Saturday, December 30, 2017

Stuck In Thee Garage #206: December 29, 2017

Here we are, with a new year upon us, so it's time to reflect upon what happened in the last 12 months. Fortunately, Stuck In Thee Garage is about rock music, so I don't need to dredge up the massive shite sandwich that 2017 brought us. Instead, I played two hours of my favorite indie rock. It was such a good year for music that I'll have two more hours of 2017 goodness for you next week.



Well, at least there's no reason for paranoia or anything, right?

The hacktastic playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
The Afghan Whigs - Demon in Profile/In Spades
The New Pornographers - High Ticket Attractions/Whiteout Conditions
Ron Gallo - Kill the Medicine Man/Heavy Meta
Cloud Nothings - Enter Entirely/Life Without Sound
Japandroids - North East South West/Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Snowball II - CR-VUC/Flashes of Quincy
Melkbelly - Off the Lot/Nothing Valley
Ty Segall - Break a Guitar/Ty Segall
Ride - Charm Assault/Weather Diaries
Slowdive - Star Roving/Slowdive
Jay Som - 1 Billion Dogs/Everybody Works
Bash & Pop - Anything Could Happen/Anything Could Happen
Spiral Stairs - Dance (Cry Wolf)/Doris and the Daggers
Jeff Rosenstock - Dramamine/Single
Spoon - Can I Sit Next to You/Hot Thoughts
The Besnard Lakes - Laura Lee/The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind EP
Los Campesinos! - I Broke Up in Amarante/Sick Scenes

Hour 2
Diet Cig - Tummy Ache/Swear I'm Good at This
The Courtneys - Silver Velvet/The Courtneys II
Imaginary People - Mr. Hesitance/October Alice
Pile - Texas/A Hairshirt of Purpose
Top Down - The Tunnel/Rough Roads
The Feelies - Gone, Gone, Gone/In Between
At the Drive-In - Incurably Innocent/inter-alia
Christian Fitness - Bruce Hated Puppies/Slap Bass Hunks
Mastodon - Show Yourself/Emperor of Sand
Filthy Friends - Any Kind of Crowd/Invitation
Froth - Passing Thing/Outside (briefly)
Sinai Vessel - Ramekin/Brokenlegged
Boss Hog - Ground Control/Brood X
Thurston Moore - Smoke of Dreams/Rock 'N Roll Consciousness
Washer - Tooth & Fist/All Aboard



Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Completely Conspicuous 483: Turnkey End-to-End Best-of List Solution

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite albums of 2017. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


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 opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Stuck In Thee Garage #205: December 22, 2017

Sure, the Christmas season can get to be a bit much, what with the constant annoying commercials and the parking lot traffic and the deadline pressure. But this week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I celebrated the season with two hours of great holiday rock jams.



Trading playlists:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Lilith - Merry Simsmas/A Very Allston Christmas, Vol. 3
Birdwatching - 2,000 Miles/A Very Allston Christmas, Vol. 3
Jake & Derek of Fucko - Father Christmas/A Very Allston Christmas, Vol. 3
Ween - Roses Are Free/Chocolate & Cheese
The Flaming Lips - Christmas at the Zoo/Clouds Taste Metallic
Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today/Phrazes for the Young
The Dollyrots - Last Christmas/Single
Kristin Hersh - Christmas Underground/Wyatt at the Coyote Palace
The Hives and Cyndi Lauper - A Christmas Duel/Single
Future of the Left - The Real Meaning of Christmas/How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident
Run the Jewels - A Christmas Fucking Miracle/Run the Jewels
Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis/Tougher Than Leather
The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children/Merry Christmas from the White Stripes
The dBs - Christmas Time/Christmas Time Again
R.E.M. - Merry Xmas Everybody/Single
The Ramones - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)/Brain Drain
Pearl Jam - Santa God/2007 Christmas Single
Jeff Richardson & Steven Drozd - Do They Know It's Christmas?/Single

