Completely Conspicuous 641: The Troubled Teens

I talk to Phil Stacey and Dave Olson about baseball's cheating scandal while we drive to a rock concert. Show notes: - Recorded on the way to see the Drive-By Truckers in Somerville, MA - Not the first cheating scandal in MLB, but this has a different feel - Houston Astros accused of stealing signs on the way to 2017 World Series - Every team cheats in some way or another - "If you're not cheating, you're not trying" - Corked bats, scuffed pitches - Baseballs were juiced last year to generate interest - The sport is fading in popularity - Too slow for short attention spans of today's society - Steroids in the late '90s were ignored in favor of home run records - Did the punishment fit the crime? - Astros were fined and lost draft picks, but could have been worse - MLB didn't expect this to blow up; former Astro revealed it in an interview - Public reaction has been loud - Two other teams have fired their managers who had connections to Astros that season - Did MLB and the teams coordinate these actions? - MLB wants this to go away and it's not - Other teams and players are upset about it - A pitcher sued because Astros lit him up and he was out of the majors - Astros are going to be booed mercilessly all season on the road - We don't know how much the sign stealing helped them - Houston will get some big TV ratings this season - Brought to you by Google Maps - Altuve was a heroic figure, now tarnished - MMA and pro wrestling are resonating with a younger generation - A lot of baseball teams struggle to fill the seats - Young kids would rather watch eSports, where other people play video games - Easier to cheat in baseball or basketball - Astros intern figured out how to steal signs and convinced management to adopt it - Astros players should expect to get hit by a lot of pitches this season 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.

4 Mars 202034min

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire - Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp - Commercial rock radio is dying - In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area - Brian has satellite radio - GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer - The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound - Mark McGrath is always working - The Cameo economy - Talking to musicians - The ubiquity of Henry Rollins - The musician deaths have always been plentiful - 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio - So many big names in rock are getting older - Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey - Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows - Rush will never play another show - R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup - More fun with Cameo - Don't wait to see a band you like - Jay: Trying to see bands I haven't seen before - Making up for lost time with some bands - Some bands sound better than ever: Dino Jr., Ween - Ozzy's looking pretty rough these days - Some artists you don't want to see anymore 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.

26 Feb 202041min

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Brian's first appearance on the show in two years - The rock deaths keep on hitting us hard - Neil Peart's recent death was surprising and shocking - Brian: Not a big Rush fan, but respected them - A couple of really good documentaries about the band - Rush followed their own path - Andy Gill of Gang of Four kept touring and recording right until he died - Big deaths that impacted us - Jay: Peart, Gord Downie, Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty - As a kid, remember Randy Rhoads, Bonham, Bon Scott, Keith Moon - Later, Cobain and Layne Staley - Tortured artist syndrome - Meanwhile, the Stones keep chugging along - Brian: McCartney is still amazing live into his 70s - Neither of us has seen the Stones live - Brian: Regret not seeing classic acts at least once - Prince played crazy long shows - Getting harder to stay out super late - "Farewell tours" tend to often be false alarms - A little more urgency to see certain artists who are older - A lot of reunion tours these days: Jawbreaker, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, Hoodoo Gurus - Will young artists today have the same longevity as the older artists now? - Touring's the only way to make money these days - Not even worth it for older acts to release new material now - Radio won't play new music from legendary acts - Classic rock fans don't want to hear new music, they just want the hits - You know what you're getting from a new AC/DC record - Many bands continue on after members die - Replacing iconic singers with unknowns - Alice in Chains has recharged their career somewhat post-Staley - Sublime's singer/leader died before their big album came out - To be continued 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.

19 Feb 202045min

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Go to Heaven. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - The Dead transitioning into a new decade, the '80s - Cover may have given fans the wrong idea - Short outing at only 38 minutes - One of the least favorite studio albums among Dead fans - Phil: A real mish-mash - Contractual obligation: Third studio album in four years - AOR was getting big - The Godchauxs were gone - Brent Mydland brings a smooth Michael McDonald vibe that is off-putting - Grateful Dead keyboard players : Spinal Tap drummers - Some Dead classics on this album: Alabama Getaway, Althea - Didn't make another studio album for seven years - Jay might go see Dead & Co. with Phil at some point - Phil: This is their second-worst album - Lost Sailor doesn't work - Three straight Weir/Barlow songs - Saint of Circumstance could be an '80s sitcom theme song - Bob Weir loves the short shorts - Hey, we used to wear them, too - Mickey Hart eventually got into world music - Mydland's Easy to Love You could have been a pop hit - Album ends with a rave-up cover of Don't Ease Me In - Phil: In defense of U2's Zooropa - When we next convene, we'll talk about late '80s Dead 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.

