Completely Conspicuous 632: Don't You Evah

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2007. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Phil's #5: Sharp alt-country debut from Deer Tick
• Jay's #5: Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman
• Phil's #4: Compelling raunch rock from QOTSA
• Jay's #4: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with another quality ripper
• Phil's #3: Soulful belter Sharon Jones with a great throwback
• Jay's #3: Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment
• Labels were not happy that they took the risk
• Phil's #2: Dad-rock kings Wilco with a mellower affair
• Jay's #2: The original Dino Jr. lineup with their first album since '88
• Phil's and Jay's #1: Spoon breaks through with a classic
• The decline of rock as a popular genre
• Favorite songs: "Don't You Evah" (Jay), "Impossible Germany" (Phil)

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 339: Reeling in the Years, 1989 (Part 3)

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1989. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic
- Jay's #3
- Neil Young rebounds from a long, strange decade
- Led to a fruitful stretch of albums
- Jay's #2
- Bob Mould moves beyond Husker Du
- Inspired new direction and sound
- Our picks for #1 are the same
- Pixies at their peak
- Doolittle covers all facets of the band's sound
- Brian saw them several times when they toured behind Doolittle in the last decade
- Brian: Latest live incarnation of Pixies is more energized
- Bad choice for first single with "Bagboy"
- Frank Black was prolific, but he can't keep up with Bob Pollard
- Next up: 1996
- Popular music was shifting again

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

Music:
Ty Segall - Susie Thumb
Spoon - Rent I Pay
J. Mascis - Every Morning

The Ty Segall song is on the album Manipulator on Drag City Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The Spoon song is on the album They Want My Soul on Loma Vista Recordings. Download the song for free at KEXP.
The J. Mascis song is on the album Tied to a Star on Sub Pop. Download the song for free 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.

Completely Conspicuous 220: Never Hear the End of It

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss earworms. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded on St. Patrick's Day at Chez Breitling

- Not referring to Ceti eels from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

- Kumar: Recently haunted by crappy songs from Styx and Foreigner

- The search for Early Dog

- Breitling has memories of the ol' shower radio

- Ronnie Montrose, R.I.P.

- Chloe B. makes an appearance

- Kumar: "Smoke on the Water" banishes most earworms

- Sometimes earworms can be good

- Advertising can create earworms by playing songs repeatedly

- On Jon Papelbon's new entrance music for the Phillies

- Kumar: Crappy soundtrack songs from the '80s return to haunt me

- Scientific research on earworms

- Rebecca Black's "Friday"

- Keith Richards on business acumen

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Titus Andronicus - Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus

At the Drive-In - Pattern Against User

Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One

Spoon - The Fitted Shirt

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

The Titus Andronicus song is from the Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape Vol 1. Download the mixtape for free from the band's Tumblr.

The At the Drive-In song is from the album Relationship of Command on Grand Royal Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Sleater-Kinney song is on the album All Hands on the Bad One on Kill Rock Stars. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Spoon song is on the album Girls Can Tell on Merge 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 150: The Year in Rock, Part 1

This week on the podcast, I'm joined by special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our picks for the best music of 2010. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Or you can listen to it here:




Topics:

- Last show from Casa Breitling in Cambridge

- Going through our top 10 albums for 2010

- Breitling Honorable Mention: Arcade Fire

- Kumar HM: Les Savy Fav

- Breitling HM: Deerhunter, Adebisi Shank, Frightened Rabbit

- Kumar HM: LCD Soundsystem, Drive-By Truckers

- Breitling's #10

- Kumar's #10

- Breitling's #9

- Breitling explains how cassettes work, sort of

- Chloe B. provides background vocals

- Kumar's #9

- Breitling's #8

- Kumar's #8

- Breitling's #7

- Kumar's #7

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Los Campesinos - There are Listed Buildings

Spoon - Written in Reverse

The Henry Clay People - Your Famous Friends

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

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following codes to get athletic gear from Nike, Adidas, Asics and more. AFCOMP15 will get you 10% off any order of $50 at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 will get you 15% off any order of $75 at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL will get you 10% off any order of $50 or more at Footlocker.com.

The Los Campesinos song is on the album Romance is Boring on Arts and Crafts. Download the song for free courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Los Campesinos!
"There Are Listed Buildings" (mp3)
from "Romance Is Boring"
(Arts & Crafts)

Buy at Napster
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album



The Spoon song is on the album Transference on Merge Records. Download the song for free courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Spoon
"Written In Reverse" (mp3)
from "Transference"
(Arts & Crafts Mexico)

More On This Album



The Henry Clay People song is on the album Somewhere on the Golden Coast on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Spinner.

