Completely Conspicuous 638: Le Noise

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

• Black Keys cancel arena tour after way overestimating their popularity
• Phil's #5: Black Keys establish their popularity with poppier blues sound
• Phil's and Jay's #4: Superchunk returns after a nine-year break with an energetic pop-punk ripper
• Phil's #3: Lo-fi psych from Philly duo Reading Rainbow (now called Bleeding Rainbow)
• Jay's #3: Nick Cave returns with his harder rocking Grinderman project
• Phil's #2 and Jay's #5: More rock-oriented album from Drive-By Truckers
• Jay's #2: Politically-driven melodic punk from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists 
• Phil's #1: Neil Young with a solo effort with a lot of guitar effects
• Jay's #1: Titus Andronicus with your typical epic Civil War-meets-modern-day NJ concept album 
• Jay: Titus Andronicus is one of my favorite current bands 
• Favorite songs: "Hitchhiker" (Phil), "Theme from Cheers" (Jay)
• Next time we get together, we'll sum up the decade of the 2010s

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 274: Business as Usual

Part 1 of my conversation with guest James Gralian about the post-lockout NHL. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded last weekend via Skype
- Last spoke in October before NHL lockout began
- Season relaunched in mid-January and is wrapping up in next few weeks
- Definitely some bitterness when the NHL came back
- James' many online efforts include The Avs Hockey Podcast and Jerseys and Hockey Love
- JG: Playing hockey has deepened my appreciation for the sport
- NHL teams sign plenty of undrafted college players
- Georges Vezina was known as the Chicoutimi Cucumber
- Jack Falla wrote some great hockey books
- JK: I was mad at both sides after the lockout
- Ended up getting satellite package and following the Leafs anyway
- Greed is a given in pro sports
- The Leafs fired their GM right before season started
- Now they're on the verge of making playoffs for first time in 9 years
- JK remembers the Leafs' 1993 playoff run
- JK: Not a fan of the shootout
- Rough year for James' favorite team, Colorado
- JG: The Avs need to clean house
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Beck - Halo of Gold
Buffalo Tom - Mineral
Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Scene
Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus Forever

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

The Beck song is the B-side to the single "Tropicalia" from the album Mutations. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Buffalo Tom song is on the album Let Me Come Over on Beggars Banquet. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Dinosaur Jr. song is on the album Bug on SST. Download the song for free at Epitonic.
The Titus Andronicus song is on the album The Monitor on XL Recordings. 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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian; check out his blog PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous 263: The Upside of Anger

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our angry society. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at Chez Phillion, Salem, Mass.
- Matt and his siblings got the angry gene
- Be nice to your crazy co-workers
- Copycat wackos
- Blaming the videogames and Hollywood
- Violent movies don't necessarily make you violent
- When you recognize the bank robber
- Matt's been shot at before
- It's unrealistic to think guns are going away
- Who's paranoid? Not us.
- Talk radio is another forum for angry people
- The 2nd Amendment
- Universal healthcare gets people angry
- "People aren't totally shitbags"
- High-powered hunting
- Matt's advocating for an asteroid to wipe us out
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law
Bad Religion - True North
Screaming Females - Poison Arrow
Titus Andronicus - Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus

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

The Joy Formidable song is on the album Wolf's Law on Atlantic. Download it for free at Chromewaves.
The Bad Religion song is on the band's new album True North on Epitaph. Download the song for free at Chromewaves.
The Screaming Females song is on the cassette-only album Chalk Tape on Don Giovanni. Download the song for free from Stereogum.
The Titus Andronicus song is on the album Local Business on XL Recordings. 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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 254: History Repeating

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Dave Brigham about our society's neglect for history. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at the BrigHAAAAM Estates
- Dave's doing a reading of one of his short stories on Dec. 11 in Arlington, MA
- Brigham: Working as a volunteer archivist uncovers interesting finds
- Check out Dave's photo blog, The Backside of America
- You can find lots of hidden historical discoveries when you pay attention
- Kumar: Our culture is so focused inward that we forget about history
- Brigham: Finding old collection of dad's military stuff sparked interest in history
- The 2010s are much more of a "Me Decade" than the 1970s
- Dave's got a dumb phone
- American Girl dolls focus on historical settings
- History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man
- "Kids these days..."
- The Petraeus scandal: How is it possible to send 30,000 pages of emails?
- Any technological advance tends to get folks distracted: TV, radio, the car- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Interpol - Roland (demo)
Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold
The Bohannons - Goodbye Bill
Titus Andronicus - Ecce Homo

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

The Interpol song is on the Tenth Anniversary Edition reissue of Turn on the Bright Lights on Matador Records. Download the song for free from MatadorRecords.com.
The Parquet Courts song is on the album Light Up Gold on Dull Tools Records. Download it for free at Stereogum.
The Bohannons song is on the album Unaka Rising on This is American Music. Download it for free from Soundcloud.
The Titus Andronicus song is on the album Local Business on XL Recordings. Download it for free from 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 blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 253: Smokin' in the Boys Room

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a legendary mid-'70s boogie rock classic. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded late at night at More Lost Time world HQ
- "Smokin' in the Boys Room" came out in 1973, was revived in the Ramones movie Rock 'n Roll High School
- Ric questions the deeper meanings of the song: Is it about drugs, sex or both?
- Rebellion took on a much different meaning in the '70s
- 12 years later, Motley Crue covered the song and hit #16 on the charts
- Cub Koda reportedly influenced stage style of Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band
- Brownsville Station's had a radio "hit" called "Martian Boogie"
- Seven minutes of cheesy effects and stupidity
- ZZ Top was much better at boogie rock
- Koda was making rockabilly solo albums on the side and selling them himself
- Not many weed songs in rock anymore
- Dube talks about the origins of beatboxing, in 1971 from a band called The Counts
- Those awkward moments watching risque TV with your parents

Music:
Titus Andronicus - In a Big City
The Henry Clay People - Everybandweeverloved
Action Jets - Rock Like Pollard

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

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album Local Business on XL Recordings. Download it for free from Epitonic.
The Henry Clay People song is on the album Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives on TBD Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.
The Action Jets song is available for free download from Soundcloud.

