Completely Conspicuous

It's a new installment of Driving with Kumar as I celebrate another birthday and reflect on my 45 years of existence. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Jason Collett, Rye Coalition and Girls Against Boys.

Show notes:

- Driving to NH to run a half marathon

- Another birthday has come and gone

- Facebook changes the meaning of "friend"

- Turning 21 is a big deal

- 30 was a milestone

- Dealing with parental expectations

- Wasn't ready for marriage and/or fatherhood in my 20s

- Got married at 32

- Living alone has its pros and cons

- My job isn't my life

- Didn't take a lot of risks in my work life

- Kind of fell into a journalism career

- No regrets

- Watched a good friend take a chance, turn it into career

- Can't spend much time wondering about what ifs

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Jason Collett - I Wanna Rob a Bank

Rye Coalition - Communication Breakdance

Girls Against Boys - Super-Fire

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

The Jason Collett song is on the album Reckon on Arts and Crafts. Download it for free from SoundCloud.

The Rye Coalition song is on the EP Jersey Girls on Tiger Style Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Girls Against Boys song is on the album House of GVSB on Touch and Go Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the sad state of political discourse. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Paul Westerberg, Robert Pollard, A.C. Newman and Hot Snakes.

Show notes:

- Matt doesn't like awkward stuff, avoids those types of campaign clips

- They built their campaign around it

- Tim Thomas vs. the White House

- Facebook is full of Constitutional scholars

- Matt is on Romneycare

- Running for office requires a boring past

- You can't escape your past...especially when you post it on Facebook

- Europe isn't exactly running smoothly, either

- Everybody's in a cocoon here

- Matt overuses social media because he's self-employed

- The Internet has made people lazy about research

- Matt wrote a dating column for a while

- When AOL started, emails would delete after 30 days

- The Internet has changed the way we learn about each other

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Paul Westerberg - My Road Now

Robert Pollard - Who's Running My Ranch

A.C. Newman - Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns

Hot Snakes - Light Up the Stars

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

The Paul Westerberg song was released last week to the I Will Dare blog. Download it for free from I Will Dare.

The Robert Pollard song is on the album Jack Sells the Cow on Fire Records. Download the song for free from SoundCloud.

The A.C. Newman song is on the album Shut Down the Streets on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The Hot Snakes song is on the album Automatic Midnight on Swami Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the sad state of political discourse. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Paul Banks, Cat Power, Aimee Mann and the Electric Six.

Show notes:

- Election year's in high gear

- Local elections provide personal access

- My kids are scaring Phillion away from fatherhood

- Blown off by the lieutenant governor

- Mass. senate race has been heated

- The power of SuperPACs

- Candidates are puppets of the money behind them

- Dumbing down the message

- Mass. voters went for Republican governors from '91 to '07

- Big speeches with no substance in them

- All political claims need to be fact-checked

- Tough times for journalism

- Dealing with political posts on Facebook

- The conventions are cheerleading camps

- Most voters have already made up their minds

- Do the Republicans really want to win in 2012?

- Congress sucks, too

- Can the government actually get anything done?

- It's not as simple as red state vs. blue state

- Facebook posts aren't changing anyone's mind

- The Democratic platform and mentions of God

- A bitter idealist

- The stuff you post on FB could come back to haunt you

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Paul Banks - The Base

Cat Power - Cherokee

Aimee Mann - Charmer

Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage

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

The Paul Banks song is on the album Banks on Matador Records. Download it for free from MatadorRecords.com.

The Cat Power song is on the album Sun on Matador Records. Download the song for free from MatadorRecords.com.

The Aimee Mann song is the title track of the album Charmer on SuperEgo Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Electric Six song is on the album Fire on XL Recordings. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we travel back in time and analyze two big hits from the 1970s. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Divine Fits and The Raveonettes.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world headquarters

- The return of song analysis

- Learning more about Rupert Holmes

- "Escape" tells a depressing tale in a lighthearted way

- Seeking a new soulmate through the personal ads

- Song ends with a wacky twist

- Jay used to belt out Holmes' "Him" in the newsroom of the college paper

- He sings the guitar solo to save money

- Digging into the rest of the album

- Rupert writes about anything like, say, his answering machine

- Holmes did a lot of work in theater and TV

- Wrote songs for "A Star is Born," the Streisand-Kristofferson movie

- "Him" as performed by Barry White

- Clearly inspired by Manilow

- "Copacabana" was a huge disco hit

- Everything was coke-fueled in the '70s and '80s

- Manilow's go-to move was the sweeping ballad

- Manilow's "Bermuda Triangle" was a clear inspiration for Rupert

- Barry found a winning formula

- Gotta love the irony that he didn't write "I Write the Songs"

- We Manil-OD'd

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice

The Raveonettes - She Owns the Streets

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

The Divine Fits song is on the album A Thing Called Divine Fits on Merge Records. Download it for free from Chromewaves.

