Part 1
of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we try to figure out how
Christopher Cross became a pop star. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Recorded in at More Lost Time world HQ
- All about the shrews in Shrewsbury
- Record fairs are back
- Where did Christopher Cross come from?
- Went from San Antonio cover band to stardom
- Produced by Michael Omartian
- Omartian worked with lots of big artists, including Rod Stewart and Donna Summer
- Lots of big names helped out on Cross' debut: Don Henley, Michael McDonald, Nicolette Larson
- Cross didn't have a particularly great voice
- Jay's Christopher Cross album
- Pre-MTV fame
- First single was "Ride Like the Wind," second was "Sailing"
- Theme from Arthur was his biggest hit
- Couldn't escape it on the radio for a while
- Ric: Played plenty of music like this at Strawberries
- "Think of Laura" was written for General Hospital
- To be continued
Music:
Bedroom Eyes - Wild Sins
Hymnals - When You're Away
Kinski - Conflict Free Diamonds
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The
Bedroom Eyes song is a single available for free at Bandcamp.
The Hymnals song is a single available for free at Bandcamp.
The Kinski song is on the Kill Rock Stars compilation Crazed MP3 Fans Vol. 1. Download the comp for free at 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.
Part 2 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the future of podcasting. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out James' show The Avs Hockey Podcast
- Old media (radio, newspapers) is struggling
- Radio stations need to think differently
- Boston was once a great radio town
- College radio is still going
- Jay: Playing DJ on BFF.fm
- Apple helped grow podcasting with iTunes
- Talk radio is still popular
- James' podcast has nothing to do with sports talk radio
- Mo' money, mo' problems
- Everything revolves around smartphones
- Podcasting is about as DIY as it gets
- Still having fun with it
- James: There will be massive dropoff in conventional podcasts
- Hard to keep up with all the shows
- Similar to the amount of good TV out there
- This American Life was originally rejected by NPR, went to PRI
- It's not about SEO, it's about making good shows
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
Music:
Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener
What Moon Things - Astronaut
Mattress Financial - I Do That Good
The Courtney Barnett song is on The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas on Milk! Records. Download the song for free at Amazon MP3.
The What Moon Things song is on the band's self-titled album. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Mattress Financial song is on the Mattress Financial/Fond Han single Private Split. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) as part of Exploding in Sound's EIS Sampler 2013-2014 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.
Part 1 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the future of podcasting. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out James' show The Avs Hockey Podcast
- Also produces podcast for Denver Symphony Orchestra
- We last spoke on this topic four years ago
- 10th anniversary of podcasting
- Tools are more accessible than ever
- James: Don't see as many quality podcasts as I expected
- Apple has played big role, positive and negative
- James listens to Radiolab, Welcome to Nightvale, Definitely Not the Opera, 99% Invisible, among other podcasts
- There are many "two white guys talking" podcasts
- Waiting for the next interesting thing
- Most podcasters aren't in it for the money
- James: Not sure whether sponsors are getting a good return
- Trying to have fun and be creative with Avs Hockey Podcast
- Professional podcasters vs. hobbyists
- Marc Maron is a podcasting success story; turned his entire career around
- Commercial radio is much less interesting these days
- Parallels with late night TV and Letterman's retirement
- More freedom on basic cable for Stewart and Colbert
- Are podcasters using their voice?
- Having guests can bring new energy to a show
- What constitutes success in podcasting?
- To be continued
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
Music:
Mean Creek - Johnny Allen
Foxy Shazam - Brutal Truth
Nothing - Bent Nail
The Mean Creek song is on the album Local Losers on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Foxy Shazam song is on the self-released album Gonzo. Download the album for free (in exchange for your email address) at Noisetrade.
The song by Nothing is on the album Guilty of Everything on Relapse Records. Download the song for free at Amazon.
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.
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1984. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic
- Brian's #5
- Pretenders are very underrated
- Chrissie Hynde got a late start in rock
- Jay's #5
- Saw R.E.M.'s first national TV appearance on Letterman
- Brian's #4
- Minutemen covered a wide range of styles
- Mike Watt's interesting career
- Scott Asheton, R.I.P.
- James Williamson went from playing with Iggy to become a Silicon Valley exec
- Jay's #4
- Van Halen inadvertently helped create hair metal
- Brian's #3
- Meat Puppets created a unique sound
- Most people became aware of them a decade later
- Jay's #3
- Replacements' sound evolved from punk to more mature rock
- Brian's #2 was his #1 when we started talking
- Jay's #2
- Husker Du was coming into its own in '84
- So much good music on SST in the early to mid-'80s
- Brian's #1
- Gordon Gano wrote first two Violent Femmes albums while in high school
- Serious gospel undertones
- Jay's #1
- Purple Rain was a masterpiece
- Jay chronicled 1984 in a diary reprinted on Kumar's Blizznog
- Next up: 1986
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
Music:
Hallelujah the Hills - Pick Up an Old Phone
Feral Jenny - Law & Order
Red Sea - Down with the Crown
The
Hallelujah the Hills song is on the album Have You Ever Done Something
Evil? on Discrete Pageantry. Download the song for free at Stereogum.
The Feral Jenny song is on the EP Bedrooms. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.
The Red Sea song is on the EP Yardsticks for Human Intelligence. Download the song for free at 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.
