Friday, December 29, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #508: December 29, 2023

With only a few days left in the year, I'm using this week to reflect on 2023. Some highs and some really low lows, but there was definitely a lot of good music to go around. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, it's part 1 of my look back at my favorite music of the year. And in case there is any doubt, I am the eldest boy.


The playlist of succession:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Bully - Days Move Slow/Lucky For You

Screaming Females - Desert Train/Desire Pathway

Ron Gallo - Entitled Man/Foreground Music

The New Pornographers - Really Really Light/Continue as a Guest

Quasi - Nowheresville/Breaking the Balls of History

Yo La Tengo - Sinatra Drive Breakdown/This Stupid World

Sleaford Mods - UK Grim/UK Grim

Pile - Loops/All Fiction

The C.I.A. - Impersonator/Surgery Channel

Quiz Show - Almost Famous/Quiz Show

Geese - Cowboy Nudes/3D Country

Yves Tumor - God is a Circle/Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume

Eyelids - They Said So/A Colossal Waste of Light

Near Beer - Forced Perspective/Single

Washer - Threadbare/Improved Means to Deteriorated Ends


Hour 2

The Hold Steady - Sixers/The Price of Progress

The Country Westerns - Knucklen'/Forgive the City

Gord Downie and Bob Rock - In the Field/Lustre Parfait

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Death Wish/Weathervanes

Shame - Six-Pack/Food For Worms

Mudhoney - Move Under/Plastic Eternity

The Dirty Nil - Nicer Guy/Free Rein to Passions

Boygenius - $20/The Record

The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Mistakes (Too Many to Name)/The Town That Cursed Your Name

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Anonymous @1:34/Heaven's Off EP

Blur - The Narcissist/The Ballad of Darren

Dyr Faser - Symbolized/Karmic Revenge

Cable Ties - Time For You/All Her Plans

Iguana Death Cult - Pushermen/Echo Palace

Low Praise - Gate/Dressing

Guardian Singles - Manic Attraction/Feed Me to the Doves

Fucked Up - I Think I Might Be Weird/One Day

Model/Actriz - Pure Mode/Dogsbody

Protomartyr - For Tomorrow/Formal Growth in the Desert


Put a theoretical dime in the jukebox HERE, home slice.

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 628: 2023 and Me

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023. Listen to the episode below (or download directly).

Show notes:

  • We're in there like swimwear
  • On to the top 10 lists
  • Breitling's #10: Return to from by Fog Lake
  • Breitling's #9: Frog's new release unexpectedly has received critical praise 
  • Kumar's #9: Another consistenly great album from Protomartyr
  • Breitling's #8: Minimalist excellence from Colleen that tests Jay's French pronunciation skills
  • Kumar's #8: After an 11-year absence, the Hives' formula de rock still kicks ass in 2023
  • Breitling's #7 and Kumar's #10: Yo La Tengo still bringing the heat, opening the album with 7-minute feedback-laden ripper
  • Kumar's #7 and Breitling's #6: Supergroup is actually super, Voltroning into a monster act
  • Kumar's #6: Return of the rock with Queens of the Stone Age, chock full o' bangers from a super-tight band
  • Breitling's #5: Philly represent with Golden Apples dropping indie pop/rock with the fuzz bass and some wooder ice
  • Kumar's #5: SF's Pardoner brings an assortment of guitar sounds from the last 50 years to their latest slack masterpiece
  • The '90s sound (and look) is still thriving
  • Breitling's #4: More of the Philly goodness with Purling Hiss with the lo-fi hooky guitar rock
  • Kumar's #4: Indie power-pop supergroup Eyelids delivers the super-catchy goods
  • Breilting's #3: Bay Area shoegaze concern Blue Ocean returns with a weird and rewarding album
  • Kumar's #3: Sharp, concise indie post-punk from Kansas-via-Boston act Sweeping Promises  
  • Breitling's #2: Ohio-based indie act Connections connects with melodic rockers; RIYL GBV, Feelies
  • Kumar's #2: New Zealand post-punk that smashes through with punchy, catchy rippers
  • Breitling's #1: Long-awaited reunion album from American shoegaze icons Drop Nineteens does not disappoint
  • Kumar's #1: Going into Hellmode with Jeff Rosenstock, who has been consistently releasing excellent albums for the last several years; additional layers of maturity and depth make this release all the more satisfying 

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #507: December 22, 2023

The holidays can be a trying time: deadline pressures from work and to get presents, traveling under crazy circumstances, dealing with relatives you'd rather not, having to hear certain songs ad nauseum. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played two hours of Christmas rock songs that you won't hear at Grandma's house. 


The well-decorated playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Snoop Dogg - Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto/Christmas on Death Row

Run the Jewels - A Christmas Fucking Miracle/Run the Jewels

Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis/Tougher Than Leather

Spoon - Christmas Time (Is Here Again)/Single

Superchunk - Child's Christmas in Wales/Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-Sides & Strays 2007-2023

Eldridge Rodriguez - Baby, I'm Alone Tonight (Christmas Time)/Christmas on the Allston-Brighton Line

Deer Tick - All Alone on Christmas/Hit Kringles

Hallelujah the Hills - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas/Puritan Garage Howlers 2022-23

The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song/Maybe This Christmas Tree

The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)/Live at Hammersmith

Twisted Sister - Deck the Halls/A Twisted Christmas

Letters to Cleo - Father Christmas/OK Christmas

Descendents - Christmas Vacation/I Don't Want to Grow Up

Chubby and the Gang - Violent Night (A Christmas Tale)/Single

Melkbelly - Hating You For Christmas/Simply Having a Wonderful Compilation


Hour 2

Low - Just Like Christmas/Christmas

Sloan - Kids Come Back Again at Christmas/Single

Pearl Jam - Santa God/2007 Christmas Single

The Sonics - Santa Claus/Here Are the Sonics

Cheech & Chong - Santa Claus and His Old Lady/Santa Claus and His Old Lady

The Pursuit of Happiness - Santa Claus is Back in Town (live)/Love Junk Deluxe

Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody/Single

Broken Social Scene - Handjobs for the Holidays/Broken Social Scene

Beeef & Gift - I Wish It Was Christmas Today/A Very Allston Christmas Vol. 5

The Dollyrots - Messed Up Xmas/A Very Dollyrots Christmas

Dirty Sidewalks - It's Xmas (and Everyone is Miserable)/Single

St. Vincent - At the Holiday Party/Daddy's Home

Minus 5 - Your Christmas Whiskey/Dear December

Future of the Left - The Real Meaning of Christmas/How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident

Piebald - Do Good Stuff/Piebald Presents to You a Musical Christmas Adventure

The Smithereens - Auld Lang Syne/Christmas With the Smithereens

The Damned - There Ain't No Sanity Clause/The Black Album


Unwrap the episode HERE, kids! 

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 627: The Year in Music, Let It Bleed Edition

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Recorded at Clicky Clicky HQ
  • The 14th year of "Year in Music" episodes
  • Taylor Swift is big, but not bigger than Starbucks
  • Breitling making fun of Croz
  • Perfect synergy: The Stones tour sponsored by AARP
  • Hall v. Oates
  • KISS passes the torch to digital avatars of themselves
  • The "new" old Beatles song
  • Check it out on the YouthTube
  • Spotify blows
  • The kids love the streaming and whatnot
  • Check out Parcheesi Redux Tuesday and Thursday on Mixcloud
  • Also check out Brad Searles' show The Almanac on the first Wednesday of every month
  • Shout out to the Rollins Archive
  • Breitling's honorable mentions: Ted Pauly, Everything But the Girl, Cupid and Psyche, Everasting and Zilla, Superchunk
  • Kumar's honorable mentions: Pile, Model/Actriz, Yves Tumor, Fucked Up, Shame, PJ Harvey, Peter Gabriel, Marnie Stern, Replacements' "Tim" reissue, Breeders' Last Splash reissue, Feelies live album of VU covers
  • To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through the Apple Podcasts 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, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #506: December 15, 2023

Time is a flat circle, or something like that. You don't really notice it at the time, but it flies by and then all of a sudden, you're 20 years in the future. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from 2003 and it simultaneously feels like they just happened, and they're distant memories. Spread the word, baby.



