Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: New Stuff, Old Stuff, New Stuff

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.



As I mentioned in the playlist commentary for this week's real-life edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, we received a nice note from a first-time listener expressing delight with our mix of new music alongside our stalwart Fave Raves of the past. This got me thinking about how commercial (and even many non-commercial) radio formats often seem to resist this idea; Classic Rock stations play old and familiar tracks and generally eschew the new, while a station dedicated to current Top 40 or even alternative would fall on its sword before spinning anything that lacks the illusion of fresh!  I was speaking once with musician Bob Segarini, and we agreed that fans who still like listening to the vintage rock 'n' roll music that thrilled them in their youth--The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, whatever--might also love to hear new music that tickles a similar fancy. That strikes me as a given. Radio programmers disagree.

(Almost thirty years ago, there was a commercial for a classic rock station, an ad that dismissed the idea of playing something new with a smug and sneering When's the last time you heard anything new that sounded as good as THIS...? The commercial made my skin crawl.)

But to hell with them. On This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Dana and I don't plan out how much old or how much new sounds we want to mix into each week's show; we just play. Our love of the music we know and love probably tips the balance toward a 20th century soundtrack, but unless a specific theme dictates otherwise, we're also playin' material from this millennium alongside our Motown and British Invasion. I love oldies, but I can't imagine ever being interested in just playing oldies.

For this week's fake TIRnRR playlist, I'm consciously tipping the scale in favor of somewhat more recent grooves. Precisely half of this playlist--every other track, in fact--is a pop song from 2001 or later. Okay, an eighteen-year span might not quite qualify as all-new, but there is some very recent stuff in here, jumbled together with essential jolts from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Music has no sell-by date. What's cool once is cool forever. But even your old favorites had to start out as something you'd never heard before. Make new friends, and keep the old. Silver. Gold. Open up. Turn it up. Right now is always the best time ever to be a pop music fan.

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: New Stuff, Old Stuff, New Stuff

Note: I wanted the 21st century songs (which are noted in bold on the playlist) to include both a number of newer artists and a number of pre-2001 acts like The Monkees, Ian Hunter, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, The Smithereens, The Flashcubes, etc. who've continued to make great new music in this grand new millennium. I did specifically avoid covers of old faves, like from tribute albums or the like--that woulda been cheating. 

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? [1980]
--
CIRCE LINK & CHRISTIAN NESMITH: I'm On Your Side [2013]
THE BEATLES: Day Tripper [1965]
JAMIE & STEVE: Emily's Ghost [2009]
SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown [released 1967, but a hit in '70]
THE GRIP WEEDS: Rainbow Quartz [2015]
PRINCE: I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man [1987]
--
THE FORTY NINETEENS: Disguise [2016]
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: First Plane Home [1979]
VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH: Supergirl [2011]
WANDA JACKSON: Let's Have A Party [1960]
THE KENNEDYS: Safe Until Tomorrow [2018]
CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode [1958]
--
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes [2007]
LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It [1956]
LAURIE BIAGINI: Not The Only Pretty Fish In His Sea [2010]
THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes [1979] 
THE FLASHCUBES: You Got My Promise [2003]
AMOS MILBURN: Down The Road Apiece [1946]
--
LISA MYCHOLS: Better Than Nothing [2013]
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You [1964]
MR. ENCRYPTO: Rock And Roll Is Killing Me (Loudly) [2003]
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter [1976]
SQUEEZE: Only 15 [2015]
THE MUFFS: Saying Goodbye [1993]
--
THE MONKEES: Birth Of An Accidental Hipster [2016]
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: Everybody Is A Star [1969]
IRENE PEÑA: Must've Been Good [2017]
THE SAINTS: (I'm) Stranded [1977]
COTTON MATHER: The Book Of Too Late Changes [2016]
EDDIE COCHRAN: C'mon Everybody [1958]
--
POP CO-OP: It Ain't Easy Being A Boy [2017]
P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest [1967]
IAN HUNTER: Fuss About Nothin' [2007]
DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars? [1971]
THE SMITHEREENS: Sorry [2011]
BUDDY HOLLY: Rave On [1958]
--
AMY RIGBY: Dancing With Joey Ramone [2005]
THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker [1977]
THE FLESHTONES: Just For A Smile [2014]
THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Got To Have You Back [1967]
DEAN LANDEW: Romantic Dreamer [2018]
THE BANGLES: Going Down To Liverpool [1984]
--
TEMPLES: Shelter Song 2014]
THE FOUR TOPS: Baby I Need Your Loving [1964]
ALLAH-LAS: Don't You Forget It [2012]
RICK JAMES: Bustin' Out [1979]
DERRICK ANDERSON: When I Was Your Man [2017]
R.E.M.: So. Central Rain [1984]
--
ANNY CELSI: Empty Hangers [2003]
LYRES: Help You Ann [1984]
THE BEACH BOYS: That's Why God Made The Radio [2012]
THE O'JAYS: Love Train [1972]
PURRBOX: Punk Rock [2002]
THE KINKS: All Day And All Of The Night [1964]
THE GOLD NEEDLES: Service With A Smile [2018]