JUNE 12, 2026: My new book GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!! SHORT STORIES AND OTHER WHITE LIES

 

On Monday, I completed a final review of the manuscript for my new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. I have forwarded the completed file to Draft2Digital for ebook and paperback publication on June 12th. The book will be published under my own Syracuse Noise LLC imprint, the same trusted name that brought the world my last book, 2024's The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

Knowing that the manuscript needed to be reviewed by a second pair of eyes, my lovely wife Brenda volunteered to proofread the book prior to my final tweak. She caught my stray errors, made suggestions, and helped make this a better book. I am one lucky guy. She also told me the book is good, with a proper sequence and flow of story to story. She's biased in my favor, sure, but she's also honest, and I'm thrilled to know she likes the work. Thanks, Brenda!

Currently, the ebook is going through the process of approval for distribution through the usual online resources. The print book is pending my receipt and approval of a physical proof copy, and will then be available to order from any bookseller you wish to patronize. (I favor your local independent retailer when possible--KEEP BOOKSTORES ALIVE!). The ebook will retail at $5, and the 164-page paperback is priced at $15. I will of course have copies available for anyone who wants to buy it directly from me.

I am very proud of this book. It's my first long-form fiction project, something I've wanted to do for fifty freakin' years, and I'm delighted with the final product. One of the stories, "Lone Star Falling," may be the single best thing I've ever written. But I like all of the stories--I'm a big fan of me. 

More details to follow. And I hope some of you folks out there will be interested in reading some of my professional lies. 

Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies gathers tales of a foul-mouthed rock 'n' roll guitarist hijacked into space, an Old West gunslinger, a film noir gun moll who longs to be in a musical, a humorous fill-in superhero suddenly called to greatness, a former boy band star turned record company fix-it man, a would-be painter, an obsessed collector, a fated swordswoman, a fallen giant, a frustrated time traveler, a condemned sinner guiding tourists in Hell, a departed soul interviewing for a spot in Heaven, a 1976 Beatles reunion concert, and other untruths detailing love, loss, disappointment, miscellaneous hijinks, a fascination with shiny objects, and—occasionally--a juvenile sense of humor. 

WARNING: RUDE LANGUAGE! The author is a potty-mouth.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD: Short stories and other white lies
Introduction: IT'S HARLAN ELLISON'S FAULT!
GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!
HOME OF THE HITS
THE LAST RIDE OF THE COPPERHEAD KID
POP FRICTION
MONTIE PYLON FINDS HIS HOLY GRAIL
THE PICTURE OF AMONTILLADO
TIME, AND THE JUNK FOOD OF YOUR LIFE
GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS! Last Stand On Uranus
THE GREATEST THUD NEVER HEARD
RAIN-HAT SAM
JACK MYSTERY (some truths and some white lies)
GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS! Battle Of The Band
THE BEATLES: The 1976 Reunion Concert
AN OPEN LETTER TO AN IMAGINARY ROCK BAND
THE LOVABLE LUNKHEAD RETURNS
SWORD OF THE CHOSEN ONE
DREAMING DEADLY
GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS! Return To Uranus
PRESIDENT COPPERHEAD
JUSTICE FOR THE PUPPET MASTER
I'M AT BAT!
THE TRAITOR'S TOURIST GUIDE TO HELL
YOU'LL BE JUDGED BY THE HEARTS YOU BROKE
LONE STAR FALLING
GUITARS VS RAYGUNS!! At BudoKHAAAAAAAAN!!
APRIL REGRETS
LAZARUS LIVES
AFTERWORD

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.

COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: 26th issues acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s

Each week's edition of Comic Book Cover Gallery gathers together a bunch of comics covers, usually united by a single theme or common quality. Some themes are more substantive than others, some are more ephemeral. There will be a near-future outing with no theme at all, just a bunch of unrelated funnybook covers slapped together for fun. Like a classic spinner rack! Fun. Comics. Maybe that's all the common ground a comic book cover gallery needs.

But this week, we're sticking with an ephemeral theme, celebrating the 26th day of May with a big ol' stack of 26th issues I snagged in my not-misspent youth. As always, we'll be sticking exclusively to the '60s, '70s, and '80s era of acquisition I've established for these galleries. Today's selections include books I bought new, back issues I acquired after the fact (but within the timeline), and B-stock contraband originally purchased without their covers. These aren't actual photos of comics in my collection; most images are courtesy of the Grand Comics Database, which is grand indeed. But I did have each and every one of 'em at some point in time.

