Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we continue handing out the CompCon Awards. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Wire, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts and Ten Kens. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Best Concept Album - Brian: Not a fan of concept albums - Jay: Afghan Whigs' Black Love is an underrated classic - Townshend's book is a good read - Best Album That Deviates From Band's Sound - Brian: Prefers later Pavement to earlier stuff - Tin Machine was welcome change after substandard Bowie albums - Praising (or not hating) R.E.M.'s Monster - Paul's Boutique was a masterpiece of sampling - Best Song by Band Member Who Wasn't Main Songwriter - Brian: George Harrison rules - Best Rhythm Guitarist - Post classic rock era, line between rhythm and lead has blurred - Lee Ving and Dave Mustaine teamed up - Bill Ward: Sabbath should give the drummer some - Best Album Packaging - Vinyl was the heyday of great packaging - Zep's In Through the Out Door had several covers - Mu

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we present the first edition of the CompCon Awards. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Mudhoney, Frightened Rabbit, Marnie Stern and Telekinesis. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype while the Oscars telecast was on - Jay: Picking top albums of the 1970s was tough - The CompCon Awards are an alternative to the Grammys looking at different categories - First category: Best Band Name - Brian saw Trail of Dead back in the day - Best Sophomore Album - Bands like The Strokes have struggled to follow up strong debut - Nirvana's success both killed and launched a lot of terrible bands - Dave Grohl backlash - Pondering Weezer's decline - Graham Maby rules - Best Side 1 - Harking back to the heyday of vinyl - First Van Halen album had killer side 1 and 2 - Bowie had an incredible run of albums in the '70s - Best Side 2 - Other outstanding album sides - The Chili Peppers haven't aged well - To be continued - Bonehead of the Week Music:Mudhoney -

Part 2 of my conversation with guests Ric Dube and Jay Breitling as we dissect a classic episode of the 1970s sitcom What's Happening. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Patrick Stickles and Me & Stupid. Show notes: - Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ; check out the 50th episode of MLT (with cameos from Mr. Breitling and myself) - Inspired by MST3K and Rifftrax, we're commenting while watching video - Watch the episode along with us at the CompCon YouTube channel - Breitling joins the fray - Haywood Nelson was the inspiration for indie rock band Haywood - JB: The satin jacket died with Rainbow's "All Night Long" video (featuring Graham Bonnet on vocals, not Joe Lynn Turner) - Enter Big Al Dunbar - Rerun wore his pants old-man high - The original discomfort comedy - Were the Doobies big anti-bootleg advocates? - Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is a defense industry consultant now - Baxter's wearing a Warner Bros. jersey - Rocking out while seated - Flaming gongs kick

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we dissect a classic episode of the 1970s sitcom What's Happening. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from They Might Be Giants and The Thalia Zedek Band. 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 - What's Happening!! had all the sitcom archetypes - Formula elements at play - This was a Very Special Episode - No continuity in the '70s on TV shows - The evils of bootlegging - Check out CompCon episodes 218 and 219 about bootlegs - Ric: Wonder if there's a bootleg of the Doobies' performance in this show - Show inspired by the movie Cooley High - Ric's a fan of Dee - Did inner city kids really listen to the Doobie Brothers? - Jay: I rocked the velour shirts back in the day - Rerun gets roped into the bootlegging world - All the parodies have been parodied now - Ric's heard the "Which Doobie You Be?" line a

Part 3 of my conversation with guests Mike Piantigini and Brad Searles as we discuss the new music we're looking forward to in 2013. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The XX, The Thermals, Redd Kross and !!! Show notes: - Recorded at Piantigini Place, Somerville, Mass. - Mike: New Big Dipper album is great - Bettie Serveert is back with a new release - Brad: The Neats reunion is happening - Shockingly, Brad's never been to SXSW - SXSW has grown into a huge spectacle - Thumbs up to The Sinclair - Def Leppard's Vegas residency - Bob Mould can't play acoustic shows quietly - Sting's "Back to Bass" tour - Bands going out on a bad note - Guitar Hero/Rock Band games flamed out quickly - Do not taunt the Zoo TV - Brad and Mike reminisce about the Merge Records 20th anniv. show - Wilco's Solid Sound Festival is always good - Bonehead of the Week Music:The XX - Reconsider The Thermals - Born to Kill Redd Kross - Stay Away from Downtown !!! - Slyd Completely Conspicuous is available through

