Grant’s Rock Warehaus

The Contrarians Live: Slippery When Wet

My 20th Contrarians Wednesday Live Stream is upon us!

This was a fun one to do:  Album cover featuring boats and/or bodies of water.  I think Tim came up with this topic, because I accused him of using it as an excuse to show off more Kansas!  My list will include a local legend, and some big metal stars.  Canadian content guaranteed!

THE CONTRARIANS – Slippery When Wet – Wednesday March 26 –  7:00 PM EST


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?

 

 

The Contrarians Live: Where’s The Band?

Last week I felt like I needed a break.  I wasn’t feeling well and I dropped out of the episode.  Then Jamie had a fire in his basement and I decided to come back.  So, I’m back again this week too.

Courtesy of Martin Popoff, this week features album art with only partial band lineups!  My list is dominated by a certain “band” from New Jersey that often features only one band member on their covers.  Not my most interesting list this week, but I’m present ready to complain about this band that I used to love.  Let’s see what the other guys bring this week!

THE CONTRARIANS – Where Is Everyone? – Wednesday March 19 –  7:00 PM EST


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!
  15. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  16. Amped Up!
  17. Packaging Fails

 

 

My List – The Contrarians Live: Packaging Fails

Here was my list:

Kiss – You Wanted the Best – Unseen photos from the archives?  I call BS!

Kiss – The Box Set (guitar case version) – CDs fall out of top flap every time you open it, as demoed on last show.

Alice Cooper – Old School (box set) – Top of “desk” curls up over time.  Due to shape and fragility of box set, it is hard to flatten safely.

Ozzy Osbourne – 1995 remasters – The postage stamp sized art and the circular song titles on back are an epic fail.

Kick Axe – Rock the World (reissue with the really bad cover) – The brilliant original cover was replaced in 2005 with something far uglier.

Marillion – Marbles – campaign edition 2 CD digipack – Discs pop out and the little foam things that hold the discs in, come unglued with time.

Pearl Jam – Vitalogy – Known to fatally scratch discs.

Kim Mitchel – Itch – People think the album is actually “self titled” due to messy cover art.

AC/DC – PWRUP lightbox – Mine ripped, trying to get all the stupid tape off the box set.  Ripped on day one!

Twisted Sister – Live at the Marquee – Rhino limited edition – Doesn’t file nicely anywhere, doesn’t stand up straight…a straight fail!


Packaging fails!  Cover art that’s too small, discs that fall out, packages the scratch the precious CD inside…we’ll cover lots of them tonight on the Contrarians Live.

There will be a variety of “fails” tonight, from the usual suspects.  Unfortunately I may have to start skipping these Wednesday night shows.  With spring now here, I no longer need to occupy my evenings in front of a screen.  We will see what the future holds.  I had a great run – 17 shows in a row without missing a single one.  Only Grant can say he also hasn’t missed a single show of the last 17.  We’ll see how it goes.  It’s bittersweet.  I’d like to continue doing this every week, but when the sun is shining outside and the air is warm, it’s hard to sit at a screen.

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Packaging Fails – Wednesday March 12 –  7:00 PM EST


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!
  15. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  16. Amped Up!

 

 

The Contrarians Live: Packaging Fails

Packaging fails!  Cover art that’s too small, discs that fall out, packages the scratch the precious CD inside…we’ll cover lots of them tonight on the Contrarians Live.

There will be a variety of “fails” tonight, from the usual suspects.  Unfortunately I may have to start skipping these Wednesday night shows.  With spring now here, I no longer need to occupy my evenings in front of a screen.  We will see what the future holds.  I had a great run – 17 shows in a row without missing a single one.  Only Grant can say he also hasn’t missed a single show of the last 17.  We’ll see how it goes.  It’s bittersweet.  I’d like to continue doing this every week, but when the sun is shining outside and the air is warm, it’s hard to sit at a screen.

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Packaging Fails – Wednesday March 12 –  7:00 PM EST

 


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!
  15. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  16. Amped Up!

 

 

No Show Tonight, Grant’s On A Cruise… and there’s bad news

No Contrarians Live tonight, as host Grant Arthur is on an 80’s themed rock cruise…

…Which has been tragic.

A few days ago, Grant posted that somebody went overboard, but he didn’t know anything more.  It turns out the person who went over, died tragically.  It was Kimberly Burch, fiance of Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe.

We send our prayers to Taime and Kimberly’s families in these dark times.

 


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!
  15. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  16. Amped Up!

 

 

The Contrarians Live: Amped Up!

This fun subject is courtesy of Martin.  Amps, microphones, tape decks…whatever goes into making music, if it’s on the album cover, it counts!  I will be bringing out some big heavyweight albums for this special episode tonight.

What are some of your favourite albums with amps and recording equipment on the cover?  Or perhaps in some cases, the entire packaging?  Stay tuned!

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Amped Up! – February 26 7:00 PM EST


My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!
  15. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!

 

 

The Contrarians Live: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!

This week I didn’t choose the subject, but I did pick the title!  Martin Popoff liked “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!”, based on the old margarine ads “I can’t believe it’s not butter!”

Yes, this week we are tackling album covers that look designed by Hipgnosis…but are not!  This will be a lot of fun, and I have my ten picks lined up with lots of Canadian content.

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!
  14. Compilation Kaos!

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Favourite Compilations – February 19 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: Compilation Kaos!

Dialing back the complexity this week, we were assigned a simple task:  pick 10 favourite “various artists” compilation albums.  I went with a bunch of my favourites that you have seen and heard me talk about many times.  Some, you may not know as well.  I’m looking forward to showing off some of my favourites.  That’s tonight on the Contrarians!

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  13. It’s A Piece of Art!

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Favourite Compilations – February 12 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: It’s A Piece of Art!

This topic comes from the mind of Jamie Laszlo.  Album covers featuring other piece of art!  It’s our first Wednesday live show after a brief two-week break.  Good timing there since I had Covid for the last two weeks, and wouldn’t have been up to do a show anyway.  Tonight I get back in the saddle.

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers

Watch live and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – It’s a Piece of Art! – Wed. February 5 – 7:00 PM EST

A Wednesday Off for the Contrarians: Time to catch up on these shows!

We have not had time to prepare for a show this week, so we’re taking this week off.  Planning to be back next Wednesday, live as usual.

In the meantime, why not take this time to check out some of the shows you may have missed in the last three months?

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Minimalist cover art
  2. Brown album covers
  3. Yellow album covers
  4. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  5. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  6. This Album Cover is Hell!
  7. Toys & Games
  8. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  9. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  10. They Swapped Covers!
  11. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  12. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers