Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss social media dependency. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - The political climate is disturbingly fascinating - O, Canada? - It used to be easy to fall out of political favor - Howard Dean's scream - The lack of competition - No alternative party - Navigating social media to victory - Coming up with an escape plan - Watch out for gators - Connected to social media all day but don't look at it all the time - Your info is constantly being collected by FB, Google, Amazon, etc. - Wandering through the social media graveyard - FB Messenger was banning people based on supposedly private conversations - Matt's adventures with drunken late-night purchases like the Ab Zapper - Buying swords on QVC - The desperate need for social media likes - Matt: No withdrawal symptoms when disconnected from the internet - Consequences for social media faux pas can come quickly Comple

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss social media dependency. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - Back from a little hiatus - Using the phone at the urinal - Matt: Detached from social media while in Canada - We're online all day for work - Jay: The kids love the Instagram - Twitter can be a cesspool - Let Me Google That For You - When Star Wars nerds get ugly - Twitter can often be a license to be a jerk - People can be "rock stupid" - The compulsion to tweet - Arguing with family members on social media - The mute function on FB is helpful - Matt: Writer Twitter drives me nuts - Don't click on the comments! - Anime geeks solving their arguments in a civil manner - 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. Voiceover work

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss musical blindspots: I dig into George Harrison's Brainwashed and Brian checks out Living Colour's Stain. Show notes: - Jay: George Harrison's posthumous release - Never heard anything from this on the radio - Took repeated listens for it to click - Ends with George and his son chanting together - Harrison's solo work after first album is noticeably flawed - Harrison worked on this album for 14 years - Jeff Lynne production doesn't overwhelm Brainwashed - Jay: All three solo Beatles albums I listened to were good - Brian: The third Living Colour record is more aggressive - Very angry, dark album - Timely lyrical themes that would work today - Doug Wimbish brings a different sound to Living Colour - Industrial sounding, lots of sampling - Band split up in '95 - Album was out of print for years after a lawsuit over its name - Watching rock stars age is strange - Robert Plant's staye

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we discuss musical blindspots: I dig into Paul McCartney's RAM and Brian checks out Living Colour's Time's Up. Show notes: - Brian: Glover's vocals are too showy on Reid's songs - Second half of album is more varied - Back in the days of super-long albums - Living Colour would switch styles in the middle of songs - Bands would go platinum with no radio play - Taping music off the radio - RAM was credited to Paul and Linda - Whimsy with a dark undercurrent - Homemade-sounding album recorded in an NYC studio - Critics hated it when it came out - Macca rarely plays these songs live - Next up: Living Colour's Stain and George Harrison's Brainwashed - George's problematic solo career - Here's to long rock docs   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

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the power of the written word. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - The popularity of comics has moved beyond just comic books - The collector's market collapsed in the late '90s - We make less time to read nowadays - Audiobooks and podcasts are popular with people trying to multitask - Mark Hamill's interesting career - Attention spans are shrinking - Binge-watching vs. reading - Long-form storytelling is alive and well on TV - Being professional on social media - When things you liked don't age well - Retroactive criticism - Hate-sharing for fun and profit - Outrage fatigue - Picking careers that become obsolete   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 fin

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the power of the written word. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - Everything's great - Content has a different meaning these days - Gotta grab readers much more quickly - We read full articles more infrequently - Rarely go directly to newspaper sites - Jay: Use Feedly, which is like the old Google Reader RSS feed aggregator - RSS feeds are archaic now - Facebook's News Feed is pretty light on actual news - People "liking" products on social media - Matt: Shorter stories seem to do better than longer novels - e-readers are good and bad - Internet publishing took away the gatekeeper so anyone can publish now - Now there's so much out there, you can't tell the good from the bad - Paperbacks are making a comeback, like vinyl - Putting "girl" in a book title is trending - Dino erotica is a thing - Fun with keywords - Doing chart battle with werewolf smut - Jay: Finally

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite albums of 2017. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - JB's #4 - A surprising shoegaze comeback - JK's #4 - Dan Bejar hits the sweet spot - JB's #3 - The greatness of Father/Daughter Records - Interesting songs that grab you - JK's #3 - A man of constant reinvention - JB's #2 - A strong farewell from a beloved band - JK's #2 - Harking back to a signature sound with some new twists - JB's #1 - Strong set produced by Kurt Heasley of the Lilys - JK's #1 - Two great tastes that taste great together - Very conversational, ramshackle - Some great box sets/archival releases from Husker Du, Replacements, Acetone - Anticipated releases: Yr Poetry, Buffalo Tom, Sloan, Ty Segall, Arctic Monkeys, My Bloody Valentine - Shout out to Ollie Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicu

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite albums of 2017. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - JB's #10 - Tommy Stinson can still bring it - JK's #10 - A welcome return after 17 years - JB's #9 - A turnkey post-shoegaze solution - JK's #9 - Double LP return for the great Ted Leo - JB's #8 - A different sound for She Sir - JK's #8 - Strong effort marred by bizarre on-stage incident - When artists you like do bad things - JB's #7 - Breitling digs on the ambient music - JK's #7 - Mixing hooks in with blistering rockers - JB's #6 - Juana Molina continues to explore - JK's #6 - Strong career progression from consistently interesting artist - JB's #5 - Former schoolteacher turned electronic artist - JK's #5 - Double album recorded while the artist was dying - Each song was about a person in his life - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The o

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about the year in indie rock. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky world HQ - Eighth annual year in review - Rock isn't part of the top 40 conversation anymore - Apple is going to stop selling downloads and iPods - Music as a service - Does higher quality audio really matter? - People who died - Pat DiNizio recently passed; the Smithereens had a fine career - Other notable deaths: Petty, Downie, Cornell, Berry, Domino, Allman, Hart - The Year of Punishing Bad Behavior - Albums that didn't make our top 10 lists - Breitling: The War on Drugs recalls mid-80s classic rock - Also dug St. Vincent, Lali Puna, Wet Trident, Lubec, Charly Bliss - Kumar: War on Drugs, LCD Soundsystem, Wolf Parade, Protomartyr, Ron Gallo - Lots of music to like this year - To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Co

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Brian Salvatore about musical blindspots with Brian listening to Living Colour while I dig into early solo Beatles records. Show notes: - Brian listened to Vivid, Jay listened to John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - Adventures in Skype - Jay: Wasn't familiar with much of this album - Very raw, exposed album for Lennon - Lennon didn't release many albums before he died - Yoko plays "the wind" - Embarrassment of riches after Beatles broke up - The Living Colour/In Living Color conundrum - Brian: Not a misplaced note on this album - Impressed with the political content - Jay: Saw videos on MTV and taped a concert off the radio back in '88 - Vivid was out for over a year before "Cult of Personality" hit big - Living Colour confounded expectations - Mick Jagger helped get them a record deal - Next: Jay listens to McCartney's Ram and Brian checks out LC's Time's Up     Completely Conspicuous is available thr

This week, it's part 2 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Show notes: - Replacing a beloved band member is tough - Tom Petty's legacy - Steely Dan's interesting catalog - The problem with hearing the same songs over and over - The lighter side of Prince - Prince's prolific later years - A master of any style - Jay: Downie's loss hits harder now because I'm around the same age - Making the most of your last years on Earth - The real shockers are the younger ones   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. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about how we deal with losing musicians we love. Show notes: - Gord Downie died a few weeks ago - Many high-profile music deaths in last few years - Musicians are getting older, but also some tragic deaths - Phil: Elvis Presley's death was memorable - Lennon's death was shocking - Phil: Cobain and Jerry Garcia's deaths hit hard - Jay: The plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads stands out - Lemmy, Bowie and Prince all died within a few months of each other - Chris Cornell's death earlier this year came as a surprise - Many big-name musicians died this year: Gregg Allman, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry, Grant Hart, Walter Becker - You tend to dig into the back catalog - Bowie's death kicked off a rough 2016 for music fans - Losing Prince was a gut punch - Jay: Saw the Tragically Hip many times over the years - Downie released a posthumous double album - Very captivating live performer - Watched

This week, it's part 2 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about albums that changed our lives.  Show notes: - Jay: Was a nerdy kid who listened to music all the time - Phil liked college rock, but never got the Violent Femmes - Jay: Loved Red Hot Chili Peppers back in the day, but can't stand them now - Back and forth on the Eagles and Doors - Of Linda Ronstadt and Barney Gumbel - Grunge makes an impact - Alt-rock: Peter Gabriel, R.E.M., U2 - Phil: Big Smiths fan - The first Pretenders album is a classic - Neil Young's '80s odyssey - Phil loves the Dead - Jay: Got into funk and jazz in late '90s (P-Funk, James Brown, Miles Davis, Coltrane) - Phil: Listened to Beck's Sea Change a lot after getting divorced   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. Voiceover work is courtesy of

This week, it's part 1 of my discussion with Phil Stacey about albums that changed our lives.  Show notes: - Phil: At age 6-7, hearing older kids listening to Aerosmith - Heard a lot of easy listening music - Had a music-loving uncle who introduced him to the Who, Hendrix, Talking Heads - Jay: Listened to AM rock station in Toronto - Bought 45s of Queen, Cheap Trick, Joe Jackson - Phil: U2's Boy was a huge album for me - Jay: Got Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy - Zeppelin got me into rock - B-52s were revolutionary - You can't make your kids love your music - Jay: First rock album I bought was Supertramp's Breakfast in America - Phil: Revolver was a pivotal Beatles album - Jay: Got into early '80s hard rock - Rush's Moving Pictures was a big one - 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 Bi

