Completely Conspicuous

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March 2015
S M T W T F S
     
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31

Syndication

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2015.

Show notes:

- Jay Kumar's #5 album of the year

- Productive collective out of the Bay Area

- Jay Breitling's #4

- What's next for Jonah Furman?

- JK's #4

- JB's #3

- Dark, crazy guitar ambience

- JK's #3

- Another indie darling blowing up big

- JB's #2

- Another great shoegaze act makes its mark

- JK's #2

- A local indie act does well nationally

- JB's #1

- Marriage of electronic and guitar rock

- JK's #1

- Topped midyear list, still holds up

- Looking ahead to 2016

- Next week: Our favorites of the first half of the decade (2010-14)

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_404_122915.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:25pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2015.

Show notes:

- More music out than ever before

- JK: Immersed in top 40 pop against my will thanks to my kids

- JB's honorable mentions

- Ava Luna is the Steely Dan of indie rock

- JK's honorable mentions

- Some notable comeback albums

- JB's #10

- JK's #10

- The insanity of the Paris concert tragedy

- JB's #9

- JK's #9

- The ever-prolific Patrick Stickles

- JB's #8

- JK's #8

- Constant touring hones a band's sound

- JB's #7

- JK's #7

- JB's #6

- Exploding in Sound is the indie rock label of the moment

- JK's #6

- JB's #5

- For those not about to rock, we salute you

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_403_122215.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:27pm EDT

This week, I'm joined by author Greg Renoff as we discuss the response to his new book about the early days of Van Halen.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store

- We last spoke in March before the book came out

- Great response from readers

- Selling well on Amazon, was reviewed in Rolling Stone

- DLR's role in the band's early days surprised some

- Roth defied the odds to become a star

- Gene Simmons was an early supporter of the band

- Roth had different musical interests than the VH brothers

- Greg: Not sure what next writing project will be

- Meeting readers at book signings is fun

- Launch party in Pasadena featured VH's original bassist Mark Stone

- Visited neighborhood where VH played backyard parties

- The revolutionary sound of "Eruption"

- VH's disappointing live album

- Debate over what's in the archives

- The future of the band is murky

- Little released output from Eddie over the last 15 years

- Dave's role in the band is much different now

- DLR could be reuniting with his Eat 'Em and Smile-era band for some shows

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_402_121515.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:40pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1992.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Jay: Rollins Band broke out with The End of Silence

- Jay's #5

- The best album from The Tragically Hip

- Brian's #5 and Jay's #4

- Pavement's first stab at greatness

- The Pavement reunion was disappointing

- Brian's #4 and Jay's #2

- Brian's #3

- 1992 was a banner year for Alice in Chains

- Dirt was unrelentingly dark

- Jay's #3

- Jay: The album that got me into Buffalo Tom

- Saw them play Let Me Come Over front to back earlier this year

- Brian's #2

- Found at CMJ conference: Balanescu Quartet does Kraftwerk

- Sugar was a great combination of Bob Mould's worlds

- Came out at the right time as alt-rock was hitting

- Brian's #1

- With Kerplunk, Green Day laid blueprint for future success

- Jay's #1

- The Afghan Whigs set up a great decade melding rock with R&B

- A few others we missed

- Next year to tackle: 1983

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_401_120815.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:39pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1992.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Brian: A friend was at the Eagles of Death Metal show in Paris but escaped unharmed

- Security at club shows is minimal

- Post-9/11 concert experiences

- Bands formed in '92: Brainiac, Bush, Shellac, Sugar, Weezer

- Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" is a great song

- Bands that broke up in '92: Bullet Lavolta, Europe, Fine Young Cannibals, Feelies

- Albums that didn't make our top 5

- Brian: Nirvana, Late!, GBV, Ween, They Might Be Giants, Beasties, R.E.M.

- Jay: Lemonheads, Rage Against the Machine, Sloan, Neil Young, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees

- Tom Scharpling does the best version of "Killing in the Name Of"

- Jay: Saw Alice in Chains at a small Boston club in late '92

- Automatic for the People was the last great R.E.M. album

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_400_120115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:02pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1992.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- In '92, Brian turned 10 and Jay turned 25

- Hot 100 chart had a lot of pop, R&B, some hip hop

- But alternative rock was booming

- "Baby Got Back" was #2 song of the year

- Clapton's Unplugged album was huge

- The greatness of early Dire Straits

- Pat Smear in the Chili Peppers?

