Wed, 10 April 2024
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: - Phil's #5: My Morning Jacket changes things up
- Jay's #5: Big space rock ripper from Black Mountain
- Phil's #4: Springsteen-inspired indie rock from the Gaslight Anthem
- Jay's #4: Stephen Malkmus gets jammy
- Phil's #3: Tom Petty's early band Mudcrutch gets back together
- Jay's #3: Sloan with an economical power pop release
- Phil's and Jay's #2: Dark, inspired record from the Gutter Twins
- Phil's #1: Brooding classic from Death Cab for Cutie
- Jay's #1: The Hold Steady hits an anthemic peak
- Craig Finn is an atypical yet terrific frontman
- Favorite songs: "Stay Positive" (Jay), "I Will Possess Your Heart" (Phil)
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_634_041224.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 7:54pm EDT
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Wed, 3 April 2024
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: - In '08, Phil became a dad
- M.I.A. with the Clash fakeout intro
- Phil's non-top 5s: The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, the Raconteurs, Beck, R.E.M., JJ Grey and Mofro, Sloan, Drive-By Truckers, Black Keys
- The Kelly Gruber Effect
- The other Phil Stacey releases his debut album, as did Scarlett Johansson and Bronson Arroyo
- Jay's non-top 5s: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Black Angels, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Destroyer
- Green Day was punk until they weren't
- Phil: Hearing the Kinks for the first time
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_633_040324.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 6:57pm EDT
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Wed, 6 March 2024
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2007. Show notes: - Phil's #5: Sharp alt-country debut from Deer Tick
- Jay's #5: Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman
- Phil's #4: Compelling raunch rock from QOTSA
- Jay's #4: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with another quality ripper
- Phil's #3: Soulful belter Sharon Jones with a great throwback
- Jay's #3: Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment
- Labels were not happy that they took the risk
- Phil's #2: Dad-rock kings Wilco with a mellower affair
- Jay's #2: The original Dino Jr. lineup with their first album since '88
- Phil's and Jay's #1: Spoon breaks through with a classic
- The decline of rock as a popular genre
- Favorite songs: "Don't You Evah" (Jay), "Impossible Germany" (Phil)
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_632_030624.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 7:50pm EDT
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Wed, 28 February 2024
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2007. Show notes: - In 2007, Jay had a kid starting kindergarten; that kids graduates from college soon
- Zeppelin played two reunion shows
- Separating the music from artists' bad behavior
- Daughtry had the #1 selling album of '07
- Phil's non-top 5s: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the National, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Okkervil River, Buffalo Tom, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Arctic Monkeys
- Let's hear it for Dad Rock
- On Madonna's career
- Discovering music through commercials or movies
- Music services
- Jay's non-top 5s: LCD Soundsystem, the Dears, Tim Armstrong, Black Francis, Thurston Moore, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Beastie Boys
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_631_022824.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 7:50pm EDT
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Tue, 23 January 2024
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2006. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: The Black Angels, Mission of Burma, Twilight Singers, The Tragically Hip, Girl Talk, Iron Maiden, Lemonheads
- Phil's #5: Beck's last really good album, especially the first half
- Jay's #5: First solo release from Pulp's Jarvis Cocker
- Phil's #4: Last Drive-By Truckers album with Jason Isbell expands their world view
- Jay's #4: Expansive and excellent outing from TV On the Radio
- Phil's #3: Droney, psychedelic fuzz from the Black Angels
- Jay's #3: Yet another great one from the Hold Steady
- Phil's #2: Sharp debut from Jack White-led Raconteurs
- Jay's #2: Sweeping double album from Sloan, chock full o' power pop goodness
- Phil's #1: Guitar greatness from Doug Martsch and Built to Spill
- Jay's #1: Audacious debut from Arctic Monkeys
- Arctic Monkeys caught on with a whole new audience
- Favorite songs: "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" (Jay), "Goin' Against Your Mind" (Phil)
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_630_012324.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 5:14pm EDT
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Tue, 16 January 2024
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2006. Show notes: - First episode of the year
- In 2006, Jay had two little kids
- Phil was having fun
- When you don't know anybody playing the festival
- Top-selling album of the year was High School Musical soundtrack
- The Who released an album in 2006
- Phil's non-top 5s: Neko Case, Destroyer, the Hold Steady, the Walkmen, Dylan, Heartless Bastards, Tom Petty, Eagles of Death Metal, Black Keys, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Jay: Check out Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_629_011624.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 7:59pm EDT
