Let's Play Ten

Things start off weird, but eventually MP and Ben embrace it. Ben tells MP about "seasonal music" and how it reflects on our states of being as we work our way through our Autumn routines. The gents close out the story of the worst local promoter ever, and MP posits the concept of "metaphorical song reviews". Warning: this episode's playlist might make you pee a little. EPISODE PLAYLIST:The Backfires, "Dressed For A Funeral"Big Other, "Explain It Again"Salarymen, "The Price Of Fun"wonderbug, "what a waste of time"Prima Queen, "Fool"Adjustments, "Bendy A"Grace Enger, "It's No Fun"Ruby Archer, "Pretty Thing"Bike Routes, "World Apart"sleepazoid, "rwtd"Sorry Snowman, "Wash Away"Why Bonnie, "All The Money"BONUS TRACK, The Backfires, "Brighter Lights"

Some promoters are shady. Some questions don't have a concrete answer. Some audio plug-ins need a little T-L-C. Ben and MP unravel a tale of a small-time local music swindler and de-construct the question to end all questions: "What's your favorite band?". Speaking of favorite bands, you'll probably find your newest one on this weeks playlist. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Fríða Dís, "The Boathouse Dance"Starikova, "The World Starts With You"Feeling Figures, "Imagine Nations"Lemon's, "Parasite"Street Play, "Alameda"Connor Bracken and the Mother Leeds Band, "Back in Town"Snake Pool, "signs"Deadbeat Girl, "I've Been Dying"Flytrap, "Gutted"Flat Party, "Shotgun"deadfoot, "Self-Unemployed"Ellis King, "Better Luck"BONUS TRACK: Street Play, "Samhain's Delight"

Ben and MP are talking about the continuing and escalating saga of the post-post-Covid live gig economy. Plus, MP's shares his new album-rating system, and the guys share a list of "off-the-menu" records you should drop everything to hear. Yes, yes, yes, we have a playlist of new indie rock tracks that will pack your bar and fill your venue.EPISODE PLAYLIST:Matilda Cole, "Big Mouth"Girl Tones, "Fade Away"World's Greatest Dad, "Method Larping"Jemima Rae, "Again"Sarah and The Sundays, "The Cue"Adore, "Supermum!"goo, "Tiny Dinosaur That Only I Can See"bigfatbig, "Reason/Season/Lifetime"Dalia, "Bellyfish"Gia Ford, "Housewife Dreams of America"Kal Marks, "A Functional Earth"The Bad Shots, "Quarrels"BONUS TRACK: goo, "Miso"

Has it really been two years? It sure feels like it! The guys share their "second album wish lists", Ben recounts his rock and roll week, and apparently, MP is not the biggest Oasis fan. Dad jokes abound, and as always we've got an epic playlist of new indie rock to quick thaw your dreamsicle. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Schmooze, "Mirage"She's In Parties, "The Man"Bee Blackwell, "The Same"Bloomer, "Sober/Inertia"Wax-Tree-Cast, "Straitjacket"Molly Payton, "Benchwarmer"Lazer Team, "Lightswitch"Dear Rouge, "Garbage"Rain Check, "leech."Widows Gold, "Gaslighter"Allora, "Honey"smol fish, "If Only"BONUS TRACK: Molly Payton, "Get Back To You"

Read any good music-based books lately? Ben and MP have, and they discuss two of their favorites. Also, the hunt is on for the most obscure artist we have ever featured on LPT, so put on your sleuthing caps and get to searching. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Alex Vile, "Lucky Number"OK Cowgirl, "Larry David"Mediocre, "Fun Time Fix (We Go Go)"Remain Blank, "Plastic Hooligans"Lunar Vacation, "Tom"Wolfschmidt, "Crisis"Survival Club, "The Beauty in Everything"Honeyglaze, "Pretty Girls"Michigander, "Breaker Box"Lucy Francesca Dron, "Rat In The Wall"Em Jones, "Comeback Kid"Trace Remains, "Sold My Soul"BONUS TRACK: Ok Cowgirl, "Little Splinters"Theme music by Faux Fiction and Manners Please

