Completely Conspicuous

This week, I'm joined by guest Brian Lewandowski as he discusses navigating the Boston standup comedy scene. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Iceage, Chelsea Light Moving, Pere Ubu and The Figgs. Show notes: - Brian's back doing standup for the last few months - Did it in the early '90s - Started working townie bars - Just stopped and began doing humor writing - Did an early humor blog that he turned into a self-published book - Recently decided to get back into comedy - In college, ran the radio station with Ronnie James Dio's son - Early heroes were Buddy Hackett, Woody Allen, Steve Martin - Most comedians are loners - Took comedy class; one week, Janeane Garofalo was guest instructor - Hosts comedy nights now - Dealing with cats in the audience - Storytelling with embellishments - Brian interviewed Marc Maron for his blog in the '90s - The genius of SCTV - Passing on your sense of humor to your kids - Brian worked at AMC and Bravo in their early days - "The Spiteful Salad" - Bonehe

Part 3 of my conversation with guests Jay Breitling and Mike Piantigini as we review our favorite music of 2012. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Divine Fits, Golden Gurls, Karl Hendricks Trio, Mark Lanegan Band and Paul Westerberg. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Breitling's #3 album of 2012 - Piantigini and Kumar agree on #3 - Stripped down songs - JB's #2 - Golden Gurls: No relation to Bea Arthur - MP's #2 - Plenty of Teenage Fanclub activity - Imagining Breitling as a goth kid - JK's #2 - The problem with doing covers - JB's #1 - Piantigini's band Lump once opened for Karl Hendricks Trio - Metallica owns their own masters - Bands are now re-recording their classic tracks - MP's #1 (sort of) - New Big Dipper album out - JK's #1 - JB's favorite song of the year - MP's favorite song - Westerberg releases material as he records it - Jason Everman got around - JK's favorite song - Breitling's N SYNC sighting - Trumped by Rock's Destiny's Child sighting - Bonehead of t

Part 2 of my conversation with guests Jay Breitling and Mike Piantigini as we review our favorite music of 2012. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Hospitality, Mission of Burma, METZ, Johnny Foreigner and A.C. Newman. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Breitling's #9 album of 2012 - Piantigini's #9 - The long, strange journey of Drivin N' Cryin - Kumar's #9 - JB's #8 - MP's #8 - Lou Barlow's talkative - JK's #8 - JB's #7 - The Breeders are reuniting - MP's #7 - JK's #7 - Nirvana comparisons abound - JB's #6 - The Clash meets Big Country - MP's #6 - JK's #6 - JB's #5 - MP's #5 - JK's #5 - JB's #4 - Hipsters love the cassettes - In praise of VH's Diver Down - DLR's ill-fated radio show - MP's #4 - Prolific Canadian geniuses rule - JK's #4 - Bonehead of the Week Music:Hospitality - Betty Wang Mission of Burma - Second Television METZ - Wet Blanket Johnny Foreigner - 3 Hearts A.C. Newman - Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTune

Part 1 of my conversation with guests Jay Breitling and Mike Piantigini as we review our favorite music of 2012. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Sloan, Infinity Girl and Guided By Voices. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Brought to you (not really) by Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - MP: Saw a lot of older bands this year - JK: First full album show I saw was Cheap Trick doing "In Color" in '97 - Chloe B. talks about Rudolph - JB: Most of my favorite albums this year were self-released - The 12/12/12 benefit had some good performances, especially by The Who - MP: The Who's Quadrophenia concert was great - The McCartney-"Nirvana" song was decent - Praising the Low Times podcast - JK: "I Want My MTV" is an excellent book - MP: Favorite live shows included Scud Mountain Boys, New Multitudes, Archers of Loaf - MP: Also reunions of Small Factory, Human Sexual Response, Fuzzy - JB: Fave live shows were Johnny Foreigner, Infinity Girl, Autochrome, Midriff Records 10th Annivers

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we climb aboard and dissect an episode of The Love Boat. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Pile and They Might Be Giants. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Inspired by MST3K and Rifftrax, we're commenting while watching video - Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel - Jay: Used to watch Love Boat and Fantasy Island back to back - Both shows featured cameos from so-called stars - Episode 23 from season 1, 1978 - Featured Paul Williams, Michele Lee, Marcia Wallace - Gopher went on to be a Congressman - Romantic hijinks ensue each week - Cartoonish male chauvinism - Let the wacky subplots begin - Love American Style was the predecessor to The Love Boat - Booked to the gunnels - The mysterious sexual allure of Bernie Kopell - Julie just wants to get some - The show's like bad improv - Marcia Wallace is comic relief - Dick Van Patten played Doc in the Love Boat pilot - Capt. Stubing is the cruise ship Pe

