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.