Dig the playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Hit Bargain - Hair Trigger/A Dog A Deer A Seal
Shiverlane - I Get Nervous/Single
Paws - Helen Back/Paws
Sleater-Kinney - Say It Like You Mean It/Little Rope
A Giant Dog - In Rainbows/Bite
Frog - Black on Black on Black/Grog
Circus Devils - Street Toughs/Squeeze the Needle
Golden Apples - Waiting for a Cloud/Bananasugarfire
Genesis Owusu - Stay Blessed/Struggler
The Smile - Wall of Eyes/Wall of Eyes
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Dark-Side Mix)/ i/o
Car Colors - Old Death/Old Death
Sleaford Mods - Under the Rules/More UK Grim
Superchunk - Total Eclipse/Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-Sides & Strays 2007-2023
Mikey Erg - Landmines/Love at Leeds

Hour 2: 2003
British Sea Power - Apologies to Insect Life/The Decline of British Sea Power
Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage!/Fire
Ween - It's Gonna Be a Long Night/Quebec
Gordon Downie - Figment/Battle of the Nudes
The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Gonna Run/Gallowbird's Bark
My Morning Jacket - Run Thru/It Still Moves
Mark Lanegan Band - Message to Mine/Here Comes That Weird Chill
The Twilight Singers - The Killer/Blackberry Belle
Drive-By Truckers - Sink Hole/Decoration Day
The Riverboat Gamblers - Ice Water/Something to Crow About
Stephen Malkmus - (Do Not Feed the) Oyster/Pig Lib
The Wrens - This Boy is Exhausted/The Meadowlands
Matthew Sweet - Dead Smile/Kimi Ga Suki Raifi
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Bleeding Powers/Tell Balegary, Balgury is Dead
Sloan - Reach Out/Action Pact
TV On the Radio - Staring at the Sun/Young Liars


Friday, December 08, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #505: December 8, 2023

You don't have to look too hard to find someone playing a cover. People hear songs they love and want to play them. Jimi Hendrix infamously played a cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" three days after it came out. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played cover songs in hour 2 (in addition to new hotness from Ducks Ltd., Buffalo Tom, Arcwelder and Frog and a tribute to some fallen greats in hour 1). And I didn't realize until after I put the show together that I had mistakenly said "Show Me" by Soundgarden was a cover; it was their cover of Devo's "Girl U Want" that I meant to include. Oh well, shit happens. 


This playlist will make you want to slappa da bass in the garage!

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Ducks Ltd. - Hollowed Out/Harm's Way

Buffalo Tom - Helmet/Jump Rope

Arcwelder - Take It Slow/Single

Peter Gabriel - The Court (Bright-Side Mix)/ i/o

Frog - U Shud Go 2 Me/Grog

Kurt Vile - Cool Water/Back to Moon Beach

Golden Apples - Little Bronco/Bananasugarfire

Hit Bargain - Immaculate Vaxxer/A Dog A Deer A Seal

Circus Devils - Getting Better/Squeeze the Needle

Coastal Pigs - Cowboy Shoes/Glass Crime Terror

Paws - Disenchanted/Paws

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Hot! Heat! Hot! Wow!/Fronzoli

Alex Vile - Stainless/Single

The Veldt - Aurora Borealis (feat. Elizabeth Fraser)/Single

The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God/If I Should Fall From Grace With God

April Wine - You Could Have Been a Lady/On Record

Paul McCartney and Wings - Jet/Band on the Run


Hour 2: Covers

Ty Segall - The Loner (Neil Young)/Fudge Sandwich

Soundgarden - Show Me (NOT A COVER, DAMMIT)/No Alternative

Drive-By Truckers - The KKK Took My Baby Away (Ramones)/The New OK

The New Pornographers - Your Daddy Don't Know (Toronto)/FUBAR: The Album

The Afghan Whigs - All the Way From Memphis (Mott the Hoople)/Demo

The Cure - Purple Haze (Hendrix)/Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix

Living Colour - Love and Happiness (Al Green)/Biscuits

Mission of Burma - Get Off (METZ)/ Good, Not Great/Get Off

Bullet Lavolta - Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys)/Force Majeure: The RCA Anthology ('90-'92)

Fu Manchu - Six Pack (Black Flag)/Something Beyond

Tanya Donelly - Frozen Lake (Buffalo Tom)/Big Love Bends Time

Jesse Malin - You Can Make Him Love You (Hold Steady)/On Your Sleeve

Sloan - Dignified and Old (Modern Lovers)/Recorded Live at a Sloan Party

Queens of the Stone Age - Christian Brothers (Elliott Smith)/Sick, Sick, Sick

The Clash - Brand New Cadillac (Vince Taylor and the Playboys)/London Calling

Sonic Youth - Rowche Rumble (The Fall)/4 Tunna Brix

Husker Du - Chinese Rocks (Ramones)/Savage Young Du

The Feelies - That's the Story of My Life (VU)/Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground


Uncover the rock HERE, pally!

Friday, December 01, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #504: December 1, 2023

Poison has been around pretty much forever, whether as a weapon, in nature as a defense mechanism, or as an accidental cause of mayhem or worse. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about poison in hour 2, in addition to new hotness from Emerald Comets, Car Colors, Hotline TNT and Killer Mike in hour 1. Watch out for those envelopes!


The toxic playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Killing Joke - Eighties/Night Life

Emerald Comets - Silhouette/Single

Car Colors - I'll Bear/Old Death

Drop Nineteens - Another One Another/Hard Light

Hotline TNT - Son In Law/Cartwheel

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Nootmare (K.I.L.L.I.N.G.) Meow!/Fronzoli

Marnie Stern - Earth Eater/The Comeback Kid

Killer Mike -YES!/Michael

Sabatta - To Love Me is to Know Me/How to Get Even

Guided By Voices - Stabbing at Fractions/Nowhere to Go But Up

J Mascis - Can't Believe We're Here/What Do We Do Now

The Kills - Kingdom Come/God Games

Speedy Ortiz - Who's Afraid of the Bath/Rabbit Rabbit

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Doom Boom/Data Doom

The Menzingers - Hope is a Dangerous Little Thing/Some of It Was True

The Hives - Two Kinds of Trouble/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons


Hour 2: Poison

Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison/Poison

ABC - Poison Arrow/The Lexicon of Love

Charles Bradley - Change for the World/Changes

The Sonics - Strychnine/Here Are the Sonics

Modest Mouse - Poison the Well/Single

Bob Mould - Irrational Poison/Sunshine Rock

David Nance Group - Poison/Peaced and Slightly Pulverized

Stephen Malkmus - Leisurely Poison/Discretion Grove

Sonic Youth - Poison Arrow/The Eternal

Oh Sees - Poisoned Stones/Face Stabber

Pile - Sun Poisoning/Dripping

Mudhoney - Poisoned Water/Tomorrow Hit Today

Wylde Ratttz - She's Like Poison to Me/Wylde Ratttz

Cherry Glazerr - Sip o' Poison/Apocalipstick

Chastity - Sun Poisoning/Home Made Satan

Kraftwerk - Radio-Activity/The Catalogue

Black Midi - Eat Men Eat/Hellfire

Protomartyr - The Chuckler/Relatives in Descent

OFF! - Toxic Box/OFF!


Rock the Casbah RIGHT HERE, HOLMES! 

Friday, November 24, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #503: November 24, 2023

There has always been a dual nature of mankind, a balancing act between good and evil. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about good in hour 1 and songs about evil in hour 2. Crank it up as you become one with couch, digesting all that food you just inhaled in a gluttonous frenzy. 


