Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Completely Conspicuous 528: Burn and Shine

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire
- Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp
- Commercial rock radio is dying
- In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area
- Brian has satellite radio
- GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer
- The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound
- Mark McGrath is always working
- The Cameo economy
- Talking to musicians
- The ubiquity of Henry Rollins
- The musician deaths have always been plentiful
- 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio
- So many big names in rock are getting older
- Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey
- Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows
- Rush will never play another show
- R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup
- More fun with Cameo
- Don't wait to see a band you like
- Jay: Trying to see bands I haven't seen before
- Making up for lost time with some bands
- Some bands sound better than ever: Dino Jr., Ween
- Ozzy's looking pretty rough these days
- Some artists you don't want to see anymore

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Completely Conspicuous 527: Magic and Loss

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian's first appearance on the show in two years
- The rock deaths keep on hitting us hard
- Neil Peart's recent death was surprising and shocking
- Brian: Not a big Rush fan, but respected them
- A couple of really good documentaries about the band
- Rush followed their own path
- Andy Gill of Gang of Four kept touring and recording right until he died
- Big deaths that impacted us
- Jay: Peart, Gord Downie, Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty
- As a kid, remember Randy Rhoads, Bonham, Bon Scott, Keith Moon
- Later, Cobain and Layne Staley
- Tortured artist syndrome
- Meanwhile, the Stones keep chugging along
- Brian: McCartney is still amazing live into his 70s
- Neither of us has seen the Stones live
- Brian: Regret not seeing classic acts at least once
- Prince played crazy long shows
- Getting harder to stay out super late
- "Farewell tours" tend to often be false alarms
- A little more urgency to see certain artists who are older
- A lot of reunion tours these days: Jawbreaker, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, Hoodoo Gurus
- Will young artists today have the same longevity as the older artists now?
- Touring's the only way to make money these days
- Not even worth it for older acts to release new material now
- Radio won't play new music from legendary acts
- Classic rock fans don't want to hear new music, they just want the hits
- You know what you're getting from a new AC/DC record
- Many bands continue on after members die
- Replacing iconic singers with unknowns
- Alice in Chains has recharged their career somewhat post-Staley
- Sublime's singer/leader died before their big album came out
- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Completely Conspicuous 526: Go to Heaven

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Go to Heaven. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- The Dead transitioning into a new decade, the '80s
- Cover may have given fans the wrong idea
- Short outing at only 38 minutes
- One of the least favorite studio albums among Dead fans
- Phil: A real mish-mash
- Contractual obligation: Third studio album in four years
- AOR was getting big
- The Godchauxs were gone
- Brent Mydland brings a smooth Michael McDonald vibe that is off-putting
- Grateful Dead keyboard players : Spinal Tap drummers
- Some Dead classics on this album: Alabama Getaway, Althea
- Didn't make another studio album for seven years
- Jay might go see Dead & Co. with Phil at some point
- Phil: This is their second-worst album
- Lost Sailor doesn't work
- Three straight Weir/Barlow songs
- Saint of Circumstance could be an '80s sitcom theme song
- Bob Weir loves the short shorts
- Hey, we used to wear them, too
- Mickey Hart eventually got into world music
- Mydland's Easy to Love You could have been a pop hit
- Album ends with a rave-up cover of Don't Ease Me In
- Phil: In defense of U2's Zooropa
- When we next convene, we'll talk about late '80s Dead

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Completely Conspicuous 525: Shakedown Street

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Shakedown Street. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- First ep of the new decade
- Shakedown Street came out in '78
- Lots of musical stuff happening: Disco, punk, new wave, hard rock
- Disco wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be
- Jay: No guilty pleasures: If you like it, you like it
- The Dead were coming off a triumphant '77
- This was a contractually obligated studio album
- Lots of influences thrown in: Funk, disco, African jazz, rock
- Met with savage reviews
- The version of "Good Lovin'" here pales in comparison to the live version, especially when Pigpen sang it
- The last album with Donna and Keith Godchaux
- Title track gets slagged as bad disco, but we dig it
- Shakedown Street is now the name of the merch area at Dead & Co. shows
- Pressure was on from Clive Davis for them to have hits
- This album was produced by Lowell George of Little Feat
- Seen as a disco album, but it's pretty diverse musically
- The Dead weren't a great studio band
- Mickey Hart stepped up with three songs
- Phil: "I Need a Miracle" might be the best song on the album
- "Stagger Lee"  has an interesting history; versions were covered by many different artists
- Jay: The Nick Cave version is the best, and the most profane
- Album was scattered because of different influences plus substances
- "All New Minglewood Blues" is a pretty rockin' cover
- Dead appeared on SNL that year
- Ends with a Garcia-Hunter love ballad that works
- Jay: Liked about half the songs on the album
- Next: 1980's Go to Heaven

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get podcasts. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.