Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)

My thoughts on pop music and pop culture, plus the weekly playlists from THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO with Dana and Carl (Sunday nights 9 to Midnight Eastern, SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM in Syracuse, sparksyracuse.org). You can support this blog on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2449453 Twitter @CafarelliCarl All editorial content on this blog Copyright Carl Cafarelli (except where noted). All images copyright the respective owners TIP JAR at https://www.paypal.me/CarlCafarelli

Monday, December 31, 2018

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 956: The 20th Anniversary Show

20 YEARS OF THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO!

Back on December 27, 1998, as a spin of "I Won't Let You Let Me Go" by The Poptarts kicked off the very first TIRnRR, maybe Dana thought our strange new radio show would still be on the air 20 years later. I did not believe that to be likely. Yet here we are, a full two decades later, still trying to pull off sight gags on the radio, still playing songs we love for whatever audience we can find, still convinced that this is great, great radio. "Great radio?" No. The BEST. Before Little Steven, before anyone else, Dana & Carl were already serving up The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet! That's radio you can believe in.

Our pal Dave Murray asked me the other day if I still thought doing the show was fun. Oh, man...! Once a week, I get to come in and play a bunch of my favorite records on the radio. How could that be anything other than the most fun thing ever? Still fun. Still invigorating. And for 20 years now, still This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.

(For those sufficiently curious to wanna know more about our little mutant radio show's back story, I've just begun writing a history of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio for my blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). You can read Part 1: The Kids Are Alright and Part 2: We're Your Friends For Now! right now at carlcafarelli.blogspot.com, with Part 3: I'll Send You A Tape From Central New York coming soon.)

NEXT WEEK: THE COUNTDOWN!!! And it's like we've been telling you for the past 20 years: this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse on The Spark WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7 FM, 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 at https://tinyurl.com/ycnly8oz Digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) now available at https://tinyurl.com/ycauy9xt

TIRnRR # 956: The 20th Anniversary Show 12/30/18

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
--
THE PLEASERS: The Kids Are Alright (Lost Moment, Thamesbeat)
THE NERVES: Walking Out On Love (Alive, One Way Ticket)
WILSON PICKETT: Sugar Sugar (Rhino, A Man And A Half)
THE JOHNNY POPSTAR LUV EXPLOSION: Oh Renee (JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1)
THE SPONGETONES: Are You Gonna, Do You Need To (Love Me) (Black Vinyl, Oh Yeah!)
SWEET: Fox On The Run (Capitol, The Best Of Sweet)
--
THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)
THE EXPLODING HEARTS: (Making) Teenage Faces (Dirtnap, Shattered)
THE SELECTER: On My Radio (EMI, Greatest Hits)
THE FACTORY: Path Through The Forest (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II)
OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY: Girl, You Have Magic Inside You (Rainbow Quartz, Supernatural Equinox)
THE LEAVES: Too Many People (Rhino, VA: Nuggets)
--
COCKEYED GHOST: About Jill (Big Deal, Keep Yourself Amused)
THE FLASHING ASTONISHERS: Period Exclamatory (JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1)
KYLE VINCENT: Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For) (Carport, Kyle Vincent)
THE KENNEDYS: And Your Bird Can Sing (JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1)
LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It (Specialty, The Georgia Peach)
GREGG YETI & THE BEST LIGHTS: My Narcoleptic Sara (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)
--
THE LOLAS: The Best Part (JAM, Ballerina Breakout)
THE CHORDS: Maybe Tomorrow (Captain Mod, So Far Away)
P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest (Immediate, The First Cut)
COTTON MATHER: My Before And After (Copper, Kontiki)
THE SMITHEREENS: Sorry (Entertainment One, Smithereens 2011)
KENNY HOWES & THE YEAH!: Sheila, She (TallBoy, Until Dawn)
--
THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset (Sanctuary, The Ultimate Collection)
SHOES: The Things You Do (Elektra, Tongue Twister)
GLADHANDS: Forget All About It (Big Deal, La Di Da)
THE MERRYMAKERS: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Not Lame, VA: Full Circle)
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Wouldn't You Like It (Arista, The Definitive Collection)
HOLE: Heaven Tonight (Geffen, Celebrity Skin)
--
BOB SEGER: Get Out Of Denver (Reprise, Seven)
THE EASYBEATS: She's So Fine (Albert, Absolute Anthology)
HELIUM ANGEL: Georgie (Pilot Error, An Early Clue To The New Direction)
CHICKLET: Out Of Sight (Satellite, Wanderlust)
THE MONKEES: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Colgems, single)
ASTROPUPPEES: Over Her Head (Manatee, Little Chick Tsunami)
--
EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year (M-Squared, Year Of The Mouse)
WRECKLESS ERIC & AMY RIGBY: Do You Remember That (Southern Domestic, A Working Museum)
THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise (Northside, Bright Lights)
THE MUFFS: Saying Goodbye (Warner Brothers, The Muffs)
SEX CLARK FIVE: Can't Shake Loose (Beehive Rebellion, Strum & Drum!)
MING TEA: BBC (Hollywood, VA: Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery OST)
--
STYX: Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (Sanctuary, Cyclorama)
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: The Laws Have Changed (Matador, Electric Version)
ED JAMES: Here We Go (JAM, Meet Ed James!)
THE CRICKLE: Place In My Heart (ROIR, VA: Garage Sale)
LULU: To Sir, With Love [museum outings montage] (Retroactive, VA: To Sir, With Love OST)
THE SMALL FACES: Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (Sanctuary, Ultimate Collection)
BIG STAR: September Gurls [single version] (Stax, The Best Of Big Star)
MANNIX: Highway Lines (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)
THE STALLIONS: Why (Junk, Hey Baby It's The Stallions)
THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)
THE POPTARTS: I Won't Let You Let Me Go (Plum-Tone, Fresh...Out Of The Toaster)
THE RUBINOOS: Walk Don't Run (Bezerkley, VA: Bezerk Times)

