Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts.  Show notes: Our top 10 concerts in no particular order Phil: Banged up and seeing his first Dead show in Foxborough in 1989 The show is popular with Dead fans Jay: Caught Mike Watt backed by the Foo Fighters in their first Boston appearance in '95 Phil: 12 days after that Dead show, saw the Who at the same venue A 3-hour show for the 20th anniversary of Tommy Jay: The one area appearance by Them Crooked Vultures in '09 Supergroup with Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones Phil: McCartney at Sullivan Stadium in 1990 The tour book phenomenon Jay: Two shows in one night--The Amps followed by Mighty Mighty Bosstones Phil: U2 show on St. Patrick's Day '92 in Boston, Achtung Baby tour "Put it in H" Jay: Also a U2 show; September 1987 at the Boston Garden Phil: Dylan at Endicott College in October 1992 Tickets purchased at a local jewelry store Dylan almost didn't play because a heater wasn't working on stage Jay: Electric performance

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts.  Show notes: Cold weather running tips What makes a great concert? Small shows vs. stadiums Hard to pare down the list Limited to one show per artist Good idea for a sequel involving a time machine Phil leaned toward larger shows Didn't include: R.E.M., the Cure, Sleater-Kinney, Drive-By Truckers, Tedeschi Trucks Band  Jay: Prefer the intimacy of club shows We were at the same shows before we knew each other Phil: First concert was Van Halen in 1986 Setlist.fm is a great resource MTV's Saturday Night concerts Jay's first show was a festival show in Kingston, NH with Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford in 1984 Jay: Not a fan of festival shows anymore Adventures in seeing Rush Jay: Didn't see R.E.M. when they played my college  Other favorites: PJ Harvey, Hot Snakes, Lollapalooza '92, Afghan Whigs, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Drive-By Truckers, Alice in Chains/Screaming Trees, Peter Gabriel, White Stripes, Hold Steady, Missio

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: Our top 10 albums of the year Shout out to Rock P's top 20 out of 10 countdown JB's #10: Triple album tribute album for Jesse Malin, an underrated songwriter JK's #10: J Mascis incorporates hot guitar solos into a mostly acoustic album JB's #9: Hot collection of bangers from Cloud Nothings JK's #9: Farewell set from Toronto noise rockers METZ  JK's #8: Angry breakup album from Fake Fruit Coming up on the 5th birthday of Parcheesi Redux radio, SITG hit 11 this fall JB's #7: Retro '60s sounds from Sharp Pins JK's #7:  Philly indie rockers return with in-your-face collection JB's #6: More great SF indie bubblegum pop from Lunchbox JK's #6: Power pop scorchers courtesy of Daniel Romano's Outfit Reminiscing about ER and One Tree Hill JB's #5: Peel Dream Magazine delivers peaceful indie pop JK's #5: Dublin indie rock act Fontaines D.C. with commercial breakthrough JB's #4: Dog Day with economical set of bangers JK's #

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: The 16th annual year in review  First one was in 2009 Cybertrucks are dumb Self-driving cars are also dumb Taylor Swift just ended a monster tour Music is a dead-end business for most Spotify sucks Country music is huge Breitling: There are some good underground country artists A good year for Tracy Chapman Social media landscape is shifting Lots of big music deaths: Quincy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Albini, Paul Di'Anno, Greg Kihn, Karl Wallinger Getting out to some rock shows: Hallelujah the Hills, Nuggets tour, Gang of Four, Hoodoo Gurus, Sloan in Toronto Breitling's honorable mentions: The TV show The Bear, Bug Club's song "Quality Pints," Fontaines D.C.'s "Favourite," Tsunami box set, Spectres, Kal Marks Kumar's honorable mentions: Dale Crover, Buffalo Tom, Ekko Astral, Jack White, Ducks Ltd., Mary Timony, Los Campesinos  To be continued  Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Su