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Tue, 26 December 2023
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023. Show notes: - We're in there like swimwear
- On to the top 10 lists
- Breitling's #10: Return to from by Fog Lake
- Breitling's #9: Frog's new release unexpectedly has received critical praise
- Kumar's #9: Another consistenly great album from Protomartyr
- Breitling's #8: Minimalist excellence from Colleen that tests Jay's French pronunciation skills
- Kumar's #8: After an 11-year absence, the Hives' formula de rock still kicks ass in 2023
- Breitling's #7 and Kumar's #10: Yo La Tengo still bringing the heat, opening the album with 7-minute feedback-laden ripper
- Kumar's #7 and Breitling's #6: Supergroup is actually super, Voltroning into a monster act
- Kumar's #6: Return of the rock with Queens of the Stone Age, chock full o' bangers from a super-tight band
- Breitling's #5: Philly represent with Golden Apples dropping indie pop/rock with the fuzz bass and some wooder ice
- Kumar's #5: SF's Pardoner brings an assortment of guitar sounds from the last 50 years to their latest slack masterpiece
- The '90s sound (and look) is still thriving
- Breitling's #4: More of the Philly goodness with Purling Hiss with the lo-fi hooky guitar rock
- Kumar's #4: Indie power-pop supergroup Eyelids delivers the super-catchy goods
- Breilting's #3: Bay Area shoegaze concern Blue Ocean returns with a weird and rewarding album
- Kumar's #3: Sharp, concise indie post-punk from Kansas-via-Boston act Sweeping Promises
- Breitling's #2: Ohio-based indie act Connections connects with melodic rockers; RIYL GBV, Feelies
- Kumar's #2: New Zealand post-punk that smashes through with punchy, catchy rippers
- Breitling's #1: Long-awaited reunion album from American shoegaze icons Drop Nineteens does not disappoint
- Kumar's #1: Going into Hellmode with Jeff Rosenstock, who has been consistently releasing excellent albums for the last several years; additional layers of maturity and depth make this release all the more satisfying
Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_628_122623.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 3:17pm EDT
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Tue, 19 December 2023
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky HQ
- The 14th year of "Year in Music" episodes
- Taylor Swift is big, but not bigger than Starbucks
- Breitling making fun of Croz
- Perfect synergy: The Stones tour sponsored by AARP
- Hall v. Oates
- KISS passes the torch to digital avatars of themselves
- The "new" old Beatles song
- Check it out on the YouthTube
- Spotify blows
- The kids love the streaming and whatnot
- Check out Parcheesi Redux Tuesday and Thursday on Mixcloud
- Also check out Brad Searles' show The Almanac on the first Wednesday of every month
- Shout out to the Rollins Archive
- Breitling's honorable mentions: Ted Pauly, Everything But the Girl, Cupid and Psyche, Everasting and Zilla, Superchunk
- Kumar's honorable mentions: Pile, Model/Actriz, Yves Tumor, Fucked Up, Shame, PJ Harvey, Peter Gabriel, Marnie Stern, Replacements' "Tim" reissue, Breeders' Last Splash reissue, Feelies live album of VU covers
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_627_121923.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 5:16pm EDT
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Wed, 8 November 2023
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005. Show notes: - Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: New Pornographers with another all-star power pop classic
- Phil's #5: Early '70s singer-songwriter jams from Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
- Still in the era of artists putting out overlong albums
- Jay's #3: Spoon expands their sound, grows their popularity
- Phil's #3: A powerful R&B belter from Sharon Jones
- Jay's #2: Queens of the Stone Age with a punchy follow-up to a monster hit
- Phil's #2: Beck with an Odelay-esque release with a nod to Latin music
- Phil's #1 and Jay's #4: Sleater-Kinney drops a monster rock album
- Jay's #1: Another winner from The Hold Steady, blending big riffs and nerdy scenester tales
- Jay makes a Rush joke
- Favorite songs: "Jumpers" (Phil), "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" (Jay)
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_626_110823.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 5:40pm EDT
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Wed, 1 November 2023
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005. Show notes: - In 2005, Jay was dealing with tiny children while Phil was newly married
- Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Pink Floyd briefly reunited
- Jay: Listened to a lot of songs via MP3 blogs
- Jay's non-top 5s: White Stripes, Black Mountain, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Wolf Parade, Against Me!
- Phil's non-top 5s: Sufjan Stevens, Son Volt, Bright Eyes, Neil Young, Trey Anastasio, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Southern Culture on the Skids, North Mississippi All-Stars
- Random cocaine references
- Wilco with a good live album
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.
Direct download: CompCon_625_110123.mp3
Category: Completely Conspicuous
-- posted at: 6:29pm EDT
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