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PODCAST

Bandsplain

Bandsplain is a show where host Yasi Salek invites experts to explain cult bands and iconic artists - and why people love them - using a curated playlist to help you understand the hype.

music music commentary

All Episodes

229:45

Mötley Crüe with Mel Ottenberg

Bandsplain ·

2025/10/02

We love Mötley Crüe. Mötley Crüe loves partying (so so much). In this episode you’ll hear how Nikki, Tommy, Vince, and Mick put on their make-up and pioneered a genre, how they turned their pain, trauma, talent, and ambition into an unstoppable chart-topping force, leaving a trail of sleaze and destruction in their wake. Cruise down the Sunset Strip with Yasi and her iconic guest Mel Ottenberg, next stop the Cathouse (followed by rehab)! Episode Playlist: Listen to the best of the Crüe

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54:06

Remembering Ozzy Osbourne, with Kory Grow and Rob...

Bandsplain ·

2025/07/25

Rob Harvilla and Rolling Stone senior writer Kory Grow join Yasi to discuss Ozzy Osbourne’s bodies of work with Black Sabbath as well as solo, his incredible impact on not just music but pop culture at large, and his enduring legacy.Read Kory’s piece ‘Ozzy and Me: How I Got to Know the Real Ozzy Osbourne’, HERE CREDITS:Host: Yasi SalekGuest: Kory Grow, Rob HarvillaProducer: Rob SundermannAudio Editor: Adrian BridgesAdditional Production Supervision: Justin SaylesTheme Song: Bethany

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130:18

MOVIE NIGHT: ‘Pavements’ With Hua Hsu, Plus an...

Bandsplain ·

2025/07/17

Yasi chats with New Yorker staff writer, Pulitzer prize–winning author, and known Pavement aficionado Hua Hsu about the 2025 film 'Pavements.' Is it a documentary? Is it a biopic? Is it a secret third thing? Did we like it? All these questions and more are answered. Plus, Yasi has a nice long chat with director Alex Ross Perry about the film and several other things, including but not limited to his take on vocal fry, 'Some Kind Of Monster,' and different approaches to mythmaking.Host: Yasi

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165:04

Elastica with Miranda Sawyer

Bandsplain ·

2025/06/19

Boots on the ground from Notting Hill, Yasi unpacks the inimitable Elastica with music journalist Miranda Sawyer. Thanks to their angular, concise music, incredible style, and unapologetic live chops, they seized charts and stages on both sides of the Atlantic in their short but mighty tenure as a band. Miranda puts it best: “Elastica were everyone’s favorite.”CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Miranda Sawyer @msmirandasawyer Producer: Liz Sánchez Audio Editor: Adrian

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280:52

The Jesus and Mary Chain with Mogwai’s Stuart...

Bandsplain ·

2025/06/05

This week, Yasi is joined by Scottish musician and Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite to talk about one of the coolest and most influential bands of all time - The Jesus and Mary Chain. From the chaotic genius of Psychocandy to the velvet-gloved menace of Darklands and through their break up, and make up, JAMC never made a bad album and we posit that most of your favorite bands would never have existed without them.SKIP AHEAD: 47:58 – First live gig 01:35:13 – Psychocandy (1985) 02:18:52 –

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104:34

Perfect Song: ‘The Man Don’t Give a F*ck’ by Super...

Bandsplain ·

2025/05/29

Giving new meaning to “this song f*cks,” Super Furry Animals’ 1996 single “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck” is a psychedelic protest anthem built on a looped Steely Dan sample, fifty f-bombs, and a whole lot of righteous chaos. In this episode, Yasi is once again joined by Scotswoman and known Super Furry Animals mega fan, Chloë Walsh, to make the case for this song’s perfection (with a bunch of band lore and Welsh history shoehorned in, of course). From its origins as a B-side protest against the

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159:37

Pulp: Part 2 (1994 to Forever?) with Siân Pattenden

Bandsplain ·

2025/05/22

So you wanna live like the Common People do? It’s time for part two of the Pulp story in which Yasi and music journalist and Pulpologist Siân Pattenden start back up at the peak of Britpop, tracing how “the great interlopers” of the genre captured the spirit and sound of the time with Different Class, and then soundtracked the comedown with This Is Hardcore — Britpop’s bleary-eyed hangover (or maybe - a conversation with god???). Then it’s into the Weeds: a retreat from fame into nature, the album

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226:11

Pulp: Part 1 (1978! through 1994) with Siân Pattenden

Bandsplain ·

2025/05/15

In today’s episode, we trace Pulp's story, starting from high school talent show stars up through the moment they become Britpop major players. Yasi is joined by British music journalist, author, and former Good Mixer regular Siân Pattenden to help red string board the many iterations of Pulp from 1978 through the moment it really clicked with His N Hers in 1994. EPISODE PLAYLIST: Listen to the songs we talk about HERE. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Siân Pattenden IG:

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236:58

Primal Scream with Chris Ryan

Bandsplain ·

2025/05/08

Today we’re talking about a band who managed to change their sound every single album while still staying absolutely, totally, and utterly themselves: Primal Scream. Bobby Gillespie and co started in the 80s but they most meaningfully bookended the 90s with their two most notable albums – from the hopeful optimism and upbeat acid house that started the decade in Screamadelica to the dark, caustic grit and gunmetal sounds that embodied the end of the dream on XTRMNTR. Join Yasi and guest Chris Ryan

