Completely Conspicuous 549: Just What I Needed

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1978. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 11, Phil turned 9 in '78

- Big festivals, including Texxas Jam

- Lots of disco on the singles chart

- Phil's favorite non-top 5 albums: Ramones, Blondie, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Jerry Garcia Band, Bob Marley, Rolling Stones, The Jam, Devo, Bob Seger, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Little Feat, Big Star, Marvin Gaye, Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Cheap Trick

- WKRP in Cincinnati on DVD and music licensing (UPDATE: Turns out a bunch of the music was restored on a recent DVD set)

- Cheap Trick At Budokan is one of the greatest live albums ever

- Jay's favorite bubbling under albums: The Police, Rush, Dire Straits, The Who, Peter Gabriel

- Phil's #5: Neil Young revisits the laid-back sound of Harvest

- Phil's #4 and Jay's #4: Talking Heads explore a more danceable sound

- Phil's #3: Debut from The Police made a big splash

- The long journey of Andy Summers

- Jay's #3: Contrasting opinions on Some Girls, but has some great Stones songs

- Jay's #2: Elvis Costello and the Attractions with an angry classic

- Phil's #1 and Jay's #5: Debut from The Cars has no bad songs

- Phil's #2 and Jay's #1: A revolutionary debut from Van Halen

- Favorite songs: "You're All I've Got Tonight" (Phil), "Running With the Devil" (Jay)

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 543: You Really Got Me

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we remember the greatness of Eddie Van Halen. Listen to the episode below or download directly.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Last spoke in late March but feels a lot longer ago

- We've been fascinated by Van Halen's career, the good and the bad

- Eddie had dealt with cancer before

- Death still came as a shock

- Plenty of musician deaths this year: Neil Peart, Andy Gill, David Roback, Kenny Rogers, Bill Rieflin, Bill Withers, Adam Schlesinger, John Prine, Florian Schneider, Pete Way, Peter Green

- Eddie was iconic and eternally youthful

- Brian: First video I remember seeing was "Jump"

- Played on Letterman a few times

- Jay: Stopped listening to VH in '91 and didn't again for almost a decade

- The "Right Now" video was surprising

- Dropoff in quality after Roth left

- 2012's A Different Kind of Truth was a decent way to go out

- Hopefully there will finally be some archival VH releases

- Who buys greatest hits albums?

- Eddie's guest appearances

- Jay: First became aware of VH in 1980 when Women and Children First came out

- Eddie had been quiet for several years

- Roth was doing a Vegas residency and opening for KISS just before the pandemic shutdown

- Missing live music

- Plenty of livestreams to check out

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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 531: Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

This week, I'm joined by author Greg Renoff as we discuss the new book he wrote with legendary rock producer Ted Templeman. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 
Show notes:
- Greg's first book was 2015's Van Halen Rising
- Five years later, people are still discovering it
- Wrote about the early years of VH from a fan's perspective
- The band filled a void when their debut came out
- That book led to Greg's new book, Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music
- Templeman came to book signing for Van Halen Rising
- Greg later pitched the idea of a book about Templeman
- Book looks at his start as a musician and the albums he worked on as a producer
- Renoff wanted to add more structure to Templeman's recollections
- Book's out on ECW Press on April 21
- Took a few years to put together before the editing process
- Did a lot of interviews with Ted, exchanged many emails
- He didn't want to dwell on controversy too much
- Book starts with his childhood in Santa Cruz through the last album he worked on with the Doobie Brothers in 2010
- Didn't cover every album he worked on
- He was a talented musician in his younger days, as a jazz phenom and then a minor pop star
- Heavily influenced by Tito Puente
- Got into producing with the Doobies in '71, and later Captain Beefheart, Little Feat, Montrose
- Not in touch with the VH camp anymore, but appreciative of his work with them
- Worked with Van Morrison a few times
- Templeman was on TV with his pop group Harpers Bizarre, but he didn't see a future in performing
- Was interested in production and moved behind the scenes in 1970
- Nearly got out of the industry
- Started at the bottom listening to tape submissions
- Found the Doobie Brothers demo
- VH already had the harmony vocals, and Ted incorporated those (and provided some) on most of those albums
- By the time he got to VH, Ted was intent on finding bands a radio hit
- Worked with a wide range of artists from Carly Simon to the Bulletboys
- Sometimes he was brought in to finish projects that others had started
- Currently interested in streaming and following certain artists
- Initial book launch plans have changed because of COVID-19
- Hoping to do joint interviews eventually
- Greg plans to do another VH book
- Started work on it, but will get back to it once coronavirus restrictions are lifted

