Completely Conspicuous 617: Let There Be Rock

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Jay's non-top 5 albums: Von Bondies, Radiohead, Sloan, Frank Black & the Catholics, Guided By Voices, Fugazi
• The joy of shopping for imports
• Phil's #5: Great distillation of classic rock from Sweden's The Soundtrack of Our Lives
• Jay's #5: Indie folk-rock on first solo effort from Gord Downie includes spoken word
• Phil's #4 and Jay's #3: Breakthrough album from the White Stripes blew up several months after it came out
• Jay's #4: The Strokes led the return of guitar rock with a NYC-centric sound
• Highlighted in the book and documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom
• Phil's #3: Spoon with a strong release after getting dropped from a major 
• Phil's #2: Another great album after getting dropped came from Wilco
• Phil's #1 and Jay's #2: A masterful double album about the duality of the Southern thang by Drive-By Truckers
• Jay's #1: Impressive release from Ted Leo & the Pharmacists showcased a melding of diverse rock styles
• Favorite songs: "Timorous Me" (Jay), "Ronnie and Neil" (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 616: Imitation of Life

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• In 2001, Jay found out he was going to be a dad and also went back to his old employer
  
• Jay turned 34, Phil turned 32
• Phil got divorced
• 9/11 was a defining generational moment
• Jay: Saw concerts by Radiohead, Gord Downie, Tragically Hip, PJ Harvey, Built to Spill, Buddy Guy
• Apple launched iTunes music store and the iPod
• Napster got sued into oblivion
• Pop was big but garage rock started getting popular
• Lifehouse had the #1 single of the year?
• Scott Stapp wrote a pump-up song for the Marlins
• Phil got recruited by a Scientologist
• Phil's non-top 5 albums: Gorillaz, R.E.M., DMB, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fugazi, Stephen Malkmus, Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan 
• 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 615: All Killer, No Filler

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Running down our favorite albums of the year so far
• Kumar's #10: Pile diversifies its sound
• Breitling's #9 and Kumar's #8: Yo La Tengo keeps on Yo La Tengoing 
• Kumar's #9: Dangerous sounding debut from Model/Actriz
• Breitling's #8: Continued excellence from Protomartyr
• Kumar's #7: Excellent third release from Washer, giving off Meat Puppets vibe
• Another great act on Exploding In Sound
• Breitling's #7: Fog Lake returns with a compelling slowcore release; may or may not be Shady Canadians
• Breitling's #10 and Kumar's #6: Perennially pissed off hip hop from UK Grim
  
• Breitling's #6: Lo-fi folk rock stalwarts Hands and Knees return with a strong release
• Kumar's #5: Yves Tumor mixes shoegaze, alt-rock and funk into a powerful concoction
• Breitling's #5 and Kumar's #4: Legit supergroup Boygenius delivers the goods
• Breitling's #4: Bully with another excellent rock album
• Tom Cavanaugh tangent time
• Kumar's #3: Catchy hardcore from Fucked Up represents a more spontaneous recording process
• Breitling's #3: Quick collection of rippers from New Zealand's Guardian Singles
• Kumar's #2: UK act Shame pushes out of their post-punk comfort zone
• Breitling's #2: Going back to Philly with Purling Hiss, bringing hooks and attitude to the party
• Kumar's #1: Power pop awesomeness from the indie all-star band that is Eyelids
• Breitling's #1: Jangly indie pop straight outta Columbus with Connections
• Kurt Loder tangent 
• Anticipated/newer albums: Drop Nineteens, Speedy Ortiz, Palehound, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Jason Isbell, Jeff Rosenstock, OSees, Blur 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. 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 614: The Midway Point

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Recorded at CompCon HQ
  
• Concerts are back
• TicketMaster is still a mess
• Nobody's buying CDs
• The Beatles and AI
• Parcheesi Redux is in its third year
• Talking about the band Toronto and their hit "Your Daddy Don't Know," covered by the New Pornographers
• The kids are alright
• Rock music is still around, although it's a minor part of the music business
• Breitling's bubbling under albums: Everything But the Girl; Depeche Mode; Sharp Pins; OK Cool; Reds, Pinks and Purples; Pile; Squitch; Mui Zyu
• Jay's bubbling unders: The Hold Steady; The New Pornographers; Ron Gallo; Quasi; Mudhoney
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts directory. 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.