Completely Conspicuous 552: Out of Control

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80

- Phil's #5: The (English) Beat with a fun release

- Jay's #5: Ozzy comes back from the dead (career-wise, anyway)

- Album was later re-recorded to replace rhythm section's parts to avoid paying royalties; original version was restored

- Jay reps for the NWOBHM

- Phil's #4: Rush tempers its prog leanings with newer influences

- Jay's #4: Bowie wraps up a brilliant decade with another classic

- Phil's #3 and Jay's #2: Talking Heads embrace African sounds

- Adrian Belew boosts the sound with sick guitar work

- Jay's #3: Peter Gabriel continues with his impressive solo career

- Phil Collins debuts his gated drum sound on this album

- Phil's #1: U2's debut is filled with youthful exuberance, mistakes and great songs

- Immersing yourself in albums with your Walkman

- Jay's #1 and Phil's #2: Pretenders debut with a perfect combination of pop, punk and attitude

- Chrissie Hynde was a veteran of multiple scenes over decades before the Pretenders

- Pretenders peaked early

- Favorite songs: "A Day Without Me" (Phil), "Mystery Achievement" (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 551: Touch and Go

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download directly.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80

- U.S. boycotted the Summer Olympics

- Major deaths: Lennon, Bonham, Bon Scott, Ian Curtis, Darby Crash

- Sony Walkman went on sale in the U.S.

- Solid Gold made its debut

- Blondie had the #1 single of the year with "Call Me"

- Disco was fading, new wave and hard rock was gaining prominence

- The never-opened Christopher Cross album

- A lot of good albums came out this year

- Phil's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Feelies, The Jam, Soft Boys, Elvis Costello, X, B-52s, The Clash, Joe Jackson, Devo, Dire Straits, Blondie, Loverboy (!), UB40, Genesis, Prince, Pete Townshend, J. Geils Band, Steely Dan, Bowie, VH,  

- Jay was out of the music loop for 6 weeks in early '80 while in India

- "Have you seen Kumar's grades?"

- Jay's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Police, VH, X, Prince, Townshend, Feelies, Joy Division, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, The Beat, Squeeze, The Cure, Teenage Head, The Cars, John Lennon

- 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 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.

Completely Conspicuous 306: Mystery Achievement

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Jay's #3
- Bowie's last great album?
- Jay: Tin Machine was an interesting experiment
- Brian's #2
- Sandinista! is a bloated, but great, album
- The Clash went to great lengths to keep price down
- A little better than Extreme's triple album
- A case study of success going to a band's 'head'
- TV theme producer Mike Post produced VH III
- Jay's #2 pick is Brian's #1
- Brian: "Once in a Lifetime" is one of the stranger smash hits of all time
- Great albums created after a serious case of writer's block
- Jay's #1
- Pretenders debut is flawless
- Band only formed two years earlier
- Half the band was dead within three years
- Crappy recording techniques hadn't started yet in 1980
- Next up: 1998

Music:
Shy Boys - Is This Who You Are
Dog Day - Wasted

PUP - Reservoir

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Shy Boys song is on the band's self-titled album on High Dive. Download it for free at Soundcloud. 
The Dog Day song is on the album Fade Out on Fundog Records. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.

The PUP song is on the band's self-released and self-titled album. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.

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 305: And the Cradle Will Rock...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Roller disco was once a thing
- Brian: Mainstream American rock was in a slump
- Just missed Brian's top 5: Queen's The Game
- Lennon's Double Fantasy and McCartney II
- The legend of Linda
- Others include: Peter Gabriel's Melt, the debut of the Lounge Lizards
- Jay: Blizzard of Ozz, Permanent Waves, Heaven and Hell, Empty Glass
- Townshend's writing style had changed
- Max Webster's Universal Juveniles
- Band combined Rush and Zappa influences
- 1980 was one of four years in Zappa's recording career he didn't release an album
- Brian's #5
- Pretenders' debut was amazing
- Jay's #5
- Back in Black was surprising given Bon Scott's death months earlier
- The expanding umbrella of classic rock
- Brian's #4
- Ozzy's solo debut reinvented his image
- Singers who don't write lyrics
- Jay's #4
- Jay: Melt is my favorite Gabriel album
- The greatness of Gabriel's early solo work
- Brian: Face Dances would be considered a great Townshend solo album
- Brian's #3
- Interesting debut from the Feelies
- Unlikely but successful Feelies comeback in recent years
- Rooting for local acts
- To be continued

Music:
The Harmonica Lewinskies - Jesus Christ is Just Rock and Roll
Idiot Genes - Soaked Pillow

Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Chrome Canyon De-mix)

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Harmonica Lewinskies song is available for free download (in exchange for your email address) at Bandcamp.
The Idiot Genes song is on the album Lousey. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.

The Tame Impala song is on the album Lonerism on Modular Recordings. Download the remix of the song for free at Epitonic.

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 304: Freedom of Choice

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian: 1980 was a much better year for music than our last choice, '87
- Jay: Was living in Toronto in '80
- Brian: Was -2 years old, but really dig the music of 1980
- Jay: New wave and post-punk really came into their own: B-52s, Talking Heads, U2, Pretenders
- Brian: Arena rock bands like Queen and Rush took different paths
- New sounds on the radio
- Brian: Guitar rock was strong with VH, Ozzy, Sabbath, AC/DC
- Poor Bob Daisley
- New Wave of British Heavy Metal: Maiden, Leppard, Motorhead all influenced thrash scene that emerged a few years later
- Worst musical moments: Wuss rock like Christopher Cross and Air Supply thrived
- Brian: Blues Brothers movie came out
- Put spotlight on music that was considered unhip at the time
- Early hip-hop in the mainstream: Kurtis Blow, Blondie's "Rapture," Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"
- The Clash were incredibly prolific: London Calling and Sandinista! both came out within less than a year
- The crumminess of Cut the Crap
- Worst musical moment: John Lennon was killed
- Other deaths included John Bonham, Bon Scott, Ian Curtis, Darby Crash
- Death of the Beatles: John killed, Paul was busted, George's album was held up, Ringo was wasted
- Led Zeppelin also broke up in 1980
- Trading hockey cards for a Rush album is uniquely Canadian
- Soundtrack of Decline of Western Civilization came out in late '80 - To be continued

Music:
Calories - DMT
Shearwater - A Wake for the Minotaur
Mark Kozelek - I Know

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Calories song is on the album Calories III. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.
The Shearwater song is on the album Fellow Travelers on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at The Current.
The Mark Kozelek song is on the compilation album You Be My Heart benefiting 826 National. Download the song for free at GLGPub.com.

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.