This went viral a few days ago, with everyone missing the point!
Remember when ZZ Top used to showcase goofy guitars in all their music videos? Be it a furry bass or a guitar made out of Muddy Waters’ house, ZZ Top have long showed off bizarre electric stringed instruments as part of their schtick.
It doesn’t matter that you could play this song on one string if you tried hard enough. All that matters is that Elwood got peoples’ eyes on ZZ Top! And tongues are waggin’, pro and con. Not that any of that matters. When you look at ZZ Top’s history, Elwood now fits in better than ever!
“Mr. Lebrain is back, and this time he brought a ton of his Japanese import CDs. Or should I say, he grabbed a stack of rock! We once again go through our rare, out of print, imported, and otherwise hard to find discs. A follow to our first episode on the subject which can be seen here.”
Super special guest John Snow showed up tonight with a stack of Japanese imports! Jeff Scott Soto, Danger Danger, Firehouse and more! Harrison also brought some Japanese action along with some assorted musical treats. I showed off some big Thin Lizzy and Kiss imports from Japan, and random stacks of whatever happened to be lying nearby. And when I say random, I do mean random!
We also took viewer questions for Harrison about his home country of Australia. If popular, this will become a regular feature of the show.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 3: Special guestJohn Snow
Continuing to show off our collections, tonight Harrison and Mike are joined by the infamous John T. “Snowman” Snow for another hour of fun. What will we show off tonight? You’ll just have to tune in and see. We all know John’s collection is massive and loaded with rock. How will he choose to spend his hour tonight? Let’s find out!
We also have some surprise viewer questions for Harrison, and YOU can participate in the comments section! Join us, won’t you?
Friday November 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook.
I’ve always liked the final Van Halen album, A Different Kind of Truth, and I have found it still stands up after a decade of digestion. As you are probably aware, most of the album is reworked demos. One such demo is “Ripley” from 1984, which later became “Blood and Fire” on the album. The music made it into the score for a movie called The Wild Life which has never seen a proper audio release. Eddie called the song “Ripley” because he played it on a Ripley guitar.
It’s impossible to listen to it without hearing David’s final lyrics and vocals in your head. But is the instrumental version better than the final? That’s a tough call. It definitely would have been interesting to hear what Sammy Hagar could have done with “Ripley”, but if the idea to rework it with Hagar ever came up, it obviously didn’t bear fruit.
RECORD STORE TALES #1021: Closing Time! Last Cottage Video of 2022
Jen and I were Highway Stars! Rocking to Deep Purple, live in Copenhagen 1972, we reveled in the joys of jamming, intense improvisation, and hard rock and roll. The perfect accompaniment to our last cottage road trip of 2022. Before we knew it we had arrived at our destination. It may look a little different in the fall, but there is still no place I’d rather spend my weekend.
There was a different kind of beauty this time. Fewer leaves, fewer animals. You could see through the trees, a feeling I was not used to, especially when partaking in the O.D.P. (Out Door Piss). When we were kids, we never made it to the lake in November nor did we want to. It was always far too cold and the snow would have started. Not anymore.
It was unseasonably warm, and within minutes I was in short sleeves and short pants again, just as I was all summer. This is November? I set up on the front porch with more Deep Purple, Ozzy, Dio, and Black Sabbath. It was an utterly brilliant day of rocking the shores of Lake Huron. Then on the Friday night, we went live with the Mad Metal Man and the second episode of Grab A Stack of Rock. A brilliant way to end the season.
Our weekend was quiet and fun, including lots of outdoor rock and roll with board games, a dinner at Boston Pizza (since the barbecue is packed up for the winter) and even a step into Lake Huron. A first for the month of November! We drove home to the music of Black Sabbath (Dehumanizer and Cross Purposes) to put the final nail in the coffin of 2022’s cottage season. For me personally, since this season stretched from late April to early November, it was one of the longest seasons, if not the longest ever. And it couldn’t have gone any better! 2022 was a triumphant season in virtually every way, and we sure did enjoy it.
My dad found the end of this video a tad too emotional! We all miss the place and hate leaving!
While I will admit that Van Halen 3 didn’t live up to the potential of the collaboration between Cherone and VH, it ain’t bad. Many people said, “They should have changed their name and called it something else.” That’s one perspective, but I don’t think Van Halen ever needed to go by any name other than Van Halen so long as Eddie and Alex were there. Just my opinion.
“Without You” was arguably the best song (with the outtake “That’s Why I Love You” also a contender). This live version from Australia helps illustrate what was working and what wasn’t. The truth is, while Gary Cherone is a unique frontman, his gangly-geeky stretches and contortions didn’t suit Van Halen’s live show. Vocally though? No issues with Gary Cherone in Van Halen. When they go into “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles at the end, I’m sold.
Tim Durling‘s Holy Grail this week was a serious rarity: Europe’s The Final Countdown (1986) on 8-track! It was worth the wait, seeing that unusual tape on that format.
We had a surprise guest: Aaron from the KMA, who showed some discs and books! And of course Harrison the Mad Metal Man had some interesting items on display. As for me, I unboxed the Thin Lizzy Rock Legends box set and an unassembled ZZ Top Eliminator model kit.
It’s been a while since I’ve said this, but: tonight, please join Harrison and Mike, as we welcome special guest Tim Durling to our NEW chat show! It’s called Grab A Stack of Rock with Mike and the Mad Metal Man, and this is our unofficial episode 2.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 2: Special guest Tim Durling
Here’s the gimmick. Each episode will feature Mike grabbing a pile of CDs and showing off parts of his collection! With Harrison the Mad Metal Man by his side, they will “show and tell” with toys, games and of course physical music! It’s unplanned, unscripted and will take up only an hour of your time. Uncle Meat suggested this as a new show format, and it was fun last week!
Please join us tonight when 8-track expert Tim Durling will show off some new acquisitions and one holy grail! Tonight…grab and stack of rock, and join us!
Friday November 4 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook.
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