Completely Conspicuous 483: Turnkey End-to-End Best-of List Solution

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite albums of 2017. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- JB's #10
- Tommy Stinson can still bring it
- JK's #10
- A welcome return after 17 years
- JB's #9
- A turnkey post-shoegaze solution
- JK's #9
- Double LP return for the great Ted Leo
- JB's #8
- A different sound for She Sir
- JK's #8
- Strong effort marred by bizarre on-stage incident
- When artists you like do bad things
- JB's #7
- Breitling digs on the ambient music
- JK's #7
- Mixing hooks in with blistering rockers
- JB's #6
- Juana Molina continues to explore
- JK's #6
- Strong career progression from consistently interesting artist
- JB's #5
- Former schoolteacher turned electronic artist
- JK's #5
- Double album recorded while the artist was dying
- Each song was about a person in his life
- 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 482: Runnin' Down a Dream

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about the year in indie rock. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ
- Eighth annual year in review
- Rock isn't part of the top 40 conversation anymore
- Apple is going to stop selling downloads and iPods
- Music as a service
- Does higher quality audio really matter?
- People who died
- Pat DiNizio recently passed; the Smithereens had a fine career
- Other notable deaths: Petty, Downie, Cornell, Berry, Domino, Allman, Hart
- The Year of Punishing Bad Behavior
- Albums that didn't make our top 10 lists
- Breitling: The War on Drugs recalls mid-80s classic rock
- Also dug St. Vincent, Lali Puna, Wet Trident, Lubec, Charly Bliss
- Kumar: War on Drugs, LCD Soundsystem, Wolf Parade, Protomartyr, Ron Gallo
- Lots of music to like this year
- 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 481: Dig for Fire (Solo Beatles-Living Colour, Part 1)

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Brian Salvatore about musical blindspots with Brian listening to Living Colour while I dig into early solo Beatles records. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Brian listened to Vivid, Jay listened to John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
- Adventures in Skype
- Jay: Wasn't familiar with much of this album
- Very raw, exposed album for Lennon
- Lennon didn't release many albums before he died
- Yoko plays "the wind"
- Embarrassment of riches after Beatles broke up
- The Living Colour/In Living Color conundrum
- Brian: Not a misplaced note on this album
- Impressed with the political content
- Jay: Saw videos on MTV and taped a concert off the radio back in '88
- Vivid was out for over a year before "Cult of Personality" hit big
- Living Colour confounded expectations
- Mick Jagger helped get them a record deal
- Next: Jay listens to McCartney's Ram and Brian checks out LC's Time's Up

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 480: Lost But Not Forgotten

This week, it's part 2 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Replacing a beloved band member is tough
- Tom Petty's legacy
- Steely Dan's interesting catalog
- The problem with hearing the same songs over and over
- The lighter side of Prince
- Prince's prolific later years
- A master of any style
- Jay: Downie's loss hits harder now because I'm around the same age
- Making the most of your last years on Earth
- The real shockers are the younger ones
 
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 479: Gone Too Soon

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Gord Downie died a few weeks ago
- Many high-profile music deaths in last few years
- Musicians are getting older, but also some tragic deaths
- Phil: Elvis Presley's death was memorable
- Lennon's death was shocking
- Phil: Cobain and Jerry Garcia's deaths hit hard
- Jay: The plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads stands out
- Lemmy, Bowie and Prince all died within a few months of each other
- Chris Cornell's death earlier this year came as a surprise
- Many big-name musicians died this year: Gregg Allman, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry, Grant Hart, Walter Becker
- You tend to dig into the back catalog
- Bowie's death kicked off a rough 2016 for music fans
- Losing Prince was a gut punch
- Jay: Saw the Tragically Hip many times over the years
- Downie released a posthumous double album
- Very captivating live performer
- Watched a lot of concert videos and documentaries on YouTube after he died
- Downie focused on indigenous people's rights in his last few years
- 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 478: The Soundtrack of Our Lives

This week, it's part 2 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about albums that changed our lives. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

Show notes:
- Jay: Was a nerdy kid who listened to music all the time
- Phil liked college rock, but never got the Violent Femmes
- Jay: Loved Red Hot Chili Peppers back in the day, but can't stand them now
- Back and forth on the Eagles and Doors
- Of Linda Ronstadt and Barney Gumbel
- Grunge makes an impact
- Alt-rock: Peter Gabriel, R.E.M., U2
- Phil: Big Smiths fan
- The first Pretenders album is a classic
- Neil Young's '80s odyssey
- Phil loves the Dead
- Jay: Got into funk and jazz in late '90s (P-Funk, James Brown, Miles Davis, Coltrane)
- Phil: Listened to Beck's Sea Change a lot after getting divorced
 
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 477: The Early Days

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about albums that changed our lives. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Phil: At age 6-7, hearing older kids listening to Aerosmith
- Heard a lot of easy listening music
- Had a music-loving uncle who introduced him to the Who, Hendrix, Talking Heads
- Jay: Listened to AM rock station in Toronto
- Bought 45s of Queen, Cheap Trick, Joe Jackson
- Phil: U2's Boy was a huge album for me
- Jay: Got Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy
- Zeppelin got me into rock
- B-52s were revolutionary
- You can't make your kids love your music
- Jay: First rock album I bought was Supertramp's Breakfast in America
- Phil: Revolver was a pivotal Beatles album
- Jay: Got into early '80s hard rock
- Rush's Moving Pictures was a big one
- 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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.