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 528: Burn and Shine

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire
- Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp
- Commercial rock radio is dying
- In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area
- Brian has satellite radio
- GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer
- The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound
- Mark McGrath is always working
- The Cameo economy
- Talking to musicians
- The ubiquity of Henry Rollins
- The musician deaths have always been plentiful
- 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio
- So many big names in rock are getting older
- Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey
- Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows
- Rush will never play another show
- R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup
- More fun with Cameo
- Don't wait to see a band you like
- Jay: Trying to see bands I haven't seen before
- Making up for lost time with some bands
- Some bands sound better than ever: Dino Jr., Ween
- Ozzy's looking pretty rough these days
- Some artists you don't want to see anymore

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 527: Magic and Loss

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian's first appearance on the show in two years
- The rock deaths keep on hitting us hard
- Neil Peart's recent death was surprising and shocking
- Brian: Not a big Rush fan, but respected them
- A couple of really good documentaries about the band
- Rush followed their own path
- Andy Gill of Gang of Four kept touring and recording right until he died
- Big deaths that impacted us
- Jay: Peart, Gord Downie, Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty
- As a kid, remember Randy Rhoads, Bonham, Bon Scott, Keith Moon
- Later, Cobain and Layne Staley
- Tortured artist syndrome
- Meanwhile, the Stones keep chugging along
- Brian: McCartney is still amazing live into his 70s
- Neither of us has seen the Stones live
- Brian: Regret not seeing classic acts at least once
- Prince played crazy long shows
- Getting harder to stay out super late
- "Farewell tours" tend to often be false alarms
- A little more urgency to see certain artists who are older
- A lot of reunion tours these days: Jawbreaker, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, Hoodoo Gurus
- Will young artists today have the same longevity as the older artists now?
- Touring's the only way to make money these days
- Not even worth it for older acts to release new material now
- Radio won't play new music from legendary acts
- Classic rock fans don't want to hear new music, they just want the hits
- You know what you're getting from a new AC/DC record
- Many bands continue on after members die
- Replacing iconic singers with unknowns
- Alice in Chains has recharged their career somewhat post-Staley
- Sublime's singer/leader died before their big album came out
- To be continued

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 480: Lost But Not Forgotten

This week, it's part 2 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Replacing a beloved band member is tough
- Tom Petty's legacy
- Steely Dan's interesting catalog
- The problem with hearing the same songs over and over
- The lighter side of Prince
- Prince's prolific later years
- A master of any style
- Jay: Downie's loss hits harder now because I'm around the same age
- Making the most of your last years on Earth
- The real shockers are the younger ones
 
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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 479: Gone Too Soon

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Gord Downie died a few weeks ago
- Many high-profile music deaths in last few years
- Musicians are getting older, but also some tragic deaths
- Phil: Elvis Presley's death was memorable
- Lennon's death was shocking
- Phil: Cobain and Jerry Garcia's deaths hit hard
- Jay: The plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads stands out
- Lemmy, Bowie and Prince all died within a few months of each other
- Chris Cornell's death earlier this year came as a surprise
- Many big-name musicians died this year: Gregg Allman, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry, Grant Hart, Walter Becker
- You tend to dig into the back catalog
- Bowie's death kicked off a rough 2016 for music fans
- Losing Prince was a gut punch
- Jay: Saw the Tragically Hip many times over the years
- Downie released a posthumous double album
- Very captivating live performer
- Watched a lot of concert videos and documentaries on YouTube after he died
- Downie focused on indigenous people's rights in his last few years
- 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 465: New Damage

This week, I talk to guest Brian Salvatore about the legacy of the late Chris Cornell. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Brian: Was never a huge fan of Cornell's early singing style
- Rediscovered his love for Soundgarden in recent years
- Jay: First heard him when Temple of the Dog came out in '91, then got Badmotorfinger
- The greatness of Mother Love Bone
- Soundgarden was perfect bridge between '80s hard rock and the new sounds of the '90s
- Jay: Saw Soundgarden in small club in early '92 and then again a few months later at Lollapalooza
- Kim Thayil's guitar playing complemented Cornell's voice well
- Jason Everman, the Zelig of grunge
- The diverse nature of the Seattle acts of the '90s
- The pressure of being the "responsible one"
- Cornell's final tweets were upbeat
- Hard to read into his lyrics
- Most of Cornell's songs were dark
- His death hit hard because he was ours
- Feels like more '70s touring acts have more living members than '90s bands
- The drugs were more prevalent in the '70s and '80s, but the '90s acts paid the price
- Cornell's first solo album Euphoria Morning is really good
- Less impressed with Audioslave
- Soundgarden leaves a terrific body of work

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.