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is now 20 years old. Please join us for our 20th anniversary celebration of The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet: Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ For 20 years and counting: the weekend stops here.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Big Stir Magazine # 3

The third and biggest (so far) issue of Big Stir Magazine is out and awaiting your order. My goal is to be included in every issue of Big Stir that's ever published, at least until they finally get that cease 'n' desist order out on me. I've been in each of the first three, because I like what they do and I appreciate the opportunity to see what brilliant graphics maestro Champniss Of London can do to make my stuff look spiffy.

In addition to my piece about "Rock And Roll Love Letter" by The Bay City Rollers, this issue spotlights "Pets Of Pop," and features contributions from an entire passel o' rockin' pop stalwarts. Dig the hype:

BIG STIR MAGAZINE #3 is now available for purchase!

It's bigger (now at comic book size and 52 pages) and packed to bursting with articles and artwork by and about your favorite artists on the global pop scene, lavishly designed by the inimitable CHAMPNISS of London, all for a mere $5! Here's what's inside:

PETS OF POP SPECIAL: Learn all about the animal companions of the movers and shakers of the scene. ARTIST TO ARTIST INTERVIEWS! KARLA KANE (The Corner Laughers) talks to both MARTIN NEWELL (Cleaners from Venus) about autumn and more, and ROBYN HITCHCOCK about cats. STEVEN WILSON (Plasticsoul) talks to PAT FISH (The Jazz Butcher). And CHRISTINA and REX (The Armoires) chat with ADDISON LOVE about his solo debut. REVIEWS and MUSIC MEMORIES from DAVID BASH, JOHN BORACK, CARL CAFARELLI, RAY GIANCHETTI, AARON KUPFERBERG, ROBERT LAMBERT, STEVE ROSENBAUM, and more! COMICS and ARTWORK from CHAMPNISS, SUMISHTA BRAHM (13 Frightened Girls), REX BROOME, RIDLEY BROOME, LARYSA BULBENKO (The Armoires), EDWARD HUERTA (Rockford) and more! FICTION from MARK ENGLISH (The Gold Needles) MUSICAL MUSINGS from members of SPYGENIUS, THE ARMOIRES, BLAKE JONES & THE TRIKE SHOP, THE WALKER BRIGADE, THE EX TEENS, LESLIE PEREIRA & THE LAZY HEROES, THE HANGABOUTS, and (again) more!

You want it! BUY IT! Buy it here: Big Stir Magazine # 3 Meanwhile, here's my introduction from the first issue, reminding you of Why We Fight:

Enthusiasm isn't everything. But nothing of value endures without it.

It's not the only thing, and possibly--probably--not the most important thing. It's not a substitute for inspiration, for execution, for creativity, talent, pure mojo. It doesn't magically make you able to play guitar, or compose sonnets, or paint your masterpiece. It doesn't really make you more attractive to persons of potential prurient interest. Nonetheless, it feeds all of the above. It can drive the creator. It can engage the creator's fans. Enthusiasm is its own reward.

If you're a fan of anything--any damned thing--you understand. And you appreciate opportunities to revel in your enthusiasm. Let your freak flag fly!

When I was a teenager in the '70s, rock magazines fanned my burgeoning obsession with rock 'n' roll. Neither Circus nor Rolling Stone was quite right for me (though the latter was more than sufficient to convince smitten li'l me that I should fall in love with Suzi Quatro). But Phonograph Record Magazine was like a communique from someplace greater, sweeter, and louder. Magazines like Bomp!, Creem, Trouser Press, Punk, New York Rocker, Rock Scene, Poser (a local fanzine here in Syracuse), The Pig Paper...! These all fed the flames of my rockin' pop passions. It is not an exaggeration to say that these rock rags were as important as the music itself. To me, anyway. My enjoyment of these publications, the sheer enthusiasm of (and for) fanzine and prozine alike, made me wanna participate. I couldn't play. I couldn't sing. I could write. I've been doing that ever since.

Enthusiasm. It's okay to discard our jaded facades. It's cool to embrace the things we love, to proclaim with glee that we are fans of something, and that we don't care if you think that's weird. Martin Mull compared writing about music to dancing about architecture. We can do that, man. Bucketfull Of Brains. Goldmine. Yellow Pills. Yeah Yeah Yeah. The Big Takeover. Mojo. Shindig! And now, Big Stir. It's time once again to twist about Frank Lloyd Wright, to do the Freddie on behalf of I. M. Pei. Get loud. Get excited! And read on. Read on.

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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. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.

BOPPIN' THE WHOLE FRIGGIN' PLANET (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO), Part 2: We're Your Friends For Now!

As This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl celebrates its 20th anniversary, it's time for a look back at who we are, how we came to be, and our long history of claiming to be The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. We stand by that claim. You can read Part 1 here.

It was Dana's idea.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl debuted on December 27th, 1998. It was the beginning of a long Sunday night tenure that has now lasted for more than 950 shows over the course of two decades. But it wasn't the first Dana & Carl radio show; it was a continuation of something we'd already started years before. If we're going to tell the history of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, we have to tell the prehistory. We have to start with We're Your Friends For Now, and how We're Your Friends For Now eventually led to TIRnRR.

I met Dana some time in the '80s. Our paths almost certainly crossed early in the decade at some Screen Test or 1.4.5. show, during the final flourish of the Syracuse new wave scene, before raising the drinking age to 21 suffocated the scene in 1985. Neither of us remembers meeting the other at the time. Because, y'know, beer. Other than sporadic visits back home, I spent most of the '80s away from Syracuse anyway, living in Brockport and Buffalo before my wife Brenda and I moved permanently to the 315 in 1987. My high school pal Jay Hammond introduced us to Dana that summer, I think, noting our mutual interest in that drivin' rock 'n' roll beat, man, the beat. Brenda and I had an apartment on the North side; Dana and his wife Maria had a house on Valley Drive. My memory tells me that my first visit to Dana and Maria's stately Bonn Manor was a cookout, and there was music: The Beatles, The Stooges, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, The Beatles, The Flamin' Groovies, The Beatles, The Ramones, The Beatles, The Beatles, and The Beatles. Okay. I'm right at home here.

We all got to be friends, and saw each other with some frequency. Brenda and I quickly grew tired of apartment life--the crazy neighbor who carved YOU DIE!! into the vestibule outside our door may have been a factor in that--and we bought a house in the Northern suburbs in 1989. We had occasional parties, for New Year's Eve and--of course!--the Season Two premiere of Twin Peaks. Dana and Maria were among our regular guests at these festivities.

Near the end of 1991, The Syracuse New Times published a notice that something called WNMA was accepting proposals from would-be radio programmers. Other than hanging around with some pals at the campus radio station at Brockport, my only previous radio experience was as a guest DJ on WBNY-FM in Buffalo. But c'mon--what dyed-in-the-wool music fan wouldn't want a shot at turning listeners on to Fave Rave tunes? I was intrigued, but unsure. Someone--Brenda perhaps--may have suggested that I could do a show with Dana. Maybe someone made a similar suggestion to Dana. Whatever path led to the moment, it was during our New Year's Eve party at Casa Cafarelli, as we bid adieu to '91, that Dana said to me, You wanna do a show?