R.I.P., Good Homer:

Hour 1: Good

Artist - Song/Album

Sloan - The Good in Everyone/One Chord to Another

Antarctigo Vespucci - Another Good Thing/Love in the Time of E-mail

Weezer - The Good Life/Pinkerton

PJ Harvey - Good Fortune/Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea

Paul Westerberg - Good as the Cat/PW & the Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys

Ty Segall - Feel Good/Harmonizer

Mission of Burma - Good Cheer/The Sound, the Speed, the Light

Sugar - A Good Idea/Copper Blue

Mudhoney - Good Enough/Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer/Rated R

Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc./Demon Days

Beastie Boys - Finger Lickin' Good/Check Your Head

The Feelies - The Good Earth/The Good Earth

David Lee Roth - Damn Good/Skyscraper

Triumph - Fight the Good Fight/Allied Forces


Hour 2: Evil

Grinderman - Evil!/Grinderman 2

Pardoner - Totally Evil Powers/Came Down Different

Savages - Evil/Adore Life

Palehound - My Evil/Eye on the Bat

Jonny Polonsky - Evil Scurvy Love/Hi My Name is Jonny

Brendan Benson - Evil Eyes/Dear Life

Black Sabbath - Evil Woman/Black Sabbath

Fu Manchu - Evil Eye/The Action is Go!

Metallica - Am I Evil?/Garage Days Re-Revisited

Japandroids - Evil's Sway/Celebration Rock

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges/Evil Urges

The Dirty Nil - Evil Side/Master Volume

Yves Tumor - Fear Evil Like Fire/Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume

Lightouts - Evil Hearted/Wake

Television - See No Evil/Marquee Moon


C'mon, you know you want to crank up the show RIGHT HERE.

Friday, November 17, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #502: November 17, 2023

What comes up must go down. The law of gravity is simple and real. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about gravity in hour 2. Yippie-ky-yay, motherfarmers. 


 The swingin' playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Hotline TNT - History Channel/Cartwheel

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Dilemma Us From Evil/Fronzoli

Marnie Stern - Til It's Over/The Comeback Kid

Wire Spine - Safe/Single

Ian Sweet - Your Spit/Single

Swamp Wife - Spit/Swamp Wife

Sheer Mag - All Lined Up/Single

It Thing - P.C.H./ Constant State/P.C.H.

The Kills - Bullet Sound/God Games

Ill Peach - Hush/This Is Not an Exit

Juliana Hatfield - Telephone Line/Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO

Lightheaded - Orange Creamsicle Head/Good Good Great

Drop Nineteens - A Hatch/Hard Light

Teenage Fanclub - Foreign Land/Nothing Lasts Forever

Slow Pulp - Worm/Yard

Kurt Vile - Another Good Year For the Roses/Back to Moon Beach


Hour 2: Gravity

R.E.M. - Feeling Gravitys Pull/Fables of the Reconstruction

Pylon - Gravity/Live

Versus - Gravity/Ex Voto

Frank Black - Two Spaces/Frank Black

Max Webster - Gravity/High Class in Borrowed Shoes

Modest Mouse - Gravity Rides Everything/The Moon and Antarctica

Husker Du - Gravity/Savage Young Du

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Gravity/X: The Godless Void and Other Stories

Queens of the Stone Age - The Sky is Fallin'/Songs For the Deaf

Quasi - Gravity/Breaking the Balls of History

Drive-By Truckers - Gravity's Gone/A Blessing and a Curse

Yo La Tengo - Center of Gravity/I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Radiohead - High and Dry/The Bends

Protomartyr - Tarpeian Rock/Under Color of Official Right

Black Sabbath - Falling Off the Edge of the World/The Mob Rules


Drop the digital needle on the show RIGHT HERE!

Friday, November 10, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #501: November 10, 2023

Big cities get all the glory, but small towns can be pretty interesting. You know, in a Twin Peaks or Blue Velvet kinda way. You never know what's going on underneath that small-town exterior. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about towns in hour 2. Grab a lemonade and listen in.


I was cranking up the playlist the other day...

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Drop Nineteens - Tarantula/Hard Light

It Thing - Constant State/ Constant State/PCH

Slothurst - Pony/I Promise EP

Marnie Stern - Plain Speak/The Comeback Kid

The Kills - Wasterpiece/God Games

Superchunk - Oh Oh I Love Her So (live) (feat. Eleanor Friedberger)/Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-sides & Strays 2007-2023

Mannequin Pussy - I Don't Know You/I Got Heaven

The Mountain Goats - Only One Way/Jenny From Thebes

Boygenius - Powers/The Rest EP

The Menzingers - Try/Some of It Was True

Genesis Owusu - Balthazar/Struggler

Daiistar - Parallel/Good Time

Spiral Dub - Hang From the Line/Spiral Dub

The Feelies - White Light/White Heat /Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground

Eldridge Rodriguez - Take Yr Time/Atrophy

Lightheaded - Patti Girl/Good Good Great

Juliana Hatfield - Don't Bring Me Down/Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO


Hour 2: Townie

The Jam - Town Called Malice/The Gift

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Dirty Old Town/Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead

Daniel Romano - Animals Above Our Town/Cobra Poems

Velocity Girl - Crazy Town/Live at Vermonstress October 1992

Japandroids - The Boys Are Leaving Town/Post-Nothing

Firehose - O'er the Town of Pedro/Flyin' the Flannel

Palehound - In Town/Black Friday

Elliott Smith - Alphabet Town/Elliott Smith

Ty Segall & White Fence - Please Don't Leave This Town/Joy

Cursive - Black Hole Town/Get Fixed

Piebald - Small Town Outside of Boston/When Life Hands You Lemons

The Afghan Whigs - Going to Town/Black Love

April Wine - All Over Town/Nature of the Beast

Motley Crue - Toast of the Town/Too Fast For Love

Ween - Chocolate Town/Quebec

A.C. Newman - The Town Halo/The Slow Wonder

Talking Heads - Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town/Talking Heads '77


Put another dime in the jukebox and CRANK IT UP.

Wednesday, November 08, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 626: Entertain

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: New Pornographers with another all-star power pop classic
  • Phil's #5: Early '70s singer-songwriter jams from Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
  • Still in the era of artists putting out overlong albums
  • Jay's #3: Spoon expands their sound, grows their popularity
  • Phil's #3: A powerful R&B belter from Sharon Jones
  • Jay's #2: Queens of the Stone Age with a punchy follow-up to a monster hit
  • Phil's #2: Beck with an Odelay-esque release with a nod to Latin music
  • Phil's #1 and Jay's #4: Sleater-Kinney drops a monster rock album 
  • Jay's #1: Another winner from The Hold Steady, blending big riffs and nerdy scenester tales
  • Jay makes a Rush joke
  • Favorite songs: "Jumpers" (Phil), "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" (Jay)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, November 03, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #500: November 3, 2023

Confidence isn't easy. Not everyone has it, and not everyone can pull it off. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I celebrated 500 episodes with songs about confidence in hour 2. 


The wicked good playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

IDLES - Dancer/Tankg

Sabatta - Get Over Yourself/How to Get Even

Slothrust - Maybe Maybe/Promise EP

Superchunk - White Screen/Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-Sides and Strays 2007-2023

Ducks Ltd. - The Main Thing/Single

The Mountain Goats - Murder at the 18th St. Garage/Jenny From Thebes

Hallelujah the Hills - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight/Puritan Garage Howlers - Covers 2022-23

Sleaford Mods - My 18-Hr Girdle/More UK Grim

The Kills - 103/God Games

Wellwater Conspiracy - Trowerchord/Declaration of Conformity

A Beacon School - Down the Pyramid/Yoyo

A Savage - My My My Dear/Several Songs About Fire

Cherry Glazerr - Sugar/I Don't Want You Anymore

Slow Pulp - Mud/Yard

Kristin Hersh - Thank You, Corner Blight/Clear Pond Road

Wilco - Levee/Cousin


Hour 2: Confident

Run DMC - King of Rock/King of Rock

Run the Jewels - Get It/Run the Jewels

Prince - Baby I'm a Star/Purple Rain

Bobby Brown - My Prerogative/Don't Be Cruel

James Brown - Get Up I Feel Like a Sex Machine Part 1/In Yo Face! The History of Funk, Part 1

The Afghan Whigs - My Enemy/Black Love

Joe Jackson - I'm the Man/I'm the Man

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Blues X Man/Orange

Boss Hog - Winn Coma/Boss Hog

Van Halen - Unchained/Fair Warning

The Pursuit of Happiness - Nobody But Me/The Downward Road

Pearl Jam - Do the Evolution/Yield

Iggy & the Stooges - Search and Destroy/Raw Power

The Pretenders - Precious/Pretenders

Rancid - Time Bomb/...And Out Come the Wolves

PJ Harvey - 50Ft Queenie/Rid of Me


Crank up the 500th episode of the show RIGHT HERE.

Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 625: Road to Joy

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • In 2005, Jay was dealing with tiny children while Phil was newly married
  • Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Pink Floyd briefly reunited
  • Jay: Listened to a lot of songs via MP3 blogs
  • Jay's non-top 5s: White Stripes, Black Mountain, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Wolf Parade, Against Me!
  • Phil's non-top 5s: Sufjan Stevens, Son Volt, Bright Eyes, Neil Young, Trey Anastasio, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Southern Culture on the Skids, North Mississippi All-Stars
  • Random cocaine references 
  • Wilco with a good live album
  • To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, October 27, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #499: October 27, 2023

Not everybody loves Halloween. I, however, am not one of those people. Halloween's great. And this week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I celebrated with two hours of the scary, the spooky, the creepy, the glayven. Crank it up and get into the mood for your big Halloween parties this weekend.


This playlist is noice:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Bad Brains - Fearless Vampire Killers/Bad Brains

Misfits - Horror Hotel/3 Hits From Hell

The Gun Club -  Ghost on the Highway/Fire of Love

Judas Priest - Devil's Child/Screaming For Vengeance

Iron Maiden - Children of the Damned/Live After Death

Metallica - Creeping Death/Ride the Lightning

The Horrors - Jack the Ripper/Strange House

David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (with Frank Black)/Bowie's 50th Birthday Party, MSG, 1/9/97

Curve - Horror Head/Doppelganger

Run the Jewels - Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost) (feat. Tunde Adebimpe)/RTJ3

J&L Defer - Horror/No Map

Johnny Foreinger - Stop Talking About Ghosts/You Can Do Better

Sonic Youth - Ghost Bitch/Bad Moon Rising

Savak - Trashing the Ghost/ Human Error/Human Delight

The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Waiting on a Ghost to Haunt You/The Town That Cursed Your Name


Hour 2

X - Devil Doll/More Fun in the New World

INXS - Devil Inside/Kick

The Afghan Whigs - Demon in Profile/In Spades

TV On the Radio - Let the Devil In/Return to Cookie Mountain

Kyuss - Demon Cleaner/Welcome to Sky Valley 

The Kinks - Killer's Eyes/Give the People What They Want

Eagles of Death Metal - Midnight Creeper/Peace Love Death Metal

The Breeders - Walking With a Killer/All Nerve

Ty Segall Band - Death/Slaughterhouse

Art Brut - Demons Out!/Art Brut vs. Satan

The Flaming Lips - Lucifer Rising/In a Priest Driven Ambulance

Future of the Left - You Need Satan More Than He Needs You/Travels With Myself and Another

Donovan - Season of the Witch/Sunshine Superman

Pink Floyd - Careful With That Axe, Eugene/Relics

Alice Cooper - I Love the Dead/Billion Dollar Babies


Wake up the dead by cranking the show up HERE!


Friday, October 20, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #498: October 20, 2023

Time flies when you're having fun, or even when you're not. And 15 years flies by like nothing because that's just what happens. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from 2008 in hour 2 and it felt like those songs came out 50 years ago. Time's a mystery, innit?


 

What was that about?

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

The Menzingers - There's No Place in This World for Me/Some of It Was True

Slow Pulp - Slugs/Yard

Boygenius - Black Hole/The Rest

A. Savage - Elvis in the Army/Several Songs About Fire

Blue Ocean - Syncnine/Fertile State

Hallelujah the Hills - Here Come the Warm Jets/Puritan Garage Howlers - Covers 2022-23

Wilco - Ten Dead/Cousin

Teenage Fanclub - Back to the Light/Nothing Lasts Forever

The Feelies - I'm Waiting For the Man/Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground

Eldridge Rodriguez - Black Hearts on His Chest/Atrophy

McLusky - That Was My Brain on Elves/ Unpopular Parts of a Pig/The Digger You Deep

Swansea Sound - Far Far Away/Twentieth Century

Speedy Ortiz - Plus One/Rabbit Rabbit

Semiwestern - Condo/Semiwestern

Daiistar - Repeater/Good Time

The Hives - Smoke and Mirrors/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Osees - Stunner/Intercepted Message

Fiddlehead - Fiddleheads/Death is Nothing to Us


Hour 2: 2008

R.E.M. - I'm Gonna DJ/Accelerate

The Dirtbombs - Wreck My Flow/We Have You Surrounded

King Khan and the Shrines - Land of the Freak/The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines

The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands/Saturnalia

Jay Reatard - Screaming Hand/Matador Singles '08

Black Mountain - Evil Ways/In the Future

The Hold Steady - Sequestered in Memphis/Stay Positive

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Walk Into the Mirror/Real Emotional Trash

TV On the Radio - Golden Age/Dear Science

Ladyhawk - Fear/Shots

Eagles of Death Metal - Now I'm a Fool/Heart On

Sloan - Witch's Wand/Parallel Play

Frightened Rabbit - Old Old Fashioned/The Midnight Organ Fight

The Raveonettes - You Want the Candy/Lust Lust Lust

The Fiery Furnaces - Restorative Beer/Widow City

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!/Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Black Francis - Seven Fingers/Svn Fingers


OI! Listen to the tuneage HERE.

Friday, October 13, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #497: October 13 ,2023

Too often, we live our lives in a state of contented boredom. Sometimes, a little intensity is a good thing. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played intense songs in hour 2. Of course, you can always be a little TOO intense.


Call it, friendo:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Slow Pulp - Cramps/Yard

A. Savage - David's Dead/Several Songs About Fire

A Beacon School - Potion/yoyo

Eldridge Rodriguez - Help Me Help Me/Atrophy

Wilco - Cousin/Cousin

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait (Cello version)/Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)

Blonde Redhead - Snowman/Sit Down For Dinner

Cherry Glazerr - Wild Times/I Don't Want You Anymore

Sweeping Promises - Eraser/Good Living is Coming For You

Swansea Sound - Keep Your Head On/Twentieth Century

Sparklehorse - Chaos of the Universe/Bird Machine

Daiistar - Say It to Me/Good Time

Jeff Rosenstock - Soft Living/Hellmode

Fiddlehead - True Hardcore (II)/Death is Nothing to Us

The Pink Spiders - Baby I'm High/Freakazoid


Hour 2: Intense

The Pretenders - The Phone Call/Pretenders

Fred Schneider - Whip/Just Fred

Pavement - Flux=Rad/Wowee Zowee

Grinderman - Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)/Grinderman

Fugazi - Styrofoam/Repeater

Bad Brains - Pay to Cum/Single

Beastie Boys - Time For Livin'/Check Your Head

The Nation of Ulysses - A Kid Who Tells On Another Kid is a Dead Kid/13-Point Program to Destroy America

Death From Above 1979 - Do It! (live)/Heads Up

The Blood Brothers - Set Fire to the Face on Fire/Young Machetes

Alice In Chains - Them Bones/Dirt

Motorhead - (We Are) The Roadcrew/Ace of Spades

Fu Manchu - The Action is Go/The Action is Go!

