Show Notes
Yasi kicks off Bandsplain’s multipart Madonna epic with returning guest and fashion icon Mel Ottenberg. They discuss Madonna’s childhood and upbringing in Michigan, her dance career and the formative relationships that led her to New York City, her history playing in bands, her immersion in the club scene, the breakthrough singles that made her impossible to ignore, her first three albums, and all the major collaborators, major looks, and major breakthroughs along the way.
Episode PlaylistListen to the Madonna: Part 1 playlist here.
CREDITS:Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalekGuest: Mel Ottenberg @melzy917Producer: Rob SundermannEditor: Adrian BridgesAdditional Production Supervision: Justin SaylesTheme Song: Bethany Cosentino Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from Bandsplain
Yasi is joined by returning guest and Bandsplain MVP Patrik Sandberg to share their favorite new releases of the summer and the upcoming new music they’re most excited for.Next, Yasi talks with Jennifer Herrema and Kurt Midness of Black Bananas about their new album, ‘Bad Bunch’; the importance of physical media; living an artistic life; and much more.Episode playlistListen to the best new music of summer 2026 here.Host: Yasi SalekGuests: Patrik Sandberg @patriksandberg and Jennifer Herrema and Kurt Midness of Black Bananas @blackbananasbandProducer: Rob SundermannEditor: Adrian BridgesAdditional Production Supervision: Justin SaylesTheme Song: Bethany CosentinoLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chris Ryan and Amanda Dobbins join Yasi to revisit the Strokes and their influence on the guitar rock that followed in their wake. They discuss the band's meteoric rise, Julian Casablancas’s distinctive songwriting, the model-filled audiences that helped fuel the band’s early buzz, and how their debut album, 'Is This It,' somehow lived up to the overwhelming hype. Plus, the pressure following their early success, the band’s uneven output in the years that followed, and their resurgence in the TikTok age.
Sarah Lewitinn (music journalist, restaurateur, and the artist formerly known as Ultragrrrl) joins Yasi to revisit Interpol and the early 2000s New York landscape they emerged from. They discuss their international origins, the dogged Joy Division comparisons, and the pressure to follow up on an instant classic, as well as the steady and surprising arc of their career and output leading up to their latest album, this year’s 'This Mirror Weighs a Ton.'
It’s draft day, and Yasi is joined by Rob Mahoney and Sean Fennessey for a generational Indie Sleaze Draft. But first, what actually counts as indie sleaze? Are the Strokes so important that they get their own category? And can you win by simply drafting Yeah Yeah Yeahs in every category? (You can if you draft with your heart.) Plus: the return of Sparks (not the band)!
Jason Stewart (How Long Gone) joins Yasi to talk about “House of Jealous Lovers,” the Rapture’s cowbell-powered anthem that fused punk and dance and helped define the electroclash era. They discuss the band’s early days on Sub Pop, the song taking shape in the hands of James Murphy and DFA, the band’s move to a major label, and the fallout that followed. Plus, a look back at Cinespace Tuesdays in Hollywood, DJing across the globe, and an important question: Why was will.i.am everywhere all the time?