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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 113: Get in the Van

The podcast's back with special guest Dave Brigham as we discuss the fine art of the road trip. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Dave used to do "big house tours"

- Dave and buddies bought a boogie van for big road trip

- Van broke down before they even left

- No destination in mind

- Diet of hot dogs, carrots and beer

- Got to Santa Fe, NM, but altitude was tough

- Went to Albuquerque, rented house and found jobs

- Stayed three months

- "Eat, drink, work"

- Jay did a road trip to Montreal that same spring

- Six years ago, Jay did another Montreal trip

- Jay was ill, decorated the breakdown lane all the way back

- Dave did long trip right after college graduation

- Saw Skinny Puppy play in Montreal, looked for Letterman's house in CT

- Dave and Beth drove to Toronto, then Madison, WI, then Chicago

- Jerry Springer sighting; then watched OJ Simpson chase on TV

- Jay and family drove to Disney few years ago; 22-hour drive

- Dave remembers family train trip gone awry

- Jay remembers family vacations to Florida in '70s

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- The Drive-By Truckers - Birthday Boy

- Spoon - Written in Reverse

- Future of the Left - The Hope That House Built

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

The Drive-By Truckers song is on the album The Big To-Do on ATO Records. Find out more and download the song for free here.

The Spoon song is on the album Transference on Merge Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Spoon
"Written In Reverse" (mp3)
from "Transference"
(Arts & Crafts Mexico)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album



The Future of the Left song is on the album Travels With Myself and Another on 4AD Records. Download the track for free at Beggars Group USA.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Use these codes and save some cash: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay.com; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com; AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 96: The Decade in Rock, Part 1

I'm joined on the podcast by special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the decade in rock music. In this episode we look back at 2000-2001. Click here to hear the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- In the year 2000

- Y2K mania was a dud

- Working @ Webnoize

- Napster was all the rage, MP3 players were out

- Breitling's picks: Mendoza Line, Pedro the Lion, Radiohead

- Kid A was huge; leaked early on Napster

- White Stripes emerge

- Gratuitious CompCon testimonial

- JB: Yo La Tengo release a classic

- Heavy rock: At the Drive-In and Fu Manchu bring the noize

- "Who Let the Dogs Out" came out; still lives on in football stadiums

- 2001: Dotcom economy collapsed

- Rap-rock was big: Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, et al

- Napster shut down, iPod rolls out

- Breitling: Destroyer, Death Cab for Cutie

- Kumar: Radiohead, White Stripes, The Strokes, Spoon

- Webnoize bites the dust

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Destroyer - The Sublimation Hour

- Pedro the Lion - A Mind of Her Own

- Spoon - This Book is a Movie

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

The Destroyer song is on the 2001 album Streethawk: A Seduction on Misra Records, where you can download the track.

The Pedro the Lion song is on the 2000 album Winners Never Quit on Jade Tree Records, where you can download the song.

The Spoon song is on the 2001 album Girls Can Tell on Merge Records, where you can download the song.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to http://budget.com/compcon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show patronizing my sponsors, willya?

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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography skillz here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous Episode 67: Shop Til You Drop

Damn, I was hoping to do this last weekend, but just didn't have the time. And then this week was busy, so here we are on Friday. But a new episode of the podcast is hot out of the oven, so download it directly here (right click and "save as"). Or visit the CompCon page to listen to it in streaming audio.

The show notes...

Topics:
- Black Friday shopping
- The move away from childhood pickup sports
- Pinhead of the Week

Music:
- Jules Mark Shear - I'm Coming Back
- The Stills - Rooibos--Palm Wine Drunkard
- Of Montreal - Id Engager
- Spoon - The Underdog

Promo:
- New England Podcasting.

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes and Podcast Pickle podcast directories. Subscribe and write a review!

The Of Montreal song is on the album Skeletal Lamping on Polyvinyl Records. The Spoon song is on the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga on Merge Records. Both songs are courtesy of RCRD LBL.

The Jules Mark Shear song is on his new album More on Funzalo Records. The song from The Stills is on the album Oceans Will Rise on Arts and Crafts Records. Both songs are courtesy were provided by IODA Promonet:

Jules Mark Shear
"I'm Coming Back" (mp3)
from "More."
(Funzalo Records)

More On This Album



The Stills
"Rooibos - Palm Wine Drinkard" (mp3)
from "Oceans Will Rise"
(Arts & Crafts)

More On This Album



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 superb music blog. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.