Completely Conspicuous

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we pick our favorite songs by randomly selected artists.

Show notes:

• Phil's idea: Blind rankings
• We each pick 10 artist names out of a hat and name a favorite song for each
• Phil picks names from N-Z, Jay gets A-M
• No prep time for our answers
• Phil: Velvet Underground
• Plenty to choose from
• Trying not to choose popular songs
• Jay: B-52s
• They made the "no play list" at Jay's wedding
• Great catalog of bangers
• Phil: Talking Heads
• Band had different phases
• Mixed Afro rhythms, funk and skronky guitar from Adrian Belew
• New David Byrne album is good
• Jay: Living Colour
• Band played many different styles well
• They still bring the heat
• Phil: Neil Young
• A musical chameleon
• Amazing solo or with Crazy Horse (or other backing bands)
• Jay: Grateful Dead
• Easy choice
• Always had a favorite song by them
• 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 fellow podcast pioneer Brian Salvatore as we discuss the first 20 years of podcasting.

Show notes:

• Brian: First heard about podcasts in 2004
• Started making the FrankBlack.net Podcast in 2006
• Jay: Got my first iPod in 2004 and then learned about podcasts
• Brian: The internet was so much better 20 years ago
• Great for digging into niche interests
• Jay and Brian met through the Frank Black podcast in 2010 and realized that Brian lived near Jay's brother-in-law
• Jay: The start of CompCon in 2006
• Always loved radio but never worked at the college station
• First few years were just me talking about pop culture
• Eventually started bringing on guests after a few years
• Podcasting got an early boost when Apple started a podcast directory
• Early podcasts I listened to were by Adam Curry, Ricky Gervais
• Marc Maron started his podcast in 2009 and is airing his last episode next week
• Now everybody's got a podcast
• Brian: Before podcasts, blogging was a thing
• Brian produces podcasts for other people in addition to his own
• Podcasting never became a career for us, just a hobby
• But some people have made lots of money from them
• Brian: Not much innovation in the podcast space lately
• Music podcasts were hampered by copyright issues
• Podcast networks started popping up
• Conan O'Brien created a great podcast after his TV talk show went away
• Podcasting is much more interesting than commercial radio these days
• Brian: Grew up loving radio, especially WFMU
• Jay: College radio is still good, but commercial radio blows
• DJs used to be dependable arbiters of taste
• Now everything's heavily formatted
• Jay: Been doing my own radio show on BFF.fm for the last 12 years
• Brian co-owns a sports podcast company
• People have trouble committing to a show once they start it
• Listening habits have changed
• Jay: Currently listen to WTF, The Best Show, sports shows about Toronto teams, The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers
• Brian: Election Profitmakers, Song Exploder, Never Not Funny, Conan, Indiecast, Who Cares About the Rock Hall?, Mets podcasts
• So much content to wade through
• Just like with music; it's much easier to release an album now but there's so much out there
• Tough to make it as a musician now
• Podcasts have gone beyond a niche thing
• Jay: I love listening to audio
• The value of playing songs people haven't heard a zillion times
• Every celebrity has a podcast
• Will podcasts go back to the indie days at some point?
• Jay: I do two podcasts for work
• The bubble will burst at some point
• AI could have a strange, negative effect
• Connections formed via podcasting
• Brian: Start a podcast, people

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 songs we hate to love.

Show notes:

• Our top 10 songs we hate to love in no particular order
• Phil: A song from the infamous Great White
• One of the many bands who tried to sound like Zeppelin
• Jay: Rupert Holmes somehow got cheesier than the "Pina Colada Song"
• Classic AM gold shizz
• Phil: A big hit for the Carpenters
• Originally written for a bank commercial
• Jay: Monster disco one-hit wonder from Patrick Hernandez
• Phil: Britney with an earworm
• Jay: Raspy pop smash from Kim Carnes
• Crossed over to MOR stations that our parents listened to
• Phil: Digging into the Jefferson Starship ballads
• Marty Balin got on the wrong side of the Hell's Angels at Altamont
• Jay: Phil Collins did a lot of soundtrack music in the '80s in addition to everything else
• A patented Collins Angry Ballad
• Phil digs that calypso beat in one of Lionel Richie's biggest hits
• Richie was one of the driving forces behind "We Are the World"
• Jay: A synth pop cover of "Lean On Me"
• Phil: Secretly loved the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack as a kid
• Yvonne Elliman sang backups on several Clapton albums
• Jay: Non-English hit by Falco
• Only German-language #1 song in America
• Phil: Frankie Valli's disco song in Grease
• Written by Barry Gibb, who was unstoppable in the late '70s
• Jay: Early '70s soft rock jam from Albert Hammond
• Phil: John Mayer's wuss rock moment
• More familiar with his work in Dead and Co.
• Jay: Rediscovered recently his love of Little River Band
• Australian purveyors of catchy dad rock
• Original members lost the rights to the band name
• Phil: Shout out to the Weather Girls
• Catchy and co-written by Paul Shaffer
• Jay: Another huge hit from the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer
• Phil: An apparently ironic love ballad from the Captain and Tennille
• Jay: Another hit from the Gibb family, this time younger brother Andy
• Too much cocaine, apparently

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 songs we hate to love.

