Completely Conspicuous 576: One Tree Hill

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded in the backyard of CompCon HQ

- Jay's non-top 5 albums: Terence Trent D'Arby, Pixies, The Cure, Prince (The Black Album), Sonic Youth, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses

- It's easier to listen to bro-country or classic rock than look for new music these days

- Phil's #5: GNR's debut took a few years to really take off

- Jay's #5:  The Cult goes for a hard rock sound

- Jay's #4 and Phil's #1: U2 with a massive mainstream breakthrough

- Phil's #3: The Cure with a killer double album

- Jay's #3: R.E.M.'s last album on IRS, embracing a big rock sound

- Phil's #2: The Grateful Dead go mainstream

- Jay's #2: The Replacements' last great album

- Jay's #1 and Phil's #4: Prince tries out many styles, makes social commentary

- Favorite songs: "One Tree Hill" (Phil), "Sign O' the Times" (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 575: Everybody Wang Chung Tonight

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded in the backyard of CompCon HQ

- In '87, Phil was 17 going on 18, Jay was 19 going on 20

- The Bangles had the #1 single of the year with "Walk Like An Egyptian"

- Another big year for movie soundtracks

- A lot of female pop artists hit big

- Jay: Concerts I saw included Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Motley Crue, Jon Butcher Axis and U2

- Phil: Saw INXS, U2 twice, Sting, Smithereens

- Bruce Willis released an album

- Starship churns out the crap

- Many bands changed their sound in the '80s to stay "relevant"

- Phil's non-top 5 albums: INXS, Hoodoo Gurus, the Smiths, Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr., Jane's Addiction, Midnight Oil, 10,000 Maniacs, George Harrison, Sinead O'Connor, Bowie, The Tragically Hip

- The meteoric rise and quick decline of INXS

- That time Husker Du went on the Joan Rivers Show

- 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.

Reeling in the Years: 1987

In wrapping up the exhaustive look at the music of 1987 that Brian Salvatore and I did on CompCon (check out parts 1, 2 and 3 if you haven't already), I also compiled a playlist based on our favorite albums of that year. One notable exception was George Harrison's Cloud Nine, which for some reason isn't on Spotify (along with the rest of his catalog even though I could've sworn it was a few months ago).

Nevertheless, here's a pretty damn diverse playlist based on those episodes:

Completely Conspicuous 297: Sign O' the Times

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Jay's #2 album of '87: The Cult's Electric
- Used to crank it while working supermarket night shifts
- Brian's #2: R.E.M.'s Document
- Mike Mills is the band's secret weapon
- R.E.M. was burdened by U2 comparisons
- Stipe and Mills formed Automatic Baby with U2's Clayton and Mullen
- Jay's #1: GNR's Appetite for Destruction
- Paved the way for rawer hard rock
- Brian's #1: Pixies' Come On Pilgrim EP
- New Pixies is okay but nowhere near the old one
- Teenage metalhead Jay also dug Joe Satriani's Surfing With the Alien
- Enjoying That Metal Show
- Terrible moments in '87 music
- Jay: Bruce Willis releases an album
- Brian: Pink Floyd's post-Waters output
- "That's What Friends Are For"
- Jay: Terrible movie soundtrack music, like Bob Seger's "Shakedown"
- "Shakedown" was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe
- Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
- Brian: The death of legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius
- The fascinating story of Aaron North (ex-Icarus Line and NIN guitarist)
- The Jesus Lizard got a record deal thanks to Kurt Cobain
- Next on our hit list: 1980
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Sebadoh - I Will
The Men - I Saw Her Face
The Besnard Lakes - People of the Sticks
 
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Sebadoh song is on the album Defend Yourself on Joyful Noise Recordings. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) as part of the Paste Fall Preview 2013 at NoiseTrade.
The song from The Men is on the album Campfire Songs on Sacred Bones Records. Download the song for free at Aquarium Drunkard.

The Besnard Lakes song is on the album Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.

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 296: These Important Years

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian: Birth of the cassingle
- Inexpensive way to buy singles, B-sides
- Brian: Collecting 45s for a jukebox
- Jay: 1987 was big for female pop artists
- Madonna, Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Lisa Lisa, Heart
- Older songs like "Stand By Me" were re-released
- Young Brian bought his first album in '87: The Monkees' Greatest Hits
- New Monkees TV show came and went
- Jay: Made two top 5 album lists, Then and Now
- Jay: Then list (#5 to #1): Def Leppard's Hysteria, INXS's Kick, Cult's Electric, Whitesnake's s/t and U2's Joshua Tree
- Whitesnake was the hard rock version of Ringo Starr's All Starr Band
- Brian's #5: George Harrison's Cloud Nine, despite Jeff Lynne's heavy handed production
- Jay's #5: Husker Du's Warehouse, not their best but still pretty great
- Incredible run of albums over a short period
- Brian's #4: Prince's Sign o' the Times, maybe his last great album
- Jay's #4: Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me; Westerberg's focuses on songwriting and less on aggression
- Brian's #4: Tom Waits' Franks Wild Years; did Izzy Stradlin play on this album?
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Okkervil River - Stay Young
Beachwood Sparks - Make It Together
Midlake - Antiphon

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

The Okkervil River song is on the album The Silver Gymnasium on ATO Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) on Goodbye Summer: ATO Records 2013 Fall Sampler at ATORecords.com.
The Beachwood Sparks song is on the album Desert Skies on Alive Naturalsounds Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Midlake song is on the album Antiphon on ATO Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) on Goodbye Summer: ATO Records 2013 Fall Sampler at ATORecords.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.

Completely Conspicuous 295: Here I Go Again

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Different perspectives: Brian was 5 in 1987, Jay was in college
- Brian: The impact of La Bamba, movie about Richie Valens
- Kicked off a roots rock revival
- Jay: Big year for alternative rock
- Breakout year for R.E.M., The Cure, The Cult
- Jay: Making the transition from metalhead to alt-rock fan
- No regional radio anymore
- Brian: CDs started catching on, especially when Beatles catalog was released
- CDs provided definitive versions of albums
- Became easier to make mixtapes
- Jay: Huge year for U2 with The Joshua Tree
- Landing tickets for U2 in '87 was no easy feat
- Brian: GNR's Appetite for Destruction actually paved the way for hair metal's demise
- Harked back to sleazier sounds of '70s garage rock
- Jane's Addiction seemed dangerous back then
- Guitar music was moving in different directions
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Guillermo Sexo - Fall Lens
Natural Velvet - Dark Inertia
Speedy Ortiz - Plough (live)

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

The Guillermo Sexo song is on the album Dark Spring on Midriff Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Natural Velvet song is on the EP Salome with the Head of John the Baptist. Download the EP for free at Bandcamp.

The Speedy Ortiz song is on the band's Epitonic Saki Session. Download 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.