CrossFade is a dueling album review show about expanding your musical horizons hosted by Matt Helgeson. Released every two weeks, CrossFade has guests introduce one of their favorite albums of all time to Matt Helgeson (and vice versa) as they review the highlights, play clips, and compare each other's picks. On every episode, we answer questions from the community via MinnMax's Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/minnmax
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Give to the Max 2023: Ne Obliviscaris's "Portal Of I"
Season 2
Friday, January 5, 2024 • Duration 01:49:03
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!
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.
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)
Ending Season 2 with the Last Community Shuffle for A While, Probably!
Season 2
Friday, December 30, 2022 • Duration 01:31:41
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.
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
The Great iPod Shuffle: The Bangers Housed On Our Trusty Old iPods
Season 2
Friday, August 26, 2022 • Duration 57:53
We recently uncovered our old iPods. We haven’t really used them for several years, so we thought it’d be a lot of fun to hit “shuffle” and see which of the tens of thousands of songs on them came up first. Then we discussed each of them on mic! We’re proud of some and cringing at a few others.
It’s a real time capsule, kind of a snapshot of who we were back then! Also, what we cared enough to download and put in iTunes and fill out the metadata for (ah, the inconvenient past). Hope you enjoy reminisce-ning along!
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.
Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox
Timestamps
0:00 - The Great iPod Shuffle
00:41 - RIP Matt’s iPod (2006 - 2022)
2:33 - MARINA - “Better Than That”
7:26 - Screaming Females - “Ripe”
11:07 - Taking Back Sunday - “MakeDamnSure”
15:14 - The Blood Brothers - “Fucking’s Greatest Hits”
Uyama Hiroto & Joy Division with Bijan Stephen
Season 2
Friday, August 12, 2022 • Duration 01:36:04
This week on CrossFade, it’s all about the 𝓋𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈 – which makes it a great episode for writer, critic, and podcast host Bijan Stephen’s debut!
Uyama Hiroto was a close friend and collaborator with Nujabes (known best for his Samurai Champloo soundtrack and being an influential artist in the jazz/hip-hop space), and it shows in “freeform jazz,” his 2017 record featuring a lot of chill instrumental work and music that, as Bijan put it, lights up the pleasure centers of your brain. 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈 aren’t always posi, of course, so Matt’s pick, Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures,” is an early post-punk record marked by the tragedy of vocalist Ian Curtis’s early death and the oddball production style that makes it a sonic journey more than 30 years after its release.
“This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: the Oral History” by Jon Savage:
Streetlight Manifesto & Nolan Potter with John Carson
Season 2
Friday, July 29, 2022 • Duration 01:33:46
It’s a proggy, skanky episode of CrossFade with writer, editor, and podcaster John Carson (https://twitter.com/John_Carson)!
In this episode, we’re just barely scratching the surface of ska with John’s pick, Streetlight Manifesto’s “Everything Goes Numb”. Then we chart new territory with Nolan Potter’s “Music Is Dead,” one of Matt’s favorite albums to listen to on vinyl. Both are new to the other’s picks, so it turns into a really fun, big conversation about genres, how ska and its perceptions have changed over time, making music on your own, and that time John got fired from his high school ska band while working at Subway.
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.
Music that Made Us: The Doobie Brothers & Creedence Clearwater Revival
Season 2
Friday, July 1, 2022 • Duration 01:31:51
What music did you listen to when you were 5 years old? How did it impact the music you listen to or the way you approach it? Do you still listen to any of it today?
In this chooglin’ episode of CrossFade, Matt and Jason take a suggestion from the community (thanks MinnMax supporter podbod!) and go back to some of the first music we can remember loving: The Doobie Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival! We talk about rock genre blending of the 1970s, complicated band dynamics, how these groups influenced us as musicians, and why this music has stuck with us for so long.
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.
Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox
Timestamps
Bon Iver & Iron Maiden with Cody Matthew Johnson
Season 2
Friday, June 17, 2022 • Duration 56:22
We’re thrilled to welcome Cody Matthew Johnson, known for his music and sound work on games like Trek to Yomi, Devil May Cry 5, Guardians of the Galaxy, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and many more, to compare and contrast Bon Iver with Iron Maiden! Dare you to find another show that brings together two things THAT different.
We talk with Cody about how Bon Iver’s approach to music didn’t change for “22, A Million,” even if the sound did; Iron Maiden’s groundbreaking meld of catchy rock and metal riffs; trying to learn Yes and Iron Maiden bass lines when you’re in third grade; and much more!
We’d also love it if you’d rate and review the show 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.
Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music:
Nitpicking Two of Pitchfork's Perfect 10s
Season 2
Friday, June 3, 2022 • Duration 01:02:30
What does perfection mean to you? What if you knew someone ELSE called something “perfect”? That’s what we wanted to find out on this episode of CrossFade, so we looked at two of the dozen albums that have received a perfect 10 score from Pitchfork, the music publication everybody famously agrees with and enjoys without reservation.
