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
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
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
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!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 73: A Mighty Wind Appreciation, with Dan Chartrand, Uncle Meat & Johnny Metal
In 2003, Christopher Guest unveiled his third improv comedy movie, following Waiting For Guffman (1996) and Best In Show (2000). While each film has its focus (a small town play; a dog show), it was 2003’s A Mighty Wind that “tapped” into the spirit of music that made Guest a fan favourite in the first place. This time it’s folk music!
The Folksmen are a fictional folk band that actually opened for Guest’s “other” band, Spinal Tap. Ironically, all three members are the same: Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Together with Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) and the New Main Street Singers (Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley et. al.), the bands have reunited for a big folk show in New York City. As he often does, Fred Willard stole the show in this film.
This hilarious comedy boasts an incredible soundtrack of originals and one cover (“Start Me Up”), and tonight I’ll be joined again by Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat to discuss it. With them will be John “Johnny Metal” Clauser, who has wanted to do this topic with us for some time now.
You might not be as family with A Mighty Wind as you were with This Is Spinal Tap, but you won’t regret spending an hour with us tonight. It may not be heavy metal, but good music is good music, and this soundtrack is loaded with great songs. Join us tonight!
Friday October 4 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight. The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music. It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t. Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.
Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds. Here’s what we tackled:
Were you ever in the blissful unawareness that Spinal Tap was a fake band? Or were you always in on the joke?
Evaluate the musicianship of Tap.
Pick a favourite song from the soundtrack.
Pick a favourite song from Break Like the Wind.
And a quick discussion of Back from the Dead.
Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional. We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject. I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night. We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing. Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”? I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind. In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.
Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances. Thank you Peter! And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.
I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show. Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package. I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.
One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers: Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025. How do you feel about this? Let us know in the comments. I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea. The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.
Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below. This is one I’ll be watching over again.
NEXT WEEK: A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 72: 40 Years of Spinal Tap: The Music with Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat
Tonight we’re gonna rock ya, tonight!
Formed as the Thamesmen in 1964, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins scored a hit with the single “Gimmie Some Money” / “Cups and Cakes”. The band soon employed bassist Derek Smalls. After a name change to Spinal Tap, the band wandered through progressive rock, jazz fusion, funk, reggae, hard rock, and heavy metal. In 1984 they became a household name with the release of the documentary film by Marty DiBergi, called This Is Spinal Tap. It is hard to believe it has been 40 years since that film brought Tap to the silver screen.
Tonight, Contrarians Marco D’Auria and new face Dan Chartrand will join Uncle Meat and I, as we Tap into the history of this great band’s music.
From rock and roll (“Gimme Some Money”) to hippie flower power (“Listen to What the Flower People Say”, “Rainy Day Sun”) to heavy metal (“Stonehenge”), few bands have struggled to find a direction like Spinal Tap has. Now with DiBergi back on board, the band are primed to release a new documentary film on their more recent exploits. Our panel tonight will try to avoid talking about the drama (puppet shows, air force bases, girlfriends) and focus on the music. And what music it is! Nigel Tufnel is one of the most critically acclaimed guitar players in the world, not just for volume but also for pioneering the art of double his guitar solos with voice. David St. Hubbins is such a legendary lead singer, that Ronnie James Dio wouldn’t allow him to sing lead on Hear N’ Aid’s “Stars” for fear of breaking the board. And Derek Smalls? His solo album Smalls Change proves he’s not a one-trick moustached pony.
Join us tonight, and Tap into the music of Spinal Tap.
Friday September 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
This is a show I was made for! Spoiler alert: Regular readers already know my favourite Steve Morse era Deep Purple album. I was already trying to kickstart a Purple collection when he joined the band in 1995. His addition made me a completist – had to get every album. And, within a few years of his joining, I achieved and maintained that. Morse’s additional made me a superfan. I just love when a band has a significant lineup change that actually works. Deep Purple was transformed into something a little different, but just as good. Just new flavours in the soup. A new freedom to experiment and stretch out. It wouldn’t have worked if the band couldn’t write new songs with the new axeman, but their chemistry flourished over seven studio original studio albums.
Now that Steve is gone from the band, and they are carrying on with another new ingredient in Simon McBride, it is a perfect time to look back upon the Morse era. Joining myself and Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation is “Music Swami” Pete Jones. Together, we passionately discuss three favourite albums, and the key tracks that you need to check out for yourself. We don’t just shower praise, but we break down and analyze.
Here’s what Mr. Kerr has to say:
Rock Daydream Nation is joined by Peter Jones (The Contrarians) and Mike Ladano (Grab a Stack of Rock) to choose their desert island Deep Purple album featuring Steve Morse….Are any of these albums better than Deep Purple Ritchie Blackmore? Check out the show!
Grant Arthur, Jamie Laszlo, Peter Kerr, Tim Durling and myself all gathered together to discuss this fun topic last night: Albums with common “nickname” titles! For example: The Beatles (the White Album), Metallica (the Black Album), and Weezer (lotsa coloured albums)! There are plenty on our lists, and I’m especially proud of one of my coloured picks.
This was my first ever panel discussion with the Contrarians, and about three years overdue. Thank you Grant for inviting me!
There will be no episode of Grab A Stack of Rock this weekend, but we’ll be back next week!
It was a marathon, but it was never dull! With Pete Jones on board, we completely dissected every track on these two 40 year old albums:
Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith – 13 January 1984 – peaked at #18 in the US and went platinum. Produced by Tom Allom, his fifth with Priest.
Iron Maiden – Powerslave – 3 Sept 1984 – peaked at #21 in the US and went platinum. Produced by Martin Birch, his fourth with Maiden.
Harrison Kopp arrived at the end of the show and between he, Peter and myself, we chose a winner. It was a 2-1 vote.
Lyrically and musically we broke down each track to the individual parts. We shone light and appreciation on all the players, for what they contributed to each of these epic metal masterpieces. At the end of the day, it was clear that though both bands are often lumped together, these two albums are completely different. They have different moods, different directions, and different lyrical themes. Both are important albums to 80s metal, and to the respective band catalogues.
Subject matter broken down in detail:
The bass, drum, and guitar parts to each song.
Lyrical themes to each song and album.
The B-sides and bonus tracks.
The true and hilarious story behind Mission From ‘Arry.
Connections between Becket and Iron Maiden.
Personal stories and impact of these records.
Live performances and songs that have never been played live.
You will also be treated to a live performance of “Freewheel Burning” by Mike!
They call Peter the Professor and for good reason. He came prepared with tour information and intimate knowledge of the construction of these songs.
Though it pained me to have to pick a winner, we did!
We hope you enjoyed the show, and a big thank-you to Peter for contributing two hours of your Friday night! Of course, always nice to see Harrison.
This is likely the last evening show of the summer of 2024. Afternoon shows occur at 3:00 PM on Fridays, when I have an available co-host. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned…
The next show is an interview with author Angie Moon, regarding her debut music/true time book, Crime of the Century, June 21 on Grab A Stack of Rock!
mikeladano.com 