Completely Conspicuous 674: You Can Leave Your Hat On

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we celebrate the return of the MLB season by counting down our favorite baseball hats. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• On to our top 10
• Phil's #10: Reaching back to the '50s with the Phillies
• Jay's #10: Mid-90s Mariners 
• Good use of seafoam green
• '90s uniforms had a lot of bold colors: Teal, purple
• Phil's #9: The simplicity of the SF Giants hat
• Hat designs got pretty weird over the years
• Corduroy hats were a thing for a while
• Jay's #9: Classic A's green and yellow look
• Phil's #8: Dodgers' classic blue and white is another look that hasn't changed
• Bandwagon jumpers are inevitable
• Jay's #8: St. Louis Cardinals navy blue with red logo
• Had one that got ruined at Lollapallooza '93
• Phil's #7: The mid-70s Angels hat with the halo
• Lots of different looks for the Angels over the years
• Jay's #7: Phillies' hat from late '70s/early '80s
• Phil's #6: Sticking with Philly with the A's from the '30s
• Some hats are instant conversation pieces for middle-aged guys
• Jay's #6 and Phil's #4: Another classic look with the Tigers
• Ruining hats by working out in them
• Phil's #5: Kansas City A's with the kelly green
• Jay's #5: Brooklyn Dodgers with the classic B
• Jackie Robinson era
• Jay's #4: Can't go wrong with the Cubs "C" hat
• Some cool Cubs hats over the years
• Phil's #3: Iconic Red Sox blue hat
• Jay's #3: White Orioles hat with the cartoon bird
• Tried a more realistic bird in the '90s
• Phil's #2: The Braves' 70s hat with the lower case A
• Jay's #2: The Blue Jays' all-blue hat introduced in the late '80s
• Are middle-aged guys more likely to wear hats?
• Phil's #1: Orioles' mid-60s to mid-70s black hat with orange bill
• Jay's #1: Original Expos hat
• In Canada, Toronto fans hate the Canadiens but love the Expos
• Defunct but beloved team

Completely Conspicuous is available through wherever 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 673: A Tip of the Cap

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we celebrate the return of the MLB season by discussing our favorite baseball hats. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• We've both purchased many hats over the years
• Back in the '70s and '80s, you didn't have a lot of viewing choices for baseball games
• Baseball cards were a big factor in figuring out the hats and logos you liked
• Hats can fade, especially the dark blue ones
• When you just can't wear a Yankees hat
• Now there are so many alternate jerseys, hats, logos
• You can get hats in different colors and styles
• Old guys like us don't like flat-bill caps
• Other sports don't wear hats as part of the uniform, but you can get hats for their teams
• We often get hats of teams we have no affinity for
• Phil's honorable mentions: Black Sox-era White Sox, Boston/Milwaukee Braves, Cardinals from the '40s, Pirates pillbox hat from the '70s, Cleveland Chief Wahoo hat from the '50s
• Jay's honorable mentions: Reds, Brewers '70s hat with the glove logo, Royals, Expos all-blue hats in the '90s, Mariners '70s hat, Blue Jays original hat
• Phil: Seattle Pilots had a bad hat, with a touch of stolen valor    
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through wherever 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 672: Amazing Disgrace

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

Show notes:

• Jay's #6: The Spinanes with a decidedly not-grunge album on Sub Pop
• Female singer-songwriter teamed with kickass drummer
• Phil's #5: Power pop that never hit big from Boston's Gigolo Aunts
• Got a song on the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack
• Jay's #5: Another power pop gem from the Velvet Crush
• Saw them play in Austin in '94
• Phil's #4: B-52s avoid the sophomore slump and getting labeled as a novelty act
• Didn't hit as hard as the debut, but strong nonetheless
• Jay's #4: Late '80s/early '90s anthemic indie rock from O-Positive
• Influenced by R.E.M. and briefly on CBS
• Phil's #3: More Boston-area indie rock with Belly
• Tanya Donelly had a great rock pedigree, first playing with Throwing Muses and Breeders
• Jay's #3: Ex-Dumptruck guitarist Kevin Salem with Replacements/Tom Petty sound
• Released a couple of strong albums in the mid-90s before moving into production
• Phil's #2: U2's electronic departure that turned off a lot of their fans
• They were ahead of the game with the techno sounds
• Bad choice for lead single
• Jay's #2: Again with the power pop, this time from the Posies
• Band fell out of favor, Geffen refused to promote it
• Angry album that nobody heard
• Phil's #1: The Neil Young album where he was backed by Pearl Jam but couldn't publicize it
• "Godfather of grunge" with the biggest band at the time
• Did a brief tour of Europe, couldn't play here because of PJ's Ticketmaster litigation
• Jay's #1: Another major label flameout courtesy of Jawbreaker
• Punk act that faced sellout cries from fanbase, but label didn't like finished product and dropped them
• Great album that was a big influence on emo acts to come

Completely Conspicuous is available through wherever 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 671: Welcome to the Boomtown

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

Show notes:

• First episode of the year!
• Recorded right after the gold medal men's hockey game
• What is underrated?
• A well-known artist's less popular release or lesser-known artists
• Phil: Neil Young has a few underrated albums among his vast catalog
• Other Phil honorable mentions: Big Star, Bob Mould, Best Coast, Kaiser Chiefs, Bettie Serveert, Built to Spill, Keith Richards, N. Mississippi All-Stars, Ben Folds Five, Until the End of the World soundtrack, Til Tuesday, Neko Case, Passengers, Big Head Todd, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Fela Kuti, Dead Milkmen, Shuggie Otis, Uncle Tupelo, Waterboys
• Jay's honorable mentions: Trail of Dead, Material Issue, Peter Gabriel, The Church, PiL, Afghan Whigs, QOTSA, Smashing Pumpkins, Blind Melon, Elliot Easton, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet
• Phil's #10: Cracker's debut album
• Lowery's first post-Camper Van Beethoven release
• Jay's #10: Keith Richards releases a stripped-down solo album
• Was pissed at Jagger, created the antithesis to his flashy style
• Phil's #9: Prince creates a new band in the early '90s
• No more Revolution, going for more of a hip hop sound
• Jay's #9: Only release from David + David
• Studio musicians who teamed up to release atmospheric story songs
• Phil's #8: Indie supergroup comprised of members of Sleater-Kinney and Helium
• Only released one album
• Jay's #8: Living Colour's third album was criminally overlooked
• Introduced industrial elements but was lost in the wave of grunge
• Phil's #7: Jerry Harrison goes solo
• More pop than what Talking Heads were doing
• Jay's #7: Sebadoh unleashes ripping indie rock masterpiece
• Contributions from two songwriters
• Phil's #6: Self-assured debut from Elastica
• Waited too long to release their next album
• To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through wherever 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.