- The evolution of Guns 'N Roses

- Axl's vampire voice

- Labels got rid of the CD longbox

- Once it was about hifi, now nobody cares about audio quality

- Big year for rock weddings

- Concert for Life paid tribute to the late Freddie Mercury

- Wayne's World appealed to both of us for different reasons

- Hair metal died in the U.S. but remained huge in Europe

- Montreal fans rioted because of Axl's antics

- Arena shows were de rigeur in the '70s and '80s

- Bands play much smaller venues now

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_399_112415.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:06pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the problem with research studies.

Show notes:

- Order Matt's book The Entropy of Everything: The Indestructibles Book 3

- Don't get sick!

- Studies can be scary

- Apply some logic when reading studies

- People live in fear of everything

- We love to get worked up about studies

- Studies with no research on long-term effects

- Studies seem to have lost all value

- Outrage only lasts for about a week and we move on

- Nobody wants to take the time to verify

- Are cell phones dangerous? Let's hope not

- Studies: Everything gives you cancer

- We're all gonna die!

- Only thing Wall-e got wrong was everyone was happy

- Pixar wants to make you sad

- Near-death running experiences

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_398_111715.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:02pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the problem with research studies.

Show notes:

- Order Matt's book The Entropy of Everything: The Indestructibles Book 3

- Surviving Halloween in Salem

- Endless barrage of studies

- You can find a study to prove just about any point

- Pick and choose the result you want

- Going down the WebMD wormhole

- Studies get picked up by mass media

- People don't verify the research, just pass it on

- Morning TV shows are an empty void

- Study says processed meat causes cancer

- The research-industrial complex

- Watch out for Big Vegetable

- The folly of the Farmer's Almanac

- The influence of pharma companies on research studies

- Too much TV as a child dident make us dumm

- Rarely watch TV now without social media interruptions

- Studies don't change behavior

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_397_111015.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:24pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the trials and tribulations of moving.

Show notes:

- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd and his podcast Blerd Radio

- Jay: Haven't moved since 2000, but moved a lot in the '80s and '90s

- TVs used to be a lot bigger and heavier

- People used to always move around September 1

- Jay: Used to borrow the newspaper delivery van for moves

- Mike: Upcoming move back to New York will be like going to a different place

- Narrowed list down to a handful of cities to settle down in

- Mike: Currently conveniently located near Boston-area clubs

- Watertown is a quiet community, but Boston Marathon bomber was caught there

- Tough times for journalism majors

- Mike: Took a while to get used to earlier Boston closing times

- It's easier to stay out super late when you're younger

- Drunken work parties are always interesting

- You don't want to be the drunk one

- Alcohol-fueled fun can lead to awkwardness at work

- Mike: Been working from home for several years

- Looking forward to separating work from home life

- It's tough being the person on the other end of the speaker phone

- Mike: New office will have an open floor plan

- You have to be conscious of people around you in an open office

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_396_102715.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:07pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the trials and tribulations of moving.

Show notes:

- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd and his podcast Blerd Radio

- Mike's moving to Brooklyn

- Music industry changes led to job change

- Boston's no longer the focus of record labels that it once was

- Moving vinyl is tricky

- A good excuse to streamline and get rid of stuff

- Who watches DVDs anymore?

- Collections can take over your life

- Jay: Used to have a huge comics collection

- Jay: Moved around a lot when I was single

- Roommates can be good or bad

- Mike has lived alone for years

- The shocking state of women's bathrooms

- When beepers were a thing

- In the '80s and '90s, calling cards made it cheaper to make long distance calls on pay phones

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_395_102015.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:13pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1994.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Jay's #4

- Pavement was a shock to the system at the time

- Malkmus continues to be a solo force

- Brian's #3

- Ween's second-based album

- Brian: Ween made 5 perfect albums in a row

- Jay's #3

- Drive Like Jehu delivers scorching rock

- Brian's #2 and Jay's #2

- Jay: Frank Black's Guided by Voices album

- Black had serious writer's block during the making of this record

- Brian's #1

- Weezer's debut features 10 perfect pop songs

- Videos helped the album take off

- Jay's #1

- One of Sloan's greatest albums got them dropped by DGC

- Abrupt shift from first album's sound

- Other '94 notables: Soundgarden, Nas, NIN, Portishead, Neil Young, Helmet, New Bomb Turks, Pearl Jam

- Also: Magnetic Fields, TMBG, R.E.M., Outkast

- Next up: 1992

- Jam bands became popular

- Jay: Covered the best of the 2000s in CompCon episodes 96-99

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_394_101315.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:27pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1994.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Brian:  Enjoyed albums from Tom Petty, Rancid, Sea and Cake

