Completely Conspicuous 340: Behind the Lines

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we examine the back story of '70s hitmakers Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Check out our new web series Trust Fund Challenge
- The adventures of Steve Austin Astronaut
- Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds were synonymous with '70s AM pop
- "Don't Pull Your Love" was their first big hit in '71
- Singer does an Elvis impression
- Song written by Lambert and Potter, who had hits with many artists
- Guys from HJFR were in the T-Bones, who had a hit in '60s with "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach Is In)"
- An "offshoot" of the Ventures, an instrumental band that made tons of records covering hits
- Session musicians made the albums
- T-Bones were put together to tour and later they formed HJFR
- The Wrecking Crew was a famous session band that cranked out hits
- Reynolds left HJFR in '72
- Second HJFR album stiffed
- Ric: A bunch of Ventures albums probably don't have the Ventures on them
- HJFR replaced Reynolds but contract with Playboy Records required them to keep old name
- Many bands are named after the musicians
- To be continued

Music:
The Hush Now - Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious
Kingdom of the Holy Sun - Thirteen Eyes

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

The Hush Now song is on the forthcoming album Sparkle Drive. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Kingdom of the Holy Sun song is on the self-released EP Thirteen Eyes. 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 298: Give 'Til It Hurts

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the benefit concert he's organizing. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at Casa Breitling before a live studio audience
- Breitling's hosting the 2nd annual Community Servings benefit show on Nov. 3 at TT the Bears in Cambridge, Mass.
- Featuring K. Heasley of Lilys, Soccer Mom, The Hush Now and Earthquake Party
- Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz will provide DJ sets
- Olive sniffs the recorder
- Get tickets now
- Providing meals to acutely ill folks
- Last year's event featured Johnny Foreigner
- Rock benefits have been happening for decades
- They seem less impactful now
- Live Aid was a huge event in 1985 with shows in Philly and London
- Controversy over charity administration
- The Concert for Bangaldesh in '71 was the first big charity concert
- The Secret Policeman's Ball was run by Amnesty International
- Sting's Rock for the Rainforest benefit has been happening for 20+ years
- Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope was a big deal in 1986
- Breitling: Axl Rose has Vince Neil-itis
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Shearwater - Fucked Up Life
Deer Tick - The Dream's in the Ditch

FIDLAR - Got No Money

Come - String (live)

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

The Shearwater song is on the album Fellow Travelers on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Stereogum.
The Deer Tick song is on the album Negativity on Partisan Records. Download the song for free as part of the Partisan Records Summer/Fall Sampler 2013 on Amazon.

The FIDLAR song is on the EP Don't Try on Mom + Pop Music. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.

The Come song is part of the band's Epitonic Saki Session, which you can download 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.

Completely Conspicuous 275: Picking Up the Pieces

Part 2 of my conversation with guest James Gralian about the post-lockout NHL. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- NHL surprises this season include talented teams struggling: Detroit, Philly, Nashville, Tampa
- Philadelphia's long stretch of bad goaltending
- Gotta love Ilya Bryzgalov
- Toronto-Detroit will be in Winter Classic next year
- Chicago's been the best team in the league by far
- The long, strange journey of Ray Emery
- Jay: Making the case for the Leafs
- Pittsburgh messes with success, keeps winning
- Realignment kicks in next season
- Playoff hockey is the best
- James picks a team to root for when the Avs don't make it
- Jay: Just happy to see Leafs in playoffs
- Players rarely stay on same team for entire career
- Rooting for dirty teams
- NHL has come back strong from lockout
- Fighting in hockey at most levels
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Hush Now - Marathon Monday
Guided By Voices - Flunky Minnows
Iceage - Morals
Game Theory - Erica's Word

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

The Hush Now song is available for free download at Clicky Clicky.
The Guided By Voices song is on the album English Little League on GBV Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.
The Iceage song is on the album You're Nothing on Matador. Download the song for free at MatadorRecords.com.
The Game Theory song is on the album The Big Shot Chronicles. In memory of late Game Theory frontman Scott Miller, you can find all the now out-of-print Game Theory albums available for free download at LoudFamily.

