The rules were flexible to say the least, but the lists were solid as rock! What 11 albums would you bring with you, if you were stranded on a desert island? And why? Each of us had our reasons and some great lists.
Unfortunately John Snow (2loud2oldmusic) could not make it tonight. He felt terrible about cancelling, but fortunately pinch hitter Aaron from the KMA stepped in at the last minute with a list he made while cooking dinner!
The lists start at 0:25:20, and as always Aaron wrote ’em down. Read ’em at bottom!
The schedule:
April 30: T-Bone returns and we discuss Van Halen’s 5150 in depth. Guests: Kevin (BuriedonMars), Uncle Meat, Superdekes, and Aaron.
May 7: Paul Laine from Danger Danger and the Defiants with co-host John Snow.
May 14: List show by Uncle Meat’s suggestion — Best Cover Tunes — with panel TBA.
May 21: New booking! Sean Kelly (Coney Hatch, Crash Kelly, Helix, Lee Aaron, Trapper, Nelly Furtado) joins us with co-host Deke!
May 28: Dave Lizmi of the Four Fuckin’ Horsemen! Co-host will be T-Rev.
June 4: One year anniversary of Harrison’s first appearance. We re-hash the Top 11 Priest Albums and will have Geoff Stephen to graph it! Co-host is TBA.
June 18: Robert Lawson, author of Still Competition: The Listener’s Guide to Cheap Trick. Hosted by Superdekes.
Great show tonight with your co-hosts Harrison the Mad Metal Man, Aaron from KeepsMeAlive, and Superdekes! We talked the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Iron Maiden Covers/Artwork (that’s a mouthful) and it was awesome. We took a close look at: albums, singles, T-shirts, Reaction figures, MacFarlane figures, and the Neca Powerslave Eddie. If you like Iron Maiden, you automatically love their artwork. Ergo, you need to watch this show!
First we unboxed some brand new Reaction Eddie figures. Go to 0:16:50 of the stream.
Then we wished Steve Harris a Happy Birthday, and commenced with the lists! Go to 0:24:00 of the stream.
After the conclusion of the Maiden lists, we had a freeform chat covering Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime, and a newly unearthed Black Sabbath track called “Slapback”. Go to 2:22:45 of the stream to check that out.
Thanks for watching, and if you just want to know what Maiden art we picked, check out Aaron’s hand-written list below! See ya next week!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano
Episode 54 – Best Iron Maiden Cover Art
Time to chill out with a more laid-back show this Friday! We’ve had some serious lists, and serious guests in recent weeks. This week is almost like a vacation. Join Harrison the Mad Metal Man, Aaron from KeepsMeAlive, and Superdekes with myself here tonight as we share our favourite Iron Maiden artwork.
The art of Derek Riggs, Melvyn Grant, and many talented coversmiths including Hugh Syme will be up for examination tonight. No disqualifications: albums, singles, whatever! As long as one of us likes it, we can list it. Each of us will have our own rules and criteria.
BONUS: Iron Maiden ReAction figure unboxing! While it would be nice to have a complete set, I could only order four. These Eddies, based on Iron Maiden cover art, will definitely be on topic for this show!
Concept albums! A marathon session with a five person panel. The best concept albums in the history of music (the earliest dating back to 1918). Genre busting lists. A rush of inspiring music, from hip to elders.
Aaron kept tabs on the titles and I’ll post them when I get a chance. There was one album that was a clear winner, and one subject that crossed over multiple albums. You’ll just have to watch to see for yourself.*
There was some preamble chat about the latest episode of WandaVision, and a bit on Desmond Child. We hit the lists at 0:21:30 of the stream.
Thanks for checking it out! Tune in next week for Top Bootlegs with Harrison Kopp, John T. Snow, Buried On Mars and maybe more. Cheers!
* If you don’t want to see for yourself, you can try to read Aaron’s hand-written notes below!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano
Episode 51 – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Concept Albums
This show doesn’t need a lot of preamble. It’s another list show and it’s another great panel! “Top Concept Albums” was the topic suggested by Rob Daniels. A subject so good, I’m amazed it took this long to get to it. What’s a concept album? One of those records that tells a story. We’re keeping the definitions broad.
Please give Rob a warm welcome back to the show for his first appearance of 2021.
Whether the lead character of the story is Pink, Kilroy, Torch, or perhaps one of the many nameless protagonists throughout rock history, this is the show you want to catch. By the end, we hope you say “I didn’t know they made a concept album,” to some of our picks.
Dude!! What a show that was! Technical difficulties aside, another excellent Nigel Tufnel Top Ten. Hottest Riffs of the 1970s was the topic at hand. The lists went far and wide and everybody came out of it with huge smiles on their faces. Rush, Van Halen and Black Sabbath received a lot of extra love tonight, but you’ll have to watch to find out!
Mike Slayen – special guest on electric guitar to demonstrate some riffs!
It was a tremendous amount of fun to actually hear some of these riffs instead of just talking about them. A huge thanks to Mike for doing this with us. And he will be back when we talk about the 80s.
The less said about this show, the better, because who wants spoilers? Not you, trust me!
To jump straight to the lists without all the preamble and introductions, go to 0:21:00 and enjoy!
Tons of fun, both on and off topic tonight, on the LeBrain Train. Aaron from the KMA and Kevin from Buried On Mars were on board with some killer lists of ZZ Top’s best deep cuts. A lil’ bit of overlap but not too much! We also read off some guest lists: San Diego guitarist Mike Slayen, and a local Kitchener singer named Mike Mahler. Check out their lists as well as ours!
Show time index:
Watch from the start to see the latest CD unboxing from Encore Records.
To check out the new music video by Current River called “Hodder To Hell”, skip to 0:16:45 of the stream.