- Beasties were all over the place on Ill Communication--in a good way

- Sunny Day Real Estate's epic album

- Halo Benders teamed Doug Martsch and Calvin Johnson

- The Toadies break through

- Jay: Sebadoh's Bakesale was a good combo of punk and melodic songs

- Jeff Buckley went from hard rock to cabaret on Grace

- Sugar's 2nd full-length was punchy and fun...for Bob Mould

- Green Day's Dookie was a monster hit that nobody needs to hear anymore

- Jay: Foolish was my intro to Superchunk

- Brian's #5

- Nirvana's best album was Unplugged in New York

- Jay saw Nirvana in Springfield, Mass., about a week before the Unplugged show

- Jay's #5

- Bee Thousand is probably the perfect distillation of Guided By Voices

- Brian's #4

- Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies was the first EP to top the album charts

- Jay: "No Excuses" got me through a tough time

- Brian: Jerry Cantrell looks like an uncle now

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompConn_393_100615.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:03pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1994.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Rooting for a Jays-Mets World Series

- Brian: 1994 was a big year for me

- Rock radio was all about the alternative

- Big year for Ace of Base with three songs in top 10 of '94

- Lots of pop and hip hop on singles chart

- Aerosmith's foray into downloadable music

- Took hours to download, no way to share it

- Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster didn't end well

- Corporate-owned venues are everywhere now

- Woodstock '94 was full of mud

- Sheryl Crow and Jackyl played on the same stage

- Cobain's unsurprising fate

- Brian: Was obsessed with music in '94

- Soundtracks were a big deal: Pulp Fiction, The Crow, Reality Bites

- Older alternative acts turned up the guitars: R.E.M., Meat Puppets

- Bands formed in '94 that loomed large a few years later: Creed, Limp Bizkit, Hoobastank, Maroon 5

- Eagles returned with Hell Freezes Over tour and introduced $100 tickets

- Page and Plant reunited without John Paul Jones

- Mark Lanegan's interesting solo work

- Elvis Costello released a rock record

- Rollins Band scored an unlikely hit

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_392_092915.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 5:56pm EDT

Quick hit episode this week as I discuss the power of a song.

Show notes:

- In 1979, I listened to Toronto's CHUM-AM all the time

- Used to collect the Top 30 singles chart every Friday

- A song that captured my imagination was Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man"

- The clock radio was important

- Couldn't get enough of "I'm the Man"

- Still powerful after all these years

- Jackson's best work was in the late '70s/early '80s

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Direct download: CompCon_391_092215.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:01pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss vacations.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ

- Check out our web series Trust Fund Challenge

- Vancouver is a great destination

- Trouble at the border

- Someday, Jay will visit India again

- A co-worker's move to France

- Ric's vacation movie marathon

- Dick Clark's role in Killers Three

- Ric has beef with Christopher Nolan movies

- Medical emergencies

- Black Christmas is a Canuck horror classic from the director of Porky's

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Direct download: CompCon_390_090115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:50pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss vacations.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ

- Check out our web series Trust Fund Challenge

- A reboot/remake/sequel to National Lampoon's Vacation is out

- The first Vacation movie still holds up

- Based on a National Lampoon novella

- Both of our families went to Disney World in the '70s

- Family vacations can either be packed with activities or relaxing

- Jay: Just went to Disney with two other families

- Ric: We rent a vacation home in Maine every summer with inlaws

- Jay: We vary vacations each year; might go to Europe in a few years

- Doing work while on vacation sucks

- Ric: We were an hour away from everything

- Ric's dad takes on a ropes course

- Going out West

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Direct download: CompCon_389_082515.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:03pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the art of hype.

Show notes:

- Order Matt's book The Entropy of Everything: The Indestructibles Book 3

- Patreon is a crowdfunding option

- The patronage model

- Kickstarter, Indie GoGo efforts are commonplace

- Matt loves board games

- Contributing to podcasts and radio shows

- Matt's research on dino romance novels

- A Gronk to Remember was a big-selling e-book

- Matt: "People are hot for were-critters"

- Readers like series and formulas

- John Irving always writes the last line first

- Matt: Want to interact with more people to hype books

- The problem with contests

- The vagaries of web traffic

- Nine years, man

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_388_081915.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:47pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the art of hype.

Show notes:

- Order Matt's book The Entropy of Everything: The Indestructibles Book 3

- Avoiding overhype

- Getting RTs from celebrities

- Sometimes it feels like there's no benefit to Internet hype

- Getting bummed out to write sad scenes

- Cosplayers are having a moment

- Day jobs are a must, unfortunately

- Tagging somebody famous can work from time to time

- YouTube "stars"

- Spider-man with no butt

- To be continued

 

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_387_081115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 4:59pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the art of hype and celebrate CompCon's 9th anniversary.

