Completely Conspicuous 417: Reeling in the Years, 1999 (Part 2)

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Brian's bubbling under picks: The Microphones, Tom Waits, Foo Fighters, Frank Black, The Roots, American Football
- Jay: Sheila Divine, Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Guided by Voices, White Stripes, Ben Folds Five, Sebadoh
- Wanted: A Bob Pollard curator
- Brian's #5
- Matt Sharp goes for a bigger rock sound
- Jay's #5
- The Lips go symphonic
- Big change from early guitar-driven stuff
- Brian's #4
- Wilco moves away from Americana sound
- Jay's #4
- Frank Black keeps cranking out winners
- Pixies are working on a new album
- 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. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Trust Fund Challenge #20: Death Car on the Freeway (1979)

In the '70s, TV movies were big business. The Movie of the Week was a standard feature for all the big networks. The latest installment of Trust Fund Challenge finds Ric and I watching an above-average CBS flick directed by Hal Needham and starring Shelley Hack, who had just joined the cast of Charlie's Angels. The film features some familiar faces, prominent use of an 8-track tape and a particularly evil pair of black gloves.

Stuck In Thee Garage #123: March 25, 2016

Rock historians like to dub 1991 as The Year Punk Broke, but it was more like The Year Alternative Rock Became a Commercially Viable Genre. A little less catchy, but much more accurate. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from 1991 in hour 2, and I tried to steer away from some of the more obvious choices. I'll probably revisit '91 in a future show, so you might hear some Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, etc., then. But for now, just put on your bunny suit and rock the eff out.

The pastel-colored playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Nai Harvest - Jelly/Just Like You-Jelly
PWR BTTM - 1994/Ugly Cherries
Frightened Rabbit - Get Out/Painting of a Panic Attack
Beach House - Space Song/Depression Cherry
Hinds - Fat Calmed Kiddos/Leave Me Alone
Iceage - How Many/Plowing Into the Field of Love
Halfsour - Pleasantly Whelmed/Tuesday Night Live
Iggy Pop - German Days/Post Pop Depression
Ava Luna - Plain Speech/Electric Balloon
The Heavy - Since You Been Gone/Hurt & the Merciless
Twin Peaks - Walk to the One You Love/Down in Heaven
Jason Isbell - 24 Frames/Something More Than Free
Deer Tick - The Dream's in the Ditch/Negativity
Woods - Creature Comfort/City Sun Eater in the River of Light
Acapulco Lips - Awkward Waltz/Acapulco Lips
Protomartyr - The Hermit/The Agent Intellect
Froth - Saccharine Sunshine/Bleak

Hour 2: 1991
Teenage Fanclub - The Concept/Bandwagonesque
Swervedriver - Pile-Up/Raise
Slowdive - Celia's Dream/Just for a Day
A Tribe Called Quest - Buggin' Out/The Low End Theory
De La Soul - A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'/De La Soul is Dead
Public Enemy - Can't Truss It/Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black
Smashing Pumpkins - Siva/Gish
Screaming Trees - Something About Today/Uncle Anesthesia
Material Issue - Out Right Now/International Pop Overthrow
fIREHOSE - Down with the Bass/Flyin' the Flannel
The Nation of Ulysses - You're My Miss Washington, D.C./13-Point Program to Destroy America
Superchunk - Tie a Rope to the Back of the Bus/No Pocky for Kitty
School of Fish - 3 Strange Days/School of Fish
Matthew Sweet - I Wanted to Tell You/Girlfriend
R.E.M. - Texarkana/Out of Time

Completely Conspicuous 416: Reeling in the Years, 1999 (Part 1)

