Shows / Bandsplain
Bandsplain
Bandsplain is a show where host Yasi Salek invites experts to explain cult bands and iconic artists—and why people love them.
Episodes
BandsplainSmashing Pumpkins with Rob Harvilla, Part 2
Rob Harvilla and Yasi continue their epic trek through the Smashing Pumpkins story post-1993’s Siamese Dream, in which the Pumpkins transcend 1990s alt rock…
BandsplainSmashing Pumpkins with Rob Harvilla, Part 1
Rob Harvilla joins us for the noble effort of explaining The Smashing Pumpkins, one of the most commercially successful and musically impactful rock bands of…
BandsplainBandsplain Returns September 29th
Bandsplain is back babe and we are now part of The Ringer Podcast Network. New episodes start Thursday September 29th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
BandsplainBad Brains with Atiba Jefferson
Bad Brains were one of the most influential hardcore bands of all time, from inventing moshing to being groundbreaking black punks who injected hardcore with a…
BandsplainPJ Harvey with Ann Powers, Part 2
Ann Powers returns for part 2 of PJ Harvey, covering the next period of Harvey’s prolific career—from To Bring You My Love on—which was punctuated by confident…
BandsplainPJ Harvey with Ann Powers, Part 1
For Yasi’s birthday, she can have a two-part PJ Harvey episode as a treat. Ann Powers of NPR Music is welcomed back to Bandsplain to dissect the lauded work…
BandsplainNeutral Milk Hotel with Mark Richardson
Neutral Milk Hotel released only two studio albums in the mid-to-late 90s, On Avery Island and In An Aeroplane Over the Sea, but they’ve since been consecrated…
BandsplainThe Slits with Zoë Howe
In the mid-70s, four not-so-typical teenage girls came barreling into the nascent UK punk scene. The Slits split in the early 80s, but their impact on punk was…
BandsplainPrimus with Christopher Weingarten
Primus, led by bass-slappin’ virtuoso Les Claypool, emerged from the Bay Area’s funk-punk-metal hybrid scene of the late 80s and 90s, to become a textbook cult…
BandsplainOperation Ivy with Corbett Redford
Operation Ivy was likely your favorite band’s favorite band, and Corbett Redford, director of the documentary Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk, tells…
BandsplainRilo Kiley with Quinn Moreland
Pitchfork’s Quinn Moreland joins us to explain the reverberations of Jenny Lewis’s reign as the queen of 2000s indie rock with her band of Los Angeles…
BandsplainRadiohead with Cole Cuchna, Part 2
We’re back with Cole Cuchna, host of Dissect and Key Notes, for Part 2 of Radiohead, starting from their revolutionary 2000 album Kid A through their…
BandsplainRadiohead with Cole Cuchna, Part 1
Cole Cuchna, host of Dissect and Key Notes, brings his keyboard to Bandsplain for Part 1 of our deep dive into the history, music theory, and immense…
BandsplainMailbag Part Deux
Once again, Yasi and Producer Dylan take a little breather from the 60 page Google Docs and 5 hour episodes to answer your burning questions, including: the…
BandsplainLiz Phair with Niko Stratis
A major figure in the cool girl canon, Liz Phair broke through Chicago’s indie rock scene (and its politics) with her seminal 1993 debut, Exile in Guyville…
Bandsplain311 with Marty Sartini Garner
In honor of 3/11 day, we present to you: 311. Purveyors of positivity as well as amber-colored energies, 311’s extensive career gets a thorough and loving look…
BandsplainRandy Newman with Molly Lambert
Songwriter laureate of Los Angeles Randy Newman gets explained by the Valley’s own Molly Lambert. Infinitely more prolific, and controversial, than his common…
BandsplainSublime with Jeff Weiss
Sublime, the ultimate legacy band for stoner kids everywhere, get explained by return guest Jeff Weiss. Jeff joins Yasi to make the case on how Sublime’s Long…
BandsplainPavement with Chris Ryan
The Ringer’s Chris Ryan joins us for a long-awaited Bandsplain on one of Yasi’s all-time favorite bands: Pavement. Steeped in Californian suburban ennui, the…
BandsplainMinutemen with Joe Gross
Minutemen from San Pedro, CA were a band of childhood soulmates whose experimental sound, working class roots, and lucid politics made them all-timers in the…
BandsplainNine Inch Nails with Geoff Rickly
Geoff Rickly from Thursday guides us through the extended universe of Trent Reznor, who took the pulse and grit of industrial music into the mainstream with…
BandsplainFishbone with Joseph Patel
Our Red Hot Chili Peppers Gen X-pert Joseph Patel, producer of Summer of Soul, returns to Bandsplain one of the Pep’s most influential, yet underappreciated…
BandsplainWeezer with Barry Johnson
Barry Johnson of Joyce Manor joins Yasi for a thorough investigation into Weezer, the early nineties major label breakouts who have served as a gateway rock…
BandsplainSheryl Crow with Bethany Cosentino
We’re back! At Bandsplain, all we wanna do is have some fun, and Yasi had the feeling she wasn’t the only one. So this week, friend of the show Bethany…
BandsplainGin Blossoms with Bob Mehr
Bob Mehr returns to Bandsplain for an in-depth look at oft overlooked stalwarts of the 90s rock charts, Gin Blossoms. Looking at the history before a slew of…
BandsplainLifter Puller & The Hold Steady with Darcie Wilder
From Lifter Puller’s scrappy Minneapolis origins to the Hold Steady’s reign as “America’s best bar band,” Yasi is joined by writer Darcie Wilder of Gawker to…
BandsplainFountains of Wayne LIVE with Max Collins
We’re coming at you from Zebulon in Los Angeles with our very first LIVE episode, where we’re blessed by the presence of Max Collins of Eve 6 as he discusses…
