Completely Conspicuous 614: The Midway Point

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Recorded at CompCon HQ
  
• Concerts are back
• TicketMaster is still a mess
• Nobody's buying CDs
• The Beatles and AI
• Parcheesi Redux is in its third year
• Talking about the band Toronto and their hit "Your Daddy Don't Know," covered by the New Pornographers
• The kids are alright
• Rock music is still around, although it's a minor part of the music business
• Breitling's bubbling under albums: Everything But the Girl; Depeche Mode; Sharp Pins; OK Cool; Reds, Pinks and Purples; Pile; Squitch; Mui Zyu
• Jay's bubbling unders: The Hold Steady; The New Pornographers; Ron Gallo; Quasi; Mudhoney
• To be continued

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 613: Stuck In a Moment

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2000. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Jay's non-top 5 picks: Hot Snakes, Rollins Band, Fu Manchu, Pearl Jam
• Phil's and Jay's #5: Diverse offering from the Tragically Hip
• Phil's and Jay's #4: More accessible effort about living in NYC by PJ Harvey
• Phil's #3: Bluesy debut album from North Mississippi All-Stars
• Jay's #3: Electrifying major-label debut from At the Drive-In
• Featured in Dan Ozzi's book Sellout about indie acts who sign with majors
• Phil's #2: Phish blends some different styles into their jam band formula
• Jay's #2: Queens of the Stone Age's second album takes a big leap onto the rock scene
• Phil's #1: U2 bounces back with a back-to-basics release
• Phil: Feeling down about what was once his favorite band
• How bands age 
• The last really good U2 album
• Jay's #1: Radiohead totally reinvents their sound, embracing electronics
• Phil's not feeling it
• Favorite songs: "Optimistic" (Jay), "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (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 612: In the Year 2000

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2000. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• In 2000, Jay got married
• Jay turned 33, Phil turned 31
• Jay: Went to SXSW, saw Modest Mouse, Fu Manchu, Bevis Frond
• Pivotal year for the dot-com boom
  
• Albums were leaking on Napster before they came out
• A better year than '99 in terms of stuff we liked
• Top 100 songs were predominantly pop
• Phil's non-top 5s: Ween, Sleater-Kinney, Outkast, White Stripes, Rage Against the Machine, Ryan Adams, New Pornographers, Doves, Neil Young, Steely Dan, the Hives 
• Phil's out on runs scaring old ladies 
• 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 611: Climb to Safety

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Jay's non-top 5s: Frank Black and the Catholics, Sebadoh, Matthew Sweet, Piebald, Fu Manchu, Superchunk, Songs: Ohia, GBV
  
• Phil's #5: Third release from Rage Against the Machine continues their anti-capitalist bent
• Jay's #5: Flaming Lips complete their transformation into a different sound
• Phil's #4: Dave Grohl continues to fight Foo and get more commercial-sounding
• Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Built to Spill with the triumphant peak of their terrific '90s run 
• Jay's #3: The final Pavement album has only gotten better with age
• Phil's #2: Debut of Rilo Kiley was financed by Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall
• Jay's #2: Beck gets funky, continuing extreme genre shifts from album to album
• Phil's #1: Widespread Panic melds a lot of styles in a listener-friendly jam album
• Jay's #1: Back-to-back #1s from Sloan with a semi-autobiographical masterpiece
  
• Favorite songs: "Climb to Safety" (Phil); "Friendship" (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 610: End of the Century

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click or "save as").

Show notes:

• In '99, Jay turned 32, Phil turned 30
• Y2K was looming
• Phil got married, Jay got engaged
• Ireland on New Year's Eve
• Pop was on the upswing
• Nu metal and Woodstock 99
• Music sales were high, but MP3s were about to take a big bite
• Santana made a huge comeback
• Phil's non top 5 albums: Magnolia soundtrack, Sleater-Kinney, White Stripes, Wilco, Sheila Divine, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Moby, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 
• The pickings were slim overall in '99
• 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 609: Right About Now

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1998. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• More of Phil's non-top 5s: Monster Magnet, R.E.M., Hole, Dave Matthews Band
• Jay's non-top 5s: Tragically Hip, Monster Magnet, Jerry Cantrell, Frank Black and the Catholics, Beastie Boys, Rocket From the Crypt, Rancid, Cat Power
  
• Phil tells of a magical mixtape service
• Phil's #5: Moe with a jazzy jam band album
• Phil says he's not a "Moe-ron"
• Not hating on Steely Dan
• Jay's #5: Silver Jews with downbeat indie rock classic
  
• Phil's #4 and Jay's #2: The debut from Queens of the Stone Age kicks serious ass, combining stoner rock with robotic grooves
• Jay's #4: Followed up Odelay with the experimental Mutations
• Phil's #3: A fun release from the Beastie Boys
• Jay's #3: R&B-influenced album from Afghan Whigs was last before they broke up
• Phil's #2: Phish's 7th album featured a "cow funk" sound
• Phil's #1: Big breakthrough from Fatboy Slim paved the way for DJ as frontman
• Jay's #1: Sloan with a '70s vibe, from arena rockers to sunny AM pop
• Favorite songs: "Praise You" (Phil), "She Says What She Means" (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 608: Tubthumping

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1998. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• 1998 was 25 years ago!
• Jay turned 31, Phil turned 29
• The one-hit wonders were abundant
• Alt-rock was fading in popularity
• MTV was predominantly airing programming that wasn't videos
• MP3s became another way to share/steal music
• Paved the way for Napster and eventually the near-collapse of the music industry
• Pop was taking over: Britney, Backstreet Boys, N Sync
• Artists who started out great and then just sold out/sucked
• Phil's non-top 5's: PJ Harvey, Mercury Rev, Drive-By Truckers, Pearl Jam, Government Mule, Mark Lanegan, Jerry Cantrell, Tragically Hip, Neutral Milk Hotel 
• The Hip played at Woodstock '99 (correction: it was the weekend after JFK Jr.'s plane crash)
• 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.