Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004. Show notes: Phil's #5: Arcade Fire with a rousing debut about suburbia Jay's #5: First album from Mission of Burma in 19 years kicks serious butt Phil's #4: The last U2 album Phil enjoyed Zebra once opened for their Zeppelin cover band Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Drive-By Truckers unleash another powerful concept album about the South Phil's #2: Brian WIlson finally releases unreleased epic album Smile The Beach Boys went from "America's Beatles" to an oldies joke band Jay's #2: Another excellent album from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Jay's #1: Debut from the Hold Steady combines '70s riffs with indie rock Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Mark Lanegan with a world-weary masterpiece with a little help from his friends Favorite songs: "Hit the City" (Phil), "Positive Jam" (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. 

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004. Show notes: In 2004, Jay became a father for the second time, was a diaper-changing machine Phil got married, saw the Red Sox and Patriots become champions Jay: Got an iPod, downloaded a ton of music Pixies reunited, Phish broke up Many bands take hiatuses The tale of Mr. Jimmy William Hung becomes famous Phil's non-top 5s: Wilco, Black Keys, Beastie Boys, Patterson Hood, Umphrey's McGee, the Killers, Green Day, Twilight Singers, Eagles of Death Metal, PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, TV On the Radio, Tragically Hip  Phil invents new words Green Day rejuvenates itself Jay's non-top 5s: The Walkmen, Death From Above 1979 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2003. Show notes: Phil's #5: Raucous debut from NYC's Yeah Yeah Yeahs, featuring the electric Karen O Jay's #5: Radiohead combined electronic and guitar-driven sounds Radiohead albums kept leaking early on file-sharing networks Phil's #4: The Shins hone their super catchy pop sound Jay's #4: An indie rock gem from the Wrens that still awaits a follow-up 20 years of starts, stops, indecision and disagreements Phil's #3: My Morning Jacket combined indie rock, Southern rock, folk and jam band sounds MP3 blog bands abound Jay's #3: Another kickass release from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Leo is one of the great unsung artists of our generation Is Springsteen overrated? Phil's #2: Drive-By Truckers add Jason Isbell and step up their game Jay's #2: A departure for Sloan, but one jam-packed with great songs The only Sloan album without an Andrew Scott song Phil's #1: The White Stripes expand their sound and totally blow up The Stripes made a lot of noise with minimal instrumentation Jay's #1: Greg Dulli's Twilight Singers unleash a classic album as a tribute to late friend Favorite songs: "The Hardest Button to Button" (Phil), "Teenage Wristband" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2003. Show notes: In 2003, Jay had a toddler and found out another kid was on the way Started downloading a lot of music via blogs Jay saw Pat DiNizio, Gord Downie, Radiohead, Guster Phil got engaged, saw a lot of Red Sox games Coed softball struggles 50 Cent had the #1 song of the year A lot of number bands on the charts What's the deal with Kid Rock? Phil's non-top 5s: TV On the Radio, Warren Zevon, Jason Molina, Black Keys, Jet, Outkast, Ween, Lucinda Williams, Bowie Jay's non-top 5s: Gord Downie, Electric Six, Dizzee Rascal, Stephen Malkmus, Zeppelin 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2002. Show notes: Phil's #5: Coldplay's second album turned them into superstars Jay's #5: Spoon returns to an indie and begins a long stretch of excellence Phil's and Jay's #4: Strong release from the Tragically Hip highlights their varied strengths Phil's #2: The last great Foo Fighters album caused a lot of turmoil for the band Jay's #3 and Phil's #1: Beck with another sad bastard folk-rock masterpiece Jay's #2: Killer debut from Interpol was part of the hot NYC scene of the early '00s It's hard for some bands to live up to a great first album Phil's #3 and Jay's #1: Queens of the Stone Age reaches new heights with help from Dave Grohl on drums Favorite songs: "No One Knows" (Jay), "End of the Day" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2002. Show notes: In 2002, Jay became a first-time dad and didn't get much sleep Jay turned 35, Phil turned 33 Phil was newly single, met his current wife John Entwistle died the classic rock star death Napster officially called it quits after lawsuits Owning music is an outdated concept now Nickelback had the top song of the year Charts had a mixture of nu metal, hip hop and pop Phil's non-top 5 albums: Doves, Sleater-Kinney, Flaming Lips, Spoon, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews Band, Interpol, Black Keys, Sonic Youth, GBV, Tom Petty, Bowie Jay's non-top 5s: McLusky, Hot Snakes, Trail of Dead, Elvis Costello, Broken Social Scene   We never saw a lot of the rock videos of this era This was the age of the MP3 blog     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.

