This week's TuesWednesThursday

Wednesday is my day off from retail work, which makes it my designated day to record my parts for each week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and to try to get around to doing whatever else needs doing. I always run out out of Wednesday before I run out of Wednesday things to do.

The past few days have been a blur. This state of haze isn't so much due to the presence of a holiday--oh, BTW: Happy New Year!--as it is a consequence of snow in Syracuse. I'm told that Tuesday's snowfall (a little over two feet) was the second snowiest individual day in Syracuse's history, a feat that is equal parts weird, impressive, and hard to believe. The # 1 snowiest 'Cuse day was way back in the 1940s, which means Tuesday was the snowiest day I've ever experienced here. 

It didn't feel like it. As depressing as it was witnessing that cold mass of white and gray descend upon the 315 on Tuesday, it didn't seem comparable to my memories of the Blizzard of '66, nor the powerful winter storms of the early '90s. Moving to different geography, this past Tuesday in Syracuse felt almost like a spring day if contrasted against the blizzards I experienced when I lived in Buffalo in the '80s.

But yeah, it snowed on Tuesday. I got up about 7:30 (itself a little later than I'd planned), and got out to clear the driveway. It was cold and windy, but at least the initial foot or so of accumulated snow was powdery, and my Cub Cadet dispatched it with relative ease. If I hurried, I could still shower and at least try to get to work on time.

Instead, I wound up calling in. Officials at the local and state level were advising people to avoid unnecessary travel, and I struggled with the decision of what was more responsible: Going in to work because I was scheduled and expected to be at work, or staying home because my commute might be difficult, and might not be considered necessary travel? I'm not sure I made the right decision, and although no one at my job gave me any grief, I felt guilty the entirety of Tuesday.

Dana and I had programmed the next This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio on our now-regular Monday night chat. After a few weeks of experimenting with recording the show during breaks at work on Tuesdays, I've determined that it's better to make time for that process on Wednesdays again. The fact that I was home playing hooky on Tuesday meant I might as well go ahead and get the show done a day early, and I did that. Recording went well, the selections fit within the time slot, and I shipped the file to Dana to apply the measure of gloss, spit, and random magic needed to transform it into a radio show. We'll hear the result on the air Sunday night.

Wednesday morning brought more snow to clear, less than the previous day's volume but (sorry to say) not as powdery. I do not remember how we spent the day after that. We were going to be staying home on New Year's Eve, and Brenda and I had offered to dogsit for our daughter and son-in-law so they could spend the evening at a friend's house. With that in mind, Brenda and I had an early dinner date at Mi Rancho Alegre in North Syracuse, and got back home before Meghan and Austin dropped Cider off with us.

Cider is comfortable staying with us, alternately playing catch and cuddling with us in front of the TV. She was angry with me for reclaiming one of my socks after she'd, y'know, swiped it and claimed it as her own, but she forgave me. Brenda and I shared a bottle of wine and watched Jeopardy! and a Quincy Jones documentary before switching to Ryan Seacrest as he fired 2026's figurative starting pistol. GO!!

Man. Another new year. I’ll be 66 in a couple of weeks, which I know isn’t exactly an advanced age, but sometimes I just feel older than the calendar says I should. It's not constant, and it's not even most of the time, but it's there. I try to fight it with superhero comics and bubblepunk rock 'n' roll. I figure a refusal to grow up has got to at least slow the aging thing down a little bit.

Slept in a little on Thursday, postponed clearing the driveway until Meghan and Austin were on their way over to pick up Cider. They told us about their New Year's Eve with friends, and Brenda reiterated our joy and gratitude just for having the two of them around. I nodded and beamed with pride in my daughter, and in the good man I now regard as my son.  

