Completely Conspicuous 107: That's a Wrap

The podcast's back for the last show of the year, and the decade, with special guest Matt Phillion. We conclude our look at our favorite movies of the decade. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- We both loved Iron Man

- Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark

- Geeking out on comics

- Shaun of the Dead elevated zombie movie genre

- Appreciating Danny Boyle

- LOTR trilogy: Making the "unmakeable" movies

- Matt praises the Pirates of the Caribbean movies

- Hey Hollywood, leave Matt's childhood alone

- Critically acclaimed movie Matt hated: The Royal Tenenbaums

- Critically acclaimed movie Jay hated: Crash

- Matt's pick for best movie nobody saw: Brotherhood of the Wolf

- Jay's pick for best movie nobody saw: In Bruges

- Joseph Gordon Levitt has done good work in recent years

- Jay's actor of the decade: Clooney

- Matt's actor of the decade: Downey, Jr.

- Actress of the decade: Blanchett or Winslet?

- Director of decade: Coen Bros.

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- The Sons of Hercules - Numb

- White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

- Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945

- Dinosaur Jr. - Forget the Swan

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The White Rabbits song is on the album It's Frightening on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Insound.

The Neutral Milk Hotel song is on the album In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea on Merge Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Dinosaur Jr. song is on the album Dinosaur on Merge Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Sons of Hercules song is on the album A Different Kind of Ugly on Saustex Media. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

The Sons Of Hercules
"Numb" (mp3)
from "A Different Kind of Ugly"
(Saustex Media)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album



The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service. Use my special code at Budget.com and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 106: Blowed Up Real Good

The podcast returns with part 3 of my conversation with special guest Matt Phillion as we continue our recap of the decade in movies. This time around, we discuss our favorite action movies. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...


Topics:

- Comic book movies were good this decade

- Dark Knight was a great film, period

- Ledger put his stamp on the Joker

- Kill Bill saga: A fun combo of Uma, martial arts and violence

- The Departed: Perfect crime film?

- Alec Baldwin, an acting force

- Hey Hollywood, don't even attempt the Boston accent

- Bourne trilogy: Better than Bond movies

- In Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's Bond is true to Fleming's vision

- Children of Men is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece

- The Descent: Best of "hot chicks in danger" movies

- The decade of survival horror

- Saw movies started good, got progressively worse

- Grindhouse: A ton of fun

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Dios - Stare at the Wheel

- Elliott Smith - Cecilia/Amanda

- Titus Andronicus - Four Score and Seven

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Dios song is on the band's album We Are Dios on Buddyhead Records, where you can download the track for free.

The Elliott Smith song is a previously unreleased track available from Kill Rock Stars, where you can download the song for free.

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album The Monitor on XL Recordings. Download the song for free at Beggars Group USA.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. You can find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics, Reebok and more. Use the promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com, and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 105: Laugh It Up, Fuzzball

Back with the podcast as special guest Matt Phillion and I continue our look at the best movies of the decade. This week, we focus on comedies. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...


Topics:

- Matt implores you to see In the Loop

- Another Coen Brothers shout out

- John Goodman's ideal job

- Love for Pixar

- Apatow made a huge impact

- Ben Stiller nails it with Tropic Thunder

- Best in Show continues Christopher Guest's brilliant streak

- Matt reluctantly saw Amelie and dug it

- Superbad rang true for high school dorks everywhere

- A non-comedy pick: Once

- High Fidelity simultaneously salutes music nerds and reveals how guys think about girls

- Anchorman was the best of the Will Ferrell movies

- Paul Giamatti steps up with Sideways

- About Schmidt was comedy, but also horror because of Kathy Bates nudity

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Liars - Scissor

- Flight of the Conchords - Sugalumps

- Jason Collett - Love is a Dirty Word

- Jawbox - Savory

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Liars song is on the band's album Sisterworld on Mute Records. Find out more and download the track for free at TheSisterworld.

