Completely Conspicuous 588: Divine Intervention

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Phil's #5: The debut of an unknown band called Pearl Jam

- Album had a slow build, didn't really get big until spring '92

- Jay's #5: Smashing Pumpkins' debut is a guitar feast

- Phil's #4: Prince's last great album, according to Phil

- Jay's #4: Under-the-radar power pop genius from Scotland

- Gene Simmons sued over the album cover

- That time Simmons covered "Firestarter"

- Phil's #3: Lenny Kravitz peaks on this second album

- Phil's #2: U2 changes their image and sound

- Shifted from Americana to German electronic sounds

- Jay's #2: Soundgarden blasts into the stratosphere

- Pissing off old people

- Jay's #1: Matthew Sweet breaks through with a power pop classic

- Great guitarists guesting, including Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd

- Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Nirvana's revolutionary sophomore effort

- Suffers from overexposure on classic rock stations now

- Favorite songs: "Divine Intervention" (Jay), "Breed" (Phil)

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 393: Reeling in the Years, 1994 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1994. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian:  Enjoyed albums from Tom Petty, Rancid, Sea and Cake
- Beasties were all over the place on Ill Communication--in a good way
- Sunny Day Real Estate's epic album
- Halo Benders teamed Doug Martsch and Calvin Johnson
- The Toadies break through
- Jay: Sebadoh's Bakesale was a good combo of punk and melodic songs
- Jeff Buckley went from hard rock to cabaret on Grace
- Sugar's 2nd full-length was punchy and fun...for Bob Mould
- Green Day's Dookie was a monster hit that nobody needs to hear anymore
- Jay: Foolish was my intro to Superchunk
- Brian's #5
- Nirvana's best album was Unplugged in New York
- Jay saw Nirvana in Springfield, Mass., about a week before the Unplugged show
- Jay's #5
- Bee Thousand is probably the perfect distillation of Guided By Voices
- Brian's #4
- Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies was the first EP to top the album charts
- Jay: "No Excuses" got me through a tough time
- Brian: Jerry Cantrell looks like an uncle now
- 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 259: The Year in Rock Music, Part 2

Part 2 of my conversation with guests Jay Breitling and Mike Piantigini as we review our favorite music of 2012. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Breitling's #9 album of 2012 - Piantigini's #9
- The long, strange journey of Drivin N' Cryin
- Kumar's #9
- JB's #8
- MP's #8
- Lou Barlow's talkative
- JK's #8
- JB's #7
- The Breeders are reuniting
- MP's #7
- JK's #7
- Nirvana comparisons abound
- JB's #6
- The Clash meets Big Country
- MP's #6
- JK's #6
- JB's #5
- MP's #5
- JK's #5
- JB's #4
- Hipsters love the cassettes
- In praise of VH's Diver Down
- DLR's ill-fated radio show
- MP's #4
- Prolific Canadian geniuses rule
- JK's #4
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Hospitality - Betty Wang
Mission of Burma - Second Television
METZ - Wet Blanket
Johnny Foreigner - 3 Hearts
A.C. Newman - Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns

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

The Hospitality song is on the band's self-titled album on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Mission of Burma song is on the album Unsound on Fire Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic. 
The METZ song is on the band's self-titled album on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at Sub Pop.
The Johnny Foreigner song is on the EP Names. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.
The A.C. Newman song is on the album Shut Down the Streets on Matador Records. Download the song for free at MatadorRecords.com.

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 101: The Modern World

The podcast's back with a look at the decade in technology. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Y2K came and went

- Broadband arrived, changed everything

- Google led the way for search engines

- Social networking sites

- Blogging, podcasting became commonplace

- Communication: E-mail, chat and texting

- Napster loomed large over the music industry

- The iPod was a game changer

- YouTube revolutionized online video

- Home entertainment: Flatscreen TVs, DVDs, DVRs, Netflix

- Videogame consoles got better, wireless

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser

- The Pixies - Crackity Jones

- Melissa Auf der Maur - Out of Our Minds

- Nirvana - About a Girl

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

The Them Crooked Vultures song is on the band's self-titled album on Interscope Records. Download the track for free at the iTunes store.

The Pixies song is on the band's live EP commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Doolittle album. The four-song EP is available for free at Pixiesmusic.com.

The Melissa Auf der Maur song is on the forthcoming album Out of Our Minds on MAdM Music; click here to find out more and download the song for free.

The Nirvana song is on Bleach: Deluxe Edition on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. The promo code AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay. The code AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay. And the code AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

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 here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 100: TV Party

The podcast's back, as I celebrate 100 episodes and review the decade in television. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...


Topics:

- DVRs allow viewers to watch only what they want to

- More options to view shows: Online, DVD sets, iTunes

- Reality TV became prevalent in 2000s

- Kumar's top 10 TV dramas

- Kumar's top comedies: Talk shows, fake news and sitcoms

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Built to Spill - Hindsight

- The Whigs - In the Dark

- Spiral Stairs - True Love

- Nirvana - Scoff (live)

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

The Built to Spill song is on the album There Is No Enemy on Warner Bros. Records. Download the track for free at Insound.

The Whigs song is on the band's forthcoming album In the Dark on ATO Records. The song is courtesy of RCRDLBL, where you can download the song for free.

The Spiral Stairs song is on the album The Real Feel on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Nirvana song is on Bleach: Deluxe Edition on Sub Pop Records, where you download the song for free.

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service. Go to Budget and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors.

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 here.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.