Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we wrap up the first round of a March Madness-style tournament featuring our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: Finishing up the rest of round 1 Stevie Wonder vs. the Pretenders Talking Heads vs. U2 St. Vincent vs. Sonic Youth Elvis Costello vs. the Replacements R.E.M. vs. the Who Beck vs. Dire Straits Jimi Hendrix vs. Jason Isbell Dinosaur Jr. vs. Foo Fighters Drive-By Truckers vs. Tom Petty Pixies vs. Fleetwood Mac Neil Young vs. Sleater-Kinney Steely Dan vs. Husker Du Van Halen vs. Blondie White Stripes vs. the Beatles J. Geils Band vs. Pearl Jam Nirvana vs. David Bowie Coming soon: Round 2, with more tough decisions 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 as we talk our way through a March Madness-style tournament of our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: We left out artists that we both didn't like: Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Radiohead, Joni Mitchell, Phish, Iron Maiden Also had to leave off a number of artists just for space considerations: Ramones, AC/DC, Feelies, Breeders, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. Some tough matchups in round 1 with randomized seeding The Smiths vs. PJ Harvey Spoon vs. Courtney Barnett Led Zeppelin vs. Bob Dylan The Cure vs. Prince Elton John vs. James Brown Pavement vs. Queens of the Stone Age Buffalo Tom vs. Rush Allman Brothers Band vs. Soundgarden The Kinks vs. The Rolling Stones Alice in Chains vs. Beastie Boys Bob Marley vs. The Cure Joe Jackson vs. The Afghan Whigs The Tragically Hip vs. Velvet Underground The Clash vs. Iggy Pop Stevie Ray Vaughan vs. The Police Sloan vs. Mark Lanegan To be continued with the rest of Round 1 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 bad songs from good artists.  Show notes: Songs we hate by artists we love Phil's #6: U2 makes a misstep Bono's talking tough Jay's #6: A #1 hit from Cheap Trick featuring outside songwriters The power ballad became huge for hard rock bands Phil's #5: AC/DC hits it big after losing their singer Jay's #5: When the biggest band tries to get weird Phil's #4: When GNR decided to cover Dylan They had lots of bad covers Jay's #4: When Aerosmith hit #1 with a soundtrack ballad Late-period Aerosmith is tough to take Phil's #3: The Smiths get preachy about animal rights Let's hear it for Bovine University Morrissey with ham-fisted lyrics about vegetarianism Jay's #3: R.E.M. had a couple of stinkers A version of the song ended up on Sesame Street Phil's #2: Punk rock upstarts go acoustic Green Day ended up becoming very mainstream Jay's #2: Bowie and Jagger with a very '80s abomination of a cover Video premiered during Live Aid Phil's #1: A definitive low for the Police at their most successful time Andy Summers wrote some bad songs every so often Jay's #1: Genesis with an all-timer of an offensive song The video alone is brutal Blame it on Mike Rutherford   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 bad songs from good artists.  Show notes: Songs we hate by artists we love Jay: Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" is so whiny it turned me off the band for a few years Songs you hate vs. songs you're sick of hearing Phil: Nirvana had some dumb songs Phil's dishonorable mentions: Songs from Bowie and Jagger, Beck, XTC, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, the Cars, Bob Seger  Phil bashes the Brits  Jay's dishonorable mentions: Songs by Soundgarden, Van Hagar, Rush, U2, Lou Reed Sammy Hagar's lyrics are...something Phil's #10: One of the Stones' bigger hits Jay's #10: Zeppelin goes honky tonk with meh results Phil's #9: Frat boy antics from the Beastie Boys Jay's #9: Andy Summers let his freak flag fly in the Police Phil's #8: The Dead goes disco with some rough lyrics The late '70s saw lots of rock acts try disco Jay's #8: Macca had some missteps, including his first teamup with MJ Phil's #7: The Beatles stumbled with an avant garde instrumental Maybe it was the drugs  Jay's #7: Dee Dee Ramone tries rapping with hilariously bad results 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 concerts.  