Show notes:

- Pre-order Matt's book The Entropy of Everything: The Indestructibles Book 3

- When your medical professional is younger than you

- It's all about the hype

- Matt was at Boston ComiCon last weekend

- How to effectively hype your stuff online

- Perfecting the pitch

- Geeking out like a fanboy

- Books sell better when you meet people face to face

- One of a handful of authors

- Writing is fun, editing sucks

- Gotta hustle to sell books

- To hype without hyping

- Matt live-tweets superhero shows

- Making friends with people you've never met

- Women 18-40 are Matt's target audience

- Ensemble cast

- Harley the cat wants in

- To be continued

 

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_386_080515.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:13pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1997.

Show notes:

- Jay and Brian's #4

- Pavement continues a strong run of records

- Brian's coffee shop

- Jay's #3

- Ben Folds Five breaks through

- Brian's #3 to be discussed later

- Jay's #2

- Built to Spill's guitar pop excellence

- Brian's #2

- Foo Fighters' sophomore album is chock full o' good songs

- Backbeat soundtrack is great

- Jay gets confused

- Jay's #1 and Brian's #3

- Radiohead steps up their game

- Brian's #1

- Ween shows off its chops on The Mollusk

- Next up: 1994

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_385_072815.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:59pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1997.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Bubbling under albums

- Brian: Flaming Lips' Zaireeka was designed to have its 4 CDs listened to simultaneously

- Sweet 75 was Krist Novoselic's side project

- Brian gives thumbs down to Eyes Adrift, which had a song about Jonbenet Ramsey

- Jay: Totally missed Superchunk's Indoor Living at the time

- Different sounds from Cornershop, Portishead

- Return to form for Cheap Trick

- Brian: Aerosmith's Nine Lives had a few good songs

- Brian: Deftones were the most interesting of the metal acts

- McCartney's Flaming Pie is one of his last great albums

- Jay: Decent but not great albums from Matthew Sweet, Rollins Band, Dino Jr.

- GBV's Mag Earwhig was a strong release

- BS: Dylan's current comeback started with Time Out of Mind

- To a certain generation, pop punk is classic rock

- Sleater-Kinney hasn't made a bad album

- Jay's #5 will come up later

- Brian's #5

- Primus has more of a straight-ahead rock sound on The Brown Album

- To be continued


Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_384_072115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:07pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1997.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- 1997 was first year Brian was aware of popular and cool music

- Brian was 15, Jay was 29-30

- Both of us had our first dates with our future wives in '97

- Some quintessential '90s hits: Mmm Bop, Wannabe, I Believe I Can Fly

- Jay: Saw a lot of great shows that year

- Big year for chick rock

- Brian: Spawn soundtrack combined hard rock with trip hop

- Industrial/electronic music became prominent

- Bowie's 50th birthday concert

- Tail end of swing music era

- Ska-rock was hot

- Rap rock was taking root

- Adult alternative radio format was big

- Green Day's "Good Riddance" blew up

- Brian defends Third Eye Blind

- Big deaths: Hutchence, Jeff Buckley, Tim Taylor of Brainiac, Notorious B.I.G., John Denver

- Chris Farley died

- Rainbow broke up in '97

- To be continued


Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_383_071415.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:09pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far.

Show notes:

- JK: Nai Harvest's new album is infectious, fun rock

- Topshelf Records has some good acts in its lineup

- JB: Colleen is a former schoolteacher turned recording artist

- JK: Chandos is the band formerly known as Chandeliers

- JB's #1: Spectres has a psych-blues sound out of the UK

- JK: Viet Cong stirred up dumb controversy because of its name

- METZ is back with more kickassery

- New Mikal Cronin album expands his sound with orchestral touches

- JK's #1: Jeff Rosenstock's sound combines Weezer and Titus Andronicus

- JB: Looking forward to new releases from Infinity Girl, Lubec, Johnny Foreigner

- JK: Anticipating new material from Savages, Titus Andronicus, Destroyer, Fidlar, Kurt Vile

- Not looking forward to new Don Henley album

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_382_070715.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:33pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far.