The Raveonettes song is on the album Observator on Vice Records. Download the song for free from 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we travel back in time and analyze a big hit from the 1970s. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from A.C. Newman and Yuck.

Show notes:

- Recorded at More Lost Time world headquarters

- The return of song analysis

- What's the deal with Bette Midler?

- Woody Allen's curious role in Scenes From a Mall

- Check out Ric's podcast More Lost Time

- Trucking was a big pop culture fad for a few years in the '70s

- C.W. McCall's "Convoy" was such a big hit they made a movie based on it

- Discovered by the dude behind the Mannheim Steamroller

- McCall didn't sing so much as talk over music

- Sounds like Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down to Georgia"

- Convoy did indeed have a soundtrack album

- Digging deeper into the McCall catalog

- Randy Travis is walking the walk

- Ric: Zappa music just sounds like commercials

- Ol' C-Dub just kept on making trucker songs

- McCall starts doing really bad accents of foreign truckers

- He wrote a song about the infamous George Brett "pine tar incident"

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:A.C. Newman - I'm Not Talking

Yuck - Shook Down

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

The A.C. Newman song is on the forthcoming album Shut Down the Streets on Matador Records. Download it for free from MatadorRecords.com.

The Yuck song is on the band's self-titled album on Fat Possum Records. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss our favorite solo artists. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Robert Plant, Frank Black and the Catholics and Sloan.

Show notes:

- Re-recorded via Skype

- Jay: Robert Plant's music has evolved since Zeppelin's breakup

- Brian: John, Paul and George in a three-way tie

- Harrison's All Things Must Pass is a standout

- McCartney's good when he works with others (Elvis Costello, Youth)

- Jay: Favorite solo artist is Pete Townshend

- His three early '80s solo albums were excellent

- Last 25 years have been focused on Who tours

- Jay: Rod Stewart's solo career has been mostly awful

- His work in Faces, Jeff Beck Group and first few solo releases was strong

- Brian: Jagger should not be allowed to make solo albums

- Jay: Keith Richards' solo work is good

- Jay: The four guys in Sloan should each release solo records simultaneously a la KISS

- Brian: Steven Drozd would make an interesting solo album

- Brian: Rivers Cuomo should make a stripped-down, non-Weezer record

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Robert Plant - Little Hands

Frank Black and the Catholics - Nadine

Sloan - Coax Me

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

The Robert Plant song is on the compilation More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album on Birdman Records. Download it for free from Epitonic.

The Frank Black and the Catholics song is on the album Show Me Your Tears on SpinART. Download the song for free from Epitonic.

The Sloan song is on the album Twice Removed on Geffen. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at NoiseTrade.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss our favorite solo artists. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne.

Show notes:

- Re-recorded via Skype

- Brian: Ray Davies has made two great solo albums

- NBC cut Davies from Olympics closing ceremony broadcast

- Jay: Ted Leo has been consistently great for the last decade

- Brian: After Roxy Music, Brian Eno went on to long and interesting career

- Jay: Neil Young has been erratic, but when he's on, he's great

- Brian: Jonathan Richman has moved from post-punk hero to troubadour

- Jay: Peter Gabriel is much more than "Sledgehammer" and "Solsbury Hill"

- Moved past the crazy costumes he wore live with Genesis

- Brian: David Byrne continues to make interesting music

- Jay: Mark Lanegan's post-Screaming Trees career has been varied and uniformly excellent

- To be continued

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Under the Hedge

Peter Gabriel - Here Comes the Flood (live)

David Byrne - Fuzzy Freaky (remix)

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

The Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song is on the album The Tyranny of Distance on Lookout Records. Download it for free from Epitonic.

The Peter Gabriel song was recorded for the Guitar Center Sessions in 2010. Download the song for free at PeterGabriel.com/GuitarCenter.

The David Byrne song is on the album Visible Man on Luaka Bop. Download the song for free at IODAPromonet.com.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

I celebrate six big years of podcasting with part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss our favorite solo artists. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Bob Mould, Ryan Adams, Mike Watt and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.

Show notes:

- Recorded via Skype

- Brian contends that Bob Mould's work in Sugar is better than Husker Du; Jay vehemently disagrees

- Jay: Elliott Smith went in a different direction after Heatmiser

- Are Josh Homme or Dave Grohl considered solo artists?

