Completely Conspicuous 553: Give the People What They Want

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1981. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 14, Phil turned 12 in '81

- Jay started the year in Canada, finished it in the U.S.

- No good radio station, listened to a lot of my own stuff

- Phil: Started buying my own music in '81

- Listened to a lot of Casey Kasem's American Top 40

- "Bette Davis Eyes" was the #1 single of the year

- REO Speedwagon had a big year

- K-Tel used to make big hits compilations

- Ozzy bit the head off a dove (and later a bat), horrifying moms across America

- MTV went on the air in August '81 (Jay didn't have it until '85)

- Stones' massive tour was sponsored by Jovan Musk

- When Jon Anderson of Yes teamed up with Vangelis

- Phil's not-top-5 albums: Foreigner, Loverboy, The Cars, The Who, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Go-Gos, The Kinks, ZZ Top, X, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Genesis, Phil Collins, Tom Tom Club, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Pretenders, Duran Duran, The Cure, Black Flag, Billy Squier, Prince, AC/DC

- Jay's not-top-5s: The Gun Club, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Def Leppard, Sabbath, April Wine, Triumph, Rush's live album, Motley Crue, Rick James

- Anthony Michael Hall IS Mutt Lange (in a crappy Def Lep biopic)

- To be continued: Our top 5 albums

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 552: Out of Control

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80

- Phil's #5: The (English) Beat with a fun release

- Jay's #5: Ozzy comes back from the dead (career-wise, anyway)

- Album was later re-recorded to replace rhythm section's parts to avoid paying royalties; original version was restored

- Jay reps for the NWOBHM

- Phil's #4: Rush tempers its prog leanings with newer influences

- Jay's #4: Bowie wraps up a brilliant decade with another classic

- Phil's #3 and Jay's #2: Talking Heads embrace African sounds

- Adrian Belew boosts the sound with sick guitar work

- Jay's #3: Peter Gabriel continues with his impressive solo career

- Phil Collins debuts his gated drum sound on this album

- Phil's #1: U2's debut is filled with youthful exuberance, mistakes and great songs

- Immersing yourself in albums with your Walkman

- Jay's #1 and Phil's #2: Pretenders debut with a perfect combination of pop, punk and attitude

- Chrissie Hynde was a veteran of multiple scenes over decades before the Pretenders

- Pretenders peaked early

- Favorite songs: "A Day Without Me" (Phil), "Mystery Achievement" (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 551: Touch and Go

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download directly.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80

- U.S. boycotted the Summer Olympics

- Major deaths: Lennon, Bonham, Bon Scott, Ian Curtis, Darby Crash

- Sony Walkman went on sale in the U.S.

- Solid Gold made its debut

- Blondie had the #1 single of the year with "Call Me"

- Disco was fading, new wave and hard rock was gaining prominence

- The never-opened Christopher Cross album

- A lot of good albums came out this year

- Phil's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Feelies, The Jam, Soft Boys, Elvis Costello, X, B-52s, The Clash, Joe Jackson, Devo, Dire Straits, Blondie, Loverboy (!), UB40, Genesis, Prince, Pete Townshend, J. Geils Band, Steely Dan, Bowie, VH,  

- Jay was out of the music loop for 6 weeks in early '80 while in India

- "Have you seen Kumar's grades?"

- Jay's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Police, VH, X, Prince, Townshend, Feelies, Joy Division, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, The Beat, Squeeze, The Cure, Teenage Head, The Cars, John Lennon

- To be continued

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 550: Revolution Rock

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1979. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay turned 12, Phil turned 10 in '79

- "My Sharona" was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100, lots of disco

- Rod Stewart hit it big with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"

- New wave was getting attention

- A wealth of great albums

- Jay's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Knack, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Supertramp, AC/DC, Joe Jackson with two classic albums

- Phil's non-top 5 faves: Bob Marley, Blondie, Joy Division, Pink Floyd, Gang of Four, XTC, Michael Jackson, Neil Young, The Cars, The Police, The Kinks, Van Halen, Elvis Costello, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Prince, Talking Heads

