Completely Conspicuous 212: Together Again for the First Time

Part 1 of my podcast conversation with special guest Brad Searles as we discuss band reunions. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Check out Brad's excellent blog, Bradley's Almanac

- Recorded at the Sunset Grill in Allston, Mass.

- The Pixies are making a second career out of their reunion tours

- The only money for a lot of artists comes from licensing

- The Strokes' debut album hasn't aged well

- Iggy Pop is endorsing insurance in the UK

- Mission of Burma picked up after 20 years and are better than ever

- Brad: First Pixies show was on the ill-fated U2 tour

- Explaining myself to the waitress

- Broken-up bands realize a fanbase is out there

- Letters to Cleo sold some merch after t-shirt showed up on "Parks and Recreation"

- "Hallelujah" covers are making Leonard Cohen big bucks

- Fired up about the Afghan Whigs reunion

- At the Drive-In spawned a movement

- Brad's played drums in several bands

- The awesomeness of the Styx Behind the Music episode

- Styx's Paradise Theater is one of the first albums we both bought

- Brad: Early vinyl inherited from dad

- Brad loved the first two Men at Work albums

- My younger brother turned me on to Nirvana and Soundgarden

- Saw a lot of concerts with my brother in our 20s

- Bands we'd like to see reunite

- Jay: Replacements, Husker Du, The Jam, The Smiths

- Fogerty's open to a CCR reunion

- Brad: A Ride reunion is possible

- To be continued...

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Nada Surf - Waiting for Something

Girlfriends - Big Machines

Destroyer - Leave Me Alone

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 Nada Surf song is on the album The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy on Barsuk Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Girlfriends song is on the EP Nothing Nice to Say. Stream the EP at Bandcamp.

The Destroyer song is on a MOJO magazine compilation of artists covering songs from the 1983 New Order album Power, Corruption and Lies. Download the song for free at Aquarium Drunkard.

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 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 210: Live and Dangerous

Part 2 of my conversation with special guests Nick Lorenzen and Mike Piantigini as we discuss Boston's live music scene. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Mike still goes to many rock shows

- The scene's rebounding, more new clubs

- Nick did not pogo at recent Superchunk show

- Nick and Mike saw Paul Westerberg's first solo show

- Myspace lives!

- Nick and Mike were in the band Lump in the '90s

- Brighton Music Hall is making an impression

- Live Nation squeezes out smaller clubs

- Live Nation Entertainment owns Live Nation and Ticketmaster

- Big venues are in trouble

- More bands played big arenas like Worcester Centrum in the '80s

- Memories of INXS

- Discovering your new singer on YouTube: Yes, Journey

- O Positive, a great Boston band from the past

- The suburban rock clubs of the '80s and '90s are mostly gone now

- The smartphone has reduced the amount of longform reading we do

- Debating Pearl Jam's fight vs. Ticketmaster

- Tickets in big venues are more expensive, but club tickets are still cheap

- Movie ticket prices haven't grown exponentially

- Moviegoing experience is less enjoyable

- Pixies need to pick another album to play; touring behind Doolittle for a few years now

- Mike: 2011 was a good music year

- We consume and digest music much quicker now

- Who doesn't have a Rick Neilsen guitar pick?

- Jay and Mike realized they grew up a few towns over from each other

- Mike bagged Queensryche's groceries (not a euphemism)

- The Kingston, NH Fairgrounds had several big festival shows in the '80s

- Next episode: Older artists aging gracefully while others hang on too long

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Lee Ranaldo - Off the Wall

Reigning Sound - Shaw

White Rabbits - Heavy Metal

Mind Spiders - Wait For Us

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 Lee Ranadlo song is on the album Between the Times and Tides on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matador.

The Reigning Sound song is on the EP Abdication...For Your Love. Download the song for free at Scion AV.

The White Rabbits song is from the album Milk Famous on TBD Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at the band's website.

The Mind Spiders song is on the album Meltdown on Dirtnap 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 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 208: The Final Countdown

Part 3 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").

Show notes:

- Kumar's #2: Sloan

- Band's 20th anniversary

- Jan. 26: New Music Night with Breitling and Brad Searles at River Gods in Cambridge, Mass.

