Completely Conspicuous

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1997. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - 1997 was first year Brian was aware of popular and cool music - Brian was 15, Jay was 29-30 - Both of us had our first dates with our future wives in '97 - Some quintessential '90s hits: Mmm Bop, Wannabe, I Believe I Can Fly - Jay: Saw a lot of great shows that year - Big y...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far. Show notes: - JK: Nai Harvest's new album is infectious, fun rock - Topshelf Records has some good acts in its lineup - JB: Colleen is a former schoolteacher turned recording artist - JK: Chandos is the band formerly known as Chandeliers - JB's #1: Spectres has a psych-blues sound out of the UK - JK: Vi...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far. Show notes: - JK: Courtney Barnett is blowing up - JB: Ava Luna released an interesting record - Funk, psych sound - JK: Kuroma is a psych pop act fronted by former member of the Whigs, MGMT - JK: My kids love listening to top 40 radio, hearing same songs over and over - Classic rock fans are the same w...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of the year so far. Show notes: - Pixies played "surprise show" at TT the Bear's - Cambridge club is closing after 40+ years - A primer on the Boston rock club scene - Free Converse shows were a bummer for those of us who couldn't get tickets - Van Halen talk continues with Eddie slagging DLR and Michael Anthony - JB: Indi...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - Scared of the stunt guy - Watch out for the quiet ones - Comic book movies and shows tend to be pretty dark - Daredevil series on Netflix has been really good - Matt: Dark Knight Returns series portrayed heroes as old and fat - The problem with vigilan...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - Bronies and furries, oh my - Why would you want to run for office these days? - Small-town politics - Tearing down heroes on Twitter - Avengers press junket goes awry - Celebs stumble on social media - Michael Richards, Mel Gibson go from beloved stars...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss hero worship. Show notes: - Check out Matt's book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - Matt founded Home For Wayward Geeks to rant about superheroes - The problem with binge watching TV - Superhero movies and TV shows are everywhere now - Marvel's got a new movie coming out every few months - Simon Pegg bites the hand that feeds him - Co...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Jay's #3 - Peter Gabriel's breakthrough - Exploring dark themes - Parallels between Eddie Van Halen and John Romita Jr. - Brian's #2 - Descendents were very relatable to suburban teens - Bass player was way older than rest...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Recording industry was warning of the evils of home taping - Jay: Would tape my records so I could listen to them on my Walkman - Streaming is convenient - '82 was a good year for both hard rock and synth pop - Guess the c...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1982. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Brian was born in '82 - "Ebony and Ivory" was the #1 song the week he was born - Strange year for music - The band Fear is better to talk about than listen to - John Belushi's death - SNL was a very different show at first...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about whether songs have an expiration date . Show notes: - Critical writing about rock musicians is important and rare - The corruptness of Rolling Stone reviews - Songs that focus on obsolete technology - Songs you like at first but grow to hate - The problem with Red Hot Chili Peppers - Goo Goo Dolls, Soul Asylum started strong but sucked later...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about whether songs have an expiration date . Show notes: - JK: After a bad breakup, couldn't listen to "Wild Horses" for years - "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" as a torture device - Classic rock and top 40 stations overplay certain songs to the point of no return - Indie rock is only played on college radio for the most part (in Boston, anyway) - Parody...

This week, I talk to filmmaker Eric Green about the release of his documentary on the mid-'80s Boston music channel V66 . Show notes: - We last spoke in 2012, when Eric was still working on Life on the V - Previously appeared in episodes  231 and 232 - Movie's now out on DVD and in film festivals - In 1985, MTV was still growing and smaller music video shows were on - Two Boston radio veterans wan...

This week, it's my conversation with Bryan Hamill about how music discovery has evolved over the years . Show notes: - Recorded at a noisy pub in Cambridge, Mass. - Check out Bryan's blog The Ash Gray Proclamation - Pre-gaming prior to Swervedriver show - Bryan used to find out about music from radio (WBCN, WFNX) and magazines - The inevitable teenage metal phase - Older brother introduced him to...

Part 2 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book on the early days of Van Halen . Show notes: - Check out Greg's  Van Halen Rising page - Book is out Oct. 1 - Getting blurbs, reviews, photo permissions - Publisher ECW Press released Neil Peart's books - Book will feature previously unpublished photos - Backyard parties were how the band grew - New VH tour on the way - Greg...

Part 1 of my conversation with author Greg Renoff about his upcoming book about the early days of Van Halen . Show notes: - Check out Greg's  Van Halen Rising page - Book is out Oct. 1 - Greg's a college professor - Fan of arena rock and guitar as a kid - In grad school, wrote his disseration and a book about a traveling circus - Many parallels to a rock tour - Wanted to learn more about VH's begi...

The latest installment of Driving with Kumar as I discuss the joys and travails of having pets . Show notes: - Driving to Ric Dube's to record for our web series Trust Fund Challenge - We got a puppy almost two years ago - As a kid in Canada, we got a German Shepherd puppy but she got too big for us and was adopted by someone else - Got a smaller dog a year later - Sammy moved with us to Washingto...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Brian's #3 - Frank Black's first solo effort was a sign of greatness to come - Some songs were written for the Pixies - Jay's #3 - PJ Harvey's blistering second album - Brian's #2 - A "pretty perfect album" from the Lemonh...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Brian saw his first concert in '93, Paul McCartney - Sir Paul dropped f-bombs galore on "Big Boys Bickering" - Billy Joel hasn't released a new album since '93 - Jay: Saw Dino Jr., Mudhoney, Nirvana, Tragically Hip, Living...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1993. Show notes: - Recorded via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - In'93, Brian was 10, Jay was 25 - First year Brian was interested in pop culture - Jay was into the first wave of grunge - Brian's failsafe plan involving an Adam Sandler tape - SNL40 was strange because of the live audien...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. Show notes: - Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - Matt: I will sell out tomorrow - Matt founded Home For Wayward Geeks to rant about superheroes - A lack of institutional rock knowledge - Sitting next to Jordan Knight on a plane - Friends who overshare online about kids, pets, but...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Colleen Green, Radical Dads and Boom Said Thunder. Show notes: - Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - Matt stopped working in offices several years ago - Used to being alone all day - Going out with friends tends to slow down as you settle down - Less likel...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Matt Phillion as we discuss friendship in the digital age. I've also got music from Stag, Cult of Youth and Young Adults. Show notes: - Check out Matt's new book, The Indestructibles: Breakout - How friendship has changed over the years - Rarely have long conversations with people anymore - Jay: Have closer relationships with podcast guests than anyone else - M...

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Restorations, The Shivas and Nai Harvest. Show notes: - Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Jay's #4 - The Pursuit of Happiness combined hard rock crunch with girl group harmonies - Brian's #3 - Skipping a day of college to see...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1988. I've also got music from Flake Music, Wanted Man and My Goodness. Show notes: - Recorded before Thanksgiving via Skype - Check out Brian's radio show  Unsolicited Mixtape - Elton John had another crappy comeback - Bands formed in '88: Bad English, Breeders, GVSB, NIN, Jawbreaker, Mudhoney - Bands that broke...