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 # 1289
THE GRIP WEEDS: Soul Bender
This little mutant radio show is always delighted to play brand new music from the Grip Weeds. We're also delighted to play familiar music from the Grip Weeds. We are remarkably--and delightedly--consistent on that point. And an opportunity to open a show with a new single from the Grip Weeds? We're ON it! "Soul Bender" is the advance single and title track from the group's eagerly-anticipated new album, and delight rules the friggin' day. Delight will renew itself with another spin of "Soul Bender" on our next show.
KID GULLIVER: 24 Hours
We are also delighted to play both new and familiar music from Kid Gulliver. We're fans! The group's "Forget About Him" is a proven TIRnRR Fave Rave, and we included it on our 2022 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. It's been a bit since we've had anything new from these Kids, but the wait is over! New single "24 Hours" is a little more Ramonesified than previous Kid Gulliver classics, though the comparison to your Joey, your Johnny, and your Dee Dee is in terms of the track's forward-lunging rhythmic thrust. The resulting flourish of pretty pop music is pure Kid Gulliver. Welcome back, Kids.
Tribute.
Our time in this mortal plane is steeped in loss, reluctant farewells whispered again and again. Beyond the devastation of personal losses, we also mourn people we've never met, but who nonetheless became a part of our lives through the magic of the art they created. We are inundated with constant, rapid-fire reminders of our fragile nature. On this week's show, we felt the fresh wound of losing Terry Draper, and since then the losses of both Sly Stone and Brian Wilson.
And we still feel the sting of the recent loss of Jill Sobule. Amy Rigby acknowledges that sting, and she's channeled the lingering ache into a homemade cover of Sobule's "Bitter," a song Sobule wrote with Richard Barone of the Bongos. The track is now available as a single, with sales benefitting The Jill Fund. A worthy tribute for a worthy cause.
We followed Amy Rigby's version of "Bitter" with another spin of what's become my favorite Jill Sobule track, "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart." With hearts born to be broken, we do our best to avoid becoming bitter.
THE CORNER LAUGHERS: Speak To The Sky
Last week's exciting edition of 10 Songs extolled the virtues of the new various-artists collection Second By Second By Minute By Minute: The Songs Of Rick Springfield. My favorite Rick Springfield song is his very first single, 1972's "Speak To The Sky." On the new tribute album, the Corner Laughers offer a loving and heartfelt rendition of "Speak To The Sky," capturing the ache of looking to the heavens and communicating with the cherished memory of a departed father, speaking to the sky every night. More loss. The comfort is sweet and welcome.
We'll play this again on Sunday. Father's Day. Love you , Dad. It's been thirteen years, but I know you're still with me all of the time.
PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS: Just Like Me
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
After many months of gleeful teasing, we have announced the track listing for the long-promised tribute album honoring Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. Due out in September from the irresistible rockin' pop force of Big Stir Records, our twenty-four track salute Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes gathers twenty-one new covers of songs written by members of the 'Cubes, and supplements 'em with three new recordings by the Flashcubes themselves. This week, we reprised a couple of already-proven Make Something Happen! favorites--the Flashcubes' "The Sweet Spot" and Sorrows' epic cover of "Radio"--as we look toward the bright lights of September. The sweet spot! Let us be your radio.
(And on our next show, we'll debut two more tracks from Make Something Happen!, as Graham Parker and Mike Gent take on "Pathetic" and Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin conjure up a "Bad Dream." We will also have encore spins of Flashcubes tribute album tracks by Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas and Librarians With Hickeys, another run through Make Something Happen!'s first single "Reminisce," and we'll even throw in the Slapbacks' previous cover of "Make Something Happen" from This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. The tribute you take is equal to the tribute you make.)
KLAATU: Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft
We mentioned the passing of Terry Draper. Draper was best-known as the drummer for Klaatu, and he also crafted an impressive body of work as a solo artist. Terry was always nice to us, and we mourn along with his friends and family. We've played a fair amount of his music over the years, both solo and with Klaatu, and also working with Ray Paul. This week, our opening set included "For The Few" from Draper's 2024 album In The Beginning. And we circled back near show's end for a spin of Klaatu's most famous track, "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft." We are your friends. Godspeed, Terry Draper.
THE BEATLES: Within You Without You
From a previous post about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, picking up the narrative with Side 2, Track 1:
"...The mystic hum of Indian music invites us back inside. Many will skip over George Harrison's meditative 'Within You Without You' on subsequent spins, and your humble blogger would be among them for a while, until the song's beguiling, subtle magic eventually completes its spell, capturing the heart forever thereafter...."
We were talking about the love we all could share. Life goes on within you and without you. Music endures. Memory endures for as long as we can hold it. We endure for as long as we can hold on.
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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.