The Flight of the Conchords song is on the album I Told You I Was Freaky on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Jason Collett song is on the album Rat a Tat Tat on Arts and Crafts Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Jawbox song is on the reissue of the album For Your Own Special Sweetheart on Desoto Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Jawbox
"Savory" (mp3)
from "For Your Own Special Sweetheart"
(DeSoto Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
More On This Album



The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. You can find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics, Reebok and more. Use the promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com, and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell; find out more at . Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 104: Celluloid Heroes

The podcast's back with special guest Matt Phillion as we look at the decade in movies, starting with our picks for best dramas. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- Matt's picks are in "gutpunch order"
- The decade of the Coen brothers
- Christopher Nolan did good work
- Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen teamed up for two great films
- There Will Be Blood: Epic or too over the top?
- Woody Allen's European tour was rewarding
- Mickey Rourke's return from oblivion
- Pan's Labyrinth was a freaky take on fairy tales
- Almost Famous: Cameron Crowe's last good movie
- Soderberg did a lot of good work
- Matt doesn't dig Charlie Kaufman or Wes Anderson movies
- Coming to the realization that Leo DiCaprio is a good actor
- Jim Carrey's Oscar hunt
- Away We Go made an impact on Matt
- Pixar has made excellent string of films this decade
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Even Heroes Have to Die
- Shout Out Louds - Walls
- Shearwater - Castaways
- Sweet Apple - Do You Remember

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song is on the band's forthcoming album The Brutalist Bricks on Matador Records, where you can download the track for free.

The Shout Out Louds song is on the forthcoming album Walls on Merge Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Shearwater song is on the forthcoming album The Golden Archipelago on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Sweet Apple song is on the forthcoming album Love and Desperation on Tee Pee Records. Download the song for free here.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors and rent like a genius with Budget.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 103: Put Me In, Coach

The podcast's back with part 2 of my conversation with special guest Phil Stacey about the decade in sports. This time around, we discuss baseball, the NFL and the Internet's influence on the sports world. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Big story in baseball was steroids

- Big names were caught cheating: McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod

- Baseball's tough to watch beginning to end: games are so slow

- Red Sox vanquished curse with two World Series wins

- Drawback of excellent play is abundance of bandwagon-jumping fans

- Sports talk radio rehashes same stuff over and over

- NHFL has surpassed MLB in popularity

- Patriots are team of the decade

- Football's better to watch on TV than in person

- XFL came and went

- XFL's lasting legacy: He Hate Me

- Gambling is big part of NFL fandom

- Fantasy football is big business

- Internet's role in sports looms large

- Local papers trying to own their market with blogs, podcasts

- Blogs can run gamut from good analysis to gossip to fanboys

- Twitter's good for breaking news

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Soulsavers - You'll Miss Me When I Burn

- St. Vincent - The Strangers

- Deer Tick - Baltimore Blues No. 1

- Carbon/Silicon - What's Up Doc?

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Soulsavers song is on the band's album Broken on V2 Records. Download the track for free here.

The St. Vincent song is on the album Actor on Beggars Group USA, where you can download the song for free.

The Deer Tick song was released as a free download in honor of Veterans Day. Find out more at and download the song for free at Partisan Records.

The Carbon/Silicon song is on the album The Carbon Bubble. Find out more and download the entire album for free here.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors and rent like a genius with Budget.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 102: Trapped Under Ice

The podcast's back with special guest Phil Stacey as we look at the decade in sports. This episode, we focus on the NHL. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Sports, "the great bringer-together"?

- NHL lost a season due to lockout

- Game has changed for the better

- Salary cap has led to more young stars

- NJ Devils introduced boring trap style in mid-'90s, continued in '00s

- Strategy and systems are more important now

- The shootout eliminated ties, but is it the right answer?

- Struggling franchises due to expansion: Phoenix, Florida, Nashville

- Phil: Cut six teams, improve the product

- TV package is troublesome: Dropped by ESPN, now on Versus

- No dynasties anymore

- Detroit was team of decade

- No Canadian team has won Cup since '93

- Ovechkin is best player in league

- Crosby: Coltrane vs. Ovechkin: The Clash

- Winter Classic has been great for the game

- Should NHL keep sending players to Winter Olympics?

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- EELS - Little Bird

- Molina & Johnson - Almost Let You In

- Calories - Let's Pretend That We're Older

- Lifter Puller - Lie Down on Lansdowne

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The EELS song is on the band's forthcoming album on Vagrant Records. Find out more and download the track for free here.

The Molina & Johnson song is on their self-titled album on Secretly Canadian Records, where you can find out more and download the song for free.

The Calories song is on the EP Let's Pretend We're Older on Smalltown America. Find out more and download the song for free here.

