Completely Conspicuous

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May 2017
S M T W T F S
     
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Syndication

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.

Direct download: CompCon_466_053117.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:45pm EST

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.

Direct download: CompCon_465_052417.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 10:13pm EST

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.

Direct download: CompCon_464_051617.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 10:46pm EST

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.

Direct download: CompCon_463_050917.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:22pm EST

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