After they left, I returned to the driveway for a little clean-up. Brenda began un-trimming the Christmas tree, and then I dismantled the tree and we returned all of these Yuletime trappings to storage. For supper, Brenda made some steak, accompanied by spinach ravioli with pesto sauce, a bowl of tropical fruit with Greek yogurt, a glass of milk for her, a Mexican Coca-Cola for me. Later on, we watched some game shows--we do like game shows--and ended the evening by watching a replay of NYC's new mayor Zohran Mamdani give his stirring and aspirational inaugural address. Hope. A little hope goes a long way. 

Alas, hope alone doesn't clear the driveway. There's more snow forecast in abundance for Friday. I aim to make it to work this time. About 46 years ago, Trouser Press magazine asked its readers how they intended to face the 1980s. One correspondent responded with authority: "With whiter teeth, fresher breath, and the Ramones." Hell, armed with that, I bet I can face down a blizzard if I have to.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.

THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO's Most-Played Artists In 2025

In the aftermath of this year's epic countdown show, it's time to enter this essential data into the public record: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 57 most-played artists in 2025. Thanks to the invincible Fritz Van Leaven for keeping track of all of our spins, and we hope you'll join us this Sunday night--and every Sunday night!--as we begin the long 'n' giddy process of building next year's countdown. 

Ready, Fritz? Hey-ho, let's GO!!!!

1. THE BEATLES

2. The Flashcubes

3. The Ramones

4. The Spongetones

5. The Monkees

6. The Half/Cubes

7. The Muffs

8. Blondie

9. Amy Rigby

10. Librarians Withg Hickeys

11. Sorrows

12. The Kinks

13. The Cynz

14. The Beach Boys

15. Dave Edmunds

16. Jim Basnight

17. The Grip Weeds

18. The Isley Brothers

19. Mike Browning

20. Big Star

21. Eytan Mirsky

22. sparkle*jets u.k.

23. The Chelsea Curve

24. Perilous

25. Joe Giddings

26. Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols

27. The Pretenders

28. Game Theory

29. The Peppermint Kicks

30. Sly and the Family Stone

31. The Armoires

32. The Jam

33. The Small Faces

34. Tom Petty

35. Bob Dylan

36. Clockwork Flowers

37. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet

38. Chubby Checker

39. The Rubinoos

40. The English Beat

41. Shonen Knife

42. Sam and Dave

43. Ballzy Tomorrow

44. The Artwoods

45. Jill Sobule

46. David Bowie

47. Chuck Berry

48. Badfinger

49. XTC

50. Squeeze

51. The Cowsills

52. The Primitives

53. The Kennedys

54. Little Richsrd

55. Brian Wilson

56. The High Frequencies

57. The Non-Prophets

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

GALLERY: Comics-based films (from various eras) that I saw in the '60s, '70s, and '80s

As much as folks talk about superhero fatigue among movie-goers, there's still an ongoing buzz attached to the DC and Marvel Comics cinematic universes. And comics-related flicks remain a much bigger deal now than they were when I was a kid in the 1960s and '70s, and even into theoretical adulthood in the '80s.

Today's gallery gathers images from comics-based movies I saw in those decades. It's not limited to films first released in that era; 1930s and '40s movies and movie serials are certainly fair game. The gallery includes movies I saw in theaters, on TV, via home video, and in screenings at the Syracuse Cinephile Society, or at the 1976 Super DC Con in New York City. It excludes TV series, but includes TV movies, and at least one feature-length compilation of TV series episodes (1974's Kato And The Green Hornet), plus one time when a local station in Syracuse aired a bunch of Hulk cartoons from the 1966 limited-animation Marvel Super Heroes series as its Saturday afternoon movie . And while the focus is on films based on comic books or syndicated comic strips, we're throwing in properties (like the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet) that originated in other media. I'm arbitrarily excluding Tarzan and Zorro, and less-arbitrarily excluding pulp hero Doc Savage, the latter only because I didn't see Doc Savage, Man Of Bronze within the stated timeline. 

