Friday, May 4, 2018

The Case For Pop Music (My Portable THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Stash)




I bought my CD carrying case several years ago at Music Express/CNY DJ Supply in East Syracuse. The declining popularity of physical media has prompted a precipitous drop in the market for something as quaint and old-fashioned as a carrying case for such antiquated ol' fossils. CDs? How '90s, old man! CNY DJ Supply had a perfect carrying case for me, and it continues to serve me well as I load it up each week with CDs to play on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.

I do own an iPod. My iPod is a fun convenience, which I use to listen to my cherished pop music in the car (when I'm not listening to the radio). But digital files are not an acceptable substitute for physical media, at least not for my needs. I don't really buy vinyl anymore--take away my record collector purist credentials! I do buy CDs, all the time. If I only have a digital file of a track I want to play on TIRnRR, I will burn it onto a CD-R compilation and throw that into my CD case. I confess that those digital tracks (including quite a bit of the new stuff submitted by artists and labels for airplay) tend to get played once or maybe twice, and then forgotten in favor of tracks on actual CDs. (To be fair, it's also true that CDs not in jewel cases or at least digipaks likewise get lost in the shuffle. There's no real remedy for that unless/until I embrace the alien notion of bringing a laptop or somesuch to the studio to play selected digital files. This will not happen any time soon.)



When Dana and I started TIRnRR's precursor We're Your Friends For Now! in 1992, I brought in a crate of  LPs as fodder for my half of each week's show. With the start of TIRnRR at the end of '98, I used a shoebox to transport my CDs, and eventually graduated to a CD carrying case. When that case finally wore out, I made the drive to East Syracuse to purchase my current Old Reliable.

My weekly process for selecting tracks to consider for airplay hasn't changed all that much over decades of practice. I used to bring more choices with me to the studio, the carrying case supplemented by another package of mini-discs (with an assortment of supplemental go-to tracks from vinyl, cassette, et al.), and later on by a separate carrier stuffed with CD-R compilations. My intent was to have a lot of back-up material available, so if a request or odd whim prompts me to wanna play "Got A Feeling" by Herman's Hermits or the single edit of "Summer Breeze" by The Isley Brothers, I was prepared.

Over time, I decided that was all too much bulk to bother with. Nowadays, if it doesn't fit in the case, it stays home.



Neither Dana nor I really pre-plan our selections much. We may have some specifics one or the other wants to include, but the precise tracks and sequence are settled in real time as the show progresses. I don't quite empty my case every week, but I shift discs out and fill discs in until the case is once again loaded and locked. CD-Rs (and CDs shipped in sleeves rather than cases) sit atop the main selections, as long as the lid can still close. A couple of mini-discs remain in the case, at the ready if duty calls. Showtime!



There are a handful of CDs that are in my case every week, pretty much without fail:

Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '70s, '80s, and '90s. These three compilations offer a convenient supply of rockin' pop essentials by The Raspberries, The Smithereens, The Rooks, et al.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, all four volumes, plus the limited-edition bonus disc for Volume 3. Of course!

Loud, Fast Ramones, a rather perfunctory Ramones compilation I originally picked up just for its bonus disc of tracks from a 1985 live show. I often bring in other Ramones discs to play album tracks that aren't on this CD. But this one's always at hand if I need it.

The Birth Of Surf, a terrific various-artists set of surf instrumentals, courtesy of Ace Records.

Chuck Berry's The Anthology. Because you can't trust a rock 'n' roll radio show that isn't prepared to play Chuck Berry.

The Monkees' 50, a three-CD set of Monkees selections. Previously, I was often stuffing The Monkees' boxed set Music Box into the carrying case, but 50 is a much better fit, literally. Some of its omissions are off-putting--no "You Just May Be The One" or "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"--but it serves the purpose. I sometimes add my favorite Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. to the case, but not consistently. (A CD-R of an expanded version of The Monkees' 2016 album Good Times! is also a permanent resident of the carrying case.)

The CDs-in-sleeves atop the rest of my stock always include Four State Solution by Pop Co-Op, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre by Cocktail Slippers, and Year Of The Mouse by Eytan Mirsky.



I'm going to add a two-disc collection by TIRnRR's house band The Kinks, just because it seems silly to not always have an array of Kinks choices at my fingertips. The Spongetones' best-of Alway Carry On was a weekly perennial in the case for a long time, and the only reason it's not there now is because I forgot to put it back after a recent CD collection organizing project. Like James Bond, The Spongetones will return.

There have been a number of other CDs that I used to bring in every week. The Flamin' Groovies' At Full Speed, a two-disc collection of the Groovies' work for Sire Records in the '70s, should probably return to being a perennial, and the same could be said for The Smithereens' set Blown To Smithereens. The Definitive Collection by The Bay City Rollers almost seems like it could have been a perennial, but it has not. A few multi-disc sets--Squeeze's The Squeeze Story, The Hollies' Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years, Prince's The Hits/The B-Sides, the 2 Tone Records retrospective A Checkered Past--were removed for space consideration. I may pick up a KISS best-of just to have a handy radio edit of "Detroit Rock City;" even if do, though, it may not wind up in the case every week. I'm currently on the hunt for a compact one- or two-disc '70s soul anthology, but haven't yet found one that will suit me.



I think that's all I really need as far as staple resources in my carrying case. Otherwise, I just pick and choose every week. And then I close the lid; if the lid latches successfully, I'm ready for the show. In another part of town, Dana goes through whatever process fills the two or three cases he'll bring to the studio. And Sunday night, we see what happens. Maybe digital tracks would be easier. I doubt they'd be as much fun.





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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-OpRay PaulCirce Link & Christian NesmithVegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie FlowersThe SlapbacksP. HuxIrene PeñaMichael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave MerrittThe RubinoosStepford KnivesThe Grip WeedsPopdudesRonnie DarkThe Flashcubes,Chris von SneidernThe Bottle Kids1.4.5.The SmithereensPaul Collins' BeatThe Hit SquadThe RulersThe Legal MattersMaura & the Bright LightsLisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. 

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