Videos

Rock Daydream Nation: Decline of Western Civilization – Metal Rock Documentary or a Hoax?

Documentary, or mockumentary?

It was truly an honour to be invited back onto Rock Daydream Nation to discuss to infamous “documentary” film The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years directed by Penelope Spheeris.  This deep discussion went right to the hotspot scenes we still talk about today:  Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Ozzy, and a parade of airheads wanting to be rock stars.

It’s not a flattering look at the Hollywood metal scene in 1987-88.  The cavalcade of cartoon characters rolled out largely range from jerkoffs to misogynist douchebags.  Our panel takes the position that Spheeris set up most scenes to portray the genre and its artists in a negative light.  We discuss the portrayal of women in the film and hard rock, as well as the alleged staging of controversial scenes.

The panel:  a seasoned septuplet of rock experts comprised of:

Kudos to Reed Little for gleaning the value of rarely-revealed financial data, of being a hard rock band on the road in the 80s, from the film.  Brilliant observations and research here from Reed.  We also asked questions such as:  where were Guns N’ Roses?  What happened to Odin?  Is Ozzy unable to pour a glass of OJ for himself, and what’s with the raw bacon?  Each panel member brought something from their own unique perspectives to the discussion.

Special attention was paid to the Chris Holmes pool scene.  Is it exploitation?  A cry for help?  Partially or completely staged?  What was the impact upon W.A.S.P.’s career from that point onwards?  We had W.A.S.P. expert John Clauser on hand to give that issue a close look.  Peter Kerr pointed out that the pool scene haunts Chris to this day, as it inevitably comes up in every interview he does.  I talk about the impact of seeing the first rock star that I ever liked sitting in that pool, and how it affected me.

We looked back upon our first impressions of the film back in the day, our feelings in 2024, and memorable scenes.  From Poison, London, Aerosmith and Faster Pussycat, there’s a lot of hair to wade through.   Please give this show a watch – we are all very proud of it.

2 Much Music? on Grab A Stack of Rock! Mike’s CD Collection

Wanna see that “Holy Grail” CD I spent $300 Canadian for in 2001?  Then check out this episode.  This week’s CD show & tell is for fans of Metallica, Alice Cooper, The Four Horsemen, Coney Hatch, The Who, Sting, The Police, Pink Floyd, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Rock Candy, deluxe reissues with bonus tracks, jazz, Japanese imports, Canadian content, and Guns N’ Roses!

Revisit memories of the Mike Bullard show, and Mrs. LeBrain’s Mom.  Find ingenius way to make your own 2 CD deluxe editions.  See Rorschach blots on two different albums.  Hear about Listening stations and recommendations from Martin Popoff.  Listen to me rant about having to buy multiple deluxe copies of the same CD to get “all the tracks”.  Witness amusing stories about customers who accused me of selling them “scratched up crap”.  Hear me drop a couple F-bombs.  And of course, a big thanks to those who watched last night, and a “BOOOO!” to Metal Roger who missed me razzing him over Metallica’s much maligned Lulu album!

In the spirit of the CD bonus track, if you stay tuned to the end, you’ll get to see a very cool musical instrument made of little plastic bricks….

If you missed it, enjoy this 45 minute episode below.

 

Next week:

Harrison, Jex, John Snow, Aaron and Metal Roger go LeBrainless!

Too Much Music, Part 2? on Grab A Stack of Rock! Mike’s CD Collection

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 51:  Too Much Music 2?

 

Welcome to Part 2 of “Too Much Music?”, a new solo series I’m doing here on Grab A Stack of Rock.  These are shorter, pre-recorded episodes, but the first one was popular so why not do another?  The concept is, I grab a random stack or two of CDs from my collection, show them, and discuss.  I often have no idea what I’ll be showing prior to taping.  And, sadly, there are always CDs I have not played yet.  That’s why we call this series Too Much Music!  Because this is what happens when we have too much music!