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite instrumentals.  Show notes: Phil's #8: A jazz-funk classic out of Scotland? Jay's #8: Powerful surf rock from the Pixies Phil's #7: The Commodores with an early funk workout Jay's #7:  Dick Dale hit that was revived decades later in Pulp Fiction Song originated in the 1920s Phil's #6: Instrumental from Phish that evolved in the live setting Jay's #6: A sweeping song from Bowie's Berlin period Bowie switched genres and sounds with ease Phil's #5 and Jay's #3: A revolutionary moment for guitar heroics Edward Van Halen changed the game for rock guitar and hard rock Jay's #5: Hendrix blowing minds in the early morning hours at Woodstock Turning the national anthem into a protest song Phil's #4: Music mogul with a horn-driven dance song Sampled by Notorious B.I.G. Another horn-based song by Chuck Mangione went to #1 in '79 Jay's #4:  Iconic full-band instrumental off Zep II Killer riff combined with Bonham's monstrous drumming Phil's #3: Elton J

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite instrumentals.  Show notes: We're feeling goooood. What makes a good instrumental? Jay: I like the musicians in Red Hot Chili Peppers Not as many instrumentals made now as there used to be  No jazz instrumentals included in our lists Phil's bubbling under picks: Booker T and the MGs, Bar-Kays, Meters, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana, U2, Rush, Dick Dale, Beatles, Boston, TSOP, Bowie, Pink Floyd  Jay's non-top 10 picks: Rush, Van Halen, Focus, ELO, Pink Floyd, the Who, Iron Maiden, Commodores, Fugazi, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet Alex VH's new book ignores Sammy Hagar Some great instrumentals are TV themes like Barney Miller Jay's #10: The Police with a mysterious guitar exercise Phil's #9: Majestic song from the Who's first rock opera Fans in the '60s didn't know what to expect when bands were melting their faces Jay's #9: Beastie Boys break out the funk To be continued Completely Conspicu

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite cover songs.  Show notes: Jay's #7: Ty Segall with a ripper of a Neil Young cover Phil's #6: The live version of a Linda Ronstadt classic Jay's #6: An indie rock all-star band playing covers the Beatles played in their early days Greg Dulli, Thurston Moore, Dave Grohl, Dave Pirner, Mike Mills and Don Fleming Phil's #5: Phish covering the Stones Phish does tons of covers Jay's #5: An unexpected '60s cover from Husker Du Phil's #4: Coltrane with a wild twist on a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Jay's #4: Stripped down version of an English Beat hit by Pete Townshend Phil's #3: Rage Against the Machine's explosive take on a Springsteen folk song Jay: Forgot about Rollins and Bad Brains covering "Kick Out the Jams" Jay's #3: Dirtbombs with a smokin' garage punk remake of Stevie Wonder  Jay's #2: Nirvana's Unplugged show featured several great covers Phil's #1: Epic length cover "Morning Dew" by the Dead Watching old videos from the '60s and '70

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite cover songs.  Show notes: What makes a good cover? Be true to the song, but bring something of yourself to it Jagger and Bowie's cover of "Dancing in the Streets" is godawful In the '80s and '90s, used to get 45s or cassingles (or CD singles) to get B-sides Phil's honorable mention covers: U2, Courtney Barnett, Nirvana, Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, Beatles, Stones, Bjork, Aretha, Pearl Jam, CSNY, Cowboy Junkies Nirvana's MTV Unplugged has several great covers Zeppelin covered a lot of songs on their early albums, with or without giving credit Jay's honorable mentions: The Clash, Hendrix, Pretenders, U2, Charles Bradley, Thin Lizzy, Bjork, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Living Colour, Soft Cell, Johnny Cash, PJ, Deep Purple, Urge Overkill, Violent Femmes, Anthrax, Breeders, Cheap Trick, Malkmus and Elastica, Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age Phil's #10: Stevie Ray Vaughan takes on a guitar god's classic Jay's #10: Dinosaur J