In the time frame, there were a number of comics-related film or TV-movie projects teased but never made, including adaptations of Black Widow (starring Angela Bowie), Captain America, Spider-Man, Silver Surfer,and  Vampirella (pictured above); actress Barbara Leigh was said to be set to star in a Hammer Films Vampirella adaptation, but if that was true at any time, it wasn't true for long.

So! Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear! Lights! Camera! ACTION COMICS! 

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

BOPPIN's monthly day off

Once a month, Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) pauses its commitment to daily public posting and instead preps a private post shared solely with its beloved paid patrons. 

As mentioned near the end of this past Saturday's public post, this month's private post is an exclusive look at early work on a novel I'm writing. Lazarus Lives was originally meant to be a short story, and I've decided there's too much story to squeeze into short form. It's gonna be a novel. Eventually. In the mean time, patrons get to see a glimpse of where I was going with it when it was a mere short story. The final project will encompass life in the 1970s, teen alienation, depression, friendship, fantasy, loss, the creative urge, wanting someone you can't have, wishing for something you can't do, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and--of course--comic book superheroes.

I'm very enthused about Lazarus Lives, and I hope some folks find it of interest. It's very unlikely the book will be finished until 2027 at the earliest. For now, this is the only opportunity to catch a glimpse of what it may become. Paid patrons will receive the early look at Lazarus Lives on Thursday, January 1st.. If you'd like to read the extended opening of Lazarus Lives, you can become a Boppin' patron for as little as $3 a month: Fund me, baby! Regular daily public posting resumes tomorrow.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO # 1317: THE COUNTDOWN!

Wanna reminisce?

Granted, maybe we're not yet eager to reminisce so much about this particular year. It often seemed as if 2025 had all the warm and fuzzy ambiance of a dumpster fire, and maybe an aroma to match that image. But just as each and every year offers its cruel share of heartache, there is also good stuff--great stuff--in every year as well. We won't forget our failures, our disappointments, our losses, our defeats. But if we survive, and then if at some point we do choose to reminisce, we'll exult in the memories of what helped us get through. Love and art. Purpose and compassion. A stubborn belief in truth and justice, and in a community larger and more powerful than the dark forces that piss us off.

There is always wonderful music, including everything we've ever loved from the past, and every transcendent new discovery of any vintage. It's one of my favorite personal clichés, my durable motto: Right now is the best-ever time to be a music fan. Music never dies. Legacies last. Creation continues. The beat, goddammit, goes on. Even in the shadow of all that's thrown at us, we will have cause to look back in wonder.

In 2025, I paused all of my other projects so I could concentrate my efforts on helping to make a dream come true: I wanted a various-artists tribute album honoring the songwriting of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse, the Flashcubes. My favorite power pop band, a group that has been nearly as important to me as the Beatles and the Ramones. Whoever and whatever I am, as a rockin' pop pundit, as a DJ, as a writer, as a dreamer who does his fancifyin' with a loud and proud soundtrack, I don't get to become me without the Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes. Someone asked me: Why a Flashcubes tribute album? Aren't the Flashcubes a cover band? That widespread lack of recognition of the sheer brilliance of the Flashcubes' original songs made me all the more determined to shine a brighter light. 

A Flashcubes tribute album. Why? Because the Flashcubes deserve the tribute.

My friends at Big Stir Records agreed, and they gave a bright green light to Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, a gathering of 21 bands covering 21 Flashcubes originals, supplemented by three brand new original tracks by the Flashcubes themselves. The resulting album is stunning, which is a testament to the musicians who applied their talent, and to the richness of the material at hand. As the record's curator, I'm aware of the fact that I can only take credit for organizing and cheerleading. It was the artists, the songwriters, and mastering maestro Michael Simmons who really made something happen. And the something that happened brought a welcome light to me throughout the year.

To the surprise of no one, a staggering thirteen of the 24 tracks on Make Something Happen! were among This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 50 most-played tracks in 2025, and nearly all of the album's other eleven tracks came pretty damned close. And among those thirteen, of course all three of the new Flashcubes tracks made our Top 5, deservedly so. In another year of great music, the Flashcubes were as great as anyone.