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 # 1338

                      

I've been a music fan since I was a little, little kid. And I'm talkin' young, my friends--by the time the Beatles assumed control of pop culture in 1964, I was only four years old but already simply enthralled by the all-encompassing delight that melody offers. That has never changed, and it never will. Even if my sense of hearing fades to dust, the independent imaginary radio station that plays inside my head will continue to program the sounds that move me. Music is eternal. 

This weekend brought fresh opportunities to renew our commitment to music's eternal allure, and to accent it on a local Syracuse level. On Saturday night, the Neverly Brothers Trio (Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin from the Flashcubes, propelled by powerhouse homegrrl drummer Cathy LaManna) executed a killer live set at Syracuse's legendary home for rock 'n' roll, The Lost Horizon. The Nevs were opening for Syracuse's favorite son Tom Kenny, who brought his own powerhouse combo Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas to town. Homecoming! 

It was a magic night, a reunion in a familiar setting. Tom joked that it was his first visit to the Lost in more than forty years, but that it still looks the same. And smells the same. Only more so. There could have been no better setting for the show, a gig made even more notable for the hundreds of dollars raised for a worthy local charity, sweeter for the buzz of young fans and veteran fans digging the same music side by side, and more transcendent as Gary and Arty joined Tom and his Hi-Seas for a performance of “Welcome To The Working Class,” the Frenay song that Kenny and company covered for Big Stir Records’ Flashcubes tribute album last year.

Magic? Better than magic. It’s music.

Sunday night on the radio, Dana and I were able to offer advance peeks at a trio of new as-yet-unreleased recordings by the Half/Cubes, featuring Gary Frenay and Flashcubes drummer Tommy Allen. Music’s magic continues, across time, across circumstance, and across the dents and bruises our battered souls have endured.

For decades, it's been my great fortune and great honor to bring some of that mental radio station's programming into open air, combining my inner soundtrack with Dana's inner soundtrack to create This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. The thrill of that continues unabated each and every Sunday night. I consider myself so lucky to have that outlet, that platform, that excuse--as if I needed an excuse--to proclaim, THIS! This right here! THIS...!!!

Of course, most of us have some kind of opportunity to share the music we love, with friends and family, and with people we don't know yet. My oft-repeated mantras remain in place: Dig what you dig. Passion is infectious. Enthusiasm is its own reward. And a love of music is worth sharing.

Listen. Enjoy. Share. Not just what we happen to like, but what you like. Music, man. Music is one of the greatest gifts any universe could ever grant us. 

For our part from our POV: Join hands. Jump up. And play. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

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 # 1338: 5/24/2026

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Songs we think we ain’t played before are listed in bold

THE HALF/CUBES: Starless Summer Sky (JEM, forthcoming)

THE KNACK: Pop Is Dead (Omnivore, Knackology: The Zen Recordings)

THE LEMON TWIGS: Look For Your Mind (Captured Tracks, Look For Your Mind!)

TODD RUNDGREN: Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (Bearsville, Faithful)

RONNIE SPECTOR: Favorite Waste Of Time (Bad Girl Sounds, Something's Gonna Happen)

DINOSAUR JR.: Just Like Heaven (Merge, You're Living All Over Me)

--

THE GLIMMER STARS: Better Day (Rum Bar, Someday's A Long Time)

SPITBALLS: Let Her Dance (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS: Hotel Chambermaid (Big Stir, Quality Footwear: Live At The Brook)

THE NERVES: When You Find Out (Alive, One Way Ticket)

VELVET OPERA: There's A Hole In My Pocket (Think Like A Key Music, Ride A Hustler's Dream)

EARTH QUAKE: Friday On My Mind (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

--

THE AMPLIFIER HEADS: A Song Called Sha La La (single)

THE SMALL FACES: Sha-La-La-La-Lee (Deram, The Anthology 1965-1967)

THE FLASHCUBES: Got No Mind (Northside, Flashcubes On Fire)

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: The Waiting (MCA, Anthology: Through The Years)

THE RUNAWAYS: Wait For Me (Hip-O Select, The Mercury Albums Anthology)