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect an episode of a classic 1970s detective show. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Night Marchers and Divine Fits. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Inspired by MST3K and Rifftrax, we're commenting while watching video - Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel - Dube apologizes for his last booze-soaked appearance on the show - Barnaby Jones was a spinoff of the private investigator drama Cannon - We're watching the first episode of the series - Star Buddy Ebsen was Tin Man in Wizard of Oz and Jed Clampett on Beverly Hillbillies - A Quinn Martin production - Cool theme song - Cannon's perpetually hungry - Barnaby Jones' son is murdered in the opening scene - Ebsen's performance is flat as a pancake - A modern-day Barnaby Jones would be played by Hugh Laurie - "You have a rather distinctive silhouette" - Kumar confuses Lee Meriwether with Mary Ann Mobley--a common mistake - Barnaby is decid

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Dave Brigham about our society's neglect for history. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Hush Now, Low, Varsity Drag and The Linus Pauling Quartet. Show notes: - Recorded at the BrigHAAAAM Estates - Dave's doing a reading of one of his short stories on Dec. 11 in Arlington, MA - Check out Dave's photo blog, The Backside of America - Kids don't get our references anymore - Brigham: "Too damn much of everything" - Reality TV is ubiquitous - Pop culture ignorance - Brigham: Even a Luddite like me buys digital music - Knowledge of older bands is limited now - Talking to kids about history and current events - Don't let our kids watch TV newscasts - We shelter our kids these days - Playground education - The ads during televised sporting events are all about "cars, boners and beer" - Parents may filter too much - Can we fix our lack of historical knowledge? - We can try to encourage kids to take an interest - Collecting baseball cards was a

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Dave Brigham about our society's neglect for history. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Interpol, Parquet Courts, The Bohannons and Titus Andronicus. Show notes: - Recorded at the BrigHAAAAM Estates - Dave's doing a reading of one of his short stories on Dec. 11 in Arlington, MA - Brigham: Working as a volunteer archivist uncovers interesting finds - Check out Dave's photo blog, The Backside of America - You can find lots of hidden historical discoveries when you pay attention - Kumar: Our culture is so focused inward that we forget about history - Brigham: Finding old collection of dad's military stuff sparked interest in history - The 2010s are much more of a "Me Decade" than the 1970s - Dave's got a dumb phone instead of a smart phone - American Girl dolls focus on historical settings - History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man - "Kids these days..." - The Petraeus scandal: How is it possible to send 30,000 pag

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a legendary 1970s boogie rock classic. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Titus Andronicus, The Henry Clay People and Action Jets. Show notes: - Recorded late at night at More Lost Time world HQ - "Smokin' in the Boys Room" came out in 1973, was revived in the Ramones movie Rock 'n Roll High School - Ric questions the deeper meanings of the song: Is it about drugs, sex or both? - Rebellion took on a much different meaning in the '70s - 12 years later, Motley Crue covered the song and hit #16 on the charts - Cub Koda reportedly influenced stage style of Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band - Brownsville Station's had a radio "hit" called "Martian Boogie" - Seven minutes of cheesy effects and stupidity - ZZ Top was much better at boogie rock - Koda was making rockabilly solo albums on the side and selling them himself - Not many weed songs in rock anymore - Dube talks about the origins of beatboxing, in 1971 from a band called Th

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a cheesy '80s classic. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Kevin Bowe, Johnny Foreigner and Chris Stamey. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - A little background on David Geddes - Early Geddes song sounds like "Rhinestone Cowboy," which came out later - The same backing bands played on all the bubblegum pop records of the '70s - Dube made a video "A Decent Saturday," depicting a day at a NH record store - The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was a monster hit - Benny Mardones had a hit with "Into the Night" in 1980 - Kumar: Mardones was going for an Eddie Money thing - Male facelifts are unsettling - The "Into the Night" video is creepy - First line of the song: "She's just 16 years old..." - Dube: All videos should have flying carpets in them - Co-written by Robert Tepper - Our friend Rob Hallworth became obsessed with Tepper - Mardones liked writing ballads - Tepper had his one hit on the Rocky 4 soundtrack - On