"Reminisce" was the first advance single off Make Something Happen!, and the album's lead-off track. Written by 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, "Reminisce" is a rollickin' rock 'n' roll love letter to all passion that endures, to all flash that lives beyond the seeming transience of its in-your-face moment in time. We can look back and still look forward with deliberate intent. It's how stupid rules get amended, it's how walls fall, and it's how the right things prevail. "Reminisce" was TIRnRR's # 1 most-played track in 2025. We salute the road that got us this far. We use that experience to fuel the journey's next leg. We reminisce. 

And then we continue.

As holidays close out the calendar, the sting of reminiscing reminds us that there aren't as many folks here as there were this time last year. Not even music can heal that. But we're still going to play. In tribute. In defiance. In memory. In service of all we ever held dear: 

We reminisce. And we keep moving.

Thanks as always to the incredible Fritz Van Leaven for keeping the stats and programming our countdown. Congratulations and thanks to all of the artists on the countdown, to all of the other sublime acts we played in 2025, and to all the music and magic we hope to reclaim and/or proclaim in 2026. And now, in the words of both the Ramones and the Flashcubes: Hey-ho, let's GO!! This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a whole bunch of Sunday nights in Syracuse this year.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. 

You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

Carl's latest book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get Carl's previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

Volume 5: CD or download

TIRnRR # 1317: 12/28/2025: THE COUNTDOWN!

TIRnRR's 12 MOST-PLAYED ARTISTS IN 2025

12. THE KINKS: You Really Got Me (Sanctuary, The Ultimate Collection)
11. SORROWS: Teenage Heartbreak (Pavillion, Teenage Heartbreak)

10. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Out Of Your Hair (Big Stir, How To Make Friends By Telephone)
9. AMY RIGBY: I Don't Want To Talk About Love No More (Signature Sounds, Little Fugitive)

8. BLONDIE: Denis (Chrysalis, The Platinum Collection)
7. THE MUFFS: Sad Tomorrow (Omnivore, Blonder And Blonder)

6. THE HALF/CUBES: Something's Gonna Happen (Jem, Found Pearls)
5. THE MONKEES: You And I (Rhino, The Monkees Present)
4. THE SPONGETONES: Words And Music (Black Vinyl, Oh Yeah!)
3. THE RAMONES: Carbona Not Glue (Rhino, Leave Home)
2. THE FLASHCUBES: Alone In My Room (Big Stir, Pop Treasures)
1. THE BEATLES: No Reply (Capitol, Beatles '65)

TIRnRR's 50 MOST-PLAYED TRACKS IN 2025

50. GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT: Pathetic (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

49. THE LUCKY SHOTS: Jump Start (Kool Kat Musik, Clearly Opaque)

48. THE VIBEKE SAUGESTAD BAND: Hey Now Sunshine (Rum Bar, The Sun Sessions EP)

47. TOM KENNY AND THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

46. CHUBBY CHECKER: The Twist (Cameo Parkway, Dancin' Party: The Chubby Checker Collection [1960-1966])

45. THE CORNER LAUGHERS: Speak To The Sky (Curry Cuts, VA: Second By Second By Minute By Minute: The Songs Of Rick Springfield)