The Lifter Puller song is on the compilation album Soft Rock on The Self Starter Foundation. Find out more and download the track for free here.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay.com. The code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 101: The Modern World

The podcast's back with a look at the decade in technology. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Y2K came and went

- Broadband arrived, changed everything

- Google led the way for search engines

- Social networking sites

- Blogging, podcasting became commonplace

- Communication: E-mail, chat and texting

- Napster loomed large over the music industry

- The iPod was a game changer

- YouTube revolutionized online video

- Home entertainment: Flatscreen TVs, DVDs, DVRs, Netflix

- Videogame consoles got better, wireless

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser

- The Pixies - Crackity Jones

- Melissa Auf der Maur - Out of Our Minds

- Nirvana - About a Girl

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Them Crooked Vultures song is on the band's self-titled album on Interscope Records. Download the track for free at the iTunes store.

The Pixies song is on the band's live EP commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Doolittle album. The four-song EP is available for free at Pixiesmusic.com.

The Melissa Auf der Maur song is on the forthcoming album Out of Our Minds on MAdM Music; click here to find out more and download the song for free.

The Nirvana song is on Bleach: Deluxe Edition on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay. The code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 100: TV Party

The podcast's back, as I celebrate 100 episodes and review the decade in television. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...


Topics:

- DVRs allow viewers to watch only what they want to

- More options to view shows: Online, DVD sets, iTunes

- Reality TV became prevalent in 2000s

- Kumar's top 10 TV dramas

- Kumar's top comedies: Talk shows, fake news and sitcoms

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Built to Spill - Hindsight

- The Whigs - In the Dark

- Spiral Stairs - True Love

- Nirvana - Scoff (live)

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Built to Spill song is on the album There Is No Enemy on Warner Bros. Records. Download the track for free at Insound.

The Whigs song is on the band's forthcoming album In the Dark on ATO Records. The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the song for free.

The Spiral Stairs song is on the album The Real Feel on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Nirvana song is on Bleach: Deluxe Edition on Sub Pop Records, where you download the song for free.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service. Go to Budget and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 99: The Decade in Rock, Part 4

The podcast's back with the conclusion of my review of the decade in rock with special guest Jay Breitling. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- Breitling's 2007 picks: Dinosaur Jr., Meneguar, Assembly Now, Answering Machine, Radiohead, Spoon, Dntel, Ringo Deathstarr, Johnny Foreigner
- Kumar's 2007 picks: Grinderman, Black Francis, Andrew Bird, Okkervil River, LCD Soundsystem, MIA
- Breitling's 2008 picks: A Weather, The Notwist, Johnny Foreigner, Dinosaur Pile Up, Swimmers, War on Drugs, Destroyer
- Kumar's 2008 picks: Gutter Twins, King Khan and the Shrines, Hold Steady, Ladyhawk, Black Mountain
- Chloe and Amy B. make guest appearances
- 2008: Videogames became a viable way to sell music
- Big box exclusives: AC/DC, Eagles, Pearl Jam, GNR
- Chinese Democracy bombs big time
- Autotune becomes ubiquitous
- Breitling's 2009 picks: Dananananaykroyd, Project AKO, Morrissey, Calories, Fleeting Joys, Johnny Foreigner, Beatings
- Chloe interjects
- Kumar's 2009 picks: Gaslight Anthem, Jay Reatard, Jarvis Cocker, Japandroids, Art Brut
- Death of Michael Jackson should lead to endless albums
- Death of the album
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
- Dinosaur Jr. - Almost Ready
- Destroyer - Dark Leaves Form a Thread
- Johnny Foreigner - Feels Like Summer

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Dinosaur Jr. song is on the 2007 album Beyond on Fat Possum Records, where you can download the track.

The Destroyer song is on the 2008 album on Merge Records, where you can download the track.
The Johnny Foreigner song is on their 2009 album Grace and the Bigger Picture on Best Before Records. The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the song.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service. Go to Budget and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 98: The Decade in Rock, Part 3

The podcast is back with part 3 of my look at the decade in rock with special guest Jay Breitling. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Breitling's 2005 picks: A-Sides, Meneguar, The Hold Steady, Wolf Parade, Logh, Mazarin

- Big ups to Philly indie rock

- Was the Hold Steady influential?

