For this year’s Give to the Max Day, MinnMax supporters raised more than $65,000 for Emerge Mothers Academy, a nonprofit supporting Twin Cities single moms. Along with the great feeling of supporting a worthy cause with their charitable donation, Nikolai (TechBeatNik) also unlocked an episode of CrossFade about “undun,” the 2011 record by Philly R&B/hip-hop group The Roots!

It was a lot of fun coming back to CrossFade for such an interesting album and such a good cause. Remember, you make this happen!

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

0:00 - Give to the Max 2024: The Roots’s “undun”

1:36 - The roots of The Roots

5:50 - The Roots — “undun”

6:34 - "Dun"

8:16 - “Sleep”

10:46 - “Make My”

14:32 - “One Time”

18:54 - “Kool On”

25:32 - “The OtherSide”

29:08 - “Stomp”

30:18 - The storytelling on “undun”

37:08 - “Lighthouse”

39:48 - “I Remember”

42:41 - “Tip the Scale”

48:12 - “Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)”

49:35 - “Possibility (2nd Movement)”

50:32 - “Will To Power (3rd Movement)”

52:01 - “Finality (4th Movement)”

57:55 - Music Things from 2024 (Matt’s new band, our Spotify Wrapped, bands who disbanded, Jack White’s album, Steve Albini’s death)

Surprise! It’s a special episode of CrossFade, thanks to a generous member of the MinnMax community.

On Give to the Max Day, the MinnMax community raised more than $57,000 to help foster kids in Minneapolis. One of the many appealing donation rewards was an episode of CrossFade where the donor got to choose the album we talked about! Chris Fayter (a.k.a. Crayter) chose “Portal Of I,” the debut album of Australian prog metal band Ne Obliviscaris, which became one of his COVID-era comfort listens.

We’re really jazzed to get back behind the mic to discuss some great, unique music. Thanks to Chris and the MinnMax community for their ongoing generosity!

Go back a few decades to find new music: http://www.mediatraffic.de/tracks.htm

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - Give to the Max 2023: Ne Obliviscaris’s “Portal Of I”

3:04 - A message from Crayter, charitable sponsor of this episode

13:40 - Ne Obliviscaris - "Portal Of I"

14:31 - Tapestry of the Starless Abstract

24:16 - Xenoflux

30:08 - Of the Leper Butterflies

37:06 - Forget Not

41:23 - And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope

51:23 - As Icicles Fall

54:44 - Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise

1:05:15 - Community questions

1:40:43 - Sampha - “Jonathan L. Seagull” (suggested by MinnMax supporter notweirder)

CrossFade is taking a break! We haven’t picked a return date yet, but Matt and Jason have ideas about how to make it even better going forward.

We decided to end this season on a high note by bringing back the CrossFade Community Shuffle. It’s an episode where dozens of our Patreon supporters send us their current favorite songs, we shuffle a bunch of them, and we listen to and talk about them live on the show! It’s one of our favorite CrossFade traditions, so we hope you enjoy it.

You can still enjoy all 60-some episodes of CrossFade for free wherever you listen to podcasts. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to express our appreciation for everyone who’s enjoyed the show so far. Thanks for listening, chatting, asking, tweeting, posting, and sharing in the fun of CrossFade! You’re the ones who make it great.

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - The Last Community Shuffle for A While, Probably!

6:30 - Niyaz - “Shir Ali Mardan (Song of a Warrior)” suggested by Shazirah

11:27 - Nation of Language - “Sacred Tongue” suggested by Nolan Kelly

15:25 - Puscifer - “Green Valley” suggested by Ian Pierce

19:22 - Taylor Swift - “mirrorball” suggested by Mackenzie Beyer

23:52 - The Killers - “Miss Atomic Bomb” suggested by Ramses Garcia

28:56 - Black Country, New Road - “Chaos Space Marine” suggested by Holden Hintz

33:51 - Frightened Rabbit - “The Modern Leper” suggested by Halea Kasishke

38:00 - Craig Finn - “Messing with the Settings” suggested by Gabriel Cleveland

44:07 - The Knife - “Heartbeats - Live” by podbod

48:25 - Paolo Nutini - “Through The Echoes” suggested by Luca Alberti

51:52 - honeyhoney - “Thin Line” suggested by Matt Rogers

55:47 - Haken - “Invasion” suggested by Sjors van Berkel

1:00:34 - Rahul Sipligunj, Kaala Bhairava - “Naatu Naatu” from RRR suggested by Bob Kinnear

1:08:24 - P.O.S - “Wearing a Bear” suggested by Josh LaBaw

1:11:51 - Yot Club - “u dont kno me” suggested by Bezlo

1:16:05 - MEMBA, EVAN GIIA, Nooran Sisters - “For Aisha” suggested by Geoff Enright

1:20:43 - Algernon Cadwallader - “Pitfall”

Neil Young’s had quite a career. A hugely influential solo career, his work with CSNY, that thing during The Last Waltz, and now you can’t even hear his music on the biggest music streaming platform on Earth. Wow!