Show notes:

- JK: Courtney Barnett is blowing up

- JB: Ava Luna released an interesting record

- Funk, psych sound

- JK: Kuroma is a psych pop act fronted by former member of the Whigs, MGMT

- JK: My kids love listening to top 40 radio, hearing same songs over and over

- Classic rock fans are the same way, except they never get sick of their favorites

- JB: Not impressed with new Madonna song

- JB: Beeef is a catchy Boston act fronted by music blogger

- JK: New Krill record is full of quirk and deep philosophical lyrics

- JB wrote terrific review of the album

- Clicky Clicky presents great show July 9 at Great Scott: Infinity Girl, Lubec, Guillermo Sexo and Havania Waal

- JB: Thin Lips is another in a line of great Philly rock acts

- JK: Another excellent release from Thee Oh Sees

- JB: Another Philly band, Hopalong, released good album on Saddle Creek

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_381_063015.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:02pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far.

Show notes:

- Pixies played "surprise show" at TT the Bear's

- Cambridge club is closing after 40+ years

- A primer on the Boston rock club scene

- Free Converse shows were a bummer for those of us who couldn't get tickets

- Van Halen talk continues with Eddie slagging DLR and Michael Anthony

- JB: Indie bands move beyond the '90s guitar rock sound

- Speedy Ortiz explored different textures on new album

- Nice work, Insound

- JK: Reunited bands with good new releases: Sleater-Kinney, Swervedriver and Faith No More

- JB: Pile's new album has a live feel to it

- Hard to categorize Pile

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_380_062315.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:24pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Scared of the stunt guy

- Watch out for the quiet ones

- Comic book movies and shows tend to be pretty dark

- Daredevil series on Netflix has been really good

- Matt: Dark Knight Returns series portrayed heroes as old and fat

- The problem with vigilantes

- Realistic fight scenes

- Why the Punisher hasn't worked as a movie hero

- Superhero comics target new readers

- Rebooting superheroes

- Iron Man's alcoholic years

- Fast and Furious series is quietly the most diverse

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_379_061615.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:25pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Bronies and furries, oh my

- Why would you want to run for office these days?

- Small-town politics

- Tearing down heroes on Twitter

- Avengers press junket goes awry

- Celebs stumble on social media

- Michael Richards, Mel Gibson go from beloved stars to pariahs

- Can you enjoy a Gibson movie now knowing what you know about him?

- When politics get in the way of entertainment

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_378_060915.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:02pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Matt founded Home For Wayward Geeks to rant about superheroes

- The problem with binge watching TV

- Superhero movies and TV shows are everywhere now

- Marvel's got a new movie coming out every few months

- Simon Pegg bites the hand that feeds him

- Comics are still big business, but the real money is in movies and merch

- Do we need superheroes?

- Matt: They're not going away until things get better in the real world

- We love to tear our heroes down

- Nobody likes a winner

- Robert Downey Jr. was a mess before he became Iron Man

- The Hugo Awards controversy

- People get all worked up over casting in comic book movies

- Matt doesn't get aniime

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_377_060215.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Jay's #3

- Peter Gabriel's breakthrough

- Exploring dark themes

- Parallels between Eddie Van Halen and John Romita Jr.

- Brian's #2

- Descendents were very relatable to suburban teens

- Bass player was way older than rest of band

- Big influence on '90s pop punk

- Jay's #2

- Prince played 99% of the music on 1999

- Brian's #1

- Bad Brains were unmatched for sheer insanity and awesomeness

- Jay's #1

- Mission of Burma's only full-length during their first stint

- Broke up a year later, reunited nearly two decades later

- Next up: 1997

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_376_05262015.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 10:21pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Recording industry was warning of the evils of home taping

- Jay: Would tape my records so I could listen to them on my Walkman

- Streaming is convenient

- '82 was a good year for both hard rock and synth pop

- Guess the chart toppers

- Bubbling under albums

- Brian: Prince, Captain Beefheart, James White

- Nebraska was an interesting departure for Springsteen

- XTC releases another great record

- Jay: Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Van Halen

- Rush enters their synth phase

- Pete Townshend released another solid solo effort

- Joe Jackson blew up with "Steppin' Out"

- Brian's #5

- Jim Jarmusch's band made a splash on the no wave scene

- Jay's #5

- R.E.M.'s hugely influential debut EP

- Brian's #4

- The worst Lounge Lizards album was still pretty good

- Jay's #4

- Brian's #3

- Not the best Clash album, but a decent effort

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_375_051915.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:00pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Brian was born in '82

- "Ebony and Ivory" was the #1 song the week he was born

- Strange year for music

- The band Fear is better to talk about than listen to

- John Belushi's death

- SNL was a very different show at first

- Jay: Started watching SNL in '81-'82 when Eddie Murphy was blowing up

- The brilliance of SCTV

- Strange year for Ozzy

- First CDs were sold in Japan

- Big year for top 40

- Thriller was a monster hit

- The Who's "farewell" tour, sponsored by Schlitz

- The abrupt ending of "Young Turks"

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_374_051215.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:34pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about whether songs have an expiration date.