- Kumar's 2005 picks: Bloc Party, Spoon, New Pornographers, Death From Above 1979

- 2006: Ringtones were big business

- Bands selling out in commercials

- Breitling's 2006 picks: Fields, Snowden, Armalite, Lemonheads, The Hold Steady, Okay Paddy, Up Up Down Down etc., McLusky, Haywood

- Kumar's 2006 picks: Mission of Burma, Drive-By Truckers, Arctic Monkeys, TVOTR, Destroyer, Sloan, Mastodon

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Wolf Parade - You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son

- Bloc Party - Helicopter

- The Lemonheads - No Backbone

- Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - Janet Bateman

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Wolf Parade song is on the 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the track.

The Bloc Party song is on their 2005 debut Silent Alarm on Dim Mak Records. The song is courtesy of Mevio's Music Alley.

The Lemonheads song is on their 2006 self-titled album on Vagrant Records, where you can download the song.

The Up Up Down Down song is on the 2006 self-released EP Girls Names. Find out more and download the song here.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics, Reebok, New Balance, Converse and Saucony. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay and the code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 97: The Decade in Rock, Part 2

Jay Breitling joins me again on the podcast to continue our discussion of the decade in rock music. This time around, we review 2002-2004. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- 2002: MP3 blogs come to the fore

- Indie rock re-release craze starts with Pavement's "Slanted and Enchanted"

- Nirvana box set disappointed

- Breitling's 2002 picks: Spoon, Wilco, Interpol, Notwist, Destroyer, Manitoba

- Breitling laments his journalism degree

- Postal Service, Bigger Lovers had big songs

- Kumar's 2002 picks: Broken Social Scene, Trail of Dead, Ted Leo, QOTSA

- Breitling's 2003 picks: Moonbabies, Shins, Pernice Bros., Stars, Strokes, Belle and Sebastian, Lefty's Deceiver, Ted Leo, Dresden Dolls, Clown Down

- Kumar's 2003 picks: Radiohead, Malkmus, Black Keys, Twilight Singers

- The Darkness: Joke band?

- American Idol albums started coming out: Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, et al

- iTunes store took off

- New Metallica album overshadowed by documentary

- The power of video (case in point: Billy Squier's "Rock Me Tonite")

- 2004: Bands reuniting (Pixies, Mission of Burma, Dinosaur Jr.)

- Breitling's 2004 picks: MIA, Lali Puna, Walkmen, !!!, Jon Brion, Dirty on Purpose

- Kumar's 2004 picks: Arcade Fire, Hold Steady, Green Day, Burma, Lanegan, Wilco

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Postal Service song is on the 2002 album Give Up on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the track.

The Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song is on the 2003 album Hearts of Oak on Lookout Records. You can download the song at Insound.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics, Reebok, New Balance, Converse and Saucony. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order and the code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors, willya?

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 96: The Decade in Rock, Part 1

I'm joined on the podcast by special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the decade in rock music. In this episode we look back at 2000-2001. Click here to hear the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- In the year 2000

- Y2K mania was a dud

- Working @ Webnoize

- Napster was all the rage, MP3 players were out

- Breitling's picks: Mendoza Line, Pedro the Lion, Radiohead

- Kid A was huge; leaked early on Napster

- White Stripes emerge

- Gratuitious CompCon testimonial

- JB: Yo La Tengo release a classic

- Heavy rock: At the Drive-In and Fu Manchu bring the noize

- "Who Let the Dogs Out" came out; still lives on in football stadiums

- 2001: Dotcom economy collapsed

- Rap-rock was big: Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, et al

- Napster shut down, iPod rolls out

- Breitling: Destroyer, Death Cab for Cutie

- Kumar: Radiohead, White Stripes, The Strokes, Spoon

- Webnoize bites the dust

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Destroyer - The Sublimation Hour

- Pedro the Lion - A Mind of Her Own

- Spoon - This Book is a Movie

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Destroyer song is on the 2001 album Streethawk: A Seduction on Misra Records, where you can download the track.

The Pedro the Lion song is on the 2000 album Winners Never Quit on Jade Tree Records, where you can download the song.

The Spoon song is on the 2001 album Girls Can Tell on Merge Records, where you can download the song.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to http://budget.com/compcon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show patronizing my sponsors, willya?

