GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 61: Top Five Albums After a Long Gap, with Metal Roger and John Clauser
‘Twas Metal Roger who suggested this week’s topic. What are our Top Five Albums after a Long Gap? Well, Chinese Democracy is an obvious example, but there are many more, ecpecially from the last decade or two. It took 24 years for The Who to release a new album (Endless Wire) and then another 13 years to release the followup Who. For the sake of this exercise, we are arbitrarily saying at minimum, at least a five year wait to qualify an album for this list.
Joining us will be Johnny Clauser from My Music Corner, which is doubly good since Roger has no physical product to show off for his picks! (Come on, Roger!) I have eight picks and have to narrow it down to five, which I will probably do at the last minute.
This will also be John and Roger’s first shows at the cottage. We hope for clear weather and chipmunks! Join us live in the comments. We love to talk to the audience!
Friday May 31 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Last summer was different. I felt like I had something to prove. I lost the co-host that was responsible for the lion’s share of my views, and I wanted to pivot back to music. Grab A Stack of Rock was envisioned as an “easy” show, where I didn’t have to do any prep or homework. I was ready to work hard again and I think we did that. We brought back lists and deep dives and the show was so much better for it.
This year is a little different in another way, which is my old co-hosts are occupied. Harrison is busy focusing on his health. Other co-hosts have their own shows now. Others still are focusing on family. I can’t blame them for that. In a way, my show has been a bit like the Alice Cooper backing band. Just as he launched the careers of Kip Winger and many more, my show has launched others into the Youtube-sphere. That show out of Thunder Bay Ontario wouldn’t exist without my rocket boosters. With that in mind, I think this summer will be something of a slowdown.
This week we’re back at the cottage with John Clauser and Metal Roger. It’ll be their first cottage show.
What will the summer bring? Fewer shows perhaps, but Grab A Stack of Rock will still continue, perhaps with a few different faces that we didn’t have last summer. Some familiar ones as well. Grant from the Rock Warehaus wants to hang out on the front porch again this summer. I’m also thinking of doing a midnight outdoors show. We’ll see what the summer has in store, but one thing I don’t need to do is prove anything to anyone. We did that last year and we’re better off for it.
Park Avenue leads to…SKID ROW! But Skid Row leads to Grant’s Rock Warehaus!
This week on Grant’s Rock Warehaus, we talk about a band that Grant has been digging seriously for the last several weeks, ever since seeing former singer Sebastian Bach on an 80’s cruise. We don’t talk just Bach. We tackle the Johnny Solinger years, the unfortunate tale of Erik Grönwall’s short stint, and of course, current lead singer Lzzy Hale. Take a look at my Skid Row collection, including The Atlantic Years box set (unboxing!), my original 1991 vinyl of Slave to the Grind, my Japanese Best of Skid Row, and a rare promo single from 1995.
Grant and I tried to cover as much ground as possible. Album artwork is discussed, and a few underdog records are praised. I tried to highlight what I think are some incredible and underrated ballads that might be forgotten in the shadow of “I Remember You”. We shone a light on the talent of all the members, and questioned what they could have done differently through their career. Leading to the present day, we have some suggestions for Skid Row about their future and reissues we want to see happen.
It’s all here, on Grant’s Rock Warehaus with your host, Grant Arthur!
Thank you once again Nurse Kat for coming on Grab A Stack of Rock to talk about a band we both love: Hamilton Ontario’s Arkells. It isn’t her first time, as last year we did a show focusing largely on her 13 concert experiences (now 20). Check out Nurse Kat’s first show by clicking here!
This time, we did a deep dive. We went album by album, from Jackson Square to today: the brand new release, Disco Loadout Volume One. If I do say so myself, I think this is the most comprehensive Arkells deep dive you will find.
My friend D’Arcy Briggs was unable to attend the show, but he provided ample notes and we presented his views on each album in the form of short videos. Additionally, we ran excerpts with commentary of three Arkells music videos: “Oh, the Boss is Coming”, “All Roads”, and “Past Life”, which allow us to view the evolution of the band.
