new year

#1230: 101 Dumpsters: Top Five & 2025 In Review

RECORD STORE TALES #1230: 101 Dumpsters: 2025 In Review

Dear friends and strangers,

As we gather and recall the past year, it is important to remember the many times we have sat here together before.  Most years since 2018 have been years of change.  2025 is no exception.  Always setbacks, losses and triumphs!  Let’s have a look back the good, the bad, and the awesome!

Part the First

2025 represented a personal shift away from writing and more towards videos.  The reason for this is two-fold:

1. The Community changed from primarily writers, to YouTubers.  Whereas I used to do writing collaborations, now I am invited onto YouTube shows.  Collaborations abounded in 2025!  I became a regular on The Contrarians Live, with a total of 27 episodes in 2024-25 (Full list of 27 episodes can be found by clicking here).  Many of these included Martin Popoff – pinch my younger self!  I also did several episodes of Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr, My Music Corner with Johnny Metal, Tim’s Vinyl Confessions with Mr. Durling, Darcyska with D’Arcy Briggs, Grant’s Rock Warehaus with Mr. Arthur, Slogan’s Rock and Metal Extravaganza with Sidney and sometimes Logan, Rock Show Critique with Joey Suto, Off the Charts with Dan Chatrand, and of course, a couple amazing episodes on The Collection with Mr. John T. Snow (more on that later).   The biggest channel I appeared on in 2025 was Pete Pardo’s Sea of Tranquility.  I did two episodes with them, both hosted by Jamie Laszlo.  This has kept me well busy!

2. 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  We debuted on January 10, 2025 and are still rolling with the Maiden!  We’ll be done mid-2026.

It has been an incredible year creatively.  There is a lot to be proud of.  Videos appeal to a different audience than written articles, and so we’ve lost people along the way, but one must always follow their creative muse.  I have been making videos since 1989.  With the tools we have now, it is an old burning passion that is now easy to follow.  There were still written some reviews in 2025, and there will be in 2026, but I must go where the wind takes me.  I’m not fighting it or questioning it anymore.  I’m just doing what I want to do.  Music always finds its way into everything I do.

 

Part the Second

We can’t talk about 2025 without talking about our dive back into interviews!  Lacking confidence, I swore them off a while ago.  Not including people that I consider friends, such as Robert Lawson and Tim Durling, 2025 was primarily dominated by six interviews, in chronological order:

1. Blotto:  Early in the year, I reached out to Blotto about an interview for their new movie, Hello! My Name Is Blotto! The Movie.  To my surprise, I got the whole band and movie director Rob Lichter as well.  This went so well that it created lasting friendships, our own “Blotto” names (Kitchener and Blocko Blotto), and a second interview coming in 2026.  This gave me the confidence I needed to do more.

2. Alan Niven:  Thank you John T Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic for inviting me to co-host his interview with former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven.  It was for his book Sound N’ Fury which has still not come out.  John and I were fortunate enough to read it before “someone” had the plug pulled…and you can certainly guess who is probably responsible.  What a great interview experience this was!  Alan puffed his cigar and answered our questions thoughtfully and with considered wit.  A formidable man who treated us with nothing but thanks and gratitude.

3. Next Up was Bob Cesca from Camp Chaos, though this did not air for a few months after we recorded it, as it was slotted in for 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode 25: Visions of the Beast.  Bob was responsible for those “NAPSTER BAD!” cartoons in the early 2000s, and his love of science fiction and Rush made him one of the easiest conversations we’ve ever had.  Talking to Bob gave us another confidence boost.  I said to Harrison, “We should get in touch with the Blaze Bayley camp…”

4. Blaze Bayley is our proudest achievement to date, collectively and personally.  With very little notice, we were given an early morning recording time on a Monday.  What resulted is an interview that Harrison and I felt no hyperbole in calling “The Best Blaze Bayley Interview You’ve Ever Seen”  From Iron Maiden to mental health to science fiction and punctuality, Blaze was everything we hoped he would be and more.  To say we have interviewed someone from Iron Maiden, is a bucket list item we can check off.  A lifetime of wishes come true.  They say “Don’t meet your heroes?”  Harrison and I both disagree.

5. Rick Hughes from Sword was another big one.  Here is a guy who I have been listening to since 1987; even longer than Blaze by a good margin.  Dan Chartrand and I were both offered Rick, but rather than duplicate each other, we decided to team up.  The subject was Rick’s new solo album Redemption, but we went everywhere with this interview.  Opening for Motorhead, reuniting the band, and writing with Aldo Nova:  we covered it all on this excellent interview with a Canadian metal legend.

6. Tom Harper, known professionally as Harper, was a fun way to end the year’s interviews.  The only thing that can compete with anyone from Iron Maiden is a guy who played on a Kiss record.  Harper played bass on “Shandi”, and had a million stories.  Check out the episode that my mom called the “best ever!”  Even Broadway Blotto agreed!

Part the Third:  Top Five Albums of 2025

The part everyone waits for every year!  There is also an accompanying Tim’s Vinyl Confessions episode to go with my list, but for those who prefer to read… read on!

My music list this year is a delightful mix of genres and bands.  I love that a band well over 50 years old can put out my #1 album of 2025.   On the opposite side of the age gap is a hot young band out of Toronto.  In the middle is a British band that debuted in the early 2000s.  All of these albums are worth checking out, but please note my #1 pick is particularly special.

Here’s to the best of 2025!

5. The Beaches – No Hard Feelings

The Toronto quartet rolls on with another hit-filled new album.  Cutting edge rock & pop from a feminine perspective.

4. Ghost – Skeletá

Another band that simply rolled on with another album full of memorable classics… it’s Ghost!

3. The Darkness – Dreams On Toast

Vying for Album of the Year, it easily could have been Dreams on Toast.  An exceptionally strong album, and easily their best since Last of Our Kind.

2. Harem Scarem – Chasing Euphoria

Another contender for Album of the Year.  Reaching highs not heard since the early 1990s, Harem Scarem have a sound that they have mastered, and they continue to find new ways of writing catchy hard rock.

1. Styx – Circling From Above

When I finally got my hands on the new Styx, I knew immediately that the Battle of 2025 was over – finished!!  New(er) members Terry Gowan and Will Evankovich have brought fresh sounds to the first rock band I ever liked.  That’s three incredible albums in a row from Styx!  Progressive rock and beyond.

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 754: Best Albums of 2025

 

Part the Fourth:  Personal Stuff

Another years of highs and lows on the personal front.   My Aunt is in a care facility; she has a hard time remembering us.  We also lost our beloved elder.  Losing Grandma shortly after her 101st birthday was surreal.  She’d had so many health scares and recoveries, that I mourned her multiple times in the last five years before she finally passed.  I was so happy to see her make 101 years.  We saw her on her birthday, and that was the last time we saw her.  I gave her eulogy, and some people say it’s the best public speech I ever gave.  Highs and lows!

There were a ton of big changes and challenges at home in 2025.  Renovations, which I’ve been talking about for years, have finally commenced!  New windows and doors are installed, and more purging of belongings we didn’t need.  I established a home office for working remotely.  That is probably the biggest change at home in 2025.  I haven’t commuted anywhere in a month now.  This has drastically altered my mental health, as I navigate new routines.  Fingers are crossed!

2025 also represented a new personal peace.  Trying to be a better person year after year, I endeavored to put the past behind me and reach out to some old friends.  To my surprised delight, one of them reconnected with me, and we are friends again.  The one that I once publicly said would never talk to me again, has been back in my life for a year.  Another declined my olive branch, but I’ll take this win.   Working towards a more peaceful life is a good goal to have, and it doesn’t mean you can’t still listen to angry heavy rock!  Though I certainly can’t rock physically as hard as I used to.

One thing that I am slowly learning is that years tend to get harder as you age.  We lose people, and you can never predict that the the next year will be a year without funerals.  The last part of 2025 has been dominated by physical pain and anxiety.  Painfully, I am forced to realize that the body breaks down as we abuse it, year after year.  Physically, though I am taking care of myself by trying to eat better, and practice better mental health, my body is betraying me.  New pains become familiar pains.  Some go away for months and surprise you with a return later on, always at inconvenient times.  This year was the year I dropped my cell phones into a dumpster, and took a dive for the worse.  I am still paying for that mis-step.  There are good and bad days for pain.  Today is a particularly bad one.  Healing must continue in 2026.

Part the Last

In these uncertain times, we can only hope things don’t get worse next year.  Nobody can say what the new year will bring, but I do know we’ll have plenty of new music to digest.  New tours, as Journey, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, and even Rush and Triumph roll into 2026.

I don’t want to end the year on a bummer.  I can’t promise that 2026 will be the “best year ever!” or that I will reach newer and higher accomplishments.  I can only promise that I will continue to follow my creative muses.  I have many creative hats.  I’m a videographer, a podcaster, a writer, a drone pilot, and a cook.  You’ve been with me as I’ve shared my journey, on these subjects and more.  Journey on, I will.  More adventures.  More food.  More new discoveries.  More MUSIC!  Even years ago, when I “quit” writing about music, it still found its way into my work.  Every drone video has a kick-ass soundtrack, and every fictional story I’ve ever written has a soundtrack to it (whether you can hear it or not).  Music has been my life since 1977, when John Williams first opened my ears with the bombastic sound of brass, percussion and strings.  It’ll never go away.

I end this year with a message of hope.

I have learned that nothing is permanent.  The present sometimes feels like it, but nothing lasts forever and soon our new “normal” will be quite different from today.  If I can reconcile with the most unlikely of old friends, then there is always hope.  Hope for the future.  Happy 2026, and let’s continue to break new ground…together.

Grab A Stack of New Tunes! Ending 2024 in style with guests new and old

Harrison and I would like to thank our new guests Ashley Geisler, Melissa Nee, and Sidney from Slogan’s Rock & Metal Extravaganza, as well as returning guests Johnny Clauser and Todd Evans, for a rollicking good time on New Year’s Eve.

The concept was simple.  Each of us took turns going round, showing off an item we got recently over the holidays.

Sidney had a massive haul of Rock Candy CDs, and used metal bargains from The Beat Goes On.  He had a strong showing of Budgie remasters, and a diverse collection of bands.  Melissa had some cool Iron Maiden stuff, while Ash is collecting bootlegs and had several to show us.  Johnny Clauser brought some recent purchases, and Todd Evans scored well in the Neal Morse department.  As for Harrison and I, he had a cool Trust tin and something call ONXRT.  I decided to unveil my Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge deluxe edition, with a short discussion.

We also started the show with the traditional Ask Harrison featuring Jex Russell.

It’s very possible the winner of the year 2024 was Judas Priest with the recent Rocka Rolla reissue.  Have a watch and see.

Because we did the live show mid-week this time, Friday’s show is a pre-recorded special episode.  Don’t miss it January 3!

New Year’s Eve Drop-In Show on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 83:  New Year’s Eve Drop-In Show

It has been a while since I’ve attempted a show like this, but it’s time to do something random and chaotic to end the year with a party.

  • Disclaimer #1:  I never make it to midnight.
  • Disclaimer #2:  I have no idea what will actually happen tonight.

Harrison and I need a break like this to blow off steam.  We’ve both been active on other channels, plus we have been preparing our massive Iron Maiden project for 2025.  We are ready to launch it in January.  But first, let’s have a party.

Tonight Harrison and I will be hosting some brand new guests:  Ash Geisler from Australia, plus Logan and Sidney from Slogan’s music channel.  There will be some returning guests and some random drop-ins.

If there is a theme tonight, it’s just showing off music we acquired over the holidays.  It should be a fun discussion on that front.

Bottoms up.  It’s gonna be a rock and roll party tonight…with a 52 year old host who will require a nap mid-day.

Message me if you need a link to join tonight.

Tuesday December 31 at 9:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 10:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

#1103: Tough Decisions! (First song of 2024)

Date:  Jan 1, 2024.

Time:  7:46 AM

Sometimes it’s fun to make a big deal out of something that doesn’t matter.

Let’s figure it out.  What should the first song of 2024 be?  I just woke up, I have not played any music yet in the new year.  This is the kind of thing that music nerds make a big deal out of.  The first song of the year!  As if it sets the tone for the next 366 days (leap year!), let’s pretend that the first song played in 2024 is somehow really, really important.

How we do make such a decision?  Let’s narrow it down step by step.

1. Let’s start easy.  Should we play the song currently stuck in my head from yesterday?  That would be “Past Life” by the Arkells with the Cold War Kids.  Thematically it works.  It’s all about moving forward instead of backwards, which works well with the whole “new year” thing.  “I’ve been running from a past life, I wanna live this life instead!”  Uplifting, and also I get that “scratch that itch” feeling of playing a song stuck in my head.

2. However, 2024 is the 40th frickin’ anniversary of a very significant year in my life.  1984:  the year I committed to music as “my thing”, specifically heavy metal.  The exact date was December 26 1984, Boxing Day.  Perhaps I should play something from that year to commemorate this occasion.  “I Wanna Be Somebody” by  W.A.S.P., “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden, “Rock You” by Helix, or “Heaven’s On Fire” by Kiss would be appropriate.

3. Or, we look ahead.  There are albums to come in 2024, and we have heard some of the new music already.  Judas Priest have released two singles from the forthcoming Invincible Shield.  That would be a great way to start the year right — by looking forward.

4. …Buuuut I’d be starting the year by playing a song to which I have no emotional attachment yet, if I played the new Priest.  That doesn’t seem like the right note to kick off a new year.  Also, do I really want to start the year with a song about a “Panic Attack”?

5. Kiss is my favourite band.  I first got into Kiss during that mythical year of 1984.  And, the debut album Kiss came out 50 years ago, in 1974.

6. I prefer to listen to albums over songs.  1974’s Kiss gives me an excuse to play a whole album.  Playing that debut would be a way to honour both my roots in 1984, and the album’s 50th in 2024.

7. …However, I didn’t know that album in 1984.  I was just getting into rock, and I only knew two Kiss songs at that point:  “Heaven’s On Fire” (1984) and “Rock and Roll all Nite” (1975).

8. Just a side note:  this is the longest I’ve sat at my desk writing with no music playing!

9. The way I see it now, we can go one of two ways.  1984’s “Heaven’s On Fire”, which commemorates its 40th anniversary, and my discovery of heavy metal music the same year.  Or, 1974’s Kiss.  50 years of Kiss is a big deal, and they were one of the first five bands I ever liked back in ’84.  I prefer playing full albums, and overall I have more nostalgia for it.

10. Flip a coin.  Heads:  “Heaven’s On Fire”.  Tails:  Kiss 1974.

Time:  8:07 AM.

Time elapsed deciding:  21 minutes

The coin toss is:  Tails

Kiss it is.  Welcome to 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#1035: New Year, New Tale

RECORD STORE TALES #1035: New Year, New Tale

I’ve never been one for New Year’s celebrations.  I was usually asleep.  Only once can I remember going to a house party, a Record Store party, which was New Year’s 1999-2000.  It was actually at the Bully’s house.  She begged me to go out with them after to the bar.  Phil’s I think.  I was designated driver to get them to the bar.  She was drunk. A lot of issues there.  She went back to hating me again in the new year — harder than ever in fact.  I dropped them off and then went over to visit with my parents and the Szabo family, who had returned from seeing Jann Arden in concert.  We counted down to midnight, I went home to check that the computer was still working.  It was, and so I went to bed feeling pretty much the same in the year 2000 as I did in 1999.  Y2k ended up being nothing, except a footnote and the inspiration for a really bad Queensryche album title.

Really weird, that memory of her begging me to come out with them.  Me explaining I was going over to Szabo’s house to meet up with my family.  Then bullying me harder than ever in 2000.  I don’t think the events were connected but it was just weird how mercurial she was, and not in a good way.

Some of the more memorable New Years I had were spent at the movies.  New Year’s Day ’98 I went to go see Tarantino’s Jackie Brown with a friend.  I remember she went because her boyfriend was a huge Tarantino fan, and wanted to see it with her.  But he fucked up in some way, stayed out too late on New Year’s Eve without her perhaps, and did not attend the film with us.  I think this was a jealousy play.  She went with me, and I didn’t feel bad about it in any way.

New Year’s Eve 2000-2001, the family went out and  watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas for lack of options.  It was a Ron Howard film and therefore not terrible.  We remarked that movies made for a wonderful New Year’s Eve and more people should do it.  In 2015, I saw The Force Awakens with old friend Scotty.  That was a special moment.  Two childhood friends watching a movie they had been waiting for since 1983.  32 years.  That’s a long wait for the Force to Awaken.  Good thing we saw a matinee so we could nap before the midnight countdown.

Most of the time, I just can’t stay up late.  I did for the last couple New Year’s Eve LeBrain Train episodes, but that’s not necessary anymore.  Now people are spending their New Year’s Eves doing what they want, and that’s perfect.  Me, I spent mine napping!

Happy New Year! 2022 Begins on the LeBrain Train

Thanks for dropping in and celebrating!  This 3+ hour show was brought to you by the following familiar faces:

A success all around as we took a look at the new Judas Priest box set, showed off our Christmas hauls, and talked about our favourite moments in 2021.  We got an update from Tim Durling on his forthcoming book Unspooled and heard a brand new Tee Bone song.  He now has enough for a whole album!  We also had some unreleased Uncle Meat music and some favourite clips from past shows.

Happy new year everyone!

REMINDER: New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party TONIGHT

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends

Episode 92 – New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party

Wow, this year sure didn’t end as envisioned!  If, like millions of Canadians, you find yourself with cancelled plans on December 31, consider spending it with us.

We’ll be going live a little later that usual this week, so we can count down to midnight.  Catch us live this Friday night at 9:00 PM E.S.T.  This will be a drop-in party show with guests coming and going as they please.  Harrison Kopp will be reporting live from 12 hours in the future.  We will be showing off all our Christmas goodies, so yes, this means a solid look at the new Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music box set.

Can’t wait to do it again this Friday night, although I sure can’t believe we’re doing it again this Friday night.  Join us!

Friday December 31, 9:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends

Episode 92 – New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party

Wow, this year sure didn’t end as envisioned!  If, like millions of Canadians, you find yourself with cancelled plans on December 31, consider spending it with us.

We’ll be going live a little later that usual this week, so we can count down to midnight.  Catch us live this Friday night at 9:00 PM E.S.T.  This will be a drop-in party show with guests coming and going as they please.  Harrison Kopp will be reporting live from 12 hours in the future.  We will be showing off all our Christmas goodies, so yes, this means a solid look at the new Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music box set.

Can’t wait to do it again this Friday night, although I sure can’t believe we’re doing it again this Friday night.  Join us!

Friday December 31, 9:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party Extravangza

I haven’t stayed up til midnight on a New Year’s Eve in a dog’s age, but I did it tonight…for you!

Tonight’s drop-in special ran over three hours and we still failed to squeeze in Aaron from the KMA.  Huge apologies to my buddy Aaron.  Hopefully I’ll make it up to you next week for the ZZ Top show.

Special guests tonight were invited to drop in and read their Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists, and each guest chose their own theme for their lists!  Guests included:

  • Dr. Kathryn Ladano – 0:17:45
  • Deke – Special KISS report – 0:40:50
  • Scotty P – 0:45:30
  • Uncle Meat – 1:21:00
  • Mike’s Mom – 2:16:25
  • Michael, Max the Axe’s Stunt Double – 2:34:40

Once again sincere apologies to Aaron for not getting to him in time.

I also played some music tonight, five songs that make my skin vibrate (and don’t set off copyright strikes).  Enjoy the show

 

 

Virtual New Year’s Eve on the LeBrain Train! All aboard for the season finale!

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 44 – Special “Season One” Finale

 

Got nothing to do tonight?  Join the club!  Better yet, join the stream!  This week’s special episode takes place on Thursday December 31.  It will be a drop-in show, meaning folks will drop in and say hello, and read their own Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists.  It will be any topic, from music on down to favourite children’s breakfast cereals.  Several guests so far confirmed.  I have a list planned myself, and it’s a very special one!

Special time:

9:00 PM E.S.T.
Facebook:  MikeLeBrain  YouTube:  Mike LeBrain