Videos

Youtubin’: Todd in the Shadows – TRAINWRECKORDS: Run-D.M.C.’s “Crown Royal”

I love getting a musical education from Todd in the Shadows!  He’s musically educated and far more knowledgeable about pop and hip-hop than I’ll ever be.

Run DMC are not my thing, and I was largely ignorant of their influence and their unique style.  Todd demonstrates their beats and importance with plenty of video clips.  But his main focus this time was their “comeback” album Crown Royal.  An album that took years to make and release, due to legal wranglings over guest appearances and DMC’s lack of involvement.  Todd conjectures that a disapproving D didn’t record a single note for this album.  He could be right.  A trainwreckord indeed, Crown Royal sounds like a desperate attempt to meet Y2k head on, and failing.  No amount of Fred Dursts or Third Eyes Blind could save this record commercially and artistically.

This was a 30 minute viewing that flew right by.  Entertaining and educational.

 

Youtubin’: Davey 504 CRUSHES Watch Mojo’s “Top Ten Hardest Bass Riffs”

Weaksauce, Watch Mojo!  Weaksauce!  Never trust non-music people to come up with decent music lists.  Is that gatekeeping?  Damn right – and Davey 504 is the gatekeeper.  There were a couple songs that he considered worthy of the list…and many he just made mincemeat of.

Watch and learn.

 

Cottage Weekend! April 28-30 2023 at Lorne Beach

Not a lot to tell this weekend.  No speeding tickets (four cop cars though!) and no glasses burned in fires.  It was a quiet, simple weekend and the video tells the whole story.  Enjoy this rainy weekend at the lake.

Surprise! RSD and Japanese Import Magic with Harrison, Kevin, Rob Daniels, John T. Snow & Jen!

First cottage show is done for the record books!

Two surprise guests made this nice extra special:  John T. Snow of 2Loud2OldMusic, and my wife Jen!  Together with Harrison, Kevin and Rob, we looked at:

  • THE WEIRDEST CD WE HAVE EVER SEEN
  • Very rare Eric Carr and Van Halen RSD discs
  • Tons of blues!
  • Japanese imports!
  • Rare soundtracks!
  • Grab A Stack of Rock merch!
  • Van Halen bootlegs!
  • And as usual, we had “Ask Harrison” with Tee Bone Erickson and @marriedandheels.

Thanks for watching everyone!

It’s Friday Night, and Grab A Stack of Rock is Back with Harrison, Kevin, and Rob Daniels!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 18:  New Arrivals (and some books)

It’s finally that time.  First cottage show of the year!  We have been looking forward to this since November.

This week, we plan on looking at some new musical arrivals with Harrison, Rob Daniels and Kevin “Canadian Grooves” Simister.  I’ll have some books to go over, and of course, we have “Ask Harrison” with a question from the California Girl.

Notes:  This being the first cottage show of the season, please allow for —

  • Wifi/power issues
  • Weather/potential indoor show
  • Murphy’s Law

But the show must go on, and we hope it will!  Please allow for any difficulties that a cottage show in April may cause, especially the first one.  Who knows if the internet will work in the weather we are expecting.  If all goes well, see you then!

Friday Apr 28 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

 

#1057: “To Each Their Own!” – The P*ss Blanket Story

RECORD STORE TALES #1057: “To Each Their Own!” – The Piss Blanket Story

Guilty as charged.  I was filming a dumpster diver.

I was leaving for work Friday morning when I saw this guy picking through the bottles in recycling, as they often do.  He was soon joined by a second guy, and they tore through the recycling looking for anything of value.  When the second guy jumped into the dumpster, I couldn’t resist.  The bad part of me wanted a video, so I shot a little bit of video and then pocketed my phone again.

I watched as the guy found a box with a deep fryer in it, but then my jaw dropped as I saw him liberate a large, white blanket….

[continued in video]

As I drove off, I saw the two guys riding the bikes, with the one fellow clutching the piss blanket holding his precious deep fryer.

Weird Friday.

VHS Archives #137: Extreme on MuchMusic – September 1990 – Much Spotlight

Extreme were about to get really big for a little while with Extreme II: Pornograffiti.  Guitar wunderkind Nuno Bettencourt, singer Gary Cherone, bassist Pat Badger, and drummer Paul Geary sat down with MuchMusic in 1990 to discuss their name (only a jokey answer here), influences, and music videos vs the live show. Very prophetic and timely here….

Youtubin’: Nate Navarro’s Sub Octave Bass

Now that you’re all down from your 420 high, it’s time to take it down low!

Nate Navarro’s new bass has an extra-long string length, enabling him to go lower than ever.  Check it out!  This is a 42″ scale Sub Octave Bass Guitar from Lignum!

VIDEO: Opening Weekend at the Cottage – April 15 2023

Jen and I made the trip up to the cottage with my dad on Saturday April 15 – opening weekend.  A full two weeks earlier than 2022.  I finally feel alive again!  I’m back, baby!  I’m back.

Music on the trip up:

Music on the trip back:

There was only one hiccup on the way home.  I almost got a speeding ticket.  The only reason I didn’t was the officer had to respond to an emergency immediately.  Whew.  That was close.

The lake levels are down this year and the water smelled terrible.  We can hope that this changes in the summer, but there are no guarantees.  The water may remain shallow and stinky.  If so, we will have to go elsewhere to swim this summer!

Please enjoy this brief video of nature, beauty, and one weird-ass castle.