Show notes:

- Critical writing about rock musicians is important and rare

- The corruptness of Rolling Stone reviews

- Songs that focus on obsolete technology

- Songs you like at first but grow to hate

- The problem with Red Hot Chili Peppers

- Goo Goo Dolls, Soul Asylum started strong but sucked later

- JK: U2 was once my favorite band, but not anymore

- The Strokes fizzled after a strong debut

- JK: Listen to a lot of top 40 thanks to kids

- Tidal and Pono

- Different relationship with music today

- Classic rock stations now include and overplay music from the '90s

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_373_050515.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 10:04pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about whether songs have an expiration date.

Show notes:

- JK: After a bad breakup, couldn't listen to "Wild Horses" for years

- "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" as a torture device

- Classic rock and top 40 stations overplay certain songs to the point of no return

- Indie rock is only played on college radio for the most part (in Boston, anyway)

- Parody songs are often dated, although Weird Al endures

- In the '80s and '90s, you could get sick of songs both on radio and video

- Playlists were very tight

- Pop and rock music steers clear of social issues nowadays

- More focused on personal statements

- Ted Cruz loves country

- UK acts disavow David Cameron's fandom

- Looking back not so fondly at the hardcore scene

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_372_042815.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:16pm EDT

This week, I talk to filmmaker Eric Green about the release of his documentary on the mid-'80s Boston music channel V66.

Show notes:

- We last spoke in 2012, when Eric was still working on Life on the V

- Previously appeared in episodes 231 and 232

- Movie's now out on DVD and in film festivals

- In 1985, MTV was still growing and smaller music video shows were on

- Two Boston radio veterans wanted V66 to be like a radio station

- Audiences who are unfamiliar with V66 have enjoyed the movie

- Long post-production process

- Cast and crew screening was in early 2014

- Founder John Garabedian quickly realized V66 couldn't just show videos

- Needed other programming to keep viewers

- Added wrestling, sports and lifestyle shows

- Original cut of movie was 2 hours

- Connecting to the Boston community

- Good response at festivals

- Developing other projects

- Great time for music documentaries

- Eric: It's as much a business story as a music story

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_371_042115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:51pm EDT

This week, it's my conversation with Bryan Hamill about how music discovery has evolved over the years.

Show notes:

- Recorded at a noisy pub in Cambridge, Mass.

- Check out Bryan's blog The Ash Gray Proclamation

- Pre-gaming prior to Swervedriver show

- Bryan used to find out about music from radio (WBCN, WFNX) and magazines

- The inevitable teenage metal phase

- Older brother introduced him to bands like the Neighborhoods and the Replacements

- Record reviews and tips from friends were important

- Boston rock scene was pivotal, then and now

- Worked in radio for several years

- Started blog 9 years ago to champion indie rock scene

- Scours Soundcloud, Twitter, Spotify for new music

- Major labels are less important now

- Nobody plays indie rock on radio other than college stations

- Bands make money through playing shows and selling merch

- Records sales are no longer a factor

- Tips from publicists and bands

- Bands don't have to compromise because chances of success are slight

- As a teen, found music by combing through stacks at record stores

- Boston still has great clubs to see new music

- Corporatization of radio is bad for everyone

- Rock is niche music now

- As a genre, rock is in a down cycle

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_370_041415.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:39am EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book on the early days of Van Halen.

Show notes:

- Check out Greg's Van Halen Rising page

- Book is out Oct. 1

- Getting blurbs, reviews, photo permissions

- Publisher ECW Press released Neil Peart's books

- Book will feature previously unpublished photos

- Backyard parties were how the band grew

- New VH tour on the way

- Greg: Had an inkling it would happen

- Roth's solo career

- Greg: Became a VH fan because of "Jump"

- Roth stopped focusing on vocals after first few years

- New live album's shaky vocals

- Modern production techniques

- Is there a new studio album on the way?

- Next up for Greg: Possible work on unnamed artist's autobiography

- VH has a passionate fan base

- Afterword talks of the band's legacy

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_369_040715.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:17pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book about the early days of Van Halen.