- Phil's #5: Joe Jackson's killer debut is just packed with great, punchy songs

- Jay's #5: Pink Floyd with an epic concept album, their last great record

- Phil's #4 and Jay's #2: Neil Young ends an amazing run of albums with a killer (and heavy) record

- Jay's #4: Van Halen with a powerful sophomore album that expands their sound

- Phil's #3: Tom Petty's breakthrough record

- Jay's #3: Joe Jackson's second amazing record of '79

- Phil's #2 and Jay's #1: The Clash mixed a lot of styles on their masterpiece

- Phil's #1: Phil loves the B-52s, who exploded on the scene with an amazing debut

- Favorite songs: "The Guns of Brixton" (Jay), "Dance This Mess Around" (Phil)

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 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 548: Like a Punch In the Face

It's part 2 of my Zoomtastic conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2020. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- On to our top 10

- Kumar's #10: Dan Bejar with another great cinematic Destroyer album

- Breitling's #9: A hooky rock record from Bully

- Kumar's #9: METZ with an accessible yet pummeling record

- Breitling's #8: Spectres with a disconcerting release

- Kumar's #8: Jeff Rosenstock has become a reliably excellent indie rock stalwart

- Breitling's #7: Hop Along's Frances Quinlan goes solo

- Reppin' for the new movie Sound of Metal

- Kumar's #7: Boston act Eldridge Rodriguez with a sweeping, epic album

- Dog walkin' time

- Breitling's #6: The Psychedelic Furs with the superb comeback album nobody expected

- Kumar's #6 and Breitling's #4: Sadie Dupuis (aka Sad13) branches out with a pop-driven release

- Breitling's #5: A true banger from IDLES

- Kumar's #5: The Coriky album is as close to a Fugazi reunion as we're gonna get

- Kumar's #4: Greg Dulli delivers a compelling solo release

- Breitling's #3: Fiona Apple unleashes a bold and uncompromising record

- Kumar's #3: A pissed-off Bob Mould with a timely blast of angry anthems

- Breitling's #2: Happyness with a quirky collection that echoes an Elliott Smith-Teenage Fanclub mashup

- Kumar's #2: Protomartyr predicts everything and continues to get better

- Breitling's #1: Phoebe Bridgers hits the big time with a masterpiece

- Kumar's #1 and Breitling's #10: Run the Jewels with a vicious, vital hip-hop record that captures the desperate vibe of 2020 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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 547: 2020 Hindsight

It's part 1 of my Zoomified conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2020. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- This podcast is not affiliated in any with MovieFone.

- The first time in nine years that we're not talking the year in rock in the same room

- No live shows after early March

- Breitling last saw Hallelujah the Hills at Great Scott last November, Kumar saw Drive-By Truckers at Somerville Theater in March

- Devastating economic impact on all the non-musicians who work to put concerts together

- If approved, Save Our Stages act would aid live venues

- Many independent Boston-area venues have already closed

- Great Scott may reopen in a new location

- No touring means no income for many smaller artists

- Streaming royalties need to be updated and increased

- The Breitlings enjoyed Strange Brew recently

- Plenty of livestreams, free, for charity and for profit

- Bandcamp Friday has been a good way to help out artists

- Online radio has been fun

- Breitling is doing a show with a couple of fellow Wesleyan DJs called Parcheesi Redux

- Parcheesi Redux Thursday (along with the other shows) is on Mixcloud

- Kumar's show, Stuck In Thee Garage, is in its 7th year on BFF.fm

- Great way to discover new music

- Our favorite music

- Breitling's picks from the midyear that didn't make his top 10: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Soft Pink Truth, Gigi Masin, Peel Dream Magazine, Mandarina Duck, Destroyer

- Kumar's midyear picks that didn't make final top 10: Flat Worms, Dogleg, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Drakulas, Car Seat Headrest

- More Breitling on-the-bubble picks: Susie Derkins, Hum, Coriky, Mountain Goats, Milky Wimpshake, Somerset Thrower, Nothing, METZ, Bob Mould, The Brother Kite, Paper Birch

- More Kumar honorable mention picks: Psychedelic Furs, Kestrels, Fontaines D.C., Pearl Jam, Lo Tom, Disheveled Cuss, Emerald Comets/Ex-Hyena

- Next week: We count down our top 10 albums

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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.