Completely Conspicuous 443: Reeling in the Years, 1985 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1985. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output
- 1985: Jay graduated from high school, started college in the fall
- Jay was 17 going on 18, Brian turned 3
- Jay: Listened to a lot of AOR, hard rock, metal
- Started getting into U2
- The year of rock charity
- Undercurrent of college rock
- MTV was growing
- Style over substance
- Strange collection of songs on the Hot 100
- A lot of songs released in '84 carried over to '85 charts
- Hard rock and metal albums were selling well: Ratt, Dokken, Twisted Sister
- Indie rock's influence wouldn't be felt for a few more years
- The launch of VH1
- PMRC hearings put spotlight on explicit lyrics
- Warning labels had the opposite of intended effect
- DLR left Van Halen in '85: Did he jump or was he pushed?
- DLR's book is fascinating and insane
- Rock bios are a mixed bag
- 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.

Completely Conspicuous 442: Mars Needs Guitars

Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff as we discuss the rise and fall of the guitar hero. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store
- Flash guitar in the '80s: VH, Motley Crue, Ratt, Quiet Riot
- Ratt was once replaced on a bill by Molly Hatchet
- Billy Squier's downfall
- Molly Hatchet unsuccessfully tried to pull a "ZZ Top"
- The hair metal bubble burst
- The '80s shredder trend
- Fast forwarding to the solos
- Oh, Vinnie Vincent
- Looking for the new Warrant
- The influence of Guitar Hero
- Learning about Slash
- We need guitars

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.

Completely Conspicuous 441: Holding Out for a Guitar Hero

This week, it's part 1 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff as we discuss the rise and fall of the guitar hero. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Rising Store
- Greg: As a kid, started playing stepfather's old acoustic guitar
- An uncle got him into Hendrix, Clapton, Leslie West
- Jay: First guitar hero was Jimmy Page
- Zeppelin II was the gateway
- Greg: Realized early that I'd never be able to play like Eddie VH
- Jay: Played guitar on and off over the years, never seriously
- Childhood friend plays in a Journey cover band
- Greg: Guitar was a good way to blow off steam
- Big band Hendrix?
- Jay: Other early favorites were Pete Townshend and Dave Davies
- The evolution of Clapton
- Early '70s were marked by great players like Iommi, Blackmore and Michael Schenker
- Jay: Got into Sabbath and Ozzy in the early '80s
- Gary Moore was an underrated guitar monster
- Building your music collection via music clubs
- 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.

Completely Conspicuous 440: Radio Daze

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Wardlaw as we discuss the decline of rock radio. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Matt's podcast Lost Together
- Van Cherone: Matt defends Van Halen III
- Eddie VH's lack of new material
- Buy Greg Renoff's great book Van Halen Rising
- Eddie sounds good again
- Age is becoming a factor
- Jay: Saw both DLR and VH in 1986
- The MTV effect
- Early '80s video production values
- Videos pushed songs to greater success
- In defense of "We Built This City"
- Videos boosted careers of artists like ZZ Top, the Cars and Huey Lewis
- Rock stations added non-music programming
- Satellite radio is nice, but not a must-have
- Matt uses Apple Music
- Bands aren't making much money from streaming
- The money is in touring and merch, not albums
- Home taping didn't kill the music industry

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.