Savages - Hit Me/Silence Yourself

PJ Harvey - Yuri-G/Rid of Me

Sheer Mag - Can't Stop Fighting/III 7-inch

Sonic Youth - My Friend Goo/Goo

PUP - DVP/The Dream is Over

D Generation - Not Dreaming/No Lunch

Masters of Reality - Domino/Masters of Reality

Hot Snakes - Kreative Kontrol/Audit in Progress

Queens of the Stone Age - Go With the Flow/Songs For the Deaf


GET PUMPED! Listen to the show HERE!

 

Friday, October 06, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #496: October 6, 2023

What's weird to some is normal to others. Like Tommy Wiseau probably thought he was making a normal movie when he came up with The Room, but others may beg to differ. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played weird songs in hour 2. They're weird, but they're good. Not sure I can say the same about ol' Tommy boy.


Oh hai, playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Blue Ocean - Ode/Fertile State

Slow Pulp - Doubt/Yard

Swansea Sound - Twentieth Century/Twentieth Century

Cherry Glazerr - Ready For You/I Don't Want You Anymore

Blonde Redhead - Kiss Her Kiss Her/Sit Down For Dinner

Sweeping Promises - Ideal No/Good Living is Coming For You

Ex-Hyena - In Slow Motion/Single

Pile - The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon/Hot Air Balloon EP

Daiistar - Heathens Gate/Good Time

Wilco - Evicted/Cousin

Teenage Fanclub - Tired of Being Alone/Nothing Lasts Forever

Eldridge Rodriguez - The Strange Things That Happen to People/Atrophy

McLusky - Fan Learning Difficulties/ Unpopular Parts of a Pig/The Digger You Deep

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Futurephobic/Data Doom

The Hives - Crash Into the Weekend/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Pardoner - Doberman/Peace Loving People


Hour 2: Weird

Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - Elvis is Everywhere/Bo-Day-Shus!!!

Beck - Mutherfucker/Mellow Gold

Butthole Surfers - Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales/Independent Worm Saloon

Guided By Voices - Maintenance Man of the Haunted House/It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It is Them!

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire/The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Dread Zeppelin - Immigrant Song/Un-Led-Ed

The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want)/The Flying Lizards

Electric Six - Gay Bar/Fire

Black Francis - The Seus/Svn Fingers

Frank Zappa - Cosmic Debris/Apostrophe

Minutemen - Political Song For Michael Jackson to Sing/Double Nickels on the Dime

Camper Van Beethoven - The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon/Telephone Free Landslide Victory

Modest Mouse - Wild Packs of Family Dogs/The Moon and Antarctica

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Chicken Dog/Now I Got Worry

The King Khan & BBQ Show - Animal Party/Invisible Girl

Brainiac - This Little Piggy/Hissing Prigs in Static Couture

Ween - Baby Bitch/Chocolate & Cheese

Soundgarden - Half/Superunknown

Primus - My Name is Mud/Pork Soda


Smash yer head on the weird rock HERE, bunky!

Friday, September 29, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #495: September 29, 2023

Ah, the '80s. Life was very different then. Technology was primitive compared to today. The California Raisins became pop stars. The Ford Escort was the top-selling car. CDs outsold vinyl for the first time. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from 1988 in hour 2. It's weird that they came out 35 years ago, but not as weird as the fact that OJ Simpson was considered a likeable comic actor in 1988.


 

This playlist is from the files of Police Squad:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Pile - Scaling Walls/Hot Air Balloon EP

Radar Peak - Butane Glow/Single

Blue Ocean - Elated Prose/Fertile State

The Replacements - Bastards of Young (Ed Stasium mix)/Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)

The Breeders - Divine Mascis/Last Splash (30th Anniversary Edition)

Wellwater Conspiracy - Late Night (feat. Josh Homme)/Declaration of Conformity

Eldridge Rodriguez - Casual Jesus/Atrophy

Teenage Fanclub - Foreign Land/Nothing Lasts Forever

Swansea Sound - I Don't Like Men in Uniform/Twentieth Century

Jeff Rosenstock - Will U Still U/Hellmode

Slowdive - Alife/Everything is Alive

Speedy Ortiz - Ballad of Y&S/Rabbit Rabbit

Sparklehorse - Evening Star Supercharger/Bird Machine

McLusky - The Digger You Deep / Unpopular Parts of a Pig/The Digger You Deep

Sabatta - Get Your Shit Together/How to Get Even

Genesis Owusu - Old Man/Struggler


Hour 2: 1988

The Feelies - Deep Fascination/Only Life

The Church - Reptile/Starfish

The Pursuit of Happiness - When the Sky Comes Falling Down/Love Junk

The Godfathers - Cause I Said So/Birth, School, Work, Death

Living Colour - Memories Can't Wait/Vivid

Eric B. & Rakim - I Ain't No Joke/Paid in Full

Public Enemy - Louder Than a Bomb/It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Pixies - Break My Body/Surfer Rosa

Jane's Addiction - Idiots Rule/Nothing's Shocking

Mudhoney - In 'n Out of Love/Superfuzz Bigmuff

Soundgarden - Flower/Ultramega OK

Dinosaur Jr. - Let It Ride/Bug

Soul Asylum - Sometime to Return/Hang Time

Sonic Youth - The Sprawl/Daydream Nation

Fishbone - Subliminal Fascism/Truth and Soul


Yo, crank the digital boombox HERE, holmes.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 624: Positive Jam

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Phil's #5: Arcade Fire with a rousing debut about suburbia
  • Jay's #5: First album from Mission of Burma in 19 years kicks serious butt
  • Phil's #4: The last U2 album Phil enjoyed
  • Zebra once opened for their Zeppelin cover band
  • Jay's #4 and Phil's #3: Drive-By Truckers unleash another powerful concept album about the South
  • Phil's #2: Brian WIlson finally releases unreleased epic album Smile
  • The Beach Boys went from "America's Beatles" to an oldies joke band
  • Jay's #2: Another excellent album from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
  • Jay's #1: Debut from the Hold Steady combines '70s riffs with indie rock
  • Phil's #1 and Jay's #3: Mark Lanegan with a world-weary masterpiece with a little help from his friends
  • Favorite songs: "Hit the City" (Phil), "Positive Jam" (Jay)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, September 22, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #494: September 22, 2023

First impressions are important, but last impressions are pretty crucial as well. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played great album closing songs that leave a huge impression. Last call!


Drink up, lads:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Eldridge Rodriguez - A Feeling That Won't Go Away/Atrophy

Model/Actrix - Winnipesaukee/Single

McLusky - Unpopular Parts of a Pig / Unpopular Parts of a Pig/The Digger You Deep

Swansea Sound - Seven in the Car/Twentieth Century

Sparklehorse - I Fucked It Up/Bird Machine

Daiistar - Parallel/Good Time

Fan Girl - Falling (feat. Elizabeth M. Drummond)/Single

Deeper - Tele/Careful!

A Giant Dog - I Believe/Bite

The Breeders - Go Man Go/Last Splash 30th Anniversary Edition

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Weird Dog/Data Doom

Speedy Ortiz - Ranch vs. Ranch/Rabbit Rabbit

Gladie - Born Yesterday/Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out

Jeff Rosenstock - Life Admin/Hellmode

Kristin Hersh - Eyeshine/Clear Pond Road

Semiwestern - Visitor/Semiwestern

Tony Jay - The Switch for the Light/Perfect Worlds

Bad History Month - Touch the Riff/God is Luck


Hour 2: Closers

Public Enemy - Party for Your Right to Fight/It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Mission of Burma - That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate/Vs.

Sebadoh - I Smell a Rat/Harmacy

Rancid - The Way I Feel/...And Out Come the Wolves

Buffalo Tom - Anything That Way/Big Red Letter Day

Silver Jews - The Wild Kindness/American Water

Pavement - Our Singer/Slanted & Enchanted

Sloan - 400 Metres/One Chord to Another

PJ Harvey - The Dancer/To Bring You My Love

Jarvis Cocker - Running the World/Jarvis

Pixies - Gouge Away/Doolittle

Blondie - Living in the Real World/Eat to the Beat

Boss Hog - Sam/Boss Hog

Interpol - Leif Erikson/Turn on the Bright Lights

David Bowie - Fame/Young Americans

Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)/The Bends


This show Always Be Closing.