Celebrating the podcast's 17th birthday by talking to Amanda Guest about the 10th birthday of the radio station she founded, BFF.fm. Show notes: Amanda was last on the podcast 10 years ago talking about moving to SF and launching BFF.fm Plenty of surprises along the way She was a DJ at the Salem State College (now University) station for 18 years Commercial radio was already being automated in the mid-'90s Built a studio in the Secret Alley in SF A lot of the DJs at BFF now weren't alive when Amanda was DJing in the '90s Shorter attention spans: Newer DJs are doing one-hour shows Jay has been doing a show for BFF since the station started "Where's Koomdogg?" Building exposure through a crazy boat DJing gig Became a nonprofit in 2015 Amanda was hired as the GM of the station, now doing it full-time Went from dues-based organization to nonprofit Allows BFF to fundraise and get grants Celebrating the station's 10th birthday with events throughout the city Amanda plans to stay involved but wants to retire at some point SF went into COVID lockdown early and stayed in it the longest Studio had to shut down so BFF enabled DJs to broadcast from home Found free space in the SF Ferry Building so were able to broadcast from there The future of radio won't get less corporate Not a lot of commercial stations for indie music, except for college stations Amanda: Big electronic music movement happening in SF Looking for new music The DJ as curator BFF has 120 shows on the schedule, most done live in the studio Different approaches to show construction Great achievements in song segues Jay: Coming up on 500 episodes of the radio show 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5 albums: Von Bondies, Radiohead, Sloan, Frank Black & the Catholics, Guided By Voices, Fugazi The joy of shopping for imports Phil's #5: Great distillation of classic rock from Sweden's The Soundtrack of Our Lives Jay's #5: Indie folk-rock on first solo effort from Gord Downie includes spoken word Phil's #4 and Jay's #3: Breakthrough album from the White Stripes blew up several months after it came out Jay's #4: The Strokes led the return of guitar rock with a NYC-centric sound Highlighted in the book and documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom Phil's #3: Spoon with a strong release after getting dropped from a major  Phil's #2: Another great album after getting dropped came from Wilco Phil's #1 and Jay's #2: A masterful double album about the duality of the Southern thang by Drive-By Truckers Jay's #1: Impressive release from Ted Leo & the Pharmacists showcased a melding of diverse rock styles Favorite songs: "Timorous Me" (Jay), "Ronnie and Neil" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2001. Show notes: In 2001, Jay found out he was going to be a dad and also went back to his old employer Jay turned 34, Phil turned 32 Phil got divorced 9/11 was a defining generational moment Jay: Saw concerts by Radiohead, Gord Downie, Tragically Hip, PJ Harvey, Built to Spill, Buddy Guy Apple launched iTunes music store and the iPod Napster got sued into oblivion Pop was big but garage rock started getting popular Lifehouse had the #1 single of the year? Scott Stapp wrote a pump-up song for the Marlins Phil got recruited by a Scientologist Phil's non-top 5 albums: Gorillaz, R.E.M., DMB, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fugazi, Stephen Malkmus, Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan  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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023. Show notes: Running down our favorite albums of the year so far Kumar's #10: Pile diversifies its sound Breitling's #9 and Kumar's #8: Yo La Tengo keeps on Yo La Tengoing  Kumar's #9: Dangerous sounding debut from Model/Actriz Breitling's #8: Continued excellence from Protomartyr Kumar's #7: Excellent third release from Washer, giving off Meat Puppets vibe Another great act on Exploding In Sound Breitling's #7: Fog Lake returns with a compelling slowcore release; may or may not be Shady Canadians Breitling's #10 and Kumar's #6: Perennially pissed off hip hop from UK Grim Breitling's #6: Lo-fi folk rock stalwarts Hands and Knees return with a strong release Kumar's #5: Yves Tumor mixes shoegaze, alt-rock and funk into a powerful concoction Breitling's #5 and Kumar's #4: Legit supergroup Boygenius delivers the goods Breitling's #4: Bully with another excellent rock album Tom Cavanaugh tangent time Kumar's #3: Catchy hardcore from Fucked Up represents a more spontaneous recording process Breitling's #3: Quick collection of rippers from New Zealand's Guardian Singles Kumar's #2: UK act Shame pushes out of their post-punk comfort zone Breitling's #2: Going back to Philly with Purling Hiss, bringing hooks and attitude to the party Kumar's #1: Power pop awesomeness from the indie all-star band that