Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss life after close to a year in pandemic lockdown. Show notes: - Tough to not see friends - Matt runs Dungeons & Dragons games via Zoom - Surprising number of people are into D&D - It's a good escape from the world - Like a weekly therapy session - Companies use D&D for corporate retreats - Games have grown in popularity during the pandemic - Jay: We started playing a family dominoes game every Saturday - Jay: Played the board game Pandemic years ago - The CDC's zombie announcement - People will run toward the zombies - Going to movies seems so far away - Jay: Like going to concerts, don't love going to movies - Tough time to be a theater actor - Miss going to bars - Will masks stick around after the pandemic ends? - Toilet paper hoarders - Matt ordered TP last April; it arrived in October - Waiting for normalcy - Matt: Look forward to seeing nieces and nephews again

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss life after close to a year in pandemic lockdown. Show notes: - Haven't talked for the show since November 2019 - Coming up on the first anniversary of everything getting locked down - Matt was already used to working from home - Matt writes YA superhero/fantasy books including The Indestructibles series - Hasn't been able to go to fantasy or comics conventions - Jay: Miss the interaction of being in the office - Now used to the WFH life - Strange to spend all day at home with your family - Matt has been working remotely for over a decade - Companies will probably do away with full offices at some point - Matt: Working in an office forces you to plan for inefficiency - WFH requires self-discipline - Definitely tougher for folks with small kids - Matt dealt with the challenges of ancient Wifi technology in 2010 in Ireland - Employers will have to adjust post-COVID - Commuting suck

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1981. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: The Stones have a massive hit with a collection of outtakes - Followed up with a massive stadium tour - Jay's #4: Prince keeps getting better but not yet breaking through to the mainstream - Pushing the envelope with explicit content - Phil's #3: J. Geils Band's pop breakthrough - Was "Centerfold" banned by WCOZ? - Jay's #3: Fair Warning was my favorite Van Halen album - Darker tone than other VH albums - Phil's #5 and Jay's #2: Rush hits the sweet spot with Moving Pictures - Side 1 is flawless - Phil's #2: An underrated U2 record, even by U2 fanatics - Got into it when it came out - Phil's #1: The Police reach commercial success - Hit their pop potential while maintaining their unique sound - Jay's #1: Going out there with Mission of Burma's debut EP - Hugely influential on score

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1981. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay turned 14, Phil turned 12 in '81 - Jay started the year in Canada, finished it in the U.S. - No good radio station, listened to a lot of my own stuff - Phil: Started buying my own music in '81 - Listened to a lot of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - "Bette Davis Eyes" was the #1 single of the year - REO Speedwagon had a big year - K-Tel used to make big hits compilations - Ozzy bit the head off a dove (and later a bat), horrifying moms across America - MTV went on the air in August '81 (Jay didn't have it until '85) - Stones' massive tour was sponsored by Jovan Musk - When Jon Anderson of Yes teamed up with Vangelis - Phil's not-top-5 albums: Foreigner, Loverboy, The Cars, The Who, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Go-Gos, The Kinks, ZZ Top, X, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Genesis, Phil Collins, Tom Tom Club, Da

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80 - Phil's #5: The (English) Beat with a fun release - Jay's #5: Ozzy comes back from the dead (career-wise, anyway) - Album was later re-recorded to replace rhythm section's parts to avoid paying royalties; original version was restored - Jay reps for the NWOBHM - Phil's #4: Rush tempers its prog leanings with newer influences - Jay's #4: Bowie wraps up a brilliant decade with another classic - Phil's #3 and Jay's #2: Talking Heads embrace African sounds - Adrian Belew boosts the sound with sick guitar work - Jay's #3: Peter Gabriel continues with his impressive solo career - Phil Collins debuts his gated drum sound on this album - Phil's #1: U2's debut is filled with youthful exuberance, mistakes and great songs - Immersing yourself in albums with your Walkman - Jay's

