Completely Conspicuous

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1991. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Brian's #3 - The final Pixies album with original lineup - Jay's #2 - Do we need to hear Nevermind again? - Symbolically historic - Raw vs. polished - Brian's #2 - Tribe Called Quest brought a serious jazz feel to their sound - Focused on the groove, not samples - Jay's #1 - Matthew Sweet swings for the fences - Sick guitar work from Lloyd and Quine - Susanna Hoffs doesn't age - Brian's #1 - Mike Mills gets his due - Peter Buck's mandolin phase - Still plenty of great records we didn't discuss - The Costello-McCartney experiment - School of Fish had the song of the summer of '91 - What's next? - The early '90s were chock full of good stuff   Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1991. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Albums that didn't make our top 5 of '91 - Brian: Feelies, Slint, Prince - Skipping a Prince show - Jay: Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Temple of the Dog - Brian: Firehose, De La Soul, Cohen tribute, Jonathan Richman - No more "Hallelujah" covers, please - Tribute albums were big in the '90s - Jay: Tragically Hip, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Nation of Ulysses, Swervedriver - Jay's #5 - Soundgarden's game-changer - Brian's #5 - Primus makes its mark - Jay's #4 - The best Smashing Pumpkins album - Corgan's off the rails now - Brian's #4 - Ween's weirdest record - Jay's #3 - Teenage Fanclub went from unknowns in the U.S. to indie darlings - To be continued   Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1991. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Wrapping up our look at the music of the years 1980-1999 - 1991 really kicked off the '90s musically - Brian was 9, Jay was 23 - Alt-rock took off in '91 - Big year for Metallica - Plenty of pop and one-hit wonders - Bryan Adams and Color Me Badd had strong years - Big efforts from A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, NWA and Public Enemy - Styx had a song land in the top 100 singles - Rock radio was still rooted in classic rock - Billboard switched to Soundscan charts - Freddie Mercury died on same day as Eric Carr of KISS - Van Halen's slide into irrelevancy - Since '91, VH has released three albums with three different singers - Red Hot Chili Peppers hit their peak - Albums Jay liked in '91: RHCP, Live, Spin Doctors - Quintessential '90s tunes - Talking Heads officially split - To be continued   Completel

This week, I've got an installment of Driving With Kumar, in which I discuss the endless amount of entertainment content available to consume. Show notes: - Driving to work - The joys of binge-watching TV - So much to watch, so little time - Book reading has suffered - No time for comics - Tons of music available to listen to whenever you want - More music released now than ever before - Listen to podcasts throughout the day - Again, a ton of podcast content to choose from - Recently cranked through 22 episodes of U Talkin' U2 to Me - Rarely watch shows live - Went to all-streaming setup for TV - Never go to the movies anymore - Glut of content calls for better time management - It's an on-demand world - Plenty of shows I've never seen - It's all about portion control   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 P

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss Hollywood's love of reboots. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - Docudramas like The People Vs. OJ Simpson are doing well - Reboot of 24 sans Jack Bauer - Why would you remake a perfect movie? - Flip the concept - Matt's book idea - Need to reward original stories - Pixar's doing great work - The Marvel series on Netflix have been good - Experimental episodes can be fun - So much TV to watch now - Luke Cage broke new ground - Watching foreign shows and running out of episodes - Remaking European shows for American TV - Matt needs to watch Terriers and Justified - The greatness of Walton Goggins - Shows that are difficult to watch   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

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss Hollywood's love of reboots. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - Unnecessary reboots - The Ghostbusters remake was controversial - Westworld was a hit, but most viewers probably didn't see the original movies - Michael Crichton's trial by fire as a director - Channing Tatum is the mermaid in the new version of Splash - The Rock's in everything - DC's TV shows are good - Matt Fraction's comics reimagining of Hawkeye is excellent - Deadpool is a cavalcade of dick jokes - Penny Dreadfal mashes up classic horror characters - Beauty and the Beast live-action remake - Rebooting in advertising: the Most Interesting Man in the World, Col. Sanders - Reboot vs. continuation - The Muppet Babies effect - The many Punishers - Taken, the TV show - Getting manipulated by This Is Us - To be continued   Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podc

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss Hollywood's love of reboots. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - All about recycling ideas - Some reboots are self-referential - The Brady Bunch Movie kicked off the reboot as parody - Johnny Depp: Master of the Reboot - Nic Cage's recent career choices - Some improve on the original or have a different take - Westworld, Bates Motel - New TV shows based on Lethal Weapon and Training Day - The industry's too risk-averse - Comic book movie franchises reboot constantly - So many different Batmen - How long will Batfleck last? - Daredevil: Netflix show is much better than the movie - Stephen King's cocaine years - "The hamster just fell off the wheel" - 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