is Eyelids Breitling's #1: Jangly indie pop straight outta Columbus with Connections Kurt Loder tangent  Anticipated/newer albums: Drop Nineteens, Speedy Ortiz, Palehound, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Jason Isbell, Jeff Rosenstock, OSees, Blur  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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2023. Show notes: Recorded at CompCon HQ Concerts are back TicketMaster is still a mess Nobody's buying CDs The Beatles and AI Parcheesi Redux is in its third year Talking about the band Toronto and their hit "Your Daddy Don't Know," covered by the New Pornographers The kids are alright Rock music is still around, although it's a minor part of the music business Breitling's bubbling under albums: Everything But the Girl; Depeche Mode; Sharp Pins; OK Cool; Reds, Pinks and Purples; Pile; Squitch; Mui Zyu Jay's bubbling unders: The Hold Steady; The New Pornographers; Ron Gallo; Quasi; Mudhoney 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2000. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5 picks: Hot Snakes, Rollins Band, Fu Manchu, Pearl Jam Phil's and Jay's #5: Diverse offering from the Tragically Hip Phil's and Jay's #4: More accessible effort about living in NYC by PJ Harvey Phil's #3: Bluesy debut album from North Mississippi All-Stars Jay's #3: Electrifying major-label debut from At the Drive-In Featured in Dan Ozzi's book Sellout about indie acts who sign with majors Phil's #2: Phish blends some different styles into their jam band formula Jay's #2: Queens of the Stone Age's second album takes a big leap onto the rock scene Phil's #1: U2 bounces back with a back-to-basics release Phil: Feeling down about what was once his favorite band How bands age  The last really good U2 album Jay's #1: Radiohead totally reinvents their sound, embracing electronics Phil's not feeling it Favorite songs: "Optimistic" (Jay), "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2000. Show notes: In 2000, Jay got married Jay turned 33, Phil turned 31 Jay: Went to SXSW, saw Modest Mouse, Fu Manchu, Bevis Frond Pivotal year for the dotcom boom Albums were leaking on Napster before they came out A better year than '99 in terms of stuff we liked Top 100 songs were predominantly pop Phil's non-top 5s: Ween, Sleater-Kinney, Outkast, White Stripes, Rage Against the Machine, Ryan Adams, New Pornographers, Doves, Neil Young, Steely Dan, the Hives  Phil's out on runs scaring old ladies  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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1999. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: Frank Black and the Catholics, Sebadoh, Matthew Sweet, Piebald, Fu Manchu, Superchunk, Songs: Ohia, GBV Phil's #5: Third release from Rage Against the Machine continues their anti-capitalist bent Jay's #5: Flaming Lips complete their transformation into a different sound Phil's #4: Dave Grohl continues to fight Foo and get more commercial-sounding Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Built to Spill with the triumphant peak of their terrific '90s run  Jay's #3: The final Pavement album has only gotten better with age Phil's #2: Debut of Rilo Kiley was financed by Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall Jay's #2: Beck gets funky, continuing extreme genre shifts from album to album Phil's #1: Widespread Panic melds a lot of styles in a listener-friendly jam album Jay's #1: Back-to-back #1s from Sloan with a semi-autobiographical masterpiece Favorite songs: "Climb to Safety" (Phil); "Friendship" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1999. Show notes: In '99, Jay turned 32, Phil turned 30 Y2K was looming Phil got married, Jay got engaged Ireland on New Year's Eve Pop was on the upswing Nu metal and Woodstock 99 Music sales were high, but MP3s were about to take a big bite Santana made a huge comeback Phil's non top 5 albums: Magnolia soundtrack, Sleater-Kinney, White Stripes, Wilco, Sheila Divine, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Moby, Red Hot Chili Peppers,  The pickings were slim overall in '99 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1998. Show notes: More of Phil's non-top 5s: Monster Magnet, R.E.M., Hole, Dave Matthews Band Jay's non-top 5s: Tragically Hip, Monster Magnet, Jerry Cantrell, Frank Black and the Catholics, Beastie Boys, Rocket From the Crypt, Rancid, Cat Power Phil tells of a magical mixtape service Phil's #5: Moe with a jazzy jam band album Phil says he's not a "Moe-ron" Not hating on Steely Dan Jay's #5: Silver Jews with downbeat indie rock classic Phil's #4 and Jay's #2: The debut from Queens of the Stone Age kicks serious ass, combining stoner rock with robotic grooves Jay's #4: Followed up Odelay with the experimental Mutations Phil's #3: A fun release from the Beastie Boys Jay's #3: R&B-influenced album