Show notes: Our top 10 concerts in no particular order Phil: Banged up and seeing his first Dead show in Foxborough in 1989 The show is popular with Dead fans Jay: Caught Mike Watt backed by the Foo Fighters in their first Boston appearance in '95 Phil: 12 days after that Dead show, saw the Who at the same venue A 3-hour show for the 20th anniversary of Tommy Jay: The one area appearance by Them Crooked Vultures in '09 Supergroup with Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones Phil: McCartney at Sullivan Stadium in 1990 The tour book phenomenon Jay: Two shows in one night--The Amps followed by Mighty Mighty Bosstones Phil: U2 show on St. Patrick's Day '92 in Boston, Achtung Baby tour "Put it in H" Jay: Also a U2 show; September 1987 at the Boston Garden Phil: Dylan at Endicott College in October 1992 Tickets purchased at a local jewelry store Dylan almost didn't play because a heater wasn't working on stage Jay: Electric performance from Nick Cave's band Grinderman at House of Blues Phil: Pearl Jam at the Orpheum in April 1994 A few days after Cobain's death Jay: Front row at the Orpheum for Sugar, November 1994 Bob Mould's last tour with Sugar Phil: Neil Young at the Wang Center in 2018 with Jay Neil was solo, telling stories between songs Gotta see some of these older artists while they're around Jay: Pearl Jam in April '92 at tiny club Axis Just before PJ blew up Phil: Dead & Co. at Fenway in summer '23 $60 cheese pizza  Jay: Last month seeing Sloan in Toronto with my daughter Played their first album front to back Only concert I've ever seen in Toronto Phil: Phish playing third show in three nights at Mansfield Jay: Ty Segall at the late lamented Great Scott in 2014 So loud the floor was shaking Jay: No issues with seeing shows by myself Phil: Goose at MGM Fenway last year Played lots of covers, including the odd 36-minute jam Jay: First time seeing the Tragically Hip at the Paradise in April '91 About 25 people there, but the band killed it Saw the band many times after that 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 concerts.  Show notes: Cold weather running tips What makes a great concert? Small shows vs. stadiums Hard to pare down the list Limited to one show per artist Good idea for a sequel involving a time machine Phil leaned toward larger shows Didn't include: R.E.M., the Cure, Sleater-Kinney, Drive-By Truckers, Tedeschi Trucks Band  Jay: Prefer the intimacy of club shows We were at the same shows before we knew each other Phil: First concert was Van Halen in 1986 Setlist.fm is a great resource MTV's Saturday Night concerts Jay's first show was a festival show in Kingston, NH with Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford in 1984 Jay: Not a fan of festival shows anymore Adventures in seeing Rush Jay: Didn't see R.E.M. when they played my college  Other favorites: PJ Harvey, Hot Snakes, Lollapalooza '92, Afghan Whigs, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Drive-By Truckers, Alice in Chains/Screaming Trees, Peter Gabriel, White Stripes, Hold Steady, Mission of Burma, Gord Downie 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 about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: Our top 10 albums of the year Shout out to Rock P's top 20 out of 10 countdown JB's #10: Triple album tribute album for Jesse Malin, an underrated songwriter JK's #10: J Mascis incorporates hot guitar solos into a mostly acoustic album JB's #9: Hot collection of bangers from Cloud Nothings JK's #9: Farewell set from Toronto noise rockers METZ  JK's #8: Angry breakup album from Fake Fruit Coming up on the 5th birthday of Parcheesi Redux radio, SITG hit 11 this fall JB's #7: Retro '60s sounds from Sharp Pins JK's #7:  Philly indie rockers return with in-your-face collection JB's #6: More great SF indie bubblegum pop from Lunchbox JK's #6: Power pop scorchers courtesy of Daniel Romano's Outfit Reminiscing about ER and One Tree Hill JB's #5: Peel Dream Magazine delivers peaceful indie pop JK's #5: Dublin indie rock act Fontaines D.C. with commercial breakthrough JB's #4: Dog Day with economical set of bangers JK's #4: Slacker alt-country with hott lead guitar by MJ Lenderman JB's #3: Another Slumberland slacker indie pop success with Neutrals JK's #3: Indie supergroup the Hard Quartet with Malkmus and Matt Sweeney JB's #2: The rare Johnny Foreigner album that isn't #1, but it's still pretty great  JK's #2 and JB's #8: Triumphant return from the Cure after 16 years JB's #1: Chime School with the peak summer hang soundtrack JK's #1: A November release from Kim Deal is a terrific reflection on loss First solo album after 37 years in the music biz Looking forward to 2025 releases from Hallelujah the Hills, maybe more Johnny Foreigner, Horsegirl, Mogwai 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 Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: The 16th annual year in review  First one was in 2009 Cybertrucks are dumb Self-driving cars are also dumb Taylor Swift just ended a monster tour Music is a dead-end business for most Spotify sucks Country music is huge Breitling: There are some good underground country artists A good year for Tracy Chapman Social media landscape is shifting Lots of big music deaths: Quincy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Albini, Paul Di'Anno, Greg Kihn, Karl Wallinger Getting out to some rock shows: Hallelujah the Hills, Nuggets tour, Gang of Four, Hoodoo Gurus, Sloan in Toronto Breitling's honorable mentions: The TV show The Bear, Bug Club's song "Quality Pints," Fontaines D.C.'s "Favourite," Tsunami box set, Spectres, Kal Marks Kumar's honorable mentions: Dale Crover, Buffalo Tom, Ekko Astral, Jack White, Ducks Ltd., Mary Timony, Los Campesinos  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 instrumentals.  Show notes: Phil's #8: A jazz-funk classic out of Scotland? Jay's #8: Powerful surf rock from the Pixies Phil's #7: The Commodores with an early funk workout Jay's #7:  Dick Dale hit that was revived decades later in Pulp Fiction Song originated in the 1920s Phil's #6: Instrumental from Phish that evolved in the live setting Jay's #6: A sweeping song from Bowie's Berlin period Bowie switched genres and sounds with ease Phil's #5 and Jay's #3: A revolutionary moment for guitar heroics Edward Van Halen changed the game for rock guitar and hard rock Jay's #5: Hendrix blowing minds in the early morning hours at Woodstock Turning the national anthem into a protest song Phil's #4: Music mogul with a horn-driven dance song Sampled by Notorious B.I.G. Another horn-based song by Chuck Mangione went to #1 in '79 Jay's #4:  Iconic full-band instrumental off Zep II Killer riff combined with Bonham's monstrous drumming Phil's #3: Elton John with the first part of a two-part suite  Metallica did a great cover earlier this year Phil's #2: Tedeschi-Trunks Band with extended instrumental from experimental project Jay's #2: Concise, virtuosic classic from Rush's best album Phil's #1: Iconic song released by the Allman Brothers Band after the death of their ace guitarist Dickey Betts played song with two fingers as a tribute to Django Reinhardt Jay's #1 and Phil's #10: Epic, emotional guitar piece by Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic J Mascis did a great cover on Mike Watt's 1995 solo album 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 instrumentals.  Show notes: We're feeling goooood. What makes a good instrumental? Jay: I like the musicians in Red Hot Chili Peppers Not as many instrumentals made now as there used to be  No jazz instrumentals included in our lists Phil's bubbling under picks: Booker T and the MGs, Bar-Kays, Meters, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana, U2, Rush, Dick Dale, Beatles, Boston, TSOP, Bowie, Pink Floyd  Jay's non-top 10 picks: Rush, Van Halen, Focus, ELO, Pink Floyd, the Who, Iron Maiden, Commodores, Fugazi, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet Alex VH's new book ignores Sammy Hagar Some great instrumentals are TV themes like Barney Miller Jay's #10: The Police with a mysterious guitar exercise Phil's #9: Majestic song from the Who's first rock opera Fans in the '60s didn't know what to expect when bands were melting their faces Jay's #9: Beastie Boys break out the funk 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 cover songs.  Show notes: Jay's #7: Ty Segall with a ripper of a Neil Young cover Phil's #6: The live version of a Linda Ronstadt classic Jay's #6: An indie rock all-star band playing covers the Beatles played in their early days Greg Dulli, Thurston Moore, Dave Grohl, Dave Pirner, Mike Mills and Don Fleming Phil's #5: Phish covering the Stones Phish does tons of covers Jay's #5: An unexpected '60s cover from Husker Du Phil's #4: Coltrane with a wild twist on a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Jay's #4: Stripped down version of an English Beat hit by Pete Townshend Phil's #3: Rage Against the Machine's explosive take on a Springsteen folk song Jay: Forgot about Rollins and Bad Brains covering "Kick Out the Jams" Jay's #3: Dirtbombs with a smokin' garage punk remake of Stevie Wonder  Jay's #2: Nirvana's Unplugged show featured several great covers Phil's #1: Epic length cover "Morning Dew" by the Dead Watching old videos from the '60s and '70s to guess how old the crowd members are now Jay's #1 and Phil's #2: Mind-blowing Who cover of little-know Mose Allison song Jay: Live at Leeds is the greatest live album  All four members of the Who at the peak of their powers 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 cover songs.  