Show highlights:
Concert stories with Kat, including a brilliant one about a port-a-potty in a rainstorm whilst the band played “A Little Rain”.
Favourite songs from each and every album.
A discussion on the music, artwork, and lyrics of the Arkells.
What is a “Michigan Left”?
First impressions on Disco Loadout.
A heartwarming Kopp cameo.
That’s right. The Mad Metal Man himself, who also ordered Disco Loadout, made a brief cameo at the end of our show, and we love him for it. I missed my Mad Metal Man.
Thank yous:
Nurse Kat for spending your time with us instead of Bob’s Burgers.
Harrison Kopp for saying hello.
Chris and Mark at Encore Records for saving the day and getting me the new album when Canada Post lost it.
Next week is a re-run of Top Five Bald Artists. Speaking of which, I may look a little different this week. Spot the change!
My notes:
Jackson Square – 2008
Deadlines – heaviest tune?
Oh the Boss is Coing!
Ballad of Hugo Chavez – “Night of the sun”
Heart of the City – anthemic
The Blueprint – sounds awesome a-capella
Michigan Left – 2011
Book Club
Michigan Left
Coffee
Bloodlines
Whistleblower
High Noon – 2014
Too many good songs to mention, but has the best first three song opening of any Arkells album. Add in Leather Jacket and we have a winner
Morning Report – 2016
Too many good songs! Knocking at the Door, Hung Up, Making Due, My Heart’s Always Yours, Savannah, Passenger Seat, A Little Rain, And Then Some
Rally Cry – 2018 – sudden change in cover art style, more political than personal lyrics
Hand Me Downs, but the version with Frank Turner is even better
American Screams
Campfire Chords – 2020
Three new songs: Years In The Making, Quitting You, A Little More
Blink Once – 2021
All Roads
Strong
Nobody Gets Me Like You Do
Years In The Making
Arm In Arm
Blink Twice – 2022
Past Life (Cold War Kids)
Teenage Tears (Tegan & Sara)
Nowhere To Go w/ Wesley Schultz (Lumineers) & Jake Clemons
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 60: Disco Loadout! The Arkells Discography Ranked!
Please welcome back superfan Nurse Kat, returning to discuss the Arkells one more time! Last time she was on, she talked about seeing the band 13 times in an 18 month span. Now, a year later, I wonder how many more times she’s caught the band live?
The occasion? Today’s release of the new covers album Disco Loadout Vol. 1, featuring songs by Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel, Abba, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston among others! The Arkells have always had a knack for covers, and today they put their money where their mouths are with their first full-on covers album. Our copy is pre-ordered and we hope to have it in hand to show tonight.
Kat and I will be talking favourite songs, from album to album, and then I will attempt to rank all 10. A daunting task; I will not be relying on my written reviews for this job. I will listen to them all with fresh ears and try to figure out a ranking. We will even be running clips from our favourite videos.
Tune in tonight for the epic of Arkells appreciation!
Friday May 17 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 5:00 P.M. Pacific. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
And the Oscar for Best Music Video Re-enactment goes to: JEX RUSSELL!
Folks, Jex could not make it to the show live tonight, but he prepared his list in advance and appeared by video. And folks…Jex knocked it out of the park this week. That’s all I’m going to say. Jex also provided physical product in the shape of vinyl for his picks.
Between Jex, Dr. Kathryn and I, we ended up covering some of the best music videos for:
Canadian content
Impact and influence
Cool factor
Mid-80s metal icons
Pop classics
Obscure gems
What we didn’t cover, the comments section did! Thank you for watching and commenting on this show. On a personal note, this was a technical challenge this week as I had to manage 21 individual video files for presentation, but fortunately it went off with very few glitches!
If you watch only one thing today, watch Jex Russell’s #1 pick.