THE REPLACEMENTS: Can't Hardly Wait (Sire, For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986)

--

THE HALF/CUBES: Get Down (JEM, forthcoming)

IKE AND TINA TURNER: Get Back (Music Brokers, VA: The Many Faces Of The Beatles [A Journey Through The Inner World Of The Beatles])

BANDA AL9: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Wicked Cool, single)

LEW LEWIS: Wait (Stiff, Save The Wail)

THE REDUCERS: Let's Go (Rev-Ola, Redux)

AMY RIGBY: Dancing With Joey Ramone (Signature Sounds, Little Fugitive)

--

PRISONER: La Femme Qui S'était Faite Toute Seule  (Wicked Cool, single)

LES HANDCLAPS: Je Pense Encore À Toi (Handclaps, Sessions: Brooklyn)

THE DAHLMANNS: Dark Side With You (FABCOM!/Waterside, Life In Reverse)

LES FLEUR DE LYS: Circles (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II [Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969])

THE FOUR TOPS: If I Were A Carpenter (Motown, 50th Anniversary--The Singles Collection 1964-1972)

EDISON LIGHTHOUSE: Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) (Varese Sarabande, VA: Bubblegum Classics 5: The Voice Of Tony Burrows)

--

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS: Jewel Case (single)

TAMAR BERK: Skipping The Cracks (n/a, The Restless Dreams Of Youth)

THE CYNZ: Ghost Rider (Jem, Confess)

BLONDIE: Union City Blue (Chrysalis, The Platinum Collection)

THE VOGUES: Five O'Clock World (Varese Sarabande, The Best Of The Vogues)

CARLENE CARTER: Love Is A 4-Letter Verb (Demon, Musical Shapes/Blue Nun)

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive (Def Jam, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded)

THE STRAWBERRY ZOTS: And You Drive Your Pretty Car (BMG, Cars, Flowers, Telephones)

THE RAMONES: Go Lil Camaro Go (Sire, Halfway To Sanity)

ROSETTA STONE: Drive On (Wizzard In Vinyl, Retrospective Roller)

MARVIN GAYE: Hitch Hike (Motown, That Stubborn Kinda' Fellow)

MARY LOU LORD: Driven Away (Fire, She'd Be A Diamond)

--

HIGH ON STRESS: Can You Feel Me? (Rum Bar, Still Here)

THE FOUR JUST MEN: Things Will Never Be The Same (Strawberry, VA: Let's Stomp! Merseybeat And Beyond 1962-1969)

THE WELL WISHERS: Pox On Everything (n/a, Expected Outcomes)

THE RAMONES: Surfin' Safari (Captain Oi!, Acid Eaters)

GO TIME!: Rules Don't Apply (Kool Kat Musik, 11)

THE BUZZCOCKS: Love You More (IRS, Singles Going Study)

THE SPONGETONES: Words And Music (Black Vinyl, Oh Yeah!)

JERRY LEE LEWIS AND THE NASHVILLE TEENS: High School Confidential (Spectrum, "Live" At The Star-Club, Hamburg)

--

THE HALF/CUBES: Ghost At Number One (JEM, forthcoming)

ARIF MARDIN: Glass Onion (Strawberry, VA: With A Little Help From My Friends--Covers Of The Beatles 1967-1970)

THE BROTHERS JOHNSON: Strawberry Letter 23 (Rhino, VA: Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience)

BILL DEAL AND THE RHONDELLS: Hey Bulldog (Strawberry, VA: With A Little Help From My Friends--Covers Of The Beatles 1967-1970)

THE BANDWAGON: People Got To Be Free (Kent Soul, Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache: The Best Of 1968-1975)

THE HEAD SHOP: Revolution (Strawberry, VA: With A Little Help From My Friends--Covers Of The Beatles 1967-1970)

THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING GLENN BURTNICK: Bend Me, Shape Me (Jem, single)

THE BEATLES: Good Day Sunshine (Apple, Revolver)

--

THE SHIRTS: Starts With A Handshake (Think Like A Key Music, Live At Paradise 1979)

