Completely Conspicuous

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April 2014
S M T W T F S
     
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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

Syndication

Part 1 of the latest installment of Driving with Kumar as I share some thoughts while driving to my 25th college reunion. I've also got music from Sleater-Kinney, Coaches and The Cherry Wave.

Show notes:

- Coached in a youth soccer tournament before driving up to University of New Hampshire

- Haven't gone to a college reunion before

- Still see many friends from college on occasion

- Nearly flunked out freshman year

- Switched from engineering to journalism and turned it around

- Worked for newspaper for six years after college

- Journalism majors use theirs skill in different ways now

- College was my first time away from parental discipline

- Real partying began when grades improved

- Did not drink in high school

- First weekend in college, that changed

- Freshman year roommate had a tough time

- Sophomore year roomie was super busy with activities

- Moved off campus junior year

- Unlucky in love

- Always hung out with both nerds and jocks

- Ate a lot of junk food

- To be continued

 

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

 

Music:

Sleater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends

Coaches - amisarewaswere

The Cherry Wave - Whitey

 

The Sleater-Kinney song is on the forthcoming album No Cities to Love on Sub Pop. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Stereogum.

The Coaches song is available for free download at Bandcamp.

The Cherry Wave song is on the forthcoming album Avalancher and 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_348_102114.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:19pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1996. I've also got music from Ex Hex, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, and Mini Dresses.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's new radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Brian's #5

- Olivia Tremor Control made Brian's favorite Elephant 6 album

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

- Frank Black had a tough task following up Teenager of the Year

- Moved to a rawer sound

- In the middle of an excellent stretch of solo music

- Jay's #4

- Weezer's underrated (at the time) masterpiece

- Brian's #3

- Ween goes to Nashville

- Serious musicianship behind silly songs

- Jay's #3

- Afghan Whigs' Black Love was a cinematic concept album

- Serious Quadrophenia feel on the ballads

- Brian's #2

- Fountains of Wayne's debut was also underrated

- Jay's #2

- Sloan bounced back from short-lived breakup to put together a brilliant album

- Trading a Ween mix for a Sloan mix

- Brian's #1

- Pinkerton was the first album Brian liked and his friends didn't

- Serious dropoff in quality since then

- Jay's #1

- Beck followed up Mellow Gold with an amazing album

- Brian: Midnite Vultures is the best Prince album of the '90s

- Next up: 1988

 

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

 

Music:

Ex Hex - Don't Wanna Lose

Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas - Caught Up

Mini Dresses - In Two

 

The Ex Hex song is on the album Rips on Merge Records. Download the song for free for a limited time at KEXP.

The Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas song is on the album Secret Evil on Instant Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Mini Dresses song is on the EP Three and 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_347_101414.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:37pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1996. I've also got music from King Tuff, Purling Hiss and Young Adults.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic

- Brian: Beck's Odelay was just outside my top 5

- New album's okay, but not great

- Brian: Cake, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Wrens' Secaucus

- The endless wait for the new Wrens album

- Brian was supposed to play piano with the Wrens but got sick

- Sticking up for Stone Temple Pilots' album

- Jay: STP were equal opportunity ripoff artists

- The '90s brought new wave of festivals: Lolla, Gathering of the Vibes, HORDE, Ozzfest

- Jay: No desire to go to Bonnaroo or Coachella

- Nothing better than seeing a band in a club

- Jay: Dug albums from D Generation, Sebadoh, Luscious Jackson, Johnny Cash, Chixdiggit, Brainiac, GBV, Maxwell, Westerberg

- Singing the praises of Live at Drew's

- Brian: Belle and Sebastian, Bill Frisell

- Frisell did the soundtrack to a Far Side cartoon

-  To be continued

 

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

 

Music:

King Tuff - Headbanger

Purling Hiss - Forcefield of Solitude

Young Adults - Old Kids

 

The King Tuff song is on the album Black Moon Spell on Sub Pop. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.

