Alkaline Trio vs. The Exploding Hearts (feat. Mike Park)

Welcome musician, activist, and founder of Asian Man Records Mike Park (https://twitter.com/mikeparkmusic) to CrossFade! Mike’s run his own record label for 25 years, in addition to all the music he’s written and played or the anti-racism activism he’s done throughout his career. We couldn’t be more excited to have him on the show – and talking about a record he released, no less!

Alkaline Trio’s “Goddamnit” launched one of the most successful punk pop careers of the 2000s. It’s also still one of Mike's favorites – a record he can listen to back to front and get the same out of it as he did in 1998. He’s got a bunch of fun nuggets about bringing this album to life, like the fact that it cost only $1,000 to record. (That’s kinda crazy.)

The Exploding Hearts’s career was cut short with the untimely deaths of three band members, and their one and only record, “Guitar Romantic,” is audible proof of the gap it left in popular music. Reminiscent of ‘70s and ‘80s punk pop, the album carves its own identity by referencing styles that came before without feeling redundant.

In the back end of this episode, we field questions about the deaths of musicians we love, what Mike thought of blink-182 in their earliest days and today, bands that split singing duties, and more great questions from our Patreon supporters!

Follow Mike on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mikeparkmusic, find Asian Man Records at https://asianmanrecords.com/, and listen to Mike’s music wherever you listen to music

Support MinnMax on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/minnmax/

Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist of our community’s favorite music: 
https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox

Watch Mike sing Alkaline Trio’s “Sorry About That” with Matt Skiba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyHM0lP1whE

Find out more about The Sidewalk Project, a nonprofit battling homelessness co-founded by punk artists, at https://www.thesidewalkproject.org/

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below…

0:00 - Alkaline Trio vs. The Exploding Hearts (feat. Mike Park)

1:27 - About Asian Man Records

3:41 - The state of ska

6:41 - Music and anti-racism action in 2021

10:28 - Alkaline Trio’s “Goddamnit”

12:44 - Cringe

15:33 - San Francisco

20:43 - Trouble Breathing

25:01 - Southern Rock

28:40 - Sorry About That

32:15 - Nose Over Tail

35:05 - Message From Kathlene

39:05 - The Exploding Hearts’ “Guitar Romantic”

42:29 - Modern Kicks

45:31 - I’m a Pretender

48:51 - Rumors in Town

51:32 - Sleeping Aides and Razorblades

57:02 - Throwaway Style

1:02:05 - Community Questions (processing musicians’ deaths, blink-182, multi-singer bands, & more)

1:19:12 - Paul Collins’ Beat - “Rock ‘N’ Roll Girl” (suggested by MinnMax supporter Kris Paul)