Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Okkervil River, Beachwood Sparks and Midlake. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Brian: Birth of the cassingle - Inexpensive way to buy singles, B-sides - Brian: Collecting 45s for a jukebox - Jay: 1987 was big for female pop artists - Madonna, Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Lisa Lisa, Heart - Older songs like "Stand By Me" were re-released - Young Brian bought his first album in '87: The Monkees' Greatest Hits - New Monkees TV show came and went - Jay: Made two top 5 album lists, Then and Now - Jay: Then list (#5 to #1): Def Leppard's Hysteria, INXS's Kick, Cult's Electric, Whitesnake's s/t and U2's Joshua Tree - Whitesnake was the hard rock version of Ringo Starr's All Starr Band - Brian's #5: George Harrison's Cloud Nine, despite Jeff Lynne's heavy handed production - Jay's #5: Husker Du's Warehouse, not their best but still pretty great - Incredible run of al

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1987. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Guillermo Sexo, Natural Velvet and Speedy Ortiz. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Different perspectives: Brian was 5 in 1987, Jay was in college - Brian: The impact of La Bamba, movie about Richie Valens - Kicked off a roots rock revival - Jay: Big year for alternative rock - Breakout year for R.E.M., The Cure, The Cult - Jay: Making the transition from metalhead to alt-rock fan - No regional radio anymore - Brian: CDs started catching on, especially when Beatles catalog was released - CDs provided definitive versions of albums - Became easier to make mixtapes - Jay: Huge year for U2 with The Joshua Tree - Landing tickets for U2 in '87 was no easy feat - Brian: GNR's Appetite for Destruction actually paved the way for hair metal's demise - Harked back to sleazier sounds of '70s garage rock - Jane's Addiction seemed dangerous back then - Guitar music was movi

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss actors turned singers. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Sebadoh, Mind Spiders and Diarrhea Planet. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - John Travolta's music career was dragged out over three albums - "All Strung Out on You" could've been a Velvet Underground outtake - Co-writer Nino Tempo had an illustrious acting career as an extra - Burt Reynolds made an album in '73 - Burt reads from his childhood diary - Ric serves up crap on my podcast, not his - Adam West's novelty record - Other actors who made albums: Telly Savalas, Ted Knight - Plenty of musicians who became actors: Kris Kristofferson, Jagger, Bowie - Mark Wahlberg and Justin Timberlake have done well as actors - Actors turned musicians: Kevin Bacon, Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Russell Crowe, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson - Rick James produced Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time" - Eddie had already moved from comedian to movie star - In "Boogie Nights,

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss actor-turned-singer David Soul's massive 1977 hit song. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Mean Creek, Los Campesinos and Shearwater. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - David Soul, aka Hutch from "Starsky and Hutch," just turned 70 - "Don't Give Up on Us" hit #1 in April 1977 - Soul started out as a folk singer - "Don't Give Up on Us" in the same vein as wuss rock by Bread, Dan Hill, Manilow - Ric: Soul was on Private Stock Records, which churned out pop hits - Label run by Larry Uttal, who was previously a hitmaker for Bell Records - Private Stock master tapes were all lost after label went bankrupt - Soul just had the one hit - The B-side was weird song called "Black Bean Soup" that sounded like old Robert Palmer - John Travolta was another actor with a record deal in the '70s - Travolta was a teen idol after "Welcome Back, Kotter" and "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble"; pre-Saturday Night Fever and Grease - Bi

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our society's obsession with the apocalypse. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Marnie Stern, The Superman Revenge Squad Band, Radstewart and Thee Oh Sees. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Phillion - Neil Gaiman's American Gods may someday become an HBO series - Seven stories keep getting retold - When authors can't finish their series - John Irving writes last line of a novel first - Writing novels vs. screenplays - Barrier to entry in moviemaking was cost of film, with books was publishing - Now you can self-publish online - Matt's film Certainly Never was screened at Massachusetts Independent Film Festival - The satisfaction of slamming down a phone is gone - Fun at the Boston "Nerd Prom," aka ComiCon - Nerds rule the world - Why does The Hobbit require a movie trilogy? - When reality and satire are easily confused - Outrage-powered culture - Viagra has created an army of horny geezers - Hopefully we won't have to