Show notes: What makes a good cover? Be true to the song, but bring something of yourself to it Jagger and Bowie's cover of "Dancing in the Streets" is godawful In the '80s and '90s, used to get 45s or cassingles (or CD singles) to get B-sides Phil's honorable mention covers: U2, Courtney Barnett, Nirvana, Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, Beatles, Stones, Bjork, Aretha, Pearl Jam, CSNY, Cowboy Junkies Nirvana's MTV Unplugged has several great covers Zeppelin covered a lot of songs on their early albums, with or without giving credit Jay's honorable mentions: The Clash, Hendrix, Pretenders, U2, Charles Bradley, Thin Lizzy, Bjork, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Living Colour, Soft Cell, Johnny Cash, PJ, Deep Purple, Urge Overkill, Violent Femmes, Anthrax, Breeders, Cheap Trick, Malkmus and Elastica, Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age Phil's #10: Stevie Ray Vaughan takes on a guitar god's classic Jay's #10: Dinosaur Jr. makes a Cure song their own Phil's #9: Zeppelin's first album features a cover that was previously done by Joan Baez Judas Priest also covered a Baez song Jay's #9: A signature Blondie song was actually a cover Phil's #8: A timeless classic from the late '50s by the Flamingos Jay's #8: Sinead O'Connor made the definitive version of a Prince song Phil's #7: Faces with a powerful Temptations cover 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 the 2010s.  Show notes: Phil's 2016 #1: Drive-By Truckers with a political statement in a divided year Jay's 2016 #1: The final act of Bowie was a masterpiece Phil's 2017 #1: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile join forces Jay's 2017: #1: Strong second act from the Afghan Whigs Phil's and Jay's 2018 #1: Cathartic blast of political anger from Superchunk Phil's 2019 #1: David Berman's final album as Purple Mountains Real talk about people dealing with tough issues  Shocking deaths over the last decade Jay's 2019 #1: Sarcastic pop-punk excellence from Toronto's PUP Phil's 2020 #1: Jason Isbell deals with ghosts on his 7th album COVID memories Jay's 2020 #1: Topical protest hip hop from Run the Jewels 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 the 2010s. Also, happy 18th birthday to the show! Show notes: Wrapping up our year-by-year look at rock music starting with 1970 Each of us picking a favorite album for each year from 2011-2020 Phil's 2011 #1: Bluesy collection from Tedeschi Trucks Band  Susan Tedeschi grew up in New England Jay's 2011 #1: Concept album by Toronto's Fucked Up Phil's 2012 #1: Punchy punk rippers from Parquet Courts Neil Young and the art of the 15-minute song Jay's 2012 #1: Ty Segall Band with a heavy garage rock/psych sound Phil's 2013 #1: Laid-back slacker jams from Philly's Kurt Vile Jay's 2013 #1: An epic Queens of the Stone Age album written after a near-death experience Phil's 2014 #1: TV On the Radio's last album and first since bass player died Jay's 2014 #1: Expansive tour de force from Parquet Courts Phil's 2015 #1: Courtney Barnett combines conversational lyrics with hot guitar Jay's 2015 #1: Jeff Rosenstock delivers a pop-punk masterpiece On being the old guy at rock shows Next time: 2016-2020 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 about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: JB's #6 and JK's #7: Philly's Mannequin Pussy is a wide-ranging delight JK's 6: Excellent jangle rock from Toronto's Ducks Ltd. JB's #5 and JK's #3: J Mascis with a laid-back winner of a solo album Let us know if you want to be in the studio audience for the year-end wrapup JK's #5: A more electronic effort from St. Vincent The limited amount of media attention given to albums now How do current artists measure success?  