Completely Conspicuous

July 2023
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Mon, 24 July 2023

Completely Conspicuous 617: Let There Be Rock

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001.

Show notes:

Jay's non-top 5 albums: Von Bondies, Radiohead, Sloan, Frank Black & the Catholics, Guided By Voices, Fugazi
The joy of shopping for imports
Phil's #5: Great distillation of classic rock from Sweden's The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Jay's #5: Indie folk-rock on first solo effort from Gord Downie includes spoken word
Phil's #4 and Jay's #3: Breakthrough album from the White Stripes blew up several months after it came out
Jay's #4: The Strokes led the return of guitar rock with a NYC-centric sound
Highlighted in the book and documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom
Phil's #3: Spoon with a strong release after getting dropped from a major
Phil's #2: Another great album after getting dropped came from Wilco
Phil's #1 and Jay's #2: A masterful double album about the duality of the Southern thang by Drive-By Truckers
Jay's #1: Impressive release from Ted Leo & the Pharmacists showcased a melding of diverse rock styles
Favorite songs: "Timorous Me" (Jay), "Ronnie and Neil" (Phil)

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_617_072423.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:49pm EDT

Tue, 18 July 2023

Completely Conspicuous 616: Imitation of Life

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001.

Show notes:

In 2001, Jay found out he was going to be a dad and also went back to his old employer
Jay turned 34, Phil turned 32
Phil got divorced
9/11 was a defining generational moment
Jay: Saw concerts by Radiohead, Gord Downie, Tragically Hip, PJ Harvey, Built to Spill, Buddy Guy
Apple launched iTunes music store and the iPod
Napster got sued into oblivion
Pop was big but garage rock started getting popular
Lifehouse had the #1 single of the year?
Scott Stapp wrote a pump-up song for the Marlins
Phil got recruited by a Scientologist
Phil's non-top 5 albums: Gorillaz, R.E.M., DMB, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fugazi, Stephen Malkmus, Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan
To be continued

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_616_071823.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 6:56pm EDT

Tue, 11 July 2023

Completely Conspicuous 615: All Killer, No Filler

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023.

Show notes:

Running down our favorite albums of the year so far
Kumar's #10: Pile diversifies its sound
Breitling's #9 and Kumar's #8: Yo La Tengo keeps on Yo La Tengoing
Kumar's #9: Dangerous sounding debut from Model/Actriz
Breitling's #8: Continued excellence from Protomartyr
Kumar's #7: Excellent third release from Washer, giving off Meat Puppets vibe
Another great act on Exploding In Sound
Breitling's #7: Fog Lake returns with a compelling slowcore release; may or may not be Shady Canadians
Breitling's #10 and Kumar's #6: Perennially pissed off hip hop from UK Grim
Breitling's #6: Lo-fi folk rock stalwarts Hands and Knees return with a strong release
Kumar's #5: Yves Tumor mixes shoegaze, alt-rock and funk into a powerful concoction
Breitling's #5 and Kumar's #4: Legit supergroup Boygenius delivers the goods
Breitling's #4: Bully with another excellent rock album
Tom Cavanaugh tangent time
Kumar's #3: Catchy hardcore from Fucked Up represents a more spontaneous recording process
Breitling's #3: Quick collection of rippers from New Zealand's Guardian Singles
Kumar's #2: UK act Shame pushes out of their post-punk comfort zone
Breitling's #2: Going back to Philly with Purling Hiss, bringing hooks and attitude to the party
Kumar's #1: Power pop awesomeness from the indie all-star band that is Eyelids
Breitling's #1: Jangly indie pop straight outta Columbus with Connections
Kurt Loder tangent
Anticipated/newer albums: Drop Nineteens, Speedy Ortiz, Palehound, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Jason Isbell, Jeff Rosenstock, OSees, Blur

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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_615_071123.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 5:28pm EDT

Mon, 3 July 2023

Completely Conspicuous 614: The Midway Point

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023.

Show notes:

Recorded at CompCon HQ
Concerts are back
TicketMaster is still a mess
Nobody's buying CDs
The Beatles and AI
Parcheesi Redux is in its third year
Talking about the band Toronto and their hit "Your Daddy Don't Know," covered by the New Pornographers
The kids are alright
Rock music is still around, although it's a minor part of the music business
Breitling's bubbling under albums: Everything But the Girl; Depeche Mode; Sharp Pins; OK Cool; Reds, Pinks and Purples; Pile; Squitch; Mui Zyu
Jay's bubbling unders: The Hold Steady; The New Pornographers; Ron Gallo; Quasi; Mudhoney
To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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_614_070323.mp3
Category:Completely Conspicuous -- posted at: 8:39pm EDT