Monday, January 28, 2013

Completely Conspicuous 263: The Upside of Anger

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our angry society. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at Chez Phillion, Salem, Mass.
- Matt and his siblings got the angry gene
- Be nice to your crazy co-workers
- Copycat wackos
- Blaming the videogames and Hollywood
- Violent movies don't necessarily make you violent
- When you recognize the bank robber
- Matt's been shot at before
- It's unrealistic to think guns are going away
- Who's paranoid? Not us.
- Talk radio is another forum for angry people
- The 2nd Amendment
- Universal healthcare gets people angry
- "People aren't totally shitbags"
- High-powered hunting
- Matt's advocating for an asteroid to wipe us out
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law

Bad Religion - True North
Screaming Females - Poison Arrow
Titus Andronicus - Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus

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

The Joy Formidable song is on the album Wolf's Law on Atlantic. Download it for free at Chromewaves.
The Bad Religion song is on the band's new album True North on Epitaph. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.
The Screaming Females song is on the cassette-only album Chalk Tape on Don Giovanni. Download the song for free from Stereogum.
The Titus Andronicus song is on the album Local Business on XL Recordings. 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.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Completely Conspicuous 262: Anger is an Energy

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss anger management. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Recorded at Chez Phillion, Salem, Mass.
- The joys of home ownership
- We've talked in the past about profanity and politics, which both tie in to anger
- Many forums available for people to vent anger
- Dealing with crazy co-workers
- Matt's an angry man at times
- Running can be therapeutic...or not
- Getting behind the wheel instantly amplifies anger level
- Road rage is scary
- Are we an angrier society than we used to be?
- Like driving a car, social media makes you a lot braver
- Online comments can be particularly vicious
- Putting up with conflicting opinions on Facebook
- The gun debate has stoked anger on both sides
- Matt has a "Spanish face"
- Matt: The rest of the world sees Americans as "overweight, angry and armed"
- Some friends love to troll "the other side" online
- Seagull Facebook: Fly in, make a bunch of noise, crap on everything and fly away
- Anger is stoked at sporting events
- Alcohol doesn't help
- Giants fan beaten at Dodgers Stadium
- Matt wrecked his shoulder venting on a punching bag
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Mudhoney - The Only Son of the Widow of Nain

Camper Van Beethoven - Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out
Guided By Voices - She Lives in an Airport
Lovestreams - Shock Corridor

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

The Mudhoney song is on the forthcoming album Vanishing Point on Sub Pop. Download it for free (in exchange for your email address) at SubPop.com.
The Camper Van Beethoven song is on the band's new album La Costa Perdida on 429 Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Guided By Voices song is on the self-released album The Bears for Lunch. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.
The Lovestreams song is available for free download from the Lovestreams Tumblr.

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.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Completely Conspicuous 261: Waiting for the Punchline

This week, I'm joined by guest Brian Lewandowski as he discusses navigating the Boston standup comedy scene. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Brian's back doing standup for the last few months
- First did comedy in the early '90s
- Started working townie bars
- Just stopped and began doing humor writing
- Did an early humor blog that he turned into a self-published book
- Recently decided to get back into comedy
- In college, ran the radio station with Ronnie James Dio's son
- Early heroes were Buddy Hackett, Woody Allen, Steve Martin
- Most comedians are loners
- Took comedy class; one week, Janeane Garofalo was guest instructor
- Hosts comedy nights now
- Dealing with cats in the audience
- Storytelling with embellishments
- Brian interviewed Marc Maron for his blog in the '90s
- The genius of SCTV
- Passing on your sense of humor to your kids
- Brian worked at AMC and Bravo in their early days
- "The Spiteful Salad"
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Iceage - Coalition

Chelsea Light Moving - Empires of Time
Pere Ubu - Free White
The Figgs - Brain Be Gone

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

The Iceage song is on the album You're Nothing on Matador Records. Download it for free at Pitchfork.
The Chelsea Light Moving song is on the band's self-titled album on Matador Records. Download the song for free at MatadorRecords.com.
The Pere Ubu song is on the album Lady from Shanghai on Fire Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.
The Figgs song is on the album The Day Gravity Stopped. Download the song (in exchange for your email address) for free at Noisetrade.

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.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Completely Conspicuous 260: The Year in Rock Music, Part 3

Part 3 of my conversation with guests Jay Breitling and Mike Piantigini as we review our favorite music of 2012. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Breitling's #3 album of 2012 - Piantigini and Kumar agree on #3
- Divine Fits have stripped down songs
- JB's #2
- Golden Gurls are no relation to Bea Arthur
- MP's #2
- Plenty of Teenage Fanclub activity
- Imagining Breitling as a goth kid
- JK's #2
- The problem with doing covers
- JB's #1
- Piantigini's band Lump once opened for Karl Hendricks Trio
- Metallica owns their own masters
- Bands are now re-recording their classic tracks
- MP's #1 (sort of)
- New Big Dipper album out
- JK's #1
- JB's favorite song of the year
- MP's favorite song
- Westerberg releases material as he records it
- Jason Everman got around
- JK's favorite song
- Breitling's N SYNC sighting
- Trumped by Rock's Destiny's Child sighting
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Divine Fits - Civilian Stripes

Golden Gurls - I Can See the City
Karl Hendricks Trio - The Men's Room at the Airport
Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song
Paul Westerberg - My Road Now

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

The Divine Fits song is on the album A Thing Called Divine Fits on Merge Records. Download it for free at Epitonic.
The Golden Gurls song is on the self-released album Typo Magic. Download the entire album for free at Bandcamp.
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 Mark Lanegan Band song is on the album Blues Funeral on 4AD. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Paul Westerberg song was self-released and is available for free download from 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 fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.