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography skillz here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 95: Guilty Pleasure, the Movie

The podcast's back with part 3 of my conversation with Ric Dube about pop culture guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Ric's new pitch: Guilty Pleasure, the movie

- Inspired by Pineapple Express

- Starring Shia Laboeuf (again), McLovin and Jonah Hill

- Murder mystery centered around an old sitcom star's murder

- The plot thickens

- The dramaturgical triad...or something like that

- Mila Kunis plays a stripper/comics fan who befriends our heroes

- Murdered played by Peter Stormare, of course

- Ric recommends Fanboys

- Gratuitous plug for Ric's movie review site, MoreLostTime.com

- Reviewed the first Benji movie

- Back in the pre-PETA '70s, horrible things happened to animals

- Benji was baby's first exploitation film

- If the hero is wanted for a crime he didn't commit, you know it'll be good

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Sloan - Take It Upon Yourself

- No Age - You're a Target

- The Almighty Defenders - Cone of Silence

- 7 Worlds Collide - Bodisattva Blues

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Sloan song is on the band's forthcoming self-released EP. Find out more and download the track here.

The No Age song is on the album Losing Feeling on Sub Pop Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Almighty Defenders song is on the band's self-titled album on Vice Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The 7 Worlds Collide song is on the album The Sun Came Out on EMI. The song is courtesy of RCRD LBL, where you can download it.

The show is sponsored by Budget. Go to Budget.com/CompCon to save 10% off any car reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 94: It's a Little Pitchy, Dawg

The podcast's back with part 2 of my conversation with special guest Ric Dube about pop culture guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Will Howard Stern retire after Sirius-XM folds?

- Stern was a game-changer

- Songs are more censored now on radio

- Dark '70s pop songs were complex

- The pioneer card

- The power of language

- The secret of the guilty pleasure

- Rediscovering songs through TV commercials

- Questioning Randy Jackson's credentials

- Spoof movies

- Dube pitches a guilty pleasure movie: Trophy Dad

- Another Shia Labeouf vehicle

- Green Card meets Mr. Mom

- The return of Jonathan Lipnicki

- From Russian to French

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Sunny Day Real Estate - Seven

- Dear Leader - Barbarians

- Patterson Hood - Pride of the Yankees

- The Apples in Stereo - The Bird That You Can't See

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Sunny Day Real Estate song is on the reissue of the album Diary on Sub Pop Records, where you can find out more and download the track.

The Dear Leader song is on the album Stay Epic on Lunch Records; find out more and download the song here.

The Patterson Hood song is on the album Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) on Ruth St. Records. Find out more and download the song here.

The Apples in Stereo song is on the band's self-released album #1 Hits Explosion. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

The Apples in stereo
"The Bird That You Can't See" (mp3)
from "#1 Hits Explosion"
(The Apples in stereo)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album



The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 93: We're All Guilty

I'm joined by special guest Ric Dube on the podcast in part 1 of our wide-ranging discussion of guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- What is a guilty pleasure?

- American Idol as a presumed guilty pleasure

- No stigma attached to liking old unfashionable music

- Now mainstream pop culture can be guilty pleasures

- Time makes formerly unhip bands cool

- Guilty pleasures are completely subjective

- Rush fans have a serious inferiority complex

- The denial phase

- We don't listen to music closely anymore

- Guilty displeasures

- It's hip to like bad movies

- Going to see Loverboy for the opening act

- Small doses

- Transitioning from the Bee Gees to Zeppelin

- Disco Demolition Night was the turning point

- Nevermind demolished hair metal

- Dube was at ground zero of the Seattle scene

- Identifying artists as "that song"

- Indie rock snobs

- Satellite radio fizzles out

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- The Raveonettes - Last Dance

- Joel Plaskett - Down, Down, Down

- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Raveonettes song is on the band's forthcoming album In and Out of Control on Vice Records. You can download the track here.

The Joel Plaskett song is on the album Three on Maple Music. You can download the song here.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart song is on the band's self-titled album on Slumberland Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
"Come Saturday" (mp3)
from "Come Saturday"
(Slumberland)

Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album



The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 92: A World of Fantasy

The latest episode of the podcast features another installment of Driving with Kumar, as I discuss my fantasy football draft. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Fantasy football draft preparation

- In fantasy sports leagues since '91

- No longer just for nerds

- Haven't gone overboard on research

- Listening to fantasy football podcasts

- Draft strategy

- Football picks pools

- First baseball league was pre-Internet

- Stats were faxed to us

- Now you get real-time stats online

- It's a crap shoot

- Draft post-mortem

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Black Francis - All in My Mind

- The King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl

- Dear Leader - The Blue Print

- Julian Plenti - Games for Days

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Black Francis song is on New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets on Justice Records. Download the track at Insound.

