Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: 45 Reflections Per Minute

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is simply too large a concept to be neatly contained within a mere three-hour weekly time slot. Hence these occasional fake TIRnRR playlists, detailing shows we're never really going to do...but could.

I think it was writer Dave Marsh who said that the 45 rpm single is the building block of rock 'n' roll. I couldn't agree more. Before concept albums and triple-LP live sets, before cassettes and CDs and digital files, even before we learned to appreciate the value of a rock 'n' roll album at all, the incandescent appeal of rockin' pop music was discovered and experienced primarily on singles.

This fake This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist celebrates the single; specifically, it celebrates my singles, 45s I bought for myself at some point in my life. My fascination with 45s goes back to my earliest memories: spinning singles on my hand, pretending I was a record player; accompanying my parents to J.M. Fields to pick out new 7" prizes; watching the jukebox at The Moose Club in Syracuse, as the machine placed each little platter in place on its dome-shielded turntable, and rock 'n' roll music poured forth; and, of course, listening to these compact treasures, on the family hi-fi or on my portable player. I had albums, too; in elementary school, I owned Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen and California Nights by Lesley Gore. But mostly, I had 45s. I'd start accumulating LPs as a teenager, and I kept on scoring more 45s all the while.

For this exercise, I've limited selections to 45s that I purchased with my own money--no gifts, no promos, no legacies left in the family library as siblings moved out. Each of these tracks is from a 45 I wanted enough to surrender money in exchange for it. Sometimes I wanted the hit. Sometimes I wanted a non-album B-side. Sometimes it was a record I'd never heard before, but which somehow intrigued me enough to buy it anyway. I bought them new and used, at record stores, flea markets, rummage sales, via mail order, from friends seeking to prune their own collections in favor of beer money, even directly from a performer. All known resources were called upon to fill my box of 45s.

Today's playlist may (or may not) be a tease for yet another new series I'm considering for this blog: 45 Reflections Per Minute, discussing individual singles I owned, and my recollection of the circumstances surrounding the acquisition. For now, put another dime in the jukebox, baby: it's 45 time!

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl--y'know, the real one--plays 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.

Fake TIRnRR Playlist: 45 Reflections Per Minute
[Notations in brackets indicate my best recollection of where I purchased each 45]

R.E.M.: Radio Free Europe [Main Street Records, Brockport, NY]
--
THE RASPBERRIES: I'm A Rocker [Record Town, North Syracuse, NY]
JAMES BROWN: Cold Sweat--Part 1 [church basement rummage sale, Buffalo, NY]
THE CONTOURS: Do You Love Me? [?, one of the many fine Buffalo record stores]
THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker [The Record Grove, Brockport, NY]
HERMAN'S HERMITS: Got A Feeling [I have no idea]
KIRSTY MacCOLL: They Don't Know [House Of Guitars, Rochester, NY]
--
BADFINGER: Baby Blue [Syracuse flea market]
THE BEATLES: I'm Down [Record Theater, Syracuse, NY]
ABBA: Knowing Me, Knowing You [Gerber Music, North Syracuse, NY]
WARREN ZEVON: Werewolves Of London [The Record Grove]
THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Twist And Shout [used record store in Liverpool, NY]
BOW WOW WOW: C30, C60, C90, Go! [Main Street Records]
--
THE MONKEES: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You [Syracuse flea market]
JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS: Oh Woe Is Me [Main Street Records]
THE SPONGETONES: Here I Go Again [Music Express, Syracuse, NY]
THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Concentration Baby [on-campus used record sale, Brockport, NY]
ROKY ERICKSON: Don't Slander Me [Home Of The Hits, Buffalo, NY]
THE BYRDS: Eight Miles High [Walt's Record Shop, Syracuse, NY]
--
HUSKER DU: Eight Miles High [Apollo Records, Buffalo, NY]
EL DeBARGE: Who's Johnny [Cavage, Buffalo, NY]
SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES: Hong Kong Garden [Sam Goody, Smithtown, NY]
THE POPPEES: Jealousy [Sam Goody]
THE ROLLING STONES: Let's Spend The Night Together [Pat's Record Shop, North Syracuse, NY]
THE ZOMBIES: She's Not There [Pat's Record Shop]
--
THE FLASHCUBES: Wait Till Next Week [directly from bassist Gary Frenay at a gig at Gildersleeves on Bowery, NYC]
PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Him Or Me--What's It Gonna Be [from my friend Jay Hammond]
SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young [Knuckleheads, North Syracuse, NY]
THE KINKS: You Really Got Me [Syracuse flea market]
THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen [The Record Grove]
JOHN LENNON with THE ELTON JOHN BAND: I Saw Her Standing There [Gerber Music]
--
THE ROMANTICS: Little White Lies [The Record Grove]
PHIL SEYMOUR: Baby It's You [Main Street Records]
THE LAST: She Don't Know Why I'm Here [Bomp! Records mail order]
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter [Gerber Music]
VANITY: Pretty Mess [Cavages]
THE ANIMALS: Inside--Looking Out [Syracuse flea market]
--
SHAUN CASSIDY: Hey Deanie [Gerber Music]
STARZ: Cherry Baby [see "ISLEY BROTHER: Twist And Shout" above]
THE RUBINOOS: As Long As I'm With You [Main Street Records]
STIV BATORS: It's Cold Outside [Main Street Records]
THE PENETRATORS: Teenage Lifestyle [Desert Shore Records, Syracuse, NY]
THE SMITHEREENS: Only A Memory [Knuckleheads]
--
THE GREG KIHN BAND: The Jukebox Song (They Don't Write 'Em) [Main Street Records]
THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS: I've Gotta Wa With Girls [Apollo Records]
THE FUZZTONES: Bad News Travels Fast [Home Of The Hits]
SHEILA E: The Glamorous Life [Cavages]
THE PRETENDERS: Kid [Main Street Records]
DAVID BOWIE: Changes [Record Town]
--
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Way Over My Head [Midnight Records mail order]
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: My Hometown [Main Street Records]
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Refugee [Main Street Records]
THE SCRUFFS: Teenage Girls [RPI Records, Buffalo, NY]
THE PLEASERS: You Don't Know [House Of Guitars]
THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby [House Of Guitars]
THE GO-GO'S: Surfing And Spying [Main Street Records]