Ben returns from Appleton with a report on the Mile of Music Festival, and MP reveals his not-so-secret process for beating the dreaded algorithms. No podcasters were harmed in the making of this episode. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Always Morning, "Barb Dwyer"Heart To Gold, "Tnt"Fever Dream, "We All Want More, Don't We?"Hannah Cole, "Massachusetts"Crows, "Bored"Bronte Alva, "Hey..."sunlid, "respirar"Fake Fruit, "Más O Menos"Half Happy, "Well Done Honey"Bugsy, "Cat Versus Rabbit"Outerloop, "Spectacle"Floorbird, "Still Selfish" (feat. Julia Rhodes)BONUS TRACK: Always Morning, "Hurricane Love"Theme music by Faux Fiction and Manners Please

Back to normal. Ben and MP talk about music that takes them back home again, and how the strategies have changed for new bands playing big cities...or not. Also, White Board speaks, and MP introduces a new ratings system that's head and antlers above the rest. As always, we've got 10 new indie rock tracks that will rocket your squirrel and Boris your Natasha. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Loose Buttons, "My Side of the Bed"Roscoe Tripp, "Low" (feat. Izzy Burke)Better Joy, "Situations"Ocean Floor, "Rot"Man/Woman/Chainsaw, "Ode to Clio"Pointing North, "Say It"Balancing Act, "Laylow"Modest Goddess, "Strange Days"Trophy Wife, "Keep It"Happy Accidents, "Infinite Possibilities"Beach Bunny, "Vertigo"Eleanor Kelly, "Blind"BONUS TRACK: Better Joy, "Dead Plants"White Board is voiced by Scott Tolin (Comedy Genius)

Ben and MP return from the longest vacation ever, introduce the long awaited white board, and pay tribute to a beloved local artist. It's a super-sized double-wide triple XL episode with 24 new indie/DIY tracks that span the globe. You are sure to find more than a few new favorite bands. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Farmer's Wife, "Boheme"Street Racer, "Hot Glue"Etcetera, "Threat Below"The Mysterines, "Hawkmoon"Sour Widows, "Big Dogs"Annabel Lee, "Colorful Kid"Paper Ashtray, "You/Me"Virginity, "Going Out Of Business" Girl Scout, "I Just Needed You To Know"mercury, "Crick"Twin Films, "Consumer Debt"Sean Cunningham, "Habit"Picture Parlour, "Face In The Picture"Talking Points, "June"Eli Superflyy, "No No"Pageant Mum, "Up To My Temples"Queen Cult, "The Hand Lender"Queen of Jeans, "Go Down Easy"Robber Robber, "Dial Tone"World's Greatest Dad, "Twenty Deer"Reality Club, "SSR"SOMOH, "Problem Child"Allergen, "Storm Clouds"Edgehill, "Towel"NEW CLOSING THEME SONG: Manners, Please, "Stay Strange"Dedicated with our love to Katrina Bolyard.

MP and Ben are taking some vacation time and will return with new episodes starting July 11. Please enjoy this retrospective episode of their favorite songs from the first 20 episodes of Lets Play Ten. No talk, just 20 great indie rock tracks to increase your rock and roll heart rate while you pine for the boys' return. The rule still applies: If you like it, buy it!EPISODE PLAYLIST:Pool Kids, "I Hope You're Right"DISQ, "(With Respect To) Loyal Serfs"mercury, "Moment"Calicoco, "Underneath"The Snuts, "Knuckles"oldsoul, "July"Carlie Hanson, "Pretender"Kali Masi, "The Stray"M.A.G.S., "Elephant"Wednesday, "Chosen to Deserve"The Cordial Sins, "Isolation"Fraulein, "Pet"Spanish Love Songs, "Clean-Up Crew"Black Country New Road, "Up Song"Petey, "I'll Wait"Outerloop, "For The People"Glowing, "Pay The Price"SPRINTS, "Adore Adore Adore"swim school, "kill you"Blanco Tranco, "Lara"