The King Khan and BBQ Show song is on the forthcoming album Invisible Girl on In the Red Records. You can download the song at Pitchfork.

The Dear Leader song is on the forthcoming album The Blue Print on Lunch Records. Find out more and download the song at Dear Leader's site.

The Julian Plenti song is on the album Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper on Matador Records, where you can download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 91: Constructive Summer

Back with a new episode of the podcast as I discuss summer jobs. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Summer jobs on par with previous years

- Stockin' shelves at the Market Basket

- Part-timers vs. full-timers

- Night crew

- Workin', eatin' and rockin' all night

- Setting up swingsets

- A short-lived gig

- Career opportunities: a newspaper internship

- Convincing my editor to give me more work

- A pathway to a job after graduation

- Baseball needs a salary cap

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words

- Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus

- Great Northern - Houses

- Shudder to Think - Hit Liquor (live)

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Radiohead song was released by the band for free download through its online store.

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album The Airing of Grievances on Beggars Group USA Records, where you can download the song.

The Shudder to Think song is on the album Live From Home on Team Love Records, where you can download the song.

The Great Northern song is on the EP Houses on Eenie Meenie Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Great Northern
"Houses" (mp3)
from "Houses EP"
(Eenie Meenie Records)

More On This Album


The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay.com; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 90: Sleeping with the Enemy

The podcast's back with a conversation with Matt Siegel about what happens when a lifelong Red Sox fan marries a diehard Yankees fan. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Sox-Yanks rivalry brought them together

- Jay sneaks in gratuitous reference to Blue Jays winning '93 World Series

- Matt and Tricia had planned on opening a "rivalry" bar

- Things get tense when the teams play each other

- Tales of woe at Yankee Stadium

- Matt's a sore loser

- Tricia's a true sports fan

- Sticking with your hometown team, unlike our pal Tim Coyne

- A little NBA talk

- Talking Blue Jays

- Baseball needs a salary cap

- The wonderful world of podcasts

- Boston's shifting sports talk radio scene

- Sponsorship and podcasting

- Online shopping

- Juggling passwords and e-mail addresses

- Lamenting the fate of newspapers

- Social media rules

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- The Raveonettes - Suicide

- Deer Tick - Smith Hill

- Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Raveonettes song is on the forthcoming album In and Out of Control on Vice Records, where you can download the song.

The Deer Tick song is on the album Born on Flag Day on Partisan Records, where you can download the song.

The Julian Plenti song is on the album Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper on Matador Records, where you can download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay.com; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 89: Doctor Doctor

I celebrate three years of podcasting CompCon with part 2 of my conversation with Dev Sarathy, this time discussing the pros and cons of the Canadian healthcare system. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- In Canada, paying taxes = healthcare coverage

- Canadian taxes are extremely high

- Health insurance doesn't cover "natural health" services like chiropractic

- Quality of life vs. quantity of life

- Money isn't going into preventive healthcare/wellness

- Old man Kumar: No kids play outside anymore

- Dev's awesome impression of his dad

- Fat people are fatter nowadays

- Canadian delays: Three-month waiting period for MRIs

- Maybe a hybrid of the two systems would work

- Canadian system abused by trivial ER visits

- Dev would make more money in U.S. system

- Canadians aren't used to paying for health services

- Hard to roll out a national plan due to sheer size of U.S.

- Outsourcing is a serious problem

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Lou Barlow - Gravitate

- Big Dipper - She's Fetching

- MSTRKRFT (feat. N.O.R.E.) - Bounce

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Lou Barlow song is on the forthcoming album Goodnight Unknown. The Big Dipper song is on the box set Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology. Both albums are on Merge Records, where you can download the songs.

The MSTRKRFT song is on the album Bounce on Dim Mak Records. The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the MP3.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 88: The Great White North

Back from vacation with a new episode of the podcast featuring a discussion with my cousin Dev Sarathy about the differences between the U.S. and Canada. Click here to listen to it in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Dev: Americans are friendlier

- U.S. cultural assimilation vs. Canada's melting pot

- More Muslim influence seen in Canada

- Religion leads to conflict

- Sports: Hockey's still #1 in Canada

- Toronto is extremely multicultural

- U.S. businessowners are more aggressive

- Political correctness runs amok in Canada

- Debating the merits of Jim Rice

- Whose beer is better?