The Purling Hiss song is on the album Weirdon on Drag City. 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_346_100714.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:37pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1996. I've also got music from Whirr, Withered Hand and Super Medusa.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic

- In '96, Jay was 28 going on 29

- Brian: 13 going on 14

- Grunge was fading, pop was back in a big way

- Two versions of "The Macarena" were on top 100 singles chart

- Brian: At the time, didn't feel like a pop year

- Bush made an album with Steve Albini

- Lots of unsuccessful followups: Ugly Kid Joe, Kriss Kross

- Metallica's Load lived down to its name

- Strange year for Van Halen: Twister soundtrack, followed by greatest hits album with two DLR songs

- VH went through three singers in a matter of months

- Michael Anthony, Everyman

- We deconstructed VH III in eps 315 and 316

- Nickelback's first album came out in '96

- KISS reunited with original lineup

- Hip hop went mainstream

- New acts on the rise, like The Roots, Outkast, Wu Tang Clan

- Roots of nu metal

- The death of rock criticism with David Fricke in Rolling Stone giving U2's new album a five-star rating

- Rolling Stone typically hands out good reviews to old-school artists like U2, Dylan, Stones

- Last time U2 did anything interesting was 1997's Pop

- The U2 backlash is fierce

-  To be continued

 

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

 

Music:

Whirr - Mumble

Withered Hand - Black Tambourine

Super Medusa - Doomed Boy

 

The Whirr song is on the album Sway on Graveface Records. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.

The Withered Hand song is on the album New Gods on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on Amazon MP3.

The Super Medusa song is on the EP of the same name, 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_345_093014.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 5:55pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. I've also got music from SW/MM/NG, Gold-Bears and Weekend.

Show notes:

- The Brits love them some Arctic Monkeys

- Matt learns how to do Twitter

- Getting followed by dead authors and weirdos

- Desperate for celeb RTs

- Positive Twitter interactions

- Jay: Old friend has been writing about celebrities for a few decades now

- PR jobs require a different mindset

- Meeting your heroes can be problematic

- Searching for Jagger

- In the presence of Howard

- Rock star deaths

- Dying young does wonders for an artist's legacy

- Brando's death isn't well remembered...by Matt, anyway

- How dumb would we be if we had money?

 

Music:

SW/MM/NG - Some Dreams Come True

Gold-Bears - From Tallahassee to Gainesville

Weekend - Hazel

 

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

The SW/MM/NG song is on the album Feel Not Bad on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.

The Gold-Bears song is on the album Dalliance on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on Amazon MP3.

The Weekend song is on the EP Red on Slumberland Records.
Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on 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_344_092314.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. I've also got music from Creepers, Naomi Punk and Hooray for Earth.

Show notes:

- Scandal rags are still popular

- Celebs and social media can lead to trouble

- Now everyone's got a camera to catch your every mistake

- Michael Richards was beloved until he screwed up

- People will turn on celebs in an instant

- The strange life of Tom Cruise, Entertainment Robot

- Doing interview junkets must be mind-numbing

- Supreme Court nominee was rejected in the '80s because of pot smoking

- The media mastery of Bill Clinton

- Public perception matters

- Asking the wrong question

- Jay: Meeting Stephen Colbert was pretty cool

- Jay: Sat next to Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block on a flight once

- People will stand for hours just to get shown on The Today Show

- Suing Naked Dating reality show for...being naked

- To be continued

 

Music:

Creepers - Stuck

Naomi Punk - Television Man

Hooray for Earth - Airs

 

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

The Creepers song is on the album Lush from the All Black Recording Company. Download the song for free from Stereogum.

The Naomi Punk song is on the album Television Man on Captured Tracks. Download the song for free from KEXP.

The Hooray for Earth song is on the album Racy on Dovecote Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.

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_343_091614.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:46pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. I've also got music from The Wytches, Aan and Little Racer.

Show notes:

- Celebrity deaths

- Jay: Robin Williams' death hit me hard

- We don't have royalty so celebs fill that role

- Getting rich doesn't necessarily equal happiness

- Americans are surprisingly fascinated by the British royal family

- Dealing with fans could get annoying after a while

- Matt was at Boston ComiCon hyping his book

- Check out his YA superhero novel The Indestructibles

- Saw some minor celebs like Jason Momoa and John Barrowman

- What do you say to an actor or musician you admire?