Show notes:

• Surprised at how good the Who were in concert despite their advanced age
• Songs we hate to love, not necessarily guilty pleasures
• Things we were embarrassed to say we liked when we were in school
• Most of our picks were from when we were kids
• Jay: I liked hard rock and metal and would never admit I liked poppier stuff like Duran Duran
• Jay: In doing research, I discovered there was a "rock" version of the Lord's Prayer that was a minor hit in 1973
• Phil: ABBA wrote some pop classics
• When REO Speedwagon had that one huge album
• AOR was huge in the early '80s
• Jay: I loved KISS's disco song, but never got into the band
• Phil: Listened to a lot of Manilow as a kid
• Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" captured that swinging '60s vibe
• The pop goodness of the Association
• Phil: The band Boston has been played to death in these parts, but they had their moment
• Controversial choice: Phil likes the worst Genesis song
• Dumb song, dumb video
• When Eddie Murphy became a pop star
• Phil also likes Crazytown's hit
• Released at the height of nu metal/rap rock
• Jay: Begrudgingly liked Animotion's big hit
• First album Jay had as a kid was by Glen Campbell
• Campbell wasn't a typical country singer
• Jay: Got into some of Paul Simon's mid-70s solo work
• Getting into early Loverboy deep cuts
• Billy Joel wrote a lot of bad songs, but a few good ones
• Jay: Always a big fan of "Rump Shaker"
• ABC was good at the foppish synth pop
• Jay: I hate everything about Smash Mouth except their first single
• Totally dig one George Michael song above all others
• Late '70s pop blast from M
• Foreigner struck gold with catchy rock jams
• 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 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see.

Show notes:

• Jay: Bowie on the Ziggy Stardust tour in 1973
• Never saw Bowie
• Phil: Grateful Dead's famous Cornell show 5/8/77
• The Holy Grail for Deadheads
• Jay: Canadian art rock weirdos Max Webster in southern Ontario 8/9/79
• Band split up in 1981 as singer-guitarist Kim Mitchell went solo
• Opened for Rush in the U.S. in the mid- to late '70s
• Phil: The Stones at the Boston Garden, 1972
• Jagger and Richards were arrested in Providence and Boston mayor bailed them out in time for the Garden show
• Mick Taylor era was notable
• Jay: Van Halen at Oakland Arena in June 1981
• A few songs were captured on video; VH fans have hoped for more
• Phil: Zeppelin at Berkeley, Calif., September 1971
• Touring before their fourth album was released
• Playing some of their acoustic songs
• Jay: SST legends Husker Du at the Channel in Boston 9/30/84
• In the middle of a killer stretch of albums; this one was for Zen Arcade
• Two classic albums were released the next year
• Phil: Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East in 1971
• Original lineup including Duane Allman
• Jay and Phil: The Who live at University of Leeds on Valentine's Day 1970
• Played a show at Hull the following night
• We're going to see the Who at Fenway later this month
• Band was at the literal peak of their powers
• First release of Live at Leeds was only six songs
• Longer versions have come out; full set was 33 songs
• No video of this show unfortunately

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 19 years of podcasting with part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see.

Show notes:

• On to our top 10 shows
• Phil's are in chronological order, Jay's in no particular order
• Phil: Neil Young and Pearl Jam on their short Euro tour, 8/26/95 in Dublin
• PJ standing in for Crazy Horse
• The Velvet Sundown, lame AI band
• Jay: The Clash from June 1980 at Hammersmith Palais
• 31 songs from throughout their career
• The Clash opened for the Who on the Schlitz Rocks America tour
• Apparently Schlitz was once a big name in beer
• Phil: Stevie Ray Vaughan on 9/21/85 at the Capitol Theatre
• Jay: PJ Harvey on the Rid of Me tour in '93
• Saw her on the next tour in '95
• Phil: Talking Heads on the Speaking in Tongues tour in Oct. 1983 in Billerica, Mass.
• Jay: I would've picked the 1980 tour with Adrian Belew on guitar
• Jay: Living Colour at TT the Bears in Cambridge, Mass. in the summer of '88
• Taped the show off the radio simulcast on WBCN
• Killer show before the band blew up the next year
• Phil: U2 on the War tour in March 1983
• Jay: Prince's Purple Rain tour at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse
• Prince was the biggest musician in the world at the time
• Phil: The Pretenders at the Paradise in Boston in 1980
• The band's original lineup was so good
• Jay: Went with a December 1981 Pretenders show in France
• 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 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about concerts we'd like to go back in time to see.