Show notes:

- Check out Greg's Van Halen Rising page

- Book is out Oct. 1

- Greg's a college professor

- Fan of arena rock and guitar as a kid

- In grad school, wrote his disseration and a book about a traveling circus

- Many parallels to a rock tour

- Wanted to learn more about VH's beginnings

- Interviewed people around the scene starting in 2009

- Eventually talked to Michael Anthony, Ted Templeman, Donn Landee

- Started at the bottom and worked up

- Dug into the myths around VH's major label signing

- Eddie's beginnings on guitar

- VH hit a lot of dead ends along the way

- The first big tour really made the band

- The fine art of choosing opening acts

- Getting a book publisher isn't easy

- Putting together the book proposal

- Finished writing in summer 2014

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_368_033115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:20pm EDT

The latest installment of Driving with Kumar as I discuss the joys and travails of having pets.

Show notes:

- Driving to Ric Dube's to record for our web series Trust Fund Challenge

- We got a puppy almost two years ago

- As a kid in Canada, we got a German Shepherd puppy but she got too big for us and was adopted by someone else

- Got a smaller dog a year later

- Sammy moved with us to Washington state and New Hampshire

- We also got a black lab puppy, Caesar

- Tough junior prom was followed by bad news the next day

- Fighting off marauding pit bulls

- Sammy lived for another eight years

- I lived with a girlfriend who had a cat

- Didn't have any pets for the next 20 years

- New puppy, Charlie, lived downstairs for nine months before moving up with us

- The Poopsplosion

- A Very Charlie Christmas, aka Tree Scares Dog

- Getting drenched on walks

- Hard to work from home with Charlie here

- He sometimes snaps at us if he's cranky

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_367_031815.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:59pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Brian's #3

- Frank Black's first solo effort was a sign of greatness to come

- Some songs were written for the Pixies

- Jay's #3

- PJ Harvey's blistering second album

- Brian's #2

- A "pretty perfect album" from the Lemonheads

- Reality Bites really does bite

- Jay's #2 and Brian's #1

- Nirvana followed up Nevermind with a raw, seething album

- Easy to read a lot into Cobain's state of mind at the time

- Jay's #1

- Jay's intro to the Afghan Whigs

- Already differentiating themselves from their peers

- Dulli's lyrics were really in your face

- Whither Rick McCollum?

- Next up: 1982

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_366_031015.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 10:15pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Brian saw his first concert in '93, Paul McCartney

- Sir Paul dropped f-bombs galore on "Big Boys Bickering"

- Billy Joel hasn't released a new album since '93

- Jay: Saw Dino Jr., Mudhoney, Nirvana, Tragically Hip, Living Colour, Urge Overkill

- Saw Lollapalooza '93 in Rhode Island with Primus, Alice in Chains, Fishbone

- Jay: Became aware that 8-year-olds liked the same music I did

- Brian helped out at a record store as an 11-year-old

- Flaming Lips showed up on Beverly Hills 90210

- Jay: Saw Buffalo Tom on MTV's 120 Minutes

- Matthew Sweet's Altered Beast was underrated and depressing

- Brian: Got into Tribe Called Quest years later

- Morphine had a completely different sound

- Cracker had a quintessential '90s song in "Low"

- Radiohead's big rock debut

- Brian's #5

- Primus hit #7 on the charts with Pork Soda

- Jay's #5

- Urge Overkill got a lot of listens

- Brian's #4

- The Breeders broke through in '93

- "Cannonball" was another classic '90s tune

- Jay's #4

- Siamese Dream is a massive-sounding album

- Billy Corgan went for broke with guitar army sound

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_365_030315.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:16pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- In'93, Brian was 10, Jay was 25

- First year Brian was interested in pop culture

- Jay was into the first wave of grunge

- Brian's failsafe plan involving an Adam Sandler tape

- SNL40 was strange because of the live audience of celebs

- '93 was a big year for R&B and mainstream hip hop

- Pharrell's guest verse on "Rump Shaker"

- Not much rock on the year-end Hot 100

- Whoomp and Whoot There It Is

- Nary a trace of hair metal to be found anywhere

- Formed: At the Drive-In, Backstreet Boys, Wilco, Ben Folds Five, Spoon, Korn

- Broke up: Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, Stryper, Television, Triumph, Venom

- Puzzling Rock Hall picks

- In '93, Prince changed his name to a symbol

- Bill Wyman's adventures in wedded bliss

- Michael Jackson's legal troubles

- Shaq Diesel and Coverdale-Page made appearances

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_364_022415.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:49pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Matt: I will sell out tomorrow

- Matt founded Home For Wayward Geeks to rant about superheroes

- A lack of institutional rock knowledge

- Sitting next to Jordan Knight on a plane

- Friends who overshare online about kids, pets, butts

- Matt: I miss hanging out with friends

- It's work to get people together

- Two levels of interaction

- Social media ghosts

- Online relationships can be as real as physical ones for some

- You'll exist online long after your death

- The Digital Cleaner

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_363_021115.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:41pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Colleen Green, Radical Dads and Boom Said Thunder.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Matt stopped working in offices several years ago