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 623: Take Me Out

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • In 2004, Jay became a father for the second time, was a diaper-changing machine
  • Phil got married, saw the Red Sox and Patriots become champions
  • Jay: Got an iPod, downloaded a ton of music
  • Pixies reunited, Phish broke up
  • Many bands take hiatuses
  • The tale of Mr. Jimmy
  • William Hung becomes famous
  • Phil's non-top 5s: Wilco, Black Keys, Beastie Boys, Patterson Hood, Umphrey's McGee, the Killers, Green Day, Twilight Singers, Eagles of Death Metal, PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, TV On the Radio, Tragically Hip 
  • Phil invents new words
  • Green Day rejuvenates itself
  • Jay's non-top 5s: The Walkmen, Death From Above 1979
  • To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, September 15, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #493: September 15, 2023

Rain can make for a dramatic movie scene, but in real life, it can be annoying and/or depressing. This summer has been an especially rainy one in the Northeast. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about rain in hour 2. It's way better than giving someone a pen.


The soggy playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Gladie - Chaos Reigns/Single

Sparklehorse - It Will Never Stop/Bird Machine

Slowdive - Shanty/Everything Is Alive

Kristin Hersh - Ms. Haha/Clear Pond Road

Genesis Owusu - Freak Boy/Struggler

The Budos Band - Frontier's Edge/Frontier's Edge

A Giant Dog - Avalonia/Bite

Speedy Ortiz - Kim Cattrall/Rabbit Rabbit

Jeff Rosenstock - Soft Living/Hellmode

Daiistar - Tracemaker/Good Time

Bad History Month - God Is Luck/God Is Luck

The Hives - Countdown to Shutdown/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Rancid - Drop Dead Inn/Tomorrow Never Comes

Pardoner - Love Yourself and Others/Peace Loving People

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Mild Davis/Data Doom

Osees - Sleazoid Psycho/Intercepted Message

Spring Breeding - Gina Sleeps All Day/Zum Audio, Vol. 5


Hour 2: Rain

The Cult - Rain/Love

The Beths - A Passing Rain/Expert in a Dying Field

Cloud Nothings - Open Rain/The Shadow I Remember

Mission of Burma - After the Rain/The Sound, The Speed, The Light

Superchunk - Rainy Streets/Here's to Shutting Up

Bob Mould - Black Sheets of Rain/Black Sheets of Rain

Destroyer - Midnight Meet the Rain/Poison Season

Mark Lanegan - Kingdoms of Rain/Whiskey for the Holy Ghost

Urge Overkill - View of the Rain/Exit the Dragon

Peter Gabriel - Red Rain/So

R.E.M. - So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)/Reckoning

The Police - Shadows in the Rain/Zenyatta Mondatta

The Cure - Prayers for Rain/Disintegration


Click the link, get the rock.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 622: The Hardest Button to Button

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2003. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Phil's #5: Raucous debut from NYC's Yeah Yeah Yeahs, featuring the electric Karen O
  • Jay's #5: Radiohead combined electronic and guitar-driven sounds
  • Radiohead albums kept leaking early on file-sharing networks
  • Phil's #4: The Shins hone their super catchy pop sound
  • Jay's #4: An indie rock gem from the Wrens that still awaits a follow-up
  • 20 years of starts, stops, indecision and disagreements
  • Phil's #3:My Morning Jacket combined indie rock, Southern rock, folk and jam band sounds
  • MP3 blog bands abound
  • Jay's #3: Another kickass release from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
  • Leo is one of the great unsung artists of our generation
  • Is Springsteen overrated?
  • Phil's #2: Drive-By Truckers add Jason Isbell and step up their game
  • Jay's #2: A departure for Sloan, but one jam-packed with great songs
  • The only Sloan album without an Andrew Scott song
  • Phil's #1: The White Stripes expand their sound and totally blow up
  • The Stripes made a lot of noise with minimal instrumentation
  • Jay's #1: Greg Dulli's Twilight Singers unleash a classic album as a tribute to late friend
  • Favorite songs: "The Hardest Button to Button" (Phil), "Teenage Wristband" (Jay)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, September 08, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #492: September 8, 2023

Milestones come and go and we tend to downplay them, but this is a big one. TEN YEARS. I've been doing this show for 10 freaking years. Additionally, BFF.fm has been doing its thing for 10 years. It's wild. This week, I play songs featuring the number 10 in hour 2. Break out the party hats!


Three's company but 10's a charm:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Jeff Rosenstock - Future is Dumb/Hellmode

Speedy Ortiz - Ghostwriter/Rabbit Rabbit

A Giant Dog - Different Than/Bite

Wellwater Conspiracy - The Ending/Declaration of Conformity

Slowdive - The Slab/Everything is Alive

Sweeping Promises - You Shatter/Good Living is Coming For You

The Hives - Rigor Mortis Radio/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Burn Me Down/Data Doom

Osees - Goon/Intercepted Message

Militarie Gun - Will Logic/Life Under the Gun

Geese - Crusades/3D Country

Genesis Owusu - Stay Blessed/Struggler

Daiistar - Star Starter/Good Time

Fiddlehead - Sullenboy/Death is Nothing to Us

Spiral Dub - Rise and Shine/Spiral Dub

Crossed Wires - Smile/Ellipsis

Chris Farren - Bluish/Doom Singer

M.A.G.S. - Floyd/Destroyer


Hour 2: Ten

Hot Snakes - This Mystic Decade/Audit in Progress

Frank Black - Ten Percenter/Frank Black

Blonde Redhead - 10 Feet High/Masculin Feminin

U-Men - Ten After One/U-Men

Goon - Ten Tables/Dusk of Punk - Happy Omen

Freeloader - Ten Songs Make an Album/The Path of Least Resistance

Jeff Rosenstock - 9/10 / POST

Enumclaw - 10th and J2/Save the Baby

TV Priest - Powers of Ten/Uppers

Big Joanie - Count to 10/Back Home

XTC - Ten Feet Tall/Drums and Wires

Jeff Tweedy - Ten Sentence/WARMER

The Molenes - Ten Pound Hammer/Good Times Comin'

Mark Lanegan - Ten Feet Tall/The Winding Sheet

The Pursuit of Happiness - Ten Fingers/Love Junk

A.C. Newman - There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve.../Get Guilty

The Wedding Present - Ten Sleep/Going, Going...

Velvet Crush - #10/Teenage Symphonies to God


I got yer hot-shit radio show RIGHT HEAH!

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 621: It's Gonna Be a Long Night

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2003. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • In 2003, Jay had a toddler and found out another kid was on the way
  • Started downloading a lot of music via blogs
  • Jay saw Pat DiNizio, Gord Downie, Radiohead, Guster
  • Phil got engaged, saw a lot of Red Sox games
  • Coed softball struggles
  • 50 Cent had the #1 song of the year
  • A lot of number bands on the charts
  • What's the deal with Kid Rock?
  • Phil's non-top 5s: TV On the Radio, Warren Zevon, Jason Molina, Black Keys, Jet, Outkast, Ween, Lucinda Williams, Bowie
  • Jay's non-top 5s: Gord Downie, Electric Six, Dizzee Rascal, Stephen Malkmus, Zeppelin
  • To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, September 01, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #491: September 1, 2023

Some folks are morning people, some need a little time to get it together. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about mornings in hour 2. It's not always easy to be at your best that early.


