John Clauser

The Contrarians Live: Favorite Bands… WORST Album Covers – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Tonight’s topic comes from the mind of Martin Popoff.  The rock and roll wordsmith has plenty of good ideas, but 10 Worst Album Covers by 10 Favourite Bands is kind of a double whammy.  Not only does it give us a chance to showcase some bad album art, but it also allows us to list our 10 favourite bands.  This will be a fun, fun night.

For those keeping track, this is my eighth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

Tune in tonight and comment!  Martin always tries to address the comment section.

THE CONTRARIANS – Favorite Bands… WORST Album Covers – Wed. December 11 – 7:00 PM EST

My Music Corner: Up to the Limit Episode 14 – Accept: Blind Rage (2014)

NOTE: My text review of Blind Rage by Accept will go up in the coming days.

Johnny Metal and John the Music Nut have been breaking down, in detail, every Accept studio album.  I jumped on board with Blind Rage, the third album with Mark Tornillo.  I chose this album since I had the Japanese import and I wanted the two Johns to have a chance to cover a rare bonus track on their show.

In this episode, we break down the album track by track, with a high level of agreement between us.  The Music Nut then goes through the tour in detail, discussing all the songs that were played live, and how often.  Some are still played live today.

If you want a sneak preview into my Blind Rage review, watch this episode, as I tried something new here:  reading my review aloud (not easy).  I may have even done some singing.

Check out the show, and look for my text review in a few days.

The Contrarians Live: Dreaming in Stereo – Beds & Sleeping on Album Covers – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

I’m very excited to finally be doing a show with Martin Popoff this week.  Martin is back on the Contrarians live Wednesday chat!

For those keeping track, this is my eighth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

This week, a joint suggestion from Tim & Jamie:  Album covers with beds, or sleeping.  Lots to choose from this time.

THE CONTRARIANS – Dreaming in Stereo  – Wed. December 4 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: Toys & Games on Album Covers – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

This week’s topic is my pick!

Doing the live Contrarian chats on Wednesday nights has been great fun.  I will keep going with these as long as I’m welcome and as long as I don’t burn out.  For those keeping track, this is my seventh week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

For this week, Toys and Games, I’m not taking the easy way out.  My list will have unexpected picks (because I let Tim have the good ones). Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album covers featuring Toys and Games  – Wed. November 27 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: This album cover is HELL! – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Doing the live Contrarian chats on Wednesday nights has been great fun.  I will keep going with these as long as I’m welcome and as long as I don’t burn out.  For those keeping track, this is my sixth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

For this week, Hell and the Underworld, I am going straight metal.  No deviations.  We’ll see what the other guys bring.  Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album covers featuring Hell and the Underworld  – Wed. Novermber 20 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: Spaceships! Aliens! Robots! Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

For those keeping track, this is my fifth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

This time I’m not going too far off the beaten track.  Nothing Canadian, nothing too far outside the rock genre, and all artists who have been featured on the Contrarians before.  Sometimes you have to play it straight.  Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album Covers with Robots, Aliens and Spaceships – Wed. Novermber 13 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: Album Covers with FIRE & EXPLOSIONS tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Last Wednesday on the Contrarians, I was absolutely blown away to hear my favourite writer, Martin Popoff, say the words “Mike is a great addition to the show.”

Thank you Martin.  I hope this week I live up to everybody’s expectations!

For those keeping track, this is my fourth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

I tend to go off the beaten track and focus on artists or albums that have never been on the Contrarians before.  I will be doing that again this week, with some more Canadian picks and some albums that are not in the rock genre at all.  Begin the guessing.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album Covers with Fire and Explisions – Wed. Novermber 6 – 7:00 PM EST

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Holy Grail CDs, Live Bootlegs, and Music DVDs from the Kollection of Kopp

A true throwback to the early days of Grab A Stack of Rock, and a showcase for the Mad Metal Man.  That was Friday night on Grab A Stack of Rock.

Harrison showed us several CDs that Mike wants to add to his collection, including a 2 CD edition of Alice Cooper in El Paso 1980, Iron Maiden bootlegs with Paul, Bruce and Blaze, Black Sabbath with Ian Gillan, a Bruce Dickinson single, and many more.  Harrison also had a rare Nintendo NES video game soundtrack on 7″ vinyl, and possibly the only Arkells CD in all of Australia.  (We just don’t know!)

I miscalculated the length of tonight’s show.  I expected it to run an hour.  I invited some surprise guests to welcome back Harrison after his long absence, and so we were joined by Peter Kerr, Johnny Clauser, and Jex Russell at the one hour mark.  Thank you guys for joining us on this special night.

Mike also had some CDs to show off, such as Prince, Paul Stanley, ELP, King Kobra, and Faster Pussycat.  However, storytelling was his main role.  The Sultans of Ping FC and the Arkells featured into two stories.

Thank you for watching and see you next week on Grab A Stack of Rock for our Mad Max movie ranking!

The Contrarians Live: YELLOW Album Covers tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

A sequel to last week’s show!  Last Wednesday, we covered brown album covers.  This week we’re following that up with yellow album covers!  I will be joining the Contrarians LIVE tonight at 7:00 PM EST for this excellent topic idea.  Each of us has ten picks.  The final panel is TBA but I will be with at least the following people:

  • Grant Arthur
  • John “Johnny Homework” Clauser
  • Jamie Laszlo

40 unique picks for yellow cover art.  Yes, we will see Stryper.

THE CONTRARIANS – Yellow Album Covers – Wed. October 30 7:00 PM EST

 

The Contrarians Live: BROWN Album Covers tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

A sequel to last week’s show!  Last Wednesday, we saw quite a few brown album covers when we looked at minimalist album art.  This week we’re following that up with brown album covers!  I will be joining the Contrarians LIVE tonight at 7:00 PM EST for this excellent topic idea.  Each of us has ten picks.  I will have the honour of sitting on a panel with:

  • Grant Arthur
  • Tim Durling
  • John “Johnny Homework” Clauser
  • Jamie Laszlo
  • Peter “The Professor” Jones.

60 unique picks for brown cover art.  I’ve given my list a twist:  all Canadian artists!

THE CONTRARIANS – Brown Album Covers – Wed. October 23 7:00 PM EST