Completely Conspicuous 242: Keep on Truckin'

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we travel back in time and analyze a big hit from the 1970s. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.

Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world headquarters
- The return of song analysis
- What's the deal with Bette Midler?
- Woody Allen's curious role in Scenes From a Mall
- Check out Ric's show More Lost Time
- Trucking was a big pop culture fad for a few years in the '70s
- C.W. McCall's "Convoy" was such a big hit they made a movie based on it
- Discovered by the dude behind the Mannheim Steamroller
- McCall didn't sing so much as talk over music
- Sounds like Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down to Georgia"
- Convoy did indeed have a soundtrack album
- Digging deeper into the McCall catalog
- Randy Travis is walking the walk
- Ric: Zappa music just sounds like commercials
- Ol' C-Dub just kept on making trucker songs
- McCall starts doing really bad accents of foreign truckers
- He wrote a song about the infamous George Brett "pine tar incident"
- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
A.C. Newman - I'm Not Talking
Yuck - Shook Down

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

The A.C. Newman song is on the forthcoming album Shut Down the Streets on Matador Records. Download it for free from MatadorRecords.com.
The Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum 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 208: The Final Countdown

Part 3 of my conversation with special guest Jay Breitling as we look back at the best rock music of 2011. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

- Kumar's #2: Sloan

- Band's 20th anniversary

- Jan. 26: New Music Night with Breitling and Brad Searles at River Gods in Cambridge, Mass.

- Breitling #1: Johnny Foreigner

- No overlap on our lists

- Kumar #1: Fucked Up

- Did a vinyl release of music from fake bands

- Breitling's bubbling under: Yuck, Screaming Maldini, Gold Bears

- Kumar's bubbling under: Mighty Fine, Foo Fighters, Mastodon, Feelies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Fucked Up - A Little Death

Johnny Foreigner - (Don't) Show Us Your Fangs

Dananananaykroyd - E-Numbers

Yuck - Georgia

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Fucked Up song is on the album David Comes to Life on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Matador.

The Johnny Foreigner song is on the album Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything on Alcopop Records. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.

The Dananananaykroyd song is from the album There Is a Way on Pizza College. Download the song for free at the band's Internet Home Page.

The Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum. Download the song for free at Brooklyn Vegan.

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. 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 184: On Top, Rockin' It

Special guest Jay Breitling joins me as we discuss our favorite rock music of the first half of 2011. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:

- Breitling: Yuck's self-titled album

- Reminiscent of great '90s acts

- Kumar: Reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's first album

- Originally came out in '98, was out of print

- Breitling: J Mascis--Several Shades of Why

- Mostly acoustic

- Dino Jr.'s Where You Been has been unfairly forgotten

- Kumar: Sloan--The Double Cross

- 20 years of terrific rock and power pop

- Breitling: Rival Schools--Pedal

- NY post-hardcore legends

- Kumar: Twilight Singers--Dynamite Steps

- Greg Dulli's back with yet another great album

- Breitling: Destroyer--Kaputt

- Synth pop detour for Dan Bejar

- Whither Don Felder?

- Kumar: PJ Harvey--Let England Shake

- Polarizing album

- Bjork's selling her new songs as apps

- Breitling: Wartgore Hellsnicker--Moderate Rock

- "The last grunge record"

- Kumar: Buffalo Tom--Skins

- '90 alt-rock heroes still sound great

- Breitling: Also dig Johnny Foreigner, Wye Oak releases

- Kumar: Honorable mention includes Drive-By Truckers, Beastie Boys, Feelies

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Yuck - The Wall

J. Mascis - Not Enough

Sloan - Follow the Leader

The Twilight Singers - On the Corner

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The J. Mascis song is on the album Several Shades of Why on Sub Pop, where you can download the song for free.

The Sloan song is on the album The Double Cross on Yep Roc Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) from the band's website.

The Twilight Singers song is on the album Dynamite Steps on Sub Pop, where you can download the song for free.

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 170: The Rest of My Life

I've got another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss the strange sensation of getting older. Listen to the show below or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

- Don't feel old, but constantly reminded that I'm getting older

- I've been out of college almost 22 years

- Friends have kids who are now in their 20s and 30s

- Time has flown by, but much has happened

- Some of my co-workers were born when I was in college

- The technological advances in the last 20 years are amazing

- My first cell phone was actually a car phone in late '90s

- Had interoffice email at newspaper in late '80s

- Got my first Internet-connected PC in '95

- My new Droid is faster and more powerful than my first few computers

- We've grown very narcissistic as a society

- My attention span is shorter nowadays

- Haven't hit midlife crisis yet

- Definition of fun changes as you get older

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Yuck - Georgia

Wild Flag - Glass Tambourine

The Smith Westerns - Imagine, Pt. 3

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Yuck song ison the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum Records. Download the song for free at SXSW (right click and "save as").

The Wild Flag song is on the B-side of the band's new 7-inch on Merge Records. Download the song for free at Ground Control Touring.

The Smith Westerns song is from the album Dye It Blonde on Fat Possum Records. Download the song for free at Pitchfork.

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 website PodGeek.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 147: Music Geek USA

Amanda Guest joins me on the podcast to discuss music geekdom. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Check out Amanda's show Radioculars on WMWM Saturdays from 3-6 p.m. Eastern at Salem State University

- Amanda: Music geekery started when she got to WMWM

- Parents played radio for her while she was still in a crib

- Amanda's first musical memory: Manilow's "Copacabana"

- Kumar: Remember hearing War and Eric Burdon's "Spill the Wine" as 3-year-old

- As a kid, Amanda dug ABBA and Muppets albums

- Later she got into showtunes like Les Miserables, Cats

- She also liked NKOTB, Bon Jovi, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

- Kumar: Saw Alanis Morisette at the Paradise in '94

- WMWM's sister station is WFNX

- FNX DJ got Amanda into voiceover work

- She recited MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech

- Amanda's geekdom grew as she did radio show each week

- Easier to find more obscure music now

- Music licensing doesn't have same stigma it used to

- Amanda doesn't have too many female friends who are music geeks

- Amanda: Girls don't get as obsessive about music collections

- Guys tend to have much larger music collections

- Amanda won contest to see every concert at Paradise Rock Club in October 2009

- She went to 20 shows, spent 20 to 30 hours a week at the 'Dise that month

- Shows included Bajofondo, Blues Traveler, Bob Mould

- After that month of shows, Amanda took winter off from concertgoing

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Wintersleep - Trace Decay

Yuck - Georgia

Ringo Deathstarr - Imagine Hearts

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

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Wintersleep song is on the band's album New Inheritors on Tom Kotter Records. Download the song at the band's website.

The Yuck song is on 7-inch release Georgia on Transparent Records. Download the song for free at Force Field PR.

The Ringo Deathstarr song is on the album Colour Trip on Club AC30. Download the song for free at RCRD LBL.

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.