Completely Conspicuous 558: Steppin' Out

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1982. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Phil's #5: Steely Dan singer goes solo

- Jazzy feel is a logical extension from Gaucho

- Jay's #5 and Phil's #3: R.E.M. makes its debut with iconic EP

- Influential on many bands who followed

- Different sounds coming out of the underground

- Phil's #4: His image has been tarnished, but Michael Jackson released a monster album

- Videos from this album broke a lot of ground

- Being mistaken from MJ

- Jay's #4: Peter Gabriel stays weird but starts breaking through in the U.S.

- Dark subject matter and interesting sonics

- Set himself up for huge commercial breakthrough in a few years

- Jay's #3: Mission of Burma's first full-length album

- Wasn't well-known, but very influential on alt-rock artists

- Played with U2 in Boston

- Jay's #2: Another influential debut release, this time from Bad Brains

- Ferocious live performers

- One of the great album covers of all time

- Phil's #1: A jazz-influenced masterpiece from Joe Jackson

- No guitar to be found

- Very cosmopolitan feel

- Phil's #2 and Jay's #1: Prince breaks through to the mainstream

- Prince didn't care what anybody thought about him

- In the middle of an incredible run of great albums

- When mixtape songs are taken too literally

- Favorite songs: "Breaking Us In Two" (Phil), "Delirious" (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 557: Senses Working Overtime

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite music of 1982. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Callback to the CompCon eps looking at '82-2000 with Brian Salvatore a while back

- My lists changed since then

- In '82, Jay turned 15, Phil turned 13

- Jay: The only full year I spent in Washington state

- Jay: Was big into hard rock and metal, which I listened to on my Walkman

- John Belushi died; the woman who sold him the drugs had ties to the Band and Gordon Lightfoot

- Top single of the year was Olivia Newton-John's "Physical"

- Phil's non-top 5 picks: Pete Townshend, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Lou Reed, The Who, Tom Petty, XTC, Talking Heads, Billy Squier, Genesis, Duran Duran, Rush, Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, English Beat, The Clash, Men at Work, Stray Cats

- Senses Working Overtime was almost the name of this podcast

- The power of MTV to make or break artists back in the '80s

- Phil had a connection to Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats

- Jay's non-top 5's: Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Misfits, Scorpions, Phil Collins, The Cure

- 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 376: Reeling in the Years, 1982 (Part 3)

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- Jay's #3
- Peter Gabriel's breakthrough
- Exploring dark themes
- Parallels between Eddie Van Halen and John Romita Jr.
- Brian's #2
- Descendents were very relatable to suburban teens
- Bass player was way older than rest of band
- Big influence on '90s pop punk
- Jay's #2
- Prince played 99% of the music on 1999
- Brian's #1
- Bad Brains were unmatched for sheer insanity and awesomeness
- Jay's #1
- Mission of Burma's only full-length during their first stint
- Broke up a year later, reunited nearly two decades later
- Next up: 1997

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 375: Reeling in the Years, 1982 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
 

Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- Recording industry was warning of the evils of home taping
- Jay: Would tape my records so I could listen to them on my Walkman
- Streaming is convenient
- '82 was a good year for both hard rock and synth pop
- Guess the chart toppers
- Bubbling under albums
- Brian: Prince, Captain Beefheart, James White
- Nebraska was an interesting departure for Springsteen
- XTC releases another great record
- Jay: Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Van Halen
- Rush enters their synth phase
- Pete Townshend released another solid solo effort
- Joe Jackson blew up with "Steppin' Out"
- Brian's #5
- Jim Jarmusch's band made a splash on the no wave scene
- Jay's #5
- R.E.M.'s hugely influential debut EP
- Brian's #4
- The worst Lounge Lizards album was still pretty good
- Jay's #4
- Brian's #3
- Not the best Clash album, but a decent effort
- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 374: Reeling in the Years, 1982 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape
- Brian was born in '82
- "Ebony and Ivory" was the #1 song the week he was born
- Strange year for music
- The band Fear is better to talk about than listen to
- John Belushi's death
- SNL was a very different show at first
- Jay: Started watching SNL in '81-'82 when Eddie Murphy was blowing up
- The brilliance of SCTV
- Strange year for Ozzy
- First CDs were sold in Japan
- Big year for top 40
- Thriller was a monster hit
- The Who's "farewell" tour, sponsored by Schlitz
- The abrupt ending of "Young Turks"
- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.