- Breitling #1: Johnny Foreigner

- No overlap on our lists

- Kumar #1: Fucked Up

- Did a vinyl release of music from fake bands

- Breitling's bubbling under: Yuck, Screaming Maldini, Gold Bears

- Kumar's bubbling under: Mighty Fine, Foo Fighters, Mastodon, Feelies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Fucked Up - A Little Death

Johnny Foreigner - (Don't) Show Us Your Fangs

Dananananaykroyd - E-Numbers

Yuck - Georgia

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 Fucked Up song is on the album David Comes to Life on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matador.

The Johnny Foreigner song is on the album Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything on Alcopop Records. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.

The Dananananaykroyd song is from the album There Is a Way on Pizza College. Download the song for free at the band's Internet Home Page.

The Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum. Download the song for free at Brooklyn Vegan.

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 206: Hits of the Year

Part 1 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").

Show notes:

- Of new additions and beer

- Revisiting our beer discussion of episodes 133 and 134

- Trends in 2011: The return of the '90s

- Bands reunited, new bands echo '90s influences

- Imminent death of the CD?

- Tons of reissues for classic albums

- Expanded versions of relatively recent albums

- Breitling's #10 album: Los Campesinos

- Proggy elements added to band's sound

- Kumar's #10: Drive-By Truckers

- Uber-prolific band combines Southern rock and soul

- Breitling's #9: Soccer Mom

- Boston band echoes sound of bands like Sonic Youth

- Kumar's #9: J. Mascis

- Solo album turns down the jet engine roar

- Breitling's #8: Ringo Deathstarr

- Album was four years in the making

- Kumar's #8: Beastie Boys

- Sounds like classic Beasties

- Overblown non-controversy of the week: Questlove vs. Michele Bachmann

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Los Campesinos - Hello Sadness

Ringo Deathstarr - Imagine Hearts

Drive-By Truckers - Used to Be a Cop

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 Los Campesinos song is on the album Hello Sadness on Arts and Crafts. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Ringo Deathstarr song is on the album Colour Trip on Sonic Unyon Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Drive-By Truckers song is from the album Go-Go Boots on ATO Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at DriveByTruckers.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. 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 204: One More Time

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Matt Phillion as we count down our favorite movie remakes. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- More remakes

- Jay: True Lies

- Arnold as James Bond

- Matt: The Fly

- The movie Jeff Goldblum was born to make

- Jay: The Ring

- The best of the remakes of Japanese horror

- Jay: Ransom

- "Gimme back my son!"

- Worst remakes

- Matt: Never remake a Michael Caine movie

- Even bad Nic Cage movies are entertaining

- The Pink Panther remakes were bad ideas

- Dean Martin's Matt Helm movies were the inspiration for Austin Powers

- Matt: Wicker Man

- Nic Cage strikes again

- Jay: Arthur

- Another pointless remake

- Matt: Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes

- Rise of the Planet of the Apes was good

- Jay: Godzilla (1998)

- True bomb given all the merchandising tie-ins

- Soundtrack featured Godzilla sounds

- Matt owns the soundtrack

- Matt: Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake

- Shot-for-shot remake

- Jay: The Longest Yard

- Matt's never seen a Sandler movie he liked

- Playing a bunch of characters usually backfires

- Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor was pretty funny

- Matt: Last House on the Left

- Doesn't go far enough

- Taken was enjoyable

- Liam Neeson has a very specific set of skills

- Paul Thomas Anderson vs. P.S. Anderson

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Archers of Loaf - Harnessed in Slums

Guided By Voices - Doughnut for a Snowman

Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways

Okkervil River - Plan D

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 Archers of Loaf song is on the remastered and expanded reissue of Vee Vee on Merge Records. Download the song for free at SoundCloud.

The Guided By Voices song is on the forthcoming album Let's Go Eat the Factory on Guided By Voices Records; the single is available from Fire Records. Download the song for free at SoundCloud.

The Heartless Bastards song is from the forthcoming album Arrow on Partisan Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at the band's website.

The Okkervil River song is from the EP Golden Opportunities 2. Download the EP for free from 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 202: Stuck Between Stations

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss the current state of television. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Watching movies on IFC sucks now because of commercials

- Portlandia is a great show

- Crushing on St. Vincent

- Albini vs. Odd Future

- Is this the greatest era of late night TV?

- Jay: Letterman at 12:30 on NBC was legendary

- Daily Show and Colbert Report are amazing

- Remember Kilborn?