On display in this episode:

  • A stack of Metallica, standard and rare.
  • Rock Candy Coney Hatch and some Andy Curran.
  • A ton of compilations from The Who, Sting, The Police, Pink Floyd, Rainbow and more.
  • Lots of live Deep Purple.
  • Deluxe reissues with bonus tracks.
  • Some jazz.
  • Alice Cooper & a rant about Record Store Day releases.
  • Japanese imports.
  • Guns N’ Roses and a rant about reissues.
  • The Four Horsemen.
  • Canadian content:  The Beaches, The Glorious Sons, and more.
  • The “holy grail” CD that I once paid $300 Canadian for.

I hope you enjoy this special episode which goes “live” tonight at 7:00 PM E.S.T.  I try to comment along, but I can’t guarantee where I’ll be.  Please do leave some comments and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can!

Friday Feb 19 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or Twitter!!  (Facebook has been problematic of late.)

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 497: This Should Really Be On CD

One of my favourite tapings of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions dropped yesterday.  With Matt Phillips, we listed and showed our favourite albums that deserve a reissue on CD today.  These included:

  • Albums out of print on CD for 20 years, 30 years, or more.
  • Albums, cassettes and EPs never printed on CD.
  • Records that deserve the deluxe treatment.
  • Music from deluxe editions and box sets that deserve individual releases.
  • Lots, and lots, and lots of rarities.
  • A Holy Grail.

There were some solid rants, about record labels, NFTs, and snobby collectors alike.  This episode is for lovers of the CD format.  Enjoy!

Retro is the word! 80s and 90s cassettes, cassingles and beyond with Dr. Kathryn, Jex and John!

Happy 50th episode to us!  This was a special episode to me.  Watching it back now, what made last night’s show really special wasn’t so much the cassettes.  Rather, it was the stories!  The memories came flooding back as we looked at piles of cassettes from ages past.  With Dr. Kathryn’s recently exhumed cassingle collection on hand, we were joined by Jex Russell and John T. Snow for a nostalgic evening.

  • Playing “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle at a fancy wedding.
  • Buying cassingles by Van Halen in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
  • The value of Bryan Adams’ live B-sides.
  • Collecting a rare Cult cassette box set with all the extras.
  • Bands that Kathryn has seen live and owns on cassette, such as Roxette and Rod Stewart.
  • A US version of a Def Leppard single vs. the Canadian.
  • Songs/version that are still exclusive to the cassette format.
  • Whitesnake every Christmas.
  • Collecting bonus tracks on cassette and throwing temper tantrums when the CD didn’t have the bonus track.
  • Summery memories of Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Britny Fox and Poison.
  • Ratt, Dangerous Toys, “Digalog”, “Q-Sound” and more.

We also took a peak at Tri-Con in Kitchener, where Dr. Kathryn met members of the Degrassi cast, Rob Daniels, and some Mandalorians.  She had much praise for the Degrassi folks, and you’ll have to make sure you don’t miss this segment at the end.

Congratulations to Marco D’Auria, last week’s special guest, for the nomination of his film Mystique:  Standing on the Firing Line at the Canadian Independent Film Festival!  The DVD is on sale all February.

Stay tuned for John Snow’s “The Collection” starting February 20.

Bonus:  We unboxed the recent reissue of the rare Starchild album Children of the Stars (featuring Greg “Fritz” Hinz of Helix), and a recent Rock Candy reissue of Europe’s The Final Countdown with more bonus tracks than before.

Apologies to Facebook; the Streamyard streams have not been working on Facebook at all and their team is still looking into it.

See you again next week for Too Much Music Part 2!

Upcoming Schedule:

 

EPISODE 50! The Cassettes of Dr. Kathryn on Grab A Stack of Rock, with Jex Russell and John T. Snow

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Jex Russell

Episode 50:  The Cassettes of Dr. Kathryn

Welcome to the 50th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!  Special occasions require special guests.

Dr. Kathryn recently dug up her 80s cassette collection.  Like her brother, she was interested in collecting rarities and B-sides on singles.  We will see a number of cassette singles from the pop rock realm including Bryan Adams, Cheap Trick, Glass Tiger, and more.  John Snow, Jex Russell and I will also be bringing the vintage cassette tapes for this special show & tell.

Additionally we have a slideshow from Tri-Con at the Museum in Kitchener last month, where Dr. K met some celebrities from Degrassi Jr. High, and saw some cool props from Doctor Who and Star Trek.  There may have been some Mandalorian sightings as well!

