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 2021
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

Syndication

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss life after close to a year in pandemic lockdown.

Show notes:

- Tough to not see friends

- Matt runs Dungeons & Dragons games via Zoom

- Surprising number of people are into D&D

- It's a good escape from the world

- Like a weekly therapy session

- Companies use D&D for corporate retreats

- Games have grown in popularity during the pandemic

- Jay: We started playing a family dominoes game every Saturday

- Jay: Played the board game Pandemic years ago

- The CDC's zombie announcement

- People will run toward the zombies

- Going to movies seems so far away

- Jay: Like going to concerts, don't love going to movies

- Tough time to be a theater actor

- Miss going to bars

- Will masks stick around after the pandemic ends?

- Toilet paper hoarders

- Matt ordered TP last April; it arrived in October

- Waiting for normalcy

- Matt: Look forward to seeing nieces and nephews again

- Want to do activities involving other humans

- We miss traveling

- Jay: Wasn't overly disappointed to not go to a June work conference in Phoenix

- Matt hated getting ready to go places, but liked it once he got there

- When you can't find parking during a pandemic

- Some people don't care about doing the right thing

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_556_022321.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:36pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss life after close to a year in pandemic lockdown.

Show notes:

- Haven't talked for the show since November 2019

- Coming up on the first anniversary of everything getting locked down

- Matt was already used to working from home

- Matt writes YA superhero/fantasy books including The Indestructibles series

- Hasn't been able to go to fantasy or comics conventions

- Jay: Miss the interaction of being in the office

- Now used to the WFH life

- Strange to spend all day at home with your family

- Matt has been working remotely for over a decade

- Companies will probably do away with full offices at some point

- Matt: Working in an office forces you to plan for inefficiency

- WFH requires self-discipline

- Definitely tougher for folks with small kids

- Matt dealt with the challenges of ancient Wifi technology in 2010 in Ireland

- Employers will have to adjust post-COVID

- Commuting sucks and people aren't going to want to do it as much

- The lockdown wasn't good for Matt's writing focus

- Too much going on in the world

- Last March, we all assumed things would be back to normal soon

- Matt: Lost the full-time gig, now juggling multiple freelance jobs

- Doing photography shoots exposes you to lots of germs

- Masks let you be more anonymous than you once were

- Running with a mask is a little challenging

- 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_555_021621.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 5:52pm EDT

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1981.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: The Stones have a massive hit with a collection of outtakes

- Followed up with a massive stadium tour

- Jay's #4: Prince keeps getting better but not yet breaking through to the mainstream

- Pushing the envelope with explicit content

- Phil's #3: J. Geils Band's pop breakthrough

- Was "Centerfold" banned by WCOZ?

- Jay's #3: Fair Warning was my favorite Van Halen album

- Darker tone than other VH albums

- Phil's #5 and Jay's #2: Rush hits the sweet spot with Moving Pictures

- Side 1 is flawless

- Phil's #2: An underrated U2 record, even by U2 fanatics

- Got into it when it came out

- Phil's #1: The Police reach commercial success

- Hit their pop potential while maintaining their unique sound

- Jay's #1: Going out there with Mission of Burma's debut EP

- Hugely influential on scores of alt-rock bands who came later

- Favorite songs: "Demolition Man" (Phil), "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" (Jay)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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_554_020921.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:12pm EDT

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1981.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 14, Phil turned 12 in '81

- Jay started the year in Canada, finished it in the U.S.

- No good radio station, listened to a lot of my own stuff

- Phil: Started buying my own music in '81

- Listened to a lot of Casey Kasem's American Top 40

- "Bette Davis Eyes" was the #1 single of the year

- REO Speedwagon had a big year

- K-Tel used to make big hits compilations

- Ozzy bit the head off a dove (and later a bat), horrifying moms across America

- MTV went on the air in August '81 (Jay didn't have it until '85)

- Stones' massive tour was sponsored by Jovan Musk

- When Jon Anderson of Yes teamed up with Vangelis

- Phil's not-top-5 albums: Foreigner, Loverboy, The Cars, The Who, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Go-Gos, The Kinks, ZZ Top, X, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Genesis, Phil Collins, Tom Tom Club, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Pretenders, Duran Duran, The Cure, Black Flag, Billy Squier, Prince, AC/DC

- Jay's not-top-5s: The Gun Club, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Def Leppard, Sabbath, April Wine, Triumph, Rush's live album, Motley Crue, Rick James

- Anthony Michael Hall IS Mutt Lange (in a crappy Def Lep biopic)

- To be continued: Our top 5 albums

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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_553_020221.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 2:43pm EDT

1