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 238: Generation Gap

Another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss the generation gap that exists in pop culture. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded on the way to WFNX Boston Accents farewell show in Allston
- WFNX has been replaced by The Harbor, a "Variety Hits" station
- FNX lasted 29 years
- Driving through another torrential rainstorm
- Generation gap in music fandom driven by a couple of NPR blog posts
- Intern wrote about how she never pays for recorded music
- Ignited industry debate, including a battle of blog posts between David Lowery and Dave Allen

- Another post had an intern reviewing Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions...
- Kid wasn't born when the album came out in 1988
- His love of hip-hop is defined by current artists like Drake
- Couldn't relate to PE's intensity

- I was struck by the lack of knowledge or interest in older music
- Get off my lawn
- As a kid, I was fascinated by music that came out in the previous few decades
- Much easier now to hear music at a moment's notice
- I blame it on sensory overload
- You're going to listen to what your friends dig
- Can't blame kids for not knowing about older acts
- I'm not trying to get my own kids to listen to my music
- Enjoy the rhythmic sounds of nature pounding on my car roof
- The world is much faster
- Technology is advancing at amazing speeds
- Rain stops right as I get into the city
- Remembering the early MP3 players
- Some kids are getting into vinyl and cassettes
- Many old pop cultural references are lost on the young
- It's not too late for kids to learn about older music
- Plenty of great new music out there, too
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Chelsea Light Moving - Frank O'Hara Hit
The XX - Angels
Blur - The Puritan
Mean Creek - Young & Wild

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Chelsea Light Moving song is available for free download from Matador Records.
The XX song is on the forthcoming album Coexist on Young Turks. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Blur song is the B-side of the band's self-released 12-inch Under the Westway. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Mean Creek song is from the forthcoming album Youth Companion on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free as part of the Boston Accents Funeral Party Soundtrack on Bandcamp.

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 233: Between the Bars

Guest Ric Dube and I dig deep and analyze two '70s rock classics. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.



Show notes:
- Recorded in Shrewsbury, Mass.
- Check out Ric's podcast More Lost Time
- Digging into Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights"
- Irony-free, over-the-top theatrics
- Song is in three parts
- Jay: Remember as a kid thinking it was risque
- Paradise turns out to be hell
- Jim Steinman was known for ridiculously long song titles
- Song goes from rockabilly to disco in the middle, with Phil Rizzuto mixed in
- The debate over third base
- Ellen Foley's odd career
- Third section tries to emulate punk
- The strange allure of Robby Benson
- Meat Loaf's acting career
- Part 2: "Brother Louie" by Stories
- A classic '70s one-hit wonder
- Stories actually had well-known musicians in band
- Louie was whiter than white
- Super catchy chorus
- Ric: This was a "Neapolitan relationship"
- The lesson was about equal opportunity sexing
- Why is the name Louie popular in songs?

- Did Jeff Lynne swipe the ELO string sound from this song?
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Redd Kross - Researching the Blues
Chelsea Light Moving - Burroughs
Cat Power - Ruin

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

The Redd Kross song is from the forthcoming album Researching the Blues on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Chelsea Light Moving song is from the band's forthcoming album on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Cat Power song is on the album Sun on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum. 

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.