Wed, 19 October 2016
Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff as we discuss the rise and fall of the guitar hero. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store - Flash guitar in the '80s: VH, Motley Crue, Ratt, Quiet Riot - Ratt was once replaced on a bill by Molly Hatchet - Billy Squier's downfall - Molly Hatchet unsuccessfully tried to pull a "ZZ Top" - The hair metal bubble burst - The '80s shredder trend - Fast forwarding to the solos - Oh, Vinnie Vincent - Looking for the new Warrant - The influence of Guitar Hero - Learning about Slash - We need guitars
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. |
Tue, 11 October 2016
This week, it's part 1 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff as we discuss the rise and fall of the guitar hero. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store - Greg: As a kid, started playing stepfather's old acoustic guitar - An uncle got him into Hendrix, Clapton, Leslie West - Jay: First guitar hero was Jimmy Page - Zeppelin II was the gateway - Greg: Realized early that I'd never be able to play like Eddie VH - Jay: Played guitar on and off over the years, never seriously - Childhood friend plays in a Journey cover band - Greg: Guitar was a good way to blow off steam - Big band Hendrix? - Jay: Other early favorites were Pete Townshend and Dave Davies - The evolution of Clapton - Early '70s were marked by great players like Iommi, Blackmore and Michael Schenker - Jay: Got into Sabbath and Ozzy in the early '80s - Gary Moore was an underrated guitar monster - Building your music collection via music clubs - 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. |
Tue, 4 October 2016
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Wardlaw as we discuss the decline of rock radio. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Matt's podcast Lost Together - Van Cherone: Matt defends Van Halen III - Eddie VH's lack of new material - Buy Greg Renoff's great book Van Halen Rising - Eddie sounds good again - Age is becoming a factor - Jay: Saw both DLR and VH in 1986 - The MTV effect - Early '80s video production values - Videos pushed songs to greater success - In defense of "We Built This City" - Videos boosted careers of artists like ZZ Top, the Cars and Huey Lewis - Rock stations added non-music programming - Satellite radio is nice, but not a must-have - Matt uses Apple Music - Bands aren't making much money from streaming - The money is in touring and merch, not albums - Home taping didn't kill the music industry
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. |
Wed, 28 September 2016
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Wardlaw as we discuss the decline of rock radio. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Matt's podcast Lost Together - Matt first got into radio as a kid in Odessa, TX - Jay: Started listening to AM rock stations in Toronto in late '70s - Matt later moved to Cleveland area, heard a lot of Canadian bands on radio there - The enduring popularity of Trooper's "Raise a Little Hell" - The thrill of the chase: hunting for B-sides and imports - Learned about music via radio and magazines - Countless hours in record stores - In Boston, the rock stations have dwindled - Cleveland's WMMS has gone part talk, part classic rock - Curated radio experience is becoming more rare - Jay: Listen to combo of podcasts, college radio and online stations - Matt had a metal show for several years - Classic rock acts can't get new stuff played anymore - Playing new material live vs. "the hits" - Billy Joel stopped making new music in early '90s - Touring is where the money is for classic rock acts - 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. |
Tue, 20 September 2016
Part 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss fantasy sports. Show notes: - No interest in daily fantasy sports - Big ad blitz when daily fantasy leagues hit the scene - The kids love the gambling - Sports gambling is much easier now - Vegas now has an NHL franchise - The Super Bowl is more spectacle than game - "I call him Gamblor" - Senior citizens take buses to casinos - Playing in multiple leagues is no guarantee of winning money - When the commissioner is dishonest - Like pickup sports, you want to have fun with friends in fantasy leagues - The single worst pick in fantasy hockey history - Let's hear it for Lichtenstein 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. |
Tue, 13 September 2016
