Completely Conspicuous 534: In the Dark

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of the 2010s. Also, happy 18th birthday to the show! Show notes: Wrapping up our year-by-year look at rock music starting with 1970 Each of us picking a favorite album for each year from 2011-2020 Phil's 2011 #1: Bluesy collection from Tedeschi Trucks Band Susan Tedeschi grew up in New England Jay's 2011 #1: Concept album by Toronto's Fucked Up Phil's 2012 #1: Punchy punk rippers from Parquet Courts Neil Young and the art of the 15-minute song Jay's 2012 #1: Ty Segall Band with a heavy garage rock/psych sound Phil's 2013 #1: Laid-back slacker jams from Philly's Kurt Vile Jay's 2013 #1: An epic Queens of the Stone Age album written after a near-death experience Phil's 2014 #1: TV On the Radio's last album and first since bass player died Jay's 2014 #1: Expansive tour de force from Parquet Courts Phil's 2015 #1: Courtney Barnett combines conversational lyrics with hot guitar Jay's 2015 #1: Jeff Rosenstock delivers a pop-punk masterpiece On being the old guy at rock shows Next time: 2016-2020 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.

30 Heinä 20241h 1min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: JB's #6 and JK's #7: Philly's Mannequin Pussy is a wide-ranging delight JK's 6: Excellent jangle rock from Toronto's Ducks Ltd. JB's #5 and JK's #3: J Mascis with a laid-back winner of a solo album Let us know if you want to be in the studio audience for the year-end wrapup JK's #5: A more electronic effort from St. Vincent The limited amount of media attention given to albums now How do current artists measure success? Remembering weird synth pop from the early '80s Fewer barriers to entry, but fewer ways to get your music in front of people JB's #4: Another great Slumberland release from Lunchbox, featuring folks from Hard Left JK's #4: First release in 14 years from NYC art rockers Les Savy Fav JB's #3: NH-based act combines post punk with many different genres JB's #2: Johnny Foreigner returns with EP previewing their upcoming album JK's #2: METZ adds catchiness to their noise rock JB's #1: Political swipe at gentrification from Neutrals Anticipated albums: Fontaines D.C., Sunset Rubdown, Johnny Foreigner, Chime School, Peel Dream Magazine, Jesus Lizard, Horse Jumper of Love, Los Campesinos, Osees JK's #1: Hot collection of power pop rippers from Daniel Romano's Outfit 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.

22 Heinä 202455min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: Crazy stuff going right as we started recording Concert tours getting canceled because of poor ticket sales (Black Keys, JLo) The phenomenon of Taylor Swift Vinyl is selling well, but half the people who buy it don't own a record player Another factor in the concert business struggles is the high price of tickets Apparently Gen Z loves dream pop Spotify accuses Hallelujah the Hills of gaming the system The Legend of Doo Doo Brown JB's honorable mentions: The Bret Tobias Set, Bug Club, Fontaines D.C., Ducks Ltd., Bedbug, Umbrellas, Torrey, Waxahatchee, Shellac, Buffalo Tom, Les Savy Fav, Pedro the Lion JK's honorable mentions: Cloud Nothings, Boeckner, Redd Kross, Mdou Moctar, IDLES, Plus/Minus, Bodega, Kim Gordon, DIIV JK's #10: Mary Timony's first solo album in 19 years JB's #9: Dope Yeti is the nexus of Beck, Dylan and GBV JK's #9: A quieter, more Americana-focused album from Buffalo Tom JB's #8: Strong modern shoegaze release from DIIV JK's #8: Second album from the Smile is an acceptable Radiohead substitute JB's #7: Cloud Nothings keep cranking out great albums To be continued 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.

18 Heinä 202455min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. 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.

19 Kesä 202448min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Show notes: In 2010, Phil became a dad for the second time A little running talk Kesha had the #1 song in 2010 with "Tik Tok" Phil asking philosophical questions Phil's non-top 5s: Darker My Love, Best Coast, LCD Soundsystem, Foals, Ty Segall, Spoon, Wolf People, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Jay's non-top 5s: Neil Young, Los Campesinos!, Arcade Fire, Black Mountain, Les Savy Fav When artists stop making good albums To be continued 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.

11 Kesä 20241h 12min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: Arctic Monkeys, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Patterson Hood, Alice in Chains, Obits, Eels, Tragically Hip, Brendan Benson, Neko Case, Heaven and Hell Phil's #5: Yeah Yeah Yeahs make foray into dance rock Judas Priest makes good pump-up music Jay's #5: Trippy prog-metal from Mastodon Phil's #4: Neko Case is a force of nature Jay's #4: Art Brut with an entertaining collection of ripping artsy punk Phil's #3: Slow-burning solo excursion from Patterson Hood Jay's #3: Anthemic punk/classic rock mix from Japandroids Phil's #2: Phish returns after a 5-year break Jay's #2: Jarvis Cocker with the kickass Albini-recorded solo ripper Phil's and Jay's #1: Monster supergroup debut from Them Crooked Vultures Jay saw TCV in Boston on their only tour Always cool to see someone from Zeppelin play live Favorite songs: "Angela" (Jay), "Elephants" (Phil) 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.

9 Touko 202448min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: In 2009, Phil had a newborn and was expecting another We had a global pandemic in '09 (H1N1 swine flu) Biggest selling album in the world was by Susan Boyle Black Eyed Peas had a big year U2 had an album out, but didn't make much of an impression on us Phil's non-top 5s: The Dead Weather, Son Volt, Wilco, Jason Isbell, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, A.C. Newman, Titus Andronicus, Deer Tick To smarm or not to smarm To be continued 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.

1 Touko 202443min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: Phil's #5: My Morning Jacket changes things up Jay's #5: Big space rock ripper from Black Mountain Phil's #4: Springsteen-inspired indie rock from the Gaslight Anthem Jay's #4: Stephen Malkmus gets jammy Phil's #3: Tom Petty's early band Mudcrutch gets back together Jay's #3: Sloan with an economical power pop release Phil's and Jay's #2: Dark, inspired record from the Gutter Twins Phil's #1: Brooding classic from Death Cab for Cutie Jay's #1: The Hold Steady hits an anthemic peak Craig Finn is an atypical yet terrific frontman Favorite songs: "Stay Positive" (Jay), "I Will Possess Your Heart" (Phil) 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.

10 Huhti 202442min