Completely Conspicuous 243: Sucking in the Seventies

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we travel back in time and analyze two big hits from the 1970s. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Divine Fits and The Raveonettes.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world headquarters

- The return of song analysis

- Learning more about Rupert Holmes

- "Escape" tells a depressing tale in a lighthearted way

- Seeking a new soulmate through the personal ads

- Song ends with a wacky twist

- Jay used to belt out Holmes' "Him" in the newsroom of the college paper

- He sings the guitar solo to save money

- Digging into the rest of the album

- Rupert writes about anything like, say, his answering machine

- Holmes did a lot of work in theater and TV

- Wrote songs for "A Star is Born," the Streisand-Kristofferson movie

- "Him" as performed by Barry White

- Clearly inspired by Manilow

- "Copacabana" was a huge disco hit

- Everything was coke-fueled in the '70s and '80s

- Manilow's go-to move was the sweeping ballad

- Manilow's "Bermuda Triangle" was a clear inspiration for Rupert

- Barry found a winning formula

- Gotta love the irony that he didn't write "I Write the Songs"

- We Manil-OD'd

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:
Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice

The Raveonettes - She Owns the Streets

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Divine Fits song is on the album A Thing Called Divine Fits on Merge Records. Download it for free from Chromewaves.

The Raveonettes song is on the album Observator on Vice Records. Download the song for free from KEXP.

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; check out his site PodGeek.