MP and Ben plan a stop gap episode, contemplate a road trip, and have multiple conversations about stuff that you don't care about. You will however, care about this episode's "diabolically good" playlist, carefully curated for your lawn mowing introspection. Episode Playlist:THICK, "Mother"Beautiful Freaks, "Loser Sellouts"Wishy, "Love On The Outside"MAITA, "girl at the bar"Future Teens, "Mourning Time"Sunday (1994), "Our Troubles"Jess Day, "Lilith"Losers, "Red Sweater"86TVs, "Tambourine"Slate, "Sun Violence"TAKER, "Youth"Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, "Human Compression"BONUS MATERIAL: Losers, "Fear"

Edible Merch? Record Store Day malaise? Borderline obsessions? Disappearing institutions? Sure, we've got all of that. Plus a lively conversation about how little kids process music and why it matters to their future selves. As always, Ben and MP proudly present 10 brand new indie rock tracks that will adorn your psychic bulletin board. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Council Grounds, "Tied Down"Emily Wolfe, "Kill The Love"Of All Things, "Will You Give It A Taste?"Snarls, "Baby Bangs"The Joy Hotel, "Jeremiah"The Upsides, "Context"Jessica Boudreaux, "Be Somebody Else"McKenna Esteb, "All Time Record"ILA, "Glory"wilt, "More Than This"Gaffa Tape Sandy, "Dead To Me"swim school, "Seeing It Now"BONUS MATERIAL: McKenna Esteb, "Letters"Dedicated to Steve Albini, 1962-2024

There's new gear in "the bigloo" and new sump pumps in the furnace room. So Ben and MP not only sound better, but they stayed dry. The guys dissect the album everyone is talking about, and rock a playlist of ten brand new indie/DIY songs that will flood your basement....with rock!EPISODE PLAYLIST:Kate Clover, "The Apocalypse Dream"Bad Bad Hats, "My Heart Your Heart"Chelsea King, "It Makes Me Think Of You"From Indian Lakes, "The Flow"Jess Locke, "Rocket To Ride"Carb On Carb, "2009"Swapmeet, "Ceiling Fan"Gloom Girl MFG, "Crimes"Moaning Lisa, "fainter"Moonpools, "Never Mind"Perennial, "Art History"nico sorenn, "Lucid"BONUS CONTENT: Moonpools, "Say Anything"

Ben and MP emerge from the crescent-shaped shadows of the eclipse to talk about "the Cowboy Carter effect", and consider the awesome power of the question mark? Plus, ten new indie rock tracks to usher you safely through the rapture. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Slowmove, "Wish You Never"Slow Joy, "Pulling Teeth"Baits, "Up In The Air"Cloudbelly, "Fascinated"Budge, "Hrtstrngs"hey, nothing, "Lost Boys"irossa, "Capillari"LEAP, "One Way Out"Bug Seance, "Aardvark"Stereo League, "Wasted Wonderful"Thank You, I'm Sorry, "When I Come East"Another Sky, "The Pain"BONUS CONTENT: Cloudbelly, "Handfuls"

What would you listen to if you knew the end was near? Ben and MP contemplate the soundtrack to the apocalypse. On a more serious note, the boys discuss something they call "personal cancel culture", the point at which an individual decides that an artist's ideology makes their art undigestible. Heady stuff, and a playlist of new indie rock that will blow up your sun. EPISODE PLAYLIST:The Cliffords, "If The Shoe Fits"Gustaf, "Close"Sachet, "The Lodger"Martial Arts, "Warsaw"Mini Trees, "Burn Out"The Rocky Valentines, "Sing The Song"Poolhouse, "Rose Colored Killer"Pit Pony, "Fuzzy"Pillow Queens, "Like A Lesson"Sweet Pill, "Sympathy"Perve Endings, "You're Not On My Mind"The Bevis Frond, "Empty"BONUS TRACK: Mini Trees, "Shapeshifter"

