Completely Conspicuous

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1998. Show notes: 1998 was 25 years ago! Jay turned 31, Phil turned 29 The one-hit wonders were abundant Alt-rock was fading in popularity MTV was predominantly airing programming that wasn't videos MP3s became another way to share/steal music Paved the way for Napster and eventually the near-collapse of the music industry Pop was...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1997. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5 albums: Cornershop, Yo La Tengo, Elliott Smith, Chris Whitley, Portishead, Ween Phil's #5 and Jay's #4: Ben Folds Five's breakthrough with piano-driven snark Phil's #4: Third album from Sleater-Kinney features Janet Weiss' debut on drums Phil's #3: Elliott Smith's lo-fi folk got a boost from Good...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1997. Show notes: In '97, Jay hit the big 3-0, Phil turned 28 Big year for partying Alt-rock one-hit wonders abounded: Marcy Playground, Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth Boy bands, hip hop, female singer-songwriters Phil's "bubbling under" albums: U2, Led Zeppelin, Bjork, Bowie, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Guided By Voices, Whiskeytown, S...

This week, I'm joined by guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the resurgence of role-playing games. Show notes: - Recorded in Salem, Mass. - Last time we recorded for the show was two years ago - Time is passing quickly - Jay: Going into the office once a week now - Matt: It was an extrovert's world for a long time - Matt's still writing YA books - Matt has been running Dungeons & Dragons games since...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1996. Show notes: - Phil's #5: Cowboy Junkies score with their first album of originals - Jay's #5: Sebadoh with a sprawling collection of rockers and ballads - Phil's #4: Soundgarden's last album of the '90s turned away from their big hit - Jay's #4: Frank Black with another album of quirky greatness - Phil's #3: Phish with a fan...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1996. Show notes: - In '96, Jay turned 29, Phil turned 27 - Days of little to no responsibility other than work - Adventures in sports gambling - Tougher year to come up with top 5 - The Macarena was all the rage - Phil's non-top 5s: Rage Against the Machine, Fiona Apple, Sleater-Kinney, Tragically Hip, Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M.,...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we count down our favorite music of 2022. Show notes: - On to our top 10 - Breitling's #10: Archers of Loaf returns with a different sounding release - Kumar's #10: Fontaines D.C. evolves its sound - Breitling's and Kumar's #9: Radiohead offshoot The Smile with an interesting return to early '00s sound - Breitling's #8: Pleasant surprise album...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky/Parcheesi Redux East HQ - We've been doing this for 13 years! - Kumar: Went to some more shows this year - Breitling went to zero shows in 2022 - Things to look forward to in '23: The Cure returns, Drop Nineteens, Hallelujah the Hills' DECK project, Johnny Foreigner,...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1995. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Mike Watt, Bjork, Guided By Voices, Boss Hog, Rancid, The Amps - Phil's #5: Bjork's second album embraces the quirkiness - Jay's #4: Jawbreaker's major label debut was a total bust, but it's really good - "Selling out" was a big deal back then - Phil's #3: The debut of Elastica was fully forme...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1995. Show notes: - First show in quite a while - In '95, Phil turned 26, Jay turned 28 - We both saw a lot of concerts that year - Big deaths: Jerry Garcia, Eazy E, Shannon Hoon - Musings on Cleveland, where the Rock Hall of Fame opened in '95 - Jay saw a doubleheader of a Bruins game and a Chris Whitley show - Singles charts wer...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1994. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Superchunk, Jeff Buckley, Drive Like Jehu, Rollins Band, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Helmet, Pulp Fiction soundtrack, Mark Lanegan, Nirvana - Phil's #5: Pearl Jam's third album gets a little adventurous and rough-edged - Jay's #5: The Tragically Hip gets more atmospheric after more straight-ah...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 1994. Show notes: - Back after a two-month summer break - In 1994, Jay turned 27, Phil turned 25 - Steely Dan was touring again - Jay: Life improved in '94 on job and home front - Jay: Saw a ton of shows including Pearl Jam, Afghan Whigs, Rollins Band, Cracker, Soundgarden, Buffalo Tom, Blues Explosion, Tragically Hip, Sugar - Deb...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about movie fandom. Show notes: - Recorded while driving to Tree House Brewery - Watching scary movies as a kid - The Shining still holds up - Favorite directors: Kubrick, Scorsese, Tarantino - Jay: After Hours is a fun movie; similar plot to Into the Night, which came out around the same time - The current state of prestige TV is giving movies a ru...