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our society's obsession with the apocalypse. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Nine Inch Nails, Obits, Girls Against Boys and Wavves. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Phillion - Obsessing over the end of the world is nothing new - Harold Camping boldly predicted the end date in 2011...twice - Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide in '97 - Kirk Cameron and the Rapture - Recent apocalyptic movies include This is the End and Pacific Rim - Disaster movies have done big business for decades - Matt's dog doesn't dig doomsday discussion - Zombies are all the rage - Matt recommends Peter Heller's post-apocalyptic thriller "The Dog Stars" - Matt: Are all our best stories about the end of the world? - In the '80s, fears of nuclear annihilation - Lots of crazy natural disasters happening - Fears of a virus wiping out mankind - Stephen King's "The Stand" explored these issues in '78 - Japanese monster movies came after the A-

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Amanda Guest as we discuss the new online radio station she's launching. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from PJ Harvey, The Moondoggies, Wavves and King Tuff. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Launching her own radio station, BFF.fm - Taking back real radio - Hope to bring back the college radio experience - KUSF is trying to stay alive - Amanda: College radio had a huge impact - Amanda lives within walking distance of rock clubs in SF - Already had discussions with venues about sponsoring shows - Starting with seven DJs - One DJ in Massachusetts pre-recording shows - Even before launch, BFF.fm has generated a lot of enthusiasm - Amanda: Work full-time gig so she can do this during her spare time - Bonehead of the Week Music:PJ Harvey - Shaker Aamer The Moondoggies - Red Eye Wavves - Hippies is Punks King Tuff - Anthem Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The PJ Harvey song was r

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Amanda Guest as we discuss the new online radio station she's launching. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Black Rebel Motorcycle, Quicksand, Rocket From the Crypt and Dinosaur Jr. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Amanda was last on CompCon in October 2010 - Moved to San Francisco a year ago - Launching her own radio station, BFF.fm - Did a radio show at WMWM at Salem State - Found studio space to rent at The Secret Alley - Adventures in Console Purchasing - Have 4-5 DJs lined up to do shows - Possible launch date is Sept. 1, but you can listen to music there now - Best Frequencies Forever - Using word of mouth - Partnering with San Francisco venues and brands - Possible remote broadcasts with DJs from around the world - Focused on underground music - DJs "pay to play" in SF - Hoping to get sponsorships - Still working full-time while getting BFF going - Lifelong dream to start a radio station - SF is a lot more optimistic - Bonehead of the We

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2013 and look ahead to the rest of the year. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Savages, Veronica Falls and Mikal Cronin. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - JB: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Ripely Pine - Maine native wrote songs while working in video store - JK: The National - Trouble Will Find Me - Still digging into this one - What's the deal with Vampire Weekend? - JB: Slowdim - s/t - "A real nice listen" - JK: Mikal Cronin - MC II - Plays in Ty Segall's band - The Besnard Lakes are an interesting band - JK: New Sabbath is surprisingly non-sucky - Old bands getting eclipsed by cover acts - The Stones should just stop - New Arcade Fire album expected in the fall - JB: New Soccer Mom full-length may be out this year - New music from Earthquake Party and Guillermo Sexo - JK: Looking forward to new Obits album - More new Pixies music on the wa

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2013. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Speedy Ortiz, Radiator Hospital, Kurt Vile and Light Heat. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Rick Moranis has a new album out - Rush's only U.S. top 40 hit was 1982's "New World Man" - Brought to you (not really) by Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' - JK: iTunes crashed, lost all playlists and play counts - Spotify recently added music recommendations - Serious signal-to-noise ratio - YouTube's a great source of cool audio and video - JB: A lot of great music from Exploding in Sound label - JB: Ovlov - Am - JK: Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana - Featured on JB's Lilys comp - Many young bands embracing '90s sounds - JB: Krill - Lucky Leaves - Bass-playing singers free up space for guitarists - JK: Palma Violets - 180 - Catchy Britpop that rocks - JB: Radiator Hospital - Something Wild - Album title comes from Jonathan Demme movie -

