Completely Conspicuous 253: Smokin' in the Boys Room

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a legendary mid-'70s boogie rock classic. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded late at night at More Lost Time world HQ
- "Smokin' in the Boys Room" came out in 1973, was revived in the Ramones movie Rock 'n Roll High School
- Ric questions the deeper meanings of the song: Is it about drugs, sex or both?
- Rebellion took on a much different meaning in the '70s
- 12 years later, Motley Crue covered the song and hit #16 on the charts
- Cub Koda reportedly influenced stage style of Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band
- Brownsville Station's had a radio "hit" called "Martian Boogie"
- Seven minutes of cheesy effects and stupidity
- ZZ Top was much better at boogie rock
- Koda was making rockabilly solo albums on the side and selling them himself
- Not many weed songs in rock anymore
- Dube talks about the origins of beatboxing, in 1971 from a band called The Counts
- Those awkward moments watching risque TV with your parents

Music:
Titus Andronicus - In a Big City
The Henry Clay People - Everybandweeverloved
Action Jets - Rock Like Pollard

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

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album Local Business on XL Recordings. Download it for free from Epitonic.
The Henry Clay People song is on the album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.
The Action Jets song is available for free download from Soundcloud.

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 235: Read 'em and Weep

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we talk about the state of the book industry. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded in Beverly, Mass.
- Christian: So many good books out there go undiscovered
- Kindles and other e-readers have people
- Attitudes towards owning music and books change as folks get older
- Jay: My kids are still reading books
- The debate over digital media and artist royalties rages on in music industry
- Different revenue models: Amanda Palmer raised over $1 mil on Kickstarter for new album
- That won't work for artists without huge followings, though
- The popularity of oral histories
- Crafting an oral history involves skill in selecting right quotes, telling a story
- "Narrative non-fiction" is an interesting sub-genre
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Henry Clay People - 25 for the Rest of Our Lives
Japandroids - The Nights of Wine and Roses
The Hives - High School Shuffle

Wye Oak - Spiral

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

The Henry Clay People song is from the album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free at HenryClayPeople.com.
The Japandroids song is on the album Celebration Rock on Polyvinyl Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Hives song is on the album Lex Hives on Disques Hives. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.
The Wye Oak song is from the Adult Swim Singles Series. 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 230: The Spirit of Radio

Part 2 of my conversation with special guests Nick Lorenzen and Mike Piantigini as we discuss the death of rock radio. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").




Show notes:
- Radio now competes with iPods, digital radio, Spotify
- The anticipation factor with new music is gone
- Cell phone video has changed the live experience
- Music has become background noise
- We don't pay attention as closely to new music
- As people get older, some lose that connection to music
- Mike: Music education came from hanging out at college radio station
- Remembering the old Boston rock station WCOZ
- In praise of WFMU
- Nick: Listened to a lot of classic rock on stations like WAAF

- Satellite radio is a factor
- Jay: First listened to CHUM-AM in Toronto, then got into the FM rock stations
- Canadian Content Rule was in effect: Lots of April Wine, Chilliwack, Triumph
- Nick and Mike played in the great rock band Lump
- College radio is still great, especially WMBR, the MIT station
- Only Boston rock stations left are WZLX, WAAF, The River (WXRV)
- Jay: Pretty much listened to WFNX all the time during the '90s
- Younger music fans may not feel the loss of FNX
- Used to be fun to listen to radio in other parts of country
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Henry Clay People - Hide
Archers of Loaf - Dead Red Eyes
Codeine - Median (Peel session)
Los Campesinos - Tiptoe Through the True Bits
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Henry Clay People song is from the band's forthcoming album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Archers of Loaf song is on the reissue of the band's album White Trash Heroes on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Codeine song is a previously unreleased track from a Peel session available on the reissue of Barely Real on Numero Group. Download the song for free from Stereogum.
The Los Campesinos song is a non-album track released by the band for free download from its website.
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 167: Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar

No guest on the podcast this week as I play a healthy assortment of rock music. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



The show notes...

Music:

The Wrens - As I've Known

Mark Lanegan - Burning Jacob's Ladder

Okkervil River - Wake and Be Fine

The Henry Clay People - California Wildfire

TV On the Radio - Caffeinated Consciousness

The Kills - DNA

Bonehead of the Week

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 Wrens song is available at Epitonic.

