Completely Conspicuous

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss our favorite albums of 1970. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Phil's got some quality hockey hair going - Going to go through our favorite albums of each year from 1970-2020, starting with '70 - We were both under the age of 3 - Pretty varied list of favorites from that year - Popular music was splintering into many different genres - FM radio was pretty freeform - Radio was the main way to discover music back then - Some interesting tour pairings - Altamont was an abrupt end to the hippie era - Big deaths in 1970: Hendrix and Joplin - Phil's favorites (except #1): The Who, CSNY, Neil Young, Led Zep, Van Morrison, Derek & the Dominoes - Jay: Not a Clapton fan - Phil: Kinks, Beatles, George Harrison, McCartney, Miles Davis, Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Chicago, James Taylor, Elton, Stones - Phil's #1 - The Dead's best studio album - Jay: Deep Purple, Hendrix, Funkadelic, Black Sabbath, Stooges  -

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the final Grateful Dead studio album Built to Last. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - Built to Last released on Halloween 1989 - Jay had just graduated from college, Phil was a junior - Jay: Don't remember this album even coming out - Phil: It's not memorable - Felt like band was going through the motions - Brent Mydland dominated the album with four songs - He was suffering from depression; died a year later - Maybe Garcia and Weir didn't have enough good material - Fall '89 Dead shows are considered the band's last great run of concerts - Tried the same recording technique as previous album but it didn't work - Garcia said Mydland's songs were better - Final song is really bad - Phil: They had enough material to record another album - You can find version of them online - Garcia started getting into drugs again - Concert performances suffered - Band members started doing other projects - A cou

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album In the Dark. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom - We originally planned to do this in early March, but then something happened - In the Dark was released in July 1987, seven years after the last Dead studio album - Phil had just graduated from high school, Jay was going into junior year of college - The band had been playing the songs in concert for years - Jerry Garcia had gone into a diabetic coma in '86 - Had to re-learn how to walk, talk, play guitar - Band was renewed after his recovery - CDs were just starting to get popular - We both didn't get CD players until 1989 - First CDs: Phil's was 10,000 Maniacs, Jay's were Cult, the Who, Joe Jackson - The Best of Steve Miller was a college staple in the '80s - Recorded live in an empty theater - "Touch of Grey" was all over MTV and rock radio that summer - Very catchy single - Phil: Album was breath of fresh air after two dis

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss quarantine life. Show notes: - Recorded recently via Skype - What's the first thing you'd do post-COVID? - All the big movies got pushed back to later in the year or 2021 - Some movies are going straight to streaming - When will we feel comfortable at crowded concerts again? - If touring slows down, how will musicians survive? - Artists may have to go directly to fans for support - Lou Barlow started a subscription service - Artists have done similar things for years: Rundgren, Prince - Might see more music made by artists stuck at home - Suddenly we have a lot of time to listen to records - Jay: Daughter's into the Beatles now - When you know songs you hate by heart - Appreciating '70s-era McCartney - Bad production really stands out on mix playlists - Does anyone remember dynamics? - Self-improvement activities to catch up on - Brian: No time to do any of it so far - Jay:

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss quarantine life. Show notes: - Recorded last week via Skype - Homeschooling is hard work - A month in, the hoarding continues - Brian's second-grader has a lot of schoolwork - Brian was down in Florida to spend a few days at spring training - Had planned to visit family in Arizona in March, but decided not to - Virus moved quickly - Brian saw Jonathan Richman concert in March - Jay: Was supposed to fly to California for a conference in March, but it was canceled - Had tickets to Archers of Loaf concert in mid-March that was canceled - Jay: Working from home full-time - Brian: Trying to find non-screen activities for the kids - We're spending a lot of time with our families, which isn't a bad thing - We've never had a situation like this where everything is shut down - A lot of people are out of work or unable to work right now - No sports to watch during one of the best time

