Completely Conspicuous 247: Locked Out

Part 1 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the latest NHL lockout and why we still give a damn about hockey. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out James' blog Jerseys and Hockey Love
- Seems like we just had a lockout...wiping out 2004-05 season
- NHL cancelled first two weeks of regular season
- Players are heading to play in Europe
- James: Annoyed at the NHL, still love the sport
- Plenty of other teams to support: Minor league, college, high school
- Jay: Went to more college games during last lockout
- Looks like this lockout could be a long one
- Jay: The burden of being a Leafs fan
- During lockouts, fans find other things to do
- Fans will come back, but lockouts are costly
- True fans really love the game
- Possibility of a new team in the Toronto area
- Support for the Leafs in Toronto is similar to Red Sox popularity in New England
- The strange journey of Tim Thomas
- LA Kings won the Cup and have to wait to raise the banner
- Replacement players have been tried in NFL, MLB before
- NFL just had embarrassing episode with replacement refs
- Will non-NHL hockey players want to become scabs?
- New minor league team in Denver
- Hard to say whether NHL season will be saved
- NHL commish Gary Bettman is very powerful
- Hard for fans to sympathize with either side
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Ceremony - Everything Burns
The Mountain Goats - Cry for Judas
Allo Darlin' - Capricornia
Yo La Tengo - Stupid Things

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

The Ceremony song is from a split 7-inch with Titus Andronicus. Download it for free from Matador Records.
The Mountain Goats song is on the album Transcendental Youth on Merge Records. Download the song for free from SoundCloud.
The Allo Darlin' song is on the album Europe on Slumberland Records. Download the song for free via IODA Promonet:
Allo Darlin'
"Capricornia" (mp3)
from "Europe"
(Slumberland Records)

More On This Album


The Yo La Tengo song is on the EP Stupid Things on Matador Records. Download the song for free from 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 232: Rock Box

Part 2 of my conversation with filmmaker Eric Green as we discuss his documentary about V66, the short-lived Boston music video channel. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded in Cambridge, Mass.
- Eric's documentary is called Life on the V
- V66 was on the air from 2/85 to 9/86
- Response to the topic has been great
- Doc is almost finished
- Music docs are in vogue
- Rumors that MTV was keeping an eye on V66
- Eric resisted the classic Behind the Music structure
- V66 was based in Worcester, Mass.; bands would visit before concerts there
- 9-year-old Eric got on the air with a phoned-in joke
- Cable TV was much different in the '80s; still hadn't made it to many rural areas

- Memories of USA Network's Night Flight video show
- Music docs: Stop Making Sense vs. The Last Waltz
- When V66 played Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" video, they took MTV logo out
- Eric received a lot of fan submissions of V66 videos taped on VHS
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Mission of Burma - Second Television
David Byrne and St. Vincent - Who
Metric - Artificial Nocturne
Ceremony - I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed

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

The Mission of Burma song is from the forthcoming album Unsound on Fire Records. Download the song for free at Rolling Stone.
The David Byrne and St. Vincent song is from the forthcoming album Love This Giant on 4AD. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Stereogum.
The Metric song is on the album Synthetica on Mom and Pop Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Ceremony song is an unreleased track available for free download at Noisey.


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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 225: Let Them Drink

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Ben Amirault as we discuss the growth of craft beer. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Check out Ben's beer blog The Church Key
- Many parallels between craft beer world and punk rock
- Ben reviews beers on his blog
- When will someone invent digitized beer?
- Craft beer first boomed in the '90s
- Plenty of great small breweries popping up now
- Session beer is catching on thanks to Notch
- There's a lot of high-alcohol beers now
- Ben's gearing up for American Craft Beer Fest in Boston
- Social media is raising awareness of craft beer
- Local specialty stores hold regular beer tastings
- Summer beer is out in April
- Beer is economy-proof
- Sam Adams has become almost synonymous with craft beer
- Dogfish Head has made a big splash in last few years
- Comparing Sam Adams to Green Day
- Old-school brewers are trying new things: Guinness, Bud, Newcastle
- Going on a Guinness kick
- To be continued next week
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Ty Segall Band - Wave Goodbye
Ceremony - Send Me Your Dreams
Grinderman (feat. Matt Berninger) - Evil (Silver Alert Remix)
Brainiac - Nothing Ever Changes
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Ty Segall Band song is from the album Slaughterhouse on In the Red Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.

The Ceremony song is on LAMC #1 on Famous Class Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) from Bandcamp.
The Grinderman song is on the album Grinderman 2 RMX on Anti/Epitaph. Download the song for free from Epitonic.
The Brainiac song is on the album Hissing Prigs in Static Couture on Touch and Go Records. Download the song for free from 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 224: Dirty Work

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the evolution of profanity. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").




Show notes:
- Mother jokes led to popularity of "m-f'er"
- Eddie Murphy's Comedian album introduced a whole new world of profanity
- Most words have lost shock value
- Little girl swearing in "Kick Ass" was shocking
- We had more freedom as kids, but kids can access so much more now
- Still isn't cool to randomly drop f-bombs in public
- Matt: Won't call a female a bitch
- Becoming more sensitive about calling your friends gay
- Hollywood has become introduced to foul-mouthed Boston Irish characters

- Swear words we won't say anymore
- Songs with profanity are becoming more commonplace
- Comedians have always pushed the boundaries
- The Simpsons were once the paragon of rudeness
- Violence on TV is no problem, but sex and some profanity is still banned
- Cell phones have taken over people's lives
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
Cloud Nothings - No Sentiment
Ceremony - Hysteria
Yukon Blonde - Stairway


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


The Japandroids song is from the album Celebration Rock on Matador Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.
The Cloud Nothings song is on the album Attack on Memory on Carpark Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.
The Ceremony song is on the album Zoo on Matador Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.
The Yukon Blonde song is on the album Tiger Talk on Dine Alone Records. Download the song for free from 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; check out his site PodGeek.