Wanna see what I got for Christmas in video form? Check that out and a whole bunch of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions viewers’ gifts too. The TVC episode below features the gift of music in the year 2024. My segment is roughly 3:00 long. Have a great new year everyone! Here is what Tim has to say below.
Whether it’s a fun and easy episode, or a challenging deep dive, I always enjoy sitting in with Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation. Peter has been on a roll lately with a great viral interview with former Motley Crue singer John Corabi. Congrats Peter on that great chat!
In this episode, we break down the best song and worst song from every Motley Crue album. Joining us were Joe B. and Melissa Nee, with whom we also tackled Theater of Pain. They found this episode a challenge, as they were forced to listen to a lot of albums that might have been a big of a slog. However we all did our duties! As we go through the songs, you also get a sense of our album ranking too, though we didn’t do an official tally. There was some consensus, a little disagreement, and overall a sense of relief to be finished this exercise!
And yes…once again, I sing on another person’s channel. How long before I’m blacklisted for singing? And swearing? And quoting bad lyrics?
I also go on a massive rant regarding the Generation Swine album that makes for good TV.
40 years ago today was one of the most pivotal in my life. It was the day I discovered Iron Maiden. It was the day my life changed forever, and I found my new identity. Star Wars was over a long time, and I was 12. Time to grow up. Heavy Metal was around the corner. On this day, December 26, 1984.
RECORD STORE TALES PART 1: The Beginning – “Run To The Hills”
I still remember the first time I heard Iron Maiden.
Maybe it’s this way for some when they remember the first time they heard the Beatles, or the Stones. Or for those younger, maybe it’s like the first time they heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Fake Plastic Trees”. The first time I heard “Run To The Hills” was monumental to me, but I didn’t realize yet what the massive impact would be.
It was Christmas of 1984. I was a mere 12 year old looking for musical direction. I hadn’t been much interested in music prior to that. I had albums by Quiet Riot and Styx, but my majority of my collection was John Williams’ movie soundtracks.
I really wasn’t interested in music yet. I had yet to dedicate myself to any particular style. At the same time that I would listen to Quiet Riot, I somehow also thought Billy Ocean was cool.
Well, the video for “Loverboy” was nifty….
I had always been kinda afraid of heavy metal bands. Guys that wore spikes, like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Kiss literally scared me when I was buying my first comics (there were always ads for Kiss posters inside comic books), and I know I wasn’t the only one. The neighbor kid was scared to death of Gene Simmons spitting up blood. Bands like Maiden and Priest looked like a bunch of hooligans, definitely up to no good, definitely out to hurt people, including kids.
Boxing Day, Bob came over. It was tradition, every Boxing Day, Bob and I would get together and compare our Christmas scores. Bob scored a cassette tape called Masters Of Metal Volume 2 and I was given an Atari game called Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron.
In my basement, we sat down to play the video game. Our goal was to take the game as far as humanly possible, to see what happened when you shot down so many planes that the Atari didn’t have enough characters to display it anymore. (Incidentally, disappointingly, like most Atari games, it just starts counting up from zero again.) We sat there playing that game so long that Bob had to go home and eat lunch, then come back. But what he left behind while eating was Masters Of Metal.
“Run To The Hills” came on. Some people speak of moments of clarity: That was my moment. The music was fast, powerful, dramatic and melodic. The lyrics were cool and you could mostly sing along. Most importantly, the music and lyrics seemed to combine with the game experience. When Dickinson was singing “Run to the hills, run for your lives!” it meshed perfectly! Too bad Aces High wasn’t out yet!
A moment like that could quickly pass into history and be forgotten for most people. As the day wore on, I realized that I had found something. This music kicked ass! I was brought up on movie soundtracks. This stuff had the same drama, but with guitars! This was even better than Quiet Riot and AC/DC, so I said at the time.
It didn’t end there of course. We played through Masters Of Metal, finding a few more diamonds. “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” By Judas Priest was definitely a close second to “Run To The Hills”. We were fixated on Accept’s “Balls To The Wall”. We’d play it over and over again laughing hysterically at the lyrics. But the song still rocked! I can still remember when MuchMusic started the Power Hour, and they played that video. There’s little Udo Dirkscheider, in his camo pants, and crew cut, rocking with these skinny German guys with long hair. It was fucking hilarious!
We skipped (what we then thought was) the crap…Lee Aaron, Anvil, Triumph. I grew into them later, particularly Triumph. Something to do with double guitars, maybe. I digress. We always came back to Iron Maiden. Always.
Bob would bring other tapes over as the months and years went by. W.A.S.P., Motley Crue, Black Sabbath. Now Bob’s a father of four who doesn’t listen to rock music anymore, which makes me sad in a way. I’m not sad for him, because he’s got a great family and always has. I’m more sad because I don’t think he can ever appreciate what impact our shared experiece of rocking out had on me. Listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and the rest. The was it, the beginning.
Merry Christmas! Here is a special set of 24 videos, one for each day on Lego’s Spiderman Advent Calendar.
MARVEL LEGO SPIDERMAN ADVENT CALENDAR 2024
I used to enjoy candy Advent calendars as a kid, since they helped us pass the boring December days a bit. As an adult, I enjoy them as something to look forward to during a December at the office. Regardless of motive, I didn’t enjoy the Lego Star Wars calendars as much. Too many fragile mini-ship builds.
I thought I’d give Spiderman a try in 2024, and I enjoyed this one a lot more. There were a lot of parts and settings that might work well in future customs. It could work as a “Christmas village” of sorts. There were come cool minifigs and accessories. Lots of webbing to play with, and a lot of spare parts.