- Reality TV

- Brian likes the cooking shows

- Brian doesn't get 30 Rock

- Jay recommends Parks and Rec and Community

- Five favorite shows

- Jay's favorite is Breaking Bad, Brian's is Mad Men

- America loves its procedurals (NCIS et al)

- Ripped from the headlines

- Growing up with old-school cable access

- Keeping up with media

- A kid can make great media (podcast, movie, music, etc.)

- The podcast battle for earbuds

- Check out Brian's new podcast Expectations about becoming new parents; also, donate to Brian's mustache fundraising campaign

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Deer Tick - Main Street
J. Mascis - I've Been Thinking
Wye Oak - Civilian
Gross Magic - Yesterdays

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 Deer Tick song is from the album Divine Providence on Partisan Records. Download the song for free at Insound.

The J. Mascis song is the B-side of the 7-inch single Circle on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Wye Oak song is the title track of the album Civilian on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Insound.

The Gross Magic song is from the EP Teen Jamz on Fat Possum. Download the song for free from 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. 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 196: Gouge Away

Part 2 of my conversation with special guests Jay Breitling and Ric Dube as we discuss bands that don't know when to call it quits. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Dube: Stevie Wonder definitely recorded a lot of dreck after brilliant stretch

- The decline of Clapton is legendary

- Dube defends the early output of Jet

- The current state of music criticism

- Dube romanticizes The White Stripes

- Can current bands afford to hang around too long?

- We don't know the hippity hop

- "Three guys who don't know about anything."

- Yo La Tengo opened for The National?

- Gauging New Hampshire's interest in indie rock

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Wild Flag - Romance
Electric Flower - Four16
Animal Man - Do You Feed
PS I Love You - Subdivisions

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 Wild Flag song is on the band's self-titled album on Merge. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.

The Electric Flower song is on the band's self-titled EP on Narnack Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Animal Man song is on the EP David's Town, a companion to Fucked Up's album David Comes to Life on Matador Records. Find out more and download the song for free at Pitchfork.

The PS I Love You song is on the album Figure It Out on Paper Bag Records. Find out more and download the song at Rolling Stone.

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 194: Feeling Gravity's Pull

This week, I talk about the legacy left behind by R.E.M., who called it quits last week after 31 years. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- First saw R.E.M. on Late Night With David Letterman in 1983

- Stipe stayed in background while Buck and Mills talked to Dave

- Band played UNH in October '86, but I didn't go for some reason

- Started getting regular FM airplay by mid-80s

- More guitars in the mix on Life's Rich Pageant and Document

- "The One I Love" was first big hit

- Sentimental memories of Green

- Saw them play Mansfield, Mass., in 1989

- Early '90s saw R.E.M. become hugely popular

- "Losing My Religion" was everywhere in '91

- Automatic for the People put band on par with U2

- Monster gets unfairly criticized

- Bill Berry left band in '97

- Next three albums had diminishing returns

- Bounced back in last few years with more energized sound

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 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 192: Paperback Writer

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Christian Douglass as we discuss the challenges facing first-time authors. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Is book audience dying off?

- There are still very successful books

- Plenty of small publishing houses out there

- Marketing is big

- Zach Galifianakis made a promo trailer for a book he liked

- The tale of the Honey Badger

- James Franco's grandmother

- Plenty of content out there

- Easier for music to break through than a novel

- Douglass points to educational system for lack of readers

- Many more distractions for consumers' free time

- Reading fiction is rewarding

- Authors turning novels into podcasts

- Learning about Charles Dickens

- Turning books into movies is difficult

- World According to Garp had to cut a lot of stuff out

- Cormac McCarthy's had a few books made into movies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Pearl Jam - Ole

Los Campesinos - By Your Hand

Kurt Vile - The Creature

Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up in Flames)

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 Pearl Jam song is part of the band's 20th anniversary celebration. Find out more and download the song for free at PJ20.

The Los Campesinos song is on the album Hello Sadness on Wichita Recordings. Download the song for free at the band's website.

The Kurt Vile song is on the EP So Outta Reach on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Charles Bradley song is on the album No Time for Dreaming on Dunham Records. Find out more and download the song (in exchange for your email address) at his 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 190: Turn the Page

Part 3 of my conversation with special guests Jay Breitling and Ric Dube as we discuss the world of rock books. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").