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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 440: Radio Daze

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Wardlaw as we discuss the decline of rock radio. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Matt's podcast Lost Together
- Van Cherone: Matt defends Van Halen III
- Eddie VH's lack of new material
- Buy Greg Renoff's great book Van Halen Rising
- Eddie sounds good again
- Age is becoming a factor
- Jay: Saw both DLR and VH in 1986
- The MTV effect
- Early '80s video production values
- Videos pushed songs to greater success
- In defense of "We Built This City"
- Videos boosted careers of artists like ZZ Top, the Cars and Huey Lewis
- Rock stations added non-music programming
- Satellite radio is nice, but not a must-have
- Matt uses Apple Music
- Bands aren't making much money from streaming
- The money is in touring and merch, not albums
- Home taping didn't kill the music industry

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 402: Everybody Wants Some

This week, I'm joined by author Greg Renoff as we discuss the response to his new book about the early days of Van Halen. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store
- We last spoke in March (eps 368 and 369) before the book came out
- Great response from readers
- Selling well on Amazon, was reviewed in Rolling Stone
- DLR's role in the band's early days surprised some
- Roth defied the odds to become a star
- Gene Simmons was an early supporter of the band
- Roth had different musical interests than the VH brothers
- Greg: Not sure what next writing project will be
- Meeting readers at book signings is fun
- Launch party in Pasadena featured VH's original bassist Mark Stone
- Visited neighborhood where VH played backyard parties
- The revolutionary sound of "Eruption"
- VH's disappointing live album
- Debate over what's in the archives
- The future of the band is murky
- Little released output from Eddie over the last 15 years
- Dave's role in the band is much different now
- DLR could be reuniting with his Eat 'Em and Smile-era band for some shows

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 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 369: Light Up the Sky

Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book on the early days of Van Halen. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

 

Show notes:
- Check out Greg's Van Halen Rising page
- Book is out Oct. 1
- Getting blurbs, reviews, photo permissions
- Publisher ECW Press released Neil Peart's books
- Book will feature previously unpublished photos
- Backyard parties were how the band grew
- New VH tour on the way
- Greg: Had an inkling it would happen
- Roth's solo career
- Greg: Became a VH fan because of "Jump"
- Roth stopped focusing on vocals after first few years
- New live album's shaky vocals
- Modern production techniques
- Is there a new studio album on the way?
- Next up for Greg: Possible work on unnamed artist's autobiography
- VH has a passionate fan base
- Afterword talks about the band's legacy

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 368: In a Simple Rhyme

Part 1 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book about the early days of Van Halen. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Check out Greg's Van Halen Rising page
- Book is out Oct. 1
- Greg's a college professor
- Fan of arena rock and guitar as a kid
- In grad school, wrote his disseration and a book about a traveling circus
- Many parallels to a rock tour
- Wanted to learn more about VH's beginnings
- Interviewed people around the scene starting in 2009
- Eventually talked to Michael Anthony, Ted Templeman, Donn Landee
- Started at the bottom and worked up
- Dug into the myths around VH's major label signing
- Eddie's beginnings on guitar
- VH hit a lot of dead ends along the way
- The first big tour really made the band
- The fine art of choosing opening acts
- Getting a book publisher isn't easy
- Putting together the book proposal
- Finished writing in summer 2014
- 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 316: Fire in the Hole

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we dissect the disaster that was Van Halen III. Listen to the episode or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic
- Jumping into an 8-minute epic snoozer
- Rumors that the VH brothers had jammed with Ozzy around this time
- Nuno Bettencourt has been touring with Rihanna
- Jay happens to have issue of Guitar World from '98 nearby
- The joys of the Columbia House Record Club
- Michael Anthony's MIA for most of the album
- Eddie compared his singing voice to Roger Waters meets Tom Waits
- DLR says they're working on new VH album for mid-2015
- Brian: VH III was bad in a different way than expected
- Jay: Almost an Adult Contemporary sound
- Jay: Also haven't heard anything from VH's Balance, the last Hagar album
- Record sales from the '90s were ridiculous; nearly everything sold well
- Bizarre cover of Balance was actually PhotoShopped pic of Wolfgang VH
- Putting shitty albums in your iTunes
- The latest VH album was what Aerosmith should do: make a '70s-sounding record
- The comics industry now is where music industry was before Napster
- WWE is getting creative about its content
- Netflix and others are changing the way we consume media
- iPods are being phased out

