Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the difficulties of avoiding cynicism. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
Show notes:
- Check out Matt's new book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4
- It's hard not to be cynical these days
- Politics are infuriating in general
- Soccer hooligans can spread joy, too
- Getting cynicism drummed into you as a young reporter
- Kids, don't go into journalism
- NIMBY remains a strong force
- Matt made the mistake of going to back to newspapers a few years ago
- Facts, schmacts
- Saying something stupid won't tank your campaign anymore
- Tapping into frustrated and angry voters
- Blindly loyal political supporters
- Stupid can win
- People are tired of hearing from so-called experts
- Jay: Reality TV makes me cynical
- The Duggars had a show because they had 19 kids
- Some people find The Bachelor fascinating
- So many kids these days have the drive to become famous
- The abnormal lives of huge celebrities
- Tom Cruise can't relate to normal people
- 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.
Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1981. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output
- Brian's #3
- Prince starts pushing the envelope
- Prince in the '80s was nearly untouchable
- Jay's #3
- A childhood favorite
- Moving Pictures encapsulated everything Rush had been working toward
- Side 1 was killer
- Brian's #2
- Kraftwerk ran with robotic sounds
- A version is touring again
- Jay's #2
- The Police start to become a commercial success
- Stewart Copeland's drumming was revolutionary for the time
- Should Brian drop big coin to see Sting and Peter Gabriel live?
- Brian's #1
- Damaged is close to the definitive Black Flag album
- Jay's #1
- Van Halen's creative peak
- Angrier sounding
- Next up: 1995
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.
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1981. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output
- Elvis Costello released two albums in '81
- Solo albums from Phil Collins, Debbie Harry, Ronnie Wood, Peter Cetera, Lindsay Buckingham
- Bands formed: The Alarm, Anthrax, Metallica, Bangles, Beastie Boys, Butthole Surfers, Run DMC, Sonic Youth
- Broke up: Bay City Rollers, Steely Dan, Wings, Buzzcocks
- Bubbling under albums
- Brian: Ramones, Kinks
- Jay: Phil Collins, The Who, Tom Petty, Billy Squier
- A few years later, Squier kills his career with "Rock Me Tonite" video
- Brian: Lounge Lizards debut, Tom Tom Club, Replacements, Pretenders
- That time Brian pissed off Lurie on Twitter
- Jay: Gun Club, Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Gang of Four
- Brian's #5
- Byrne and Eno basically invent sampling
- Jay's #5
- The Stones bounce back with odds and sods collection that hits big
- The last time they weren't considered a nostalgia act
- 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.
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1981. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output
- In 1981, Jay was 13 and Brian wasn't born yet
- Jay: Lived in Canada for most of the year, then moved to U.S.
- Listened to a lot of hard rock and AOR
- Toronto radio was cool but a few years from becoming heavily formatted
- A lot of solo albums
- Beginnings of indie rock
- Lots of soft rock on the charts
- The Stones had a resurgence in '81
- Old rockers were in their 30s and 40s then
- Death of Lennon hung over the music scene
- Hall and Oates left a strong legacy of pop hits
- The puzzling Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame selection process
- The strange popularity of Steve Miller
- "Under Pressure" has become bigger as years passed
- MTV's debut in August 1981
- USA Network premiered "Night Flight"
- REO Speedwagon's one breakout year
- Ozzy's comeback continues
- 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.
Part 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss how our musical tastes have changed over the years. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Artists we missed at first but now love
- Phil's #2
- Dismissed Phish initially, focused on the Dead at first
- Jay's #2
- Got into Bob Mould and Sugar first, then backtracked
- Husker Du: Great catalog, bad production
- Phil's #1
- Overlooked because of constant radio play
- Classic rock stations don't play new music by classic artists
- Jay's #1
- Always a Bowie fan, but started really getting into him in the last few years
- Bands we never got into
- Phil's #3
- Never a big metal guy
- Metallica never did it for Phil
- Jay's #3
- Never understood popularity of Dave Matthews Band
- Phil's #2
- Respect the Boss but never got into him
- Don't compare him to Mellencamp
- Jay's #2
- STP seemed like they were ripping off other bands
- Phil thought Nine Inch Nails were dumb
- Phil's #1
- What's the big deal about Radiohead?
- Jay: Hated "Fake Plastic Trees"
- Jay's #1
- Van the Man never appealed to me
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.
Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss how our musical tastes have changed over the years. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Artists we just stopped listening to
- Phil's #1
- Smashing Pumpkins had a strong run in the '90s
- Corgan's pretentiousness ran its course
- Jay's #1
- Went back and forth, but finally stopped listening to the Doors in early '90s
- Phil: Morrison became a drunken buffoon
- Artists we missed first time around but discovered later
- Phil's #3
- Drive-by Truckers bring together different styles and sounds
- Jay's #3
- Huge body of work, but didn't start listening to Nick Cave until a decade ago
- Phil's #2
- Blues-rock from Tedeschi Trucks Band
- Jay's #2
- Bad Brains was an electrifying punk act
- Phil's #1
- Parquet Courts can play short punk songs and longer, artier stuff
- Jay's #1
- Knew about Velvet Underground for years, but really got into them in last 15 years
- Artists we missed at first but now love
- Phil's #3
- Checked out My Morning Jacket at the end of the '00s
- Jay's #3
- Always liked the Replacements but didn't become fanatic until last decade
- 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.
Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss how our musical tastes have changed over the years. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
Show notes:
- Revisionist band history
- Bands we once loved but now dislike
- Phil's #3
- Liz Phair got off to a strong start, disappointed afterward
- Jay's #3
- Huge artist I enjoyed as a kid
- Billy Joel stopped releasing new pop music in the '90s
- Phil's #2
- Love his first band, hate the solo stuff
- Sting's elevated the art of pretentious douchiness
- Jay's #2
- It's trendy to hate this band now
- Used to dig the Eagles
- Henley's personality turned me off the band
- Phil's #1
- Coldplay lost their way
- Jay's #1
- Red Hot Chili Peppers haven't aged well
- Liked them in my 20s, "but now they're just stupid"
- Bands you just stopped listening to
- Phil's #3
- Lenny Kravitz got too slick and repetitive
- Jay's #3
- Big fan of hard rock as a kid, but hair metal lost its appeal
- Phil's #2
- Boston-area rock fans grew up on Aerosmith
- After they reunited in mid-80s, quality went downhill
- Jay's #2
- Liked the band Live for a few years but just lost interest
- Singer got too full of himself
- 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.