The chicken digs this playlist:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven/Single

Genesis Owusu - The Roach/Struggler

Daiistar - LMN BB LMN/Good Time

Illuminati Hotties - Truck/Single

Tony Jay - Isolated Visions/Perfect Worlds

Radar Peak - Heaven's Gate/Single

Ty Segall - Void/Single

The Feelies - Rock 'N Roll/Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground

Wellwater Conspiracy - Sleeveless/Declaration of Conformity

Semiwestern - I Never Mean What I Say/Semiwestern

Bad History Month - Let It Ride/God Is Luck

Slowdive - Kisses/Everything Is Alive

The Hives - What Did I Ever Do to You?/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Sweeping Promises - Throw of the Dice/Good Living Is Coming For You

Fiddlehead - Loserman/Death Is Nothing to Us

M.A.G.S. - Red Sky/Destroyer


Hour 2: Morning

The Gap Band - Early in the Morning/Gap Band IV

Betty Davis - You Won't See Me in the Morning/Betty Davis

Faith No More - The Morning After/The Real Thing

Radiohead - Morning Bell/Kid A

Mark Lanegan Band - Morning Glory Wine/Bubblegum

Destroyer - In the Morning/ken

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Get Up Morning/Eddy Current Suppression Ring

Beeef - Morning Light/Bull in the Shade

Ringo Deathstarr - Chainsaw Morning/God's Dream

Krill - This Morning/Lucky Leaves

The Kills - Goodnight Bad Morning/Midnight Boom

Mudhoney - Morning in America/Morning in America

The Who - Early Morning Cold Taxi/The Who Sell Out

Japandroids - Midnight to Morning/Near to the Wild Heart of Life

Dinosaur Jr. - Pierce the Morning Rain/I Bet On Sky


Wake up! Listen to the show HERE!


Friday, August 25, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #490: August 25, 2023

Hey man, things are tough all over. There's a lot of negativity out there, and while I don't like to dwell on it, sometimes it needs to be addressed. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about negativity in hour 2 (and great new songs from the Hives, Bedroom Eyes, Osees and Slowdive in hour 1). Listen to them after you get yelled at by your boss.


This playlist doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

The Hives - Bogus Operandi/The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

Bedroom Eyes - Planted/Turned Away

Osees - Unusual & Cruel/Intercepted Message

Slowdive - Skin in the Game/Everything is Alive

The Natvral - Lucifer's Glory/Summer of No Light

Superchunk - Sunny Brixton/Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-Sides & Strays 2007-2023

Fiddlehead - Sleepyhead/Death is Nothing to Us

Turnstile & BadBadNoGood - Mystery/New Heart Designs

Teenage Wrist - Wax Poetic (feat. Sister Void)/Still Love

Bad History Month - Over the Hills/True Delusion

Crossed Wires - Safe and Sound/Ellipsis

Spiral Dub - Top of the World/Spiral Dub

Guided By Voices - Seedling/Welshpool Frillies

Low Praise - Hollow Ego/Dressing

Protomartyr - The Author/Formal Growth in the Desert

Guardian Singles - Metal Fingers/Feed Me to the Doves

Bully - A Wonderful Life/Lucky For You

M.A.G.S. - Sins/Destroyer


Hour 2: Negative

Nirvana - Negative Creep/Bleach

Hash Redactor - Down the Tubes/Drecksound

METZ - Negative Space/METZ

Nine Inch Nails - Down In It/Pretty Hate Machine

Exit Group - Negative/Adverse Habitat

Queens of the Stone Age - Negative Space/In Times New Roman...

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Don't Bring Me Down (live)/Bootleg

The So-So Glos - Down the Tubes/Kamikaze

World Party - Way Down Now/Goodbye Jumbo

The Decemberists - We Both Go Down Together/Picaresque

Courtney Barnett - Debbie Downer/Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit

Ride - Dreams Burn Down/Nowhere

LCD Soundsystem - New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down/Sound of Silver

Spoon - All the Negatives/Live on KTRU 1997

Chastity - Negative With Reason to Be/Death Lust

Golden Gurls - Double Negatives/Typo Magic


Look, things may suck out there but LISTEN TO THIS NOW.

Friday, August 18, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #489: August 18, 2023

When you look back at your childhood, there's a tendency to think that it was a simpler time. Maybe so, but for a lot of people, being a kid was no picnic. Childhood can be difficult and painful, and it can also contain many good memories. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs about kids in hour 2 (in addition to some great new songs in hour 1). Sadly, nothing by Coal Chamber, though.


This playlist slaps:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Drop Nineteens - Scapa Flow/Hard Light

Film School - Tape Rewind/Field

Ghost of Vroom - Still Getting It Done/Ghost of Vroom 3

The 3 Clubmen - Aviatrix/The 3 Clubmen

Upper Wilds - Short Centuries/Jupiter

Spiral Dub - Switch Your Head Off/Spiral Dub

Crossed Wires - Good Guy/Ellipsis

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Clearing of the Land/August 2023 Bandcamp EP

Chris Farren - Screensaver/Doom Singer

M.A.G.S. - Red Sky/Destroyer

Ex-Hyena & Control I'm Here - Narciss/ Tangled/Narciss/Afterhours

My Heart, An Inverted Flame - The Ever-Expansion/Zum Audio, Vol. 5

Teenage Wrist - Cold Case/Still Love

Mutoid Man - Siren Song/Mutants


Hour 2: Kids

Jarvis Cocker - Fat Children/Jarvis

Grinderman - Heathen Child/Grinderman 2

Ride - The Kids Are Alright/Daytripping in Brighton 3/12/93 (bootleg)

PUP - Kids/Morbid Stuff

Dream Wife - Kids/Dream Wife

Ron Gallo - Put the Kids to Bed/Heavy Meta

Diarrhea Planet - Kids/I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

Aerosmith - Last Child/Rocks

Run the Jewels - Hey Kids (Bumaye) (feat. Danny Brown)/RTJ3

The Gutter Twins - God's Children/Saturnalia

Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave/Master of Reality

Buffalo Tom - The Kids Just Sleep/Skins

Near Beer - Card Shark Kids/Sleeping is for Suckers

Hot Snakes - I Hate the Kids/Suicide Invoice

Superchunk - Staying Home/I Hate Music


Hey man, is that Stuck In Thee Garage? Well, TURN IT UP, MAN.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 620: No One Knows

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2002. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Phil's #5: Coldplay's second album turned them into superstars
  • Jay's #5: Spoon returns to an indie and begins a long stretch of excellence
  • Phil's and Jay's #4: Strong release from the Tragically Hip highlights their varied strengths
  • Phil's #2: The last great Foo Fighters album caused a lot of turmoil for the band
  • Jay's #3 and Phil's #1: Beck with another sad bastard folk-rock masterpiece
  • Jay's #2: Killer debut from Interpol was part of the hot NYC scene of the early '00s
  • It's hard for some bands to live up to a great first album
  • Phil's #3 and Jay's #1: Queens of the Stone Age reaches new heights with help from Dave Grohl on drums
  • Favorite songs: "No One Knows" (Jay), "End of the Day" (Phil)

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, August 11, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #488: August 11, 2023

Once you get to a certain point in your life, it's common to think that something that happened a long time ago feels like it took place much more recently. The years tend to blur together after a while. Fortunately, the music of the time is a great way to bring you right back. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from 1993 in hour 2 (as well as a ton of great new music in hour 1).


