Completely Conspicuous 396: Movin' and Groovin'

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the trials and tribulations of moving. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd and his podcast Blerd Radio
- Jay: Haven't moved since 2000, but moved a lot in the '80s and '90s
- TVs used to be a lot bigger and heavier
- People used to always move around September 1
- Jay: Used to borrow the newspaper delivery van for moves
- Mike: Upcoming move back to New York will be like going to a different place
- Narrowed list down to a handful of cities to settle down in
- Mike: Currently conveniently located near Boston-area clubs
- Watertown is a quiet community, but Boston Marathon bomber was caught there
- Tough times for journalism majors
- Mike: Took a while to get used to earlier Boston closing times
- It's easier to stay out super late when you're younger
- Drunken work parties are always interesting
- You don't want to be the drunk one
- Alcohol-fueled fun can lead to awkwardness at work
- Mike: Been working from home for several years
- Looking forward to separating work from home life
- It's tough being the person on the other end of the speaker phone
- Mike: New office will have an open floor plan
- You have to be conscious of people around you in an open office

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 380: Stuck in the Middle

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Pixies played "surprise show" at TT the Bear's
- Cambridge club is closing after 40+ years
- A primer on the Boston rock club scene
- Free Converse shows were a bummer for those of us who couldn't get tickets
- Van Halen talk continues with Eddie slagging DLR and Michael Anthony
- JB: Indie bands move beyond the '90s guitar rock sound
- Speedy Ortiz explored different textures on new album
- Nice work, Insound
- JK: Reunited bands with good new releases: Sleater-Kinney, Swervedriver and Faith No More
- JB: Pile's new album has a live feel to it
- Hard to categorize Pile
- 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 371: V for Victory

This week, I talk to filmmaker Eric Green about the release of his documentary on the mid-'80s Boston music channel V66. Listen to the episode or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- We last spoke in 2012, when Eric was still working on Life on the V
- Previously appeared in episodes 231 and 232
- Movie's now out on DVD and in film festivals
- In 1985, MTV was still growing and smaller music video shows were on
- Two Boston radio veterans wanted V66 to be like a radio station
- Audiences who are unfamiliar with V66 have enjoyed the movie
- Long post-production process
- Cast and crew screening was in early 2014
- Founder John Garabedian quickly realized V66 couldn't just show videos
- Needed other programming to keep viewers
- Added wrestling, sports and lifestyle shows
- Original cut of movie was 2 hours
- Connecting to the Boston community
- Good response at festivals
- Developing other projects
- Great time for music documentaries
- Eric: It's as much a business story as a music story

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 261: Waiting for the Punchline

This week, I'm joined by guest Brian Lewandowski as he discusses navigating the Boston standup comedy scene. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Brian's back doing standup for the last few months
- First did comedy in the early '90s
- Started working townie bars
- Just stopped and began doing humor writing
- Did an early humor blog that he turned into a self-published book
- Recently decided to get back into comedy
- In college, ran the radio station with Ronnie James Dio's son
- Early heroes were Buddy Hackett, Woody Allen, Steve Martin
- Most comedians are loners
- Took comedy class; one week, Janeane Garofalo was guest instructor
- Hosts comedy nights now
- Dealing with cats in the audience
- Storytelling with embellishments
- Brian interviewed Marc Maron for his blog in the '90s
- The genius of SCTV
- Passing on your sense of humor to your kids
- Brian worked at AMC and Bravo in their early days
- "The Spiteful Salad"
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Iceage - Coalition
Chelsea Light Moving - Empires of Time
Pere Ubu - Free White
The Figgs - Brain Be Gone

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

The Iceage song is on the album You're Nothing on Matador Records. Download it for free at Pitchfork.
The Chelsea Light Moving song is on the band's self-titled album on Matador Records. Download the song for free at MatadorRecords.com.
The Pere Ubu song is on the album Lady from Shanghai on Fire Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.
The Figgs song is on the album The Day Gravity Stopped. Download the song (in exchange for your email address) for free at Noisetrade.

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 230: The Spirit of Radio

Part 2 of my conversation with special guests Nick Lorenzen and Mike Piantigini as we discuss the death of rock radio. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").




Show notes:
- Radio now competes with iPods, digital radio, Spotify
- The anticipation factor with new music is gone
- Cell phone video has changed the live experience
- Music has become background noise
- We don't pay attention as closely to new music
- As people get older, some lose that connection to music
- Mike: Music education came from hanging out at college radio station
- Remembering the old Boston rock station WCOZ
- In praise of WFMU
- Nick: Listened to a lot of classic rock on stations like WAAF

- Satellite radio is a factor
- Jay: First listened to CHUM-AM in Toronto, then got into the FM rock stations
- Canadian Content Rule was in effect: Lots of April Wine, Chilliwack, Triumph
- Nick and Mike played in the great rock band Lump
- College radio is still great, especially WMBR, the MIT station
- Only Boston rock stations left are WZLX, WAAF, The River (WXRV)
- Jay: Pretty much listened to WFNX all the time during the '90s
- Younger music fans may not feel the loss of FNX
- Used to be fun to listen to radio in other parts of country
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
The Henry Clay People - Hide
Archers of Loaf - Dead Red Eyes
Codeine - Median (Peel session)
Los Campesinos - Tiptoe Through the True Bits
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Henry Clay People song is from the band's forthcoming album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Archers of Loaf song is on the reissue of the band's album White Trash Heroes on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.
The Codeine song is a previously unreleased track from a Peel session available on the reissue of Barely Real on Numero Group. Download the song for free from Stereogum.
The Los Campesinos song is a non-album track released by the band for free download from its website.
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; check out his site PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 217: Dirty Water

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the whole New York vs. Boston thing. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Check out Mike's blog Popblerd

- It's all about efficiency

- NYC's got the advantage for things to do after 2 a.m.

- Everything closes up early in Boston

- Jay: Mid-week club shows are tough when you have kids

- Green Day's ready for Vegas

- Boston has a ton of great small rock clubs

- NYC has a better assortment of R&B and hip hop shows

- The undeniable greatness of The Roots

- Duran Duran's long and winding career

- Mike had the Duran Duran board game as a kid

- Mike: Rudy Giuliani cleaned up NYC in early '90s

- The Northeast has a certain intensity

- Boston's a good place to live

- Beer's a whole lot cheaper than in NYC bars

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Torche - Kicking

Brendan Benson - Bad For Me

White Rabbits - Temporary

Sun Kil Moon - Sunshine in Chicago

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

The Torche song is on the band's forthcoming album Harmonicraft on Volcom Entertainment. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) from TorcheMusic.

The Brendan Benson song is on the album What Kind of World on ReadyMade. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at BrendanBenson.com.

The White Rabbits song is on the album Milk Famous on TBD Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Sun Kil Moon song is on the album Among the Leaves on Caldo Verde Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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 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.