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite indie rock of 2016. Show notes: - Breitling's #4 - Frankie Cosmos is fronted by Kevin Kline's daughter - Engaging pop record - Kumar's #4 - Very political album from Drive-By Truckers - Breitling's #3 - Classic C86-style guitar pop - Good advice: Don't pay the ferryman - Kumar's #3 - Another outstanding release from Jeff Rosenstock - Digs into Millennial angst - Breitling's #2 - Lambchop's new album isn't about the First Lady - First single is 18minutes long - Kumar's #2 - Iggy's last hurrah? - Josh Homme and friends provide backup - Breitling's #1 - Johnny Foreigner explore life's beauty and disappointments - Album came with a script - Kumar's #1 and Breitling's #6 - Bowie goes out on a high note - Put a lot of effort into the packaging - Explorations of mortality from a man who knew he was about to die - Looking forward to new albums in 2017: Cloud Nothings, Los Campesinos, Feelies, LCD Soundsyste

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite indie rock of 2016. Show notes: - Kumar's #9 - PUP comes into its own on second album - Breitling's #8 - A more experimental release from Hallelujah the Hills - Kumar's #8 - Car Seat Headrest's album had to be recalled thanks to Ric Ocasek - Breitling's #7 - Preoccupations expanded the sound of their debut (as Viet Cong) - Dumb band name controversy - Kumar's #7 - Continuing a triumphant stretch of rock records from Bob Mould - Defying the effects of age, unlike other aging rockers - "More barn!" - The Feelies can't stop/won't stop - Breitling's #6 will be discussed later - Kumar's #6 - Parquet Courts is an interesting act that has evolved quickly - Breitling's #5 - Straight outta Portland, OR - Lubec adds layers to its sound - Kumar's #5 - Heavy space rock from Vancouver - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The ope

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite indie rock of 2016. Show notes: - We are not Moviefone - Rough year for musician deaths - Trump's top 3 albums - A return to protest music? - Clicky Clicky HQ is fully Alexa-ized - The kids love the vinyl (well, the hipsters do, anyway) - Albums are back, sort of - Crowdfunding albums is becoming more prevalent - Breitling's bubbling under albums: A Giant Dog, Thin Lips, Bent Shapes, Yr Poetry, Pinegrove, Horse Jumper of Love, Guillermo Sexo, California Snow Story - Kumar's: Used Cassettes, Savages, Dino Jr., Radiohead, Split Single, Preoccupations, Descendents, Johnny Foreigner, Terry Malts, Hallelujah the Hills, Kristin Hersh, I Don't Cares, Nick Cave, Gord Downie, PJ Harvey - Downie teamed with comics artist Jeff Lemire on combo album/graphic novel - Breitling's #10 - Cold Pumas back with a hot new release - Kumar's #10 - Possibly the last Tragically Hip album - Different sound courtesy of producer

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1990. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Jay's #3 album of 1990 - Public Enemy was controversial - Homophobia was pervasive back then, especially in hip hop - PE scared white America - Brian's #3 - They Might Be Giants was in the middle of a classic run of albums - Song-a-Day Hotline - Jay's #2 - After a decade of weirdness, Neil Young re-established himself as a rock icon - Took Sonic Youth and Social D on the road - Brian's #1 and Jay's #5 - Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly teamed up - Deal stepped out of Black Francis' shadow - Brian's #2 - Pixies release their surfiest album - When 3/4 of Pixies crossed paths with some interesting neighbors - Jay's #1 - Jane's Addiction's tour de force - Scored an accidental video and radio hit with "Been Caught Stealing" - Starts out fast and punchy, ends with side 2 of long, epic songs - Perry Farrell's transitio

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1990. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Albums that just missed our top 5 of the year - Alice in Chains inspired a ton of copycat acts - World Party paid homage to many influences - Brian was a big Pantera fan in high school - Social Distortion's classic era - Living Colour came into their own with second album - Warren Zevon teamed up with the non-Stipe members of R.E.M. to do a covers album - Elektra comp Rubaiyat featured unlikely covers - Mark Lanegan's first solo album established his dark bluesy side - Ride was on the crest of the shoegaze wave - Brian's #5 - Ween established their eclectic reputation - The strange journey of Sim Cain - Jay's #4 - Fugazi at the peak of their powers - Brian's #4 - Primus at their least jokey - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a revi

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1990. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Things are getting weird - The Decline of Western Civilization docs are fascinating - In 1990, Jay was 22-23 and Brian was 8 - The '90s were still kicking off - Pivotal events were still yet to happen - Stevie Ray Vaughan died young - 2 Live Crew came to prominence - Oh, Milli Vanilli - Disposable pop seemed to fade for a while - Hammer and Vanilla Ice - Madonna: Publicity generator - Metal was tailing off after a strong decade - Hip hop was getting stronger - New Jack Swing was the thing - Alternative rock was paving the way for Nirvana's breakthrough - Pop charts were topped by the likes of Wilson Phillips and Roxette - Sinead O' Connor's wild year - Bands formed: Bikini Kill, Cracker, Body Count, Spin Doctors - What about Tool? - Broke up: Death of Samantha, Game Theory, Starship - To be continued Complet