Show notes:



- Dube: Gina Arnold's "Route 666: The Road to Nirvana" was annoying, but had good Replacements info



- Tendency for writers to document bands in terms of their own experiences



- Dube: "On the Road with the Ramones," oral history by road manager Monte Melnick had great inside info



- Using quotes to tell a story



- Dube met the Ramones when they came through record store where he worked

- Michael Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" was hugely influential



- Dube was behind the scenes when Mission of Burma reunited



- Azerrad's book got people interested in Burma again



- Band has bigger career now than it did before



- Dube helped Azerrad with his fanzine research



- Kumar: Rob Sheffield's "Love Is a Mixtape"



- Breitling: Steven Blush's "American Hardcore"



- Was made into a movie that didn't capture spirit of book



- Kumar: Our buddy Dave Brigham's book "(C)Rock Stories: Milion-Dollar Tales of Music, Mayhem and Immaturity"



- Dube wants to produce the movie version



- Dube: B. George and Martha Defoe's "The International Discography of the New Wave"



- Dube has second edition from 1982; copy is well-worn and marked up



- Dube: "Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-a-Rama" is "phenomenal by accident"



- Another one from the pile: Kim Cooper and David Smay's "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth"



- Bonehead of the Week



Music:



Crooked Fingers - Typhoon



Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band - Stay Away



Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait



Mini Mansions - The Room Outside



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 Crooked Fingers song is on the forthcoming album Breaks in the Armor on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.



The Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band song is on Newermind: A Tribute Album. Download the album for free by "liking" SPIN magazine's Facebook page.



The Arcade Fire song is on the album The Suburbs on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Insound.



The Mini Mansions song is on the band's self-titled, self-released EP. Download the song for free at Insound.



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; check out his site PodGeek.



Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 188: Words and Guitar

This week on the podcast, I've got part 1 of my conversation with special guests Jay Breitling and Ric Dube as we discuss the world of rock books. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").







Show notes:



- Dube (check out the More Lost Time podcast) prepared well for topic



- Good time for rock books: Keith Richards, Bob Mould



- Breaking down types of rock books: Memoirs, biographies, oral histories, indexes



- Pete Townshend could do something weird with his memoir



- Air quote alert



- Objective biographies can be better than memoirs



- Police bio was very critical of the band



- SPIN magazine used to do good oral histories about bands



- Every old issue of SPIN is up on Google Books



- Mixed reviews for Klosterman



- Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life was momentous



- Got his big break with Nirvana bio in early '90s



- Breitling: I want to read only one book about a particular band



- Dube introduces us to the work of Vernon Joynson



- Trouser Press guides



- Bootlegs are much more accessible online



- Kumar: Keith Richards memoir is excellent



- Breitling: Rollins' Get in the Van is a great memoir of the Black Flag years



- Dube: Jim Greer's book about Guided By Voices is good; Greer used to play in band



- Juliana Hatfield's memoir wasn't interesting enough



- Bonehead of the Week



Music:



Boston Spaceships - Christmas Girl



Archers of Loaf - Wrong



Okkervil River - Your Past Life as a Blast



The Delta Spirit - She's Not There



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 Boston Spaceships song is on the album Let It Beard on Guided by Voices Records. Download the song for free at The Ash Gray Proclamation.



The Archers of Loaf song is on the deluxe reissue of the album Icky Mettle on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Amazon.



The Okkervil River song is on the album I Am Very Far on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free at Amazon.



The Delta Spirit song is available as a free download (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. Also, check out Clicky Clicky Radio Thursdays from 8 to 10 p.m. on Boston Free Radio. 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; check out his site PodGeek.



Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 184: On Top, Rockin' It

Special guest Jay Breitling joins me as we discuss our favorite rock music of the first half of 2011. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Breitling: Yuck's self-titled album

- Reminiscent of great '90s acts

- Kumar: Reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's first album

- Originally came out in '98, was out of print

- Breitling: J Mascis--Several Shades of Why

- Mostly acoustic

- Dino Jr.'s Where You Been has been unfairly forgotten

- Kumar: Sloan--The Double Cross

- 20 years of terrific rock and power pop

- Breitling: Rival Schools--Pedal

- NY post-hardcore legends

- Kumar: Twilight Singers--Dynamite Steps

- Greg Dulli's back with yet another great album

- Breitling: Destroyer--Kaputt

- Synth pop detour for Dan Bejar

- Whither Don Felder?

- Kumar: PJ Harvey--Let England Shake

- Polarizing album

- Bjork's selling her new songs as apps

- Breitling: Wartgore Hellsnicker--Moderate Rock

- "The last grunge record"

- Kumar: Buffalo Tom--Skins

- '90 alt-rock heroes still sound great

- Breitling: Also dig Johnny Foreigner, Wye Oak releases

- Kumar: Honorable mention includes Drive-By Truckers, Beastie Boys, Feelies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Yuck - The Wall

J. Mascis - Not Enough

Sloan - Follow the Leader

The Twilight Singers - On the Corner

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 Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The J. Mascis song is on the album Several Shades of Why on Sub Pop, where you can download the song for free.

The Sloan song is on the album The Double Cross on Yep Roc Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) from the band's website.

The Twilight Singers song is on the album Dynamite Steps on Sub Pop, 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 182: Long Gone and Hard to Find

Part 2 of my podcast conversation with special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss and play music from underappreciated albums. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



The show notes:

- Now accepting beer donations

- Breitling's pick: The Hip Young Things

- Pavement-esque German band

- Kumar: The Nation of Ulysses

- On Dischord in early '90s

- Breitling: Eggs

- Another DC act

- Kumar: Frank Black and the Catholics

- Stripped down garage rock

- Breitling: Projekt A-ko

- Name is Japanese, band is Scottish

- Kumar: Big Chief

- Detroit act combining sludge rock with funk

- The return of "120 Minutes"

- On gravelly voiced DJs

- Breitling: The Coctails

- Featured Archer Prewitt

- Bonehead of the Week

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 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 166: The Future is Unwritten

Check out part 2 of my podcast conversation with special guest Eric Convey as we discuss the current state of journalism. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



The show notes...

Topics:

- Eric's Managing Editor of the Boston Business Journal

- Nobody knows where journalism is going

- Rupert Murdock may have the answer with The Daily, designed for the iPad

- Local news could survive through iPad, smartphone apps

- Local news is the only niche left

- AOL bought Huffington Post for big bucks

- Eric: AOL's Politics Daily is most interesting news site

- AOL's Patch doesn't need local advertisers, it needs clicks

- Eric's food adventures at the Peabody International Festival

- Eric: BBJ uses print and web to thrive

- Worked at Boston Herald for 11 years

- Tales of covering overnight accidents

- Eric: Print papers aren't economically sustainable long-term

- Papers are moving towards charging for online access

- When Boston Globe starts charging, the Herald will follow

- When you're forced for everything, where will traffic go?

- From the start, Wall Street Journal was saying papers should charge

- Nobody really understood online commerce in the '90s

- Jay: Used to buy Globe and Herald every day; now just read them online for free

- Similar parallel to music industry

- Music sales are an all-time low

- Eric: Print is still in the picture at BBJ

- Eric teaches a college journalism class

- Helps students think like journalists

- Some are still looking for newspaper jobs

- Students all have laptops or iPads now

- The future is scary

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Art Brut - Unprofessional Wrestling

Black Francis - Bad News

Robert Pollard - Touch Me in the Right Place at the Right Time

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 Art Brut song is a B-side from the forthcoming album Brilliant! Tragic! on Cooking Vinyl Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your e-mail address) at PledgeMusic (via Stereogum).

The Black Francis song is on the album The Golem on The Bureau Records. Download the song for free courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Black Francis
"Bad News" (mp3)
from "The Golem"
(The Bureau)

More On This Album



The Robert Pollard song is from the album Space City Kicks on Guided by Voices 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 158: Hammering Out the Beats

Part 2 of my podcast conversation with special guest Ric Dube as we pitch more movie ideas. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

Or you can listen to it here:



Topics:

- Check out Ric's podcast More Lost Time

- Kumar: "Judge Fredd" with Rob Schneider and Jim Belushi

- Wacky case of mistaken judicial identity

- Blanking on Nancy Grace

- Dube's got Bieber Fever

- Dube: "Extra Sensory Reception"

- Cavity filling gives Bieber ability to read minds

- Tracing Kurt Russell's career path

- Echoes of "Teen Wolf"

- The classic '80s bully/a-hole archetype

- Recalling Dube's similar baseball movie pitch

- Kumar: "Time's Up," with Flavor Flav and Jennifer Lopez

- Capitalizing on reality show fame

- "When Justin Met Kelly"

- Tom Green starred in a movie

- Glorifying the unhealthy relationship

- Ric owns the fine Leno-Morita vehicle "Collision Course"

- Contemplating J. Lo

- Lamenting short-lived excellent TV shows

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Obits- You Gotta Lose

Best Coast - Boyfriend

Tommy Stinson - One Man Mutiny

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 Obits song is on theforthcoming album Moody, Standard and Poor on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Pitchfork.

