Completely Conspicuous 582: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1988. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded while driving home from Trillium Brewing in Canton, Mass.

- Phil's #5: Sonic Youth focuses their sound 

- Jay's #5: J. Mascis and Dino Jr. get more melodic while still delivering a heavy sound

- Phil's #4: U2's first controversial album still provides a lot of memorable moments, overshadowed by the movie

- Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Living Colour's debut showed off their many talents

- Jay's #3: Debut from Toronto's The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock, neurotic singer and girl group backing vocals

- Phil's #2: R.E.M.'s last album before they became superstars

- Jay's #2: Public Enemy at the peak of their powers

- Phil's and Jay's #1: Los Pixies creates the template for the '90s alt-rock explosion

- Favorite songs: "Gigantic" (Phil), "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (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 581: Talk Is Cheap

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1988. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded while driving to Trillium Brewing in Canton, Mass.

- In 1988, Jay turned 21 and Phil turned 19

- Jay: 21st birthday was pretty rough

- Phil tells tales of good decision-making

- Jay's long, strange trip to the Monsters of Rock show: Long drive, short show

- Big year for pop artists on the charts

- Phil's Whitesnake story

- Big soundtracks: Cocktail, Dirty Dancing

- Phil's non-top 5 albums: Keith Richards, Mudhoney, Jerry Harrison, Jane's Addiction, Cowboy Junkies, Brian Wilson, Smithereens, Smiths, Pogues, Waterboys, Dinosaur Jr., Tracy Chapman, Public Enemy, Traveling Wilburys

- Jay's non-top 5s: Fishbone, Bobby Brown, Iron Maiden, Robert Plant, The Church, Metallica

- 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 360: Reeling in the Years, 1988 (Part 3)

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- Jay's #4
- The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock crunch with girl group harmonies
- Brian's #3
- Skipping a day of college to see TMBG in Cleveland
- Jay's #3
- Public Enemy scared white people
- Brian's #2
- The Lounge Lizards were punk rockers who played weird jazz
- Jay's #2 and Brian's #1
- First full-length from the Pixies
- Jay's #1
- Jane's Addiction straddled the line between hard rock and alternative
- Brian: Able to look back at these years without emotion
- Next up: 1993

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

Music:
Restorations - Separate Songs
The Shivas - Stalking Legs
Nai Harvest - Buttercups

The Restorations song is on the album LP3 on SideOne Dummy Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Shivas song is on the album You Know What to Do on K Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Nai Harvest song is a single available for free download 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 359: Reeling in the Years, 1988 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- Elton John had another crappy comeback
- Bands formed in '88: Bad English, Breeders, GVSB, NIN, Jawbreaker, Mudhoney
- Bands that broke up: The Cars, Grim Reaper, Loverboy, Plasmatics
- Our honorable mentions
- Brian: Talking Heads' Naked featured Johnny Marr on guitar
- Jay: First got into Camper Van Beethoven with Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart
- Prince had Lovesexy out, taking the place of the Black Album
- Cowboy Junkies scored a big hit with cover of "Sweet Jane"
- Jay: HMs include Smithereens, Soundgarden, Keith Richards, B.A.D., Run DMC, Waterboys, Sonic Youth, Living Colour, Metallica, Plant, Church
- Brian had a substitute teacher who sang the praises of Queensryche
- Brian's #5
- CDs led to longer album run times in late '80s
- Jay's #5
- Dino Jr. toured behind Bug a few years ago
- Brian's #4
- Leonard Cohen discovers synths
- Comparable to Destroyer's Kaputt
- To be continued

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

Music:
Flake Music - Spanway Hits
Wanted Man - Pardon Me If I Stare
My Goodness - Cold Feet Killer

The Flake Music song is on the reissue of the band's 1997 album When You Land Here, It's Time to Return on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Wanted Man song is on the band's self-titled EP, which is available for free on Bandcamp.

The My Goodness song is on the album Shiver + Shake on Votiv Music. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.

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 358: Reeling in the Years, 1988 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- JK: Hard drive issues
- Brian was 6 in '88, Jay was 20
- George Harrison's comeback
- Big year for George Michael and pop in general
- INXS was huge in '88
- MTV ruled the roost
- Videos resurrected a lot of dormant careers
- James Brown's car chase
- Zeppelin worship
- Ill-fated trip to Monsters of Rock festival
- John Lydon's iPad app addiction
- The strange end of the Clash
- Zeppelin reformed to play Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary bash
- Where's Mike Johnson?
- '70s nostalgia peaked in '88
- GNR broke through in '88
- Power ballads were the big ticket for hard rock bands
- BS: Dylan's album had a diverse collection of guests
- Tori Amos' pop debut, Y Kant Tori Read
- Ted Nugent released If You Can't Lick 'Em, Lick 'Em
- David Lee Roth's disappointing followup to Eat 'Em and Smile
- BS: VH's OU812 was a lowlight
- To be continued

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

Music:
JEFF the Brotherhood - What's a Creep
Hookworms - Radio Tokyo
Murder Vibes - Not Alone Tonight

The JEFF the Brotherhood song is on the band's forthcoming album on Warner Bros. Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at the band's website.
The Hookworms song is on the album The Hum on Weird World Record Co./Domino. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Murder Vibes song is on the band's self-titled, self-released album. The song is available for free download at KEXP.

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.