Completely Conspicuous 495: Down the Wrong Road Both Ways

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our rock n' roll regrets. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Jay: Gave away a bunch of vinyl in the '90s
- Price gouging vinyl-loving hipsters
- Looking for bargains
- Young entrepreneurship gone wrong
- Taping music off the radio
- In praise of Barooga Bandit
- Phil: Wish I'd seen shows at some historic venues
- Jay: Bands I once liked that I now regret liking
- There should be no guilty pleasures
- Coming to terms with disco
- Some early '90s radio staples now ring false
- Getting rides to concerts from parents
- Jay: Not going to club shows earlier
- Only went to hockey arenas and amphitheaters

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.

Completely Conspicuous 494: Regrettable

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our rock n' roll regrets. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Phil: Bands I never got to see
- Missing artists before they died
- Sometimes it's for budgetary reasons
- Jay: Saw Neil Young last month for the first time
- The time Phil got dosed at a Cure show
- Phil: Not being old enough to see certain artists in their prime
- Following bands on tour
- Jay: Not sticking with the guitar
- Been playing on and off for decades
- Short-lived band experiences, including Bea Arthur's Revenge
- Phil: Giving away CDs and mixtapes
- Mixtapes can tell a lot about someone's personality
- Jay: Still have all my cassettes
- 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.

Completely Conspicuous 493: Stick It to the Man

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the first half of 2018. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Our top 5 albums of the year so far
- JB's #5
- Post-rock quartet from Philly
- JK's #5
- A New Year's gift
- Channeling post-election angst
- JB's #3
- Hook-laden pop from Kevin Kline's kid
- JK's #4
- Back to basics from power pop masters
- JK's #3
- Hot rawk from a dependably excellent band
- JB's #2
- Sprawling lo-fi indie folk
- JK's #2
- Came out of left field
- Punchy power pop
- JB's #1
- Exhilarating release for this band's Saddle Creek debut
- JK's #1 and JB's #4
- Very political record
- Please save us, Fugazi
- JB: Still surprised at the lack of political music

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.

Completely Conspicuous 492: Count It Off, Smart Guy

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the first half of 2018. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- On to the top 10
- JB's #10
- Side project of the late Scott Hutchison
- JK's #10
- Welcome return of alt-rock faves
- The laid-back recording style of Steve Albini
- JB's #9
- Ambient music via Philly
- JK's #9
- Boston alt-rock icons back with a vital new record
- JB's #8 and JK's #7
- Another fine album from an Aussie rocker
- JK's #8
- The evolution of a band's sound
- JB's #7
- No new Johnny Foreigner release, but this works
- JB's #6
- Minimal electronic act from the city of Brotherly Love
- Good chillout music
- JK's #6
- A solid solo release from another alt-rock legend
- Surprising political bent on a few songs
- 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.

Completely Conspicuous 491: Chart Fatigue

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the first half of 2018. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- The sudden album drop: Drake, Kanye, Beyonce/Jay Z, Rosenstock
- Who needs major labels?
- Charts are meaningless when the kids just stream music
- Country may be the biggest selling genre right now
- Pop tours are struggling
- The flipside of convenience
- YouTube as last resort for streaming
- The floppy disk as music storage device
- Package tours now mix up genres and eras
- Breitling: "I imagine the Wang is sizable"
- Our favorite music: The bubbling unders...or also-rans
- Breitling: Ben Leiper, Kamasi Washington, Speedy Ortiz, GAS
- Kumar: Ty Segall, Hot Snakes, Screaming Females, La Luz, Poptone, Beach House, Janelle Monae, Painted Doll, Judas Priest
- 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.

Completely Conspicuous 490: Social Disease

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss social media dependency. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea
- The political climate is disturbingly fascinating
- O, Canada?
- It used to be easy to fall out of political favor
- Howard Dean's scream
- The lack of competition
- No alternative party
- Navigating social media to victory
- Coming up with an escape plan
- Watch out for gators
- Connected to social media all day but don't look at it all the time
- Your info is constantly being collected by FB, Google, Amazon, etc.
- Wandering through the social media graveyard
- FB Messenger was banning people based on supposedly private conversations
- Matt's adventures with drunken late-night purchases like the Ab Zapper
- Buying swords on QVC
- The desperate need for social media likes
- Matt: No withdrawal symptoms when disconnected from the internet
- Consequences for social media faux pas can come quickly

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.

Completely Conspicuous 489: Social Distortion

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss social media dependency. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea
- Back from a little hiatus
- People who use their phones at the urinal
- Matt: Detached from social media while in Canada
- We're online all day for work
- Jay: The kids love the Instagram
- Twitter can be a cesspool
- Let Me Google That For You
- When Star Wars nerds get ugly
- Twitter can often be a license to be a jerk
- People can be "rock stupid"
- The compulsion to tweet
- Arguing with family members on social media
- The mute function on FB is helpful
- Matt: Writer Twitter drives me nuts
- Don't click on the comments!
- Anime geeks solving their arguments in a civil manner
- 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.