Tonight on THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

Wanna hear new music from THE HALF/CUBES? Of course you do--you have a pulse! We'll quicken that pulse with not one, not two, but THREE new tracks from our beloved Half/Cubes, and further enhance that heart-beatin' riddum with more new sounds by THE LEMON TWIGS, THE DAHLMANNS, THE AMPLIFIER HEADS, THE GLIMMER STARS, GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS, HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS, PRISONER, and HIGH ON STRESS, recent irresistible releases by THE CYNZ, THE WELL WISHERS, BANDA AL9, GO TIME!, and THE SHIRTS, and your prerequisite classics from THE FLASHCUBES, THE KNACK, RONNIE SPECTOR, VELVET OPERA, THE NERVES, THE SMALL FACES, IKE AND TINA TURNER, TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, THE RAMONES, AMY RIGBY, TAMAR BERK, BLONDIE, CARLENE CARTER, MARVIN GAYE, THE RUNAWAYS, MARY LOU LORD, THE BUZZCOCKS, THE SPONGETONES, THE FOUR TOPS, JERRY LEE LEWIS, ROSETTA STONE, THE BROTHERS JOHNSON, and more. And as noted: THE HALF/CUBES, THE HALF/CUBES, THE HALF/CUBES, and what the hell, one more recent gem by THE HALF/CUBES. Ready to get Cubic? We'll meet you halfway. 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!

Musical artists mentioned in my book GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!! SHORT STORIES AND OTHER WHITE LIES

My new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is my first long-form fiction project, following two nonfiction music books (2023's Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones and 2024's The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]). I'll be returning to nonfiction for my next two books (Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES and a secret collaboration I'm referring to as I, [Redacted Redacted]. Down the road apiece, I have three novels in various early stages of pre-prep. I hope to write a big ol' little stack of books over the next few years, mixing fiction and nonfiction projects as my whims dictate.

But even as I delve more into just making stuff up, my love of music is an integral part of my writing's DNA. Of the three eventual novels referenced above, one of them--Meet The Frantiks!--features a fictional 1960s pop combo as a key element, and some incidental music content is likely in the other two novels (Lazarus Lives and The Legends Of The Copperhead Kid).

My new short story collection includes some fictional rock groups, notably the titular Guitars Vs. Rayguns, plus one short short about a combo I call Pants-On Flyers. There is a short story about a 1976 Beatles reunion concert, and one of the five Guitars Vs. Rayguns stories includes a cameo by legendary Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer [redacted].

Beyond those, the book contains a ton of passing references to real-life musical performers. Many of these are acts that our imaginary pop group Guitars Vs. Rayguns have covered in their live sets or rehearsals (or in their jam session with [redacted]), and we'll also hear a guy listing artists he prefers to his pesky younger brother's fave raves Pants-On Flyers, a girl telling her mother about Joan Jett, time-travel options to see Cab Calloway, Jimi Hendrix, or Enrico Caruso, a plot gimmick inspired (with proper credit) by the pilot episode of The Monkees, my own this-actually-happened! memory of singing a Ramones song onstage with members of 1.4.5. and Perilous, a guitarist's O'Jays t-shirt, some professional baseball players' choices of Now-batting! song intros, and random recording artists shuffled on an iPod as a frazzled guy tries to drive through a Midwest blizzard. The references may not seem material, but they suggest the specific soundtrack of the lies I'm attempting to tell.

Here they are! Musical artists mentioned in GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!! SHORT STORIES AND OTHER WHITE LIES

1.4.5.

Arthur Alexander

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

P. P. Arnold

Richie Barrett

The Bay City Rollers

The Beatles

Chuck Berry

Big Star

Blondie

David Bowie

The Buzzcocks

Cab Calloway

Enrico Caruso

Ray Charles

The Chiffons

Eric Clapton

Eddie Cochran

The Cynz 

Bob Dylan

The Eagles

The Everly Brothers

The Flashcubes

Aretha Franklin

Dizzy Gillespie

The Girls From Petticoat Junction

The Grip Weeds

Guadalcanal Diary

Neil Hefti

Jimi Hendrix

Buddy Holly/The Crickets

The Impressions

The Isley Brothers

Wanda Jackson

The Jam

James Jamerson

Etta James

Rick James

Tommy James

Joan Jett

Elton John

Bobby Keys

The Kinks

KISS

Gladys Knight and the Pips

Al Kooper

Little Richard

LL Cool J

Madonna

The Markettes

Dean Martin

The Memphis Horns

The Miracles

The Monkees

Motörhead

Olivia Newton-John

Harry Nilsson

The O'Jays

Yoko Ono

Roy Orbison

Perilous

Carl Perkins

Pop Co-Op

Elvis Presley

Prince

Suzi Quatro

Question Mark and the Mysterians

The Ramones

James Ray

Otis Redding

R.E.M.