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 255: The Future is Unwritten

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Dave Brigham about our society's neglect for history. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at the BrigHAAAAM Estates
- Dave's doing a reading of one of his short stories on Dec. 11 in Arlington, MA
- Check out Dave's photo blog, The Backside of America
- Kids don't get our references anymore
- Brigham: "Too damn much of everything"
- Reality TV is ubiquitous
- Pop culture ignorance
- Brigham: Even a Luddite like me buys digital music
- Knowledge of older bands is limited now
- Talking to kids about history and current events
- Don't let our kids watch TV newscasts
- We shelter our kids these days
- Playground education
- The ads during televised sporting events are all about "cars, boners and beer"
- Parents may filter too much
- Can we fix our lack of historical knowledge?
- We can try to encourage kids to take an interest
- Collecting baseball cards was a fun hobby
- Too much focus on present and future to look at the past
- American populace is fairly passive about major problems
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Hush Now - I'm Always Broke in December
Low - Waiting (live)
Varsity Drag - Animal
The Linus Pauling Quartet - Crom

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

The Hush Now song is available for free download at Bandcamp.
The Low song is on the live EP Plays Nice Places. Download it for free (in exchange for your email address) at Sub Pop.
The Varsity Drag song is on the album Night Owls and is available for free download at Bandcamp.
The Linus Pauling Quartet song is on the album Bag of Hammers on Musebox Records. Download it for free from 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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 248: Take Off, Eh?

Part 2 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the latest NHL lockout. 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
- The Bruins may lose much of the goodwill they gained from their Cup win
- The Panthers fired their mascot, the NHL's cutting staff hours
- Preparing for post-lockout play
- Fantasy hockey leagues are on hold
- James is certified to be a hockey ref
- Watching other sports instead
- Going to rock shows is a nice alternative
- Jay: Saw PiL open for INXS at Radio City, 1988
- James: Good college hockey in the Denver area
- Players are more bitter this time around
- Lockout impacts many people beyond players and owners
- Hockey bloggers gained prominence during last lockout
- Life goes on
- With no hockey, fans are finding they're saving a lot of money
- Jay: I'm okay with shorter regular season
- James recommends the movie "Goon"
- Kudos to the Red Wings
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Hush Now - The Flapper
Wintersleep - Martyr
Benjamin Gibbard - Teardrop Windows
METZ - Wet Blanket

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

The Hush Now song is the band's 2012 Halloween single. Download it for free (in exchange for your email address) from Bandcamp.
The Wintersleep song is an unreleased track available for free download at Wintersleep.com.
The Benjamin Gibbard song is on the album Former Lives on Barsuk Records. Download the song for free from Chromewaves.
The METZ song is on the band's self-titled debut on Sub Pop. Download the song for free from Pitchfork.

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 207: Add It Up

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Jay Breitling as we look back at the best rock music of 2011. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



The show notes:

- Breitling's #7: The Hush Now

- Clicky Clicky and Ash Gray Proclamation co-present live show on 1/14 with Hallelujah the Hills and The Blue Dress

- Breitling: Yuck is so-so live

- Kumar's #7: Buffalo Tom

- BT recently celebrated 25th anniversary

- Breitling's #6: Algernon Cadwallader

- Tough to make money as a band

- Kumar's #6: Malkmus

- Breitling's #5: War on Drugs

- Kumar's #4: Twilight Singers

- Afghan Whigs are reuniting in 2012

- Breitling's #4: Destroyer

- Album threw off some longtime fans

- Kumar's #4: Wild Flag

- Breitling's #3: Age Rings

- Kumar's #3: Deer Tick

- Breitling's #2: Benjamin Shaw

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Hush Now - Clouds

Buffalo Tom - Guilty Girls

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Senator

The War on Drugs - Baby Missiles

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 Hush Now song is on the self-released album Memos. You can download the entire album for free at Bandcamp.

The Buffalo Tom song is on the album Skins on Scrawny Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at Spin.

The Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks song is on the album Mirror Traffic on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matador.

The War on Drugs song is on the album Slave Ambient on Secretly Canadian. Download the song for free at Clicky Clicky.

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. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 199: We Used to Wait

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Phil Stacey as we discuss what happens to long-suffering sports fans when their favorite team finally wins the big one. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Bruins' Stanley Cup win was a long time coming

- Plenty of championships in Boston in recent years

- Phil predicted Bruins win before last season

- The greatness of Tim Thomas

- Bruins did it the hard way

- Game 7 is always special

- Watching the big game alone

- Bruins had many heartbreaking losses over the years

- Last time the Leafs won the Cup, NHL was very different

- Sports is less life or death as you get older

- Texas Rangers came so close to winning

- Jay watched the Blue Jays win two World Series in early '90s

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Superchunk - Where Eagles Dare

The Hush Now - The Legend of Dudley Town
Guided by Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino
Nada Surf - When I Was Young

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 Superchunk song was recorded especially for Halloween and is available for free download at Superchunk.com.

