Aaron

O Canada! Friday Live Streamin’ returns with “Maple” flavoured lists!

The list format returns!  It’s another “Nigel Tufnel Top Ten”, and this time it’s a doozy.  How do you narrow down the top albums from an entire country, and arrange them on a list?  I dunno, but there are some of us that are going to try.  Wish us luck.

How you get in on the mayhem?  It’s easy.  Just go to Facebook: MikeLeBrain on Friday August 14 at 7:00 pm E.S.T.  There you can participate in the fun with your commentary, as we count down…

THE TOP 11 CANADIAN ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

No greatest hits; all genres permitted.  A monster of a task indeed.  Four lists have been submitted.  Co–hosts have been booked.  If all goes according to plan (which it should due to an hour-long test stream last week) we will have two of the most knowledgeable Canadian music fans on board for what promises to be an epic discussion.

Join me tonight at 7:00 pm E.S.T., eh?

Casual Saturday Bonus Test Guest Stream starring Mr. Books and Sarca Sim!

Gratitude to Kevin / Buried On Mars for helping me get started with Streamyard.  Thanks to the insightful Mr. Mars, and thanks to the perseverance of Mr. Books, today we accomplished a few goals:

  1. Successfully test streamed with the one and only Aaron of the KMA on board, full video and audio, for the first time ever.
  2. Added a third participant.  The test volunteer today was the awesome Sarca from Caught Me Gaming!
  3. Cleared up some other issues when streaming with a co-host, such as mirrored images and working from a PC.

This test stream went on for an hour as our impromptu chat developed.  We talked music, guitars, the Community, Covid, school, Paul Rudd, and Skip the Dishes.  This little unofficial bonus episode is now available for you to watch below.  But the significance is huge to me.  Now I can have up to five additional co-hosts on future shows.  The game has changed.  The sky is the limit!

 

VOTE:

Does Aaron look like Paul Rudd?

Complete 80s KISS live stream! From Unmasked to H.I.T.S., unboxings and surprises!

You gotta give Aaron from the KMA credit for several things.  One, for bringing the Community together.  Two, for his thoughtful and generous nature.  And three, apparently, for clairvoyance.

Long before I decided on this week’s KISS theme, Aaron sent me a birthday gift.  You won’t believe it.  Clairvoyance?  Obviously!

This was an action-packed show and to help you navigate, here are the highlights:

I included the pre-show portion of the stream in this video.  To hear two awesome Max the Axe tunes, “My Daddy Was a Murderin’ Man” and “Magnum P.I.“, go to 0:01:20 of the stream.

For the epic Aaron Unboxing, check out 0:12:20 of the stream.

To begin 80s KISStory, go to 0:18:20 and rock!

For a sneak preview of a comedy bit that I recorded for Sausagefest 2020 (spoiler free), skip to 0:25:00.

To check out a host of cool ReAction figures, go to 1:26:00.  They Live, Ghost’s Papa Emeritus, Aliens, and the Transformers.

Or just enjoy the whole dang thing.

Saturday Live Stream! Guests Galore and Top Superhero Movies of all time!

Saturday’s show was not without its difficulties but it ended with another tremendous list.  The main event this week was a Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list for superhero movies.  The special guest for this epic segment was for the first time, the one and only Holen MaGroin!  We had lists submitted by Harrison the Mad Metal Man, John T. Snow, Rob Daniels, and of course Holen and myself.

I was excited because I knew, especially with guys like Rob and Holen, we were going to get interesting and diverse lists.  I expected Harrison to go mental, and I somewhat got that.  John Snow also came in with some out-of-the-box suggestions.  The lists were magnificent and it is fair to say that the overall winner was Batman, but in so many configurations that you will have to watch for yourself.  Honorary mentions to Christopher Reeve and Robert Downey Jr.  Enjoy the lists!  Start the stream at 1:24:20 if you only want to see the lists.

In another feature I tried to hook up with both Deke from Arena Rock and KMA‘s Aaron in his live stream debut!  Although I had difficulty hearing Deke, this brief segment can be found at 0:59:50 of the stream.

I also unboxed my latest musical arrival, Gordon Downie‘s Secret Path, both the CD and the graphic novel.  Because they were shipped separately, the unboxings can be found at 0:47:45 and 1:11:55.

BONUS:  Not part of the live stream, but I did get some video of a chimpmunk playing hide & seek with me.  For Ladano’s Wild Kingdom, hit up 0:19:08 of the stream!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s fun, and hopefully next time I won’t have as many technical issues!

 

#769.5: Paranormal Mail

As birthday celebrations creep into the following week, gifts continue to arrive!

Aaron of KMA fame is known far and wide for his generosity and creativity in finding the perfect gifts.  He was worried about this one.  Sending a digipack CD in a bubble mailer doesn’t always guarantee safe arrival.  He threw some plastic wrap around it as an extra layer of protection from the elements.  His precautions did the trick and now I am the happy owner of a signed copy of Alice Cooper’s Paranormal!

A great album, Paranormal is a fully-loaded deluxe double CD with a smoking live disc.  And now I have a signed copy to top it off.  Aaron and I briefly discussed what the hell would make someone trade in a signed Alice CD?  I didn’t have anything signed by Alice, until now.  This is a first for my collection.  Whatever the circumstances, I’m glad to be the benefactor.

Thanks Aaron — you know my “Paranoiac Personality” very well!

Sunday Chuckle: “A note from Aaron”

Mail call! I received a CD this week from (who else) AARON!  Now playing:  The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Let’s Face It!  Check out Aaron’s cool stationery and hilarious note.

Thanks buddy!