Remembering weird synth pop from the early '80s Fewer barriers to entry, but fewer ways to get your music in front of people JB's #4: Another great Slumberland release from Lunchbox, featuring folks from Hard Left JK's #4: First release in 14 years from NYC art rockers Les Savy Fav JB's #3: NH-based act combines post punk with many different genres JB's #2: Johnny Foreigner returns with EP previewing their upcoming album JK's #2: METZ adds catchiness to their noise rock  JB's #1: Political swipe at gentrification from Neutrals Anticipated albums: Fontaines D.C., Sunset Rubdown, Johnny Foreigner, Chime School, Peel Dream Magazine, Jesus Lizard, Horse Jumper of Love, Los Campesinos, Osees JK's #1: Hot collection of power pop rippers from Daniel Romano's Outfit 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 Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: Crazy stuff going right as we started recording Concert tours getting canceled because of poor ticket sales (Black Keys, JLo) The phenomenon of Taylor Swift Vinyl is selling well, but half the people who buy it don't own a record player Another factor in the concert business struggles is the high price of tickets Apparently Gen Z loves dream pop Spotify accuses Hallelujah the Hills of gaming the system The Legend of Doo Doo Brown JB's honorable mentions: The Bret Tobias Set, Bug Club, Fontaines D.C., Ducks Ltd., Bedbug, Umbrellas, Torrey, Waxahatchee, Shellac, Buffalo Tom, Les Savy Fav, Pedro the Lion JK's honorable mentions: Cloud Nothings, Boeckner, Redd Kross, Mdou Moctar, IDLES, Plus/Minus, Bodega, Kim Gordon, DIIV JK's #10: Mary Timony's first solo album in 19 years JB's #9: Dope Yeti is the nexus of Beck, Dylan and GBV JK's #9: A quieter, more Americana-focused album from Buffalo Tom JB's #8: Strong modern shoegaze release from DIIV JK's #8: Second album from the Smile is an acceptable Radiohead substitute JB's #7: Cloud Nothings keep cranking out great albums 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 2010. Show notes: Black Keys cancel arena tour after way overestimating their popularity Phil's #5: Black Keys establish their popularity with poppier blues sound Phil's and Jay's #4: Superchunk returns after a nine-year break with an energetic pop-punk ripper Phil's #3: Lo-fi psych from Philly duo Reading Rainbow (now called Bleeding Rainbow) Jay's #3: Nick Cave returns with his harder rocking Grinderman project Phil's #2 and Jay's #5: More rock-oriented album from Drive-By Truckers Jay's #2: Politically-driven melodic punk from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists  Phil's #1: Neil Young with a solo effort with a lot of guitar effects Jay's #1: Titus Andronicus with your typical epic Civil War-meets-modern-day NJ concept album  Jay: Titus Andronicus is one of my favorite current bands  Favorite songs: "Hitchhiker" (Phil), "Theme from Cheers" (Jay) Next time we get together, we'll sum up the decade of the 2010s 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 2010. Show notes: In 2010, Phil became a dad for the second time A little running talk Kesha had the #1 song in 2010 with "Tik Tok" Phil asking philosophical questions Phil's non-top 5s: Darker My Love, Best Coast, LCD Soundsystem, Foals, Ty Segall, Spoon, Wolf People, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Jay's non-top 5s: Neil Young, Los Campesinos!, Arcade Fire, Black Mountain, Les Savy Fav When artists stop making good albums 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 2009. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: Arctic Monkeys, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Patterson Hood, Alice in Chains, Obits, Eels, Tragically Hip, Brendan Benson, Neko Case, Heaven and Hell Phil's #5: Yeah Yeah Yeahs make foray into dance rock Judas Priest makes good pump-up music Jay's #5: Trippy prog-metal from Mastodon Phil's #4: Neko Case is a force of nature Jay's #4: Art Brut with an entertaining collection of ripping artsy punk   Phil's #3: Slow-burning solo excursion from Patterson Hood Jay's #3: Anthemic punk/classic rock mix from Japandroids Phil's #2: Phish returns after a 5-year break Jay's #2: Jarvis Cocker with the kickass Albini-recorded solo ripper  Phil's and Jay's #1:  Monster supergroup debut from Them Crooked Vultures Jay saw TCV in Boston on their only tour Always cool to see someone from Zeppelin play live Favorite songs: "Angela" (Jay), "Elephants" (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 2009. Show notes: In 2009, Phil had a newborn and was expecting another We had a global pandemic in '09 (H1N1 swine flu) Biggest selling album in the world was by Susan Boyle Black Eyed Peas had a big year U2 had an album out, but didn't make much of an impression on us Phil's non-top 5s: The Dead Weather, Son Volt, Wilco, Jason Isbell, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, A.C. Newman, Titus Andronicus, Deer Tick  To smarm or not to smarm 