The other day, my friend Ronnie Dark asked his listeners if it would be appropriate to devote an hour of his fab radio show The Wax Museum's New Year's Eve broadcast to the music of some of the many great artists we lost in 2017. Most (me included) thought it was a great idea. There is a risk that this sort of thing can border on the ghoulish when mishandled, but there was no worries on that regard with The Wax Museum; Ronnie and his partner Mike Adams are fans, they're sincere, and they know what they're doing. There was never any concern that their tributes would be anything less than a heartfelt appreciation of departed heroes.
I didn't originally plan to join Dana for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio this week. When Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fall on Sundays, my responsibilities place me elsewhere. The recent passing of Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens prompted a change in plans. For New Year's Eve, I felt we needed to pay tribute.
So we assembled a few great tracks by The Smithereens, albeit nowhere near as many as we wanted to play. We assembled a few great tracks released or reissued in 2017, albeit nowhere near as many as we wanted to play. We played a few great tracks from our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, albeit...you know. We commemorated the 50th anniversaries of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Monkees' More Of The Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (them Monkees was busy in '67!), and the 40th anniversary of The Flashcubes' first show. And we tried to honor the memories of a few of the people we lost in 2017.
It's not going to get any easier. The simple fact of calendar pages flippin' and flyin' into the ether guarantees we will have many, many more goodbyes to whisper, all of them coming far too soon. It's hard. There are days when I just can't see how we'll go on. But there are also days when my heart sings, my spirit soars, my soul rises with confidence and possibility. Today isn't one of those days, but those days will come. The days of light will mingle with the days of sorrow, and together they'll form yet another year. The road doesn't end just yet. We will meet it with the mantra offered to us all by brother Eytan Mirsky: This year will be our year.
Happy New Year, everybody. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a ball-dropping Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
NEXT WEEK: THE COUNTDOWN!
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse on The Spark WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/
Spark Syracuse is supported by listeners like you. Tax-deductible donations are welcome at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/
You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/
Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.
THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
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THE SMITHEREENS: Got Me A Girl (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE BANGLES: I'm In Line (Omnivore, Ladies And Gentlemen...The Bangles!)
FERNANDO PERDOMO: Spotlight Smile (Forward Motion, The Golden Hour)
HARMONIC DIRT: Maybe (n/a, Anthracite)
TOMMY KEENE: Places That Are Gone (Alias, The Real Underground)
POP CO-OP: If Everything Was Easy (Silent Bugler, Four State Solution)
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THE FLASHCUBES: She (Northside, Flashcubes Forever)
RAY PAUL: I Need Your Love Tonight (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: She's Got A Way (Koch, God Save The Smithereens)
CLOCKWORK FLOWERS: Uncle John (single)
GLEN CAMPBELL: Wichita Lineman (Capitol, Icon)
THE BEATLES: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Apple, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
THE BEATLES: With A Little Help From My Friends (Apple, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
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CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode (MCA, The Anthology)
GREGG YETI & THE BEST LIGHTS: My Narcoleptic Sara (Eskimo Kiss, Heart Palpitations Of The Rich And Famous)
LANNIE FLOWERS: Kiss A Memory (Spyderpop, single)
THE SLAPBACKS: Make Something Happen (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong (Capitol, Blow Up)
BIG STAR: In The Street [single mix] (Stax, The Best Of Big Star)
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THE SMITHEREENS: Cigarette (Enigma, Especially For You)
KELLEY RYAN: Cigarette (Manatee, Telescope)
ADAM MARSLAND: Mau Ke Mana (Karma Frog, Bule)
MAURA & THE BRIGHT LIGHTS: Maybe Someday (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
FATS DOMINO: I'm Walkin' (EMI, VA: Crescent City Soul)
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl (MCA, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
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TRIP WIRE: Growing Old (Kool Kat Musik, Cold Gas Giant)
POP CO-OP: Feint Of Heart (Silent Bugler, Four State Solution)
THE SMITHEREENS: Green Thoughts (Capitol, Green Thoughts)
HARMONIC DIRT: Please (n/a, Anthracite)
THE TRAGICALLY HIP: Small Town Bringdown (Universal, The Tragically Hip)
PAUL COLLINS' BEAT: She Doesn't Want To Hang Around With You (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
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THE MONKEES: The Door Into Summer (Rhino, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.)
THE MONKEES: Sometime In The Morning (Rhino, More Of The Monkees)
THE MONKEES: You Told Me (Rhino, Headquarters)
STAG: Rosemarie (www.themightystag.com, Midtown Sizzler)
THE SMITHEREENS: Yesterday Girl (Capitol, Smithereens 11)
POPDUDES: She Is Funny (In That Way) (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
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THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Somebody Better Get A Room (Cinema, Somebody Better Get A Room)
THE KINKS: Come Dancing (Velvel, State Of Confusion)
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY: Somebody Wants To Love You (Razor & Tie, The Partridge Family Album)
JACKIE SHANE: Sticks And Stones (Numero, Any Other Way)
THE SMITHEREENS: Rings On Her Fingers (Entertainment One, 2011)
JACKIE SHANE: Barefootin' (Numero, Any Other Way)
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EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year (M-Squared, Year Of The Mouse)
RONNIE DARK: '70s Van (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: Love Is Gone (RCA, A Date With The Smithereens)
MR. ENCRYPTO & THE CYPHERS: Home On The Radio (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: Some Other Guy (Capitol, Beauty And Sadness)
CIRCE LINK & CHRISTIAN NESMITH: I'm On Your Side (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep (Capitol, Blown To Smithereens)
THE RUBINOOS: Nowheresville (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE SMITHEREENS: Auld Lang Syne (Koch, Christmas With The Smithereens)
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