This week, it's part 3 of my discussion with Brian Salvatore about musical blindspots. Brian will learn about Iron Maiden while I dig into Frank Zappa. Show notes: - Brian listened to Somewhere in Time, Jay listened to Sheik Yerbouti - Deja vu all over again - Brian: Somewhere in Time is the most dated, least raw of the three albums I listened to - Band didn't play to its strengths - Victim of mid-'80s production - Dickinson vs. Di'anno - The disappearance of metal in the '90s - Bon Jovi has thrived over the decades - Not their best, but some Maiden classics - Jay: Saw Maiden live a few months ago - Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti finds him exploring the wackier subject matter in depth - Released three albums in '79 alone - Musicianship is incredible, feat. Adrian Belew on rhythm guitar - Zappa released a ridiculous number of albums - Xenochrony technique took parts from different songs and spliced them together - Brian: Not in his top 10 albums, but

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss our uncertain world. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - Escapism is tempting - Shopping by alcohol content - Is ignorance bliss? - Dumb and happy - Cynical about politics at all levels - Corruption is rampant - Appearances count - Politics have never been this divisive...or have they? - Internet comments are the worst - Social media enables morons to spout off - Journalism burnout - Shooting a guy in the face is quaint now - Does uncertainty = depression? - We haven't given up yet - We solved nothing   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 our uncertain world. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book Echo and the Sea - Recorded before the Las Vegas incident and Trump's visit to PR - Everything's uncertain - Don't know what to expect from the news - Trump: Savvy or master of chaos? - Twitter as distraction - Social media amps up the anxiety - FB as the center of vitriol over every conceivable public issue - The weather is slamming us with unpredictable events - Selling the BS - Clickbait's gonna get ya - Much ado about kneeling - Scandal recovery - Controversy du jour - Punisher fans can be scary - Twitter roulette - Ah, the threat of impending nuclear war - The relentless news cycle - The difficulty of just enjoying life - 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"

This week, Brian Salvatore and I discuss more musical blindspots. Brian will learn about Iron Maiden while I dig into Frank Zappa. Show notes: - Brian listened to Number of the Beast, Jay listened to Apostrophe - Brian: No surprises on Number of the Beast - Familiar with half the album - Liked the fast and heavy stuff, not the slower songs - Jay: This was my introduction to Maiden - The transition to more epic material - Ozzy transcended the metal downturn of the '90s - The power of album covers, good and bad - The beginning of Maiden's prime - Jay: Apostrophe was Zappa's 18th album - "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" was a hit - More straightahead rock than jazz fusion - Memorable songs: Cosmik Debris, Uncle Remus, St. Alfonzo's Pancake  Breakfast - Zappa live albums are different experiences - High-level playing countered by sometimes dumb lyrics - Zappa pioneered sampling and recording techniques - Next up: Sheik Yerbouti for Jay, Somewhere in T

This week, Brian Salvatore and I discuss more musical blindspots. Brian will learn about Iron Maiden while I dig into Frank Zappa. Show notes: - Jay: Somewhat familiar with Zappa's hits and guitar work - Intimidating catalog; more than 100 albums released - Brian: Knew a few Maiden songs but never a fan - Listened to 1980 self-titled debut - Liked the faster songs and Paul Di'Anno's vocals - Enjoyed punk-inspired energy and Steve Harris' bass - Production sounds good - Maiden's sound has evolved over the years - Jay listened to Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats - Only one song with vocals, and those are by Captain Beefheart - Ian Underwood is major contributor, playing all keyboards and horns - Very different sound than Zappa had in mid- to late- '70s - Next up: Apostrophe for Jay, The Number of the Beast for Brian Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of

Another installment of Driving With Kumar as I discuss my recent European vacation. Show notes: - Spent over two weeks in London, Paris, Belfast and Dublin - Went to London in '96 - Less drinking on a family vacation - Elderly passenger in distress - Hotel room in London was tiny - Walked nearly 100 miles the entire trip - Ran along rivers in the four cities we visited - Ate a lot of pub food - London has a lot of great history and architecture - Paris was beautiful - Hit the Eiffel Tower on the first night - Major military/police presence at tourist attractions - Several terrorist incidents before we went, but nothing happened while we were there - Only three days of sun the whole vacation - More daylight - Out of the U.S. news cycle - Being aware of your surroundings - Wary while running in Paris and Dublin - Missed American beer - Visited my brother in Belfast - Explored Northern Ireland scenic sites - Saw several Game of Thrones filming locations - Went to th