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect another lost '70s pop hit. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Telekinesis, Endless Jags and Guided By Voices. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ - Latest More Lost Time episode features The Good Rats - "Run Joey Run" was revived by the TV show Glee - Geddes has a Neil Diamond-esque delivery - Another story song - Dube is skeptical of the premise - The girl in this song could be the same one from "The Leader of the Pack" - Song hit #4 on singles chart in fall of 1975 - Geddes was in psychedelic band called The Fredric - Kumar: Title reminds me of the TV show Run Joe Run - About a German shepherd wanted for a crime he didn't commit - Dube breaks out a show promo about a guy wanted for a crime he DID commit - Geddes followed up "Run Joey Run" with a baseball-themed song, "Last Game of the Season" - Another song with a character who dies - Geddes also released a disco song - Producer also created the song "Disc

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss movie soundtracks. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Parquet Courts, Two Gallants, Lefty's Deceiver and Sonic Youth. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Breitling - John Hughes championed synth-pop in his movies - Cameron Crowe's Singles was timed perfectly with the emergence of Seattle scene - The Repo Man soundtrack featured some classic punk tracks - Concert soundtracks can be hit or miss - Pink Floyd's The Wall soundtrack differed a bit from the album - This is Spinal Tap is a classic - Floyd's music appeared on some late '60s/early '70s soundtracks - Wang Chung did the soundtrack for To Live and Die in LA - Soundtracks can bring out some truly awful songs - Bryan Adams/Sting/Rod Stewart did "All For Love" from Three Musketeers soundtrack - We look up stuff on the Internet - Plenty of bad soundtrack songs from Cheap Trick, Seger, ex-Eagles - Dirty Dancing was a monstrous success - Kumar: Reality Bites was annoying - B

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss movie soundtracks. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Ty Segall, Spider Bags, METZ and Mission of Burma. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Breitling - Breitling: The Rocky soundtrack was big in his childhood in Philly - Soundtracks went from simple scores to multiple artists - Hulk Hogan's sex tape nearly ruined the Internet - "Rock Around the Clock" made its mark - Elvis, Beatles both used soundtracks well - Having kids forces you to listen to children's movie soundtracks - Kenny Loggins built his career around soundtrack hits - The '80s saw numerous videos for soundtrack songs featuring clips from movie - Journey contributed to the Tron soundtrack - Heavy Metal soundtrack featured two different songs called "Heavy Metal" - Soundtracks were a way for artists to keep their name out there between albums - Breitling: Fond memories of the Xanadu soundtrack - Kumar: Remember digging Frankie Valli's title track of the Grease

Part 2 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the latest NHL lockout. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Hush Now, Wintersleep, Benjamin Gibbard and METZ. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out James' blog Jerseys and Hockey Love - The Bruins may lose much of the goodwill they gained from their Cup win - The Panthers fired their mascot, the NHL's cutting staff hours - Preparing for post-lockout play - Fantasy hockey leagues are on hold - James is certified to be a hockey ref - Watching other sports instead - Going to rock shows is a nice alternative - Jay: Saw PiL open for INXS at Radio City, 1988 - James: Good college hockey in the Denver area - Players are more bitter this time around - Lockout impacts many people beyond players and owners - Hockey bloggers gained prominence during last lockout - Life goes on - With no hockey, fans are finding they're saving a lot of money - Jay: I'm okay with shorter regular season - James recommends the movie "Goon" -

Part 1 of my conversation with guest James Gralian as we discuss the latest NHL lockout and why we still give a damn about hockey. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Ceremony, The Mountain Goats, Allo Darlin' and Yo La Tengo. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out James' blog Jerseys and Hockey Love - Seems like we just had a lockout...wiping out 2004-05 season - NHL cancelled first two weeks of regular season - Players are heading to play in Europe - James: Annoyed at the NHL, still love the sport - Plenty of other teams to support: Minor league, college, high school - Jay: Went to more college games during last lockout - Looks like this lockout could be a long one - Jay: The burden of being a Leafs fan - During lockouts, fans find other things to do - Fans will come back, but lockouts are costly - True fans really love the game - Possibility of a new team in the Toronto area - Support for the Leafs in Toronto is similar to Red Sox popularity in New England - The strange journe

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 rev

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 - Encyclo

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 post

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 Triang

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 G