Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we count down our favorite albums of 1985.

Show notes:

• Recorded IN PERSON at CompCon world HQ for the first time since February 2020

• Phil and Jay's #5: R.E.M. follows up two classic albums with a quirky effort

• Band gradually grew in popularity

• Phil and Jay's #4: The Cult hits the right combination of goth and hard rock

• Ian Astbury's lyrics were appropriately cryptic

• Phil's #3: An out-of-left-field pick with the Dead Milkmen's debut

• "Bitchin' Camaro" was the "hit"

• Jay's #3: Pete Townshend's solo peak

• He's mainly focused on Who tours since then

• Phil's #2: Talking Heads delve into Americana

• Surprisingly, their best-selling studio album

• Jay's #2: Husker Du continues their hot streak

• First of two releases in '85

• Robert Palmer covered "New Day Rising"

• Phil's #1: Conflicted about picking the Smiths thanks to Moz being a d-bag

• Phil was an early fan, at least among his peers

• Jay's #1: The Replacements keep getting better with each album

• The band kept self-sabotaging through their entire career

• Favorite songs: "Bastards of Young" (Jay), "Barbarism Begins at Home" (Phil)

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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.