Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 345: Reeling in the Years, 1996 (Part 1)


Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1996. 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 '96, Jay was 28 going on 29
- Brian: 13 going on 14
- Grunge was fading, pop was back in a big way
- Two versions of "The Macarena" were on top 100 singles chart
- Brian: At the time, didn't feel like a pop year
- Bush made an album with Steve Albini
- Lots of unsuccessful followups: Ugly Kid Joe, Kriss Kross
- Metallica's Load lived down to its name
- Strange year for Van Halen: Twister soundtrack, followed by greatest hits album with two DLR songs
- VH went through three singers in a matter of months
- Michael Anthony, Everyman
- We deconstructed VH III in eps 315 and 316
- Nickelback's first album came out in '96
- KISS reunited with original lineup
- Hip hop went mainstream
- New acts on the rise, like The Roots, Outkast, Wu Tang Clan
- Roots of nu metal
- The death of rock criticism with David Fricke in Rolling Stone giving U2's new album a five-star rating
- Rolling Stone typically hands out good reviews to old-school artists like U2, Dylan, Stones
- Last time U2 did anything interesting was 1997's Pop
- The U2 backlash is fierce
-  To be continued

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

Music:
Whirr - Mumble
Withered Hand - Black Tambourine
Super Medusa - Doomed Boy

The Whirr song is on the album Sway on Graveface Records. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.
The Withered Hand song is on the album New Gods on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on Amazon MP3.
The Super Medusa song is on the EP of the same name, which is available for free download 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.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 344: Stardom in Action


Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- The Brits love them some Arctic Monkeys
- Matt learns how to do Twitter
- Getting followed by dead authors and weirdos
- Desperate for celeb RTs
- Positive Twitter interactions
- Jay: Old friend has been writing about celebrities for a few decades now
- PR jobs require a different mindset
- Meeting your heroes can be problematic
- Searching for Jagger
- In the presence of Howard
- Rock star deaths
- Dying young does wonders for an artist's legacy
- Brando's death isn't well remembered...by Matt, anyway
- How dumb would we be if we had money?

Music:
SW/MM/NG - Some Dreams Come True
Gold-Bears - From Tallahassee to Gainesville
Weekend - Hazel

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

The SW/MM/NG song is on the album Feel Not Bad on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Gold-Bears song is on the album Dalliance on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on Amazon MP3.
The Weekend song is on the EP Red on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free as part of the Slumberland Records 25th Anniversary Sampler on Amazon MP3.

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.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 343: Baby I'm a Star


Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Scandal rags are still popular
- Celebs and social media can lead to trouble
- Now everyone's got a camera to catch your every mistake
- Michael Richards was beloved until he screwed up
- People will turn on celebs in an instant
- The strange life of Tom Cruise, Entertainment Robot
- Doing interview junkets must be mind-numbing
- Supreme Court nominee was rejected in the '80s because of pot smoking
- The media mastery of Bill Clinton
- Public perception matters
- Asking the wrong question
- Jay: Meeting Stephen Colbert was pretty cool
- Jay: Sat next to Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block on a flight once
- People will stand for hours just to get shown on The Today Show
- Suing Naked Dating reality show for...being naked
- To be continued

Music:
Creepers - Stuck
Naomi Punk - Television Man
Hooray for Earth - Airs

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

The Creepers song is on the album Lush from the All Black Recording Company. Download the song for free from Stereogum.
The Naomi Punk song is on the album Television Man on Captured Tracks. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Hooray for Earth song is on the album Racy on Dovecote Records. Download the song for free from 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.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 342: Your Famous Friends


Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion about society's obsession with celebrity. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Celebrity deaths
- Jay: Robin Williams' death hit me hard
- We don't have royalty so celebs fill that role
- Getting rich doesn't necessarily equal happiness
- Americans are surprisingly fascinated by the British royal family
- Dealing with fans could get annoying after a while
- Matt was at Boston ComiCon hyping his book
- Check out his YA superhero novel The Indestructibles
- Saw some minor celebs like Jason Momoa and John Barrowman
- What do you say to an actor or musician you admire?
- Matt met Susan Sarandon while working at Museum of Science
- Jay: Met my favorite hockey player and I was a dork
- Many movies filmed around here and people flock to watch
- People will do anything to get onscreen
- Worked with a guy who was on a short-lived reality show
- Matt went to college with actor Charlie Day
- The lameness of celeb interviews during sports telecasts
- To be continued

Music:
The Wytches - Digsaw
Aan - Spiritual Provisions
Little Racer - Dancing

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

The Wytches song is on the album Annabel Dream Reader on Partisan Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Aan song is on the album Amor Ad Nauseum on Party Damage Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.
The Little Racer song is on the EP Modern Accent on PaperCup Music. Download the song for free from 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.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 341: Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we examine the back story of '70s hitmakers Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Check out our new web series Trust Fund Challenge
- Playboy Records had Barbi Benton signed to a deal
- RD: Hef likes "female impersonator impersonators"
- Benton guested on many '70s TV shows like Fantasy Island and The Love Boat
- She released five albums that hit the country charts
- Worked on Playboy After Dark
- Show had many great musical guests
- Playboy Records made HJFR keep Reynolds in the name after he left
- HJFR had their biggest hit in '75 with "Fallin' in Love"
- Drake sampled it and was sued by Playboy Enterprises
- Poor Dennison
- Singer Dan Hamilton died in '94 of Cushing's Syndrome
- Three subsequent singles bombed
- Album only went to #82, even with a #1 hit
- Bad distro
- Band probably didn't make much money from sales
- MST3K had a good HJFR reference
- The King's last hit


Music:

Owl John - Red Hand
Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver

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

The Owl John song is on its self-titled album on Canvasback/Atlantic. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Benjamin Booker song is on his self-titled album on ATO Records. 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.