilla return to Bandsplain Arena with our star player Yasi. On this episode we dive into the heart of indie sleaze: 2002. Interpol has New Yorkers up all night and Dr. Dre is teaming up with Gwen Stefani and Eve. Tune in to find out who rates what from this cursed year, and why they love it.  You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisRyan77 You can follow Rob on Twitter @Harvilla...

That’s right listeners, you’re back taking a ride with your best friend. Our Heroes Yasi and Patrik return to hack their way through the second half of Depeche Mode’s monster career, in which they navigate fame, fortune and the 90s, as well as the spectre of Dave Gahan’s goatee. How did they survive it all? Listen to the opposite of silence to find out.  You can follow Patrik on Twitter @PatrikSan...

The story of how a few synth-curious teenagers became one of the most influential - and enduring - musical institutions of our time. In Part 1 of our wild two part ride, Yasi and her guest Patrik Sandberg follow the lads of Depeche Mode from their humble but ambitious Basildon beginnings as they develop their sound by way of a variety of powerful influences, including Daniel Miller of Mute Records...

Joy Division made a huge impact in a very short amount of time. The iconic Manchester outfit that would tragically have to turn the page and become New Order were formed quickly in the wake of a Sex Pistols show, and released some of their most prominent tracks after the passing of their lead singer, Ian Curtis. Anthony Anzaldo of the band Ceremony joins Yasi to explore this shooting star of a ban...

Hanif and Yasi continue on their voyage, picking up in the heart of the Cure’s discography. Did we leave you with your Head on the Door? Don’t Disintegrate. Our heroes pick up right where they left off and take you to present day. You can follow Hanif Abdurraqib on Twitter @NifMuhammad Listen to the accompanying playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/647QhOpb2HfJUhYiIF1KmD?si=87156fa1f52...

We're back babe and we're bringing you an epic two-parter on the Cure, with a Bandsplain favorite repeat guest, the renowned poet, critic, and author Hanif Abdurraqib joining us once again. The Cure are bigger than any one genre with a decades-spanning discography to match and you better believe we cover it all. Part 1 takes us from their humble beginnings in the distant London suburb of Crawley t...

Bandsplain returns with brand new episodes Thursday, March 9th.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To wrap out the year and our first season at The Ringer, we thought it would be fun to do our own cute little draft. So here it is, The 1992 Music Draft, in which Rob Harvilla and Chris Ryan join Yasi to decide what the best albums, rap songs, rock songs, pop songs, wild cards and music videos of 1992 were. The choices herein may shock even the most passionate of heads. You can follow Rob Harvilla...

Teenage Fanclub emerged from the fertile Scottish rock scene of the late 80s as a fully formed power pop band and went on to lead a long, prolific, and often surprising career; from beating out Nirvana to land the top spot on SPIN's best albums of 1991 list to teaming up with De La Soul for a song on the legendary Judgment Night soundtrack to being anointed Liam Gallagher's second favorite band (a...

Brian Fallon and Yasi wrap up their journey through the long legacy of The Clash, picking up in 1979 with the release of the iconic London Calling, straight on through Sandinista!, Combat Rock and the end of an era. Follow Brian Fallon on Twitter and Instagram, follow The Gaslight Anthem on Twitter and Instagram Some of the books we consulted while working on this episode, if you want to read alon...

The Clash were the undeniable breakout stars of the explosive UK punk rock scene. The Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon joins us as we dig deep into the history of the only band that matters. Yasi and Brian discuss the 101ers, Joe Strummer's many name changes, almost Sex Pistol Mick Jones and legendary Clash manager Bernie Rhodes. Follow Brian Fallon on Twitter and Instagram, follow The Gaslig...

Producer Dylan returns to join Yasi in another dive into the listener mailbag! Questions include guilty pleasures, if we ever hear from the bands we talk about and how we find new music to love. Speaking of, here’s a list of some bands we recommend in this episode: Crushed Luster Narrowhead Temple of Angels Gel Momma Fleshwater Blondshell Gradient AZ Power Fime Wild Pink Soul Blind Teenage Wrist S...