Wilco’s breakthrough “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and Amon Tobin’s breakthrough “Bricolage” are pretty different (that’s CrossFade babyyyy), but our discussion bridges them both: How does seeing that big 10 make you think differently about the music you listen to? How much does that matter in the age of influencers, when every opinion can be validated by someone, somewhere on the internet? It’s a pretty complex question!
We’d also love it if you’d rate and review the show 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.
Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox
Timestamps
0:00 - Nitpicking Two of Pitchfork's Perfect 10s
0:59 - Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
4:42 - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Our Favorite Albums of 2022 So Far
Season 2
Friday, May 20, 2022 • Duration 01:07:53
2022 is almost halfway over! To mark the occasion, Matt and Jason picked their favorite records released this year for this special discussion.
Jason picked Soul Glo’s “Diaspora Problems” (March 25) because it’s high-energy, it bends genres, and crams a lot of righteous fury into its lyrics. Matt’s loved the work of Benny the Butcher for a long time, so his latest release, “Tana Talk 4” (March 10), is a shoo-in for Matt’s favorite records of the year. In this episode, we talk a lot about hardcore music made by people of color, what makes rap like Benny’s timeless, and how it feels to find music that just hits all your buttons.
We’d also love it if you’d rate and review the show 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.
Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist, a growing Spotify playlist of our community’s favorite music: https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox
Timestamps
0:00 - Our Favorite Albums of 2022 So Far
0:57 - Soul Glo - “Diaspora Problems”
9:09 - Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)
14:04 - Coming Correct Is Cheaper
18:01 - Fucked Up If True
Silver Jews & The Mountain Goats with Joe Juba
Season 2
Friday, May 6, 2022 • Duration 02:04:27
Content warning: This episode contains discussions of sensitive topics like depression, sexual abuse, and suicide as explored in the music of The Mountain Goats and Silver Jews.
MinnMax Contributor and all-around gentleman Joe Juba brought an album by one of his favorite artists to CrossFade! This episode might be the most we’ve ever delved into lyrics. The Mountain Goats’ “Heretic Pride” and Silver Jews’ “The Natural Bridge” are both albums that go heavy on storytelling, picking unique perspectives to set the scene and evoke specific times and places. In this episode, we talk about what makes John Darnielle’s music so compelling, the legacy of David Berman, distinctive vocalists, OSTs we love even if we haven’t consumed the media they’re from, and much more thanks to questions straight from the MinnMax community!
We’d love it if you’d rate and review the show 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.
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.
0:00 - Iron Maiden & Bon Iver with Cody Matthew Johnson
5:39 - Bon Iver’s “22, A Million”
7:16 - 22 (OVER S∞∞N)
11:08 - 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄
17:04 - 715 - CRΣΣKS
20:53 - 8 (circle)
23:44 - 00000 Million
28:21 - Iron Maiden - “Number of the Beast”
29:14 - Invaders
32:51 - Children of the Damned
36:35 - Run to the Hills
42:17 - The Prisoner
46:40 - The Number of the Beast
10:53 - Heavy Metal Drummer
13:44 - Jesus, Etc.
17:11 - Kamera
20:07 - War On War
23:29 - Ashes of American Flags
25:14 - What does a Pitchfork perfect 10 really mean?
36:25 - Amon Tobin - "Bricolage"
37:31 - Stoney Street
39:53 - Chomp Samba
43:34 - El Cargo from Amon Tobin's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory soundtrack
46:00 - Yasawas
49:48 - One Day In My Garden
53:49 - Wires & Snakes
21:02 - Driponomics
26:10 - Spiritual Level Of Gang Shit
29:04 - Thumbsucker
32:35 - Benny the Butcher - “Tana Talk 4”
37:58 - Johnny P’s Caddy
40:59 - Back 2x (feat. Steve God Cooks)
45:01 - Uncle Bun (feat. 38 Spesh)
47:52 - Tyson vs. Ali (feat. Conway The Machine)
51:41 - Thowy’s Revenge
55:11 - Weekends in the Perry’s
58:46 - Our runner-up choices
59:00 - Nolan Potter - "Gregorian Chance"
1:00:51 - Mitski - "Working for the Knife"
1:16 - The Mountain Goats - “Heretic Pride”
9:29 - Sax Rohmer #1
13:32 - San Bernardino
20:56 - Heretic Pride
27:41 - Autoclave
31:41 - Sept 15 1983
35:14 - Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
41:43 - Lovecraft in Brooklyn
48:49 - Silver Jews - "The Natural Bridge"
56:02 - How to Rent a Room
1:00:35 - Pet Politics
1:06:00 - Pet Politics (cover by The Mountain Goats)
1:08:26 - Dallas
1:15:47 - Inside the Golden Days of Missing You
1:19:29 - The Frontier Index
1:23:45 - Pretty Eyes
1:31:17 - Community Questions
1:57:15 - “Rum Pum Pum (람팜팜)” by Lee Jin Ah (이진아) (suggested by MinnMax supporter YokaiBlotch)
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