44. NELSON BRAGG: We're Gonna Laugh About It (Big Stir, Mélodie de Nelson: A Pop Anthology)

43. ELENA ROGERS: A Little Bit Of Lovely (Eats Dynamite, Always Trying)

42. THE SHIRTS: Tears Coin' Down (Think Like A Key Music, Live Featuring Annie Golden)

41. PERILOUS: Dear Heart (n/a, SOS)

40. JIM BASNIGHT: Get It Out (Power Popaholic, single)

39. KID GULLIVER: 24 Hours (single)

38. SHONEN KNIFE: She's The One (Good Charamel, Osaka Ramones)

37. THE RAMONES: Judy Is A Punk (Rhino, Ramones)

36. MIKE MITSCH'S LAGANSLOVE: (I Don't Wanna) Waste Another Day (single)

35. MONOGROOVE: That Girl (Kool Kat Musik, Popsicle Drivethru)

34. THE VERBS: I Need Glue (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

33. CLOCKWORK FLOWERS: Going Going Gone (n/a, Clockwork Flowers)

32. DEAN LANDEW: Summertime Friday Night (single)

31. THE SPONGETONES: Lulu's In Love (Big Stir, The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond)

30. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

29. SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go (single)

28. THE MnM'S: I'm Tired (Burger, Melts In Your Ears 1980-81)

27. THE MONKEES: For Pete's Sake (Rhino, Headquarters)

26. THE BEVIS FROND: He'd Be A Diamond (Woronzow, New River Head)

25. THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight (Jem, Found Pearls)

24. JILL SOBULE: Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart (Beyond, Pink Pearl)

23. THE CHELSEA CURVE: Rally Round (The Sound Cove, single)

22. THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

21. THE CYNZ: Heartbreak Time (Jem, single)

20. THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie)

19. MIKE BROWNING: Four Days Of Rain (single)

18. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

17. BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

16. SORROWS: Radio (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

15. SORROWS: Never Mind (Big Stir, Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow)

14. HARMONIC DIRT: Tumbleweeds (n/a, Tumbleweeds)

13. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

12. THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part 1) (MOJO, VA: Songs The Beatles Taught Us)

11. SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man (Atlantic, The Best Of Sam & Dave)

10. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime (Epic, Greatest Hits)

9. THE NON-PROPHETS: Alibi (single)

8. SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: Pop Radio (single)

7. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

6. JOE GIDDINGS: Tonite Tonite (Kool Kat Musik, Stories With Guitars)

5. THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

4. THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot (original master used for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

3. THE MUFFS: That's For Me (Omnivore, No Holiday)

2. AMY RIGBY: Heart Is A Muscle (Tapete, Hang In There With Me)

And TIRnRR's # 1 MOST-PLAYED TRACK IN 2025:

1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce (single)

--

FADEOUT:

THE NUTLEY BRASS: I Wanna Be Sedated (Sanctuary, Ramones Songbook)

Tonight on THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

THE COUNTDOWN! Our chance to play back what we played a lot in 2025, with music spanning from the 1960s through today. Our 12 most-played artists! Our 50 most-played tracks! Like Casey freakin' Kasem, we're gonna count the lot of 'em all the way down to #1. We bill each week's show as The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, and we believe that's true. But the Countdown show? THAT, my friends, is the best show of the year. Count down with us! Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming via sparksyracuse.org, and as WESTCOTT RADIO on the Radio Garden app. The weekend stops HERE!

Writing Books: Novel Approaches

Photo of the blogger by novelist Dave Murray

How many times have I attempted to write a novel?

I'm not sure of the answer. I think my first attempt was The Snowman, a pulp novel inspired by 1940s superhero movie serials, its name suggested by a childhood drawing by artist Jules Feiffer (reproduced in Feiffer's book The Great Comic Book Heroes). I remember writing a few chapters of The Snowman in longhand during high school study halls circa...1974 or '75, I think. I certainly wasn't going to waste study hall by studying. I also remember the girl sitting in front of me turning around to ask what I was working on. She didn't seem impressed. I tired of the story and set it aside. I don't believe the little work I did on The Snowman exists anymore.

It seems as though I must have made other attempts in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, but if I did, the memory is lost. I had ideas for novels, but none fully conceived, and certainly none executed in even introductory chapters. I recall a vague notion of something about a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus, a murder mystery to be called Our Lips Are Sealed, a Syracuse-based rock 'n' roll tale to be named Bright Lights. None came to fruition.

