Completely Conspicuous 546: Watching the Detectives

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1977.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Zoom

- A startling number of great releases in '77; a lot of terrific debuts

- Singles chart was topped by disco and pop: Rod Stewart, Andy Gibb, Streisand, KC and the Sunshine Band, Engelbert Humperdinck

- Jay's non-top 5 faves: Ramones had two albums, Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders, the Damned, Richard Hell, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick had two, Bowie had two, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Rush, Neil Young, The Clash, Wire, Max Webster

- Jay: My dad had disco mixtapes,

- This was recorded before Johnny Lydon said he had flea bites on his dong

- Phil's non-top 5 favorites: Grateful Dead, Television, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, the Kinks, AC/DC, Dead Boys, Queen, Linda Ronstadt, Wire, Clapton

- The cover of Queen's News of the World scared young Phil; Kmart had a cleaned-up alternate cover

- Jay's #5: Peter Gabriel's solo debut went in new directions, combining art rock and new wave

- Phil's #5: A fiery, concise debut from the Clash (UK only)

- Jay's #4: Guitar rock meets post punk from Television

- Phil's #4: Bob Marley breaks through in the U.S.

- Jay's and Phil's #3: Talking Heads' debut didn't sound like anything else

- Jay's #2: Iggy Pop worked with Bowie in Berlin to produce an electronic-influenced sound

- Phil's #2: The ubiquitous Fleetwood Mac album is getting popular again

- Remains vital despite massive overplaying of certain songs

- Jay's #1: Elvis Costello burst on the scene with biting lyrics, catchy classics

- Phil's #1: The controversial Steely Dan with a jazzy, meticulous opus

- Favorite songs: "Watching the Detectives" (Jay), "Josie" (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.