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of the 2010s.  Show notes: Phil's 2016 #1: Drive-By Truckers with a political statement in a divided year Jay's 2016 #1: The final act of Bowie was a masterpiece Phil's 2017 #1: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile join forces Jay's 2017: #1: Strong second act from the Afghan Whigs Phil's and Jay's 2018 #1: Cathartic blast of political anger from Superchunk Phil's 2019 #1: David Berman's final album as Purple Mountains Real talk about people dealing with tough issues  Shocking deaths over the last decade Jay's 2019 #1: Sarcastic pop-punk excellence from Toronto's PUP Phil's 2020 #1: Jason Isbell deals with ghosts on his 7th album COVID memories Jay's 2020 #1: Topical protest hip hop from Run the Jewels 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 the music of the 2010s. Also, happy 18th birthday to the show! Show notes: Wrapping up our year-by-year look at rock music starting with 1970 Each of us picking a favorite album for each year from 2011-2020 Phil's 2011 #1: Bluesy collection from Tedeschi Trucks Band  Susan Tedeschi grew up in New England Jay's 2011 #1: Concept album by Toronto's Fucked Up Phil's 2012 #1: Punchy punk rippers from Parquet Courts Neil Young and the art of the 15-minute song Jay's 2012 #1: Ty Segall Band with a heavy garage rock/psych sound Phil's 2013 #1: Laid-back slacker jams from Philly's Kurt Vile Jay's 2013 #1: An epic Queens of the Stone Age album written after a near-death experience Phil's 2014 #1: TV On the Radio's last album and first since bass player died Jay's 2014 #1: Expansive tour de force from Parquet Courts Phil's 2015 #1: Courtney Barnett combines conversational lyrics with hot guitar Jay's 2015 #1: Jeff Rosenstock delivers a pop-punk masterpiece On bein

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: JB's #6 and JK's #7: Philly's Mannequin Pussy is a wide-ranging delight JK's 6: Excellent jangle rock from Toronto's Ducks Ltd. JB's #5 and JK's #3: J Mascis with a laid-back winner of a solo album Let us know if you want to be in the studio audience for the year-end wrapup JK's #5: A more electronic effort from St. Vincent The limited amount of media attention given to albums now How do current artists measure success?  Remembering weird synth pop from the early '80s Fewer barriers to entry, but fewer ways to get your music in front of people JB's #4: Another great Slumberland release from Lunchbox, featuring folks from Hard Left JK's #4: First release in 14 years from NYC art rockers Les Savy Fav JB's #3: NH-based act combines post punk with many different genres JB's #2: Johnny Foreigner returns with EP previewing their upcoming album JK's #2: METZ adds catchiness to their noise rock  JB's #1: Politica

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: Crazy stuff going right as we started recording Concert tours getting canceled because of poor ticket sales (Black Keys, JLo) The phenomenon of Taylor Swift Vinyl is selling well, but half the people who buy it don't own a record player Another factor in the concert business struggles is the high price of tickets Apparently Gen Z loves dream pop Spotify accuses Hallelujah the Hills of gaming the system The Legend of Doo Doo Brown JB's honorable mentions: The Bret Tobias Set, Bug Club, Fontaines D.C., Ducks Ltd., Bedbug, Umbrellas, Torrey, Waxahatchee, Shellac, Buffalo Tom, Les Savy Fav, Pedro the Lion JK's honorable mentions: Cloud Nothings, Boeckner, Redd Kross, Mdou Moctar, IDLES, Plus/Minus, Bodega, Kim Gordon, DIIV JK's #10: Mary Timony's first solo album in 19 years JB's #9: Dope Yeti is the nexus of Beck, Dylan and GBV JK's #9: A quieter, more Americana-focused album from Buffalo Tom JB's #8: Strong

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Show notes: Black Keys cancel arena tour after way overestimating their popularity Phil's #5: Black Keys establish their popularity with poppier blues sound Phil's and Jay's #4: Superchunk returns after a nine-year break with an energetic pop-punk ripper Phil's #3: Lo-fi psych from Philly duo Reading Rainbow (now called Bleeding Rainbow) Jay's #3: Nick Cave returns with his harder rocking Grinderman project Phil's #2 and Jay's #5: More rock-oriented album from Drive-By Truckers Jay's #2: Politically-driven melodic punk from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists  Phil's #1: Neil Young with a solo effort with a lot of guitar effects Jay's #1: Titus Andronicus with your typical epic Civil War-meets-modern-day NJ concept album  Jay: Titus Andronicus is one of my favorite current bands  Favorite songs: "Hitchhiker" (Phil), "Theme from Cheers" (Jay) Next time we get together, we'll sum up the decade of the 2010s Completely Conspicuous is available t

