Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: Music And Movies

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.


Rock 'n' roll's prominence in popular culture began when the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle played "Rock Around The Clock," a novelty fox trot recorded by a then-unknown combo called Bill Haley & His Comets, during the movie's opening credits. Hijinks ensued, accompanied by a seismic shift in the soundtrack of youth.

This fake TIRnRR playlist celebrates music heard in the movies. Dana and I have actually done two real-world radio shows based on this theme, once on TIRnRR and once on We're Your Friends For Now, the first series of Dana & Carl radio collaborations back in 1992. Today's faux show follows the same parameters I had in mind for those previous efforts: songs heard in movies. I excluded oldies or other songs that had a public life prior to their soundtrack appearances; I only wanted songs that were either recorded specifically for a film project, or were at least heard for the first time as part of a film project. I fudged that a little here and there; I'm not certain whether or not  Jimmy Cavallo's "Rock, Rock, Rock," The Yardbirds' "Stroll On," or Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" turned up at retail ahead of  'n' apart from respective celluloid immortality in Rock, Rock, Rock, Blow Up, and The Girl Can't Help It. And I do know the Redd Kross album Third Eye was released about a month before the film Spirit Of '76, which included "1976" from Third Eye. Close enough! I'm not exactly under oath here.

I also limited my selection to what I think of as real movies. No documentaries, no concert films, no career retrospectives. No biopics either, for that matter. I only considered songs that were used in films that were scripted and/or tried to tell some kind of fictional narrative. This Is Spinal Tap was largely improv, but it still told a fabricated story, so it counts. The only conscious exception was our opening track, Jan & Dean's "(Here They Come) From All Over The World" from the only concert film that matters, The TAMI Show. It's a studio track, and it's blatant hype for the movie itself, and what could be more crassly, commercially rock 'n' roll than that?

The films represented run the gamut from great to flat-out terrible--lookin' at you there, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band--but the music's all cool. This is a radio show best enjoyed with popcorn, and perhaps with your honey beside you, sittin' in the balcony in the very last row. Shhh. The only sound we wanna hear now is what's on the screen. The lights are low. We're ready for our close-up. Let's rock.

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: Music And Movies

Information in brackets indicates the film that gave us the song.

JAN & DEAN: (Here They Come) From All Over The World [The TAMI Show]
--
THE TWYLIGHT ZONES: The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre [Not Fade Away]
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS: It's Gonna Be Alright [Ferry Cross The Mersey]
PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION: When Doves Cry [Purple Rain]
THE CARRIE NATIONS: Look On Up At The Bottom [Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls]
HERMAN'S HERMITS: It's Nice To Be Out In The Morning [Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter]
DAVID BOWIE: Absolute Beginners [Absolute Beginners]
--
ANNETTE [with THE BEACH BOYS]: The Monkey's Uncle [The Monkey's Uncle]
LITTLE RICHARD: Great Gosh A'Mighty [Down And Out In Beverly Hills]
THE BANGLES: Hazy Shade Of Winter [Less Than Zero]
THE KINKS: God's Children [Percy]
THE FOUR TOPS: Are You Man Enough? [Shaft In Africa]
REDD KROSS: 1976 [Spirit Of '76]
--
THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From "Head") [Head]
THE SMITHEREENS: Time Won't Let Me [Time Cop]
ELVIS PRESLEY: (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care [Jailhouse Rock] 
STRANGE FRUIT: All Over The World Tonight [Still Crazy]
TINA TURNER: Acid Queen [Tommy]
JIMMY CLIFF: The Harder They Come [The Harder They Come]
--
DAVID JOHANSEN & ROBIN JOHNSON: Flowers In The City [Times Square]
THE STANDELLS: Riot On The Sunset Strip [Riot On The Sunset Strip]
APRIL WINE: Rock Myself To Sleep [Fright Night]
BLOODSTONE: Rock & Roll Choo Choo [Train Ride To Hollywood]
THE YARDBIRDS: Stroll On [Blow Up]
COVEN: One Tin Soldier [Billy Jack]
--
THE BEATLES: The Night Before [Help!]
EARTH, WIND & FIRE: Got To Get You Into My Life [Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: Crawling To The USA [Americathon]
STEVE MARTIN: Love Songs In The Night [Hot Parts]
DAVE EDMUNDS: High School Nights [Porky's Revenge]
NANCY SINATRA: The Last Of The Secret Agents [The Last Of The Secret Agents?]
--
SONNY & CHER: Good Times [Good Times]
HARRY NILSSON: Daybreak [Son Of Dracula]
GEORGE HARRISON: Cheer Down [Lethal Weapon 2]
MARSHALL CRENSHAW: It's Only A Movie (But, But) [Get Crazy]
CURTIS MAYFIELD: Freddie's Dead [Superfly]
PAUL McCARTNEY: Not Such A Bad Boy [Give My Regards To Broad Street]
--
ISAAC HAYES: Theme From "Shaft" [Shaft]
EDDIE COCHRAN: Twenty Flight Rock [The Girl Can't Help It]
SPINAL TAP: Gimme Some Money [This Is Spinal Tap]
CHEAP TRICK: Everything Works If You Let It [Roadie]
MEATLOAF: Hot Patootie Bless My Soul [The Rocky Horror Picture Show]
BLONDIE: Call Me [American Gigolo]
--
THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Catch Us If You Can [Catch Us If You Can aka Having A Wild Weekend]
LULU: To Sir, With Love [museum outings montage] [To Sir, With Love]
JAMES BROWN: The Payback [The Payback]
THE SUPREMES: The Happening [The Happening]
THE BYRDS: Don't Make Waves [Don't Make Waves]
TOMMY BOYCE & BOBBY HART: Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows [Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows]
JIMMY CAVALLO & HIS HOUSE ROCKERS: Rock, Rock, Rock [Rock, Rock, Rock]
JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS: Light Of Day [Light Of Day]
THE RAMONES: Rock 'n' Roll High School [Rock 'n' Roll High School]
THE WONDERS: That Thing You Do! [That Thing You Do!]
JOHN BARRY ORCHESTRA: On Her Majesty's Secret Service [On Her Majesty's Secret Service]