This week, I'm joined by author Greg Renoff as we discuss the new book he wrote with legendary rock producer Ted Templeman. Show notes: - Greg's first book was 2015's Van Halen Rising - Five years later, people are still discovering it - Wrote about the early years of VH from a fan's perspective - The band filled a void when their debut came out - That book led to Greg's new book, Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music - Templeman came to book signing for Van Halen Rising - Greg later pitched the idea of a book about Templeman - Book looks at his start as a musician and the albums he worked on as a producer - Renoff wanted to add more structure to Templeman's recollections - Book's out on ECW Press on April 21 - Took a few years to put together before the editing process - Did a lot of interviews with Ted, exchanged many emails - He didn't want to dwell on controversy too much - Book starts with his childhood in Santa Cruz

This week on Quarantining With Kumar, I talk about how life has changed drastically in a short period of time because of COVID-19. Show notes: - Recorded while driving around to get some essentials - Day 5 of self-quarantine, working from home - The state of Massachusetts has pretty much closed all non-essential businesses - We haven't experienced anything like this before (in my lifetime) - Life after 9/11 was weird, but got back to normal fairly quickly - Some states have implemented "shelter in place" rules - Social distancing is the big buzzword - Public gatherings are outlawed - Spring breakers defied warnings - Everything's getting canceled: Sports, trips, concerts - We need to stay home to keep virus from spreading - Most people I know are complying with the quarantine - Musicians are doing livestreams instead of concerts - Optimistic this will end soon, but it's hard to tell - Watching out for older folks who are more susceptible

I talk to Phil Stacey and Dave Olson about baseball's cheating scandal while we drive to a rock concert. Show notes: - Recorded on the way to see the Drive-By Truckers in Somerville, MA - Not the first cheating scandal in MLB, but this has a different feel - Houston Astros accused of stealing signs on the way to 2017 World Series - Every team cheats in some way or another - "If you're not cheating, you're not trying" - Corked bats, scuffed pitches - Baseballs were juiced last year to generate interest - The sport is fading in popularity - Too slow for short attention spans of today's society - Steroids in the late '90s were ignored in favor of home run records - Did the punishment fit the crime? - Astros were fined and lost draft picks, but could have been worse - MLB didn't expect this to blow up; former Astro revealed it in an interview - Public reaction has been loud - Two other teams have fired their managers who had connections to Ast

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - '90s butt rock is alive and well in New Hampshire - Marlins will soar, according to Scott Stapp - Commercial rock radio is dying - In the mid-80s, rock radio was thriving in the Boston area - Brian has satellite radio - GNR/Smashing Pumpkins touring this summer - The evolution of Sugar Ray's sound - Mark McGrath is always working - The Cameo economy - Talking to musicians - The ubiquity of Henry Rollins - The musician deaths have always been plentiful - 10 years ago, we lost Jay Reatard, Teddy Pendergrass, Doug Fieger, Mark Linkous, Alex Chilton, Malcolm McLaren, Dio - So many big names in rock are getting older - Eagles have continued to tour without Glenn Frey - Surviving members of Nirvana have reunited for charity shows - Rush will never play another show - R.E.M. has never performed together since their breakup -

I'm joined by guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss rock stars and aging. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Brian's first appearance on the show in two years - The rock deaths keep on hitting us hard - Neil Peart's recent death was surprising and shocking - Brian: Not a big Rush fan, but respected them - A couple of really good documentaries about the band - Rush followed their own path - Andy Gill of Gang of Four kept touring and recording right until he died - Big deaths that impacted us - Jay: Peart, Gord Downie, Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty - As a kid, remember Randy Rhoads, Bonham, Bon Scott, Keith Moon - Later, Cobain and Layne Staley - Tortured artist syndrome - Meanwhile, the Stones keep chugging along - Brian: McCartney is still amazing live into his 70s - Neither of us has seen the Stones live - Brian: Regret not seeing classic acts at least once - Prince played crazy long shows - Getting harder to stay out super late - "Farewell tours"