Does your general frame of mind dictate how you feel about certain music at a certain time? Ben and MP discuss why we like a record one day and don't like it the next. Are we fickle? We'll never know. Luckily we have a playlist of ten brand new indie rock songs that we will love forever. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Leisure Hour, "Forgiveness"Hana Vu, "Care"Council Grounds, "Bofa"Bendigo Fletcher, "Sweet Tooth"Street Racer, "Camp Crush"Been Stellar, "Passing Judgement"porcupine, "Character Flaws"Fan Club, "Westbound"VIAL, "Apathy"Brother Bird, "Quitter"Scarlett Taylor, "Machine"The Hard Aches, "January 5th"BONUS CONTENT: Brother Bird, "State of Mind"

Ben and MP have stumbled across the formula to balance your electrolytes and keep you up all night. It's ten brand new indie/DIY tracks, vigorously shaken and violently stirred.EPISODE PLAYLIST:Sick Day, "Overexposure"Sasha Assad, "Bad Nature"Bradford Michela, "10 am"total tommy, "Microdose"Them Moose Rush, "Cake Crisis Resolved"Blush Always, "Coming of Age"Catcher, "Rubberneck"Wet Denim, "Stuck With You"Cloudy Heads, "Blue"GreenWing, "At The Time"swim school, "Give Me A Reason Why"Danielle Durack, "Shirt Song"BONUS CONTENT: Sasha Assad, "Frankenstein"

It's such a minor milestone that Ben and MP barely mention it. The boys go "topic-free" (or do they?) for their thirtieth, and globe-trottiest, episode. EPISODE PLAYLIST:DARTZ, "Paradise"Effy Marella, "Shoes"Sophisticated Dingo, "I Don't Mind"Equal Creatures, "Check Engine Light"Bah-Bah Genesis, "Confession"Slow Fiction, "Apollo"Linka Moja, "High and Dry"Bluesomn, "Ghost"No Windows, "Song 01"Teenage Riot, "Doomed"There Will Be Fireworks, "Something Borrowed"Raue, "Weak Blood"BONUS CONTENT: Linka Moja, "Unravel Me"

Ben and MP talk about depressing record stores and take a deep dive into the newly released SPRINTS album. And of course they've got ten new indie rock tracks from artists you probably haven't heard of, and now won't be able get enough of. Let's do this, 2024!EPISODE PLAYLIST:SPRINTS, "Cathedral"ALLERGEN, "No Rest"Francis of Delirium, "Blue Tuesday"Parallel Park, "One Third"Joan & The Giants, "Good Time"Fool of Stars, "Motheather"Davis Gestiehr, "CCTV"hotgirl, "Wrong"Cuffed Up, "Finer Things"Hipsy Gap, "Fantasize"Career Woman, "Passing"Bodega, "Tarkovski"BONUS CONTENT: Francis of Delirium, "Quit F*****g Around"

Ben and MP talk about what music and Let's Play Ten meant to them in 2023. They also run down their top ten releases of the year. It's the last episode of 2023, and the first episode in the brand new "Big-Loo" studio space - you can really hear the newness! Sit back and enjoy.EPISODE PLAYLIST:Black Country New Road, "Across the Pond Friend"Annabel Lee, "Alas, I'M a Lady"Wednesday, "Bath County"Goo, "De Novo"oldsoul, "Leave Them Standing"Hannah Jadagu, "Dreaming"Empty Country, "Syd"Ratboys, "Morning Zoo"Ruby Archer, "Purple Fatigue"Joiner, "Lucky You"Man/Woman/Chainsaw, "What Lucy Found There"Sjowgren, "Be"

With frozen fingers crossed, Ben and MP bid farewell to their arctic studio space as they roll out a playlist from their ever-growing collection of "plus ones". Think of them as the songs they held back like power-ups for battle with the final boss. Episode Playlist:Hot Wax, "Phone Machine"Fwango, "Low Light"King Isis, "MAKE IT UP"Bedroom High Club, "What You Did"Tali & The Arms, "Private Riot"SPRINTS, "Up and Comer"Down With The Stereotype, "Who Am I?"Sedona, "Domino"We Kill Cowboys, "Pink Codeine"Teenage Joans, "Superglue"Try The Pie, "Last of You"Night Cap, "Glimpse"BONUS CONTENT: Down With The Stereotype, "Tin Man"BIG shout-out to Something Merry. Check out their newest compilation "Side One Track One", all proceeds go to Sandy Hook Promise.