- Dev's "eh?" moment

- Dev explains Hinduism

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Metric - Help I'm Alive

- Yo La Tengo - Here to Fall

- Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Metric song is on the band's album Fantasies on Metric Music International; find out more and download the song here. The Yo La Tengo song is on the album Popular Songs on Matador Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Japandroids song is on the album Post-Nothing on Polyvinyl Records. The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photographic work here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 87: King of the Road

I'm on my own for this episode of the podcast, as I introduce a new segment: Driving with Kumar. I recorded the segment while driving to and from work. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- DWP: Driving While Podcasting

- My iced tea habit

- Going to Toronto for vacation

- Catching up with an old buddy

- Happy anniversary

- Driving through Salem

- Planning a road trip

- Nine quick years

- Driving home

- Thoughts on the demise of WBCN

- Growing up on radio

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Mission of Burma - 1-2-3-Partyy!

- Spiral Stairs - Maltese Terrier

- Brendan Benson - Feel Like Taking You Home

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Mission of Burma song is on the band's forthcoming album The Sound The Speed The Light. The Spiral Stairs song is on the forthcoming album The Real Feel. Both albums are on Matador Records, where you can download both songs.

The Brendan Benson song is on the album My Old, Familiar Friend on ATO Records. Download the song at Stereogum.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Justin Labarge for the album art; find out more about his mad web skillz at Bold Everything Interactive.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 86: Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

In the latest episode of the podcast, I'm joined again by special guest Phil Stacey for a free-wheeling discussion of life after 40. Click here to listen to it in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

Ze show notes...


Topics:

- Ain't no big thang

- Are we becoming our parents?

- Our dads seemed so much older at 40

- Time flies

- 40 is the new 30?

- It's easier for men

- Brutal singles scene

- The Viagra army

- Talking rock

- Living in the past

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- The Almighty Defenders - Bow Down and Die

- Jay Reatard - Wounded

- The Condo F*cks - Whatcha Gonna Do About It

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Almighty Defenders song is on the band's forthcoming self-titled album on Vice Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Jay Reatard song is on the album Watch Me Fall. The Condo F*cks song is on the album F*ckbook. Both albums are on Matador Records, where you can download the songs.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 85: Papa Don't Preach

In this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Phil Stacey as we discuss fatherhood. Click here to listen in streaming audio or download the show directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Getting a late start on fatherhood
- A world of difference from a decade ago
- From obnoxious partier to concerned parent
- Shielding your kids from the bad stuff on TV
- Reasoning with kids is sometimes impossible
- Learning from our dads' mistakes
- The role of the father has evolved over the years
- Marriage is a partnership
- Lack of sleep
- Parenting is on-the-job training
- No regrets
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- The Dead Weather - Treat Me Like Your Mother
- Obits - Two-Headed Coin
- Alice in Chains - A Looking In View

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Dead Weather song is on the new album Horehound on Third Man Records. Find out more and download the song here.

The Obits song is on the album I Blame You on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song.

The Alice in Chains song is on the forthcoming album Black Gives Way to Blue on Virgin Records. Find out more and download the song here.

Jay Breitling produced the opening and closing themes of the show. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production.

Fully Completely

Check out the new "album art" for the podcast, courtesy of the great Justin Labarge. I basically wanted to get the name of the show on the pic, so mucho thanks to Justin for coming up with this and a couple of other versions.

Completely Conspicuous 84: Communication Breakdown

In this episode of the podcast, Rick Johnson and I discuss social media and its ever-growing presence in everyday life. Click here to listen to the episode in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").


The show notes...

- Social media as a business tool

- Reconnecting through Mario Kart

- The trend toward oversharing

- Tales of all-employee e-mail abuse

- Ill-advised blogging about work

- Facebook's evolution

- LinkedIn is all about the networking

- Twitter is everywhere

- The future is mobile

- The dark side: Sexting, corporate espionage, cats and dogs living together

- Lame corporate attempts at social networks

- Social networking is like weed?

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Yo La Tengo - Periodically Double or Triple

- Patterson Hood - Pollyanna

- Polvo - Beggars Bowl

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe today!

The Yo La Tengo song is on the band's new album Popular Songs on Matador Records, where you can download the track.

The Patterson Hood song is on the album Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs) on Ruth St. Records. Find out more and download the song at PattersonHood.com.

The Polvo song is on the album In Prism on Merge Records, where you can download the song.