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Show notes: In 2010, Phil became a dad for the second time A little running talk Kesha had the #1 song in 2010 with "Tik Tok" Phil asking philosophical questions Phil's non-top 5s: Darker My Love, Best Coast, LCD Soundsystem, Foals, Ty Segall, Spoon, Wolf People, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Jay's non-top 5s: Neil Young, Los Campesinos!, Arcade Fire, Black Mountain, Les Savy Fav When artists stop making good albums 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 Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: Arctic Monkeys, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Patterson Hood, Alice in Chains, Obits, Eels, Tragically Hip, Brendan Benson, Neko Case, Heaven and Hell Phil's #5: Yeah Yeah Yeahs make foray into dance rock Judas Priest makes good pump-up music Jay's #5: Trippy prog-metal from Mastodon Phil's #4: Neko Case is a force of nature Jay's #4: Art Brut with an entertaining collection of ripping artsy punk   Phil's #3: Slow-burning solo excursion from Patterson Hood Jay's #3: Anthemic punk/classic rock mix from Japandroids Phil's #2: Phish returns after a 5-year break Jay's #2: Jarvis Cocker with the kickass Albini-recorded solo ripper  Phil's and Jay's #1:  Monster supergroup debut from Them Crooked Vultures Jay saw TCV in Boston on their only tour Always cool to see someone from Zeppelin play live Favorite songs: "Angela" (Jay), "Elephants" (Phil) Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscrib

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: In 2009, Phil had a newborn and was expecting another We had a global pandemic in '09 (H1N1 swine flu) Biggest selling album in the world was by Susan Boyle Black Eyed Peas had a big year U2 had an album out, but didn't make much of an impression on us Phil's non-top 5s: The Dead Weather, Son Volt, Wilco, Jason Isbell, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, A.C. Newman, Titus Andronicus, Deer Tick  To smarm or not to smarm 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 Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: Phil's #5: My Morning Jacket changes things up Jay's #5: Big space rock ripper from Black Mountain Phil's #4: Springsteen-inspired indie rock from the Gaslight Anthem Jay's #4: Stephen Malkmus gets jammy  Phil's #3: Tom Petty's early band Mudcrutch gets back together Jay's #3: Sloan with an economical power pop release Phil's and Jay's #2: Dark, inspired record from the Gutter Twins Phil's #1: Brooding classic from Death Cab for Cutie  Jay's #1: The Hold Steady hits an anthemic peak  Craig Finn is an atypical yet terrific frontman Favorite songs: "Stay Positive" (Jay), "I Will Possess Your Heart" (Phil) 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 the music of 2008. Show notes: In '08, Phil became a dad M.I.A. with the Clash fakeout intro Phil's non-top 5s: The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, the Raconteurs, Beck, R.E.M., JJ Grey and Mofro, Sloan, Drive-By Truckers, Black Keys The Kelly Gruber Effect The other Phil Stacey releases his debut album, as did Scarlett Johansson and Bronson Arroyo Jay's non-top 5s: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Black Angels, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Destroyer Green Day was punk until they weren't Phil: Hearing the Kinks for the first time 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 Phil Stacey about the music of 2007. Show notes: Phil's #5: Sharp alt-country debut from Deer Tick Jay's #5: Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman Phil's #4: Compelling raunch rock from QOTSA Jay's #4: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with another quality ripper Phil's #3: Soulful belter Sharon Jones with a great throwback Jay's #3: Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment Labels were not happy that they took the risk Phil's #2: Dad-rock kings Wilco with a mellower affair Jay's #2: The original Dino Jr. lineup with their first album since '88 Phil's and Jay's #1: Spoon breaks through with a classic The decline of rock as a popular genre Favorite songs: "Don't You Evah" (Jay), "Impossible Germany" (Phil) 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 the music of 2007. Show notes: In 2007, Jay had a kid starting kindergarten; that kids graduates from college soon Zeppelin played two reunion shows Separating the music from artists' bad behavior Daughtry had the #1 selling album of '07 Phil's non-top 5s: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the National, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Okkervil River, Buffalo Tom, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Arctic Monkeys  Let's hear it for Dad Rock On Madonna's career Discovering music through commercials or movies Music services Jay's non-top 5s: LCD Soundsystem, the Dears, Tim Armstrong, Black Francis, Thurston Moore, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Beastie Boys 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.