Hour 2
James Brown - It's Christmas Time (Part 1)/Single
The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus is Comin' to Town/Jackson 5 Christmas Album
Donny Hathaway - This Christmas/Single
Bob & Doug McKenzie - Twelve Days of Christmas/Great White North
Elves Presley & His Buddies Holly - Sketti 'N Meatballs Bounce/A Very Allston Christmas, Vol. 3
Dirty Sidewalks - It's Xmas (And Everyone is Miserable)/Single
The Kinks - Holiday/Muswell Hillbillies
Papas Fritas - Holiday/Pop Has Freed Us
The Pink Mountaintops - Holiday/Outside Love
Hard Left - Holiday/We Are Hard Left
Broken Social Scene - Handjobs for the Holidays/Broken Social Scene
Pixies - The Holiday Song/Come On Pilgrim
The Hush Now - On Holiday/Single
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick/The Beach Boys Christmas Album
Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis/New Coat of Paint (Songs of Tom Waits)
Weezer - Holiday/Weezer
Lubec - Holiday Traffic/Wilderness Days
My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday/It Still Moves

 

Monday, December 18, 2017

Completely Conspicuous 482: Runnin' Down a Dream

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about the year in indie rock. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


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 Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Stuck In Thee Garage #204: December 15, 2017

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2017, I spent hour 2 of this week's installment of Stuck In Thee Garage playing music from a decade ago. It's kind of amazing when you think about how much has changed, and what's about to change, since then. I'm pretty certain that nobody back then, including him, would have predicted who our president would be now. Strange days, indeed. Well, don't stop believing, I guess.



The hotly debated playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Ron Gallo - Young Lady, You're Scaring Me/Heavy Meta
Big Bill - Trick Everybody/Stand By Your Bill
Savak - Sick of War/Cut-Ups
Chad VanGaalen - Mind Hijacker's Curse/Light Information
Makthaverskan - Vienna/III
LCD Soundsystem - tonite/American Dream
Palehound - Silver Toaster/A Place I'll Always Go
William Patrick Corgan - Processional/Ogilala
Wolf Parade - Am I An Alien Here/Cry Cry Cry
Gold Class - Rose Blind/Drum
Dead Stars - Erase Me/Perfect Patterns
Living Colour - Glass Teeth/Shade
White Reaper - Daisies/The World's Best American Band
B Boys - Walking/Dada
Girlpool - Corner Store/Powerplant
Two Inch Astronaut - Play to No One/Can You Please Not Help
Milked - White Punks/Death on Mars

Hour 2: 2007
The Good, the Bad & the Queen - Kingdom of Doom/The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Bloc Party - The Prayer/A Weekend in the City
Kaiser Chiefs - Everything is Average Nowadays/Yours Truly, Angry Mob
Arctic Monkeys - Balaclava/Favourite Worst Nightmare
Art Brut - Direct Hit/It's a Bit Complicated
Marnie Stern - Every Single Line Means Something/In Advance of the Broken Arm
The Stooges - Idea of Fun/The Weirdness
El-P - Run the Numbers/I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Tim Armstrong - Inner City Violence/A Poet's Life
Spoon - Don't You Evah/Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Andrew Bird - Fiery Crash/Armchair Apocrypha
Okkervil River - A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene/The Stage Names
The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour/Challengers
The Fiery Furnaces - Navy Nurse/Widow City
LCD Soundsystem - Time to Get Away/Sound of Silver


Monday, December 11, 2017

Completely Conspicuous 481: Dig for Fire (Solo Beatles-Living Colour, Part 1)

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. Listen to the episode below or download directly.
 

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 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.

Friday, December 08, 2017

Stuck In Thee Garage #203: December 8, 2017

'Tis the season to think about getting gifts for your loved ones. Today on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about gifts in hour 2. There was much rocking and/or rejoicing to be had. Tell a friend!