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss music we've outgrown. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Queens of the Stone Age, The National, Superchunk and Eleanor Friedberger. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic - Jay: U2 was favorite band from late '80s to early '90s - Diminishing returns over last 20 years; sick of Bono - Brian: R.E.M. was approaching that territory when they quit - Brian: Done with Metallica - Jay: Musically, haven't dug them since The Black Album - Brian: Want to get back into old (non-Metallica) thrash - Not loving the Cookie Monster vocals - Jay: Once liked Don Henley's solo work, now hate him - Brian: Second incarnation of Aerosmith from 1985-on is terrible - Music got dumb, started working with outside writers - The curse of '80s production techniques - Brian: Not a good time for hard rock recording now; too much compression - Jay: Hair metal lost its appeal quickly - Saw many hair metal s

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss music we've outgrown. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Pixies, Obits, Adam Franklin and Bob Mould. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's comics podcast The Hour Cosmic - Will launch Input/Output, a music-themed show, soon - Tracking the different Black Flag reunions - Rollins doesn't sing anymore - Kim Deal leaves Pixies - Rumors of new Pixies recordings (we talked a few days before the new Pixies song dropped) - Music we once loved but have outgrown - Brian: The Offspring (on Jay's list as well) - Somehow grew popular - Jay: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Really, it's Kiedis who hasn't aged well - Awkward moments at Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductions - The greatness of Tom Scharpling and The Best Show - The bland rock of Bad Company - Brian drops a bomb with Sonic Youth - Just can't get into them - Jay: Sting has grown tiresome - Big fan of The Police, but in the early '90s, Sting began to suck mightily

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we present our ideas for rebooting classic sitcoms. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from METZ, Majical Cloudz, Speedy Ortiz and Murray A. Lightburn. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Jay: Movie reboot of Laverne and Shirley starring Emma Stone and Ellen Page - Set at a Seattle microbrewery - AV Club's Random Roles feature is terrific - Ric: Sets Happy Days in 1991 Seattle, called Dazed and Abused - Jason Everman's strange trip - Let it go, Dave Mustaine - Jay: Bosom Buddies reimagined with dudes dressing as women in drag - Ric's take on Hangover 3 - Dueling Mork and Mindy remakes - Ric: Get Robin Williams to play older Mork - Jay: Alien lands in Portland, followed around by documentary crew - What the hell is the Modern Family documentary about? - Arnold does great commentary tracks - Ric: Leave It to Cheever - Partridge Family reboot with the Kardashians - The new Jay Leno Show - Ric still wants to make the reality show B

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we present our ideas for rebooting classic sitcoms. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Speedy Ortiz, Hunx and His Punx, Moon King and Mikal Cronin. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Ric beats a cybersquatter at his own game - Ric wants to reboot American Idol - "Celebrity Barrel Jumping" - Tom Scholz of the band Boston is into "freestyle figure skating" - Ric: Judges would be voted off each season by fans - Show would have weekly winner like Jeopardy - Chuck Barris was talent show pioneer with The Gong Show - Jay: Reimagined take on Sanford and Son starring Indian father and son convenience store owners - Stretch of minority-themed sitcoms in the '70s - UPN network had several black sitcoms in the '90s - The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer was comedic look at slavery - All in the Family could never air today; people are too sensitive - The late '60s scourge of "interracial touching" - Recent Cheerios commercial with inte

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Lewandowski as we discuss our status as outsider sports fans in the Boston area. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from David Byrne and St. Vincent, Overseas, John Vanderslice and Stephen Malkmus. Show notes: - Recorded on a sweaty night in Beverly, Mass. - Boston went from Loserville to Titletown - The legend of Wayne Gretzky started when he was a kid - Jay: Rooted for the Patriots when they were horrible - Supporting our teams has been a mostly futile endeavor - Jay: Reliving the Leafs' horrible choke against Boston - Big sporting events somehow lead to idiots rioting - NFL games are much more fun when you watch at home - Jay: Still go to college hockey games - Brian wept when his team won college lacrosse championship - Jay: I want to see the Leafs win the Stanley Cup before I die - Brian roots for New England Revolution - Jay: Watching the Leafs in the playoffs is a tense, miserable experience - Brian: Still hoping Sabres and Bills will win