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Go to Heaven. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - The Dead transitioning into a new decade, the '80s - Cover may have given fans the wrong idea - Short outing at only 38 minutes - One of the least favorite studio albums among Dead fans - Phil: A real mish-mash - Contractual obligation: Third studio album in four years - AOR was getting big - The Godchauxs were gone - Brent Mydland brings a smooth Michael McDonald vibe that is off-putting - Grateful Dead keyboard players : Spinal Tap drummers - Some Dead classics on this album: Alabama Getaway, Althea - Didn't make another studio album for seven years - Jay might go see Dead & Co. with Phil at some point - Phil: This is their second-worst album - Lost Sailor doesn't work - Three straight Weir/Barlow songs - Saint of Circumstance could be an '80s sitcom theme song - Bob Weir loves the short shorts - Hey, we used

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead album Shakedown Street. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - First ep of the new decade - Shakedown Street came out in '78 - Lots of musical stuff happening: Disco, punk, new wave, hard rock - Disco wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be - Jay: No guilty pleasures: If you like it, you like it - The Dead were coming off a triumphant '77 - This was a contractually obligated studio album - Lots of influences thrown in: Funk, disco, African jazz, rock - Met with savage reviews - The version of "Good Lovin'" here pales in comparison to the live version, especially when Pigpen sang it - The last album with Donna and Keith Godchaux - Title track gets slagged as bad disco, but we dig it - Shakedown Street is now the name of the merch area at Dead & Co. shows - Pressure was on from Clive Davis for them to have hits - This album was produced by Lowell George of Little Feat

It's part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite albums of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Breitling's #4 - Former Boston act now relocated to Nashville - Perfecting her sound - Kumar's #4 - Introspective album that topped my midyear list - Sweeping, synth-driven songs - Breitling's #3 - Worthy follow-up to classic mid-'90s indie pop release - Expansive and experimental - Kumar's #3 - Return to rocking from for NJ punk stalwarts, produced by Bob Mould - Surprisingly succinct from a band known for 8-minute epics - Breitling's #2 and Kumar's #6 - Majestic final release from artist who tragically took his own life right after it came out - Backed by the band Woods - Kumar's #2 - Third release from Toronto punk-pop act - Writing about frustrations of getting older - Breitling's #1 - Recently released instant classic from Boston indie rock act - Frontman Ryan Walsh wrote album after

It's part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite albums of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - The top 10 - Breitling's #10 - A surprising solo debut from a veteran rock legend - Kumar's #9 - Raw shoegaze effort from Brooklyn act changing its sound - Breitling's #9 - Electronic album with an analog feel released late in the year - "Crust ambient" - Kumar's #8 - Power pop-punk album about the aftermath of broken relationship - Great album cover - Breitling's #8 and Kumar's #10 - Strong release from shoegaze pioneers - Trying some different things - Breitling's  #7 - Shoegaze duo from California that likes to take its time - All killer, no filler - Berniece's sleep aggression - Kumar's #7 - Second release from indie legend's latest band - Embracing '80s hard rock sound - Breitling's #6 - Used to call this band the Steve Miller of indie rock - Opinion has changed, especially with the la

It's part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2019. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - This program is not affiliated with Moviefone - A decade of talking rock - Near - Breitling: Had time to listen to a lot more music this year - The Billie Eilish vs. VH debate has been raging for a while - Kids don't know or care about music from 10 years ago, let alone 35 - A lot of butthurt older music fans getting worked up for no reason - Most kids have zero interest in classic rock - Listen to what you want - The "OK Boomer" phenomenon - When music becomes something on in the background - Breitling needs to see Idiocracy - The albums that didn't make our top 10 lists - Breitling: Floating Points, Rroxy More, Top Down Dialectic, Katie Dey, Max Richter - Kumar: Mikal Cronin, Ty Segall, Mark Lanegan, Trinary System - Mission of Burma's second act may be done - Breitling: Juana Molina, Bedroom

