Completely Conspicuous 641: The Troubled Teens

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1990. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as"). Show notes: - Recorded in person at CompCon World HQ - In '90, Jay turned 23 and Phil turned 21 - Phil's short career in foodservice - Jay was a newspaper reporter in Peabody, Mass. - Controversies over 2 Live Crew, Milli Vanilli and Madonna - Lots of scenes happening: Alternative, New Jack Swing, Madchester, Seattle - The era of the Jock Jam - Albums that didn't make Phil's top 5: Uncle Tupelo, Allman Brothers, Pretenders, Living Colour, Breeders, Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone, Pixies, World Party, Happy Mondays, Ride, Mazzy Star, Sundays, Cowboy Junkies, Replacements, INXS, Social Distortion, Bob Mould, Black Crowes - Questions around the November Rain video (which came out in '91) - Jay's non-top 5s: Afghan Whigs, Flaming Lips, Midnight Oil, Mark Lanegan, Robert Plant - 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.

30 Mars 20221h 7min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1989. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom during a blizzard - Our top 5 albums of '89 - Phil's #5: Tom Petty finds renewed success with a solo album -Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: Nirvana's sludgy debut hints at future success - Jay's #4: The Beasties go sample crazy and blow up the sophomore slump - Phil's #3: Phish with an auspicious debut - Jay had a run-in with a pre-fame Trey Anastasio at the UNH newspaper - Jay's #2: Bob Mould shifts gears in his solo debut and launches new phase in his career - Phil's #2 and Jay's #1: Pixies follow up a stone cold classic with another one - Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Neil Young triumphs after a rough decade - Favorite songs: "Hangin' on a Limb" (Phil), "Wave of Mutilation" (Jay) 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 Feb 202235min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1989. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom during a blizzard - In '89, Jay turned 22 and graduated from college, Phil turned 20 - Early seeds of Seattle and Manchester sound - GNR became huge - Milli Vanilli was enjoying some short-lived success -Big year for pop - Phil's non-top 5 albums: Bob Mould, The Cure, B-52s, Stone Roses, The Ocean Blue, XTC, De La Soul, Replacements, Joe Jackson, Galaxie 500, Fugazi, RHCP, Lenny Kravitz, Tragically Hip, Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Tin Machine, Lou Reed, Dylan, McCartney, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stones, Grateful Dead - George Jefferson, prog fan - Phil saw Stones, Who, McCartney, the Dead, the Cure, B-52s; Jay saw R.E.M., Elvis Costello - Jay: Faith No More, Soundgarden, Elvis Costello, Cult, Mudhoney, Buffalo Tom, Nine Inch Nails - 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.

2 Feb 20221h

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1988. Show notes: - Recorded while driving home from Trillium Brewing in Canton, Mass. - Phil's #5: Sonic Youth focuses their sound - Jay's #5: J. Mascis and Dino Jr. get more melodic while still delivering a heavy sound - Phil's #4: U2's first controversial album still provides a lot of memorable moments, overshadowed by the movie - Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Living Colour's debut showed off their many talents - Jay's #3: Debut from Toronto's The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock, neurotic singer and girl group backing vocals - Phil's #2: R.E.M.'s last album before they became superstars - Jay's #2: Public Enemy at the peak of their powers - Phil's and Jay's #1: Los Pixies creates the template for the '90s alt-rock explosion - Favorite songs: "Gigantic" (Phil), "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (Jay) 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.

12 Jan 202239min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1988. Show notes: - Recorded while driving to Trillium Brewing in Canton, Mass. - In 1988, Jay turned 21 and Phil turned 19 - Jay: 21st birthday was pretty rough - Phil tells tales of good decision-making - Jay's long, strange trip to the Monsters of Rock show: Long drive, short show - Big year for pop artists on the charts - Phil's Whitesnake story - Big soundtracks: Cocktail, Dirty Dancing - Phil's non-top 5 albums: Keith Richards, Mudhoney, Jerry Harrison, Jane's Addiction, Cowboy Junkies, Brian Wilson, Smithereens, Smiths, Pogues, Waterboys, Dinosaur Jr., Tracy Chapman, Public Enemy, Traveling Wilburys - Jay's non-top 5s: Fishbone, Bobby Brown, Iron Maiden, Robert Plant, The Church, Metallica - 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.