As for value? These packages are not cheap, so don’t expect a lot of parts for your money. What you will get are some rarer minifig parts like an ugly Christmas sweater and a neat Spider-Gwen, not to mention her drum kit.
The best of 2024 in rock and pop was on showcase this week on Grab A Stack of Rock. Tim Durling, Harrison Kopp and special surprise guest Uncle Meat brought their Top Fives and runners-up in this fun and action packed show.
What did you miss? Well, shirtless Jex for one. That one even scared off Peter Kerr, but did result in some pretty hilarious comments.
The comments section was lively, and if you want to catch Johnny Metal’s Top Five of 2024, his were in the comments section which I put on screen. Meanwhile, there was some minimal repetition, and actually less than I expected. Mr. Big, Deep Purple, Jon Anderson and Bruce Dickinson were among the artists who scored two hits on tonight’s lists. There was plenty of love for other artists’ new albums such of Opeth, Paul Di’Anno, Blaze Bayley (of course) and Arkells.
We also took a look at three books that I enjoyed in 2024 – two of them by Mr. Durling!
A fun, passionate and laugh-filled 90 minutes of music appreciation awaits you below.
See you December 31 at 9:00 PM EST for a drop in New Years Eve party!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 82: Ranked: Top Five Albums of 2024 with Harrison and Tim Durling
2024 was another fantastic year in music. From new music from legacy bands, to great reissues and live albums, to new music by newer bands, we saw it and heard it all in 2024.
What were your Top Five Albums of 2024? Leave them in the comments, or drop them in the live chat tonight, as Harrison, Tim and I talk Top Five Albums of 2024. I am always personally limited by what I was able to buy and what I had to miss in a given year. For example, last year I didn’t get Blame My Ex by the Beaches in time to make my list. This year, unfortunately Blaze Bayley didn’t make it into my inventory in time, nor did the new live Ghost. However, they may appear on other lists.
Join Tim, Harrison and myself tonight live at 7:00 PM EST to take part in the fun. Spirits will be high, and I may be drinking alcohol. We’ll just have to see what happens! Remember to let us know your own Top Five in the comments section.
Let the fun begin!
Friday December 20 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Today’s challenge comes again from the mind of Martin Popoff. Pick two bands – and swap their album covers! For example, Martin went with Uriah Heep and XTC. I chose two bands that are a little more similar. This was by far the most challenging list to date. We could do one way swaps, or two way swaps – I chose two ways, all the way. I like a challenge. It seemed do-able, so I went for it.
For those keeping track, this is my tenth week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
Tune in tonight and comment! Martin always tries to address the comment section.
THE CONTRARIANS – They Swapped Covers! – Wed. December 18 – 7:00 PM EST
Sad Wings of Destiny for Cross Purposes
Fairly obvious – the wings of the angel works for Sad Wings, and the angel on Sad Wings is holding the Judas Priest cross.
Black Sabbath for Angel of Retribution
The haunting woman on the Sabbath cover could be our “angel of retribution”. Meanwhile, if that Priest angel had been on an album called Black Sabbath, I sure would think my doom was at hand. His cross gesture with his arms works with the religious connotations of the word “Sabbath”.
Never Say Die for Hell Bent For Leather
The pilots outfits must have leather in them. Meanwhile, the mask/face/helmet concept on Leather evokes a Never Say Die attitude.
Jugulator for Dehumanizer
Two robotic characters, who cares which is which? The robotic reaper could be a Jugulator, and the Jugulator could be a Dehumanizer. Who knows!
Paranoid for Stained Class
The sword in the head sure works for Paranoid! Meanwhile, the sword guy is abstract enough that it could go with Stained Class just as well as a chrome head.
Technical Ecstasy for Turbo
Look at the turbo cover and tell me that’s not some technical ecstasy. Meanwhile, the robots on the Sabbath cover could be turbo charged in a very 1970s way.
Hero Hero for Tyr
The barbarian on Hero Hero can surely represent The Battle of Tyr, from the Tyr album. He’s not a Viking, but close enough for heavy metal, right? Meanwhile the Tyr cover is astract enough to be called Hero Hero, I guess.
Heaven and Hell for Point of Entry
Point of Entry – the sky is heaven, and that eternal strip of printer paper surely is hell! Meanwhile, the angels are smoking – their point of entry to bad behaviour!
Forbidden for Ram It Down
The reaper on the cover of Forbidden needs to ram all those ghosts back down that hole! Meanwhile, the fist pounding the Earth just screams the word FORBIDDEN to me!
Born Again for Redeemer of Souls
I’m really really stretching it here. That baby definitely needs its soul redeemed. And that redeemer of souls…if he’s redeeming souls, doesn’t that make them Born Again?
Today at 4:00 PM EST, join Tim Durling and I as we talk about Sammy Hagar’s followup to VOA: I Never Said Goodbye, or just plain Sammy Hagar. It all depends on when you bought it, but Tim breaks the story down for you in this episode.
We go through the album track by track, take a look at a rare B-side, and evaluate our favourites and least favourites. A lot of this album still sounds great, some less so. Have a watch. Here’s what Tim had to say about this episode:
Grab A Stack of Rock is back! Mike and I talk about Sammy’s final studio album in ten years. As usual, our opinions converge and also diverge.
Tonight’s topic comes from the mind of Martin Popoff. The rock and roll wordsmith has plenty of good ideas, but 10 Worst Album Covers by 10 Favourite Bands is kind of a double whammy. Not only does it give us a chance to showcase some bad album art, but it also allows us to list our 10 favourite bands. This will be a fun, fun night.
For those keeping track, this is my eighth week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
mikeladano.com 