- Matt met Susan Sarandon while working at Museum of Science

- Jay: Met my favorite hockey player and I was a dork

- Many movies filmed around here and people flock to watch

- People will do anything to get onscreen

- Worked with a guy who was on a short-lived reality show

- Matt went to college with actor Charlie Day

- The lameness of celeb interviews during sports telecasts

- To be continued

 

Music:

The Wytches - Digsaw

Aan - Spiritual Provisions

Little Racer - Dancing

 

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

The Wytches song is on the album Annabel Dream Reader on Partisan Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.

The Aan song is on the album Amor Ad Nauseum on Party Damage Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.

The Little Racer song is on the EP Modern Accent on PaperCup Music. Download the song for free from KEXP.

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_342_090914.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we examine the back story of '70s hitmakers Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. I've also got music from Owl John and Benjamin Booker.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ

- Check out our new web series Trust Fund Challenge

- Playboy Records had Barbi Benton signed to a deal

- RD: Hef likes "female impersonator impersonators"

- Benton guested on many '70s TV shows like Fantasy Island and The Love Boat

- She released five albums that hit the country charts

- Worked on Playboy After Dark

- Show had many great musical guests

- Playboy Records made HJFR keep Reynolds in the name after he left

- HJFR had their biggest hit in '75 with "Fallin' in Love"

- Drake sampled it and was sued by Playboy Enterprises

- Poor Dennison

- Singer Dan Hamilton died in '94 of Cushing's Syndrome

- Three subsequent singles bombed

- Album only went to #82, even with a #1 hit

- Bad distro

- Band probably didn't make much money from sales

- MST3K had a good HJFR reference

- The King's last hit

 

Music:

Owl John - Red Hand

Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver

 

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

The Owl John song is on its self-titled album on Canvasback/Atlantic. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Benjamin Booker song is on his self-titled album on ATO Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

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_341_090214.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 9:59pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we examine the back story of '70s hitmakers Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. I've also got music from The Hush Now and Kingdom of the Holy Sun.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ

- Check out our new web series Trust Fund Challenge

- The adventures of Steve Austin Astronaut

- Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds were synonymous with '70s AM pop

- "Don't Pull Your Love" was their first big hit in '71

- Singer does an Elvis impression

- Song written by Lambert and Potter, who had hits with many artists

- Guys from HJFR were in the T-Bones, who had a hit in '60s with "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach Is In)"

- An "offshoot" of the Ventures, an instrumental band that made tons of records covering hits

- Session musicians made the albums

- T-Bones were put together to tour and later they formed HJFR

- The Wrecking Crew was a famous session band that cranked out hits

- Reynolds left HJFR in '72

- Second HJFR album stiffed

- Ric: A bunch of Ventures albums probably don't have the Ventures on them

- HJFR replaced Reynolds but contract with Playboy Records required them to keep old name

- Many bands are named after the musicians

- To be continued

 

Music:

The Hush Now - Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious

Kingdom of the Holy Sun - Thirteen Eyes

 

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

The Hush Now song is on the forthcoming album Sparkle Drive. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Kingdom of the Holy Sun song is on the self-released EP Thirteen Eyes. Download the song for free at KEXP.

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_340_081914.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:48pm EDT

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1989. I've also got music from Ty Segall, Spoon and J. Mascis.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic

- Jay's #3

- Neil Young rebounds from a long, strange decade

- Led to a fruitful stretch of albums

- Jay's #2

- Bob Mould moves beyond Husker Du

- Inspired new direction and sound

- Our picks for #1 are the same

- Pixies at their peak

- Doolittle covers all facets of the band's sound

- Brian saw them several times when they toured behind Doolittle in the last decade

- Brian: Latest live incarnation of Pixies is more energized

- Bad choice for first single with "Bagboy"

- Frank Black was prolific, but he can't keep up with Bob Pollard

- Next up: 1996

- Popular music was shifting again

 

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

 

Music:

Ty Segall - Susie Thumb

Spoon - Rent I Pay

J. Mascis - Every Morning

 

The Ty Segall song is on the album Manipulator on Drag City Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Spoon song is on the album They Want My Soul on Loma Vista Recordings. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The J. Mascis song is on the album Tied to a Star on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at KEXP.

 

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_339_081214.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:15pm EDT