Completely Conspicuous 338: Reeling in the Years, 1989 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1989. 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: Pump was the best post-reunion Aerosmith album
- Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever is decent
- Jay's bubbling under picks: The Cure, Smithereens, Tragically Hip, Lou Reed, XTC, Michael Penn, Cult, Faith No More
- Brian's bubbling under picks: Fugazi, Tin Machine, CVB, Elvis Costello, Dylan
- The strange career of Dave Navarro
- Jay: Good releases from Stone Roses, Hoodoo Gurus, Big Audio Dynamite
- Brian: Joe Strummer took a long time to release a good post-Clash album
- Brian's #5
- McCartney's comeback album
- Jay's #5 and Brian's #4
- Nirvana's debut was under the radar
- Jay's #4 and Brian's #2
- Paul's Boutique was a major shift for Beasties
- Brian recommends the Kathleen Hanna doc, The Punk Singer
- Brian's #3
- De La Soul brought a different feel to hip hop
- To be continued

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

Music:
Stickers - Outlet
Cretin Girls - Walk the City
Ex-Cult - Mister Fantasy

The Stickers song is on the album Swollen on End of Time Records. Download the song for free at Gimme Tinnitus.
The Cretin Girls song is on the band's self-titled EP on Soft Science Records. Download the song for free from Gimme Tinnitus.
The Ex-Cult song is on the 7-inch Mister Fantasy on Goner Records. Download the song for free from Gimme Tinnitus.

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 337: Reeling in the Years, 1989 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1989. 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
- In 1989, Brian was 7 and Jay graduated from college
- Jay: Never saw the Indiana Jones sequels
- Brian: A lot of records I liked, few that I loved
- Jay: Seeds of Seattle sound came out in '89--Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees with crucial early albums
- Madchester scene: Stone Roses, Happy Mondays
- Jay: Started seeing club shows in Boston 'burbs
- Great local scene now: Speedy Ortiz, Krill, Pile, Soccer Mom
- Waiting for The Best Show to return
- In '89, alt-rock was coming into its own
- R.E.M., B-52's both hit it big
- Brian: Mid-'90s indie rock bands formed, as did swing acts
- First Green Day EP came out
- Classic rock tours started making big bucks: McCartney, Ringo, Stones, Who
- Tin Machine marked Bowie's return to rock
- Kids seem to go through a classic rock phase
- Thank goodness for college radio
- Lots of pop detritus in '89: Milli Vanilli, Paula Abdul, Debbie Gibson
- The power ballad was the last hurrah for hair metal bands
- Ugh: Beach Boys' Still Cruisin'
- Brian: Ramones' Brain Drain was disappointing
- Strange collection of Top 100 singles
- To be continued

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

Music:

Radiator Hospital - Five & Dime
Sex Hands - Pivot
Priests - New

The Radiator Hospital song is on the album Torch Song. Download the song and album for free at Bandcamp.
The Sex Hands song is on the album Pleh on Faux Discx and Negative Space. Download the song for free from Gimme Tinnitus.
The Priests song is on the EP Bodies and Control and Power and Money on Don Giovanni Records. Download the song for free from Fluxblog.

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 336: Album vs. Playlist

This week, it's an episode of Driving With Kumar as guests Dave Olson and Phil Stacey join me to discuss whether the album is an endangered species. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded on the way to Fenway Park
- A BBC radio exec proclaimed the album is about to be extinct
- "Playlists are the future"
- Phil: Listen to a lot of albums by new or unfamiliar artists on Spotify
- Much different listening experience when we were kids
- Dave: Worked in restaurants as a kid and brought mix tapes to listen to
- Albums brought more lasting satisfaction
- Phil: Song order is interesting
- Sometimes an album only has 1 or 2 good songs
- Deep cuts
- Hunting for B-sides
- Digging through back catalog
- The vagaries of bubblegum pop
- Kids don't listen to albums as much anymore
- Phil likes the jam bands
- Commercial radio is in rough shape
- Music sales are a fraction of what they once were 20+ years ago
- The power of licensed music in movies and TV
- MTV used to be a huge music influencer
- The vinyl resurgence
- Mixes or playlists can have interesting choices
- Offending people with mixtape selections

Music:
Speedy Ortiz - Bigger Party
Dead Stars - Wasted

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal

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

The Speedy Ortiz song is part of the Adult Swim Singles Series. Download the song for free at Adult Swim.

The Dead Stars song is on the album Slumber on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Parquet Courts song is on the album Sunbathing Animal on What's Your Rupture? Download the song for free at KEXP.

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 335: Halfway Down the Stairs

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of the year. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ
- JB: Ava Luna does not fake the funk
- JK: Johnny Foreigner comes back with another excellent album
- They also dropped a surprise live album recently
- JB: Soccer Mom's full-length debut did not disappoint
- JK: Protomartyr has an interesting back story
- JB: Engineer Jeff Zeigler has worked on most great recent albums out of Philly
- Nothing's Guilty of Everything is exceedingly loud but pretty
- Wear earplugs, kids
- JK: Parquet Courts continues to refine their sound
- The Strokes were another band who came out to much acclaim
- Critical comparisons are often ill-informed
- JB: Perfect Pussy is female-fronted hardcore
- JK: Stephen Malkmus has had an interesting and rewarding solo career
- JK: Bob Mould keeps the rock vibe going
- JK: Afghan Whigs release first album in 16 years, don't miss a beat
- New Spoon album coming out
- JB: Looking forward to new records from Lubec, White Laces, Golden Gurls, Hush Now
- JK: New Mascis and Titus Andronicus due out soon
- Plenty of great stuff out there

Music:
Johnny Foreigner - Le Sigh
Soccer Mom - Orejas

Protomartyr - Come & See

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

The Johnny Foreigner song is on the album You Can Do Better on Alcopop. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Soccer Mom song is on the band's self-titled album 100m Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Protomartyr song is on the album Under Color of Official Right on Hardly Art. Download the song for free at 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 334: Half Right

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of the year. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ
- A farewell to Moviefone
- JB: Forced to listen to lite rock radio at work
- Frozen vs. High School Musical
- Rock stations play the same old catalog stuff
- Regional radio leanings
- JK's radio show Stuck In Thee Garage is almost a year old
- The debut of Clicky Clicky Live
- JB's honorable mentions: New Mendicants, Steiner, The Collected Fictions, The Wrong Shapes
- Ovlov's breakup/reunion
- JK's honorable mentions: Hallelujah the Hills, The Hold Steady, Krill, Speedy Ortiz, Mastodon
- JB: La Ligas Menores makes good indie pop out of Argentina
- JK: The War on Drugs' Lost in the Dream has an '80s feel
- JB: Krill has best song imagining oneself as poop
- JK: F'd Up combines gruff vocals with intricate arrangements
- JB: She Sir is a two-piece from Austin that takes its time
- JK: New Cloud Nothings record continues a winning formula
- JB: Speedy Ortiz continues to impress
- Touring non-stop despite loss of guitarist
- JK: Gord Downie and the Sadies recorded album over several years
- Punk-influenced sound from roots rock artists
- To be continued

Music:
Hallelujah the Hills - Pick Up an Old Phone
She Sir - Condensedindents

The Collected Fictions - Talk

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

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 She Sir song is on the album Go Guitars on Shelflife Records. Download the song for free at Largehearted Boy.
The song by The Collected Fictions is on the band's self-titled EP. Download the EP for free (in exchange for your email address) 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.