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.
Episodes
July 17, 2025 • 130 mins
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...
Mark as Played
June 19, 2025 • 165 mins
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 @msmir...
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June 5, 2025 • 280 mins
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:
...
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May 29, 2025 • 104 mins
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...
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May 22, 2025 • 159 mins
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???). T...
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May 15, 2025 • 226 mins
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.
CRE...
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May 8, 2025 • 236 mins
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 embod...
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May 1, 2025 • 75 mins
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
...
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April 24, 2025 • 161 mins
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...
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April 17, 2025 • 228 mins
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 creat...
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March 13, 2025 • 78 mins
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 ...
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March 6, 2025 • 83 mins
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: ...
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February 27, 2025 • 122 mins
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. Jo...
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February 20, 2025 • 91 mins
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: Ad...
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February 5, 2025 • 103 mins
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 d...
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January 16, 2025 • 1 min
An update on Yasi and the show.
Thank you everyone for your support and kind words.
Give to the GoFundMe HERE
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December 26, 2024 • 109 mins
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 avai...
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December 19, 2024 • 180 mins
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 ...
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December 12, 2024 • 214 mins
By 1994, grunge had waned and Madchester had set the table for the next massive wave of British music—the UK was ready for its next big rock band to refocus the global lens back on ol’ Blighty. That’s when Oasis popped onto the scene fully formed and captured the mantle with their iconic haircuts, perfect clothes, explosive feuds, and of course, their absolute bangers. Join along as Yasi Salek and her Wonderwall, The Ringer’s Rob H...
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December 5, 2024 • 107 mins
We’re unpacking the battle of Britpop as well as the war of words between Blur and Oasis. Did the art school icons or the working class heroes ultimately prevail? Who won over the critics? Who laughed all the way to the bank? Which band’s legacy is stronger today? In this episode, we’re going to answer those questions and more as we rehash the great feud between two Britpop giants: Oasis and Blur. Join us as Yasi and Miranda Sawyer...
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