from Afghan Whigs was last before they broke up Phil's #2: Phish's 7th album featured a "cow funk" sound Phil's #1: Big breakthrough from Fatboy Slim paved the way for DJ as frontman Jay's #1: Sloan with a '70s vibe, from arena rockers to sunny AM pop Favorite songs: "Praise You" (Phil), "She Says What She Means" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1998. Show notes: 1998 was 25 years ago! Jay turned 31, Phil turned 29 The one-hit wonders were abundant Alt-rock was fading in popularity MTV was predominantly airing programming that wasn't videos MP3s became another way to share/steal music Paved the way for Napster and eventually the near-collapse of the music industry Pop was taking over: Britney, Backstreet Boys, N Sync Artists who started out great and then just sold out/sucked Phil's non-top 5's: PJ Harvey, Mercury Rev, Drive-By Truckers, Pearl Jam, Government Mule, Mark Lanegan, Jerry Cantrell, Tragically Hip, Neutral Milk Hotel  The Hip played at Woodstock '99 (correction: it was the weekend after JFK Jr.'s plane crash) 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1997. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5 albums: Cornershop, Yo La Tengo, Elliott Smith, Chris Whitley, Portishead, Ween Phil's #5 and Jay's #4: Ben Folds Five's breakthrough with piano-driven snark Phil's #4: Third album from Sleater-Kinney features Janet Weiss' debut on drums Phil's #3: Elliott Smith's lo-fi folk got a boost from Good Will Hunting Jay's #3: Built to Spill with another of their epic '90s releases Phil's #2: Dylan makes a triumphant return When artists stop writing new material  Jay's #2: A masterful release from Pavement Phil's #1 and Jay's #5; Second Foo Fighters album establishes Grohl and his band as a musical force Jay's #1: Radiohead reaches new heights on its third album How Jay learned to love Radiohead Favorite songs: "My Poor Brain" (Phil), "Karma Police" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1997. Show notes: In '97, Jay hit the big 3-0, Phil turned 28 Big year for partying Alt-rock one-hit wonders abounded: Marcy Playground, Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth Boy bands, hip hop, female singer-songwriters Phil's "bubbling under" albums: U2, Led Zeppelin, Bjork, Bowie, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Guided By Voices, Whiskeytown, Steve Earle, Prodigy, Radiohead, David Byrne  U2 lost the plot with "Pop" The interesting career of David Byrne 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.

This week, I'm joined by guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the resurgence of role-playing games. Show notes: - Recorded in Salem, Mass. - Last time we recorded for the show was two years ago - Time is passing quickly - Jay: Going into the office once a week now - Matt: It was an extrovert's world for a long time - Matt's still writing YA books - Matt has been running Dungeons & Dragons games since pandemic started - Unprepared for the number of people who wanted to jump in - Matt: Didn't have enough friends to play in high school - Was going to start doing it for corporate retreats when COVID hit - A legal dispute over licensing with Hasbro - Jay: Was a total comics nerd in high school - D&D made a comeback thanks to Stranger Things - A D&D movie is coming out with Chris Pine - Tom Hanks starred in Mazes & Monsters, a "Satanic panic" movie about D&D - Stopped buying comics when there were bills to pay - Matt: Plenty of non-D&D role-playing games are popular - Played Vampire: The Masquerade in the '90s - Matt does a podcast called The Ravenfolly Institute that follows D&D campaigns as they happen - Matt's super-productive in his spare time - Working on an "adult" gritty fantasy book - Book industry is in "dire need of reform" - The first of Matt's books is getting an audiobook - Struggling to get through Dune (the book) - Matt's learning how to play a Dune role-playing game - Listens to a lot of RPG podcasts; helps you learn the game - D&D has had peaks and valleys of popularity since the mid-70s - On its 5th edition; went back to older style but streamlined - The stigma of being a nerd is gone now - Board games in general have become popular again - You get what you put into playing RPGs - A lot of mystery-themed games - Matt: Storytelling is storytelling, whether it's books or RPGs or podcasts - Matt's the D&Dealer - Gotta have the "math rocks" - Also does sister podcast Characters & Class 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1996. Show notes: - Phil's #5: Cowboy Junkies score with their first album of originals - Jay's #5: Sebadoh with a sprawling collection of rockers and ballads - Phil's #4: Soundgarden's last album of the '90s turned away from their big hit - Jay's #4: Frank Black with another album of quirky greatness - Phil's #3: Phish with a fan-friendly studio release - Jay's #3: Cinematic-sounding crime saga from the Afghan Whigs - Phil's #2: Double album that was the breakthrough for Wilco - Jay's #2: After a brief breakup, Sloan comes back with a power pop classic - Phil's and Jay's #1: Beck blows up with a spectacular album that explores multiple genres - Favorite songs: "New Pollution" (Phil), "G Turns to D" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1996. Show notes: - In '96, Jay turned 29, Phil turned 27 - Days of little to no responsibility other than work - Adventures in sports gambling - Tougher year to come up with top 5 - The Macarena was all the rage - Phil's non-top 5s: Rage Against the Machine, Fiona Apple, Sleater-Kinney, Tragically Hip, Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Moe, Tracy Bonham, Luscious Jackson, Sublime, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Tom Petty, Tori Amos, Cake, Silver Jews - Rolling Stone lists are sheer clickbait - Jay's non-top 5s:  Soundgarden, Superdrag, Posies, D Generation, Weezer, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite music of 2022. Show notes: - On to our top 10 - Breitling's #10: Archers of Loaf returns with a different sounding release - Kumar's #10: Fontaines D.C. evolves its sound - Breitling's and Kumar's #9: Radiohead offshoot The Smile with an interesting return to early '00s sound - Breitling's #8: Pleasant surprise album from Palm - Breitling's #7: First Sub Pop album from Frankie Cosmos - Bernice taking over the couch - Breitling's #6: Shimmering pop brilliance from The Beths - Kumar's #6: A nostalgic rocker from Oceanator - Breitling's #5 and Kumar's #7: Horsegirl bursts out of nowhere with a lo-fi banger of a debut - Kumar's #5: Another strong release from Toronto's Kiwi Jr. - Breitling's #4 and Kumar's #8: Harking back to '85, band full of DC punk vets lands a massive post-hardcore statement - Kumar's #4: Triumphant return by Titus Andronicus overcoming setbacks - Breitling's #3: METZ side project Weird Nightmare is "peak Jay (Breitling)" - Kumar's #3: Afghan Whigs combines old collaborations with new sounds - Breitling's #2: A "modern shoegaze classic" from Helens - Kumar's #2: Sloan delivers another classic power pop album that they developed during the pandemic - Breitling's #1: Side project from Johnny Foreigner principals as Yr Poetry - Kumar's #1: Smart-ass and cynical look at being in an band from PUP   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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky/Parcheesi Redux East HQ - We've been doing this for 13 years! - Kumar: Went to some more shows this year - Breitling went to zero shows in 2022 - Things to look forward to in '23: The Cure returns, Drop Nineteens, Hallelujah the Hills' DECK project, Johnny Foreigner, Fucked Up, Blue Ocean, Peter Gabriel - Kate Hudson is supposed to be releasing an album - The varied talents of Fred Armisen - In '22, the music industry continued to struggle - Fewer revenue streams, fragmented audiences, content glut - Diaper payola - Even established acts can't sell new albums anymore - Artists are selling directly to their audiences through Patreon, etc. - Breitling's honorable mentions: Photon Band, Flyying Colours, Bitchin' Bajas, Kal Marks, Sun Airway, S.C.A.B., They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Kiwi Jr. - Kumar's HMs: Kal Marks, Built to Spill, Wet Leg, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Alvvays, Superchunk, Spoon, Jon Spencer and the HitMakers, Archers of Loaf, Black Angels, OFF! - Albums that came out early in the year feel like they came out much longer ago - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1995. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Mike Watt, Bjork, Guided By Voices, Boss Hog, Rancid, The Amps - Phil's #5: Bjork's second album embraces the quirkiness - Jay's #4: Jawbreaker's major label debut was a total bust, but it's really good - "Selling out" was a big deal back then - Phil's #3: The debut of Elastica was fully formed, but band disappeared a few years later - Jay's #3: Pavement's followup to their big break was dismissed as too weird, but now is considered a classic - Phil's #2: Neil Young teams up with Pearl Jam for strong release at the peak of PJ's fame - Jay's #2: Horn-powered kickass blast of an album from Rocket From the Crypt - Phil's #1 and Jay's #5: Dave Grohl emerges from Nirvana's shadow with first Foo Fighters album - Jay's #1 and Phil's #4: PJ Harvey changes up her sound and goes theatrical and atmospheric - Favorite songs: "Meet Ze Monsta" (Jay), "Alone + Easy Target" (Jay) - Next: Best of 2022 with Jay Breitling   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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1995. Show notes: - First show in quite a while - In '95, Phil turned 26, Jay turned 28 - We both saw a lot of concerts that year - Big deaths: Jerry Garcia, Eazy E, Shannon Hoon - Musings on Cleveland, where the Rock Hall of Fame opened in '95 - Jay saw a doubleheader of a Bruins game and a Chris Whitley show - Singles charts were leaning toward pop and lighter fare - Is band loyalty still a thing? - It's okay to not listen to every album in a band's catalog - Phil's non-top 5 albums: Belly, Garbage, Alice in Chains, Mad Season, Phish, Elliott Smith, Radiohead, RHCP, Sonic Youth, Matthew Sweet, Pavement, Ben Folds Five, Morphine, No Doubt, Throwing Muses, Green Day, Natalie Merchant, Son Volt, Smashing Pumpkins - It's a rare double album that can't be cut down to a single album - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1994. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Superchunk, Jeff Buckley, Drive Like Jehu, Rollins Band, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Helmet, Pulp Fiction soundtrack, Mark Lanegan, Nirvana - Phil's #5: Pearl Jam's third album gets a little adventurous and rough-edged - Jay's #5: The Tragically Hip gets more atmospheric after more straight-ahead rockers - Phil's #4: Debut album from Jeff Buckley showcases his vocal range and a flair for different styles - Jay's #4: The super-prolific Guided By Voices brings lo-fi rock into the forefront - Phil's #3: Nirvana reinvented the Unplugged format in a historic recording - Jay's #3: No sophomore jinx for Pavement, who broke through in an indie rock way - Phil's #2: Soundgarden breaks through to the mainstream - Jay's #2: Frank Black does a Bob Pollard impression with a lot of short bursts of awesomeness on his second solo album - Phil's #1: Green Day explodes into popular culture with a classic blast of snotty pop-punk - Jay's #1: An abrupt shift in sound from Sloan that led to them getting dumped by Geffen and briefly breaking up...but it's amazing - This was the peak of the '90s indie rock scene - Favorite songs: "Longview" (Phil), "Coax Me" (Sloan)   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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1994. Show notes: - Back after a two-month summer break - In 1994, Jay turned 27, Phil turned 25 - Steely Dan was touring again - Jay: Life improved in '94 on job and home front - Jay: Saw a ton of shows including Pearl Jam, Afghan Whigs, Rollins Band, Cracker, Soundgarden, Buffalo Tom, Blues Explosion, Tragically Hip, Sugar - Debating the merits of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Phil's kids love the pop music - Phil went to the infamous Green Day show at the Hatch Shell - Top singles were all pop and hip hop, lots of ballads - Big year for indie rock - Grunge peaked and major labels started signing bands from non-Seattle locations like Chicago, San Diego, etc. - Pearl Jam sued TicketMaster and tried to do a tour of non-TM venues, but it fizzled - Cobain's death was a pivotal moment - Woodstock '94 didn't get as much press as '99 - Other newsy events: Baseball strike, OJ Simpson chase, Eagles started charging $100 for concert tickets - Phil's non-top 5 albums: Alice in Chains, R.E.M., Hole, Beastie Boys, Weezer, Phish, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Sugar, Dinosaur Jr., Luscious Jackson, Beck, Liz Phair, Veruca Salt, Stone Roses, Jesus and Mary Chain, Portishead, Stone Temple Pilots, Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty, Neil Young & Crazy Horse - What is emo? Also, what is internet? - Weezer started out strong, but now they're a parody of themselves - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about movie fandom. Show notes: - Recorded while driving to Tree House Brewery - Watching scary movies as a kid - The Shining still holds up - Favorite directors: Kubrick, Scorsese, Tarantino - Jay: After Hours is a fun movie; similar plot to Into the Night, which came out around the same time - The current state of prestige TV is giving movies a run for their money - Better Call Saul is the latest great show - The early days of the pandemic led to watching lots of movies - Great time to catch up on old favorites and things you missed - The greatness of The Decline of Western Civilization, Part 2 - U2 was riding high until they released the movie Rattle and Hum - Lots of movies filmed in our area - Jay: After we had kids, didn't go to an adult movie in the theater for years - Movie dates used to be a big deal when we were younger - Don't do it that much anymore - The movie viewing experience at home is much better than it used to be - Phil hasn't been to a movie in a theater since the pandemic started - Watching edited versions of movies on network TV - We interact differently with movies today - Movie recommendations: Jay recommends Prey, The Limey, Burn After Reading, No Country For Old Men, Something Wild, After Hours - Phil recommends Bernie, I'm Thinking of Ending Things 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.