This playlist is so cool:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

M.A.G.S. - Elephant/Destroyer

Chris Farren - Cosmic Leash/Doom Singer

Spiral Dub - And More and More Again/Spiral Dub

Pardoner - Cruel Gun/Peace Loving People

Bad History Month - Breakdown Lane/True Delusion

Ex-Hyena & Control I'm Here - Tangled Up/Single

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Inwards/August 2023 Bandcamp EP

Crossed Wires - Looped/Ellipsis

Teenage Wrist - Dark Sky (feat. SA Martinez)/Still Love

Mutoid Man - Call of the Void/Mutants

Palehound - Independence Day/Eye On the Bat

Courtney Barnett - Different Now/Single

PJ Harvey - Harder/B-Sides, Demos & Rarities

Snooper - Defect/Super Snooper

Sweeping Promises - Can't Hide It/Good Living is Coming For You

Guided By Voices - Awake Man/Welshpool Frillies

Mac Krol - What Would You Say?/For Some Other Reason


Hour 2: 1993

Urge Overkill - Positive Bleeding/Saturation

Frank Black - Don't Ya Rile 'Em/Frank Black

The Pursuit of Happiness - Bored of You/The Downward Road

Morphine - Buena/Cure For Pain

Soul Asylum - Summer of Drugs/Sweet Relief

Pavement - Unseen Power of the Picket Fence/No Alternative

PJ Harvey - Me-Jane/Rid of Me

Smashing Pumpkins - Geek USA/Siamese Dream

Living Colour - Ignorance is Bliss/Stain

Dinosaur Jr. - Start Choppin'/Where You Been

Dinosaur Jr. and Del the Funkee Homosapien - Missing Link/Judgment Night soundtrack

Matthew Sweet - Dinosaur Jr./Altered Beast

The Afghan Whigs - Fountain and Fairfax/Gentlemen

Sugar - Tilted/Beaster

Nirvana - Verse Chorus Verse/No Alternative


Pop the show into yer Walkman RIGHT HEAH!



Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 619: Do You Realize?

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2002. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • In 2002, Jay became a first-time dad and didn't get much sleep
  • Jay turned 35, Phil turned 33
  • Phil was newly single, met his current wife
  • John Entwistle died the classic rock star death
  • Napster officially called it quits after lawsuits
  • Owning music is an outdated concept now
  • Nickelback had the top song of the year
  • Charts had a mixture of nu metal, hip hop and pop
  • Phil's non-top 5 albums: Doves, Sleater-Kinney, Flaming Lips, Spoon, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews Band, Interpol, Black Keys, Sonic Youth, GBV, Tom Petty, Bowie
  • Jay's non-top 5s: McLusky, Hot Snakes, Trail of Dead, Elvis Costello, Broken Social Scene  
  • We never saw a lot of the rock videos of this era
  • This was the age of the MP3 blog    
  • To be continued

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, August 04, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #487: August 4, 2023

James Brown once sang, "It's a man's man's world," but that was 57 years ago. Things have changed, certainly in the world of music. The charts are ruled by women now: Taylor, Beyonce, Adele, etc. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played music by female artists in hour 2, starting off with a tribute to the late great Sinead O'Connor. It's explosive, much like a cherry bomb, I suppose.


This playlist evens it up:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee - Los Angeles (feat. James Murphy)/Los Angeles

The Kills - LA Hex/New York

Code Industry - Crimes Against the People/Structure

Mac Krol - Fair Warning/For Some Other Reason

Guided By Voices - Romeo Surgeon/Welshpool Frillies

Low Praise - Angela/Dressing

Geese - Mysterious Love/3D Country

Squid - Green Light/O Monolith

A. Savage - Thanksgiving Parade/Single

Annie Hart - Stop Staring at You/The Weight of a Wave

Palehound - My Evil/Eye On the Bat

Rancid - New American/Tomorrow Never Comes

Militarie Gun - Big Disappointment/Life Under the Gun

Snooper - Microbe/Super Snooper

The Pink Spiders - Stoned to the Bone/Freakazoid

Sweeping Promises - Petit Four/Good Living is Coming for You

Protomartyr - Graft vs. Host/Formal Growth in the Desert


Hour 2: Women

The The - Kingdom of Rain (feat. Sinead O'Connor)/Mind Bomb

Sinead O'Connor - I Am Stretched On Your Grave/I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Sinead O'Connor - The Emperor's New Clothes/I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

PJ Harvey - One Time Too Many/B-Sides, Demos and Rarities

Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener/The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas

Ex Hex - No Reflection/It's Real

Speedy Ortiz - Raising the Skate/Foil Deer

The Breeders - Iris/Pod

St. Vincent - Cheerleader/Strange Mercy

Savages - She Will/Silence Yourself

Sleater-Kinney - You're No Rock 'n Roll Fun/All Hands On the Bad One

Metric - Youth Against Youth/Synthetica

Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother/The Burdens of Being Upright

Kim Gordon - Air Bnb/No Home Record


The things get loud when you CLICK HERE, kids!

Tuesday, August 01, 2023

Completely Conspicuous 618: You Say It's Your Birthday

Celebrating the podcast's 17th birthday by talking to Amanda Guest about the 10th birthday of the radio station she founded, BFF.fm. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").

Show notes:

  • Amanda was last on the podcast 10 years ago talking about moving to SF and launching BFF.fm
  • Plenty of surprises along the way
  • She was a DJ at the Salem State College (now University) station for 18 years
  • Commercial radio was already being automated in the mid-'90s
  • Built a studio in the Secret Alley in SF
  • A lot of the DJs at BFF now weren't alive when Amanda was DJing in the '90s
  • Shorter attention spans: Newer DJs are doing one-hour shows
  • Jay has been doing a show for BFF since the station started
  • "Where's Koomdogg?"
  • Building exposure through a crazy boat DJing gig
  • Became a nonprofit in 2015
  • Amanda was hired as the GM of the station, now doing it full-time
  • Went from dues-based organization to nonprofit
  • Allows BFF to fundraise and get grants
  • Celebrating the station's 10th birthday with events throughout the city
  • Amanda plans to stay involved but wants to retire at some point
  • SF went into COVID lockdown early and stayed in it the longest
  • Studio had to shut down so BFF enabled DJs to broadcast from home
  • Found free space in the SF Ferry Building so were able to broadcast from there
  • The future of radio won't get less corporate
  • Not a lot of commercial stations for indie music, except for college stations
  • Amanda: Big electronic music movement happening in SF
  • Looking for new music
  • The DJ as curator
  • BFF has 120 shows on the schedule, most done live in the studio
  • Different approaches to show construction
  • Great achievements in song segues
  • Jay: Coming up on 500 episodes of the radio show

Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. 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, July 28, 2023

Stuck In Thee Garage #486: July 28, 2023

Longevity in music isn't necessarily a novel thing. There are plenty of artists who have had long careers. But how many continue to make strong albums after the first few? Not as many as you might think. This week on Stuck In Thee Garage, I played songs from artists' fifth albums in hour 2. You may not be able to handle the truth.


You need this playlist on that wall:

Hour 1

Artist - Song/Album

Militarie Gun - Life Under the Gun/Life Under the Gun

Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes/Tomorrow Never Comes

Geese - 2122/3D Country

The Pink Spiders - Freakin' Freakin' Out/Freakazoid

Sweeping Promises - Connoisseur of Salt/Good Living is Coming For You

Emerald Comets - Castle Inside/Homemade Time Machine

Cloudland Canyon - Gimme Tension/Cloudland Tension

Squid - Swing (In a Dream)/O Monolith

Annie Hart - Boy You Got Me/The Weight of a Wave

Depeche Mode - Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg remix)/Wagging Tongue (Remixes)

Pardoner - Are You Free Tonight?/Peace Loving People

Guardian Singles - Pit Viper/Feed Me to the Doves

Bully - All This Noise/Lucky For You

Big Joanie - Taut/Back Home

Protomartyr - Polacrilex Kid/Formal Growth in the Desert

Model/Actriz - Donkey Show/Dogsbody

Low Praise - Forget That It's Summer/Dressing


Hour 2: Fifth

The Clash - Car Jamming/Combat Rock

Guided By Voices - Quality of Armor/Propellor

Dinosaur Jr. - Out There/Where You Been

Peter Gabriel - This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)/So

The Afghan Whigs - Blame, Etc./Black Love

Husker Du - Sorry Somehow/Candy Apple Grey

Led Zeppelin - Over the Hills and Far Away/Houses of the Holy

Neil Young - For the Turnstiles/On the Beach

Black Sabbath - Killing Yourself to Live/Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Arctic Monkeys - RU Mine?/AM

Beck - High 5 (Rock the Catskills)/Odelay

Parliament - Dr. Funkenstein/The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein

Prince - Delirious/1999


The truth is HERE, pal. Crank it up!

Day After Day #84: Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).   Can't You Hear Me Knocking (1971) ...