The Hush Now song is available for free at Bandcamp.

The Guided by Voices song is on the band's forthcoming album Let's Go Eat the Factory on Guided by Voices Records. Download the song for free from Matador Records.

The Nada Surf song is on the album The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy on Barsuk Records. You can download the song for free (in exchange for your email 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. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 198: Guest List

This week on the podcast, I talk about our incessant need to make lists. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Driving to a rock show
- We love lists
- Best-of lists spur on debate
- Just contributed to best albums of '90s list on Popblerd
- More lists at Dan Paquette's Music Obsession on Facebook
- Top 100 songs of all-time was a tough list to compile
- Putting lists together is fun, just to see the different choices
- Plenty of pop culture lists
- My top 20 songs
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Johnny Foreigner - (Don't) Show Us Your Fangs
The Hush Now - ArkansasSoccer Mom - High on Dad
The King Khan Experience - I Got Love

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 Johnny Foreigner song is on the band's forthcoming album Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything on Alcopop. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.

The Hush Now song is on the band's self-released album Memos. Find out more and download the entire album for free at Bandcamp.

The Soccer Mom song is on the band's self-titled 7-inch. You can download the song for free at the Soccer Mom website.

The King Khan Experience song is on the EP Scion A/V Presents the King Khan Experience. Download the song for free at Pitchfork.

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. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 138: Let's Play Two

Special guest Brian Salvatore joins me for part 2 of our discussion about baseball. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Brian and a buddy pick an AL team to root for every year

- Jay doesn't have a favorite NL team

- The '04 and '07 Red Sox World Series wins were huge, but anti-climactic

- Red Sox fans have nothing to complain about anymore

- Making sense of the Plaxico Burress nightclub incident

- Baseball has the most unathletic athletes

- The '93 Jays were an offensive powerhouse

- Nobody remembers that Mitch Williams and Bill Buckner had good careers

- Jay's hazy bachelor party memories of Clemens beaning Piazza

- Steroids: Was Fred McGriff the last honest slugger?

- Ken Griffey Jr.'s accomplishments overshadowed by alleged roid users

- We should've known better during McGwire-Sosa HR race in '98

- Jose Canseco was right about everything

- Will Roger Clemens get in Hall of Fame?

- Misconception that steroids turn you into a monster HR hitter

- Catchers never used to wear pads

- The wager: Mets vs. Jays for best record

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

The Corin Tucker Band - Doubt

The Hush Now - Vietnam Giraffe

Frightened Rabbit - Son C

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the company'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 Corin Tucker Band song is on the album 1,000 Years on Kill Rock Stars Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Hush Now song is on the self-released EP Shiver Me Starships. Find out more at . You can download the song for free at Largehearted Boy.

The Frightened Rabbit song was sent out recently to the band's mailing list. Download the song for free at I am Fuel, You are Friends.

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 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 136: Holidays in the Sun

I'm flying solo on the podcast this week as I recap my vacation to Mexico. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- At Puerto Vallarta airport, had to fight through timeshare sharks

- Taxi ride to the resort was insane

- Anything goes with Mexican motorists

- Reminded me of chaotic traffic in India

- Took a while to get used to pesos (12 pesos = $1)

- Disconnected from the Web for most of the week

- Visited Internet cafe to check email occasionally

- Strange TV package at resort

- Spent most of the week at the pool or beach

- Didn't venture off resort much

- Careful not to drink anything but bottled water

- Got sunburned last few days

- Mostly families at resort, but there were occasional drunk frat boys or horny couples

- Drank Mexican beer (Pacifico, Corona, Dos Equis, Tecate)

- Boarding for return flight was bizarre experience

- Sbarro's at PV airport charges $7 per slice

- They really push the duty free goods

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Pearl Jam - Amongst the Waves (live)

The Hush Now - The Other Ones

Marnie Stern - For Ash

PO PO - Bummer Summer

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

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic gear. 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 Pearl Jam song is a live track recorded last Halloween in Philadelphia. Find out more and download the song for free from the band's website.

The Hush Now song is on the self-released EP Shiver Me Starships. You can download the song for free at Clicky Clicky.

The Marnie Stern song is on her forthcoming self-titled album on Kill Rock Stars. You can download the song for free at Pitchfork.

The PO PO song is on the EP Bummer Summer/Teen Dreamz on Mad Decent Records. You can download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

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.