 

#727: An Aaron Xmas

GETTING MORE TALE #727: An Aaron Xmas

How many Aarons do you know? I know several, but only one that bombards me on a regular basis with mystery parcels!

We’ve written about Aaron many, many times in these pages.  There is a whole series of videos called Mike and Aaron go to Toronto, where we spend our money on all things musical.  Then there are the numerous albums and even holy grail items he’s found for me over the years.  Aaron is a non-stop fountain of music!

The truth is, he sends me far more stuff than I send in return.  Hopefully he’s not keeping track too hard.  But now it is Christmas!  I sent him a couple CDs last week (Max the Axe and Styx), and he has returned the favour with interest (as he usually does).  Let’s see what’s inside, shall we?

Riiiiiiiip!

Christmas came early indeed!  Aaron and I have discussed Gowan before.  Many today know Gowan as the lead singer of Styx, but before that he had a couple decades worth of a solo career under his belt.  I told Aaron, “I want to start a Gowan collection, all of it.”  Amazingly I didn’t find any last time we were in Toronto, but Aaron doesn’t quit.

Check this out:  the two Gowan albums I wanted most!  Strange Animal, and Lost Brotherhood.  Woah!  What names in the credits!  Tony Levin on stick and bass, on both albums.  Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Kenny Greer (Red Rider) on guitar for Lost Brotherhood.  Talk about the best of the best of the best.  And between the two albums, I get all the Gowan songs that I like (so far)!  Those would be “Strange Animal”, “A Criminal Mind”, and “All the Lovers in the World”.

But that’s not all!

Clearly, Aaron remembered that I once had a crush on “Sporty Spice”, Melanie C.  I even owned her first solo album Northern Star.  I still think Mel C is the best Spice Girl; she even worked with Bryan Adams.  She’s arguably the most talented and the one with the most integrity.  My crush is long gone, but she’s still beautiful today; even more than 1996.  Yeah, I still like Sporty!  Knowing this, Aaron bought me the “Unofficial” Sporty Spice In My Pocket book.  From this, I learned that Mel C once worked in a fish and chip shop.  What a couple we could have been.  I love fish!

 

You know, I wasn’t actually looking forward to Christmas, until now.  It’s been a horribly downer year for us.  Thank you again Aaron for the thoughtful gifts.  I’m feeling the spirit now!  Maybe I’ll go put some Christmas lights on.  I’m a “Strange Animal”, that’s what I know, but Aaron seems to know what makes me tick.

Thanks buddy!  Did you know that Sporty Spice was kicked out of a gym in Japan because they saw her tattoos and thought she was Yakuza?  Ominus Spiritus!

 

 

REVIEW: Robert Pollard with Doug Gillard – Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999)

ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! We have assumed control. We have assumed control. We have assumed control….

SATCHMO

 Welcome to an April Fools Day switcheroo!! Mike and I have told each other what to listen to for today’s post.  Fun times!! Initially, we were even gonna try to write in each others’ styles, and really try to fool you guys. But, as you’ll see from the album choices, it might have been a nigh on impossible task!

For Mike, I chose Robert Pollard & Doug Gillard’s ‘Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department,’ largely because Mike awesomely found it and bought it for me in Ottawa, but I already had it, so I said he should rock it himself! But it’s awesome that he’ll get to hear a bit of the MAJESTY of Bob Pollard! I can’t wait to read what he says about it…

And for me, Mike has chosen Deep Purple’s In Rock (for which I thank him profusely). And here is where I really worried about trying to write like Mike for a post. That man KNOWS his Deep Purple, and there’s no way I could bring perspective to an album he’s heard for years and probably has coded directly into his DNA by now. It just wouldn’t work. You’d all know it wasn’t Mike!

Anyway, we hope you enjoy this April Fools site switcheroo! Let’s get in there and GIVE ‘ER!!

A

IMG_20160319_132526

 

Scan_20160325 (3)ROBERT POLLARD with DOUG GILLARD – Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999 Luna)

Guided By Voices have always eluded me.  Aaron says they’re brilliant but not for everybody.  This Robert Pollard “duo” album with Doug Gillard looks really interesting.  Let’s see if I’m everybody or not!

“Frequent Weaver Who Burns” is instantly likeable.  The lo-fi but genuine recording sounds right out of 1969, and the song recalls some of the best hippie rock bands from that era.  I hear a hint of 54-40’s “I Go Blind” in the guitar, but this is far more ambitious, as it descends into dance music madness.  “Soul Train College Policeman” (how the hell do they come up with these titles?) is different and indescribable, but “Pop Zeus” is brilliant.  Simple guitar melodies weave together with layers of rhythm guitars creating a power-pop rock track without embellishment.

Most of these songs are short bursts of ideas; in and out and no nonsense.  The longest track at 4:20 is “Slick as Snails”, a slow and enticing exercise in mixing sweet notes with sour notes and making a delectable concoction regardless.  Regal guitar chords keep the ship from running aground.  Power pop returns on “Do Something Real”, a simple guitar riff melded with an unorthodox melody.  In fact the album in general is built from these ingredients.  The guitars retain catchy rhythms, often classic sounding in nature.  Meanwhile the vocals are not constrained to sing anything simple or straightforward.  The lo-fi tape hiss and nature of the recordings do not detract; they enhance.  “Life is Beautiful” sounds as if recorded in the can.  Mix in a smidgen of psychedelia.  There is also a contrasting bombast on the album, a power just bursting at the seams.  Drama is often the companion of the arrangements, “Port Authority” being a fine example of this.  The short tunes meld influences varied far and wide.  Aaron hears the Who, and it’s there, and I think I even picked up on some Ace Frehley in the ring of the guitars.

Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department comes highly recommended for the musically fearless.

4.5/5 stars