Completely Conspicuous 681: Quick and to the Pointless

This week, it's part 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite American artists post-2000. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as"). 

Show notes:

• Our favorite American artists since 2000
• Phil's honorable mentions: Black Keys, Dead & Co., Gary Clark Jr., Jack White, Kurt Vile, MJ Lenderman, My Morning Jacket, Parquet Courts, Raconteurs, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, St. Vincent, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Waxahatchee, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Jay's honorable mentions: Walkmen, Neko Case, LCD Soundsystem, At the Drive-In, Stephen Malkmus, Speedy Ortiz, Jeff Rosenstock, Protomartyr, Outkast, the Strokes, Interpol, Titus Andronicus, Run the Jewels, Jason Isbell, Ty Segall, The Hold Steady
• Phil's #5: Billy Strings is bringing bluegrass to the mainstream
• Mixes in some rock touches
• Jay's #5: Indie rock stalwart Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• Has also worked with Aimee Mann and Gang of Four
• Phil's #4: Young guitar hero turned Americana icon Jason Isbell
• Started with Drive-By Truckers and now is playing big theaters
• Jay's #4: The indie rock greatness of TV on the Radio
• Big emphasis on falsetto harmonies
• Phil's #3 and Jay's #2: The prolific and epic catalog of Drive-By Truckers
• Provided a different voice for Southern rock fans
• Jay's #3: The White Stripes provided a jolt for the rock scene in the early '00s
• Jack White has continued on after the Stripes split up
• "Seven Nation Army" might be the biggest song of the 2000s
• Phil's #2:  The bluesy versatility of the Tedeschi Trucks Band
• Led by a married couple
• Phil's #1: Goose is the premier jam band going right now
• They incorporate a lot of diverse covers
• Jay's #1: The sinister hard rock excellence of Queens of the Stone Age
• The Josh Homme-led band has had many incarnations over the years
• 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 680: Welcome to the Occupation

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

Show notes:

• Jay's take after seeing Goose
• Took us a while to get into the show
• Phil's #6: Phish took over the jam band crown from the Dead
• Jay briefly met Trey Anastasio at UNH before they got famous
• Goose hasn't been accepted by the entire jam band audience
• Jay's #6: Originally had Van Halen ranked higher, but dropped them because of the Hagar years
• Combined Eddie VH's revolutionary guitar work with DLR's showmanship
• Eddie inspired a generation of guitarists and Dave inspired a generation of hard rock singers
• Phil's #5: Steely Dan spits in the face of being called "yacht rock"
• Went from a live act to a studio perfectionist act to a live act again
• Fagen and Becker were demanding taskmasters
• Jay's #5: The imperfect perfection of the Replacements
• They self-sabotaged whenever things were about to break for them
• Never got to see them live
• Phil's #4 and Jay's #3: The singular genius of Jimi Hendrix
• Hugely influential guitarist and performer
• Must have blown a lot of minds when he was around
• Jay's #4: Pixies were a major influence on the alternative rock sound that shaped the '90s
• The band's first stint (1986-93) was epic
• Introduced weirdness into indie rock
• Still touring behind their classic material but making new music as well
• Phil's #3 and Jay's #10: Talking Heads were art school kids who became big
• Part of the CBGB scene of the '70s that went in a lot of different directions
• Explored a lot of sounds and influences
• Phil's #2: The Allman Brothers Band invented and transcended Southern rock
• Persevered through deaths and changing trends
• Jay's #2: No arguing with the greatness of Prince
• Hundreds of hours of unreleased music
• Was super talented at multiple instruments
• Was Prince the best all-around musician of the 20th century?
• Phil's #1: Duh, it's the Dead
• Inspired an entire subculture
• There are literally hundreds of Dead cover bands
• Jay's #1: The pride of Athens, GA, R.E.M.
• Helped create the "college rock" scene that grew into alternative rock
• Blew up in the early '90s
• Distinct career phases
• Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy have been covering R.E.M. albums in their entirety the last three years
• 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 679: Yankee Rose

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

Show notes:

• Recorded in the CompCon HQ backyard studio
• America's 250th birthday 
• Looking at our favorite American singers and bands, pre-2000 and post-2000
• Starting off with our top 10 of bands who debuted pre-millennium
• Sticking to rock artists for the most part
• Phil's honorable mentions include: B-52s (toughest omission from top 10), Beach Boys, Beasties, Beck, JB, Cars, early Chicago, Doors, early Foos, Little Feat, Nirvana, Pixies, Linda Ronstadt, Seger, Sleater-Kinney, SRV, Stevie Wonder, VU, VH, Wilco
• Jay's HMs: Living Colour, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Run DMC, Beasties, Public Enemy, Dino Jr., the Cars, JB, Fugazi 
• "Love Shack" overstayed its welcome 
• "Good Vibrations" could be a perfect pop song
• Seger was obsessed with a certain topic
• Billy Joel's metal roots with Attila
• Mutt Lange's production methods were tedious
• Fugazi refused all offers to reunite
• Phil's # 9: Pearl Jam formed almost by accident after another band broke up
• Still doing their thing all these years later
• Jay's #9: Were only together for about 8 years, but Husker Du amassed a legendary catalog
• Sound evolved from speedy hardcore punk to more melodic sounds
• Phil's #8: Tom Petty was a late bloomer who was hard to categorize at first
• Took advantage of the advent of MTV with plenty of iconic videos
• Jay's #8: The Afghan Whigs were the first non-Seattle band signed by Sub Pop
• Quickly distinguished themselves from their peers by combining soul and R&B influences with indie rock
• Jay's #7: Nirvana was only around for a short time, but they had a seismic impact
• Nirvana merch is now a lifestyle brand
• Saw them a week before they taped MTV Unplugged in NYC
• Packed a lot into a brief period
• 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.