Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 353: The Fake Headlines

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


Show notes:
- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout
- Reading newspapers was once a thing
- Boston was a strong two newspaper town
- The Herald used to delight in tweaking the Globe
- Election ads go for the blue collar vote
- "Like hugging a Chicken McNugget"
- When your new boss is an uninspirational leader
- Matt: The end user is the product
- Pop-up ads are the worst
- People don't want to hear bad news
- It's entirely possible to avoid anything you disagree with
- Nobody wants to find middle ground
- News networks try to ratchet up the hysteria
- Fragmented workplaces
- Friends who aren't on social media are easily forgotten
- Jay: I don't talk to anyone on the phone anymore
-Another Charlie interruption
- To be continued

Music:
King Tuff - Eyes of the Muse
Greylag - Yours to Shake
Dream Police - Hypnotized

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

The King Tuff song is on the album Black Moon Spell on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Greylag song is on the album Greylag on Dead Oceans. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Dream Police song is on the album Hypnotized on Sacred Bones 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.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 352: Hype It Up


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



Show notes:
- Jay and Matt, bitchin' about stuff and drinking beer
- Enough with the pumpkin beer
- We've both worked in the media
- There's always a hot topic to get upset about
- Ebola's got everybody worked up
- It's been around for 40 years, but finally made it here
- Ebola response became a political football
- Before that, it was terrorism
- John Grisham made a controversial comment, which was forgotten after ISIS and Ebola dominated headlines
- CNN, Fox News, MSNBC amp up the stupid
- Twitter is the go-to source for news these days
- Matt was at Rhode Island ComiCon
- People love to be outraged
- Angry tweet from a low-level celeb can cause a stir
- Mixing up your social media accounts
- The end user is the product
-Dealing with clickbait
- To be continued

Music:
Dan Mangan + Blacksmith - Vessel
GravelRoad - Green Grass
Wimps - Stop Having Fun

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

The Dan Mangan + Blacksmith song is on the album Club Meds on Arts and Crafts. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The GravelRoad song is on the album El Scuerpo on Knick Knack. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Wimps song is on the album Repeat on End of Times Records. Download the album for free at 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.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 351: Say Say Sayer


Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we look at the career of '70s pop star Leo Sayer. 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
- In '77, Sayer hit it big with "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
- Jumped on disco bandwagon
- Hit #1 and was on charts for 17 weeks
- Had a song in top 40 from Nov. '76 to Feb. '78
- "When I Need You" also hit #1
- Ric: Skate park memories
- Smoothed out all the edges
- We listened to a lot of this kind of stuff at our college newspaper
- By the mid-80s, Sayer was a distant memory
- "More Than I Can Say" was originally written by guys from The Crickets
- Half country, half Fleetwood Mac
- Sayer started doing covers in the '80s
- Ric loves Anzac biscuits from Australia
- "Sheetwood Mac"
- Sayer had some UK hits in the '80s
- Ric talks up the post
- What happened to Beck?
- An Australian artist remixed "Thunder in My Heart" in 2006 and it went to #1 there
- Sayer did Beatles covers for All This and World War II, a pseudo-documentary that bombed
- Voiced Dan the Forest Ranger in Canadian cartoon called The Raccoons on Ice

Music:
Menace Beach - Fortune Teller
Thee Oh Sees - I Was Denied
The Fresh & Onlys - Fascinated

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

The Menace Beach song is on the album Ratworld on Memphis Industries. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The song from Thee Oh Sees is on the album Warm Slime on In the Red. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Fresh & Onlys song is on the album Play It Strange on In the Red. Download the album 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.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Completely Conspicuous 350: More Than I Can Say


Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we look at the career of '70s pop star Leo Sayer. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Check out our new web series Trust Fund Challenge
- Just watched the 1969 grindhouse flick The Babysitter
- Rated X then, pretty tame by today's standards
- Our society's pruder in some ways, more open in others
- Leo Sayer was discovered by David Courtney and Adam Faith
- Ric: Sayer was less threatening than Elton John or Barry Manilow
- Adam Faith was a British teen idol in early '60s
- Sayer and Faith had a falling out over money
- Sayer struck out at first
- Roger Daltrey recorded a Sayer song
- Sayer's version of "Giving It All Away" sounds like Elton
- Some weird album covers
- Dube: Sayer looked like a mime who sings
- British guys who sound American and vice versa
- To be continued

Music:
Nude Beach - For You
The Vaselines - Last Half Hour
Happy You - Chummy

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

The Nude Beach song is on the album 77 on Don Giovanni Records. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.
The Vaselines song is on the album V for Vaselines on Rosary Music. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Happy You song is on the self-released album Giggle. Download the album 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.