The ZZ Top talkcommences at 0:22:20.
At the end of the show I spun the Loudness video for “Black Widow”. Find that at 2:32:36. (No copyright strike, yay!)
I hope you enjoy this week’s show as much as I did! The 2021 season is off to a great start.
Awesome show this week! The 42nd LeBrain Train was another three hour long epic. The theme was “Best Bands You Probably Never Heard Of”. We never settled on a proper wording for it, or a proper system for keeping score. The goal was to introduce you to plenty of artists we think you’d think. And we hope you do! For the first time ever, there was no crossover with the six lists!
Added bonus: At the mid-way point (1:30:00 exactly) a very-caffeinated-me decided to go on an F-bomb laden rant about people who post The Mandalorian spoilers openly on social media without warnings. Please enjoy my rant!
The final score:
Mike: 11 points
Sarah: 14 points
Harrison: 17 points
Rob: 19 points
John: 23 points
Aaron: 88 points
Huge thanks to everyone for hanging out so long! Thanks for watching and see you next week.
This no-disqualification episode was brought to you by Coffee!
First of all — Thank you to all the participants this time out, including Kevin (Buried on Mars) and Deke (Arena Rock). While these two gentleman did appear, they did not do the traditional Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists and so they are not among the songs below. To access their “bonus tracks” you are going to have to watch the video!
Second — The MVP this week was Sarca Sim from Caught Me Gaming. Not to belittle the effort that anyone put into their lists (as you’ll see), but Sarca utilized an additional caveat: her list was 100% CanCon. A difficult, impressive and rewarding feat.
Third — You can decide for yourself if anyone deserved to be disqualified this week. Have Stavesacre or Wesley Willis ever had a legitimate hit? Is Toto a one hit wonder band? You decide.
Finally — Really, everyone was MVP this week. It was a marathon session. The feedback I have received so far has been excellent.
“I was howling for a lot of it. Michelle kept saying ‘what are you laughing about'” – Chris S
“It was like watching an SNL skit” – also Chris S
“Max is a one hit wonder on this stream lol” – also Chris S
“Love it!!!!!!!!” –My mom
Any songs that were repeated are highlighted below. There are not many. Enjoy these tracks!
Mike – LeBrain
11. Blue Cheer – “Summertime Blues”
10. Spacehog – “In the Meantime”
9. Kik Tracee – “You’re So Strange”
8. Wesley Willis – “Alanis Morissette”
7. Marvelous 3 – “Freak of the Week”
6. Tal Bachman – “She’s So High”
5. The Kings – “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide”
4. Blotto – “Metal Head”
3. sandbox. – “Curious”
2. E-Z-O – “Flashback Heart Attack”
1. Loudness – “Crazy Night”
11. Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal”
10. Arlo Guthrie – “City of New Orleans”
9. Frank Stallone – “Far From Over”
8. Prelude – “After the Gold Rush”
7. J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers – “Last Kiss”
6. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire”
5. Zager and Evans – “In the Year 2525”
4. Paul Hardcastle – “Nineteen”
3. Information Society – “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)”
2. Yello – “Oh Yeah”
1. MECO – “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band”
11. Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe”
10. Modern English – “I Melt With You”
9. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
8. Aldo Nova – “Fantasy”
7. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Relax”
6. Cutting Crew – “(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight”
5. Kix – “Don’t Close Your Eyes”
4. Saigon Kick – “Love is on the Way”
3. The Darkness – “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”
2. Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy”
1. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
Eric – Uncle Meat
11. Bobby Pickett – “Monster Mash”
10. Nick Gilder – “Hot Child in the City”
9. Neneh Cherry – “Buffalo Stance”
8. Deee-Lite – “Groove is in the Heart”
7. Ace – “How Long Has This Been Going On”
6. Haircut 100 – “Love Plus One”
5. Tracy Bonham – “Mother Mother”
4. Donnie Iris – “Ah Leah”
3. Modern English – “I Melt With You”
2. Martha and the Muffins – “Echo Beach”
1. Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy”
Max the Axe – kind of a big deal
11. Donnie Iris – “Ah Leah”
10. Toto – “Hold the Line”
9. Atlanta Rhythm Section – “Imaginary Love”
8. Holly McNarland – “Elmo”
7. Moist – “Push”
6. Youth Gone Mad – “Crime Rate ’88”
5. Stavesacre – “Shiv”
4. Demon – “Liar”
3. The Trojan Ponies – “Deny”
2. Cheech and Chong – “Earache My Eye”
1. Eddie Murphy – “Party All the Time”
11. Alta Moda – “Julian”
10. Cats Can Fly – “Flippin to the A Side”
9. The Kings – “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide”
8. Eight Seconds – “Kiss You (When It’s Dangerous)”
7. Idle Eyes – “Tokyo Rose”
6. Len – “Steal My Sunshine”
5. Neo A4 – “Say This To Me”
4. Daniel Lanois – “Lotta Love to Give”
3. John Bottomley – “You Lose and You Gain”
2. Maestro Fresh Wes – “Let Your Backbone Slide”
1. The Northern Lights – “Tears Are Not Enough”
The theme for this week’s Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list was One Hit Wonders! This was a special “no disqualifications” matchup so anything went. Are Toto a one hit wonder band? Max the Axe thought so even if the majority disagreed.
Superdekes (Thunder Bay Arena Rock) & Vinnie Vincent (KISS)
I wrote down all the songs chosen, so when given some time I’ll post all the lists for you to examine in more detail. But after an almost three hour show, I need to go get something to eat.
Added bonus: A quick look at the new Thin Lizzy 6 CD rarities box set called Rock Legends.
mikeladano.com 