Wed, 31 May 2017
This week, Brian Salvatore and I talk about delving into the catalog of bands we don't know much about. Brian will learn about Sloan while I dig into Ween. Show notes: - Each of us picks a favorite artist of the other that we don't know much about - Jay listened to Ween's Chocolate and Cheese, Brian listened to Sloan's Twice Removed - Both 1994 releases - Both of us had heard a few songs before - Jay: First heard Ween on Beavis and Butt-head, wrote them off as novelty act - Brian: Twice Removed starts off strong, flows well - Big power pop vibe - The album that got Sloan dropped by Geffen - Each band member writes and sings - Were signed as part of the alternative explosion of the early '90s - Self-release most of their albums now - No indie rock radio stations anymore - Jay: Chocolate and Cheese is great fun - Wide range of styles, from funk to psychedelic to just weird - Great guitar work from Dean Ween - First Ween album done in a studio - Walking the fine line between funny and stupid - Phish has covered "Roses are Free" - Ween plays jam band festivals sometimes - Next up: The Mollusk for Jay, Between the Bridges for Brian 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |
Wed, 24 May 2017
This week, I talk to guest Brian Salvatore about the legacy of the late Chris Cornell. Show notes: - Brian: Was never a huge fan of Cornell's early singing style - Rediscovered his love for Soundgarden in recent years - Jay: First heard him when Temple of the Dog came out in '91, then got Badmotorfinger - The greatness of Mother Love Bone - Soundgarden was perfect bridge between '80s hard rock and the new sounds of the '90s - Jay: Saw Soundgarden in small club in early '92 and then again a few months later at Lollapalooza - Kim Thayil's guitar playing complemented Cornell's voice well - Jason Everman, the Zelig of grunge - The diverse nature of the Seattle acts of the '90s - The pressure of being the "responsible one" - Cornell's final tweets were upbeat - Hard to read into his lyrics - Most of Cornell's songs were dark - His death hit hard because he was ours - Feels like more '70s touring acts have more living members than '90s bands - The drugs were more prevalent in the '70s and '80s, but the '90s acts paid the price - Cornell's first solo album Euphoria Morning is really good - Less impressed with Audioslave - Soundgarden leaves a terrific body of work
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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |
Tue, 16 May 2017
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about the evolution of the music blog. Show notes: - Breitling recently shut down his fine music blog Clicky Clicky - Some band reunions shouldn't happen - A whole new target audience for newer live acts - The kids wanna snap - Some bands can make a living selling merch and playing small live gigs - No time for comics anymore - The inflated price of vinyl - Zines were the music blogs of the '80s and '90s - Kumar: A buddy in Washington state got into punk, started a zine - The convenience of blog software - The blog as reference tool - Our work at Webnoize is mostly gone now - Clicky Clicky lives on via Facebook page - The blog had a hardcore audience - Not in it for the numbers - Cutting through the crap on Twitter - Quality, not quantity of posts
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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |
Tue, 9 May 2017
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about the evolution of the music blog. Show notes: - Breitling recently shut down his fine music blog Clicky Clicky - MP3 blogs soon evolved into something less legally risky - Wrote about music for other online pubs: Splendid EZine, Junkmedia - Had a personal page and then launched Clicky Clicky in 2006 - Contributors had other commitments, life got busy - Breitling now writes for Vanyaland - In their heyday, music blogs presented artists who weren't pushed by major labels or corporate radio - The "Celestial Jukebox" is here - Breitling: Listening habits have changed - Used to frantically search for new music; now digging into albums - Peak music blog year was 2007 - Blog bands: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand - Many people started music blogs to get free stuff - Some bloggers have moved on to mainstream gigs - Podcasting has become commonplace - YouTube stars are now gaining popularity - Make way for Jacob Sartorius - 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |