martin popoff

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 3: Killers with Martin Popoff

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 3:  Killers (1981)

With Martin Popoff

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #87

Here is the episode we’ve all been waiting for:  Author Martin Popoff (Iron Maiden: Album By Album) joins us to talk about record #2, Killers.

With Adrian Smith now in the fold, Maiden settled into the studio with legendary producer Martin Birch to lay down another series of tracks that the band had been working up for years.  “Wrathchild”, “Killers”, “The Ides of March” and more will be broken down, track by track.

Martin will also be telling us a little bit about his forthcoming book, Hallowed By Their Name: The Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible, currently up for pre-order (released April 28 2025).  This book is sure to be a must-have.

We will also discuss the singles, the B-sides, and the tour.  Once again Harrison goes through the Killers tour and tells us the facts, figures and songs.

Don’t miss this awesome episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden, tonight on Youtube.

Past episodes:

Friday January 24 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube.

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

The Contrarians Live: Top NWOBHM Album Covers

This is a topic for which I’m no expert, but others on the panel will be.  Martin sure knows his NWOBHM!  Guaranteed, we will see some cool heavy metal album covers tonight on the Contrarians.  Looking forward to it.

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

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

THE CONTRARIANS – Great Album Covers from Bands We Despise – Wed. January 15 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: Great Album Covers from Bands We Despise

We’re back!  We had a couple weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s, but we’re back LIVE tonight to talk about some more album covers.

Today’s challenge comes again from the mind of Martin Popoff.  Pick 10 great album covers from bands we despise.  This was challenging in two respects.  First, do we really want to say we “despise” a band?  That’s a strong word, so we had to choose carefully.  Just because I don’t listen to a band doesn’t mean I despise them.  Second, I hate to say it, but many bands I hate have terrible covers.   It was hard finding 10 good ones.  But I did, so tune in tonight for some Contrarians fun with Martin, Grant, Peter, Jamie and myself.

This will be a controversial one.  It is already.  One of the covers I said was too crappy to include, was picked by Jamie.  (At least we both despise the same band.)  So we’ll see!

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!

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

THE CONTRARIANS – Great Album Covers from Bands We Despise – Wed. January 8 – 7:00 PM EST

The Contrarians Live: They Swapped Covers! – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Today’s challenge comes again from the mind of Martin Popoff.  Pick two bands – and swap their album covers!  For example, Martin went with Uriah Heep and XTC.   I chose two bands that are a little more similar.  This was by far the most challenging list to date.  We could do one way swaps, or two way swaps – I chose two ways, all the way.  I like a challenge.  It seemed do-able, so I went for it.

For those keeping track, this is my tenth 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 – They Swapped Covers! – Wed. December 18 – 7:00 PM EST

Sad Wings of Destiny for Cross Purposes

  • Fairly obvious – the wings of the angel works for Sad Wings, and the angel on Sad Wings is holding the Judas Priest cross.

Black Sabbath for Angel of Retribution

  • The haunting woman on the Sabbath cover could be our “angel of retribution”.  Meanwhile, if that Priest angel had been on an album called Black Sabbath, I sure would think my doom was at hand.  His cross gesture with his arms works with the religious connotations of the word “Sabbath”.

Never Say Die for Hell Bent For Leather

  • The pilots outfits must have leather in them.  Meanwhile, the mask/face/helmet concept on Leather evokes a Never Say Die attitude.

Jugulator for Dehumanizer

  • Two robotic characters, who cares which is which?  The robotic reaper could be a Jugulator, and the Jugulator could be a Dehumanizer.  Who knows!

Paranoid for Stained Class

  • The sword in the head sure works for Paranoid!  Meanwhile, the sword guy is abstract enough that it could go with Stained Class just as well as a chrome head.

Technical Ecstasy for Turbo

  • Look at the turbo cover and tell me that’s not some technical ecstasy.  Meanwhile, the robots on the Sabbath cover could be turbo charged in a very 1970s way.

Hero Hero for Tyr

  • The barbarian on Hero Hero can surely represent The Battle of Tyr, from the Tyr album. He’s not a Viking, but close enough for heavy metal, right?  Meanwhile the Tyr cover is astract enough to be called Hero Hero, I guess.

