Completely Conspicuous 562: Perfect Circle

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we count down our favorite albums of 1983. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Phil's #5: U2's second release of '83

- Captured the band's fiery live show

- Jay's #5: Iron Maiden continues its U.S. breakthrough

- Part of the mainstream acceptance of metal

- Phil's #4: The solo debut of Stevie Ray Vaughan

- SRV got a lot of comparisons to Hendrix

- Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Talking Heads' highest-charting album

- Several songs were overshadowed by Stop Making Sense versions

-Jay's #2: Replacements start hitting their stride

- The start of a great run of albums

- Jay's #3 and Phil's #1: U2 busts out in the U.S.

- Phil: Still disappointed to miss them on this tour

- Phil's #2 and Jay's #1: R.E.M.'s studio debut was massively influential

- Jay: Saw them on Letterman making their network TV debut

- Favorite songs: "Surrender" (Phil), "Talk About the Passion" (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 561: Rainbow In the Dark

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the music of 1983. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- Jay was 15, Phil was 13 in '83

- Jay: Moved to NH from WA halfway through the year

- Was pleasantly surprised by the variety of radio stations in Boston area

- First year CDs went on sale in the U.S.

- The U.S. Festival made a splash that summer

- KISS took off their makeup

- The Police had the #1 song of the year

- Some good pop songs among the top 100 singles

- Phil's non-top 5 albums: Quiet Riot, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Billy Idol, Dio, Bowie, Huey Lewis, Yes, Neil Young, Madonna, the Fixx, the Police, ZZ Top, Rolling Stones, B-52s, Genesis

- Jay's extremely brief time in a band

- Jay's non-top 5s: Robert Plant, Metallica, Kinks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ozzy Osbourne

- 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 412: Reeling in the Years, 1983 (Part 3)

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1983. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Brian's #3
- Jonathan Richman forges his own path
- A great year for singles
- Jay's #3
- Metallica helped introduce thrash metal
- Brian's #2
- Post-Eno Talking Heads is still pretty damn good
- Jay's #2
- The Replacements start stretching out their sound
- Don't have high hopes for the GNR tour
- Whither Izzy Stradlin?
- Brian's #1
- Great debut for Violent Femmes
- Jay's #1
- Jay: First heard R.E.M. on their Letterman appearance
- Stipe was still in his shy phase
- Peter Buck's a busy guy
- A lot of beginnings in 1983
- Next up: 1999

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 411: Reeling in the Years, 1983 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1983. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Jay: Talking Heads, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, X, Motorhead, The Fixx, The Kinks
- Lemmy and Brian Robertson didn't get along
- "Come Dancing" is a great pop song
- Brian's #5
- First exposure to Bowie music
- Greg Dulli's great take on "Modern Love"
- Binging on Bowie
- Jay's #5
- The Police go out on top...and fighting
- The Sting and Peter Gabriel tour could be interesting...or bad
- Brian's #4
- The interesting story of Daniel Johnston
- Jay's #4
- The American breakthrough for U2
- Jay: U2 was my favorite band through some of the '80s
- Recent Paris concert was pretty good
- 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 410: Reeling in the Years, 1983 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1983. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- In '83, Brian turned 1, Jay turned 16
- A lot of classic '80s singles came out in '83
- From Men at Work to Metallica
- Thriller loomed large
- Strange mix of hits on the top 100
- CDs were first sold in the U.S.
- The US Festival was a huge event
- Brian recommends the Eagles documentary
- The Strummer-Jones dynamic led to breakup of the Clash
- KISS took off the makeup
- Elton John had minor hits throughout the '80s
- Aerosmith was fading
- Brian: Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut
- Jay: Ronnie James Dio strikes out on his own while Sabbath forges on with Ian Gillan
- Brian: SST comp Blasting Concepts was a good intro to punk
- Dinosaur Jr.'s recent 30th anniversary shows
- 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.