Completely Conspicuous 590: Hoover Dam

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- More of Phil's non top 5s: Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees, Kyuss, Jayhawks, Grateful Dead, Rage Against the Machine

- A few more from Jay: Helmet, Faith No More

- Phil interviewed hockey players who liked RATM

- Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: Buffalo Tom hones their craft with their third album

- Phil's #5: Neil Young turns down after a few years of extreme volume

- Jay's #4: Beastie Boys with a killer album distinguished by more instrumentation from the boys themselves

- Jay's #3: The Tragically Hip's best album gives off a distinctly Canadian vibe

-  Phil's #3: The Singles soundtrack captured the Seattle sound

- Jay's #2: Pavement brings the slacker rock on their debut

- Phil's #2: R.E.M. at the peak of their commercial powers

- Jay's and Phil's #1: Bob Mould starts a new chapter with Sugar

- Favorite songs: "Hoover Dam" (Phil), "Summer Babe" (Jay)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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.

Completely Conspicuous 589: The End of Silence

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Listen to the episode or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- In 1992, Jay turned 25, Phil turned 23

- We both worked at local newspapers

- The so-called grunge explosion kicked into full gear

- Jay: Saw lots of great shows, including Lollapallooza, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney

- "Bohemian Rhapsody" was back on the singles chart thanks to Wayne's World

- Metal was phasing out

- Keeping the band brand going

- Jay's non-top 5s: Afghan Whigs, Sloan, Rollins Band, Black Crowes

- Phil's non-top 5s: Luscious Jackson, Phish, Lemonheads, Cracker, PJ Harvey, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Bettie Serveert, Mudhoney

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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.

Completely Conspicuous 588: Divine Intervention

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Phil's #5: The debut of an unknown band called Pearl Jam

- Album had a slow build, didn't really get big until spring '92

- Jay's #5: Smashing Pumpkins' debut is a guitar feast

- Phil's #4: Prince's last great album, according to Phil

- Jay's #4: Under-the-radar power pop genius from Scotland

- Gene Simmons sued over the album cover

- That time Simmons covered "Firestarter"

- Phil's #3: Lenny Kravitz peaks on this second album

- Phil's #2: U2 changes their image and sound

- Shifted from Americana to German electronic sounds

- Jay's #2: Soundgarden blasts into the stratosphere

- Pissing off old people

- Jay's #1: Matthew Sweet breaks through with a power pop classic

- Great guitarists guesting, including Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd

- Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Nirvana's revolutionary sophomore effort

- Suffers from overexposure on classic rock stations now

- Favorite songs: "Divine Intervention" (Jay), "Breed" (Phil)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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.

Completely Conspicuous 587: The Sound of Young America

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- In '91, Phil graduated from college; Jay worked at the Peabody Times newspaper (R.I.P.)

- A big year for rock, although a lot of the impact wasn't felt until the following year

- Seeds for alt-rock explosion had been sown in the previous few years

- Still a lot of classic rock, hair metal and pop on the charts

- Freddie Mercury died, Lollapallooza tour started

- Bryan Adams was in full balladeer mode

- The evolution of Marky Mark

- Clapton still sucks

- Neither of us was a fan of the Use Your Illusion albums

- Albums were way too long in the CD era

- Phil's non-top 5 albums: Temple of the Dog, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, A Tribe Called Quest, My Bloody Valentine, Tragically Hip, Neil Young, Massive Attack, Primal Scream, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers

- Jay's non-top 5s: Elvis Costello, Nation of Ulysses, Fishbone  

- Rockit Records, R.I.P.

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple 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.