Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Brian saw his first concert in '93, Paul McCartney

- Sir Paul dropped f-bombs galore on "Big Boys Bickering"

- Billy Joel hasn't released a new album since '93

- Jay: Saw Dino Jr., Mudhoney, Nirvana, Tragically Hip, Living Colour, Urge Overkill

- Saw Lollapalooza '93 in Rhode Island with Primus, Alice in Chains, Fishbone

- Jay: Became aware that 8-year-olds liked the same music I did

- Brian helped out at a record store as an 11-year-old

- Flaming Lips showed up on Beverly Hills 90210

- Jay: Saw Buffalo Tom on MTV's 120 Minutes

- Matthew Sweet's Altered Beast was underrated and depressing

- Brian: Got into Tribe Called Quest years later

- Morphine had a completely different sound

- Cracker had a quintessential '90s song in "Low"

- Radiohead's big rock debut

- Brian's #5

- Primus hit #7 on the charts with Pork Soda

- Jay's #5

- Urge Overkill got a lot of listens

- Brian's #4

- The Breeders broke through in '93

- "Cannonball" was another classic '90s tune

- Jay's #4

- Siamese Dream is a massive-sounding album

- Billy Corgan went for broke with guitar army sound

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- In'93, Brian was 10, Jay was 25

- First year Brian was interested in pop culture

- Jay was into the first wave of grunge

- Brian's failsafe plan involving an Adam Sandler tape

- SNL40 was strange because of the live audience of celebs

- '93 was a big year for R&B and mainstream hip hop

- Pharrell's guest verse on "Rump Shaker"

- Not much rock on the year-end Hot 100

- Whoomp and Whoot There It Is

- Nary a trace of hair metal to be found anywhere

- Formed: At the Drive-In, Backstreet Boys, Wilco, Ben Folds Five, Spoon, Korn

- Broke up: Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, Stryper, Television, Triumph, Venom

- Puzzling Rock Hall picks

- In '93, Prince changed his name to a symbol

- Bill Wyman's adventures in wedded bliss

- Michael Jackson's legal troubles

- Shaq Diesel and Coverdale-Page made appearances

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Matt: I will sell out tomorrow

- Matt founded Home For Wayward Geeks to rant about superheroes

- A lack of institutional rock knowledge

- Sitting next to Jordan Knight on a plane

- Friends who overshare online about kids, pets, butts

- Matt: I miss hanging out with friends

- It's work to get people together

- Two levels of interaction

- Social media ghosts

- Online relationships can be as real as physical ones for some

- You'll exist online long after your death

- The Digital Cleaner

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Colleen Green, Radical Dads and Boom Said Thunder.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- Matt stopped working in offices several years ago

- Used to being alone all day

- Going out with friends tends to slow down as you settle down

- Less likely to make the effort to organize group outings

- House parties can be fun

- Young people like Tinder

- Matt used OK Cupid

- Photos can be deceiving

- Blind dates can be rough

- When older parents start texting

- Mom Guilt never ends

- Matt came back to the U.S. because of family

- Jay was ready to move far away after college...and didn't

- Matt: Watching Dancing With the Stars is a family tradition

- "The Fighter" was like "National Geographic: Boston"

- To be continued

Music:

Colleen Green - TV

Radical Dads - Don't Go

Boom Said Thunder - Summer Twin

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Colleen Green song is on the album I Want to Grow Up on Hardly Art. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Radical Dads song is on the album Universal Coolers on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The Boom Said Thunder song is on the EP Summer Twin, which is available for free download at Bandcamp.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Stag, Cult of Youth and Young Adults.