To finally crack the nut on Neil, Matt brought in writer and fellow Neil Young fanatic Tyler Wilcox for an in-depth discussion on two essential Neil records: Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live at The Bottom Line) and Tonight’s the Night. Take a listen to some Real Neil with the biggest Youngheads out there!

Find Tyler at the following links:

• https://twitter.com/tywilc
• https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/
• https://aquariumdrunkard.com/
• https://www.uncut.co.uk/author/twilcox/

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - Neil Young, “Our Rock Dad” with Tyler Wilcox

0:10 - Tyler and Neil Young

3:27 - The “expanding Ditch universe” of Neil Young

5:45 - Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live at The Bottom Line)

8:18 - Revolution Blues

13:08 - Pushed It Over the End

19:01 - Long May You Run

24:53 - Ambulance Blues

29:45 - Motion Pictures

38:53 - Tonight’s the Night

44:25 - Speakin’ Out

47:59 - Mellow My Mind

51:06 - Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown

55:38 - Tired Eyes

1:00:33 - Albuquerque

Was rap already everywhere by the time you were old enough to choose what you wanted to listen to? If so, then it might be hard to imagine how important a show like Yo! MTV Raps was for the genre and for the music industry as a whole. It only ran for seven years, but in that time, it had an indelible impact on the kinds of music people were exposed to.

In this episode, Matt (who was around for the rise of rap) and Jason (who was not) pore over the show’s lasting impact by listening to some of the music you probably would’ve heard on Yo! MTV Raps back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. It’s quite a trip, spanning everything from classic braggadocio to harrowing tales of gangland paranoia to bit-based schtick and more.

Watch the MTV-produced Yo! MTV Raps documentary Jason references at the beginning of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyji4m-exjU

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - The Impact of Yo! MTV Raps in 13 Songs

0:52 - Demme, Freddy, and the origin of Yo! MTV Raps

7:39 - Eric B. & Rakim - “Follow The Leader”

12:07 - Boogie Down Productions - “My Philosophy”

19:21 - Sir Mix-A-Lot - “Posse On Broadway”

24:02 - Special Ed - “I Got It Made”

27:26 - EPMD - “You Gots To Chill”

33:02 - The D.O.C. - “It’s Funky Enough”

36:55 - Queen Latifah & Monie Love - “Ladies First”

42:07 - N.W.A. - “Express Yourself”

47:22 - Jungle Brothers - “Beyond This World”

54:15 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”

1:01:13 - Slick Rick - “Children’s Story”

1:07:12 - Ghetto Boys - “My Mind Playing Tricks On Me”

1:12:51 - 3rd Bass - “The Gas Face”

1:18:28 - Ice Cube - "It Was a Good Day"

We’ve talked a lot about the Duluth-based indie rock band Low on this show, because Matt knows them well and Jason’s never heard them. In the wake of co-founder/drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker’s death in early November 2022, we wanted to dedicate an episode to a short retrospective on the group and Mimi’s contributions to it. If you know Low, we hope this is a faithful look back at the group’s impact. If you’re new to the group, we hope you find a lot to love.

Also, Matt put together a Spotify playlist of Low’s music for our discussion, and you can listen along at this link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2XvYeoVFqsiKKcQIcSQO66?si=c23db47cf12349f5

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - 11 Songs to Remember Mimi Parker of Low

1:53 - Discovering Low and remembering Mimi’s work

5:11 - Over The Ocean

12:18 - Shame

16:44 - Just Like Christmas

22:35 - In Metal

27:23 - Laser Beam

32:35 - (That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace

37:52 - Monkey

43:13 - Holy Ghost

47:21 - Especially Me

53:37 - More

58:30 - Community thoughts and questions

1:06:01 - Lullaby

This episode of CrossFade (The BossFade?) featuring writer, podcaster, and music journalist Natalie Marlin (https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt/) is devoted to rock icon Bruce Springsteen and ‘90s indies Archers of Loaf! Matt and Natalie chat a lot about the kinds of stories Bruce tells through his music and what makes his mild corniness endearing, as well as why Archers Of Loaf’s sound cut through the Pavement-esque slacker rock vibe of the ‘90s.