Return To Forever

Nelson Riddle

Chan Romero

Sam and Dave

The Selecter

The Sex Pistols

Paul Simon/Simon and Garfunkel

Frank Sinatra

Slade

Sly and the Family Stone

The Small Faces

The Smithereens

Ronnie Spector

Spinal Tap

Dusty Springfield

Sting

The Stylistics

The Supremes

Talking Heads

The Trammps

The Who

Larry Williams

Stevie Wonder

Wonderboy

If the list isn't complete, it's pretty durn close. I'm omitting acts that are referenced in the book but not specifically mentioned by name. I don't mention Blondie or Sly and the Family Stone, but I do mention both Sly Stone and Blondie drummer Clem Burke, and I figure those qualify. The list doesn't include group members mentioned individually if their band is also mentioned (like Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, Dennis Diken of the Smithereens, Tommy Allen of the Flashcubes, Gene Simmons of KISS, Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, Marky Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap, Keith Moon of the Who, and each of the Beatles (John, Paul, George, Ringo, Pete, and Stu). Finally, the list excludes artists (like Neil Diamond and Lynyrd Skynyrd) whose work is referenced in the book without ever naming the artist. 

The finished book is still navigating the proofreading process. I should have it available for order (as paperback and e-book) within a couple of weeks. For those who choose to get it: I hope you enjoy my tapestry of lies. And as you read, I hope you can imagine hearing the music that accompanies those lies.

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.

10 SONGS: 5/22/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1337

THE LEMON TWIGS: 2 Or 3

We are big fans of rockin' pop music, and we are delighted when the music we love is able to connect with a larger audience. The Lemon Twigs have garnered some buzz within our power pop world, and while they may not secure a TODAY'S HITS! radio berth alongside Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, we hope they do. Hell, we hope they record a track with Taylor and/or Sabrina. It's pop music. It's supposed to be popular.

Our own little mutant radio program has not given the Lemon Twigs a ton of airplay; believe it or not, I think we may have played Taylor Swift more often than we've played the Lemon Twigs, though that would be just a function of our short attention span (and my determination to demonstrate that some of Swift's stuff can fit in just swell alongside the Ramones, the Four Tops, and the Muffs in our chosen format--it's ALL pop music). We're going to try to program the Lemon Twigs more often; it's a bandwagon well worth hoppin' on for the ride.

No better place to start than the Lemon Twigs' latest album Look For Your Mind! Our friends at The Spoon podcast recently hooked me on the exquisite Look For Your Mind! gem "2 Or 3," compelling us to open our own show with that track. We'll hear the new album's title tune on Sunday night. Let's get this bandwagon movin'!

MARSHALL CRENSHAW: What Time Is It

The Jive Five's 1962 doo-wop classic "What Time Is It?" is one of my all-time favorite individual tracks, and it earned a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I was introduced to the song via Marshall Crenshaw's sublime 'n' dreamy cover version, heard on MC's 1983 album Field Day. Crenshaw's rendition held me in instant thrall from the second I heard it, and if my heart's desire migrated to the Jive Five, I never stopped loving the version I heard first.

This week, Dana's spin of the Distractions' "Time Goes By So Slow" prompted me to follow with "What Time Is It?" I had the Jive Five in mind, but then reconsidered and programmed Marshall Crenshaw's (punctuation-free) cover instead. Couldn't go wrong either way.

(Later, when annotating track credits for the posted playlist, I realized this was the first-ever TIRnRR spin for Marshall Crenshaw's "What Time Is It." As The Spoon's Robbie Rist recently reminded me, time takes time. Tick, tock.)

GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS: Black Lincoln Continental

Another advance peek at Quality Footware: Live At The Brook, the forthcoming new live album from the elemental forces of Graham Parker and the Goldtops. "Black Lincoln Continental" is already available as a single, as is "Soul Shoes," which we played a couple of weeks back. On our next show, we'll treat you to the Quality Footware live cut of the first Graham Parker song I heard (back when I was an impressionable teen surgically affixed to my radio). Grab your soul shoes and hop in your black Lincoln Continental; on Sunday night, we've got a date with a hotel chambermaid.

