Completely Conspicuous 380: Stuck in the Middle

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Pixies played "surprise show" at TT the Bear's
- Cambridge club is closing after 40+ years
- A primer on the Boston rock club scene
- Free Converse shows were a bummer for those of us who couldn't get tickets
- Van Halen talk continues with Eddie slagging DLR and Michael Anthony
- JB: Indie bands move beyond the '90s guitar rock sound
- Speedy Ortiz explored different textures on new album
- Nice work, Insound
- JK: Reunited bands with good new releases: Sleater-Kinney, Swervedriver and Faith No More
- JB: Pile's new album has a live feel to it
- Hard to categorize Pile
- To be continued

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

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss an unlikely number one single from 1973. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click or "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Talking about Vicki Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"
- We forgot to watch the movie
- Was a hit in '73, not '71
- Written by Bobby Russell
- Lawrence was already a regular on The Carol Burnett Show
- Later starred in Mama's Family and her own talk show
- Very confusing story song about murder and infidelity
- Song was offered to Cher but Sonny Bono nixed it
- Later covered by Reba McEntire
- Ric: Should've been an animated movie with animals
- Revenge and death throughout
- We're confused
- Casey Kasem would've been annoyed
- Bobby Russell had two top 40 songs of his own
- "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero" hit #36
- Could've used an oompah band
- Satire on suburban life
- "Saturday Morning Confusion" got up to #28 in 1971
- Merging Charlie Rich and Harry Nilsson
- Ric: This guy might be a genius
- Next up: Tony Orlando and Dawn
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Pixies - Indie Cindy
Quasi - You Can Stay But You Got to Go
The Julie Ruin - Oh Come On
Ghost Wave - Here She Comes

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

The Pixies song is on the self-released EP-1.
The Quasi song is on the album Mole City on Kill Rock Stars.
The Julie Ruin song is on the album Run Fast on TJR Records.
The Ghost Wave song is on the album Ages on Flying Nun Records. All four songs can be downloaded 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 285: Full Grown

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss music we've outgrown. 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
- Will launch Input/Output, a music-themed show, soon
- Tracking the different Black Flag reunions
- Rollins doesn't sing anymore
- Kim Deal leaves Pixies
- Rumors of new Pixies recordings (we talked a few days before the new Pixies song dropped)
- Music we once loved but have outgrown
- Brian: The Offspring (on Jay's list as well)
- Somehow grew popular
- Jay: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Really, it's Kiedis who hasn't aged well
- Awkward moments at Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductions
- The greatness of Tom Scharpling and The Best Show
- The bland rock of Bad Company
- Brian drops a bomb with Sonic Youth
- Just can't get into them
- Jay: Sting has grown tiresome
- Big fan of The Police, but in the early '90s, Sting began to suck mightily
- Brian: Wank guitar (also on Jay's list)
- Yngwie Malmsteen led a wave of classically-inspired speed guitarists
- The Vinnie Vincent Invasion was so dumb, so fast
- Soft spot for That Metal Show
- Stephen Malkmus crams tons of solos into good songs
- DLR and Ozzy had plenty of hot guitarists come through their bands
- Brian: Recent McCartney concert was best show he's ever seen
- Listening to music is no longer a sole activity; now, it's always done while you do something else
- Music discovery was a challenging pursuit prior to the Internet
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Pixies - Bagboy
Obits - Taste the Diff
Adam Franklin - Boocat Leah
Bob Mould - The Descent
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Pixies song is available for free download (in exchange for your email address) at PixiesMusic.
The Obits song is on the forthcoming album Bed & Bugs on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Sub Pop.
The Adam Franklin song is on the album Black Horses on Goodnight Records. Download the song for free at Largehearted Boy.

The Bob Mould song is on the album Silver Age on Merge Records. Download the song for free as part of the Forecastle Festive Sampler at Noisetrade.

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 110: Suture Up Your Future

The podcast returns with part 2 of my conversation with Ric Dube. We discuss our predictions for the future of movies and TV. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Dube: Movies with vampires/monsters/zombies/aliens will pass

- We need new professions to make movies about

- Some possibilities: Temps, garbagemen

- The imposing presence of Charles S. "Roc" Dutton

- Kids' books only come out if they're part of a series

- We'll run out of comic book hero movies

- Ric throws out some movie pitches

- Pitch: "Bong With the Wind," Merchant and Ivory meets Cheech and Chong

- Pitch: "Thinheritance," a new take on "Brewster's Millions"

- Chris Rock would star; has to lose 50 pounds in 30 days to inherit millions, but has already lost the weight

- Pitch: "Guard Shack," starring Sinbad and Kevin James as warring security guards in guard shacks at either end of a complex

- B-52s will do theme song

- Jay's pitch: "Drive-Thru," where drive-thru worker witnesses murder or kidnapping

- Jay's TV prediction: Talent shows will branch out

- Ric's TV pitch: "Slave Trade," The Apprentice meets QVC

- Where does reality TV go from here?

- Jay's TV pitch: An award show for award shows

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Jay Reatard - Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle

- Rogue Wave - Good Morning

- The Pixies - Dancing the Manta Ray (live)

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

The Jay Reatard song was recorded for an upcoming album of covers of Nirvana's In Utero album. Find out more and download the song for free here.

The Rogue Wave song is on the album Permalight on Brushfire Records. Download the track for free at Stereogum.

The Pixies song is on the band's live EP commemorating the 20th anniversary of the album Doolittle. Download the EP for free at Pixiesmusic.com.

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

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 here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 101: The Modern World

The podcast's back with a look at the decade in technology. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Y2K came and went

- Broadband arrived, changed everything

- Google led the way for search engines

- Social networking sites

- Blogging, podcasting became commonplace

- Communication: E-mail, chat and texting

- Napster loomed large over the music industry

- The iPod was a game changer

- YouTube revolutionized online video

- Home entertainment: Flatscreen TVs, DVDs, DVRs, Netflix

- Videogame consoles got better, wireless

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser

- The Pixies - Crackity Jones

- Melissa Auf der Maur - Out of Our Minds

- Nirvana - About a Girl

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

The Them Crooked Vultures song is on the band's self-titled album on Interscope Records. Download the track for free at the iTunes store.

The Pixies song is on the band's live EP commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Doolittle album. The four-song EP is available for free at Pixiesmusic.com.

The Melissa Auf der Maur song is on the forthcoming album Out of Our Minds on MAdM Music; click here to find out more and download the song for free.

The Nirvana song is on Bleach: Deluxe Edition on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay. The code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code 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 here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.