Celebrating the show's 16th birthday with part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our love of movies. Show notes: - Recorded while driving to Tree House Brewery - Phil remembers seeing "Bambi" in the theater and "Halloween" a little early - The interesting career beginnings of Kurt Russell - Jay: Watched a lot of Disney movies as a kid - Drive-in theaters were fun - Getting into Jam...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1993. Show notes: - Jay's non-top 5s: Urge Overkill, Living Colour, Matthew Sweet, The Pursuit of Happiness, Paw, Fugazi - Some good comps and soundtracks: No Alternative, Sweet Relief, Judgment Night - Phil's #5: Belly with a strong debut - Jay's #5: Dinosaur Jr. straddles the line between alt- and classic rock - Jay's #...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1993. Show notes: - In 1993, Jay turned 26, Phil turned 24 - Jay moved to Middleton, Mass. - Phil saw the Breeders, Belly, Lenny Kravitz - Jay saw Nirvana and the Breeders, Midnight Oil, Lollapalooza - Big year for hip hop - Hair metal was dead - Phil's non-top 5s: Pearl Jam, Lenny Kravitz, Breeders, PJ Harvey, Radiohead,...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - Breitling's #5: Papercuts with a solid effort featuring gratuitious Mellotron - Kumar's #5: Spoon serves up a quality dollop of Spoon - Breitling's #4: Elvis Costello in his occasional rock mode - Kumar's #4: The Smile fills the gap betwe...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling as we discuss our favorite music of the first half of 2022. Show notes: - Recorded at Clicky Clicky World HQ - Breitling's laptop is acting up - Concerts are mostly back - Kate Bush sees a resurgence in popularity - R.I.P., the iPod - RL Mathews discovers the new stuff - Breitling's honorable mentions: Graveyard Club, David West, Big Cream, Peanes...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Show notes: - More of Phil's non top 5s: Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees, Kyuss, Jayhawks, Grateful Dead, Rage Against the Machine - A few more from Jay: Helmet, Faith No More - Phil interviewed hockey players who liked RATM - Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: Buffalo Tom hones their craft with their third album - Phil's #5: Nei...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1992. Show notes: - In 1992, Jay turned 25, Phil turned 23 - We both worked at local newspapers - The so-called grunge explosion kicked into full gear - Jay: Saw lots of great shows, including Lollapallooza, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney - "Bohemian Rhapsody" was back on the singles chart thanks to Wayne's World - Meta...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Show notes: - Phil's #5: The debut of an unknown band called Pearl Jam - Album had a slow build, didn't really get big until spring '92 - Jay's #5: Smashing Pumpkins' debut is a guitar feast - Phil's #4: Prince's last great album, according to Phil - Jay's #4: Under-the-radar power pop genius from Scotland - Gene Si...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1991. Show notes: - In '91, Phil graduated from college; Jay worked at the Peabody Times newspaper - A big year for rock, although a lot of the impact wasn't felt until the following year - Seeds for alt-rock explosion had been sown in the previous few years - Still a lot of classic rock, hair metal and pop on the charts...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1990. Show notes: - Our top 5 albums of '90 - Phil's #5: Jane's Addiction with a sprawling classic - Jay's #5: Sophomore release from Living Colour explored a lot of different styles - Phil's #4: Sinead O'Connor blows up with her second album - Her SNL appearance in '92 caused serious controversy - Sinead is alive and wel...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1990. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as"). Show notes: - Recorded in person at CompCon World HQ - In '90, Jay turned 23 and Phil turned 21 - Phil's short career in foodservice - Jay was a newspaper reporter in Peabody, Mass. - Controversies over 2 Live Crew, Milli Vanilli and Madon...

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite music of 1989. Show notes: - Recorded via Zoom during a blizzard - Our top 5 albums of '89 - Phil's #5: Tom Petty finds renewed success with a solo album -Jay's #5 and Phil's #4: Nirvana's sludgy debut hints at future success - Jay's #4: The Beasties go sample crazy and blow up the sophomore slump - Phil's #3: Phish with an auspic...