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss fantasy sports. Show notes: - Jay: Renewed interest in baseball in the past year - Watching sports without cable TV can be tricky - Head-to-head format can be tough - Paying attention to statistical details - When fantasy leagues go bad - Our fantasy hockey league fell apart because of money - The problem with having people you don't know in the league - We had our draft, started the season and then shut it down - Hockey can be tough because it's harder to find people who really know the game - Jay: Work football league got rid of kickers - So many sources of draft information - 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. |
Tue, 6 September 2016
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss fantasy sports. Show notes: - Fantasy sports is big business - Rooting against your favorite team - Phil: Got into fantasy baseball in early '90s - Jay: Started a league in '91 with work friends - Paid a service to compile stats reports - So much more now to distract you from draft prep - Started with AL-only league - Early fantasy football league started decades earlier - Jack Kerouac created his own fantasy baseball league with fictional players and teams - Strat-O-Matic started in early '60s - Cards and dice game, similar to D&D - The joys of Mattel Intellivision - Sports betting is popular - Takes enjoyment out of the game - The house always wins - The fun of the fantasy draft - Auction leagues require more involvement, longer draft - 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. |
Tue, 30 August 2016
Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1995. Show notes: - Recorded live from Brian's back porch in Ringwood, NJ - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Brian's #2 - Rentals' debut is on par with Weezer's best - Brian's #3 and Jay's #2 - Jay: Saw Foo Fighters' first tour, opening for Mike Watt - Foo debut came out of nowhere - Grohl released a solo album a few years earlier - First two Foo albums are standouts - The problem with Audioslave - Gord Downie goes out doing what he loves - Radiohead's The Bends just missed both our lists - Brian's #1 and Jay's #3 - Mike Watt called in every favor he could - GBV's Alien Lanes dropped out of Jay's top 5 - Chock full o' good songs - Jay's #1 - PJ Harvey expands her sound beyond guitar rock - Next up: 1985
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. |
Tue, 23 August 2016
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1995. Show notes: - Recorded live from Brian's back porch in Ringwood, NJ - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Brian's bubbling under albums: ODB, Morphine, Boss Hog, Hum - Brian Salvatore: Humbuster - Jay's bubbling under: Rancid, Mad Season, Elastica, Matthew Sweet, Yo La Tengo - Brian: White Zombie, No Doubt, Oasis, Presidents of the USA, Smashing Pumpkins, Goo Goo Dolls, Flaming Lips, Bowie, Sleater-Kinney - Jay: Urge Overkill, Chris Whitley, Helium, Garbage, Bjork, Wilco, Neil Young, Jawbreaker - Brian's #5 - Rancid blasts through an excellent album - Jay's #5 - One of the two Rocket from the Crypt albums released in '95 - Melding horns with punk guitars - Brian's #4 - Kim Deal's non-Breeders band - "The most GBV-sounding Breeders record" - Josephine Baker was not in the Breeders - Jay's #4 - Pavement's post-breakthrough record - The original title didn't cut it - 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. |
Wed, 17 August 2016
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1995. Show notes: - Recorded live from Brian's back porch in Ringwood, NJ - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Baby Ben hanging out - In 1995, we were on to the second-generation grunge bands - Bands were copying Bush and Stone Temple Pilots - Brian was 12-13, Jay was 27-28 - Jerry Garcia died - More '95 deaths: Eazy E, Shannon Hoon - Back then, you checked out music based on a review - Blind Melon's rise and fall - Beatles released new song - Bill Berry had a brain aneurysm during an R.E.M. show - Van Halen released their last Hagar album - Superhero movies in the '90s - Singles charts had a lot of R&B, some jam rock - Jay tells his Trey Anastasio story again - Cursing Greg Ginn - Jay: Listened to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for first time in 20 years - Formed in '95: Blonde Redhead, N SYNC, Pedro the Lion, Eels, Sleater-Kinney - Broke up in '95: Grateful Dead, Bronski Beat, Dire Straits, Drive Like Jehu, Oingo Boingo, Kyuss, Sugar - 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. |
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