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 220: Never Hear the End of It

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss earworms. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Recorded on St. Patrick's Day at Chez Breitling

- Not referring to Ceti eels from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

- Kumar: Recently haunted by crappy songs from Styx and Foreigner

- The search for Early Dog

- Breitling has memories of the ol' shower radio

- Ronnie Montrose, R.I.P.

- Chloe B. makes an appearance

- Kumar: "Smoke on the Water" banishes most earworms

- Sometimes earworms can be good

- Advertising can create earworms by playing songs repeatedly

- On Jon Papelbon's new entrance music for the Phillies

- Kumar: Crappy soundtrack songs from the '80s return to haunt me

- Scientific research on earworms

- Rebecca Black's "Friday"

- Keith Richards on business acumen

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Titus Andronicus - Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus

At the Drive-In - Pattern Against User

Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One

Spoon - The Fitted Shirt

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

The Titus Andronicus song is from the Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape Vol 1. Download the mixtape for free from the band's Tumblr.

The At the Drive-In song is from the album Relationship of Command on Grand Royal Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Sleater-Kinney song is on the album All Hands on the Bad One on Kill Rock Stars. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Spoon song is on the album Girls Can Tell on Merge Records. Download the song for free from 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 blog Clicky Clicky. 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.

Completely Conspicuous 116: Pop Culture Principles, Part 2

I'm joined on the podcast by special guest Ric Dube as we continue our discussion of the underlying themes behind pop culture trends. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- White Men Can't Judge (on TV)

- Dube's Principle of Inevitable Communication

- Kumar's standard requirements for benefit songs

- Need at least one non-singer involved

- To win an Oscar, actor must gain/lose large amount of weight and/or become ugly

- Karen's Principle: Dumb actors only play characters that have their name (e.g., Tony Danza)

- Who the Hell Does That? Only on TV is a gift box lid wrapped separately from box itself

- Everybody leaves one side of dinner table open (for camera)

- Kumar: Rod Stewart Suckability Quotient

- Others that qualify for this list: Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Dave Navarro, Elton John

- Dube: Synchronicity album was beginning of the end for the Police

- Collins went from prog-rock drummer to frontman to solo artist to actor to hammy soundtrack artist

- Disney soundtracks = big bucks for Elton, Collins, Sting

- "Against All Odds" was first of many power ballads for Collins

- Jay blames Michael Mann for acting careers of musicians: Collins, Nugent, Sheena Easton, Glenn Frey

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union

- The Morning Bender - Promises

- The Riverboat Gamblers - Robots May Break Your Heart

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

The Titus Andronicus song is on the forthcoming album The Monitor on XL Recordings. The Morning Benders song is on the album Big Echo on Rough Trade Records. Download the songs for free at Beggars Group USA.

The Riverboat Gamblers song is on the album Underneath the Owl on Volcom Entertainment. Find out more and download the track for free here.

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

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 106: Blowed Up Real Good

The podcast returns with part 3 of my conversation with special guest Matt Phillion as we continue our recap of the decade in movies. This time around, we discuss our favorite action movies. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...


Topics:

- Comic book movies were good this decade

- Dark Knight was a great film, period

- Ledger put his stamp on the Joker

- Kill Bill saga: A fun combo of Uma, martial arts and violence

- The Departed: Perfect crime film?

- Alec Baldwin, an acting force

- Hey Hollywood, don't even attempt the Boston accent

- Bourne trilogy: Better than Bond movies

- In Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's Bond is true to Fleming's vision

- Children of Men is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece

- The Descent: Best of "hot chicks in danger" movies

- The decade of survival horror

- Saw movies started good, got progressively worse

- Grindhouse: A ton of fun

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

- Dios - Stare at the Wheel

- Elliott Smith - Cecilia/Amanda

- Titus Andronicus - Four Score and Seven

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

The Dios song is on the band's album We Are Dios on Buddyhead Records, where you can download the track for free.

The Elliott Smith song is a previously unreleased track available from Kill Rock Stars, where you can download the song for free.

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album The Monitor on XL Recordings. Download the song for free at Beggars Group USA.

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. You can find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics, Reebok and more. Use the promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com, and AFCOMPFL to get 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 91: Constructive Summer

Back with a new episode of the podcast as I discuss summer jobs. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Summer jobs on par with previous years

- Stockin' shelves at the Market Basket

- Part-timers vs. full-timers

- Night crew

- Workin', eatin' and rockin' all night

- Setting up swingsets

- A short-lived gig

- Career opportunities: a newspaper internship

- Convincing my editor to give me more work

- A pathway to a job after graduation

- Baseball needs a salary cap

- Pinhead of the Week

Music:

- Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words

- Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus

- Great Northern - Houses

- Shudder to Think - Hit Liquor (live)

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

The Radiohead song was released by the band for free download through its online store.

The Titus Andronicus song is on the album The Airing of Grievances on Beggars Group USA Records, where you can download the song.

The Shudder to Think song is on the album Live From Home on Team Love Records, where you can download the song.

The Great Northern song is on the EP Houses on Eenie Meenie Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Great Northern
"Houses" (mp3)
from "Houses EP"
(Eenie Meenie Records)

More On This Album


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 sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay.com; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.