The playlist in a box:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
L7 - Dispatch from Mar-A-Lago/Dispatch from Mar-A-Lago
No Age - Soft Collar Fad/Snares Like a Haircut
Martha - Fix My Brain/Winter Fuel
Buffalo Tom - All Be Gone/Quiet and Peace
The Hold Steady - A Snake in the Shower/Entitlement Crew
Ted Leo - Can't Go Back/The Hanged Man
OCS - The Chopping Block/Memory of a Cut Off Head
U2 - American Soul/Songs of Experience
LCD Soundsystem - i used to/American Dream
St. Vincent - Sugarboy/Masseduction
Quicksand - Fire This Time/Interiors
Big Heet - Failure at Work/On a Wire
Guided By Voices - Boy W/How Do You Spell Heaven?
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Let It Go/Lotta Sea Lice
A Giant Dog - Get Away/Toy
EMA - Blood and Chalk/Exile in the Outer Ring

Hour 2: Gifts
Bullet Lavolta - The Gift/The Gift
Gang of Four/Return the Gift/Entertainment
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Gimme the Wire/The Brutalist Bricks
Black Flag - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie/Damaged
Helmet - Give It/Meantime
Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth/Songs for the Deaf
The Tragically Hip - Gift Shop/Trouble at the Henhouse
The Men - Get What You Give/Tomorrow's Hits
Spinal Tap - Gimme Some Money/Back from the Dead
Gordon Downie - The Never-Ending Present/Coke Machine Glow
Magnolia Electric Co. - Give Something Else Away Every Day/What Comes After the Blues
Calexico - Gift X-Change/Aerocalexico
Sloan - Gimme That/Action Pact
The Cars - Gimme Some Slack/Panorama
The Kinks - Give the People What They Want/Give the People What They Want
David Bowie - Sound and Vision/Low
Ween - Bakersfield/B-Sides, Demos & Rarities

Friday, December 01, 2017

Stuck In Thee Garage #202: December 1, 2017

We're used to seeing a lot of warning signs, whether it's on the road, on products or movies. We're also used to ignoring those warnings. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs with warnings in hour 2. Whether you pay heed is up to you, friendo.



The forewarned playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Ty Segall - The Main Pretender/Single
The Hold Steady - Entitlement Crew/Entitlement Crew
Alex Lahey - Every Day's the Weekend/I Love You Like a Brother
LCD Soundsystem - change yr mind/American Dream
Martha - The Winter Fuel Allowance Ineligibility Blues/Winter Fuel
Protomartyr - Male Plague/Relatives in Descent
Savak - Natural Light/Cut-Ups
Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts - Memphis Blues Again/MILANO
Wet Trident - Capricorn One/Double Exposure
Deer Tick - Sloppy/Deer Tick, Vol. 2
Destroyer - Cover From the Sun/ken
OCS - Cannibal Planet/Memory of a Cut Off Head
Ovlov - The City/Greatest Hits
Big Ups - Contain Myself/Live at Shea Stadium
Tall Friend - Small Space/Safely Nobody's
The Replacements - I Will Dare/For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986
Husker Du - Do You Remember? (demo)/Savage Young Du
Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart/Savage Young Du

Hour 2: Warning
Pylon - Danger/Live
Wake Oooloo - Final Warning/Stop the Ride
Matthew Sweet - Warning/Kimi Ga Suki Raifi
Los Campesinos! - I Warned You: Do Not Make an Enemy of Me/Romance is Boring
The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into theSun/Single
Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time/Jarvis
Frank Zappa - Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/Apostrophe
Electric Six -  Danger! High Voltage/Fire
Eagles of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)/Death By Sexy
The Pretty Things - Don't Bring Me Down/The Rhythm & Blues Years
The Remains - Don't Look Back/The Remains
George Harrison - Beware the Darkness/All Things Must Pass
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Kindness of Strangers/Murder Ballads
David Bowie - 1984/Diamond Dogs
Public Enemy - Don't Believe the Hype/It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Pearl Jam - Don't Gimme No Lip/Lost Dogs
Against Me! - Don't Lose Touch/Searching for a Former Clarity




Day After Day #75: Word Up!

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4). Word Up! (1986) When you watch old music...