

Bandsplain
The Ringer
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 20, 2021 • 1h 11min
Counting Crows with Steven Hyden
Counting Crows are an essential inclusion to the sensitive nineties male rocker canon, one that is very close to Yasi’s heart. Music critic and author Steven Hyden joins Yasi to count the ways they love the Crows and reimagine a context in which they should be reconsidered as good and cool.Follow Steven Hyden on Twitter @Steven_Hyden, check out his podcast Celebration Rock on Spotify, and find his books "Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me" and "Twilight of the Gods" wherever fine books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 13, 2021 • 1h 31min
Jawbreaker with Leor Galil
Jawbreaker is one of those highly mythologized bands, the kind that feel perfectly cast in the amber of cult band-om. Yasi dissects the lore, the albums, the break-up, and the ahead-of-their-time songwriting with Jawbreaker oral historian Leor Galil, featuring a very special guest appearance by Dear You producer Rob Cavallo.Follow Leor Galil on Twitter at @imLeor and find his collection of music writing, “Best of Leor Galil,” at store.chicagoreader.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 6, 2021 • 1h 12min
The-Dream with Rob Harvilla
Superproducer The-Dream, aka Terius Nash, was behind some of the 2000s biggest pop hits: Umbrella by Rihanna, Single Ladies by Beyonce, even Baby by Justin Beiber. What’s lesser known is the intensity of the cult following that his solo R&B output amassed around the late 2000s. The Ringer’s Rob Harvilla comes on the pod to explain The-Dream’s influence and dissect his “lascivious, pristine R&B sex jams” (his words).Follow Rob Harvilla at @harvilla on Twitter and listen to his The Ringer podcast, 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, only on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 29, 2021 • 1h 5min
Dave Matthew’s Band with Grayson Haver Currin
Patron saint of Yasi’s heart and soul, Dave Matthews, finally gets the Bandsplain treatment. Yasi bros down with journalist Grayson Haver Currin on their shared fave, Dave Matthews Band, with special tributes to 90s rock radio’s most quintessential fandom.Follow Grayson Haver Currin on Twitter @currincy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 22, 2021 • 1h 38min
Blink 182 with Josiah Hughes
Lil Kim set the blueprint for much of female rap today but her legacy is so often misunderstood. With author Clover Hope, we unpack her history, her body of work, her influence, and how she walked so WAP could slide. Follow Clover hope on Twitter @clovito and find her book The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 15, 2021 • 48min
Lil Kim with Clover Hope
Lil Kim set the blueprint for much of female rap today but her legacy is so often misunderstood. With author Clover Hope, we unpack her history, her body of work, her influence, and how she walked so WAP could slide. Follow Clover hope on Twitter @clovito and find her book The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 8, 2021 • 1h 8min
Insane Clown Posse with Nathan Rabin
Juggalos may be the most cult fanbase of all time. With dedicated Juggalo and author Nathan Rabin, we dive into the beautifully twisted world of the Dark Carnival and the music of their truly fearless leaders, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of the one and only Insane Clown Posse.Follow Nathan Rabin on Twitter at @nathanrabin and discover his books and podcasts at nathanrabin.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 1, 2021 • 50min
The Replacements: Part 2 with Bob Mehr
So...what happens to the Replacements? Bob Mehr returns for the rest of the band’s story, and we hear about their indelible influence on the future of rock bands and those who love ‘em.Follow Bob Mehr on Twitter at @BobMehr and find Trouble Boys: the True Story of the Replacements wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 25, 2021 • 51min
The Replacements: Part 1 with Bob Mehr
The Replacements are one of rock n’ roll’s greatest cult bands. Also: one of Yasi’s all-time favorites, which is why this gets the two part treatment (them’s the rules). Grammy award-winning journalist Bob Mehr, author of Trouble Boys: the True Story of the Replacements, leads us through the ‘Mats 101.Follow Bob Mehr on Twitter at @BobMehr and find Trouble Boys: the True Story of the Replacements wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 18, 2021 • 60min
Kool Keith with Meredith Graves
Writer, musician, practicing witch, and Kool Keith megafan Meredith Graves brings us an absolute galaxy-brain analysis of the intergalactic rap legend.Follow Meredith Graves on Twitter at @gravesmeredith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices