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 # 1358
WEDNESDAY WEEK: They Say
Southern California combo Wednesday Week scored attention from MTV with their superb 1987 track "Why," compelling popsmacked li'l me to purchase a copy of their wonderful album What We Had. In this far-future world of 2026, the group's What We Had line-up--Kelly Callan, Kristi Callan, Heidi Rodewald, and David Nolte--returns with an incredible new four-song covers EP called Souvenirs. Rockin' pop veteran Don Dixon produces, and our assembled Wednesdays deliver simply splendid renditions of too-cool selections from the songbooks of the Zeros, the Dolly Mixture, Color Me Gone, and Sandie Shaw. We opened this week's TIRnRR with Wednesday Week's invigmoratin' take on the Zeros' "They Say," and circled back to their cover of the Dolly Mixture's "Side Street Walker" later in the show. Amazing stuff! "They Say" will return to our playlist this Sunday night, and we'll also debut Wednesday Week's take on Color Me Gone's "Lose Control." We've long been grateful for What We Had. Now, we're also grateful for what we have.
ARROGANCE: Praying Mantis
Speaking of Don Dixon (and speaking of MTV fave raves from the '80s), we offer this spin of Dixon's song "Praying Mantis," as performed with his former group Arrogance. Our pal Eleanor Cook informs us that Arrogance was just inducted into The North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame. We only know of Arrogance's fine work because Eleanor pointed us to it--much obliged, Eleanor!--and it's our pleasure to congratulate Arrogance for their well-deserved recognition by North Carolina music fans.
Oh, and an open letter to the good folks at the NC Music Hall Of Fame: Please consider inducting the Spongetones at your earliest convenience. Thanks! Sincerely, your friends at This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio.
THE CYNZ: Neighborhood Bully
No kings. Don't tread on me, ya razzafrazzin' bully.
ELTON DUCK: Bad Things
Blanche DuBois relied on the kindness of strangers. TIRnRR relies on our friends, both in terms of supporting this nonprofit radio station's quixotic quest and suggesting undiscovered or underappreciated sounds we should oughta discover and appreciate. One such friend is Robbie Rist, who has just turned us on to the majesty of Elton Duck. Elton Duck were a Los Angeles group operating at the end of the '70s into the dawn of mourning in America, and they friggin' kicked, man. They earn a righteous footnote in pop history for the fact that Michael Steele was Elton Duck's bassist at the time of their 1980 recordings, a spot she occupied after her early stint with the Runaways and before achieving fame with the Bangles.
Footnotes aside, this is prime stuff, and it's a damned shame it's not widely available. Robbie's a fan! And now we're fans as well. Robbie picked "Bad Things" as one of his Elton Duck go-tos; we hear, and we obey. More Elton Duck on our next show.
THE RUBINOOS: Wouldn't It Be Nice
It would be impossible to overstate the importance of the Rubinoos in my musical crucible when I was 17. 1977 was the year I fell for the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Blondie, and so many more then-contemporary acts demonstrating that someone was still carrying the torch for the excitement and sheer buzz of my beloved 1960s British Invasion idols.
The Rubinoos' eponymous debut album was an essential component of all of that, and I heard it (and owned it!) before I heard "God Save The Queen," "Blitzkrieg Bop," and "X-Offender." "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was my favorite track on The Rubinoos, a love letter from a lonely square-peg teen like me to the pretty one of his dreams. I wrote about it here. It's still my favorite, as the warmth of the crucible remains with me always.
And of course, my crucible in 1977 led me to the revelation of a transcendent local band in January of 1978: Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses....
THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING TOM KENNY: Got No Mind
And we hope you won't mind if we repeat this important announcement:
In memory of Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, the surviving 'Cubes are releasing a new single and planning an epic memorial live show. Let's review my recent hype on behalf of each event:
Our friends at Big Stir Records are now accepting preorders for "Got No Mind," the new 45 by the Flashcubes featuring Tom Kenny. Offered as a memorial tribute to Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong (the song's author), the track has already been a TIRnRR fixture, and it will remain so for the foreseeable. And to sanctify the release of this 7" slab o' cantankerous wonder, the mighty Big Stir is also offering original copies of two previous Flashcubes 45s--1979's "Wait Til Next Week"/"Radio" and 2016's two-fer of Chris Spedding covers, "Boogie City"/"Hey Miss Betty"--both individually and in bundles with the new one. Visit The Flashcubes page at Big Stir for details.
On Saturday, November 7th, fans and participants representing the Syracuse power pop and new wave rock 'n' roll scene that the Flashcubes ignited in the late '70s will gather at Syracuse's original home of rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon to pay loud and heartfelt tribute to the late, great Paul Armstrong.
In his brash capacity as a guitarist and general spark plug for the audacious energy of the Flashcubes, Paul Armstrong was a key figure in the history of Syracuse rock 'n' roll, and the impact he and his brother Flashcubes Gary Frenay, Arty Lenin, and Tommy Allen have had upon my life and work is damned near beyond measure. As we bid farewell to Paul Armstrong, you can be damned sure we're gonna put on a tribute show that would make PA proud.
And to do that, a bunch of performers who loved Paul and shared his passion for three chords and a cloud of dust will gather at the Lost for a full-volume celebration of his legacy. We'll have live sets by Amerikan Primitive, Perilous, 1.4.5. Survivors, the Johnny Thunders Orchestra, The Wax Museum host Ronnie Dark, PA's Boston buds Sal Baglio and Mike Gent, Syracuse's favorite son Tom Kenny, and the Flashcubes featuring Mark Doyle. Your emcees will be Dana and Carl, and we promise the sort of bright-lights bonanza that Paul Armstrong would have dug the most.
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW! It's possible there will still be tickets available at the door...but given the response so far, I would not recommend waiting. This one's for Paul Armstrong. And it's gonna be as loud as he was. YOU should join us. Got no mind? WE don't mind!
PALYMYRA DELRAN AND THE DOPPEL GANG: Spirit In My House
Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang covering a Joey Ramone solo number? Works for ME!
JOEY RAMONE: What A Wonderful World
Joey Ramone covering Louis Armstrong? Works for ME!
FOOLS FACE: Nothing To Say
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
THE FOUR TOPS: Standing In The Shadows Of Love
The Four Tops are my favorite Motown group, which is (to quote another Motown group) really sayin' somethin', WOOO!
It's tough to pick a single favorite Four Tops song. "It's The Same Old Song" was my first Four Tops obsession decades ago, and "Reach Out I'll Be There" earned a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Their cover of "If I Were A Carpenter" made our year-end countdown show in 2023, and I won't be surprised if "Reach Out I'll Be There" does likewise this year.
"Standing In The Shadows Of Love" is another example of the top of the Tops. The song is most definitely not a political statement--Motown was deliberate in avoiding such things until later in the timeline--but in this election season, we're free to reinterpret and invoke its message as we see fit.
Standing in the shadows? Not now.
Stand up. VOTE. Love depends on it.
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My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book, its six-chapter novelette digest A Band Called GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!, and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.
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.
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