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 315: House of Pain

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we dissect the disaster that was Van Halen III. 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
- An addendum to our look at 1998
- VH III featuring Gary Cherone on lead vocals
- Jay hasn't heard the album, Brian's heard it twice
- Last VH album with Michael Anthony
- Many long songs
- Produced by TV theme composer Mike Post
- Pleasant acoustic instrumental to start album
- Mission statement: We will wuss you
- Cherone sounds a lot like Hagar
- Brian: "Without You" not as bad as I remember
- Eddie needed an editor
- Tough position for Cherone to be in
- EVH played some bass on album
- Restrained drum sound from Alex VH
- Songs drag on way too long
- The "go get a beer" song
- Extreme acquitted themselves well at Freddie Mercury tribute concert
- Mike Post produced artists like Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton
- Severe lack of kickassery
- Jay saw both Van Hagar and DLR in the summer of '86
- Brian saw Pixies recently
- The greatness of Lindsay Buckingham
- 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 215: Could This Be Magic?

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss the new Van Halen album. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Jay: An impressive outing for a band at this stage

- Not many bands have taken such a long break and returned strong

- Mission of Burma and the Feelies are better than ever

- Where does this rank in VH pantheon?

- Jay: Ranks 7th after first six DLR albums, ahead of Hagar

- Brian: Michael Anthony's harmonies are missed

- Brian: VH should do a tour with Dave and Sammy

- What would you pay $90 to see live?

- Brian: McCartney's current band is excellent

- Arena shows are quickly getting priced out of reach of much of public

- Brian: Bob Mould noted particularly egregious lyrics on new VH single

- Brian: Aerosmith is long overdue for a good album

- Jay: Last good Aerosmith album was more than 20 years ago

- Good run of Aerosmith albums in the '70s

- Steven Tyler has become the dude who looks like a lady

- Brian: This VH album could've been much worse

- The sad story of Jason Becker, DLR's guitarist in early '90s

- Jay: Couldn't have expected the new VH to be any better

- Brian: Interested to hear the follow-up

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Hounds Below - For You and I

Dinosaur Jr. - No Bones (live)

Black Mountain - Mary Lou

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

The Hounds Below song is on the band's as-yet untitled debut album. Download the song for free at Consequence of Sound.

The Dinosaur Jr. song is on the DVD Bug Live at 9:30 Club: In the Hands of Fans. Download the song for free at DinosaurJr.com.

The Black Mountain song is on the soundtrack to the movie Year Zero. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 214: Hear About It Later

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss the new Van Halen album, the band's first with David Lee Roth in almost 30 years. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Not interested in Grammy Awards

- Gary Cherone was in band at its worst

- Brian: Only VH album in his iTunes is VH III

- Brian started listening to VH in early '90s

- Always preferred DLR

- Jay: First VH album was Diver Down on cassette

- Diver Down was a cash-in album

- Jay: Liked Hagar, but not as VH singer

- Lyrical content not a big concern for VH

- Brian: VH III was pretty stark

- Eddie's synth phase was similar to what Rush did in the '80s

- VH has always picked curious opening acts

- Wolfgang is a decent bassist

- Neither VH or DLR had done anything good for 20+ years

- Jay: Eat 'Em and Smile was better than 5150

- Brian: First impression of new album was it sounds like DLR solo album

- Jay: First single is worst song on album

- Brian: Everybody sounds energized

- Beginning of second career or one-time deal?

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Frank Black and the Catholics - Nadine

Buffalo Tom - Mineral

Hot Snakes - Who Died

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

The Frank Black and the Catholics song is on the album Show Me Your Tears on SpinART Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Buffalo Tom song is on the album Let Me Come Over on Beggars Banquet. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Hot Snakes song is on the album Suicide Invoice on Swami Records. 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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.