Completely Conspicuous 329: Reeling in the Years, 1986 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1986. 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 was 4 in '86; Jay was (cough) 18 and in college
- Jay: Watched a lot of MTV that year
- Brian: Paul Simon's Graceland was huge
- Peter Gabriel became a megastar
- Van Halen and David Lee Roth split up and released albums
- Brian: Musically, 1986 was all over the place
- Nine of the top 10 selling albums were released in '85
- Album sales were enormous back then
- The Bangles hit big with "Walk Like an Egyptian"
- Springsteen's Live 1975-85 was a big box set release
- First year of Rock Hall of Fame
- Rush and KISS were shocking admissions to Rock Hall in recent years
- Hair metal was thriving; even Judas Priest poofed up their hair
- Hip hop hit hard: Beasties and Run DMC made big impressions
- Aerosmith's career was revived thanks to Run DMC
- Brian: Worst moments include band breakups (Black Flag, Minutemen, Smiths, Dead Kennedys)
- "That's What Friends Are For": Great cause, awful song
- Lionel Richie went from cool in the Commodores to cheesy
- Deaths: Phil Lynott, Richard Manuel, Cliff Burton, Benny Goodman, Scatman Crothers
- Boston's long-awaited third album
- The Vinnie Vincent Invasion took hair metal to ridiculous extremes
- Wank guitar was all the rage
- To be continued...

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

Music:
Fucked Up - Paper the House
Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick (live)
Two Inch Astronaut - Part of Your Scene (live on WVAU)

The Fucked Up song is on the album Glass Boys on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matablog.
The Mudhoney song is on the EP Mudhoney on Top! KEXP Presents Mudhoney Live on Top of the Space Needle. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Two Inch Astronaut song is available for free download (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.

Completely Conspicuous 328: Shooting from the Hip

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


Show notes:
- Matt recently became a published author
- Check out his YA superhero novel The Indestructibles
- Matt: The definition of cool is not trying too hard
- Shopping is simple if you don't care about trends
- WTF is up with skinny jeans?
- Changing office dress codes
- Matt's office phobia
- Hippies turned into yuppies
- Aging well
- Bronies are hipsters who have gone too far
- The life cycle of a hipster
- Matt lived in Hipster Ground Zero for a while
- Saw early signs of the hipster look a decade ago
- The seamy underside of politics
- You need a lack of self-awareness to run for office
- Some employers seem to want mindless worker drones
- Conclusion: We're not hipsters

Music:
Twin Peaks - Flavor
Feral Jenny - Tearless Creep
Ancient Babes - What Mean Expendable?

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

The Twin Peaks song is on the album Sunken. Download the album for free from Noisetrade.
The Feral Jenny song is on the EP Sylvia Songs. Download the EP for free from Bandcamp.
The Ancient Babes song is available for free download on Soundcloud.

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.

Completely Conspicuous 327: Artificial Hip

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the scourge of hipsterism. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Matt recently became a published author
- Check out his YA superhero novel The Indestructibles
- Vin Diesel, businessman
- The brilliance of True Detective
- Hipsters: Is there a cutoff age?
- '90s hipsters were into the grunge look
- The mysterious allure of Mumford and Sons
- Hipsters love shitty beer
- Going to an effort to not look attractive
- Of beards and men
- Tattoos are trendy
- The Beatles set the trends of their day
- Where does it go from here?
- For a few years in the late '90s, it was nu metal and baggy pants
- We're all about the low-maintenance wardrobe
- Hair today, gone tomorrow
- To be continued

Music:
Bob Mould - Hey Mr. Grey
The Hold Steady - Spinners
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She's On It/Jack the Ripper (live)

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

The Bob Mould song is on the forthcoming album Beauty & Ruin on Merge Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Hold Steady song is on the album Teeth Dreams on Washington Square/Razor and Tie. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion song is available for free download 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.

Completely Conspicuous 326: Pop Goes the '70s

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect the strange connections of '70s-era pop hitmakers. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Christopher Cross' surprisingly long career
- Producer Michael Omartian was in disco act Rhythm Heritage, which released the #1 hit "Theme from S.W.A.T." in 1976
- Also did theme from Baretta
- Steve Barry formed Rhythm Heritage with Omartian
- Barry produced Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
- Ric plans his funk album
- Sammy Davis Jr. sang the Baretta theme
- "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" was big hit for Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
- Ric's unsealed Bo Donaldson record
- First discovered while touring with the Osmonds
- The sadness of the 1970s package tour
- The Osmonds actually had a few cool songs
- "Hold Her Tight" was a Zeppelin sound-alike
- Recorded during their "rock" phase, which didn't last long
- Donny and Marie were the big moneymakers
- Donny Osmond had a few hits in 1989
- His mid-'70s song "C'mon Marianne" was much better

Music:
Deerhoof - Milk Man
Fat History Month - Angel From Montgomery
The Baseball Project - To the Veterans Committee

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

The Deerhoof song is on the Kill Rock Stars compilation Crazed MP3 Fans Vol. 1. Download the comp for free at Bandcamp.
The Fat History Month song is on Exploding in Sound's EIS Sampler 2013-2014 on Bandcamp.
The Baseball Project song is on Yep Roc in Austin: On Spider's Tab. Download the comp 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.