Peter Kerr

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!

 

 

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!

 

 

Three Australians vs. One Canadian! Lots of new rock at Grab A Stack of Rock!

Thank you to Harrison Kopp, Ashley Geisler, and Peter Kerr for joining me last night on a fun episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!

It didn’t start fun; a back injury has kept me in pain for the entire day, but some stronger painkillers kicked in mid-show and you can see the point at which I start feeling better!  What also made me feel good was spending time with three music scholars and gentlemen from the continent of Australia!

There was indeed plenty of Australian content.  I unboxed a CD by Buffalo Crows called Bovonic Empire, featuring Iron Maiden’s Paul Mario Day on lead vocals for three tracks.  We also looked at my new Rose Tattoo debut album, with eight bonus tracks.  Ash showed us some lesser known Australian bands, and Peter educated us on a few that I was unfamiliar with.   Harrison brought some Glenn Hughes, but Peter had some Trapeze without Glenn!  There was some Mel Galley education, and plenty of love for Prince.  We looked at Meat Loaf, Concrete Blonde, Elton John, Christopher Cross, Isaac Hayes, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and lots more.

For formats, we saw CDs, vinyl, DVDs, and one sealed 8-track tape!

Oh!  And of course, we finally unsealed my Queen I box set.  What a purple and gold majesty it is!

Speaking of Iron Maiden, we will be back next week with 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  See you then!

Rock Daydream Nation: Show Us Your Favourite Rock Band T-shirts!

Peter Kerr is back with Joe B, John Clauser, Melissa Nee, Tim Durling and myself for a fun topic:  Favourite rock T-shirts!  While most of the panel got their shirts from concerts, mine were a variety of store-bought and mail order!  As I mention on the show, I was always looking for shirts that no-one else at school had.

Lots of show and tell with this show.  Please enjoy!

 

Rock Daydream Nation: Mötley Crüe – Best Song, Worst Song, Every Album! – with Peter Kerr, Melissa Nee, Joe B and Mike Ladano

Whether it’s a fun and easy episode, or a challenging deep dive, I always enjoy sitting in with Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation. Peter has been on a roll lately with a great viral interview with former Motley Crue singer John Corabi.  Congrats Peter on that great chat!

In this episode, we break down the best song and worst song from every Motley Crue album.  Joining us were Joe B. and Melissa Nee, with whom we also tackled Theater of Pain.  They found this episode a challenge, as they were forced to listen to a lot of albums that might have been a big of a slog.  However we all did our duties!  As we go through the songs, you also get a sense of our album ranking too, though we didn’t do an official tally.  There was some consensus, a little disagreement, and overall a sense of relief to be finished this exercise!

And yes…once again, I sing on another person’s channel.  How long before I’m blacklisted for singing?  And swearing?  And quoting bad lyrics?

I also go on a massive rant regarding the Generation Swine album that makes for good TV.

Check out the show!

All Five MAD MAX Films Ranked on Grab A Stack of Rock with Two Australians and One Canadian (Harrison Kopp, Peter Kerr & Mike Ladano)

Harrison promised us rarities, and so he gave us rarities!  From some cool Steelbook DVD, Blu-rays and 3D issues of films, to replica cars and comic books, Harrison brought the goods.  The coolest of his collection is his high-end replica Mad Max interceptor, in limited edition dirty deco, to duplicate its appearance in Mad Max 2 (#221 in a limited edition of 2000).  Harrison is clearly a passionate fan, and his Mad Max collection is quite impressive indeed.  He even had his own custom Lego version of the interceptor to show.

As for the lists:  they were not as controversial as I expected, but there were some surprises.  Peter and I had lists most in common, but what did not come as a surprise was that all three of us had the same #1 film in the Mad Max franchise.

We offered a fair share of critique, but mostly praise for George Miller’s post-apocalyptic saga.  Certain moments in films were singled out for observation and analysis.  We discussed the soundtracks, the visual effects, some controversial CG elements, and of course, the performances of the cast.

If anyone knows the deal about that weird mannequin head strapped to Angry Anderson’s backup, let me know.  I had my own theory which I shared in the show.

Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, you can catch the show below.

Next week:  interview with ex-Helix drummer Archie Gamble!

Ranking all five MAD MAX Films on Grab A Stack of Rock with Two Australians and One Canadian (Harrison Kopp, Peter Kerr & Mike Ladano)

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 77:  Ranking the Mad Max Films

“Witness!  I am your redeemer. It is by my hand you will rise from the ashes of this world!”

Please welcome back to the show, Peter Kerr and Harrison Kopp from Rock Daydream Nation!  With two Australians and one Canadian, we hope this will be the most comprehensive (or, “Kopp-rehensive”) Mad Max list show on YouTube.

For the physical media crowd, Harrison promises RARITIES!

Tonight, we rank all five films in the Mad Max universe:  Mad Max, Mad Max 2 (“The Road Warrior“), Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.  I have immersed myself in the Mad Max films, watching the first three twice each in preparation.  Expect a deep analysis and hearty appreciation with a fair share of critique.  If you think you know what will happen tonight…you don’t!

Will Peter Kerr escape the Wasteland intact?  Will Mike Ladano emerge from the Thunderdome as victor?  Will Harrison Kopp go rogue like Furiosa?  Find out tonight for an awesome show that will defy your assumptions.

 

Friday November 8 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Rock Daydream Nation: ELP – Brain Salad Surgery – First Time Listener (AKA “out of my comfort zone!”)

Out of my comfort zone indeed!  This show has been a long time in the making.  I first bought my deluxe edition of Brain Salad Surgery by ELP many months ago, strictly for this show.  Peter gave me several weeks to absorb it.  Then I was gifted an addition week of preparation when I found myself sick to my stomach the night we were scheduled to record.  (Nerves, food poisoning, or both?)

Now you finally get to see the fruits of our labors.  Did I ever “get” ELP?  Find out by watching this episode of Rock Daydream Nation!  Peter’s description is below.

Rock Daydream Nation is joined by Mike Ladano (Grab a stack of Rock) in a special episode of “out of my comfort zone” where we select one record out of a genre that we don’t usually follow and provide our thoughts with 2024 ears, This weeks choice is ELP Brain Salad Surgery.

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!