Show notes:

• We're taking advantage of time machine technology
• That time Zebra opened for their own Zep cover band
• We're listing specific shows
• So many great artists to choose from
• YouTube makes it easier to see a lot of shows you missed
• Honorable mentions
• Jay: Surprise show by the Stones at a small Toronto club in '77
• Two shows were turned into a live album decades later
• Phil: Bob Marley and the Wailers in London, Monterey Pop, Bowie on Diamond Dogs tour, Sleater-Kinney in Berkeley, James Brown at the Boston Garden in '68, Beatles in Hamburg or the rooftop set, Prince on Purple Rain tour, Phish in '98, Steely Dan in '74
• Jay: JB at the Soul Train studios in '73, the Police in '79, Iggy and the Stooges in '73, Zeppelin in '70, Mission of Burma's first farewell in '83, Drive Like Jehu in '94, Black Sabbath in '70, Iron Maiden in '81 with their original singer
• The Police jumped on the new wave bandwagon and brought energy and skill to it
• Sabbath's had interesting line items in their recording budget
• Shout out to CompCon intern Lily
• 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 2025 so far.

Show notes:

• Counting down our favorite albums
• Breitling's #6: Dan Bejar with another well-done Destroyer album
• "Slacker Sinatra" singing about aging
• Kumar's #6: Striking solo effort from Tunde Adebimpe
• Breitling's #5: Shoegaze goodness from NJ's High
• Kumar's #5: Dax Riggs with fuzz-laden goth grunge
• Breitling's #4: Digging the Estonian dream pop from mariin k.
• Kumar's #3: Impressive 15th solo album from Bob Mould plays to his strengths
• Still kicking ass into his mid-60s
• Breitling's #3: Boston trio with a dumb name and a great album, (T-T)b
• Kumar's #2: Mclusky returns after 21 years with a razor-sharp ripper
• Breitling's #2 and Kumar's #4: Surprise return to thunderous form from The Men
• Kumar's #1: PUP's fifth album finds them exploring more mature themes while still kicking ass
• Breitling's #1 and Kumar's #7: The four-album magnum opus from Hallelujah the Hills exceeds expectations
• Many guest appearances among the 54 songs
• Looking forward to new releases from the Lemonheads, Sloan, Superchunk, Pile, Wednesday

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 2025 so far.

Show notes:

• Drinking some Italian beer
• Rock is dead commercially
• Billboard album chart contains nearly no rock
• Fleetwood Mac's Rumours still riding high for some reason
• Festival cancellations: Bonnaroo, Boston Calling next year, Lollapalooza
• Too many festivals, high ticket prices
• Black Sabbath farewell show
• Lots of big rock deaths: Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, David Johansen, Marianne Faithfull, etc.
• We saw Hallelujah the Hills recently and it was glorious
• Kumar saw some shows: Frank Black, Shannon/Narducy, Gang of Four, Bob Mould
• Breitling will see Oasis in Mexico, as one does
• Who's the Who's drummer?
• Breitling's bubbling under albums: Whirr, Winter, Lunchbox, Pink Floyd reissue, Rough Francis, The Get Quick, Autocamper, Viagra Boys, Thalia Zedek Band
• Kumar's list: Kinski, Ty Segall, Civic, Cameron Keiber, Dean Wareham, Pulp, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, The Bug Club, Turnstile, The Tubs, Kestrels, Lifeguard, Hotline TNT
• Breitling's #10: An electronic collab between Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke
• Kumar's #10: Sophomore release from Horsegirl explores mellower sounds
• So much music to listen to these days
• Breitling's #9: Ambient situation delivered by William Tyler
• Of Bills Frisell and Laswell
• Kumar's #9: Post-punk ripper from Charm School
• Kurt Loder is still with us
• Kumar's #8: Heavy Spoon influence on the new album from The Convenience
• Breitling's #7: Dean Wareham is still bringing it
• 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 4 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we crown the winner of a March Madness-style tournament featuring our favorite rock artists.

Show notes:

• Round 3 begins
• The Smiths vs. Led Zeppelin
• James Brown vs. Rush
• Rolling Stones vs. The Cure
• The Clash vs. The Police
• U2 vs. The Replacements
• The Who vs. Talking Heads
• Tom Petty vs. Neil Young
• The Beatles vs. David Bowie
• Round 4
• The Final Four
• The Championship

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.