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 2008. Show notes: Phil's #5: My Morning Jacket changes things up Jay's #5: Big space rock ripper from Black Mountain Phil's #4: Springsteen-inspired indie rock from the Gaslight Anthem Jay's #4: Stephen Malkmus gets jammy  Phil's #3: Tom Petty's early band Mudcrutch gets back together Jay's #3: Sloan with an economical power pop release Phil's and Jay's #2: Dark, inspired record from the Gutter Twins Phil's #1: Brooding classic from Death Cab for Cutie  Jay's #1: The Hold Steady hits an anthemic peak  Craig Finn is an atypical yet terrific frontman Favorite songs: "Stay Positive" (Jay), "I Will Possess Your Heart" (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 2008. Show notes: In '08, Phil became a dad M.I.A. with the Clash fakeout intro Phil's non-top 5s: The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, the Raconteurs, Beck, R.E.M., JJ Grey and Mofro, Sloan, Drive-By Truckers, Black Keys The Kelly Gruber Effect The other Phil Stacey releases his debut album, as did Scarlett Johansson and Bronson Arroyo Jay's non-top 5s: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Black Angels, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Destroyer Green Day was punk until they weren't Phil: Hearing the Kinks for the first time 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 2007. Show notes: Phil's #5: Sharp alt-country debut from Deer Tick Jay's #5: Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman Phil's #4: Compelling raunch rock from QOTSA Jay's #4: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with another quality ripper Phil's #3: Soulful belter Sharon Jones with a great throwback Jay's #3: Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment Labels were not happy that they took the risk Phil's #2: Dad-rock kings Wilco with a mellower affair Jay's #2: The original Dino Jr. lineup with their first album since '88 Phil's and Jay's #1: Spoon breaks through with a classic The decline of rock as a popular genre Favorite songs: "Don't You Evah" (Jay), "Impossible Germany" (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 2007. Show notes: In 2007, Jay had a kid starting kindergarten; that kids graduates from college soon Zeppelin played two reunion shows Separating the music from artists' bad behavior Daughtry had the #1 selling album of '07 Phil's non-top 5s: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the National, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Okkervil River, Buffalo Tom, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Arctic Monkeys  Let's hear it for Dad Rock On Madonna's career Discovering music through commercials or movies Music services Jay's non-top 5s: LCD Soundsystem, the Dears, Tim Armstrong, Black Francis, Thurston Moore, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Beastie Boys 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 2006. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: The Black Angels, Mission of Burma, Twilight Singers, The Tragically Hip, Girl Talk, Iron Maiden, Lemonheads Phil's #5: Beck's last really good album, especially the first half Jay's #5: First solo release from Pulp's Jarvis Cocker Phil's #4: Last Drive-By Truckers album with Jason Isbell expands their world view Jay's #4: Expansive and excellent outing from TV On the Radio Phil's #3: Droney, psychedelic fuzz from the Black Angels Jay's #3: Yet another great one from the Hold Steady Phil's #2: Sharp debut from Jack White-led Raconteurs Jay's #2: Sweeping double album from Sloan, chock full o' power pop goodness Phil's #1: Guitar greatness from Doug Martsch and Built to Spill Jay's #1: Audacious debut from Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys caught on with a whole new audience Favorite songs: "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" (Jay), "Goin' Against Your Mind" (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 2006. Show notes: First episode of the year In 2006, Jay had two little kids Phil was having fun When you don't know anybody playing the festival Top-selling album of the year was High School Musical soundtrack The Who released an album in 2006 Phil's non-top 5s: Neko Case, Destroyer, the Hold Steady, the Walkmen, Dylan, Heartless Bastards, Tom Petty, Eagles of Death Metal, Black Keys, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Jay: Check out Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins 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 