Completely Conspicuous

Categories

moving
rock talk
Nick Lorenzen
Fucked Up
Footlocker discount code
Soccer Mom
Heartless Bastards
Damien Jurado
Gross Magic
hockey
fandom
rock and/or roll
Budget
Twerps
Screaming Trees
Delta Spirit
five years
unsung albums
Stephen Malkmus
Robert Pollard
Roadside Graves
The Church
online privacy
career shifts
journalism
The Dirtbombs
The Kills
PJ Harvey
Mogwai
Wire
East River Pipe
Destroyer
Walter Schreifels
No Age
Teenage Fanclub
Mixology
Mondo Generator
athletic gear
LCD Soundsystem
Silversun Pickups
ChkChkChk
The Dead Weather
Everyone Everywhere
Midlake
The Whigs
Quasi
Dinosaur Jr.
Elliott Smith
Jason Collett
The Apples in Stereo
guilty pleasures
The King Khan and BBQ Show
Great Northern
Deer Tick
Canada
Metric
Spiral Stairs
Almighty Defenders
Completely Conspicuous
Rick Johnson
Warrior Soul
Andrew Bird
movies
Sunset Rubdown
The Dears
Sonic Youth
Jarvis Cocker
The Pink Mountaintops
Eric Convey
Shearwater
Pavement
Swan Lake
RCRD LBL
The Secret Machines
Frightened Rabbit
Volcano Suns
Deltron 3030
Juliana Hatfield
IODA Promonet
Ladyhawk
Podsafe Music Network
The Zambonis
Sub Pop Records
Joseph Arthur
The Constantines
Panthers
British Sea Power
Ween
Flight of the Conchords
Controller.Controller
El-P
Stars
The Shods
Frank Black
The Nice Device
Dios Malos
Riverboat Gamblers
TV On the Radio
general

Archives

2024
March
February
January

2023
December
November
September
August
July
June
April
March
February
January

2022
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
April
March
February
January

2020
December
November
October
September
July
June
May
April
March
February

2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
March
February
January

2018
December
November
October
August
July
June
March
February
January

2017
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2014
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2013
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2012
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2011
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2010
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2009
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2008
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2007
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March

February 2020
S M T W T F S
     
            1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Syndication

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire

- Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp

- Commercial rock radio is dying

- In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area

- Brian has satellite radio

- GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer

- The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound

- Mark McGrath is always working

- The Cameo economy

- Talking to musicians

- The ubiquity of Henry Rollins

- The musician deaths have always been plentiful

- 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio

- So many big names in rock are getting older

- Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey

- Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows

- Rush will never play another show

- R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup

- More fun with Cameo

- Don't wait to see a band you like

- Jay: Trying to see bands I haven't seen before

- Making up for lost time with some bands

- Some bands sound better than ever: Dino Jr., Ween

- Ozzy's looking pretty rough these days

- Some artists you don't want to see anymore

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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_528_022520.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:24pm EDT

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Brian's first appearance on the show in two years

- The rock deaths keep on hitting us hard

- Neil Peart's recent death was surprising and shocking

- Brian: Not a big Rush fan, but respected them

- A couple of really good documentaries about the band

- Rush followed their own path

- Andy Gill of Gang of Four kept touring and recording right until he died

- Big deaths that impacted us

- Jay: Peart, Gord Downie, Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty

- As a kid, remember Randy Rhoads, Bonham, Bon Scott, Keith Moon

- Later, Cobain and Layne Staley

- Tortured artist syndrome

- Meanwhile, the Stones keep chugging along

- Brian: McCartney is still amazing live into his 70s

- Neither of us has seen the Stones live

- Brian: Regret not seeing classic acts at least once

- Prince played crazy long shows

- Getting harder to stay out super late

- "Farewell tours" tend to often be false alarms

- A little more urgency to see certain artists who are older

- A lot of reunion tours these days: Jawbreaker, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, Hoodoo Gurus

- Will young artists today have the same longevity as the older artists now?

- Touring's the only way to make money these days

- Not even worth it for older acts to release new material now

- Radio won't play new music from legendary acts

- Classic rock fans don't want to hear new music, they just want the hits

- You know what you're getting from a new AC/DC record

- Many bands continue on after members die

- Replacing iconic singers with unknowns

- Alice in Chains has recharged their career somewhat post-Staley

- Sublime's singer/leader died before their big album came out

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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_527_021820.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:11pm EDT

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Go to Heaven.

Show notes:

- Recorded at CompCon world HQ

- The Dead transitioning into a new decade, the '80s

- Cover may have given fans the wrong idea

- Short outing at only 38 minutes

- One of the least favorite studio albums among Dead fans

- Phil: A real mish-mash

- Contractual obligation: Third studio album in four years

- AOR was getting big

- The Godchauxs were gone

- Brent Mydland brings a smooth Michael McDonald vibe that is off-putting

- Grateful Dead keyboard players : Spinal Tap drummers

- Some Dead classics on this album: Alabama Getaway, Althea

- Didn't make another studio album for seven years

- Jay might go see Dead & Co. with Phil at some point

- Phil: This is their second-worst album

- Lost Sailor doesn't work

- Three straight Weir/Barlow songs

- Saint of Circumstance could be an '80s sitcom theme song

- Bob Weir loves the short shorts

- Hey, we used to wear them, too

- Mickey Hart eventually got into world music

- Mydland's Easy to Love You could have been a pop hit

- Album ends with a rave-up cover of Don't Ease Me In

- Phil: In defense of U2's Zooropa

- When we next convene, we'll talk about late '80s Dead

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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_526_021120.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:08pm EDT

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Shakedown Street.

Show notes:

- Recorded at CompCon world HQ

- First ep of the new decade

- Shakedown Street came out in '78

- Lots of musical stuff happening: Disco, punk, new wave, hard rock

- Disco wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be

- Jay: No guilty pleasures: If you like it, you like it

- The Dead were coming off a triumphant '77

- This was a contractually obligated studio album

- Lots of influences thrown in: Funk, disco, African jazz, rock

- Met with savage reviews

- The version of "Good Lovin'" here pales in comparison to the live version, especially when Pigpen sang it

- The last album with Donna and Keith Godchaux

- Title track gets slagged as bad disco, but we dig it

- Shakedown Street is now the name of the merch area at Dead & Co. shows

- Pressure was on from Clive Davis for them to have hits

- This album was produced by Lowell George of Little Feat

- Seen as a disco album, but it's pretty diverse musically

- The Dead weren't a great studio band

- Mickey Hart stepped up with three songs

- Phil: "I Need a Miracle" might be the best song on the album

- "Stagger Lee"  has an interesting history; versions were covered by many different artists

- Jay: The Nick Cave version is the best, and the most profane

- Album was scattered because of different influences plus substances

- "All New Minglewood Blues" is a pretty rockin' cover

- Dead appeared on SNL that year

- Ends with a Garcia-Hunter love ballad that works

- Jay: Liked about half the songs on the album

- Next: 1980's Go to Heaven

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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_525_020420.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 7:09pm EDT

1