Completely Conspicuous 509: The Good Stuff

It's part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the year so far. Listen to the episode below or download it directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Breitling's #6
- Changing his take on "Steve Miller Band for millennials"
- Kumar's #6
- Band recently relocated to Nashville
- Breitling's #4
- Another accomplished Boston indie rock act continues to evolve its sound
- Kumar's #5
- Don't call it a comeback; fuzzy power pop from low-key indie rocker
- Breitling's #3
- Reissue of mid-'90s release from San Jose hardcore trio
- Definitely check out the reissue of Silkworm's In the West
- Kumar's #3
- Scrappy pop punk from Toronto band
- Breitling's #2
- Veteran act with inspired new release
- Kumar's #2 and Breitling's #5
- Inspired by '80s riff rock
- Breitling's #1 and Kumar's #4
- A triumph from a legendary rock god
- Possibly as good as anything from his previous bands
- Kumar's #1
- Out of left field for me, but a great sweeping folk pop record
- Female solo artist who has come into her own
- New albums coming from Titus Andronicus, Sleater-Kinney, Redd Kross, Purple Mountains, possibly Ava Luna

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 508: Ten Spot

It's part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the year so far. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Breitling's bubbling under albums: Purple Mountains, Katie Dey, Ava Luna, Coaches, Fennesz, William Basinski
- Kumar's not-quite top 10: Swervedriver, Piroshka, Cherry Glazerr, L7, Jenny Lewis, Flat Worms, Hash Redactor, Versing, Kiwi Jr., Business of Dreams
- Breitling's #10
- Veteran indie pop act from Seattle
- Kumar's #10
- Fuzzy power pop that's short and sweet
- Breitling's #9
- Shout out to Matt Graves
- Glittery guitar pop from Austin
- Kumar's #9
- Vital post-punk noise straight outta Dublin
- Breitling's #8
- Shoegaze from prolific LA band
- Kumar's #8
- Welcome return from indie rock veterans
- Breitling's #7
- Blistering EP from great Boston indie act
- Perry Farrell's face
- Kumar's #7
- Western Canadian stoner rock
- Next week: Our top 6 albums of the year so far

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 507: Half and Half

I'm joined by guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the year in rock music so far. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Back for the attack
- Kumar: Just back from Philly
- Coming up in December: We pick our favorite music of the decade
- Apple is doing away with iTunes, but it's not that big a deal
- Some people are freaking out, but there are other options
- It was good for making playlists
- Kumar: Still need downloads to build radio show playlist
- People don't need to own music anymore
- Kumar: Use free versions of Spotify and YouTube to stream
- Somebody stole a bunch of Radiohead outtakes, band responds by putting it up for sale on Bandcamp
 - Breitling's curb vinyl haul
- The Dio hologram tour is ongoing
- Our verdict: Stay home
- The festivals keep going
- The Woodstock 50 debacle
- Our verdict: Festivals suck
- Breitling may want to choke you
- Reality show people are annoying
- Ja Rule explains it all
- Both of us have gone to fewer concerts this year
- We like watching the rock videos on the YouTubes
- Whither Arsenio?
- Next week: Our favorite albums of the year so far

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 506: Wake of the Flood

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's album Wake of the Flood. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Jay: Knew nothing about this album until recently
- First album on the Dead's own label
- New phase for the Dead: No Mickey Hart, the Godchauxs arrive, Pigpen had died
- Shades of jazz fusion
- Three years after their last studio album, American Beauty
- Material was well-honed in concert before making it to studio recording
- Horns featured throughout
- Phil: Live versions of these songs are better
- Two big shows with Allman Brothers and the Band that summer
- The rise of Frampton
- Nobody cares about live albums anymore
- "Stella Blue" is a standout track
- On the merits and demerits of Rush
- Back when AOR stations would play album sides
- Pulled back on the country influence of previous two albums
- No immediate "hits"
- Touring is one of the few ways bands can make money nowadays
- Ultimately, not one of their best, but a piece of the puzzle

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 505: Europe '72

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's live triple album Europe '72. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Triple album documenting the Dead's European tour
- Displays new Americana sound
- Mickey Hart's gone, Keith and Donna Godchaux join
- Full tour was documented on a 73-CD box set
- Letting it all hang out at an Oregon show
- Garcia and Weir released solo albums this year
- The Dead's influenced ranged wide, eventually including members of punk/indie acts like Black Flag and Meat Puppets
- Greg Ginn, noted Deadhead
- The greatness of "Jack Straw"
- Later covered by eventual guest keyboardist Bruce Hornsby
- Grateful Dead keyboardists : Spinal Tap drummers
- "A long f-ing album"
- Unrelated: The Dirtbombs rule
- "China Cat Sunflower" sounds very different here than the original
- This is Peak Dead
- The band captured the communal live experience and attracted a huge following
- When you party too hard before the show
- Pigpen's last hurrah
- "Morning Dew" is stretched out to 10+ minutes of apocalyptic jam
- Tangent: Janelle Monae is great
- Variety is important
- No more guilty pleasures
- Waaaaaaay off topic
- The strange career of Robert Palmer
- Phil: Europe '72 is like comfort food
- Next up: Wake of the Flood

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 504: American Beauty

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's album American Beauty. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Cover art could also be read as "American Reality"
- Also released in 1970; recorded a few months after Workingman's Dead came out
- Even more countrified, Americana-sounding
- Mickey Hart was on his way out, less involvement
- Featured on Freaks and Geeks episode where Lindsay gets into the Dead
- Half the album features "hits": Box of Rain, Friend of the Devil, Sugar Magnolia, Ripple, Truckin'
- Very low-key record
- Play Ripple at Phil's funeral
- On 50th birthday playlists
- Phil's idea for a playlist: 5 songs from every year of his life, no repeat artists
- Around this time, the Dead started really growing their fanbase
- Dead fans started following them on tour
- A lot of guests, including David Grisman
- This album isn't as dark as the previous one
- Another fairly concise record
- The Dead played the old Boston Tea Party club (now House of Blues) on New Year's Eve 1969
- The sound on this album is more timeless than the original acid-rock
- Jay: Just say no to DMB
- Phil: More into the Dead's music than the scene
- Truckin' is autobiographical, all about touring and getting hassled by the Man
- Ends the album on an upbeat note, with some ripping lead guitar
- Next up: Europe '72

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 503: Workingman's Dead

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's 1970 album Workingman's Dead. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- First show of the new year
- Workingman's Dead is the band's 4th studio album
- First of two releases in '70
- Recorded in nine days
- Stripped down sound, less psychedelic
- Garcia and Robert Hunter wrote the whole album
- Folk, country, Americana elements
- Rock was moving away from psychedelia, toward singer-songwriters and acoustic sounds
- Bookended by two of the band's biggest songs
- More of an emphasis on vocals like Crosby, Stills and Nash
- "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" as a torture device
- Phil: Prefer live Dead, but still break out the studio albums on occasion
- Warm sounding record
- "New Speedway Boogie" is about Altamont
- Recently covered by Courtney Barnett
- Hunter's solo releases are all over the place
- Jay: Only heard two songs before
- Fairly concise album; not much jamming
- Moved away from acid blues into a new direction
- "Easy Wind," sung by Pigpen, was the outlier
- Like the Entwistle song on a Who album
- "Casey Jones" evolved in an interesting way over the years
- Talking about cocaine
- Next up: American Beauty

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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.