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1980. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay turned 13, Phil turned 11 in '80 - U.S. boycotted the Summer Olympics - Major deaths: Lennon, Bonham, Bon Scott, Ian Curtis, Darby Crash - Sony Walkman went on sale in the U.S. - Solid Gold made its debut - Blondie had the #1 single of the year with "Call Me" - Disco was fading, new wave and hard rock was gaining prominence - The never-opened Christopher Cross album - A lot of good albums came out this year - Phil's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Feelies, The Jam, Soft Boys, Elvis Costello, X, B-52s, The Clash, Joe Jackson, Devo, Dire Straits, Blondie, Loverboy (!), UB40, Genesis, Prince, Pete Townshend, J. Geils Band, Steely Dan, Bowie, VH,   - Jay was out of the music loop for 6 weeks in early '80 while in India - "Have you seen Kumar's grades?" - Jay's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Police, VH, X, P

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1979. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay turned 12, Phil turned 10 in '79 - "My Sharona" was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100, lots of disco - Rod Stewart hit it big with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" - New wave was getting attention - A wealth of great albums - Jay's favorite non-top 5 albums: The Knack, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Supertramp, AC/DC, Joe Jackson with two classic albums - Phil's non-top 5 faves: Bob Marley, Blondie, Joy Division, Pink Floyd, Gang of Four, XTC, Michael Jackson, Neil Young, The Cars, The Police, The Kinks, Van Halen, Elvis Costello, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Prince, Talking Heads - Phil's #5: Joe Jackson's killer debut is just packed with great, punchy songs - Jay's #5: Pink Floyd with an epic concept album, their last great record - Phil's #4 and Jay's #2: Neil Young ends an amazing run of albums with a killer (and heavy) reco

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1978. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Jay turned 11, Phil turned 9 in '78 - Big festivals, including Texxas Jam - Lots of disco on the singles chart - Phil's favorite non-top 5 albums: Ramones, Blondie, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Jerry Garcia Band, Bob Marley, Rolling Stones, The Jam, Devo, Bob Seger, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Little Feat, Big Star, Marvin Gaye, Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Cheap Trick - WKRP in Cincinnati on DVD and music licensing (UPDATE: Turns out a bunch of the music was restored on a recent DVD set) - Cheap Trick At Budokan is one of the greatest live albums ever - Jay's favorite bubbling under albums: The Police, Rush, Dire Straits, The Who, Peter Gabriel - Phil's #5: Neil Young revisits the laid-back sound of Harvest - Phil's #4 and Jay's #4: Talking Heads explore a more danceable sound - Phil's #3: Debut from The Police made a big splash

It's part 2 of my Zoomtastic conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2020. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - On to our top 10 - Kumar's #10: Dan Bejar with another great cinematic Destroyer album - Breitling's #9: A hooky rock record from Bully - Kumar's #9: METZ with an accessible yet pummeling record - Breitling's #8: Spectres with a disconcerting release - Kumar's #8: Jeff Rosenstock has become a reliably excellent indie rock stalwart - Breitling's #7: Hop Along's Frances Quinlan goes solo - Reppin' for the new movie Sound of Metal - Kumar's #7: Boston act Eldridge Rodriguez with a sweeping, epic album - Dog walkin' time - Breitling's #6: The Psychedelic Furs with the superb comeback album nobody expected - Kumar's #6 and Breitling's #4: Sadie Dupuis (aka Sad13) branches out with a pop-driven release - Breitling's #5: A true banger from IDLES - Kumar's #5: The Coriky album is as close to a Fugazi reunion as we're gonna get - Kumar's #4: Greg Dulli delivers a compelling sol

It's part 1 of my Zoomified conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2020. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - This podcast is not affiliated in any with MovieFone. - The first time in nine years that we're not talking the year in rock in the same room - No live shows after early March - Breitling last saw Hallelujah the Hills at Great Scott last November, Kumar saw Drive-By Truckers at Somerville Theater in March - Devastating economic impact on all the non-musicians who work to put concerts together - If approved, Save Our Stages act would aid live venues - Many independent Boston-area venues have already closed - Great Scott may reopen in a new location - No touring means no income for many smaller artists - Streaming royalties need to be updated and increased - The Breitlings enjoyed Strange Brew recently - Plenty of livestreams, free, for charity and for profit - Bandcamp Friday has been a good way to

