Completely Conspicuous 216: The Adjustment Bureau

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the transition of moving to the Boston area. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd

- Mike grew up in New York, moved to Boston in 2008

- Slow adjustment

- Mike: Every time I go back, I like NY less

- Slower pace in Boston, except for the drivers

- Jay: Even slower pace in NH

- Mike: Occasionally gets crap for wearing Yankees gear

- Not a ton of diversity in Boston

- Jay: Toronto is extremely diverse

- Still plenty of racism to go around

- The world's a lot different than it was 30 years ago

- Mike: Boston music scene is better than NYC's

- Good selection of clubs

- Mike's broken $100 ticket barrier to see Prince, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z/Kanye

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Gorillaz (feat. Andre 3000 and James Murphy) - DoYaThing

Boots Electric - I Love You All the Thyme

Andrew Bird - EyeonEye

Mike Doughty - Na Na Nothing

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

The Gorillaz song is courtesy of Converse. Download the song for free from Converse.

The Boots Electric song is on the album Honkey Kong on Dangerbird Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Andrew Bird song is on the album Break It Yourself on Mom and Pop Records. Download the song for free at NoiseTrade.

The Mike Doughty song is on the album Yes and Also Yes on Snack Bar Records. Download the song for free at Insound.

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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 185: Trampled Under Foot

Special guest Lee Black joins me as we discuss the popularity and unpopularity of soccer. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Mr. Black's first appearance on the show

- Driving to see New England Revolution play Manchester United

- Stuck in Boston traffic

- Women's World Cup stoked interest in U.S.

- When there's no big event, interest tails off

- Women's soccer burst on scene in '99 after US won gold

- Youth soccer is booming

- Lee grew interested in soccer as a young kid after visiting Europe

- No teams in Iowa until years later

- High school didn't have a team until after he left

- In college, Lee was on the school's first soccer team

- Prefers watching World Cup games in Spanish

- Was in Italy when they won World Cup

- Still little interest in the heartland

- Jay: Played youth soccer in Canada

- Moved to Richland, Wash., birthplace of Hope Solo

- Played high school soccer in NH

- Played on indoor and outdoor teams

- Would rather play than watch soccer

- European nature of the game turns off some Americans

- More exposure via ESPN and other cable channels

- Women's game is more popular thanks to '99 gold medal

- Soccer will never be as big here as in the rest of the world

- Popular because you can play it anywhere and it's easy to learn

- In alternate reality, Lee's a hockey goalie

- (Postscript: ManU beat Revs 4-1; U.S. women lost in World Cup final to Japan)

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Tigers

Titus Andronicus - Breed

Young Adults - Let Us Out

Boots Electric - Boots Electric Theme

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

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following codes to get athletic gear from Nike, Adidas, Asics and more. AFCOMP15 will get you 10% off any order of $50 at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 will get you 15% off any order of $75 at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL will get you 10% off any order of $50 or more at Footlocker.com.

The Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks song is on the forthcoming album Mirror Traffic on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Titus Andronicus cover of a Nirvana song is on the album Newermind: A Tribute Album. Download the album for free by "liking" SPIN's Facebook page.

The Young Adults song is on the band's demo. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Boots Electric song is on the forthcoming album Honkey Kong on Dangerbird Records. Find out more and download the song for free at his site.

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 blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.