Completely Conspicuous 652: From Bad to Worse

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about bad songs from good artists. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Songs we hate by artists we love
• Phil's #6: U2 makes a misstep
• Bono's talking tough
• Jay's #6: A #1 hit from Cheap Trick featuring outside songwriters
• The power ballad became huge for hard rock bands
• Phil's #5: AC/DC hits it big after losing their singer
• Jay's #5: When the biggest band tries to get weird
• Phil's #4: When GNR decided to cover Dylan
• They had lots of bad covers
• Jay's #4: When Aerosmith hit #1 with a soundtrack ballad
• Late-period Aerosmith is tough to take
• Phil's #3: The Smiths get preachy about animal rights
• Let's hear it for Bovine University
• Morrissey with ham-fisted lyrics about vegetarianism
• Jay's #3: R.E.M. had a couple of stinkers
• A version of the song ended up on Sesame Street
• Phil's #2: Punk rock upstarts go acoustic
• Green Day ended up becoming very mainstream
• Jay's #2: Bowie and Jagger with a very '80s abomination of a cover
• Video premiered during Live Aid
• Phil's #1: A definitive low for the Police at their most successful time
• Andy Summers wrote some bad songs every so often
• Jay's #1: Genesis with an all-timer of an offensive song
• The video alone is brutal
• Blame it on Mike Rutherford  

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 651: That's Right, We Bad

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about bad songs from good artists. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Songs we hate by artists we love
• Jay: Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" is so whiny it turned me off the band for a few years
• Songs you hate vs. songs you're sick of hearing
• Phil: Nirvana had some dumb songs
• Phil's dishonorable mentions: Songs from Bowie and Jagger, Beck, XTC, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, the Cars, Bob Seger 
• Phil bashes the Brits 
• Jay's dishonorable mentions: Songs by Soundgarden, Van Hagar, Rush, U2, Lou Reed
• Sammy Hagar's lyrics are...something
• Phil's #10: One of the Stones' bigger hits
• Jay's #10: Zeppelin goes honky tonk with meh results
• Phil's #9: Frat boy antics from the Beastie Boys
• Jay's #9: Andy Summers let his freak flag fly in the Police
• Phil's #8: The Dead goes disco with some rough lyrics
• The late '70s saw lots of rock acts try disco
• Jay's #8: Macca had some missteps, including his first teamup with MJ
• Phil's #7: The Beatles stumbled with an avant garde instrumental
• Maybe it was the drugs 
• Jay's #7: Dee Dee Ramone tries rapping with hilariously bad results
• 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 650: Rip This Joint

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

Show notes:

• Our top 10 concerts in no particular order
• Phil: Banged up and seeing his first Dead show in Foxborough in 1989
• The show is popular with Dead fans
• Jay: Caught Mike Watt backed by the Foo Fighters in their first Boston appearance in '95
• Phil: 12 days after that Dead show, saw the Who at the same venue
• A 3-hour show for the 20th anniversary of Tommy
• Jay: The one area appearance by Them Crooked Vultures in '09
• Supergroup with Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones
• Phil: McCartney at Sullivan Stadium in 1990
• The tour book phenomenon
• Jay: Two shows in one night--The Amps followed by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Phil: U2 show on St. Patrick's Day '92 in Boston, Achtung Baby tour
• "Put it in H"
• Jay: Also a U2 show; September 1987 at the Boston Garden
• Phil: Dylan at Endicott College in October 1992
• Tickets purchased at a local jewelry store
• Dylan almost didn't play because a heater wasn't working on stage
• Jay: Electric performance from Nick Cave's band Grinderman at House of Blues
• Phil: Pearl Jam at the Orpheum in April 1994
• A few days after Cobain's death
• Jay: Front row at the Orpheum for Sugar, November 1994
• Bob Mould's last tour with Sugar
• Phil: Neil Young at the Wang Center in 2018 with Jay
• Neil was solo, telling stories between songs
• Gotta see some of these older artists while they're around
• Jay: Pearl Jam in April '92 at tiny club Axis
• Just before PJ blew up
• Phil: Dead & Co. at Fenway in summer '23
• $60 cheese pizza 
• Jay: Last month seeing Sloan in Toronto with my daughter
• Played their first album front to back
• Only concert I've ever seen in Toronto
• Phil: Phish playing third show in three nights at Mansfield
• Jay: Ty Segall at the late lamented Great Scott in 2014
• So loud the floor was shaking
• Jay: No issues with seeing shows by myself
• Phil: Goose at MGM Fenway last year
• Played lots of covers, including the odd 36-minute jam
• Jay: First time seeing the Tragically Hip at the Paradise in April '91
• About 25 people there, but the band killed it
• Saw the band many times after that

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.