This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 830

                                                              

                             
The only rational response to irrational acts of horror and violence is itself a mixture of the rational and irrational:  rationally, we should seek ways to come together, to address the issues that divide us, embrace the humanity that unites us, and possibly come to some general agreement that maybe hurting people is, y'know, a bad thing, for cryin' out loud; irrationally--but understandably--we want to lash out, to strike back.  In the day-to-day routine of mundane survival, it's best that we continue to love what we love, to love whom we love, and to strive for a society that embodies that notion.  For now, I'm listening to pop music, and cherishing what I have.  Happy people don't kill other people.  We can't always be happy, but we can strive to bring whatever light we have into the lives of all we encounter.

Sunday was my daughter's 21st birthday.  This is, of course, a scientific impossibility--isn't she still, like, three years old, or seven, or ten?  Nonetheless, it's apparently true: time has passed, and our cherished little one has grown and matured into an exceptional young woman, and our hearts overflow with pride, affection, and gratitude for this blessing we've known.  When she went off to college in 2013, I repeated my three go-to pieces of advice: never go faster than the car in front of you; you would do well in Slytherin, or wherever you choose to prosper; and, above all else, Do Anything You Wanna Do!  We opened this week's radio shindig with The Flashcubes' version of "Do Anything You Wanna Do," segued into The Monkees' "She Makes Me Laugh" (separated by a short snippet of a little, little girl singing "Ruby Tuesday" on the radio, a long, long time ago), and we wished a very happy birthday to my all-time Greatest Hit, Meghan Jean Cafarelli.

I'll allow you all a moment to pause, dab your eyes, and rejoin our rock 'n' roll radio show, already in progress.

Hey, look!  We also had new music from The Well Wishers, Laurie Biagini, and Stepford Knives with Jamie Hoover!  We finally got around to playing a track from the recent Cheap Trick album, we saluted the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' masterpiece Pet Sounds, and we mixed it all up with the giddy vigor that characterizes and defines The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet.

Tickets are still available for the Bright Lights! Syracuse new wave rock 'n' roll reunion show on Sunday, July 3rd at Funk N' Waffles, 307-313 S. Clinton Street in Syracuse. The show starts promptly at 7 pm, with vibrant 'n' vivacious live sets from Tom Kenny, The Flashcubes, Screen Test, The Trend, The Dead Ducks, Maura & the Bright Lights (with Pete and Maura Kennedy), and a special memorial to Norm Mattice, performed by The Richards.  Your hosts are Dana & Carl, and it would be just plain silly to miss this one.  Tickets are going fast, so spend, my minions, spend! $12 in advance, $15 day of show (if available), and they are here.  Meanwhile, this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week.  We wish you happy.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl streams live every Sunday night from 9 to Midnight Eastern, exclusively at www.westcottradio.org

TIRnRR # 830:  6/12/16

THE RAMONES:  Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
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THE FLASHCUBES:  Do Anything You Wanna Do (Northside, Brilliant)
MEGHAN JEAN CAFARELLI:  Ruby Tuesday (unreleased)
THE MONKEES:  She Makes Me Laugh (Rhino, Good Times!)
ALTERED IMAGES:  Happy Birthday (Music Club, Happy Birthday)
THE PRETENDERS:  Talk Of The Town (Sire, The Singles)
CHEAP TRICK:  No Direction Home (Big Machine, Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello)
THE BRAINS:  Money Changes Everything (Hip-O, VA:  New Wave Gold)
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THE WELL WISHERS:  Somebody Lied (thewellwishers.bandcamp.com, Comes And Goes)
ROCKPILE:  Heart (Columbia, Seconds Of Pleasure)
THE SPONGETONES:  Cool Hearted Girl (Black Vinyl, Beat & Torn)
THE BEACH BOYS:  I'm Waiting For The Day (Capitol, Pet Sounds)
THE ORANGE HUMBLE BAND:  Fanclub Requiem (Half A Cow, Assorted Creams)
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ:  (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding (Yep Roc, NICK LOWE:  Quiet Please...)
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STEPFORD KNIVES:  I Don't Want Her (Anymore)
THE RAMONES:  Substitute (Radioactive, Acid Eaters)
THE O'JAYS:  Love Train (Epic, Love Train)
JOE JONES:  California Sun (Ace, VA:  You Heard It Here First!)
THE NEW YORK DOLLS:  Trash (Mercury, Rock 'N Roll)
THE BEAT:  Working Too Hard (Wagon Wheel, The Beat)
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THE RICHARDS:  Cat's Out Of The Bag (Northside, Over The Top)
RED ROCKERS:  Eve Of Destruction (Oglio, Good As Gold/Schizophrenic Circus)
THE RUTLES:  Number One (Rhino, The Rutles)
BOW WOW WOW:  I Want Candy (Hip-O, VA:  New Wave Gold)
SPINNING JENNIES:  Tea & Apathy (Cool Buzz, Full Volume)
THE CURE:  Jumping Someone Else's Train (Rhino, Three Imaginary Boys)
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LAURIE BIAGINI:  Busy Body (n/a, Stranger In The Mirror)
CLOCKWORK FLOWERS:  A Little Respect (Clockwork Flowers, Colours Vol, 2:  Blue)
RAY PAUL:  I Love It (But You Don't Believe It) (Permanent Press, Whimsicality)
THE BEACH BOYS:  Wouldn't It Be Nice (Capitol, Pet Sounds)
THE MONKEES:  Birth Of An Accidental Hipster (Rhino, Good Times!)
ALTERED IMAGES:  I Could Be Happy (Music Club, Happy Birthday)
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HOT NUN:  Spirit Of '76 (n/a, Hot Nun)
TOM ROBINSON BAND:  2-4-6-8 Motorway (Razor & Tie, Power In The Darkness)
REDD KROSS:  Bubblegum Factory (Atlantic, Third Eye)
EDISON LIGHTHOUSE:  Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) (Varese Sarabande, VA:  25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits)
KISS:  Shout It Out Loud (Mercury, Destroyer)
COCKEYED GHOST:  I Hate Rock 'n' Roll (Big Deal, The Scapegoat Factory)
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THE SEX PISTOLS:  God Save The Queen (Virgin, Kiss This)
KILLING JOKE:  Eighties (Virgin, Night Time)
TINTED WINDOWS:  Messing With My Head (S-Curve, Tinted Windows)
THE BEACH BOYS:  Sloop John B (Capitol, Pet Sounds)
NELSON BRAGG:  You Could Believe (Steel Derrick, We Get What We Want)
THE MONKEES:  Me & Magdalena [Version 2] (Rhino, Good Times!)
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THE WELL WISHERS:  See For The First Time (Not Lame, Twenty-Four Seven)
R.E.M.:  It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (IRS, And I Feel Fine...)
THE JACKSON FIVE:  The Love You Save (Motown, VA:  Hitsville USA)
BIG STAR:  September Gurls (Big Beat, VA:  Thank You, Friends)
THE MONKEES:  Love's What I Want (Rhino, Good Times! [Japanese release])
THE BEACH BOYS:  God Only Knows (Capitol, Pet Sounds)
DEL PAXTON:  Time To Blow (Play-Tone, VA:  That Thing You Do!  OST)