- Jay: Lennon and McCartney both made great albums on their own, but also some clunkers

- Jay: Michael Jackson became probably the biggest artist of all time

- Ozzy's early solo work was terrific

- The ridiculous story behind Sabbath's Born Again album

- Paul Simon's still going strong

- Phil Collins was huge in the '80s

- Brian: Mike Nesmith's early solo work was excellent

- Jay: Nick Cave forged a dark path after The Birthday Party

- Brian: Ryan Adams made a classic album and several good ones

- Mike Watt's soldiered on over the years

- Jay: Stephen Malkmus has been consistently good since Pavement

- Brian prefers the later Pavement albums

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Bob Mould - A Good Idea (live)

Ryan Adams - Shakedown on 9th Street (live)

Mike Watt - Against the '70s (live)

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - (Do Not Feed the) Oyster

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

The Bob Mould song is on the EP Live at the Bottom of the Hill. Download it for free (in exchange for your email address) from New.Official.fm.

The Ryan Adams song was recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston on 2/21/09. Download the song for free at Archive.org.

The Mike Watt song was recorded live at the Metro in Chicago on 5/6/95. Download the song for free at Archive.org.

The Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks song is from the album Pig Lib on Matador Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.

Another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss the generation gap that exists in pop culture. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Chelsea Light Moving, The XX, Blur and Mean Creek.

Show notes:

- Recorded on the way to WFNX Boston Accents farewell show in Allston

- WFNX has been replaced by The Harbor, a "Variety Hits" station

- FNX lasted 29 years

- Driving through another torrential rainstorm

- Generation gap in music fandom driven by a couple of NPR blog posts

- Intern wrote about how she never pays for recorded music

- Ignited industry debate, including a battle of blog posts between David Lowery and Dave Allen

- Another post had an intern reviewing Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions...

- Kid wasn't born when the album came out in 1988

- His love of hip-hop is defined by current artists like Drake

- Couldn't relate to PE's intensity

- I was struck by the lack of knowledge or interest in older music

- Get off my lawn

- As a kid, I was fascinated by music that came out in the previous few decades

- Much easier now to hear music at a moment's notice

- I blame it on sensory overload

- You're going to listen to what your friends dig

- Can't blame kids for not knowing about older acts

- I'm not trying to get my own kids to listen to my music

- Enjoy the rhythmic sounds of nature pounding on my car roof

- The world is much faster

- Technology is advancing at amazing speeds

- Rain stops right as I get into the city

- Remembering the early MP3 players

- Some kids are getting into vinyl and cassettes

- Many old pop cultural references are lost on the young

- It's not too late for kids to learn about older music

- Plenty of great new music out there, too

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Chelsea Light Moving - Frank O'Hara Hit

The XX - Angels

Blur - The Puritan

Mean Creek - Young & Wild

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

The Chelsea Light Moving song is available for free download from Matador Records.

The XX song is on the forthcoming album Coexist on Young Turks. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Blur song is the B-side of the band's self-released 12-inch Under the Westway. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The Mean Creek song is from the forthcoming album Youth Companion on Old Flame Records. Download the song for free as part of the Boston Accents Funeral Party Soundtrack on 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; check out his site PodGeek.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2012. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Future Carnivores, Mark Lanegan Band, Soccer Mom and Dinosaur Jr.

Show notes:

- Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ

- Kumar: New Van Halen album much better than expected

- Breitling: Future Carnivores brings a new wave sound

- Breitling enjoys the Eddie Money jams

- Forced to listen to Starship

- Kumar: Check out the book I Want My MTV

- Kumar: Lanegan goes way beyond straightahead rock

- Breitling: Ride tribute comp features Boston acts

- Get Geddy Lee on the show

- Kumar: Digging the new Rush album

- New Metric album is strong

- Heavy Blanket features Mascis with guitar instrumentals

- Ty Segall was not in Under Siege 2

- Breitling: Looking forward to new release from Everyone Everywhere

- Breitling: New band called Dikembe (no relation to Mutombo) recalls mid-90s emo

- New Dino Jr. due out in the fall

- Kumar: Need to check out new Future of the Left, Henry Clay People

- Kumar's "skeptible" of Spin's Twitter reviews

- Bonehead of the WeekMusic:Future Carnivores - Drugs (demo)

Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song

Soccer Mom - Dreams Burn Down

Dinosaur Jr. - Watch the Corners

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

The Future Carnivores song is a demo from the band's forthcoming second album. Download the song for free from ClickyClickyMusic.com.

The Mark Lanegan Band song is on the album Blues Funeral on 4AD. Download the song for free (in exchange for your email address) at MarkLanegan.com.

The Soccer Mom song is on the compilation NOFUCKINGWHERE. Download the song for free at ClickyClickyMusic.com.

The Dinosaur Jr. song is from the forthcoming album I Bet on Sky on Jagjaguwar Records. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

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; check out his site PodGeek.