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1999. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 
Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Check out Brian's new podcast Input/Output
- Brian was 16 going on 17 in '99, Jay was 31 going on 32
- The dawn of Napster
- Downloading music via dial-up was excruciatingly slow
- Most downloading was done on college campuses
- 1999 was the biggest sales year for the music industry
- Bowie was first major artist to release album online before retail
- eMusic over the years
- Amazon makes it easy to buy music now
- External CD burners, early MP3 players
- Brian's 1999 regrets: Primus teaming with Fred Durst, Lit, Rage Against the Machine, "ska residue," Stone Temple Pilots
- Jay's regrets: Lenny Kravitz, RHCP
- Jay: Got into stoner rock in '99 (Fu Manchu, Nebula)
- Woodstock '99 was a disaster
- Brian: Respect for "I Want it That Way"
- Cher had the #1 song of the year
- The movie Go is a good document of its time
- Santana scored big with guest-filled album
- Pop country was getting big
- The Cherone era of Van Halen ends
- The hills are alive with the sound of VH rumors
- Several prominent indie rock acts formed in '99
- 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. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Stuck In Thee Garage #122: March 18, 2016

Life can be painful at times, and so can rock 'n roll. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about pain in hour 2. But it's not painful...it's rather a cathartic experience.

The pain-inflicting playlist:

Artist - Song/Album
Eagulls - Skipping/Ullages
Nai Harvest - Just Like You/Just Like You-Jelly
Dilly Dally - The Touch/Sore
Iggy Pop - American Valhalla/Post Pop Depression
Big Ups - National Parks/Before a Million Universes
Beach Slang - Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas/The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us?
The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Even More Forever/Long Live Happy Birthday
Beach Skulls - Santa Fe/Slow Grind
Mirror Travel - Yesca/Cruise Deal
Car Seat Headrest - Vincent (edit)/Teens of Style
Naked Giants - Easy Eating/Easy Eating EP
Diet Cig - Breathless/Over Easy
Otis the Destroyer - Fight/Live at KUTX
Greg Dulli - So Tight/Amber Headlights
The Afghan Whigs - Summer's Kiss/Black Love
The Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband/Blackberry Belle

Hour 2: Pain
Kurt Vile - Pure Pain/Wakin' on a Pretty Daze
Dinosaur Jr. - Feel the Pain/Without a Sound
Morphine - Cure for Pain/Cure for Pain
The Hellacopters - Hurtin' Time/High Visibility
Van Halen - House of Pain/1984
Judas Priest - Pain and Pleasure/Screaming for Vengeance
Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay/Elliott Smith
The Strokes - 15 Minutes of Pain/First Impressions of Earth
The Police - King of Pain/Synchronicity
Husker Du - 59 Times the Pain/New Day Rising
Black Flag - Life of Pain/Damaged
OFF! - I Don't Belong/1st EP
Frank Black - I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time)/The Cult of Ray
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Stella Hurt/Momofuku
The Tragically Hip - Ouch/Live bootleg
The Sons of Hercules - Numb/A Different Kind of Ugly

Completely Conspicuous 415: Digging in the DIrt

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss presidential candidates, the '70s and regional differences. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- New England is not representative of the rest of the country
- Christian's ideal place to live: DC
- The '70s were a fascinating time in the U.S.
- Hip hop and punk grew out of mid-'70s NYC
- The Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi
- Lee Atwater, bluesman
- The momentum of Trump
- Last summer, Jeb Bush was a lead pipe cinch
- Christian: Used to go to CPAC every year
- What about Hillary?
- How does a president get anything done?
- Firmly on the fence

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.

Stuck In Thee Garage #121: March 11, 2016

Of all the days of the week, Friday's pretty damn great. So's Saturday, of course. And Sunday isn't bad, until it's over. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about the days of the week in hour 2. Of course, another great thing about Friday is it's the day this show airs on BFF.fm.

The feverish playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
The Posies - Squirrel vs. Snake/Solid States
Holy Wave - Air Wolf/Freaks of Nurture
Ringo Deathstarr - Guilt/Pure Mood
Hop Along - The Knock/Painted Shut
Ty Segall - Diversion/Emotional Mugger
Pinkshinyultrablast - The Cherry Pit/Grandfeathered
Hippo Campus - South/South EP
Expert Alterations - Memory Glands/Expert Alterations EP
Pete Astor - My Right Hand/Spilt Milk
Infinity Girl - Firehead/Harm
Chandos - Swim Gym/Rats in Your Bed
Jay Reatard - An Ugly Death/Matador Singles '08
Paul Weller - Brushed/Heavy Soul
Red Red Meat - X-Diamond Cutter Blues/Red Red Meat
The Who - Bell Boy/Quadrophenia