2023. Show notes: We're in there like swimwear On to the top 10 lists Breitling's #10: Return to from by Fog Lake Breitling's #9: Frog's new release unexpectedly has received critical praise  Kumar's #9: Another consistenly great album from Protomartyr Breitling's #8: Minimalist excellence from Colleen that tests Jay's French pronunciation skills Kumar's #8: After an 11-year absence, the Hives' formula de rock still kicks ass in 2023 Breitling's #7 and Kumar's #10: Yo La Tengo still bringing the heat, opening the album with 7-minute feedback-laden ripper Kumar's #7 and Breitling's #6: Supergroup is actually super, Voltroning into a monster act Kumar's #6: Return of the rock with Queens of the Stone Age, chock full o' bangers from a super-tight band Breitling's #5: Philly represent with Golden Apples dropping indie pop/rock with the fuzz bass and some wooder ice Kumar's #5: SF's Pardoner brings an assortment of guitar sounds from the last 50 years to their latest slack masterpiece The '90s sound (and look) is still thriving Breitling's #4: More of the Philly goodness with Purling Hiss with the lo-fi hooky guitar rock Kumar's #4: Indie power-pop supergroup Eyelids delivers the super-catchy goods Breilting's #3: Bay Area shoegaze concern Blue Ocean returns with a weird and rewarding album Kumar's #3: Sharp, concise indie post-punk from Kansas-via-Boston act Sweeping Promises   Breitling's #2: Ohio-based indie act Connections connects with melodic rockers; RIYL GBV, Feelies Kumar's #2: New Zealand post-punk that smashes through with punchy, catchy rippers Breitling's #1: Long-awaited reunion album from American shoegaze icons Drop Nineteens does not disappoint Kumar's #1: Going into Hellmode with Jeff Rosenstock, who has been consistently releasing excellent albums for the last several years; additional layers of maturity and depth make this release all the more satisfying  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 2023. Show notes: Recorded at Clicky Clicky HQ The 14th year of "Year in Music" episodes Taylor Swift is big, but not bigger than Starbucks Breitling making fun of Croz Perfect synergy: The Stones tour sponsored by AARP Hall v. Oates KISS passes the torch to digital avatars of themselves The "new" old Beatles song Check it out on the YouthTube Spotify blows The kids love the streaming and whatnot Check out Parcheesi Redux Tuesday and Thursday on Mixcloud Also check out Brad Searles' show The Almanac on the first Wednesday of every month Shout out to the Rollins Archive Breitling's honorable mentions: Ted Pauly, Everything But the Girl, Cupid and Psyche, Everasting and Zilla, Superchunk Kumar's honorable mentions: Pile, Model/Actriz, Yves Tumor, Fucked Up, Shame, PJ Harvey, Peter Gabriel, Marnie Stern, Replacements' "Tim" reissue, Breeders' Last Splash reissue, Feelies live album of VU covers 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 2005. Show notes: Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: New Pornographers with another all-star power pop classic Phil's #5: Early '70s singer-songwriter jams from Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Still in the era of artists putting out overlong albums Jay's #3: Spoon expands their sound, grows their popularity Phil's #3: A powerful R&B belter from Sharon Jones Jay's #2: Queens of the Stone Age with a punchy follow-up to a monster hit Phil's #2: Beck with an Odelay-esque release with a nod to Latin music Phil's #1 and Jay's #4: Sleater-Kinney drops a monster rock album  Jay's #1: Another winner from The Hold Steady, blending big riffs and nerdy scenester tales Jay makes a Rush joke Favorite songs: "Jumpers" (Phil), "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" (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 2005. Show notes: In 2005, Jay was dealing with tiny children while Phil was newly married Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Pink Floyd briefly reunited Jay: Listened to a lot of songs via MP3 blogs Jay's non-top 5s: White Stripes, Black Mountain, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Wolf Parade, Against Me! Phil's non-top 5s: Sufjan Stevens, Son Volt, Bright Eyes, Neil Young, Trey Anastasio, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Southern Culture on the Skids, North Mississippi All-Stars Random cocaine references  Wilco with a good live 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 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.