Completely Conspicuous

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2007.

Show notes:

• Phil's #5: Sharp alt-country debut from Deer Tick
• Jay's #5: Nick Cave rocks out with Grinderman
• Phil's #4: Compelling raunch rock from QOTSA
• Jay's #4: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with another quality ripper
• Phil's #3: Soulful belter Sharon Jones with a great throwback
• Jay's #3: Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment
• Labels were not happy that they took the risk
• Phil's #2: Dad-rock kings Wilco with a mellower affair
• Jay's #2: The original Dino Jr. lineup with their first album since '88
• Phil's and Jay's #1: Spoon breaks through with a classic
• The decline of rock as a popular genre
• Favorite songs: "Don't You Evah" (Jay), "Impossible Germany" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2007.

Show notes:

• In 2007, Jay had a kid starting kindergarten; that kids graduates from college soon
• Zeppelin played two reunion shows
• Separating the music from artists' bad behavior
• Daughtry had the #1 selling album of '07
• Phil's non-top 5s: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the National, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Okkervil River, Buffalo Tom, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Arctic Monkeys 
• Let's hear it for Dad Rock
• On Madonna's career
• Discovering music through commercials or movies
• Music services
• Jay's non-top 5s: LCD Soundsystem, the Dears, Tim Armstrong, Black Francis, Thurston Moore, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Beastie Boys
• 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2006.

Show notes:

• Jay's non-top 5s: The Black Angels, Mission of Burma, Twilight Singers, The Tragically Hip, Girl Talk, Iron Maiden, Lemonheads
• Phil's #5: Beck's last really good album, especially the first half
• Jay's #5: First solo release from Pulp's Jarvis Cocker
• Phil's #4: Last Drive-By Truckers album with Jason Isbell expands their world view
• Jay's #4: Expansive and excellent outing from TV On the Radio
• Phil's #3: Droney, psychedelic fuzz from the Black Angels
• Jay's #3: Yet another great one from the Hold Steady
• Phil's #2: Sharp debut from Jack White-led Raconteurs
• Jay's #2: Sweeping double album from Sloan, chock full o' power pop goodness
• Phil's #1: Guitar greatness from Doug Martsch and Built to Spill
• Jay's #1: Audacious debut from Arctic Monkeys
• Arctic Monkeys caught on with a whole new audience
• Favorite songs: "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" (Jay), "Goin' Against Your Mind" (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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2006.

Show notes:

• First episode of the year
• In 2006, Jay had two little kids
• Phil was having fun
• When you don't know anybody playing the festival
• Top-selling album of the year was High School Musical soundtrack
• The Who released an album in 2006
• Phil's non-top 5s: Neko Case, Destroyer, the Hold Steady, the Walkmen, Dylan, Heartless Bastards, Tom Petty, Eagles of Death Metal, Black Keys, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Jay: Check out Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
• 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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023.

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.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2023.

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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005.

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. 

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2005.

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.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004.

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. 

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2004.

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.