THE JIVE FIVE: My True Story

Having given the Jive Five's first-set spot to Marshall Crenshaw's "What Time Is It," it was only fair to give the doo-woppers their due with an airing of their only big hit, 1961's # 3 smash "My True Story." This solution spared us from having to cry CRY cry whoa-oh-oh our blues away. This story's ended. It was no lie!

BLONDIE: Little Girl Lies

My next book is a short story collection called Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. It's my first full-length foray into fiction, following two nonfiction books about music, and it does incorporate a lot of musical influences into its gathering of deliberate lies. The book takes its title from a series of short stories I wrote about a group of rock 'n' roll musicians from Earth playing gigs on other planets, and it name-checks (mostly in passing) a whole bunch of artists, from Enrico Caruso to LL Cool J. I'll post a list of the book's musical name-checks in the very near future.

I don't think I got around to name-checking Blondie, but I do mention one of the group's individual members. Not the gorgeous one you'd automatically expect me to mention! Blondie's powerhouse drummer Clem Burke is cited in this sequence from a story that appears late in the book, as uttered by planet-hopping Guitar Vs. Rayguns drummer Leiko:

Leiko leaned in for emphasis. "I'm Keith fucking Moon. I'm Marky fucking Ramone. I'm Clem fucking Burke. I'm Dennis fucking Diken from the Smithereens, Tommy fucking Allen from the Flashcubes, Ringo fucking Starr if I wanna be Ringo fucking Starr.

"I'm fucking LEIKO, bitches!"

I'm...convinced. Also frightened.

Leiko's a big girl, and she's neither cryin' nor lyin'. As I prepare the publication of my new book of little boy lies, TIRnRR offers this celebratory spin of Blondie's "Little Girl Lies." We hope Leiko would approve. If it pisses her off, I'm pretty sure she won't allow her status as, y'know, fictional to prevent her from kicking our asses.

THE WELL WISHERS: Pox On Everything

Nowadays, "pox on everything" may serve as go-to mantra. It also serves as the title of a new treat from TIRnRR Fave Raves the Well Wishers. Along with "Back Of The Line," "Pox On Everything" is one of two advance tracks from the next Well Wishers album Expected Outcomes. The album is due in June, we played both of the advance tracks this week, and we're playing "Pox On Everything" again on our next show. Think of us as pox protection! Apply the pox only where it's warranted. No shortage of options there...

TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MOTÖRHEAD: Motörhead

On our May 10th show, the weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! spot was occupied by "Please Don't Touch," an invigmoratin' 1981 cover of a Johnny Kidd and the Pirates classic, executed by Headgirl. Headgirl were the combined metal might of the boys in Motörhead and the girls in Girlschool, and that week's extravaganza also featured a spin of Girlschool's oomph-driven cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy." We figured we owed Motörhead their own reciprocal playlist representation this week. Hey, howzabout the first Motörhead track I ever heard? The eponymous li'l number "Motörhead" was on an absolutely ace 1977 various-artists borgasmord called Geef Voor New Wave, a record I snagged as a teen punk and proceeded to play over und over with the manic obsession (and commensurate volume) one should expect a proper teen punk would bring to such a thing. MOTÖRHEAD!

SPECTRAFLAME: Yesterday (Jane)

A couple of weeks ago, we offered our first spin of Spectraflame's nifty single "Yesterday (Jane)," but we played the wrong mix, an earlier version not considered the definitive version. This is because we're inept. Luckily, we have tenure, and we played the correct mix this week, righting (our own) wrongs and making the world safe for pop music. POP MUSIC IS SAVED! Just doin' our job.

THE BEATLES: Do You Want To Know A Secret

No secret: My book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies includes a short story about a fictional 1976 Beatles reunion. While nearly all of the musical performers referenced in the book are just mentioned in passing, the Beatles appear as characters in their own story. Elsewhere in the book, one other real-life performer does actively participate in a very brief cameo role.

Which real-life performer? That's still a secret, told in a story that I have not yet shared with anyone. Leiko knows who the performer is, even though [redacted] isn't known as a drummer. But Leiko knows. 

And she approves. The book should be out in early June.

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.