12 Feb 202051min

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Shakedown Street. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - First ep of the new decade - Shakedown Street came out in '78 - Lots of musical stuff happening: Disco, punk, new wave, hard rock - Disco wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be - Jay: No guilty pleasures: If you like it, you like it - The Dead were coming off a triumphant '77 - This was a contractually obligated studio album - Lots of influences thrown in: Funk, disco, African jazz, rock - Met with savage reviews - The version of "Good Lovin'" here pales in comparison to the live version, especially when Pigpen sang it - The last album with Donna and Keith Godchaux - Title track gets slagged as bad disco, but we dig it - Shakedown Street is now the name of the merch area at Dead & Co. shows - Pressure was on from Clive Davis for them to have hits - This album was produced by Lowell George of Little Feat - Seen as a disco album, but it's pretty diverse musically - The Dead weren't a great studio band - Mickey Hart stepped up with three songs - Phil: "I Need a Miracle" might be the best song on the album - "Stagger Lee" has an interesting history; versions were covered by many different artists - Jay: The Nick Cave version is the best, and the most profane - Album was scattered because of different influences plus substances - "All New Minglewood Blues" is a pretty rockin' cover - Dead appeared on SNL that year - Ends with a Garcia-Hunter love ballad that works - Jay: Liked about half the songs on the album - Next: 1980's Go to Heaven 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.

5 Feb 202048min

It's part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite albums of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Breitling's #4 - Former Boston act now relocated to Nashville - Perfecting her sound - Kumar's #4 - Introspective album that topped my midyear list - Sweeping, synth-driven songs - Breitling's #3 - Worthy follow-up to classic mid-'90s indie pop release - Expansive and experimental - Kumar's #3 - Return to rocking from for NJ punk stalwarts, produced by Bob Mould - Surprisingly succinct from a band known for 8-minute epics - Breitling's #2 and Kumar's #6 - Majestic final release from artist who tragically took his own life right after it came out - Backed by the band Woods - Kumar's #2 - Third release from Toronto punk-pop act - Writing about frustrations of getting older - Breitling's #1 - Recently released instant classic from Boston indie rock act - Frontman Ryan Walsh wrote album after dealing with struggles writing his book about Astral Weeks - Kumar's #1 - Veteran Canadian power pop act with another great release - All-star team of musicians - Darker feel than some of their other albums 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.

31 Dec 201950min

It's part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite albums of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - The top 10 - Breitling's #10 - A surprising solo debut from a veteran rock legend - Kumar's #9 - Raw shoegaze effort from Brooklyn act changing its sound - Breitling's #9 - Electronic album with an analog feel released late in the year - "Crust ambient" - Kumar's #8 - Power pop-punk album about the aftermath of broken relationship - Great album cover - Breitling's #8 and Kumar's #10 - Strong release from shoegaze pioneers - Trying some different things - Breitling's #7 - Shoegaze duo from California that likes to take its time - All killer, no filler - Berniece's sleep aggression - Kumar's #7 - Second release from indie legend's latest band - Embracing '80s hard rock sound - Breitling's #6 - Used to call this band the Steve Miller of indie rock - Opinion has changed, especially with the latest release - Sound is augmented by female singers - Kumar and Breitling's #5 - Latest in an strong stretch of releases from this punk/alt-rock legend - Sounds as good as he ever has - Unusually upbeat - Next: Our top 4 albums 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.

24 Dec 201948min

It's part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - This program is not affiliated with Moviefone - A decade of talking rock - Near - Breitling: Had time to listen to a lot more music this year - The Billie Eilish vs. VH debate has been raging for a while - Kids don't know or care about music from 10 years ago, let alone 35 - A lot of butthurt older music fans getting worked up for no reason - Most kids have zero interest in classic rock - Listen to what you want - The "OK Boomer" phenomenon - When music becomes something on in the background - Breitling needs to see Idiocracy - The albums that didn't make our top 10 lists - Breitling: Floating Points, Rroxy More, Top Down Dialectic, Katie Dey, Max Richter - Kumar: Mikal Cronin, Ty Segall, Mark Lanegan, Trinary System - Mission of Burma's second act may be done - Breitling: Juana Molina, Bedroom Eyes, Lubec, DIIV, Tullycraft, She Sir, Snowball II - Kumar: Sleater-Kinney with a controversial new album; Janet Weiss pushed out of the band - Breitling: Would have been better received under a different band name like Unicorn Butt - Kumar: Pixies, Palehound, Kim Gordon, Pile, Black Mountain, Sebadoh, Fontaines DC, Telekinesis, Hold Steady, Desert Sessions, GBV, Wilco, Plague Vendor, Oh Sees, Nick Cave - Breitling: Better Oblivion Community Center, Florist, Big Thief - Next: Our top 10 albums 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.

17 Dec 201947min