See you next week with D’Arcy Briggs and Nurse Kat as we celebrate the release of the new Arkells album Disco Loadout!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 59: Top Five Music Videos From Our Childhoods
This show is a little different, and has been in the planning stages since February. Tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock, we present to you our Top Five Music Videos from our childhoods! Dr. K will be in the special panel tonight, with Jex Russell providing his list but unavailable to go live. This particular grouping is interesting, because Dr. K and I grew up during the dawn of MuchMusic, but Jex Russell is a little younger and grew up with a completely different set of music videos.
Either way: nostalgia on tap tonight!
Here’s the new twist: Normally we show off physical product on our show. It is called “grab a stack of rock”, after all. This time, the stacks of rock will be in the form of short video clips from each of our picks, that we will show and comment over tonight! I have personally edited these clips myself, and if all goes well, this should be a lot of fun. We are all psyched to see how this works.
Wish us luck tonight as we try something new! Either way, you can expect lots of laughs, some music history, and some cool music videos! Tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock!
Friday May 10 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Hot on the heels of the fallout from our Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years critique, I was invited back on Peter Kerr’s Rock Daydream Nation along with John Clauser and Steve Deluxe, to review the debut album by Tuff. I’d never heard What Comes Around Goes Around before, so it was a little “tuff” for me to get up to speed with the other guys. I listened to the album intensely for a week, and then we recorded this show. It is a show of which I am extremely proud.
The goal here was to be fair and honest. I think we were. I will tell you one thing: one of our panel members went in with a negative perspective, but had it changed after playing the album today. I highly recommend you check out this excellent episode. Even if you don’t like the band Tuff, or the hair metal genre in general, what we have here is a thoughtful and sometimes hilarious discussion about music that, for a little while at least, was one of the most popular genres in the world.
This is what Peter has to say about the show.
Rock Daydream Nation featuring John Clauser (My Music Corner), Michael Ladano (Grab a Stack of Rock) and Steve Deluxe (Rock and Metal Invasion) talk about Hair Metal in the 90s and specifically the Tuff debut album What Comes Around Goes Around (1991)…
For those who like it saltier, stay tuned for my written review which goes up tomorrow. It’s a little spicy.
Thank you to Todd Evans and Uncle Meat for a full two hour extravaganza of Marillion love! Despite some connection issues, the Meat Man persevered and brought with him an interesting and sometimes surprising list for his Top 11 Marillion albums of all time.
Only three albums did not get listed by anyone. Others appeared on all three lists. In fact, all of us picked the exact same #11.
One thing is clear: Each of us has an emotional connection to these records that we picked. The music is personal. It’s important to our personal history. There was a lot of love for all eras of Marillion on this night. Highlights:
Discussions on the making of certain records, such as Holidays in Eden and Seasons End.
Marillion’s knack for epic closers.
Concept albums, double albums, and live albums.
One album that made a list that isn’t technically a studio album.
Moments that make your skin vibrate.
Love for later albums including a lot of praise for An Hour Before It’s Dark and Marbles.
The mid-show break was a music video by Jacob Moon: his cover of “Kayleigh”.
Sounds that can’t be made, and songs that should have been on the albums.
Remix albums and EPs.
Bonus tracks, B-sides and box sets.
and one vintage 2004 Front Row Club t-shirt!
Please enjoy this excellent love letter to Marillion, with lots of physical product on three formats (cassettes, CD and vinyl). Thank you for watching!
Next week: We are back at the cottage with another list show: Top 5 Childhood Music Videos with Jex and Dr. K!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 58: Marillion Ranked! Top 11 Marillion with Todd Evans and Uncle Meat
It has been almost a decade since we’ve ranked the Marillion albums, and Meat only did five back then. Now we’re doing 11, and we’re doing them with the Contrarian that may know them best: please welcome Todd Evans to the show!
I know that my list will not be the same as the one I did in 2015. I have a strong feeling of Meat’s top six, but beyond that? Your guess is as good mine! As for Todd? I expect nothing less than intelligent and thoughtful picks from this veteran Contrarian.
Marillion is a band I’ve been passionate about for half my life, but this is the first time we’ve ever covered the band on either the LeBrain Train or Grab A Stack of Rock. Be there for this historic show, and as always we will be chatting in the comments!
Friday May 3 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
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