Completely Conspicuous

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Mike Heyliger as we discuss the transition of moving to the Boston area. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Gorillaz, Boots Electric, Andrew Bird and Mike Doughty. Show notes: - Check out Mike's blog Popblerd - Mike grew up in New York, moved to Boston in 2008 - Slow adjustment - Mike: Every time I go back, I like NY less - Slower pace in Boston, except for the drivers - Jay: Even slower pace in NH - Mike: Occasionally gets crap for wearing Yankees gear - Not a ton of diversity in Boston - Jay: Toronto is extremely diverse - Still plenty of racism to go around - The world's a lot different than it was 30 years ago - Mike: Boston music scene is better than NYC's - Good selection of clubs - Mike's broken $100 ticket barrier to see Prince, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z/Kanye - To be continued - Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Gorillaz (feat. Andre 3000 and James Murphy) - DoYaThing Boots Electric - I Love You All the Thyme Andrew Bird - EyeonEye Mi

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss the new Van Halen album. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Hounds Below, Dinosaur Jr. and Black Mountain. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Jay: An impressive outing for a band at this stage - Not many bands have taken such a long break and returned strong - Mission of Burma and the Feelies are better than ever - Where does this rank in VH pantheon? - Jay: Ranks 7th after first six DLR albums, ahead of Hagar - Brian: Michael Anthony's harmonies are missed - Brian: VH should do a tour with Dave and Sammy - What would you pay $90 to see live? - Brian: McCartney's current band is excellent - Arena shows are quickly getting priced out of reach of much of public - Brian: Bob Mould noted particularly egregious lyrics on new VH single - Brian: Aerosmith is long overdue for a good album - Jay: Last good Aerosmith album was more than 20 years ago - Good run of Aerosmith albums in the '70s - Steven Tyler has become the d

Part 1 of my conversation with special guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss the new Van Halen album, the band's first with David Lee Roth in almost 30 years. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Frank Black and the Catholics, Buffalo Tom and Hot Snakes. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Not interested in Grammy Awards - Gary Cherone was in band at its worst - Brian: Only VH album in his iTunes is VH III - Brian started listening to VH in early '90s - Always preferred DLR - Jay: First VH album was Diver Down on cassette - Diver Down was a cash-in album - Jay: Liked Hagar, but not as VH singer - Lyrical content not a big concern for VH - Brian: VH III was pretty stark - Eddie's synth phase was similar to what Rush did in the '80s - VH has always picked curious opening acts - Wolfgang is a decent bassist - Neither VH or DLR had done anything good for 20+ years - Jay: Eat 'Em and Smile was better than 5150 - Brian: First impression of new album was it sounds like DLR solo album - Jay: First sing

Part 2 of my conversation with special guest Brad Searles as we discuss band reunions, among other rock topics. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Cloud Nothings, Joseph Arthur and The Cult. Show notes: - Check out Brad's excellent blog, Bradley's Almanac (http://www.bradleysalmanac.com/) - Recorded at the Sunset Grill in Allston, Mass. - Brad's bad memories of seeing Pixies open for U2 - Praise for Stewart Copeland - The massive influence of the Pixies - Brad: Recording at Fort Apache was daunting - Possible Stone Roses reunion in the works - Codeine's doing reunion shows and releasing box set - Chickfactor is bringing a bunch of bands back together: Lilys, Small Factory - Guided By Voices reunites classic lineup - The power of Janet Weiss - Great music blogs: Chromewaves, Clicky Clicky, Largehearted Boy - Brad recommends Soma.fm streaming radio - Brad does a DJ night with Jay Breitling at River Gods in Cambridge, Mass. - Making time to do things your way - A lot of blogs died after chasin