Part 2 of my conversation with guests Mike Piantigini and Brad Searles as we discuss the new music we're looking forward to in 2013. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Low, Thee Oh Sees, Mikal Cronin and Ken Stringfellow. Show notes: - Recorded at Piantigini Place, Somerville, Mass. - The Who's Live at Hull sounds a lot like Live at Leeds - Hearing bands play old favorites vs. new material - Selling your music for commercial use - Pete Townshend was a major solo artist in the '80s - '80s recording techniques have not aged well - Debating McCartney's solo work - Kids these days... - YouTube as music delivery mechanism - Not just videos, but full albums and lyric videos - The sad tale of Myspace - Bandcamp's fan pages - Brad: Psyched about new LP from Kid Canaveral - The death of Lovejoy's, a great Austin dive bar - Alamo Drafthouse rules - Brad: Upcoming Mark Kozelek and Album Leaf collaboration - Indie bands love covering the Misfits - Bands keep touring without original members (Mi

Part 1 of my conversation with guests Mike Piantigini and Brad Searles as we discuss what we're looking forward to in 2013, musically speaking. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Spinto Band, FIDLAR, King Tuff and The Maccabees. Show notes: - Recorded at Piantigini Place, Somerville, Mass. - Breitling couldn't make it - Brad: Unusual collaborations including New Medicants (Joe Pernice and Norman Blake), Kristen Hersh and Pond, Greg Dulli and Steve Kilbey - Hersh is super busy - Artists escape from the album-tour-album cycle - Robert Pollard is a freak of nature - Mike: Replacements cover EP to benefit Slim Dunlap - Westerberg should tour again - Axl Rose soldiers on...at his own pace - Great artists aren't always great businessmen - Mike watches "Nashville" - Breitling's list includes the Come reunion - Come reissue has live set that Brad had hosted on his blog - Jay: Bowie's back - New Marnie Stern album on the way - To be continued - Bonehead of the Week Music:The Spinto Band -

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our angry society. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from The Joy Formidable, Bad Religion, Screaming Females and Titus Andronicus. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Phillion, Salem, Mass. - Matt and his siblings got the angry gene - Be nice to your crazy co-workers - Copycat wackos - Blaming the videogames and Hollywood - Violent movies don't necessarily make you violent - When you recognize the bank robber - Matt's been shot at before - It's unrealistic to think guns are going away - Who's paranoid? Not us. - Talk radio is another forum for angry people - The 2nd Amendment - Universal healthcare gets people angry - "People aren't totally shitbags" - High-powered hunting - Matt's advocating for an asteroid to wipe us out - Bonehead of the Week Music:The Joy Formidable - Wolf's Law Bad Religion - True North Screaming Females - Poison Arrow Titus Andronicus - Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus Completely

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss anger management. I've also got the Bonehead of the Week and music from Mudhoney, Camper Van Beethoven, Guided By Voices and Lovestreams. Show notes: - Recorded at Chez Phillion, Salem, Mass. - The joys of home ownership - We've talked in the past about profanity and politics, which both tie in to anger - Many forums available for people to vent anger - Dealing with crazy co-workers - Matt's an angry man at times - Running can be therapeutic...or not - Getting behind the wheel instantly amplifies anger level - Road rage is scary - Are we an angrier society than we used to be? - Like driving a car, social media makes you a lot braver - Online comments can be particularly vicious - Putting up with conflicting opinions on Facebook - The gun debate has stoked anger on both sides - Matt has a "Spanish face" - Matt: The rest of the world sees Americans as "overweight, angry and armed" - Some friends love to troll "the other side" online - Seagull

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