Hour 2: Days of the week
The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays/The Fine Art of Surfacing
Wilco - Monday/Being There
The Smithereens - Groovy Tuesday/Especially for You
Drive-By Truckers - Wednesday/A Blessing and a Curse
Donovan Wolfington - Herschel Thursday/How to Treat the Ones You Love
Morphine - Thursday/Cure for Pain
Joe Jackson - Friday/I'm the Man
White Reaper - Friday the 13th/White Reaper Does It Again
Faith No More - Black Friday/Sol Invictus
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday/The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Sports - Saturday/All of Something
Kaiser Chiefs - Saturday Night/Employment
David Bowie - Drive-In Saturday/Aladdin Sane
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Saturday's Gone/Ballad of the Broken Seas
Bloc Party - Sunday/A Weekend in the City
Art Brut - Sunday Evening/It's a Bit Complicated

Completely Conspicuous 414: The Great Divide

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss racism, political correctness and gentrification. You know, the lighter side of life. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").
 

Show notes:
- Political correctness on both sides of the aisle
- Literary archetypes reflect cultural fears
- The Trump Method: Repeat your point until people agree with you
- The Washington football team sticks to its guns
- Could All in the Family and Blazing Saddles come out today?
- No safe space for satire
- It's hard to talk about race these days
- Lamenting the closing of local rock clubs
- The upper crust and the townies
- 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. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Stuck In Thee Garage #120: March 4, 2016

Lying is an inherently human behavior. From politicians to celebrities to people we encounter in everyday life, lies are all around us. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about lying in hour 2.

The eminently truthful playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album
Ringo Deathstarr - Stare at the Sun/Pure Mood
Tacocat - I Hate the Weekend/Lost Time
Iggy Pop - Sunday/Post Pop Depression
The Thermals - Hey You/We Disappear
The Cave Singers - That's Why/Banshee
Gold Muse - Your Own Floral Crown/Single
Weaves - Tick/Single
Yo La Tengo - Before We Stopped to Think/Stuff Like That There
Tame Impala - The Moment/Currents
Alabama Shakes - Dune/Sound & Color
Savages - Slowing Down the World/Adore Life
Holy Wave - You Should Lie/Freaks of Nurture
The I Don't Cares - Whole Lotta Nothin'/Wild Stab
Younghusband - Blonde Bending/Dissolver
Timmy's Organism - Weather Woman/Heartless Heathen
Pile - Idiot the Chef/Jerk Routine

Hour 2: Lies
Sleater-Kinney - Was It a Lie?/All Hands on the Bad One
Matthew Sweet - The Ugly Truth/Superdeformed 2
The Posies - How She Lied by Living/Frosting on the Beater
Nine Inch Nails - Terrible Lie/Pretty Hate Machine
Mondo Generator - Lie Detector/Dead Planet
Rollins Band - Liar/Weight
AM Stereo - Truth is He Lied/When You Wish Upon a Bar 
Jason and the Scorchers - White Lies/Lost & Found
TV on the Radio - Young Liars/Young Liars
Fishbone - Lyin' Ass Bitch/Fishbone
Run the Jewels - Lie, Cheat, Steal/Run the Jewels 2
Pointed Sticks - Lies/Part of the Scene
Built to Spill - Lie for a Lie/Ultimate Alternative Wavers
Shudder to Think - Lies About the Sky/Funeral at the Movies

 

Completely Conspicuous 413: Song of the South

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Christian Douglass as we discuss the differences between the North and the South. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "Save as").
 

Show notes:
- Christian grew up in Texas
- The tension between North and South is still around
- The Cuban Connection
- Ted Cruz's attempts at humor
- Batshit crazy election season
- The Trump effect
- It's still the economy, stupid
- A brown dude in New Hampshire
- Canada welcomed a generation of immigrants in the '70s and '80s
- Sri Lankan and Samoan street gangs
- Jay: Toronto was the most diverse place I've lived
- Christian: Was ignorant of the North as a kid
- The OJ Simpson miniseries is pretty fun
- Southern stereotypes are strong up North
- A formal level of ignorance
- 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. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.