Celebrating the show's 16th birthday with part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our love of movies. Show notes: - Recorded while driving to Tree House Brewery - Phil remembers seeing "Bambi" in the theater and "Halloween" a little early - The interesting career beginnings of Kurt Russell - Jay: Watched a lot of Disney movies as a kid - Drive-in theaters were fun - Getting into James Bond movies - Jay's early favorites: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters - Getting scolded during E.T. - Date movies: Titanic was a weepy scene - In recent years, Jay takes his daughters to MCU movies - Sandler movies run the gamut - Seeing an R-rated movie with a friend's family - Watching adult content with your parents is seriously awkward - Jay became a Mel Brooks fan as a pre-teen - Watching old movies during the early days of the pandemic - Eddie Murphy's '80s standup wouldn't fly today - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1993. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Urge Overkill, Living Colour, Matthew Sweet, The Pursuit of Happiness, Paw, Fugazi - Some good comps and soundtracks: No Alternative, Sweet Relief, Judgment Night - Phil's #5: Belly with a strong debut - Jay's #5: Dinosaur Jr. straddles the line between alt- and classic rock - Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Smashing Pumpkins break through on sophomore effort - Jay's #3: Electrifying, raw second album from PJ Harvey - Phil's #2: U2 takes an interesting left turn with Zooropa - Jay's #2 and Phil's #4: Nirvana's abrasive followup to Nevermind - Phil's #1: Liz Phair with an audacious debut out of nowhere - Jay's #1: A dark look at modern romance from the Afghan Whigs - Favorite songs: "Mesmerize" (Phil), "Debonair" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1993. Show notes: - In 1993, Jay turned 26, Phil turned 24 - Jay moved to Middleton, Mass. - Phil saw the Breeders, Belly, Lenny Kravitz - Jay saw Nirvana and the Breeders, Midnight Oil, Lollapalooza - Big year for hip hop - Hair metal was dead - Phil's non-top 5s: Pearl Jam, Lenny Kravitz, Breeders, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Afghan Whigs, Uncle Tupelo, Frank Black, Juliana Hatfield, Morphine, Velvet Underground, Bjork, Cracker, Mazzy Star, Dinosaur Jr., Big Head Todd and the Monsters    - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - Breitling's #5: Papercuts with a solid effort featuring gratuitious Mellotron - Kumar's #5: Spoon serves up a quality dollop of Spoon - Breitling's #4: Elvis Costello in his occasional rock mode - Kumar's #4: The Smile fills the gap between Radiohead albums with a pretty damn good album - Kumar's #3: Oceanator brings the heat with revved-up guitar attack and a Doofenshmirtzian name - Kumar with the prog-rock contacts - Breitling's #3: WEMA is a London-based Tanzanian electronic act playing hypnotic worldbeat - Kumar's #2: Superchunk with a strong but restrained effort looking at life during a pandemic - Breitling's #2: Debut EP from SF act Neutrals that pushes shorter indie rock songs into long songs - Kumar's #1: Toronto punk-pop act PUP with a great concept album about a band named PUP breaking up - Breitling's #1: Debut album from Chicago's Horsegirl is full of "wall-to-wall bangasauruses" - Looking forward to new releases from Kiwi Jr., Built to Spill, Ty Segall, Sloan, Afghan Whigs 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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - Breitling's laptop is acting up - Concerts are mostly back - Kate Bush sees a resurgence in popularity - R.I.P., the iPod - RL Mathews discovers the new stuff - Breitling's honorable mentions: Graveyard Club, David West, Big Cream, Peaness, Golden Apples, Stomptalk Modstone, Pillow Queens, Pinchpoints, Flash Hits - Kumar's HMs: Papercuts, Kurt Vile, Savak, Sasami, Kids on a Crime Spree, Yard Act, Adulkt Life, Mister Goblin, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Elvis Costello - Good reissues from Pavement and the Flashing Lights - Kumar's #10: Pink Mountaintops bring the psych/sludge/synth pop - Breitling's #10: Lo Fi Legs, a musical band with a terrible name and good indie rock - Kumar's #9: Dan Bejar brings a little more danceability to the latest Destroyer joint - Kumar's #8: Jon Spencer's back with a fun record - Breitling's #8: Spiritualized is worth repeat listening - Kumar's #7: Wet Leg proves they're not a one-trick pony - Breitling's #7: Tremendous release from Pet Fox, featuring doods from Ovlov and Palehound - Breitling's #6: Yawners with the Spanish indie rock - Kumar's #6: Moody change of pace from Fontaines D.C. - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Show