There have been fairly common stories of musical acts, both veteran and aspiring, working in earnest on their craft with the goal of creating something that could connect with an audience, only to discover that a recording the artists thought was a mere throwaway is the one that hits big. You just never know what's really gonna make it.
My own meager version of this occurred last week on the blog. Monday afternoon, I was working on an entry in my B-Side appreciation series The Other Side Of The Hit, a heartfelt tribute to the sublime track "Babysitter" by The Ramones. I'd intended to run that Ramones piece on Tuesday, but realized it wasn't quite ready yet, and that I'd need to put it aside and come back to it. No problem. Still keeping with my commitment to a Boppin' blog post a day, every day, I figured I'd run a cool filler piece in its place on Tuesday, and finish the Ramones piece to my satisfaction in time for Wednesday. I looked in my archives, found an all-time Hot 100 list I started a few months ago, finished it, and ran it as filler on Tuesday.
Boom.
Yeah, what I thought was a filler piece is currently listed at # 1 in this blog's POPULAR POSTS (ALL-TIME) chart, as seen if you scroll down on the right of your screen. It's not actually my all-time most-viewed post--Blogger stat summaries make no sense, and do not match the cumulative data for individual posts--but it's up there. Comparatively speaking, relatively few folks ever read the Ramones piece I thought was so worthy of the extra time it took to get it right, but that's the way the blitzkrieg bops.
Here's an updated ranking of the most popular posts at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) so far:
1. THE MONKEES: Welcome To The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
A new # 1! From two years ago, the hypothetical speech I would give if called upon to induct The Monkees into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame keeps rackin' up views, enough to just this week edge out my previous # 1....
2. The Everlasting First: The Kinks
A reshuffling of format for The Everlasting First prompted me to post this piece twice, and its ranking here is from the combined total of both posts. A Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery reminiscence of my first Kinks concert may also be of interest (though its numbers are, of course, not included in this piece's ranking).
3. The Greatest Record Ever Made: "Beach Baby"
This was my # 1 post for a long, long time, its numbers buoyed by...well, damned if I know. But it connected with fans of singer Tony Burrows, and those fans shared its celebration of long hot days and blue sea haze, as the jukebox plays.
4. Batman Meets The Monkees
Retroactively suggesting the Pop Culture Event of 1966!
5. My All-Time Hot 100 [With An Asterisk]
Triumph of the fluke! Although I was shocked by its popularity, I'm pleased by all this wild and rampagin' love for a list of the songs I like the most.
6. The Monkees: Good Times! review
I wrote reviews for Goldmine (and The Syracuse New Times and DISCoveries) for about twenty years. I may have enjoyed writing reviews at some point in my failed freelance career, but I don't enjoy writing them anymore, and it's unlikely that you'll see many reviews on this blog. The sheer thrill of The Monkees' 2016 album Good Times! was sufficient to temporarily lure me out of record-review retirement.
7. Pat DiNizio
The 2017 passing of The Smithereens' Pat DiNizio was a punch to the gut, and it occurred at a time of an unwelcome transition in my own life. My friend Rich Firestone wrote an effective and moving personal eulogy of Pat; I could not have written a better tribute, so I asked Rich for his permission to reprint it on my blog.
8. The Greatest Record Ever Made: "The Transylvania Twist"
An infinite number of records can be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. This fabulous 1964 local single by Syracuse's popular TV vampire Baron Daemon is, so far, the most obscure record I've given a turn as GREM. It's such a wonderful record, well deserving of greater acclaim and notoriety.
9. The Greatest Record Ever Made: "Hearts In Her Eyes"
Among the many series I write for Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), The Greatest Record Ever Made is probably the most satisfying series for me. I'm looking toward a long-term goal of collecting them in book form.
10. The Greatest Record Ever Made: "Any Way You Want It"
One more GREM to round out the Top Ten. No, it's not the Journey song--what're you, high? Never confuse the likes of Journey with the Tottenham Sound of The Dave Clark Five.
Those are the ten most popular Bops so far; for a list of my own favorites, check here.
Awright, back to work on fresh flukes and wannabes. A bop a day doesn't just write itself, y'know.
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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-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.
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