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Lewandowski as we discuss our status as outsider sports fans in the Boston area. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Fidlar, Eddie Spaghetti, TV on the Radio and Archers of Loaf. Show notes: - Recorded on a sweaty night in Beverly, Mass. - Brian changed his standup name to Brian Gerard - Experimented with different names - We both grew up elsewhere and moved to New England - Rooting for non-Boston teams - Brian grew up in Buffalo, is a big Sabres and Bills fan - We're used to our teams losing - Buffalo also had an NBA team in the '70s - Brian moved to Kentucky as a kid - Jay moved to southeastern Washington state - Nobody there knew what hockey was at the time - Jay: Right after we moved away, a junior hockey team moved to the area - Jay: Never a fan of the Montreal Canadiens - The magic of Don Cherry - Cherry was played by Jared Keeso in a couple of Canadian miniseries - Brian roots for the Atlanta Braves because he lived there for a while -

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss some of our favorite compilation albums. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Speedy Ortiz, Thee Oh Sees, Mikal Cronin and The Melvins. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Drinkin' beer and talking rock - Check out JB's new comp, And I Forgot a Long Time Ago How You Feel - Covers of early period Lilys songs - JK: Three basic types of comps, not including soundtracks - Tribute, genre and benefit comps - No Alternative came out in '93 - We learn more about Lance Diamond - During the Goo Goo Dolls' last days of non-suckage - Part of Red Hot series - JB: Red Hot and Bothered was the indie rock version - JK: Deadicated was a Grateful Dead tribute featuring the likes of Jane's Addiction, Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett - Taping songs off the radio - JK: The Bridge was a great Neil Young tribute featuring alt-rock artists like Pixies and Sonic Youth - Lots of tribute comps came out in early '90s - Now there are string

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the new Lilys tribute compilation he curated. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Pet Milk, Infinity Girl and The Weaks. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - JB's writing for new music site Vanyaland - Breitling's second compilation; first one came out a year ago - Comp's called And I Forgot a Long Time Ago How You Feel - Covers of early period Lilys songs - Found bands from Boston and beyond who were Lilys fans - Would have liked to do this comp first - Great response to Nofuckingwhere, the first comp - Ride's management contacted JB - Future .38 Special comp? - Shout out to our good friend Mike Piantigini - Why aren't we getting free beer? - JB also organized a great benefit show last November - Starting to plan next benefit for Community Servings - JB's doing some promo for the comp - Hasn't talked to Lilys leader Kurt Heasley about the comp - Last four songs come from album Eccsome the Photon Band - Would

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a swingin' episode of I Dream of Jeannie. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from At the Drive-In, Shellac and Jawbox. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel - Season 2 of I Dream of Jeannie, episode aired in April 1967 - Larry Hagman, R.I.P. - Did Americans really throw "mod parties"? - Pre-Summer of Love '67 - Barbara Eden hasn't really done anything else - Young Dabney Coleman makes a cameo - Bill Daily plays the George Costanza-esque sidekick - Sitcom lies are so badly written - This show was a clear ripoff of Bewitched - Jay breaks out his Paul Lynde impression - Trying to create a new dance craze - Unrelated sight gag in the kitchen - Imagining a darker turn of events - Much of the episode was people dancing - Dube: Too much plot and not enough going on - The whole master-servant theme was odd - Dube goes off on Kate Hudson - Modern version would make

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a not-so-classic episode of the Brady Bunch. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Gories, King Khan and Mind Spiders. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel - Season 5 of the Brady Bunch, episode aired in January 1974 - Brady Bunch producer used the show to air a pilot for a spinoff - Ken Berry was the "star" - Berry was in Disney movies, F Troop, failed pilots, later Mama's Family - Show's kind of a bummer - Brady Bunch audience must have been annoyed by lack of Bradys - Gotta love the racial platitudes - Where are the blue kids? - The mini-Warriors - Berry teaches the kids the ol' soft shoe - Snobby racist neighbor character - Groovy Greg Brady makes an appearance - Dube makes gratuitous Arkancilliopoulos reference - Pilot was never picked up - Norman Lear was doing cutting edge racial humor; this show, not so much - Bonehead of the Week Music:The Go