• Follow Natalie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt/
• Starting to Feel Small Again: Twinkle Park’s “As Much As I Forget” by Natalie Marlin for Bandcamp Daily: https://daily.bandcamp.com/resonance/twinkle-park-as-much-as-i-forget-essay
• Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning on 20 Years of You Forgot It in People and the Gratitude of Connection by Natalie Marlin for Paste Music: https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/broken-social-scene/you-forgot-it-in-people-20th-anniversary/

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - Bruce Springsteen & Archers Of Loaf with Natalie Marlin

1:09 - Bruce Springsteen - "Darkness On the Edge of Town"

6:50 - Badlands

10:45 - Adam Raised a Cain

14:47 - Something in the Night

18:38 - Candy’s Room

22:30 - Racing in the Street

27:38 - The Promised Land

31:39 - Factory

33:59 - Streets of Fire

37:42 - Prove It All Night

42:02 - Darkness On the Edge of Town

47:12 - Archers Of Loaf - “Icky Mettle”

50:36 - Web in Front

53:47 - Last Word

56:25 - Wrong

59:28 - Might

1:02:35 - Learo, You’re a Hole

1:07:43 - Hate Paste

1:11:09 - Sick File

1:13:38 - Beavis and Butt-Head clowning on Archers Of Loaf

1:15:35 - Community Questions

1:48:05 - Neil J & Daniel Wilkins with Austin C - "The Man Who Outran Time" (suggested by MinnMax supporter Tactical Dreamer)

Like the bodacious ‘dos from which the sound gets its name, “hair metal” can be a hard genre to pin down! Luckily, we’ve got writer/podcaster/critic/organizer and hair metal fan Elana Levin to run through two genre classics to help set some things straight!

Matt and Elana cover Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” (the one with “Pour Some Sugar On Me” on it) and “Long Cold Winter” by Cinderella (one of the bands featured in HBO’s Peacemaker TV series). In this episode, they chat about what makes hair metal so special and popular, what role Peacemaker played in popularizing some under-heard hair metal bangers, and why neither of them like “Pour Some Sugar On Me” very much.

Follow Elana on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Elana_Brooklyn/

Listen to Elana’s podcast, Graphic Policy Radio, at https://graphicpolicy.com/radio/ or wherever you get podcasts

• Junk Filter Podcast: Hair Metal with Elana Levin https://anchor.fm/jesse-hawken/episodes/107-Hair-Metal-with-Elana-Levin-e1p26dv

• “There’s No Wrong Time To Rock: A Peacemaker-Inspired Playlist” by Elana Levin https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2022/02/theres-no-wrong-time-to-rock-a-peacemaker-inspired-playlist/

• • The playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3qfBE3suas4Hggga4asQZW?si=GLBR0LmjQr6fySX6AjbxNA  

• “Tom Keifer talks the Blues, Cinderella and the Music Industry” - American Blues Scene https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2014/03/tom-keifer-talks-the-blues-cinderella-and-the-music-industry/

• “Notes on Camp: on David Lee Roth” https://medium.com/@Elana_Levin/notes-on-camp-on-david-lee-roth-ad286df3cd10

We’d love it if you’d rate and review CrossFade on iTunes, ‘cause it means more people can find the show and love it, too! You can find Matt and Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattHelgeson and https://twitter.com/nintendufus respectively and in the #music channel of the MinnMax Discord server.

Our theme song is “The Lights” by Maps Of Norway from their 2008 record, “Die Off Songbird”: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tNrjnRB1f1oQizkkAePrI

Support MinnMax on Patreon and get access to tons of great, exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Timestamps

0:00 - Def Leppard & Cinderella with Elana Levin

0:51 - A bit about hair metal as a genre

11:01 - Cinderella - "Long Cold Winter"

14:33 - Gypsy Road

20:43 - The Last Mile

23:56 - Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)

30:00 - Coming Home

32:46 - Fire and Ice

34:34 - Second Wind

37:07 - Bad Seamstress Blues / Fallin’ Apart

42:22 - Def Leppard - “Hysteria”

49:53 - Animal

55:35 - Gods of War

1:01:04 - Rocket

1:08:18 - Women

1:12:39 - Pour Some Sugar On Me

1:17:16 - Hysteria

1:20:40 - Love Bites

1:23:44 - Run Riot

1:26:18 - Community Questions

1:48:11 - Alvvays - “Archie, Marry Me” (suggested by MinnMax supporter Bob Buel)