4 Jan 202248min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our top albums of 2021. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - On to the top 10 - Breitling's #10: The Reds, Pinks and Purples with an ephemeral pop release on Slumberland - Kumar's #10: Raw collection of rippers from Juliana Hatfield - Breitling's #9 and Kumar's #8: Instant classic from Ovlov - Kumar's #9: IDLES shifts gears with some stylistic changes - Breitling's #8: Chime School with a quality jangle-rock album - Breitling's #7: More Slumberland goodness from the Umbrellas - Kumar's #7: St. Vincent digs into a late '70s vibe - Breitling's #6: Toronto's Ducks Ltd. with an excellent Feelies-esque record - Kumar's #5: Baltimore hardcore screamers Turnstile explores different sounds - Breitling's #4 and Kumar's #2: Dino Jr. continues to kick ass - Kumar's #4: Kiwi Jr. is another Toronto act working the '90s slacker rock vibe - Breitling's #3: MBV-esque shoegaze from Fleeting Joys - Kumar's #3: Parquet Courts moves into danceable Talking Heads territory - Breitling's #2 and Kumar's #6: The War on Drugs fully embraces a mid-80s FM radio sound - Breitling's #1: Blue Ocean with a shoegaze/post punk compilation of two EPs - Kumar's #1 and Breitling's #5: More Bay Area-based slack-rock awesomeness with Pardoner Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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.

22 Dec 20211h 5min

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2021. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - Fully boostered podcast - We've been to concerts - Some shows have been postponed or canceled - Physical media is disappearing - Vinyl shortage - We're still doing our Internet radio shows (Parcheesi Radio, Stuck In Thee Garage) - Tiktok is becoming a way to break music - What the f are NFTs? - Our favorite music, starting with the ones that didn't make our top 5 - Breitling: Mogwai, Lilys reissue, Fievel Is Glauque, Spirit of the Beehive - Kumar: Ducks Ltd., Courtney Barnett, Jeff Rosenstock, Black Country New Road, Dry Cleaning, Fiddlehead - Breitling: Stomp Talk Modstone, Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders/London Sympathy Orchestra, Palberta, Kiwi Jr., Colleen, Fog Lake - Kumar: Chubby and the Nuts, Mdou Moctar, The Bevis Frond, Sleaford Mods, Colleen Green, TV Priest, Bachelor, Shame - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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.

14 Dec 20211h 4min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and retirement. Show notes: - Recorded recently via Skype - Will we see KISS JR.? - Will bands bring in replacements after the original members are all retired/dead? - Plenty of good cover bands out there who can probably outperform the originals - The "officially licensed cover band" - Hologram concerts are still trying to get off the ground - Fan base is also getting older - The big money these days is in hip hop, pop and country - Meanwhile, revered indie artists like Lou Barlow are playing living room/backyard shows - Who's going to stadium shows? - We don't like large venues - Bands like VH should release archival live shows like Neil Young - Sammy Hagar's living the good life - Bands that are outstaying their welcome - When bands you like are disappointing - Checking out Canadian classic rock radio - Nobody in 1991 would have predicted Dave Grohl would be the face of rock n' roll 30 years later - Will rock ever make a comeback? - Might end up like jazz, blues, bluegrass - Lots of interesting new rock coming out all the time - Commercial rock radio is pointless - It's easy to release albums, but tough to find an audience - Brian: Spotify's new music algorithm works well - Singers have a tougher time replicating their heyday - Iggy Pop has aged gracefully, believe it or not - We should take better care of artists - So hard to make a living as a musician these days - Jay: As a journalism major, I feel their pain - The band Sloan has carved out a nice niche in Canada Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts and anywhere else you get 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.

2 Nov 202156min