notes: - More of Phil's non top 5s: Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees, Kyuss, Jayhawks, Grateful Dead, Rage Against the Machine - A few more from Jay: Helmet, Faith No More - Phil interviewed hockey players who liked RATM - Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: Buffalo Tom hones their craft with their third album - Phil's #5: Neil Young turns down after a few years of extreme volume - Jay's #4: Beastie Boys with a killer album distinguished by more instrumentation from the boys themselves - Jay's #3: The Tragically Hip's best album gives off a distinctly Canadian vibe -  Phil's #3: The Singles soundtrack captured the Seattle sound - Jay's #2: Pavement brings the slacker rock on their debut - Phil's #2: R.E.M. at the peak of their commercial powers - Jay's and Phil's #1: Bob Mould starts a new chapter with Sugar - Favorite songs: "Hoover Dam" (Phil), "Summer Babe" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Show notes: - In 1992, Jay turned 25, Phil turned 23 - We both worked at local newspapers - The so-called grunge explosion kicked into full gear - Jay: Saw lots of great shows, including Lollapallooza, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney - "Bohemian Rhapsody" was back on the singles chart thanks to Wayne's World - Metal was phasing out - Keeping the band brand going - Jay's non-top 5s: Afghan Whigs, Sloan, Rollins Band, Black Crowes - Phil's non-top 5s: Luscious Jackson, Phish, Lemonheads, Cracker, PJ Harvey, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Bettie Serveert, Mudhoney - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Show notes: - Phil's #5: The debut of an unknown band called Pearl Jam - Album had a slow build, didn't really get big until spring '92 - Jay's #5: Smashing Pumpkins' debut is a guitar feast - Phil's #4: Prince's last great album, according to Phil - Jay's #4: Under-the-radar power pop genius from Scotland - Gene Simmons sued over the album cover - That time Simmons covered "Firestarter" - Phil's #3: Lenny Kravitz peaks on this second album - Phil's #2: U2 changes their image and sound - Shifted from Americana to German electronic sounds - Jay's #2: Soundgarden blasts into the stratosphere - Pissing off old people - Jay's #1: Matthew Sweet breaks through with a power pop classic - Great guitarists guesting, including Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd - Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Nirvana's revolutionary sophomore effort - Suffers from overexposure on classic rock stations now - Favorite songs: "Divine Intervention" (Jay), "Breed" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Show notes: - In '91, Phil graduated from college; Jay worked at the Peabody Times newspaper - A big year for rock, although a lot of the impact wasn't felt until the following year - Seeds for alt-rock explosion had been sown in the previous few years - Still a lot of classic rock, hair metal and pop on the charts - Freddie Mercury died, Lollapallooza tour started - Bryan Adams was in full balladeer mode - The evolution of Marky Mark - Clapton still sucks - Neither of us was a fan of the Use Your Illusion albums - Albums were way too long in the CD era - Phil's non-top 5 albums: Temple of the Dog, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, A Tribe Called Quest, My Bloody Valentine, Tragically Hip, Neil Young, Massive Attack, Primal Scream, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers - Jay's non-top 5s: Elvis Costello, Nation of Ulysses, Fishbone   - Rockit Records, R.I.P. - 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1990. Show notes: - Our top 5 albums of '90 - Phil's #5: Jane's Addiction with a sprawling classic - Jay's #5: Sophomore release from Living Colour explored a lot of different styles - Phil's #4: Sinead O'Connor blows up with her second album - Her SNL appearance in '92 caused serious controversy - Sinead is alive and well - Jay's #4: Kim Deal goes out on her own with the Breeders - Phil's #3: Phish comes into their own with second album - The jammier acts played the Northeast college scene in the late '80s/early '90s - Jay's #3: Public Enemy blasts through with a strident, political album - Phil's #2: Sonic Youth streamlines their sound on their major label debut - Jay's #1: Fugazi continues sticking it to The Man on their first full-length album - Phil's #1 and Jay's #2: Neil Young and Crazy Horse crank up the amps and embrace feedback - Phil saw this tour with Sonic Youth and Social Distortion opening - He might be making the best current music of his peers - Favorite songs: "Fuckin' Up" (Phil), "Merchandise" (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.