I will be joining the Contrarians LIVE tonight at 7:00 PM EST for an excellent topic idea: minimalist album covers. Each of us has ten picks. I will have the honour of sitting on a panel with:
70 unique picks for minimalist cover art. This outta be good. Link is below!
An exhaustive two hours with Johnny Metal took us through almost everything we own in the “B” section of the CD collections! From Sebastian Bach to Bryan Byrne, we looked at everything on CD, except a few box sets. As such, we did not see all my Beatles, Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, or Blue Rodeo on CD. We saw pretty much everything else.
Johnny Metal’s collection, as usual, featured some really cool and rare Christian metal, and other assorted metal and blues that most of us might not have heard of. Many of his CDs included collector’s cards or autographs. John excluded (most of his) Black Sabbath and all of his Beatles for this exercise.
Speaking of the Beatles, halfway through the show, I realized I didn’t have any Beatles in my stack, which is just not right. I have lots of Beatles besides the Stereo and Mono box sets. Then viewer Ashley mentioned I had no Jeff Beck. Well, obviously I do! I reviewed two of them here on this site! I realized I had a whole stack I left behind!
That’s how much B stuff I have. Bon Jovi was the majority of it, and a lot of it turned out to be Bon Jovi I don’t even like. There was, however, some Bon Jovi that I really really do like, and I hope you enjoy having a look at them.
We saw a lot of CD singles, remasters with bonus tracks, deluxe editions, remasters, digipacks, Japanese imports, and even one 3″ CD.
Thanks for watching this show, which might take you two viewings to finish, but that’s it – that’s the B section, done n’ dusted.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 74: The “B” Section with Johnny Metal
Johnny Metal Homework is back for the third week in a row, to grab some stacks of rock! As a sequel to our “A” section show, this time we are diving into some killer “B’s”. You’ll be seeing my Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, and yes…Blaze Bayley. This episode will exclude box sets which have been shown off before on their own dedicated episodes. CDs only; no vinyl, cassettes or 8-tracks on this week’s episode.
John says it won’t be as crazy this time (no 74 CDs from a Christian parody band), but it will be heavy! The big section is loaded with “Big” bands (Wreck, Sugar, House), and plenty of “Black” (Sabbath, Country Communion, Label Society, Star Riders, Jack). Let’s take a deep dive into some Japanese imports, rarities, and heavy hitters.
Join us live!
Friday October 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
Johnny Metal earned a new nickname tonight: Johnny Homework! His meticulous research and notes provided a solid backbone of knowledge on which we arranged an awesome discussion. The topic: the now-classic Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind!
Together with Uncle Meat and Dan from Off the Charts, we tried to cover every aspect that we love about this movie. We went deep on the following topics:
The cast
Additionally, we looked at CDs, vinyl, and a very nice songbook from Johnny Homework. Gotta get that physical product in.
Thanks for joining us!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 73: A Mighty Wind Appreciation, with Dan Chartrand, Uncle Meat & Johnny Metal
In 2003, Christopher Guest unveiled his third improv comedy movie, following Waiting For Guffman (1996) and Best In Show (2000). While each film has its focus (a small town play; a dog show), it was 2003’s A Mighty Wind that “tapped” into the spirit of music that made Guest a fan favourite in the first place. This time it’s folk music!
The Folksmen are a fictional folk band that actually opened for Guest’s “other” band, Spinal Tap. Ironically, all three members are the same: Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Together with Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) and the New Main Street Singers (Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley et. al.), the bands have reunited for a big folk show in New York City. As he often does, Fred Willard stole the show in this film.
This hilarious comedy boasts an incredible soundtrack of originals and one cover (“Start Me Up”), and tonight I’ll be joined again by Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat to discuss it. With them will be John “Johnny Metal” Clauser, who has wanted to do this topic with us for some time now.
You might not be as family with A Mighty Wind as you were with This Is Spinal Tap, but you won’t regret spending an hour with us tonight. It may not be heavy metal, but good music is good music, and this soundtrack is loaded with great songs. Join us tonight!
Friday October 4 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight. The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music. It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t. Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.
Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds. Here’s what we tackled:
Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional. We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject. I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night. We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing. Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”? I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind. In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.
Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances. Thank you Peter! And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.
I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show. Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package. I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.
One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers: Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025. How do you feel about this? Let us know in the comments. I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea. The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.
Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below. This is one I’ll be watching over again.
NEXT WEEK: A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!
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Episode 72: 40 Years of Spinal Tap: The Music with Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat
Tonight we’re gonna rock ya, tonight!
Formed as the Thamesmen in 1964, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins scored a hit with the single “Gimmie Some Money” / “Cups and Cakes”. The band soon employed bassist Derek Smalls. After a name change to Spinal Tap, the band wandered through progressive rock, jazz fusion, funk, reggae, hard rock, and heavy metal. In 1984 they became a household name with the release of the documentary film by Marty DiBergi, called This Is Spinal Tap. It is hard to believe it has been 40 years since that film brought Tap to the silver screen.
Tonight, Contrarians Marco D’Auria and new face Dan Chartrand will join Uncle Meat and I, as we Tap into the history of this great band’s music.
From rock and roll (“Gimme Some Money”) to hippie flower power (“Listen to What the Flower People Say”, “Rainy Day Sun”) to heavy metal (“Stonehenge”), few bands have struggled to find a direction like Spinal Tap has. Now with DiBergi back on board, the band are primed to release a new documentary film on their more recent exploits. Our panel tonight will try to avoid talking about the drama (puppet shows, air force bases, girlfriends) and focus on the music. And what music it is! Nigel Tufnel is one of the most critically acclaimed guitar players in the world, not just for volume but also for pioneering the art of double his guitar solos with voice. David St. Hubbins is such a legendary lead singer, that Ronnie James Dio wouldn’t allow him to sing lead on Hear N’ Aid’s “Stars” for fear of breaking the board. And Derek Smalls? His solo album Smalls Change proves he’s not a one-trick moustached pony.
Join us tonight, and Tap into the music of Spinal Tap.
Friday September 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
Apologies to those who missed the beginning of today’s show; we decided to go early by 15 minutes.
Thank you for joining this fun Friday hangout! Jex and I both had stacks of CDs to show off, as well an an 8-track tape, a “gas station cassette”, and some vinyl. Recent arrivals, gifts and thrift finds were on hand today.
Additionally, we offered our opinions of the current goings-on with P. Diddy aka Puff Daddy. This discussion came by request of my mother. Jex and I avoid details but have some thoughts on a couple Diddy-related movies we enjoyed.
If you watch from the beginning of the show, you will see me land my drone live on the LakeCam. Yes that’s right – LakeCam was back on Grab A Stack of Rock with more wildlife sightings than ever before!
Thanks for watching! See you next week at 7:00 PM for Spinal Tap with Marco D’Auria and the Meat Man.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 71: The Last Hurrah – One More Cottage Afternoon Show of 2024 with Jex Russell
It is fall! The summer 2024 season of Grab A Stack of Rock rolls to a conclusion.
If all goes well, Jex and I will ring out cottage season just as we rang it in: With an afternoon episode of Grab A Stack of Rock! There has been a lot (a lot!) going on with both of us lately, so this will not be a big list show or a gigantic show-and-tell. This is just your chance to come and chill with Jex and I on a Friday afternoon at the cottage. We do have CDs, and I have some vinyl to show off. An unboxing, some new music, and some conversation starters!
As always, the comments will be on, and we will be chatting with you, live. The plan is for a relaxing atmosphere to end the week, and plenty of musical talk. Maybe even some current events…
Join us live to take part; if not you can check it out on YouTube or Facebook after the fact!
Here’s to an awesome 2024 cottage season, as short as it felt. Thanks Jex for making this happen two years in a row. Fear not; we have lots of fall rock action in store, and a winter season to come!
Friday September 20 at 4:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 5:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
This was a fun show to do. Recorded at the cottage in the summer, Tim and I had a look at the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart, for September 14, 1974. There were plenty of head-scratchers and a few well-known hits. Tim provided the education, all I did was read the listings! Even so, a majorly fun episode to do. Here’s what Tim had to say:
Mr. Lebrain is back and we REWIND the CHARTS back an even half century. We discuss the most popular songs in Canada on this date in 1974.
mikeladano.com 