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75:39

Perfect Song: Radiohead’s ‘Let Down’ with Cole Cuchna

Bandsplain ·

2025/05/01

We all know the vibe of Radiohead’s iconic 1997 album OK Computer: paranoia, anxiety, isolation. There are several bangers scattered throughout, like Karma Police and No Surprises. But which song feels the most perfect? Cole Cuchna of Dissect joins Yasi to break down his choice, rooted in musical technicality and evocative artistic expression. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Cole Cuchna @turangalila_ host of Dissect Producer: Liz Sánchez Audio Editor: Adrian Bridges Additional

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161:57

Suede: Part 2 with Miranda Sawyer

Bandsplain ·

2025/04/24

In the last episode, we were Introducing the Band and exploring the question: did Suede kickstart Britpop? This episode, Yasi keeps making her case alongside longtime British music journalist Miranda Sawyer. Listen along as they unpack the band’s imperial phase at the height of the Britpop era — from Dog Man Star (1994) to their dispirited split, until they eventually decide to Stay Together. EPISODE PLAYLIST: Listen to the songs we talk about HERE. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest:

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228:17

Did Suede Start Britpop? Part 1 with Miranda Sawyer

Bandsplain ·

2025/04/17

This season, we’ve covered two of the biggest bands in Britpop, but did Oasis and Blur actually kickstart the genre? With the release of their first two singles in the early 90s, Suede may have lit the very fuse. In this episode, Yasi and Miranda Sawyer, British music journalist and author of Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs talk about how Suede – including Justine Frischmann – came together and unintentionally created the genre by, according to frontman Brett Anderson, “trying to

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78:56

Perfect Song: "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins with...

Bandsplain ·

2025/03/13

This episode, we’ve asked our podfather Rob Harvilla to pick his perfect 90s British Rock song: “A Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins. Listen along as Yasi and Rob cover the birth of indie pop, Edwyn Collins’ Orange Juice days, and his earlier solo career, right up to the release of his third album Gorgeous George as well as the Empire Records soundtrack, which helped launch this song into the rock stratosphere. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Rob Harvilla @robharvilla Producer: Liz

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83:17

MOVIE NIGHT: ‘24 Hour Party People’ and ‘Creation...

Bandsplain ·

2025/03/06

Yasi is joined by Big Picture host Sean Fennessey to talk abou music biopics, specifically diving into two films that deal with key figures in the British music landscape, Tony Wilson of Factory Records in 24 Hour Party People (2002), and Alan McGee of Creation Records in Creation Stories (2021). CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Sean Fennessey IG: @seanfennessey, X: @SeanFennessey Producer: Liz Sánchez Audio Editor: Adrian Bridges Additional Production Supervision: Justin Sayles Theme

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122:16

The La's with Ben Gibbard

Bandsplain ·

2025/02/27

Everyone knows the hit track “There She Goes,” a song that sounds like it has always existed and emerged into the world fully formed by the hand of God. Liverpudlian band The La’s made that perfect song, and according to the many musicians it influenced, including Oasis’ Liam Gallagher or our guest, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, a nearly perfect album, and then basically never put anything out again. Join Yasi and Ben as they talk about one of the most interesting,

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85:49

Listener Mailbag with Matt Helders

Bandsplain ·

2025/02/20

We’re back and we’re answering your questions about the show, like how does Yasi choose which bands to cover? Which British bands ruled their respective eras? And when did Britpop officially die? Join along as Yasi and bestie of the pod, Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, sip Yorkshire tea and open your gorgeous emails. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek Guest: Matt Helders @matthelders Producer: Liz Sánchez Audio Editor: Adrian Bridges Additional Production Supervision: Justin Sayles Theme

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103:34

The LIVE Soundtrack Draft with Rob Harvilla, Sean...

Bandsplain ·

2025/02/05

Hi, we have a lot to talk about. Yasi shares how she’s been, and appreciates everyone’s kind words and gifts. <3 This 60 Songs That Explain The 90s: The 2000s x Bandsplain crossover episode was recorded live at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on 1/29. Listen along as Yasi Salek, Rob Harvilla, and everybody’s best friends Sean Fennessey and Chris Ryan draft their favorite movie soundtracks. EPISODE PLAYLIST: Listen to songs we detail in the episode ⁠HERE. CREDITS: Host: Yasi Salek

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1:42

A Message From Bandsplain

Bandsplain ·

2025/01/16

An update on Yasi and the show. Thank you everyone for your support and kind words. Give to the GoFundMe ⁠HERE⁠ For other ways to give or support, visit ⁠https://www.fireaid.info/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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109:11

Bandsplain’s *Favourite* Albums of 2024

Bandsplain ·

2024/12/26

Normally, on this podcast, we tend to focus on music that was released decades in the past. In this episode, we’re going to do a rare thing and focus on music of the present day. Listen along as Yasi chats with The Ringer’s Rob Harvilla and Justin Sayles about their five *favourite* albums and top single of the year.EPISODE PLAYLIST: Listen to songs we detail in the episode ⁠HERE⁠ **NOTE: Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee is not available on Spotify. You can listen here on Bandcamp.** CREDITS: Host:

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180:30

Oasis: Part 2 with Rob Harvilla

Bandsplain ·

2024/12/19

You can have it all, but how much do you want it, babe? Once again, we slip inside the eye of Oasis’ mind for part two. Last episode, Yasi and Rob Harvilla talked about the band’s formation, their debut album Definitely Maybe, and the lead-up to the 1995 Britpop chart battle. Who wins the battle? Who wins the war? We’ll get into the “Oasis quo” and “Chaz and Dave Chimney Sweep Music” of it all. Plus, listen along as we dissect how Noel and Liam Gallagher created one of the greatest British albums of

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196 results

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