BandsplainReba McEntire with Natalie Weiner
Yasi is joined by journalist Natalie Weiner to unpack the four-decade reign of Reba, Queen of Country, from her humble Oklahoma rodeo origins all the way…
BandsplainPixies with Gina Arnold
Gina Arnold—author, academic, and architect of Yasi’s youth—graces us with her perspective on Pixies, the seminal cult indie rock band from Boston. Follow Gina…
BandsplainThe Misfits with Mike Gitter
If you’re gonna scream, scream with us. Glenn Danzig’s iconic punk outfit The Misfits get the Bandsplain treatment thanks to Mike Gitter, A&R man and…
BandsplainMetallica Part 2 with Joe Gross
Here is part two of our Metallica episode, because nothing else matters. Journalist Joe Gross takes us through the latter years of Metallica. We investigate…
BandsplainMetallica Part 1 with Kory Grow
For whom the pod casts: we bring you part one of our mega-episode on Metallica, the biggest heavy metal band of all time. Rolling Stone senior writer Kory Grow…
BandsplainGuns N’ Roses with Riki Rachtman
We’re back with guns blazing. Yasi dons her top hat and talks with storied Guns N’ Roses associate Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV’s Headbangers Ball and…
BandsplainListener Mailbag
Today, Yasi and Producer Dylan open up the listener mailbag to dish out flawless and meaningful life advice, as well as compelling answers to your burning…
BandsplainCocteau Twins with Claire Shaffer
The Scottish dreampop progenitors Cocteau Twins have a surprisingly dramatic backstory for being known as the ultimate band of ethereal, cryptic musicians. We…
BandsplainGram Parsons with John Strohm
Cosmic country pioneer, Emmylou Harris collaborator, Keith Richards bestie, and spiritual grandfather of any country-twinged rock of the last half century, the…
BandsplainTracy Chapman with Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Writer Ann-Derrick Gaillot takes us through the decades-spanning career of Tracy Chapman, whose breakout hit Fast Car propelled her into the canon of…
BandsplainThe Doors with Jeff Weiss
We strip down the mythical, mysterious layers of foundational band The Doors and the original rock n’ roll martyr, Jim Morrison. Fellow child of LA Jeff Weiss…
BandsplainU2 with Rob Harvilla
Return guest and best friend Rob Harvilla of The Ringer’s 60 Songs That Explain the 90’s takes us through the humble Irish beginnings to era-defining rock…
BandsplainWilco with Jason P. Woodbury
With the help of writer and DJ Jason P. Woodbury of Aquarium Drunkard’s Transmissions podcast, we examine the sprawling and experimental output of Jeff…
BandsplainThe Lemonheads with Chris Black
We take an inspired, heartfelt journey into the slacker mythology and enduring albums of iconic 90s rockers the Lemonheads. Friend of the ‘Splain Chris Black…
BandsplainModest Mouse with Justin Sayles
Issaquah, Washington’s indie rock torchbearers Modest Mouse get ‘splained by The Ringer’s in-house Modest Mouse guy, Justin Sayles. Follow Justin Sayles on…
BandsplainKate Bush with Ann Powers
Author and critic Ann Powers maps the pioneering path of one of pop music’s most inventive, mystical, and artistic trailblazers: Kate Bush. Follow Ann Powers…
BandsplainFugazi with Brandon Stosuy
We dive into the DIY legacy and hardcore lineage of DC legends Fugazi with none other than writer, editor, and artist manager Brandon Stosuy. Follow Brandon…
BandsplainDire Straits with Sam Sodomsky
Pitchfork associate editor Sam Sodomsky takes us on a bountiful journey through the smooth stylings, guitar virtuosity, and unavoidable boomer nostalgia of…
BandsplainGreen Day with Dan Ozzi
Tracking their evolution from the Berkeley punk scene to rock stardom, and all of the sell-out discourse in between, Dan Ozzi joins us this week to talk about…
BandsplainJoni Mitchell with Jessica Hopper
In honor of the 50th anniversary of her masterwork, Blue, author and critic Jessica Hopper comes on the show to demystify the groundbreaking genius of the one…
BandsplainRed Hot Chili Peppers with Brittany Spanos and Joseph Patel
Do you ever get scared that when you do psychedelics, your brain will break and you’ll get stuck in that place forever and never be normal again? That’s what…
BandsplainDeftones with Suzy Exposito
Suzy Exposito, music reporter for the LA Times, joins us to unpack the story and innovative musical style of Deftones, a band from Sacramento that never…
BandsplainWeen with Alex Pappademas
Alex Pappademas returns to explain Ween, America’s first and only band "sprouted from the demon-god Boognish," and the one-of-a-kind bond between Boognish’s…
BandsplainREM with Caryn Rose
REM is your favorite band’s favorite band. They’ve influenced countless musicians and had an immeasurable impact on the following decades of indie rock…
BandsplainCounting 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…
BandsplainJawbreaker 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…
BandsplainThe-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…
BandsplainDave Matthews 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…
BandsplainBlink 182 with Josiah Hughes
Do waste your time on us, we’re already the voice inside your head with this mega-episode dedicated to Poway, California’s pop-punk pioneers, Blink 182. Our…
BandsplainLil' 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…
BandsplainInsane 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…
BandsplainThe Replacements with Bob Mehr, Part 2
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…
BandsplainThe Replacements with Bob Mehr, Part 1
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…