The Okkervil River song is on the forthcoming album I am Very Far on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your e-mail address) at the band's website.

The Henry Clay People song is on the forthcoming EP This is a Desert on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Aquarium Drunkard.

The TV On the Radio song is on the forthcoming album Nine Types of Light on Interscope Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your e-mail address) at the band's website.
The Kills song is on the forthcoming album Blood Pressures on Domino Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your e-mail address) at the band's website.

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

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 144: Keep 'em Laughing

Special guest Ric Dube joins me on the podcast for part 2 of our conversation about comedy. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Ric don't need no Instant Google

- Corporate websites still suck

- As a kid, Dube had a book that reprinted comedy bits

- Early SNL had no respect for structure

- ABC Dunhill released a Gabe Kaplan album after "Welcome Back, Kotter" was a hit

- Making fun of Chinese people was no big deal in the '70s

- Jerry Lewis' terrible comeback flick Hardly Working

- Leno made a crappy buddy cop comedy with Pat Morita

- Dube saw Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams in "Dead Heat" in the theater

- SNL in the '80s was a mixed bag

- Dick Ebersol brought a sports philosophy to SNL

- Lorne Michaels returned in '85-'86 with new blood

- Eddie Murphy's "Comedian" album was one of first comedy albums Kumar bought

- Dube didn't have a problem with the PMRC

- Kumar knew most of the routines on Murphy's album before he actually heard them

- Murphy's more homophobic routines haven't aged well

- Kumar: Didn't enjoy watching raunchy shows on TV with parents

- Dube's dad took 6-year-old Ric to see Jack Lemmon's "Save the Tiger"

- Kumar was able to see Mel Brooks movies as a young kid thanks to lax Canadian movie ratings

- Ric's mom didn't see the psychological impact of "Dumbo" on kids of divorce

- Eddie Murphy's ice cream man bit came true with Ric's son

- Murphy was never the same after he started making music

- More comedic actors nowadays did not get start as standups

- Zach Galifanakis is great standup, good in movies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

The Black Angels - Telephone

The Henry Clay People - Switch Kids

Deer Tick - Piece by Piece, Frame by Frame

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Black Angels song is on the band's new album Phosphene Dream on Blue Horizon Records. Download the song for free at the Daily Rind.

The Henry Clay People song is an unreleased track the band is giving away for free.

The Deer Tick song is on the album The Black Dirt Sessions on Partisan Records. Download the song for free at Force Field PR.

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 127: The Boob Tube

Noted bon vivant Ric Dube joins me again on the podcast for part 3 of our adventures in TV programming. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as"). If you missed them, check out parts 1 and 2.

The show notes...

Topics:

- Wednesday: Kumar presents The Great American TV Theme-a-thon

- Dube: Million Dollar Pet Challenge, a competition show based on Stupid Pet Tricks

- Kumar: That Guy Again

- Dube thinks it's a Quantum Leap ripoff

- Dube: Dover, a nighttime soap based in the NH city

- Kumar: Slow Case

- Dube came up with Good Cop, Black Cop, a TV take on the old Eddie Murphy movie 48 Hours

- Thursday: Dube presents Gulf Hospital

- Kumar: Dolly, starring Dolly Parton and Pam Anderson

- Kumar: Schmasier, with Kelsey Grammer as a snooty garbageman

- Kumar: Norm and Tony, starring Norm MacDonald and Tony Danza

- Kumar: Snoop, There It Is

- Dube: Public Option

- Kumar: Skank Quest: Tara Reid

- Friday: Dube's sci-fi show, Werewolves of Grunden

- Dube gets deep

- Kumar: Sad Men

- Dube: Honey Island, the "anti-LOST"

- Kumar: 30/30, a short attention span newsmagazine show

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

The Henry Clay People - Your Famous Friends

Japandroids - To Hell With Good Intentions

Versus - Invincible Hero

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

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics and more. Use promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The Henry Clay People song is on the forthcoming album Somewhere Along the Gold Coast on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Clicky Clicky.

The Japandroids song is on the No Singles compilation on Polyvinyl Records. Download the song for free at Saucony.

The Versus song is on the band's forthcoming album On the Ones and Threes on Merge Records, where you can download the song for free.

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.