Videos

Ending the Season in Style: One More Cottage Afternoon Show of 2024 with Jex Russell on Grab A Stack of Rock

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.

The Last Hurrah: One More Cottage Afternoon Show of 2024 with Jex Russell on Grab A Stack of Rock

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

UPDATED – WE ARE GOING LIVE EARLY – 3:45 est / 4:45 atlantic

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!

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 558: Canadian Top 100 Singles September 14, 1974 with Mike Ladano

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.

That’s the “A” Section! Our CD Collections with John Clauser from My Music Corner

74 CDs of a Christian parody bands called the ApologetiX?  That’s just a taste of what you get when you go through the “A” section of Johnny Metal’s CD collection!

Thank you John for joining me for this blast of an episode.  In under an hour, we went through a few hundred CDs from the “A” section.  Lots of Christian rock from Johnny, as well as Anthrax, Armored Saint and obscure bands I’ve never heard of before!  Of course we had plenty of AC/DC between us.  My stack went from Lee Aaron to Autograph.

The Aerosmith section dominated the show, with plenty of CD singles (including 3″), Japanese imports, a DualDisc, EPs, a bootleg and lots of limited collector’s editions.  My AC/DC collection also included 3″ CDs, DualDiscs and bootlegs.  Johnny and I showed off our Australian AC/DC albums, but not the same ones!  We also saw Abba, Ryan Adams (with jokes from Pete Jones on the sidelines), some Jazz, and a few very rare coloured jewel cases.

Of note:  We were drinking tonight, but things did not get out of hand!

Thanks for watching everyone…it means the world to me.

The “A” Section – Our CD Collections with John Clauser from My Music Corner

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 70:  The “A” Section with Johnny Metal

Back to basics this week:  we are literally showing off stacks of rock!  With the CD collection being re-alphabetized, and with Johnny Clauser currently tackling the Accept albums on his music corner of the world, let’s dive into the “A” section!

CDs only this week.  Let’s have a look at complete collections of AC/DC, Aerosmith and more!  Lee Aaron, Accept, A.S.A.P., Alice In Chains…we’ll look at the whole section of my collection tonight.  John will be bringing in select items from his.

Join us live!

Friday September 13 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

VIDEO: Mike Plays a Crappy Game of Pac-Man (Plug and Play)

I wanted to play a game of Ms. Pac-Man for this video, but it appears my Plug and Play did not survive the winter.  This is a real shame since it also had Pole Position and Dig Dug on it.  It will be difficult to replace, as it was a version that came with a cartridge slot.  Alas, replace it I must.  These used to be cheap, $20 to $25 at Toys R Us.

In this video, I played a regular version of Pac-Man.  I didn’t do too badly for being so out of practice, but you’ll see a couple spots where I got frustrated.

 

An 8-track Holy Grail, a Marillion box set, and a Saga at its end, with Tim Durling and Aaron KMA – Grab A Stack of Rock Special Edition!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike, Aaron KMA and Tim Durling

Special Edition Episode:  An 8 Track Holy Grail & More

This video is years in the making.  More than just an “unboxing” video, this is a fun and informative episode that documents one man’s journey to collect his favourite bands on obsolete formats, and another man’s ability to find them.

About four years ago, Aaron provided Tim with a rare 8-track tape that he needed for his collection.  Another one of Aaron’s tapes went to Martin Popoff.  But there was one tape that Tim needed to “complete” a specific collection.  And this summer, Aaron found that one too.  He just has a knack for it, and it seems appropriate that it was Aaron who found this last tape.  There’s a story that goes with it, and three tapes that went to me as well!

“Complete” is in quotes, because this video is far more than just an unboxing video.  This is a philosophical (and fun) discussion about 8-track tapes, collecting, and genuine Australian bubble wrap.  We discuss breaks in the middle of tracks, altered track listings, and for good measure, a little bit about vintage Star Wars toys.  We also speculate on one tape that may still be out there, but remains unknown.

This episode is in two parts.  It begins with Aaron and I unboxing three beautiful 8-track tapes, and a number of birthday gifts.  Also inside that box was Tim’s tape, which I mailed immediately to New Brunswick.  The video cuts and picks up with Tim, ready to open his treasure in front of the cameras.

 

Ranked! ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier

Whew!  That was a rock marathon, but Ryan and I crossed the finish line with a complete ranking of all the Deep Purple studio albums (excluding the covers album Turning to Crime).  This was not an easy task.  We both immersed ourselves fully in the music all week.  In the end, some albums struck us harder than others.  While our Top Fives were both very similar, but the rest of the lists were widely varied.

Thank you to Ryan Gavalier for this awesome jump through the Deep Purple catalogue.  Not only was it an electrfying week of music, but it was also a week for re-appraisal.  I always knew my first and last albums, but the middle was quite fluid.

While we did attempt to spend a good deal of time discussing each album, we really only scratched the surface.  The best thing to do would be for you to check out the music yourself.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you tomorrow for another episode of Grab A Stack of Rock (Special Editon).  Stay tuned!

My list can be seen at the bottom of this post by highlighting the hidden text.

 

22  The Book of Taleisyn (1968)

21 Shades Of (1968)

20 Abandon (1998)

19 The Battle Rages On (1993)

18 The House of Blue Light (1987)

17 Rapture of the Deep (2005)

16 Bananas (20030

15 Slaves and Masters (1990)

14 InFinite (2017)

13 =1

12 Who Do We Think We Are! (1973)

11 Deep Purple (1969)

10 NOW What?! (2013)

9 Burn (1974)

8 Come Taste the Band (1975)

7 Whoosh (2020)

6 Stormbringer (1974)

5 Machine Head (1972)

4 Perfect Strangers (1984)

3 Purpendicular (1996)

2 In Rock (1970)

1 Fireball (1971)

 

Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier – live tonight at 8:00 PM

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 69: Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier

Please welcome Ryan Gavalier from Gavalier Productions for his show debut!  We have been wanting to work together for about a year now.  For Ryan’s first topic, he went big:  we are tackling the complete Deep Purple studio albums and ranking them.  (We are excluding the covers album Turning to Crime, and the Concerto since it was a live album.)  That’s 21 albums, so buckle up.  We are giving you extra this long Labour Day weekend.

Both Ryan and I have spent the last week listening to Deep Purple, in chronological order.  I always knew what my first pick would be, and I knew my last pick from the start.  Now, it is a matter of filling in the blanks.

Be sure to join Ryan and I live, as you’ll want to play along in the comments.  See you then!

Sunday September 1 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 553: Salute to AEROSMITH! TOP 5 Albums from the Bad Boys of Boston [VIDEO]

Today August 26 at 3:00 PM EST!

 

Aerosmith have called it a day, at least insofar as playing live is concerned.  While we know a series of reissues is coming, it is likely that Aerosmith are done as an active band.  I never got to see them live, but at least I did get to participate in this great Top Five album ranking with Tim, Jex and Will!  (The same team that did a “least favourite Kiss list last year.)

The task was simple:  Pick our top five Aerosmith albums, and two runners-up.  This time, Jex didn’t go wild and pick, like, Just Push Play as his #1.  In fact we think these lists were pretty rock solid!  Some lesser-appreciated albums were given love, and the “big ones” were well represented.  Studio only, no live or compilations.

Please enjoy this show as much as we enjoyed making it.