The Best Coast song is on the album Crazy for You on Mexican Summer Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Tommy Stinson song was given away as a thank you to fans for helping him raise money to benefit relief efforts in Haiti. Download the song for free at Slicing Up Eyeballs.

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 151: The Year in Rock, Part 2

Special guest Jay Breitling joins me on the podcast for part 2 of our discussion of 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:



The show notes...

Topics:

- Breitling's #6

- Breitling schools us on the videogames and such

- Kumar's #6

- Breitling's #5

- eMusic's changing again

- Kumar's #5

- What's the deal with Mumford & Sons?

- Breitling's #4

- Kumar's #4

- Breitling's #3

- Kumar's #3

- Breitling's #2

- Kumar's #2

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Superchunk - Digging for Something

Everyone Everywhere - Obama House, Fukui Prefecture

Walter Schreifels - Arthur Lee's Lullabye

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 Superchunk song is on the album Majesty Shredding on Merge Records, where you can download it for free (right click and "save as").

The Everyone Everywhere song is on the band's self-titled album on Tiny Engines. Download it for free courtesy of Clicky Clicky.

The Walter Schreifels song is on the album An Open Letter to the Scene on Dine Alone Records. Download it for free courtesy of 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. 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 149: Cover Me

Less talk, more rock this week on the podcast as I discuss the fine art of the cover song. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Or you can listen to it here:



The show notes...

Topics:

- Covers rarely outshine the originals

- Hendrix made Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" his own

- Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah" spawned many awful imitators

- American Idol and Glee have made covers more popular than ever

- Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" just won't die

- Tribute albums have grown popular in recent years

- Bonehead of the Week

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 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 140: OK Computer

I'm joined on the podcast by special guests Dave Brigham and Jay Breitling as I continue my look back at the rise and fall of the dotcom era. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Brigham joined Webnoize full time in May 1997

- He quit a paying gig as a proofreader

- Eventually, Webnoize started paying him

- We were given stock options

- At the time, seemed like a good opportunity

- Kumar was hired in October 1999, but had done work for site for a few years

- Dave bought guitar with first check

- First office was in Stoneham, Mass., home of Nancy Kerrigan; later moved to Cambridge

- At first, only four people in office

- Webnoize received funding from "angel investors"

- Meanwhile, other dotcoms pulled in huge sums for barely an idea

- It was all about buzzwords

- Saw pattern of companies with no entertainment or tech background getting into online entertainment space

- These included an oil and gas exploration company, Arthur Treacher's fish and chip restaurant

- Webnoize had good ideas but no business savvy

- MusicPhone.com offered voicemails from celebs like Whoopi Goldberg; t-shirt lasted longer than the company

- The big entertainment companies were just as clueless about the Web

- We got early versions of MP3 players: Diamond Rio, Nomad Jukebox

- Lessons learned: Need to know your limitations

- We went from Macs to a Sun Solaris computer system

- Breitling joined Webnoize after getting master's degree in journalism

- Started as intern in December 1999

- Eventually, he went back to his old job as paralegal

- Post-Webnoize, he worked for Listen.com and AOL Digital Cities

- AOL's now pumping money into local journalism sites called Patch

- The futility of journalism school

- Breitling: Dotcom era ended with many losers, few winners

- The "celestial jukebox" idea still hasn't happened

- Licensing is still a major obstacle

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Jesse Malin and the St. Marks Social - Burning the Bowery (live)

No Age - Glitter

The Delta Spirit - White Table

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 Jesse Malin and the St. Marks Social song is on the band's Daytrotter session recorded in May. Download the session for free at Daytrotter.

The No Age song is on the album Everything In Between on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Delta Spirit song is on the album History From Below on Rounder Records. Download the song for free at Music Induced Euphoria.

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.