Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Completely Conspicuous 487: Dig for Fire (Solo Beatles-Living Colour, Part 2)

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. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


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" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Stuck In Thee Garage #212: February 16, 2018

Valentine's Day brings in a lot of money every year. But for those of us who think it sucks, I played anti-Valentine's songs in hour 2 of Stuck In Thee Garage this week. Hang in there, people.



The unforgettable playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
The Spook School - Bad Year/Could It Be Different?
Shame - One Rizla/Songs of Praise
Pugwash - Why Do I/Silverake
Dream Wife - Somebody/Dream Wife
Ty Segall - She/Freedom's Goblin
Savak - Loma Prieta/Cut-Ups
Fu Manchu - Don't Panic/Clone of the Universe
Converge - Trigger/The Dusk in Us
Quicksand - Illuminant/Interiors
St. Vincent - Young Lover/Masseduction
Destroyer - Ivory Coast/ken
Jeff Rosenstock - Powerlessness/POST-
The Fall - Hey Student/Middle Class Revolt
The Fall - O.F.Y.C. Showcase/Your Future Our Clutter
Sonic Youth - Rowche Rumble/4 Tunna Brix

Hour 2: Anti-Valentine's
Jeff Rosenstock - Beers Again Alone/We Cool?
Foo Fighters - Alone + Easy Target/Foo Fighters
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers - All By Myself/L.A.M.F. - the lost '77 tapes
Crystal Castles - Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)/Single
Wilco - Born Alone/The Whole Love
The Black Angels - Better Off Alone/Passover
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart/Permanent
The Cars - Since You're Gone/Shake It Up
The Smithereens - Alone at Midnight/Especially for You
Red Red Meat - I'm Not in Love/Red Red Meat reissue
The Walkmen - The Rat/Bows + Arrows
The Strokes - Alone, Together/Is This It
Interpol - Obstacle 1/Turn on the Bright Lights
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends/Sound of Silver


Friday, February 09, 2018

Stuck In Thee Garage #211: February 9, 2018

Obsession is a funny thing. It can lead people down some pretty dark roads. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about obsession in hour 2, running the gamut from obsession with love, sex, power, death or music.

Whatever the case, there's a whole lot of crazy going on.




The sledgehammer playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Hot Snakes - Six Wave Hold-Down/Jericho Sirens
Ty Segall - Every 1's a Winner/Freedom's Goblin
Shame - Tasteless/Songs of Praise
Car Seat Headrest - Cute Thing/Twin Fantasy (Final Masters)
The Spook School - I Only Dance When I Want To/Could It Be Different?
Dream Wife - Hey! Heartbreaker/Dream Wife
Superchunk - Erasure/What a Time to Be Alive
The Breeders - All Nerve/All Nerve
Buffalo Tom - In the Ice/Quiet and Peace
Pugwash - The Perfect Summer/Silverlake
Lefty's Deceiver - Helena Heartbreak/Lefty's Deceiver
Hockey Dad - I Wanna Be Everybody/Blend Inn
Melkbelly - Twin Lookin' Motherfucker/Nothing Valley
Water From Your Eyes - Out of Town/All a Dance
Black Nite Crash - The Things We Do/Nevergreen
Ought - These 3 Things/Room Inside the World

Hour 2: Obsession
Eagles of Death Metal - I Only Want You/Peace Love Death Metal
Nancy - I Want You Bad/Nancy
MC5 - I Want You Right Now/Kick Out the Jams
The Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict/Singles Going Steady
Queens of the Stone Age - In My Head/Lullabies to Paralyze
Black Sabbath - N.I.B./Black Sabbath
Jane's Addiction - Ted, Just Admit It.../Nothing's Shocking
Bob Dylan - I Want You/Blonde on Blonde
Elvis Costello - I Want You/Blood & Chocolate
Peter Gabriel - No Self Control/Melt
Sebadoh - Prince-S/Harmacy
Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone/Humbug
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place/Kid A
David Bowie - Sound and Vision/Low


Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Completely Conspicuous 486: Content Mismanagement

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the power of the written word. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


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 fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Friday, February 02, 2018

Stuck In Thee Garage #210: February 2, 2018

Collaboration can be a great way to make interesting art. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs featuring team-ups in hour 2. Everything from supergroups to cameo appearances. It's totally bodacious.



The non-bogus playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive/What a Time to Be Alive
Ought - Disgraced in America/Room Inside the World
Jeff Rosenstock - Melba/POST-
Water From Your Eyes - Let It Ring/All a Dance
Makeness - Loud Patterns/Single
Motorcade - Desertion/Motorcade
LCD Soundsystem - Call the Police/American Dream
Roadkill Ghost Choir - Classics (Die Young)/False Youth Etcetera
Grand Courriers - Tempted/Single
Bad History Month - Being Nothing/Dead and Loving It: An Introductory Exploration of Pessimysticism
Deer Tick - Tiny Fortunes/Deer Tick, Vol. 2
Camp Cope - The Opener/How to Socialise & Make Friends
Alyeska - Stones/Single
Danielle Luppi & Parquet Courts (feat. Karen O) - The Golden Ones/MILANO

Hour 2: Team-ups
Rancid - Junkie Man/...And Out Come the Wolves
At the Drive-In - Rolodex Propaganda/Relationship of Command
Danko Jones - Invisible/Sleep is the Enemy
PJ Harvey (feat. Thom Yorke) - The Mess We're In/Stories from the City, Stories form the Sea
Desert Sessions - A Girl Like Me/The Desert Sessions, Volumes 9 and 10
Mark Lanegan Band - One Hundred Days/Bubblegum
Beck - Orphans (feat. Cat Power)/Modern Guilt
Jesse Malin - Broken Radio/Glitter in the Gutter
The Needy Sons - Too Thin/Vis-a-Vis
Dinosaur Jr. and Del the Funkee Homosapien - Missing Link/Judgment Night soundtrack
Reeves Gabrel - You've Been Around/The Sacred Squall of Now
Elastica and Stephen Malkmus - Unheard Music/Suburbia soundtrack
Divine Fits - What Gets You Alone/A Thing Called Divine Fits
Mike Watt - Chinese Firedrill/Ball Hog or Tugboat
Frank Black and Teenage Fanclub - Handyman/The John Peel Session EP
Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union/The Monitor


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...