Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Completely Conspicuous 417: Reeling in the Years, 1999 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Brian's bubbling under picks: The Microphones, Tom Waits, Foo Fighters, Frank Black, The Roots, American Football
- Jay: Sheila Divine, Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Guided by Voices, White Stripes, Ben Folds Five, Sebadoh
- Wanted: A Bob Pollard curator
- Brian's #5
- Matt Sharp goes for a bigger rock sound
- Jay's #5
- The Lips go symphonic
- Big change from early guitar-driven stuff
- Brian's #4
- Wilco moves away from Americana sound
- Jay's #4
- Frank Black keeps cranking out winners
- Pixies are working on a new album
- To be continued

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

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, March 22, 2016

Completely Conspicuous 416: Reeling in the Years, 1999 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Brian was 16 going on 17 in '99, Jay was 31 going on 32
- The dawn of Napster
- Downloading music via dial-up was excruciatingly slow
- Most downloading was done on college campuses
- 1999 was the biggest sales year for the music industry
- Bowie was first major artist to release album online before retail
- eMusic over the years
- Amazon makes it easy to buy music now
- External CD burners, early MP3 players
- Brian's 1999 regrets: Primus teaming with Fred Durst, Lit, Rage Against the Machine, "ska residue," Stone Temple Pilots
- Jay's regrets: Lenny Kravitz, RHCP
- Jay: Got into stoner rock in '99 (Fu Manchu, Nebula)
- Woodstock '99 was a disaster
- Brian: Respect for "I Want it That Way"
- Cher had the #1 song of the year
- The movie Go is a good document of its time
- Santana scored big with guest-filled album
- Pop country was getting big
- The Cherone era of Van Halen ends
- The hills are alive with the sound of VH rumors
- Several prominent indie rock acts formed in '99
- To be continued

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

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, March 15, 2016

Completely Conspicuous 415: Digging in the DIrt

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss presidential candidates, the '70s and regional differences. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- New England is not representative of the rest of the country
- Christian's ideal place to live: DC
- The '70s were a fascinating time in the U.S.
- Hip hop and punk grew out of mid-'70s NYC
- The Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi
- Lee Atwater, bluesman
- The momentum of Trump
- Last summer, Jeb Bush was a lead pipe cinch
- Christian: Used to go to CPAC every year
- What about Hillary?
- How does a president get anything done?
- Firmly on the fence

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

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, March 8, 2016

Completely Conspicuous 414: The Great Divide

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss racism, political correctness and gentrification. You know, the lighter side of life. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- Political correctness on both sides of the aisle
- Literary archetypes reflect cultural fears
- The Trump Method: Repeat your point until people agree with you
- The Washington football team sticks to its guns
- Could All in the Family and Blazing Saddles come out today?
- No safe space for satire
- It's hard to talk about race these days
- Lamenting the closing of local rock clubs
- The upper crust and the townies
- To be continued

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

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, March 1, 2016

Completely Conspicuous 413: Song of the South

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss the differences between the North and the South. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- Christian grew up in Texas
- The tension between North and South is still around
- The Cuban Connection
- Ted Cruz's attempts at humor
- Batshit crazy election season
- The Trump effect
- It's still the economy, stupid
- A brown dude in New Hampshire
- Canada welcomed a generation of immigrants in the '70s and '80s
- Sri Lankan and Samoan street gangs
- Jay: Toronto was the most diverse place I've lived
- Christian: Was ignorant of the North as a kid
- The OJ Simpson miniseries is pretty fun
- Southern stereotypes are strong up North
- A formal level of ignorance
- To be continued


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

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.