When I started blogging in 2016, the notion of writing a novel became more plausible, if not quite achievable in the short term. I had all but given up writing by then; the self-inflicted need to generate content for a daily blog forced me to create...something. I burned through my previously-published freelance work (almost all nonfiction, predominantly about pop music), started writing new personal reminiscences and commentaries. I began writing the rock 'n' roll superhero time travel novel Eternity Man!, but stopped after completing five chapters.

I made my first-ever fiction sales in 2019, all to AHOY Comics, a Syracuse-based, nationally-distributed publisher that includes prose short stories in most of its comics. My third sale (and first published) was "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid," a story born from a random notion to try my hand at writing a Western. Its relative success spawned a sequel, "The Copperhead Strikes!," a 1930s-set pulp saga about a masked crimefighter--hey, like the Snowman!--who happens to be the daughter of the Copperhead Kid. More stories followed, with further branches of this adventurous family tree: A secret agent in the '60s, a bass-playin' punk chick in the '80s, a reluctant heroine in the present day (a heroine eventually destined to be elected as President of the United States), then going back to the '20s for a hard-boiled private detective from Harlem pursuing a case in the Himalayas. Other than the unfinished account of the future POTUS formerly known as Copper Girl, each of these stories sold, feeding my intention to write additional stories in this universe, and to eventually string them together as a de facto novel about the Copperhead Kid's legacy. With six chapters written, this is a work in progress, and it is still progressing.

I began writing another novel, Meet The Frantiks!, running with a concept I had for a comic book mini-series about a widow in her sixties encountering what appears to be a flesh and blood manifestation of a fictitious British Invasion rock group she saw on a TV sitcom when she was five years old. I've been writing Meet The Frantiks! a chapter at a time, and I've been pleased with its development. My plan has been to continue the work, with a goal of publishing it as my first novel, probably in 2027. My 2026 slate already belongs to two other book projects: the nonfiction first-person history Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES and a short story compilation, Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. For the former, I've been editing initial interviews and lining up more interviews; for the latter, I've been completing new short stories to accompany previous works.

One of the new short stories intended for Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! was "Lazarus Lives," a story I've tried to write since one of my best friends killed himself in 1979. I don't think I have copies of any of my previous attempts at "Lazarus Lives," which is just as well, because I'm starting the damned thing over from scratch anyway. The new version has been coming together quite well, really flowing, really clicking in a way its lost early drafts could not. 

The only problem? There's too much in it for it to be a short story, nor even a novella. It's not a matter of self-editing; the characters are telling me, insisting to me, that there's more story to tell than what my modest blueprint can accommodate. If you're a writer, it's vital to listen to what your characters think they should say and do, how they should live, even how they should die. 

"Lazarus Lives" has to be a novel: Lazarus Lives. I'm my own worst enemy, but this feels imperative. And I can't talk myself out of it now that my characters have dug in their heels.

The Flashcubes book is my immediate priority, though the short story collection may still be published first because it's a project that can be crafted in spare time (whatever that is). I also have another nonfiction book pending, and that's a BIG priority after the Flashcubes book is done.

Nonetheless, it's important for me to develop my fiction projects. I need to do these. Ruling out the two other preferred career paths that I wasn't suited to do--rock 'n' roll star or Batman--a writer is the only thing I've ever really wanted to be.

On January 1st, my paid Patreon subscribers will be able to read what I've written for Lazarus Lives, an early pass at beginning a narrative that is already too long to be a short story. There will be many changes, expansions, and additional chapters to be written before a Lazarus Lives novel can will itself into being. Until that book is published, the paid patrons will be the only ones allowed to see its story so far. If you're interested in this early glimpse of Lazarus Lives, you can join my (very small) legion of Boppin' supporters for a mere $3 a month.

The characters in Lazarus Lives are telling me you should join. Here's your chance to listen to their demand and judge for yourself.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.