Completely Conspicuous 321: Reeling in the Years, 1984 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1984. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic
- 1984: Brian was 2, Jay was 16
- A pivotal year for college/indie rock
- Husker Du, R.E.M., Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Replacements
- Aerosmith reformed, Yes bounced back
- Classic lineup of Deep Purple reunited
- The '80s wank guitar movement started with Yngwie Malmsteen
- Early days of hip hop, thrash
- Hair metal was emerging as a commercial force: Ratt, Twisted Sister, Dokken, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi
- Van Halen's 1984 was huge
- Eddie VH embraced synths
- The beginning of the end of the Roth era of VH
- MTV was a bigger hitmaker than radio
- The middle of a bad stretch for Paul McCartney
- Older artists rebounded: Kool and the Gang, Chicago, Stevie Wonder
- Miami Vice incorporated MTV-style techniques
- The video as movie trailer
- Death of Marvin Gaye
- Billy Squier's "Rock Me Tonite" debacle
- The negative power of a bad video
- Crappy solo work from Bowie, Billy Joel, Steve Perry
- Don Henley sucks
- The pop and marketing genius of Madonna
- Awesomely bad breakdance movies: Breakin', Body Rock, Beat Street
- Brian's albums outside top 5: Black Flag, Queen
- Jay: U2, The Cars, Rush, INXS, The Cult
- To be continued

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

Music:
Nancy - I Want One
Benjamin Shaw - Goodbye, Kagoul World
The Men - Different Days

The Nancy song is on the album Nancy LP. Download the album for free at Bandcamp.
The Benjamin Shaw song is on the album Goodbye Cagoule World on Audio Antihero. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The song by The Men is on the album Tomorrow's Hits on Sacred Bones Records. Download the song for free at 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 297: Sign O' the Times

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Jay's #2 album of '87: The Cult's Electric
- Used to crank it while working supermarket night shifts
- Brian's #2: R.E.M.'s Document
- Mike Mills is the band's secret weapon
- R.E.M. was burdened by U2 comparisons
- Stipe and Mills formed Automatic Baby with U2's Clayton and Mullen
- Jay's #1: GNR's Appetite for Destruction
- Paved the way for rawer hard rock
- Brian's #1: Pixies' Come On Pilgrim EP
- New Pixies is okay but nowhere near the old one
- Teenage metalhead Jay also dug Joe Satriani's Surfing With the Alien
- Enjoying That Metal Show
- Terrible moments in '87 music
- Jay: Bruce Willis releases an album
- Brian: Pink Floyd's post-Waters output
- "That's What Friends Are For"
- Jay: Terrible movie soundtrack music, like Bob Seger's "Shakedown"
- "Shakedown" was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe
- Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
- Brian: The death of legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius
- The fascinating story of Aaron North (ex-Icarus Line and NIN guitarist)
- The Jesus Lizard got a record deal thanks to Kurt Cobain
- Next on our hit list: 1980
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Sebadoh - I Will
The Men - I Saw Her Face
The Besnard Lakes - People of the Sticks
 
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Sebadoh song is on the album Defend Yourself on Joyful Noise Recordings. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) as part of the Paste Fall Preview 2013 at NoiseTrade.
The song from The Men is on the album Campfire Songs on Sacred Bones Records. Download the song for free at Aquarium Drunkard.

The Besnard Lakes song is on the album Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free at 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.

Completely Conspicuous 226: Bottoms Up!

Part 2 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
- Dogfish Head has branched out with TV show, limited edition beers
- Northeast has many great brewers: Magic Hat, Smuttynose, Baxter, Long Trail
- "Ice beer" was, and still is, a thing
- Regional pockets of great craft beer throughout the U.S.
- Some of beers can overdo it with the accents (fruit, pumpkin, caramel, chocolate, coffee, etc.)
- Jay: Not big into pairing certain beers with certain types of food
- Canadians will drink Bud or Coors because it's so light
- Ben: Hard to keep up with all the new brewers
- Recent trend is putting craft beer in cans
- Some brewers won't do it, but many are: Sierra Nevada, Harpoon, Oskar Blues, Baxter
- Great packaging can get you to try a beer
- The bomber is a great way to check out a new beer
- Some stores let you "make" your own six-pack from singles
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Mission of Burma - Dust Devil
Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
Hallelujah the Hills - Hungry Ghost Extraordinaire

The Men - Open Your Heart

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Mission of Burma song is on the forthcoming album Unsound on Fire Records. Download the song for free at Team Clermont.

The Father John Misty song is on the album Fear Fun on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Sub Pop.
The Hallelujah the Hills song is on the album No One Knows What Happens Next on Discrete Pageantry. Download the song for free from Prefix Mag. 
The song by The Men is on the album Open Hearts on Sacred Bones. 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.