- Used to being alone all day

- Going out with friends tends to slow down as you settle down

- Less likely to make the effort to organize group outings

- House parties can be fun

- Young people like Tinder

- Matt used OK Cupid

- Photos can be deceiving

- Blind dates can be rough

- When older parents start texting

- Mom Guilt never ends

- Matt came back to the U.S. because of family

- Jay was ready to move far away after college...and didn't

- Matt: Watching Dancing With the Stars is a family tradition

- "The Fighter" was like "National Geographic: Boston"

- To be continued

 

Music:

Colleen Green - TV

Radical Dads - Don't Go

Boom Said Thunder - Summer Twin

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The Colleen Green song is on the album I Want to Grow Up on Hardly Art. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Radical Dads song is on the album Universal Coolers on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Boom Said Thunder song is on the EP Summer Twin, which is available for free download at Bandcamp.

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Direct download: CompCon_362_020315.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:56pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Stag, Cult of Youth and Young Adults.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- How friendship has changed over the years

- Rarely have long conversations with people anymore

- Jay: Have closer relationships with podcast guests than anyone else

- Matt: Internet has helped save friendships

- Letter writing is a lost art

- Email replaced letters for a while

- Fewer phone calls with friends

- Jay: Still stay in touch with certain groups of friends

- Seems like people at work go out less anymore

- Friends you've never met

- Making friends on the Interwebs

- Matt meets people through book publishing world

- Reconnecting with people from childhood can be awkward

- Losing touch with friends who aren't on social media

- Friends from different interests, jobs

- To be continued

 

Music:

Stag - She Plus Me

Cult of Youth - God's Garden

Young Adults - Void

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

The Stag song is on the EP Temporary Machines on Pop Maelstrom. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Cult of Youth song is on the album Final Days on Sacred Bones Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Young Adults song is available for free download at Bandcamp.

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Direct download: CompCon_361_012715.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:13pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Restorations, The Shivas and Nai Harvest.

Show notes:

- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Jay's #4

- The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock crunch with girl group harmonies

- Brian's #3

- Skipping a day of college to see TMBG in Cleveland

- Jay's #3

- Public Enemy scared white people

- Brian's #2

- The Lounge Lizards were punk rockers who played weird jazz

- Jay's #2 and Brian's #1

- First full-length from the Pixies

- Jay's #1

- Jane's Addiction straddled the line between hard rock and alternative

- Brian: Able to look back at these years without emotion

- Next up: 1993

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

Music:

Restorations - Separate Songs

The Shivas - Stalking Legs

Nai Harvest - Buttercups

 

The Restorations song is on the album LP3 on SideOne Dummy Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Shivas song is on the album You Know What to Do on K Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Nai Harvest song is a single available for free download at Bandcamp.

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_360_011315.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:48pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Flake Music, Wanted Man and My Goodness.

Show notes:

- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Elton John had another crappy comeback

- Bands formed in '88: Bad English, Breeders, GVSB, NIN, Jawbreaker, Mudhoney

- Bands that broke up: The Cars, Grim Reaper, Loverboy, Plasmatics

- Our honorable mentions

- Brian: Talking Heads' Naked featured Johnny Marr on guitar

- Jay: First got into Camper Van Beethoven with Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

- Prince had Lovesexy out, taking the place of the Black Album

- Cowboy Junkies scored a big hit with cover of "Sweet Jane"

- Jay: HMs include Smithereens, Soundgarden, Keith Richards, B.A.D., Run DMC, Waterboys, Sonic Youth, Living Colour, Metallica, Plant, Church

- Brian had a substitute teacher who sang the praises of Queensryche

- Brian's #5

- CDs led to longer album run times in late '80s

- Jay's #5

- Dino Jr. toured behind Bug a few years ago

- Brian's #4

- Leonard Cohen discovers synths

- Comparable to Destroyer's Kaputt

- To be continued

 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

 

Music:

Flake Music - Spanway Hits

Wanted Man - Pardon Me If I Stare

My Goodness - Cold Feet Killer

 

The Flake Music song is on the reissue of the band's 1997 album When You Land Here, It's Time to Return on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Wanted Man song is on the band's self-titled EP, which is available for free on Bandcamp.

The My Goodness song is on the album Shiver + Shake on Votiv Music. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.

 

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_359_010615.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:55pm EDT

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