Jay Breitling produced the opening and closing themes of this show. You can find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production.

Completely Conspicuous 83: I Was a Teenage Metalhead

The podcast's back with part 1 of my conversation with special guest Rick Johnson as we reminisce about our days as teenage metal nerds. Listen to the show in streaming audio here or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Schooled in the art of metal by his older brother
- A respite from crappy radio
- Both a freak and a geek
- Scaring our parents
- Early concert experiences
- Rockin' the night crew
- Moving on to college/indie rock
- Jay's short-lived band
- A Rush show and a drug deal
- Rediscovering metal
- No longer a guilty pleasure
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Early Man - Death is the Answer
- The Sword - Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians
- Warrior Soul - Love Destruction

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Early Man song is on the album Closing In on Matador Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Sword song is on the album Gods of the Earth on Kemado Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Warrior Soul song is on the 1992 album Salutations from the Ghetto Nation on Escapi Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Warrior Soul
"Love Destruction" (mp3)
from "Salutations From the Ghetto Nation"
(Escapi Music Group)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
More On This Album



Jay Breitling produced the opening and closing themes of this show. Find out more about Senor Breitling by checking out his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets.

Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production.

Completely Conspicuous 82: Burn Hollywood Burn

Here's the conclusion of my conversation with Ric Dube about movies. Click here to listen in streaming audio or download the episode directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- Why Grindhouse bombed
- Ric's Tarantino fandom
- The Brolin connection
- Sex comedies
- Hollywood fat
- Disaster movies
- In praise of Jacqueline Bisset
- Movie trailers
- Superhero movies
- Ric's baseball movie pitch: MVP
- Corrections and clarifications
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:
- Art Brut - Weird Science
- Andrew Bird - Oh No

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Art Brut song is a b-side from the band's album Art Brut vs. Satan on Downtown Records. Find out more at . The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the song.

The Andrew Bird song is on the album Noble Beast on Fat Possum Records, where you can download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 81: Making Movies

Here's part 2 of my conversation with Ric Dube, this time about movies and much more. Click here to hear the show in streaming audio, or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- The New Hollywood of the 1970s
- More screens meant more movies
- The rise of the blockbuster
- The Cable Guy ruined everything
- Jim Carrey keeps making the same movie
- What your top 5 movies say about your life
- The depressing world of Charlie Brown
- Dube stars in Carlito's Way
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:
- Jay Bennett - I'll Decorate My Love
- Lightning Dust - I Knew
- Jay Reatard - It Ain't Gonna Save Me

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Jay Bennett song is on the album Whatever Happened I Apologize on the Web label Rock Proper, where you can find out more and download the entire album for free. R.I.P.

The Lightning Dust song is on the album Infinite Light on Jagjaguwar Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Jay Reatard song is on the upcoming album Watch Me Fall on Matador Records. Find out more and download the song at http://www.jayreatard.com/.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 80: Does Anybody Remember Laughter?

Here's part 1 of my latest free-wheeling conversation with returning special guest Ric Dube, in which we discuss the decline of humor in print. You can listen to it in streaming audio here or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- Jay and Ric reminisce about the origins of Laphos
- The Onion takes college humor to another level
- The humor magazine is dead
- SPY magazine's revolutionary impact
- Irony takes over
- Sketch comedy movies
- Comedy on the Web
- Ric's latest movie pitch: The Bipolar Express
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:
- St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work
- Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The St. Vincent song is on the album Actor on 4AD Records. You can download the track here.

The Sunset Rubdown song is on the album Dragonslayer on Jagjaguwar Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous Episode 79: Games People Play

Here's part 2 of my sports-themed conversation with Phil Stacey, sports editor of the Salem News. This time around, we discuss the high price of sports tickets and the state of youth sports. Listen to the show in streaming audio here or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:
- The high price of being a sports fan
- Following sports as you get older
- More distractions
- Youth sports burnout
- Parents living through their kids
- Phil's past as a tennis goon
- Hitting your athletic peak in Little League
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:
- The Von Bondies - Pale Bride
- Swan Lake - Spider
- The Dears - Halfmast

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Von Bondies song is on the album Love, Hate, and Then There's You on Majordomo Records, where you can find out more and download the track.

The Swan Lake song is on the album Enemy Mine on Jagjaguwar Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The Dears' song is a b-side to the album Missiles on Danger Bird Records, where you can find out more and download the song.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.