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1977. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - A startling number of great releases in '77; a lot of terrific debuts - Singles chart was topped by disco and pop: Rod Stewart, Andy Gibb, Streisand, KC and the Sunshine Band, Engelbert Humperdinck - Jay's non-top 5 faves: Ramones had two albums, Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders, the Damned, Richard Hell, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick had two, Bowie had two, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Rush, Neil Young, The Clash, Wire, Max Webster  - Jay: My dad had disco mixtapes, - This was recorded before Johnny Lydon said he had flea bites on his dong - Phil's non-top 5 favorites: Grateful Dead, Television, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, the Kinks, AC/DC, Dead Boys, Queen, Linda Ronstadt, Wire, Clapton - The cover of Queen's News of the World scared young Phil; Kmart had a cleaned-up alternate cover - Jay's #5: Peter Gabriel's solo

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1976. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - America was all about the Bicentennial in 1976 - Disco was picking up steam - Arena rock and MOR was huge - Phil's non-top 5 favorites: Eagles, Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Bowie, Zevon, J. Geils Band, Rolling Stones, Boz Scaggs, Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Wings, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Seger, Modern Lovers   - Like a lot of '76 records, don't love a lot of them - AC/DC re-released Dirty Deeds five years later in the U.S. - Bob Seger liked the double entendres - Jay's non-top 5 faves: Max Webster, Blondie, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Blue Oyster Cult, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty - Phil's #5: Jerry Garcia solo release spawned some Dead staples - Jay's #5: Aerosmith continues their strong mid-70s run - Phil's  #4: Petty's stellar debut - Jay's #4: Zeppelin releases a sprawling, epic album - Phil's #3: Dylan's las

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1975. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - RIP to EVH - We both saw VH in 1986 - In '75, Phil turned 6, Jay turned 8 - "Love Will Keep Us Together" was the #1 song of the year - Disco was starting to emerge - The S.N.A.C.K. concert - Phil's non-top 5: Parliament, Burning Spear, Patti Smith, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Dylan and the Band - Jay's non-top 5: AC/DC, Rush, The Who, Supertramp, Springsteen, McCartney/Wings - Phil's #5: The Who tries some different sounds - Jay's #5: Pink Floyd follows up a classic with another classic - Phil's #4 and Jay's #3: Bowie moves into another phase - Jay's #4: Queen breaks through with "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Phil's #3 and Jay's #2: A gut-wrenching release from Neil Young - Phil's 2: Dylan's 15th album is one of his best - Phil and Jay's #1: A double album that highlights

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we remember the greatness of Eddie Van Halen. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Last spoke in late March but feels a lot longer ago - We've been fascinated by Van Halen's career, the good and the bad - Eddie had dealt with cancer before - Death still came as a shock - Plenty of musician deaths this year: Neil Peart, Andy Gill, David Roback, Kenny Rogers, Bill Rieflin, Bill Withers, Adam Schlesinger, John Prine, Florian Schneider, Pete Way, Peter Green - Eddie was iconic and eternally youthful - Brian: First video I remember seeing was "Jump" - Played on Letterman a few times - Jay: Stopped listening to VH in '91 and didn't again for almost a decade - The "Right Now" video was surprising - Dropoff in quality after Roth left - 2012's A Different Kind of Truth was a decent way to go out - Hopefully there will finally be some archival VH releases - Who buys greatest hits albums? - Eddie's guest appearanc

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1974. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Phil finally got a haircut - In '74, Phil turned 5, I turned 7 - Capt. and Tennille got married, Sonny and Cher got divorced - "The Streak" was a big hit - Phil: Looking back, liked more songs than albums in '74 - Not a long list of albums we liked - Radio was the main source of how people discovered music at that time - Phil's likes: Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, Bob Marley, Lou Reed, Gram Parsons, Big Star, Van Morrison, Clapton - Jay's likes: Rush's debut album, Genesis, The Who, Queen, Steely Dan, Aerosmith, Zappa - The various, very different, phases of Genesis' sound - Queen is more popular than ever - Jay's #5: Supertramp's breakthrough - Phil's #5: Another great Stevie Wonder album - Jay's and Phil's #4: Neil Young with a mellow classic, powered by "honey slides" - Jay's #3: Big Star with an underrated power pop gem - Phi