Tune in tonight and take part in the comments with our special guests and cool collectibles from the 1980s.

 

Friday Feb 9 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or Facebook!

 

All About the MYSTIQUE Film: Standing On The Firing Line with Marco D’Auria

In a word: passion!  Marco D’Auria is a creator with a passion for fulfilling his artistic drives.  Since his youth, he had a passion for his uncle Ray D’Auria’s band, Mystique.  He loved the music.  He loved the history.  He wanted to bring that story to the world, and he achieved it.  The accolades are wonderful, but holding the DVD of Mystique:  Standing On The Firing Line in his hands is the real reward.

In this hour-long interview, co-host Jex Russell and I quizzed Marco on the following subjects:

  • Getting the band back together for the interviews
  • Editing down over four hours of film into 1 hour 39 minutes, and finally 95 minutes
  • Unseen footage of Martin Popoff and other interviewees
  • Unreleased music
  • Awards and movie festivals
  • Getting the new version of the film out there for you to see
  • And a February 2024 sale on the DVD, available here:  mystique-black-rider-online-store.com

The Mystique story is compelling.  The music justifies itself.  This band had potential.  There was magic happening.  The big break never quite took shape, and this film is the story of what might have been.  Nobody seems to have any regrets.  The film is warming to watch, and I recommend you check it out while the February sale is on.

Thank you Jex and Marco for an awesome Friday night.  Check Marco out at the Contrarians on Youtube!

 

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

Feb 16 – Too Much Music? 2 (pre-recorded)

Feb 23 – LeBrainless with Jex, Harrison, Roger, John Snow & Aaron

 

 

Standing On The Firing Line with Marco D’Auria: All About the MYSTIQUE Film!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Jex Russell

Episode 49:  MYSTIQUE:  Standing On The Firing Line with filmmaker Marco D’Auria

We’ve spoken to this fine gentlemen about this excellent film a couple times, so why is Marco back to talk about Mystique: Standing On The Firing Line?  The new cut of the film is in, and it is turning heads.  The new version of this rockumentary has been making the festival circuit and picking up awards!  (Couch Film Festival 2023, AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2023.)  Director Marco D’Auria is eager for you to see this film, and talk about what he has coming next.

Mystique was a Hamilton heavy metal band that released some iconic independent music such as Black Rider and I Am the King back in the 1980s.  The band never “made it” and faded into obscurity by 1989…until their old records and tapes started commanding insane prices on the collector’s market.

Why?  What is that made Mystique special?  We will delve into this with co-host Jex Russell tonight.  Marco will explain what is new about this recent cut of the film, and what he hopes to do for a re-release.  Tune in tonight!

 

Friday Feb 2 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, on Facebook!

 

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

 

 

VIDEO: The Kiss Trivia Kollection – KISS – For The Konsummate Kiss Konnoisseur – The Might and Magic of Kiss

NOTE:  Thanks to viewer LEN LABELLE, we now know this insert came in a magazine called The Might and Magic of KISS!

Here’s a late Christmas gift that got lost under a couch!  What is it?  I dunno, but it’s called The Kiss Trivia Kollection – KISS – For The Konsummate Kiss Konnoisseur and it dates back to the Crazy Nights era of Kiss.

This trivia book has black and white photos by Mark Weiss, from several eras of Kiss. There are Q&As with all four members, memorable quotes, key dates in Kisstory, and of course, trivia. There isn’t much information about where this book originated, but we take a quick look at it in the video below.

VHS Archives #142: Alice Cooper Does Toronto – From the Rooftop in 1991

Alice Cooper was back in Toronto in 1991, promoting his new album Hey Stoopid in a big way:  by playing on top of the iconic HMV building at 333 Yonge St!  Shades of Let It Be, but with long hair and mascara, Alice’s band rocked the streets below.

Cooper also spoke to MuchMusic’s Michael Williams about the new album, and collaborating with L.A. friends such as Axl Rose.  He dropped a tidbit about their new album and a certain song called “The Garden”.

There’s also a segment here of Alice meeting fans from Operation Rock N’ Roll that same year.  Check it out1