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the aftermath of the election. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - Keeping friends after the election - It's getting personal - The canary in the coal mine - Reading things that you know will annoy you - Forced lefty - Giving up on the presidency - Don't encourage the Kardashians - Romney's changed, man - Matt's next book is changing because of the election - Forget art forged from pain, we'll take mindless pop - Social media as free therapy - The Electoral College's relevance - Changing demographics   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 the aftermath of the election. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - Jay: Not moving to Canada - None of those celebs is leaving the country - Enthusiastic votes for Trump - Parallels to Brexit - Plenty of protests when Obama was elected - Scandals didn't hurt Trump - Clinton was a very Republican-safe candidate - Covering politics for a newspaper can change you - When Matt was dissed by the new Lt. Gov. - Oh, Gary Hart - Politicians and sex - 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 Matt Phillion as we discuss the aftermath of the election. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Like a Comet: The Indestructibles Book 4 - Thought this was going to be a very different show - Didn't expect a Trump victory - Social media was raw the day after the election - Family and friend disagreements - You can't change anybody's mind on social media - Friendships are ending over the election - Hiding or unfriending people - Plenty of blame to go around - People don't fact check things before passing them along - Thanksgiving could be disastrous this year - Many people may avoid it altogether - A whole group of people got left behind and Trump tapped into that - A deplorable soundbite - Promising everything - We're insulated in Massachusetts - Oh, Florida - Dealing with post-election feelings - Racist and dumb is quite the combination - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast di

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1985. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Jay's #5 - Brian: "I'm a major label sellout guy" when it comes to R.E.M. - R.E.M. started getting rock radio airplay in '85 - When MTV News was a thing - The evolution of Stipe - Brian's #2 - The Pogues: A love 'em or hate 'em band - Shane McGowan has teeth now - Jay's #2 - Two great Husker Du albums in '85 - New Day Rising gets the edge over Flip Your Wig - Rock concert business was focused on arenas in '85 - Indie rock acts had to forge their own way - Brian's #1 and Jay's #5 - Camper Van Beethoven's interesting debut mixed a lot of styles - Jay forgot about the Replacements - Trouble Boys, the Replacements bio, is excellent - Mats reunion may not be over - Jay's #1 - Pete Townshend's last great work - Ambitious project about the London projects where he grew up - Since then, he's focused on Who tours and

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1985. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - Bands that formed in '85: Bevis Frond, Big Dipper, Crowded House, Guns 'N Roses, Hootie and the Blowfish, Jane's Addiction, Radiohead - Bands that split up: Minutemen, Hanoi Rocks, Kajagoogoo - Brian's bubbling under albums: Prince, Minutemen, Jonathan Richman, Angst, Big Audio Dynamite - The importance of Mick Jones - Jay: Smiths, INXS, Cure, Dinosaur Jr., Rush, Jesus and Mary Chain - Brian's #5 - Beat Happening specialized in lo-fi pop - Brian's #4 - Not the best Talking Heads album, but a decent one - Jay's #4 - The Cult established their goth 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

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1985. Show notes: - Check out Brian's podcast Input/Output - 1985: Jay graduated from high school, started college in the fall - Jay was 17 going on 18, Brian turned 3 - Jay: Listened to a lot of AOR, hard rock, metal - Started getting into U2 - The year of rock charity - Undercurrent of college rock - MTV was growing - Style over substance - Strange collection of songs on the Hot 100 - A lot of songs released in '84 carried over to '85 charts - Hard rock and metal albums were selling well: Ratt, Dokken, Twisted Sister - Indie rock's influence wouldn't be felt for a few more years - The launch of VH1 - PMRC hearings put spotlight on explicit lyrics - Warning labels had the opposite of intended effect - DLR left Van Halen in '85: Did he jump or was he pushed? - DLR's book is fascinating and insane - Rock bios are a mixed bag - To be continued    Completely Conspicuous is

Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff as we discuss the rise and fall of the guitar hero. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Buy Greg's book Van Halen Rising at Amazon or get a signed copy from the Van Halen Store - Flash guitar in the '80s: VH, Motley Crue, Ratt, Quiet Riot - Ratt was once replaced on a bill by Molly Hatchet - Billy Squier's downfall - Molly Hatchet unsuccessfully tried to pull a "ZZ Top" - The hair metal bubble burst - The '80s shredder trend - Fast forwarding to the solos - Oh, Vinnie Vincent - Looking for the new Warrant - The influence of Guitar Hero - Learning about Slash - We need guitars   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.