Monday, July 30, 2012

Completely Conspicuous 238: Generation Gap

Another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss the generation gap that exists in pop culture. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded on the way to WFNX Boston Accents farewell show in Allston
- WFNX has been replaced by The Harbor, a "Variety Hits" station
- FNX lasted 29 years
- Driving through another torrential rainstorm
- Generation gap in music fandom driven by a couple of NPR blog posts
- Intern wrote about how she never pays for recorded music
- Ignited industry debate, including a battle of blog posts between David Lowery and Dave Allen

- Another post had an intern reviewing Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions...
- Kid wasn't born when the album came out in 1988
- His love of hip-hop is defined by current artists like Drake
- Couldn't relate to PE's intensity

- I was struck by the lack of knowledge or interest in older music
- Get off my lawn
- As a kid, I was fascinated by music that came out in the previous few decades
- Much easier now to hear music at a moment's notice
- I blame it on sensory overload
- You're going to listen to what your friends dig
- Can't blame kids for not knowing about older acts
- I'm not trying to get my own kids to listen to my music
- Enjoy the rhythmic sounds of nature pounding on my car roof
- The world is much faster
- Technology is advancing at amazing speeds
- Rain stops right as I get into the city
- Remembering the early MP3 players
- Some kids are getting into vinyl and cassettes
- Many old pop cultural references are lost on the young
- It's not too late for kids to learn about older music
- Plenty of great new music out there, too
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Chelsea Light Moving - Frank O'Hara Hit

The XX - Angels
Blur - The Puritan
Mean Creek - Young & Wild
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Chelsea Light Moving song is available for free download from Matador Records.
The XX song is on the forthcoming album Coexist on Young Turks. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Blur song is the B-side of the band's self-released 12-inch Under the Westway. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Mean Creek song is from the forthcoming album Youth Companion on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free as part of the Boston Accents Funeral Party Soundtrack on Bandcamp.
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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Completely Conspicuous 237: The Midyear Rock Report, Part 2

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2012. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ
- Kumar: New Van Halen album much better than expected
- Breitling: Future Carnivores brings a new wave sound
- Breitling enjoys the Eddie Money jams
- Forced to listen to Starship
- Kumar: Check out the book I Want My MTV
- Kumar: Lanegan goes way beyond straightahead rock
- Breitling: Ride tribute comp features Boston acts
- Get Geddy Lee on the show
- Kumar: Digging the new Rush album
- New Metric album is strong
- Heavy Blanket features Mascis with guitar instrumentals
- Ty Segall was not in Under Siege 2
- Breitling: Looking forward to new release from Everyone Everywhere
- Breitling: New band called Dikembe (no relation to Mutombo) recalls mid-90s emo
- New Dino Jr. due out in the fall
- Kumar: Need to check out new Future of the Left, Henry Clay People
- Kumar's "skeptible" of Spin's Twitter reviews
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Future Carnivores - Drugs (demo)

Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song
Soccer Mom - Dreams Burn Down
Dinosaur Jr. - Watch the Corners

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Future Carnivores song is a demo from the band's forthcoming second album. Download the song for free from ClickyClickyMusic.com.
The Mark Lanegan Band song is on the album Blues Funeral on 4AD. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at MarkLanegan.com.
The Soccer Mom song is on the compilation NOFUCKINGWHERE. Download the song for free at ClickyClickyMusic.com.
The Dinosaur Jr. song is from the forthcoming album I Bet on Sky on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Completely Conspicuous 236: The Midyear Rock Report, Part 1

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2012. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ

- Kumar: New Smashing Pumpkins ain't bad
- Breitling: Golden Gurls do not feature Bea Arthur but do rock

- Kumar: High on Fire brings metallic fury
- Kumar: Check out Henry Rollins' great radio show
- Breitling: Former Books leader Zammuto released terrific album
- Kumar: Cloud Nothings are young and really good
- Breitling: Boston act Autochrome brings the post-punk
- WFNX's demise will result in two streaming stations
- Kumar: Torche is heavy and poppy
- Breitling: Check out Big Science
- Dumb band name: The Internet
- Kumar: Japandroids unleash unbridled fury
- Breitling: Karl Hendricks Trio back with another great record
- Kumar: GBV returns with the classic lineup
- Breitling: Infinity Girl debut features quality shoegaze
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Golden Gurls - Excited

Cloud Nothings - No Future/No Past
Autochrome - We Are the System
Torche - Kicking
Karl Hendricks Trio - The Men's Room at the Airport
Guided By Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino

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

The Golden Gurls song is from the album Typo Magic. Download the song and the album for free at GoldenGurls.Bandcamp.com.
The Cloud Nothings song is on the album Attack on Memory on Carpark Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Autochrome song is on the album Separation Realms. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Bandcamp.
The Torche song is from the album Harmonicraft on Volcom Entertainment. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at TorcheMusic.
The Karl Hendricks Trio song is on the album The Adult Section on Comedy Minus One Records. Download the song for free from Comedy Minus One.
The Guided By Voices song is on the album Let's Go Eat the Factory on Guided By Voices Records. Download the song for free at GBVDigital.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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Completely Conspicuous 235: Read 'em and Weep

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we talk about the state of the book industry. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded in Beverly, Mass.
- Christian: So many good books out there go undiscovered
- Kindles and other e-readers have people
- Attitudes towards owning music and books change as folks get older
- Jay: My kids are still reading books
- The debate over digital media and artist royalties rages on in music industry
- Different revenue models: Amanda Palmer raised over $1 mil on Kickstarter for new album
- That won't work for artists without huge followings, though
- The popularity of oral histories
- Crafting an oral history involves skill in selecting right quotes, telling a story
- "Narrative non-fiction" is an interesting sub-genre
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Henry Clay People - 25 for the Rest of Our Lives

Japandroids - The Nights of Wine and Roses
The Hives - High School Shuffle

Wye Oak - Spiral

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

The Henry Clay People song is from the album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free at HenryClayPeople.com.
The Japandroids song is on the album Celebration Rock on Polyvinyl Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Hives song is on the album Lex Hives on Disques Hives. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.
The Wye Oak song is from the Adult Swim Singles Series. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Completely Conspicuous 234: Reading is Fundamental

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we talk about the state of the book industry. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded in Beverly, Mass.
- In this age of distraction, it's amazing that people read books at all
- Christian: Education system may be to blame for lack of reading

- Fiction is still a valuable commodity
- Jay: Fun to see my kids get into reading
- Christian: Treating reading like a workout
- Multi-tasking all day makes one less inclined to read later
- Authors were once treated like movie stars
- "Fifty Shades of Grey" started as Twilight fan fiction
- Many best-sellers are autobiographies of celebs
- Christian: Historical fiction is exciting
- Working on a new project, a "novel in stories"
- Looking at African-Americans attracted to Russian promise of equality
- Also working on novel about a murder in rural Alaska
- All about plot
- Success comes at the sentence level
- Many parallels to the music industry
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Corin Tucker Band - Groundhog Day

The Raveonettes - Observations
Stars - The Theory of Relativity
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Black Mold

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

The Corin Tucker Band song is from the forthcoming album Kill My Blues on Kill Rock Stars. Download the song for free at Stereogum.
The Raveonettes song is from the band's forthcoming album Observator on Vice Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.
The Stars song is on the forthcoming album The North on ATO Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at StarstheNorth.com.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion song is from the band's forthcoming album Meat and Bone on Boombox/Mom + Pop. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Pitchfork.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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.