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1973. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" was big in '73 - Dark Side of the Moon spent 741 weeks on the Billboard albums chart - Big singles from Jim Croce, Paul Simon, Roberta Flack, Stories, Joe Walsh, Stealers Wheel - Jay's bubbling under albums: Wings, Queen, Lou Reed, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Sabbath - Marvin Gaye: Not a subtle man - Phil's bubbling under: Bob Marley and the Wailers, ZZ Top, Grateful Dead, Gram Parsons, Rolling Stones, ELP, Iggy and the Stooges - Jay's top albums: NY Dolls, Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zep - Dark Side of the Moon has been so overplayed over the years, but still a great album - Phil's top albums: Allman Brothers, Elton John, Bowie, The Who, Led Zep - The ridiculous coincidences of HBO's Vinyl - Quadrophenia is the last great Who album - The underrated John Paul Jones - Jay's favori

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1972. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Re-recording because of audio issues - Missed the podcast's 14th birthday - In '72, Phil turned 3, Jay turned 5 - Big tours going on: Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, McCartney - Different concept of band longevity back then - A lot of soft rock on the singles chart - Phil's faves: Neil Young, Bowie, Elton, Stones, Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, War, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Big Star, Stevie Wonder, Little Feat - Pete Townshend's solo debut - Jay's faves: Sabbath, Steely Dan, Stones, NY, Lou Reed, Big Star, T. Rex, Alice Cooper, Roxy Music, Bowie - Favorite song from favorite album:  "Jack Straw (live)" (Phil) and "Moonage Daydream" (Jay) - Did audiences appreciate what they were seeing back then? - Sometimes people have too much fun at shows - Next time: 1973 Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscr

It's part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the year so far. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Breitling's #10 and Kumar's #8 - Jangly indie pop sounds from Australia - The lack of touring is really hurting bands and fans - Breitling's #9 - A Matmos side project, "a niche of a niche" - Kumar's #10 - All-star post-punk act out of LA - Kumar's #9 - The loud/loud dynamic - Breitling's #8 - Solo album from singer of Hop Along - Breitling's #7 - Ambient electronic from an Italian musician in his 60s - Bandcamp Friday has been a big hit this year - Kumar's #7 - New band from Ian MacKaye, Amy Farina and Joe Lally - Harking back to Fugazi's sound - Kumar's #6 - Texas-based act with members from the Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against - Breitling's #6 - Another great Slumberland release - Breitling's #5 - Dream pop from the Ukraine - Kumar's #5 - Indie rock stalwart continues evolving his sound - Ku

It's part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the year so far. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - R.I.P., Great Scott - Big blow to Boston rock scene - Venues, bars, restaurants are going out of business all over the country - Breitling and college friends have resurrected their old radio shows on Mixcloud - Parcheesi Redux is on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays - Now 17 weeks in - Music industry is at a standstill - Touring has ceased altogether - RATT's back, baby (thanks to Geico) - Livestreams have become a thing - There's no money in album sales anymore - Breitling: Have been listening to more music this year - Breitling's faves outside the top 10: Jesse Gallagher, Hum, Phoebe Bridgers, Katie Day - Kumar's on the bubble picks: EOB, Jeff Rosenstock, Peel Dream Magazine, Porridge Radio, Savak - Next time: On to our top 10 Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast direc

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1971. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - The disappointing ZZ Top Sixpack box set - Early Bob Seger is good - Started seeing more solo albums - The rollercoaster ride of Doors fandom - Jay's faves (not #1): Rolling Stones, McCartney, Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic, Sabbath, Lennon, Bowie, the Who - When you've heard songs you love too many times - Jay's #1 - Zeppelin's pinnacle - Don't need to listen to it anymore - Licensing songs to death - Don't understand people who listen to the same music they did 30 years ago - Country music is the new pop - Phil's faves: Allman Brothers, Sly Stone, John Prine, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Joplin, CSNY, Elton, Traffic, Nick Drake - Phil's been listening to a new album every day during quarantine - Phil's #1 - The Stones were in the middle of a killer run - A band that was greater than the sum of its parts - A few more from Jay:  T. Rex, Ki