Heaven and Hell for Point of Entry

  • Point of Entry – the sky is heaven, and that eternal strip of printer paper surely is hell!  Meanwhile, the angels are smoking – their point of entry to bad behaviour!

Forbidden for Ram It Down

  • The reaper on the cover of Forbidden needs to ram all those ghosts back down that hole!  Meanwhile, the fist pounding the Earth just screams the word FORBIDDEN to me!

Born Again for Redeemer of Souls

  • I’m really really stretching it here.  That baby definitely needs its soul redeemed.  And that redeemer of souls…if he’s redeeming souls, doesn’t that make them Born Again?

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

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: Minimalist Album Covers tonight at 7:00 PM EST

I will be joining the Contrarians LIVE tonight at 7:00 PM EST for an excellent topic idea:  minimalist album covers.  Each of us has ten picks.  I will have the honour of sitting on a panel with:

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

70 unique picks for minimalist cover art.  This outta be good.  Link is below!

#1159: The Community is Dead – Long Live the Community!

RECORD STORE TALES #1159:
The Community is Dead – Long Live the Community!

Once Upon A Time, the old WordPress music Community was an important part of our daily breakfast.  It was a wonderful way to connect and talk music with like-minded folks.  It was even a good way to seek support in our lives.

Then in 2023, the Community died.  I don’t know why, and I no longer care.  It’s possibly a “type of feint, or fake technique, whereby a player draws an opposing player out of position or skates by the opponent while maintaining possession and control of the puck.” People just…disappeared.  Ghosted.  I actually don’t want to know why.  “Let the past die,” Kylo Ren said.  “Kill it, if you have to.”  That is done, but not by my own hand.

I knew it was dead in 2024, when several people from the old Community refused to watch or acknowledge my trip to Toronto with Aaron, the Community’s spiritual leader.   It was a shunning, with intent.  Rest in peace, Community!

Whatever their issues are, I hope they find peace and harmony, wherever they went and whatever they are doing now.  I miss them. But there was a silver lining.

A new Community awaited me.  A bigger, more welcoming Community.  A Community that stretches from Australia to America, east coast to west, and up north to Canada.  A stronger Community. For me it began as the old Community died in 2023.  Marco D’Auria encouraged me to work with the Contrarians, and suddenly I started getting invites to appear on other shows, such as Rock Daydream Nation and My Music Corner.  With these fine folks, together, we have rebuilt what was lost.  Bigger, better, faster, stronger!

I welcome you to the Community!  A place where we support each other, collaborate, and celebrate the power of music!  A place where you will not be judged for your mistakes, nor shunned.

Welcome…I bid you welcome!

The Best Birthday Party Ever! Thank you Jex, John, Tim, Jen and a cavalcade of guests for an awesome Grab A Stack of Rock celebration

The birthdays keep coming, relentlessly as the tides, but Jex Russell ensured that this one was special and different indeed.

This birthday, I was joined by Jex, John Clauser and Tim Durling for a fun Friday afternoon that turned quite epic by the end.  Before that surprise unfolded, we took a look at my new shelving and a large chunk at my CD collection.  We discussed favourite birthday memories and a movie in its 40th anniversary this year:  The Last Starfighter.  (This led into a side discussion on Howard the Duck.)

Jen joined us for gifts at the halfway point of the show.  She gifted me with two new releases and one deluxe live album.  You’ll have to watch the show and see!  (Clue:  royal rodents and the Phoenix lights.)

As a finale, Jex unveiled his surprise.  With the assistance of Tim Durling, it was like an episode of “This Is Your Life”, or a Cameo with all my favourite people.  Jex’s presentation included friends both famous and infamous. There was even an acoustic version of the Grab A Stack of Rock theme song performed by Johnny Metal himself. Thank you, John!

Here is Jex’s presentation:

By the end of it, I was flattered and honoured, and maybe my eyes were a little wet.  I’m not crying, you’re crying.  All my reactions to the kind words and surprise guests are live and unfiltered.

I’m the guy who usually has all the words.  I don’t have any this time.  If a picture is worth 1000 words, just watch my face.

Thank you everyone for everything.  Here’s to another year.