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the decade in TV and movies. Show notes: - Going over some of our favorites of the decade - Jay: Haven't seen a lot of critical faves - Both enjoyed Blackkklansman - Toy Story 3 is the best of that series - Matt: Beasts of the Southern Wild was a stunner - In the Loop is profanely excellent - Jay never saw Inside Out; Matt says it's borderline educational - The traumatic sadness of Disney movies - Don't ban offensive old movies - Stereotypes in older movies stick out - The series 24 was so over the top about torture and terrorists - Writing for women's roles in the '80s was pretty awful - Post-9/11 jingoism - Good Sorkin: The Social Network - Bad Sorkin: The Newsroom - When older celebs are trending on Twitter - Matt: In praise of Monsters - Timothy Olyphant is great - Matt needs to watch Justified - Black Mirror is predicting everything - The Americans is an excellent show - Ma

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the decade in TV and movies. Show notes: - This decade has flown by - 10 years ago, Matt was getting ready to move to Ireland - Hard to rank the best movies and TV because there's so much we haven't seen - Recording on the day that Disney+ launched - Some bugs because of the huge demand on day 1 - Biggest change is the move to streaming content - Binge-watching has become a huge trend - Spoilers abound - Jay: Don't read reviews until after I've watched something - HBO's Watchmen series is pretty good - So easy to fall behind on a show - Shows switch to different streaming services - We're so distracted that many people are doing multiple things while watching a show - Short seasons are appealing because you can finish them quickly - Rare to watch shows live - Matt watched final season of LOST from Ireland, live with his family via a laptop - Similarly, there's so much new music b

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead bootleg Cornell '77. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - Talking about Dead show recorded on 5/8/77 at Cornell University - Phil: Listened to this hundreds of times - Jay: Very impressed by the bootleg - Phil: The show was so random - Dead had taken some time off from touring from '74 to '76 - By spring of '77, band was firing on all cylinders - Phil's parents wouldn't let 8-year-old Phil see the Dead on that tour - A lot of live albums are unnecessary - But a great live recording is transcendent - Phil: Early Chicago with Terry Kath on guitar was a great live act - The Dylan and the Dead live album was a dud - Phil Lesh: The Heineken Years - Clapton's MTV Unplugged album was awful - Jay: Solo Clapton is terrible - Phil doesn't like Thin Lizzy - The Dead has 36-minute versions of songs on their bootlegs - Phil has around 125 Dead boots - Figuring out which songs flow well

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's 1977 album Terrapin Station. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - The Dead's 9th studio album - Band had signed with Clive Davis and Arista - Album was produced by Keith Olsen, later known for slick AOR albums by Eddie Money, Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, Heart - Phil: Would get a tattoo of the Terrapin cover - Cover of "Dancing in the Streets" is pretty lame - Live, the cover turns into a long jam (duh) - Donna Godchaux was featured a lot on this record - Side 2 is an side-long suite written by Hunter and Garcia - Band didn't tour for this album after Mickey Hart got in a car accident - The tour before this album was legendary for Dead fans - Tried songs out live before they made it to studio recordings - Side 1 closes out with a Donna G. song that sounds nothing like anything else the Dead has done - The Godchaux marriage was splitting up while they were in the band

It's part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we conclude our countdown of our favorite albums of the decade. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - Kumar's #3 of the decade: Parquet Courts cements their post-punk presence (2014) - Impressive body of work with an art-rock vibe - Breitling's #2: Johnny Foreigner's self-produced magnum opus (2011) - Breitling was running a JF-themed blog for a while - Kumar's #2: A punk explosion of political anger from Superchunk (2018) - Still vital after all these years - Breitling's #1: Post-punk legend Walter Schreifels' debut solo album (2010) - Sincere folk rock with incredible hooks - Kumar's #1: Bowie's final album was a masterpiece (2016) - Recorded in secret with an unknown jazz band - He thought he had more time, but died a few days after the album came out - That's a decade Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! T