Show notes:

- Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout

- How friendship has changed over the years

- Rarely have long conversations with people anymore

- Jay: Have closer relationships with podcast guests than anyone else

- Matt: Internet has helped save friendships

- Letter writing is a lost art

- Email replaced letters for a while

- Fewer phone calls with friends

- Jay: Still stay in touch with certain groups of friends

- Seems like people at work go out less anymore

- Friends you've never met

- Making friends on the Interwebs

- Matt meets people through book publishing world

- Reconnecting with people from childhood can be awkward

- Losing touch with friends who aren't on social media

- Friends from different interests, jobs

- To be continued

Music:

Stag - She Plus Me

Cult of Youth - God's Garden

Young Adults - Void

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Stag song is on the EP Temporary Machines on Pop Maelstrom. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Cult of Youth song is on the album Final Days on Sacred Bones Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Young Adults song is available for free download at Bandcamp.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Restorations, The Shivas and Nai Harvest.

Show notes:

- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Jay's #4

- The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock crunch with girl group harmonies

- Brian's #3

- Skipping a day of college to see TMBG in Cleveland

- Jay's #3

- Public Enemy scared white people

- Brian's #2

- The Lounge Lizards were punk rockers who played weird jazz

- Jay's #2 and Brian's #1

- First full-length from the Pixies

- Jay's #1

- Jane's Addiction straddled the line between hard rock and alternative

- Brian: Able to look back at these years without emotion

- Next up: 1993

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

Music:

Restorations - Separate Songs

The Shivas - Stalking Legs

Nai Harvest - Buttercups

The Restorations song is on the album LP3 on SideOne Dummy Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Shivas song is on the album You Know What to Do on K Records. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Nai Harvest song is a single available for free download at Bandcamp.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Flake Music, Wanted Man and My Goodness.

Show notes:

- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- Elton John had another crappy comeback

- Bands formed in '88: Bad English, Breeders, GVSB, NIN, Jawbreaker, Mudhoney

- Bands that broke up: The Cars, Grim Reaper, Loverboy, Plasmatics

- Our honorable mentions

- Brian: Talking Heads' Naked featured Johnny Marr on guitar

- Jay: First got into Camper Van Beethoven with Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

- Prince had Lovesexy out, taking the place of the Black Album

- Cowboy Junkies scored a big hit with cover of "Sweet Jane"

- Jay: HMs include Smithereens, Soundgarden, Keith Richards, B.A.D., Run DMC, Waterboys, Sonic Youth, Living Colour, Metallica, Plant, Church

- Brian had a substitute teacher who sang the praises of Queensryche

- Brian's #5

- CDs led to longer album run times in late '80s

- Jay's #5

- Dino Jr. toured behind Bug a few years ago

- Brian's #4

- Leonard Cohen discovers synths

- Comparable to Destroyer's Kaputt

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

Music:

Flake Music - Spanway Hits

Wanted Man - Pardon Me If I Stare

My Goodness - Cold Feet Killer

The Flake Music song is on the reissue of the band's 1997 album When You Land Here, It's Time to Return on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Wanted Man song is on the band's self-titled EP, which is available for free on Bandcamp.

The My Goodness song is on the album Shiver + Shake on Votiv Music. Download the song for free for a limited time at Amazon MP3.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from JEFF the Brotherhood, Hookworms and Murder Vibes.

Show notes:

- Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype

- Check out Brian's radio show Unsolicited Mixtape

- JK: Hard drive issues

- Brian was 6 in '88, Jay was 20

- George Harrison's comeback

- Big year for George Michael and pop in general

- INXS was huge in '88

- MTV ruled the roost

- Videos resurrected a lot of dormant careers

- James Brown's car chase

- Zeppelin worship

- Ill-fated trip to Monsters of Rock festival

- John Lydon's iPad app addiction

- The strange end of the Clash

- Zeppelin reformed to play Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary bash

- Where's Mike Johnson?

- '70s nostalgia peaked in '88

- GNR broke through in '88

- Power ballads were the big ticket for hard rock bands

- BS: Dylan's album had a diverse collection of guests

- Tori Amos' pop debut, Y Kant Tori Read

- Ted Nugent released If You Can't Lick 'Em, Lick 'Em

- David Lee Roth's disappointing followup to Eat 'Em and Smile

- BS: VH's OU812 was a lowlight

- To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

Music:

JEFF the Brotherhood - What's a Creep

Hookworms - Radio Tokyo

Murder Vibes - Not Alone Tonight

The JEFF the Brotherhood song is on the band's forthcoming album on Warner Bros. Records. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at the band's website.

