Boppin' Status Report

We're the real stars here!

As Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) sits halfway between 31,000 and 32,000 views (which is still nearly 1200 views even if you take out The Monkees), we pause once again to assess where I think we are, and what this place looks like today.

The subject of Boppin (Like The Hip Folks Do) # 1

Since beginning this blog on January 18th of this year, I've kept up with my original goal of posting at least one entry a day, every single day. Blog entries have included a lot of newly-written material, as well as stuff from my archives (supplemented by new introductory and/or closing comments); I've completely exhausted my digital archives, but I still have a wealth of old, gently-used writing I can (ugh) re-type for the  Boppin' audience. And there's always quite a bit of new material on deck, at some stage between almost ready! and nowhere near ready! I'm not sure of the ratio between new stuff and old stuff--I suspect there's been more archival material overall (if only because of the sheer volume of my massive histories of bubblegum and power pop, and my Nuggets interviews with Mark Lindsay, Sal Valentino, Dick Dodd, Barry Tashian, and Lenny Kaye)--but I've also written at length this year about BRIGHT LIGHTS! The Syracuse New Wave Rock 'n' Roll Reunion, The Monkees (repeatedly! and then some!), and growing up in the '60s. So, my ratio of new to old may be pretty close.

 

And I'll tell ya this: I have written more this year than I ever did in any previous year. Even when I was freelancing regularly, I never wrote quite as much in any given year as I've already done this year for Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

So, what is on deck? Well...! There's The Everlasting First, the A-Z series recalling my introductions to various musical acts and comic-book superheroes. That series will continue sporadically, and the next entry will be H is for BUDDY HOLLY and HOPPY THE MARVEL BUNNY. If there's another daily blog out there covering Buddy Holly and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny...well, I'm just surprised to hear about it, that's all. The Everlasting First is itself an outgrowth of Singers, Superheroes, And Songs On The Radio, my above-mentioned saga of growing up in the '60s. I've reconsidered my previous decision to end that series, so we'll pick it up again where we left off, in September of 1970. Not sure exactly when it will return, but The Me Decade awaits, with tales of Badfinger, Atlas Comics, Billy Jack, Playboy, Mickey Mantle, James Bond, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Super-DC Con, Marilyn Chambers, Slade, DC 100-Page Super-Spectaculars, Supersonic, Cleveland Heights, Weird Heroes, Desolation Boulevard, Batman, and Harlan Ellison. Also strippers, and Hall And Oates.

Wait--our song played, and she did WHAT...?!

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's fundraising efforts on behalf of Spark Syracuse march on, with our Who Needs Dana & Carl? promotion awarding kind folks who donate $100 or more to http://sparksyracuse.org/support/ the opportunity to program the music for a future episode of TIRnRR; in addition, everyone who donates $100 before October 22nd, 2016 will also be entered into a drawing, and the winner of that drawing will also get to program the music for the milestone 850th episode of TIRnRR, over and above his or her or their other Guest Programming gig. We've got rules! We've got regulations!  Give until you can't!

The Syracuse New Times will announce the results of its Best Of Syracuse '16 readers' poll this week. I remain skeptical of my chances of winning, but I also remain very grateful to all of you who voted for Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) in the Best Blog category. I love each of you in a way neither science nor civilization can define.

What else? You'll continue to get the weekly This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlists. I have a new series called The Greatest Record Ever Made, at least one more Lost In The Grooves (about The [Bay City] Rollers' album Elevator), more Comic Book Retroviews (including a look back at Adventure Comics in the early '70s), a Notebook Notions about my mid-'70s publishing plan to create a magazine combining superheroes and Playboy/Penthouse-style nude models, more Virtual Ticket Gallery concert memories (next up: Elvis Costello & the Attractions), and, I dunno, whatever else I haven't made up yet. My Songwriting 000 chronicle of my attempts to concoct pop lyrics is done for the time being, but might return if I ever happen to have a chip on my shoulder and a song in my heart. I'm still kicking around the idea of a new series called Spain. Spain would be a very emotional story for me, and I honestly don't know whether or not I can pull it off. We'll see. For now, Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) keeps on keepin' on....