The Hookworms song is on the album The Hum on Weird World Record Co./Domino. Download the song for free at KEXP.

The Murder Vibes song is on the band's self-titled, self-released album. The song is available for free download at KEXP.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the year in music. I've also got music from Protomartyr, The Afghan Whigs and Johnny Foreigner.

Show notes:

- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ

- JB's #5

- Perfect Pussy marks the return of political punk

- JK's #5

- Protomartyr came out of nowhere

- An unlikely combo

- JB's #4

- Krill's EP packs a punch

- Jonah Furman is a serious thinker

- Boston rock scene has been tremendous the last few years

- R.I.P., Soccer Mom, Young Adults, The Hush Now

- JK's #4

- Ty Segall was less prolific but released an incredible album

- JB's #3

- Cookies is latest side project from Mobius Band's Ben Sterling

- JK's #3

- Yet another great album from Sloan

- Each member contributes an album side

- JB's #2

- Lubec released a strong album under the radar

- JK's #2

- First Afghan Whigs album in 16 years

- Greg Dulli keeps delivering at a high level

- JB's #1

- Johnny Foreigner digs deep

- JK's #1

- Parquet Courts released two albums in 2014

- Harking back to CBGB-era punk sounds

- JB: Looking forward to new records from Pile, Chandos, Krill, Infinity Girl, Winter

- JK: Sleater-Kinney, Titus Andronicus, Faith No More will have new releases in 2015

Music:

Protomartyr - Scum, Rise!

The Afghan Whigs - Matamoros

Johnny Foreigner - Le Sigh

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Protomartyr song is on the album Under Color of Official Right on Hardly Art. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Afghan Whigs song is on the album Do to the Beast on Sub Pop. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.

The Johnny Foreigner song is on the album You Can Do Better on Alcopop. Download the song for free at Soundcloud. The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the year in music. I've also got music from Hallelujah the Hills, Soccer Mom and Ex Hex.

Show notes:

- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ

- Dog talk

- Honorable mentions

- JK: New Pornographers, Spoon are consistently excellent

- Bob Mould, Stephen Malkmus, War on Drugs

- Mark Kozelek is having fun trolling everybody

- Good EPs from Krill and Speedy Ortiz

- Run the Jewels released another good album

- Ryan Adams released a rockin' singles series EP

- JB: High grades for Nai Harvest, White Laces, Nothing, Wrong Shapes, Sneeze, Burning Alms, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Room Runner

- JK: Check out the free Exploding in Sound sampler on Bandcamp

- JB: New Two Inch Astronaut album is great

- JB's #10

- Radiator Hospital has been prolific and good

- JK's #10

- Hallelujah the Hills with a quality release

- JB's #9 and JK's #7

- The first Soccer Mom album is also their last

- JK's #9

- Unlikely release from Gord Downie and the Sadies

- JB's #8

- Literature is yet another good band on Slumberland

- Spotify usage habits

- JK's #8

- Comeback album for Death From Above 1979 has tons of great riffs

- JB's #7

- Ava Luna brings interesting approach to funk and punk

- JB's #6

- She Sir's latest was years in the making

- JK's #6

- Mary Timony's latest project harks back to '70s NYC punk scene

- Next week: Our top 5 albums

Music:

Hallelujah the Hills - Pick Up an Old Phone

Soccer Mom - Orejas

Ex Hex - Don't Wanna Lose

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Hallelujah the Hills song is on the album Have You Ever Done Something Evil? on Discrete Pageantry. Download the song for free from Stereogum.

The Soccer Mom song is on the band's self-titled album on 100m Records. Download the song for free from Soundcloud.

The Ex Hex song is on the album Rips on Merge Records. Download the song and album for free at KEXP. The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.