Dana contacted the good folks at WNMA, and a meeting was scheduled for after work on the evening of January 15th, 1992. WNMA was run by Lee Spinks and a guy named Greg, whose last name my memory bank long ago surrendered to the ether. Dana and I made our tentative pitch, a show co-hosted by two record collectors sharing knowledge and enthusiasm with an audience starved for more than commercial radio was serving them. We did some mock patter; Lee and Greg thought I didn't speak enough, and I've been overcompensating for that ever since. They asked us to record a demo show, right there and then. The first song we played was "Why Do You Treat Me Like A Tramp?" by Gashead. We segued Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Anymore" into "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" by The Ohio Express, or maybe it was vice versa. Our demo passed the audition and went out on the air that very night.

"On the air." That meant something a little bit different at WNMA. WNMA wasn't a traditional station, but a project called Radiovision, an audio background to play behind community bulletins on the city's cable TV system. Our friend Dave Murray quipped that we weren't a real radio station, but we played one on TV.

When we recorded our demo, Greg and Lee asked us for the name of our would-be radio show. Huh--neither Dana nor I had thought much about that. I blurted out, "We're your friends...for now!" I think we meant to change it, but we never did. After that 90-minute pilot on 1/15/92, our three-hour weekly show We're Your Friends For Now aired Monday nights 11 pm to 2 am. We recorded the shows on cassette in WNMA's (sorta) converted storefront studio earlier in the evening, and they played back at the designated time. We specialized in theme shows, starting with a psychedelic (i.e., '60s garage) show on 1/19/72, and rippin' our way through subsequent shows dedicated to pure pop, soul/jazz/R & B, instrumentals ("music too good for words!"), covers, 45s, punk/new wave, live recordings, rock 'n' roll soundtracks, Beatles rarities, the British Invasion, 1987-1992, girl groups and female singers, the '70s, comedy and novelty rock, The Monkees, Apple Records, and the sounds of summer, with several themeless shows thrown in here and there. We're Your Friends For Now wasn't exactly the same as whatever This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio is, but it was similar. And it ended much too soon.

When we arrived at the studio for our sounds of summer show on June 1st, 1992, we were informed that WNMA would be terminating its affiliation with the cable company, effectively killing We're Your Friends For Now and all other WNMA shows. We weren't allowed to say anything about that publicly, not yet, so we sullenly went about our business of playing surf 'n' sun tunes as the rain fell and our moods faded to freakin' black. We did themeless shows for the brief remainder of our run, concluding with our Sayonara Show on 6/29/92.

Lee Spinks still had a long-term goal of turning WNMA into an independent broadcast station. Spinks invited a number of WNMA programmers (including your intrepid Friends For Now) to join him in that ongoing effort, but after a few meetings, the group split acrimoniously. Dana and I were among those who stuck together to form a new group, dedicated to that same goal of establishing a community radio station. This was the birth of Syracuse Community Radio.

Meetings. Plans. Arguments. Searches for compromise, attempts to merge disparate views into a workable, unified vision. Is this really how you build a better radio station? Yeah, I guess it is. I was selected as the treasurer. I just wanted to play my records on the radio, man.

Dana and Maria separated during the Radiovision project. It was as amicable a split as anything involving lawyers could be, but it was still a split, and eventually a divorce. They remain friends. Dana bought a house in Mattydale. In the midst of all these endless meetings, we wanted the Dana & Carl show to find a way to survive in some form. Dana had some basic recording gear at home. We weren't done just yet.

WHEN BOPPIN' THE WHOLE FRIGGIN' PLANET RETURNS: I'll Send You A Tape From Central New York

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Friday, December 28, 2018

100-Page FAKES! presents: ADVENTURE COMICS # 442

100-Page FAKES! imagines mid-1970s DC 100-Page Super Spectaculars that never were...but should have been!

Hey, I liked this issue so much I wrote a letter of comment about it.

My letter appeared in Adventure Comics # 444 (as discussed in "Dear Superguys," my memoir of life as a teenaged letterhack), but let's just have a look at this issue for now. We have Aquaman's second appearance as the new star of Adventure Comics, retaining artist Jim Aparo (still my all-time favorite Aquaman artist) and writer Paul Levitz from the previous issue. The 1974 kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army was fresh in the minds of comics scripters, hence the appearance of this issue's New Order Terrorist Group. In the back-up strip, former Adventure Comics player The Vigilante stars in the penultimate chapter of the Seven Soldiers Of Victory serial, this time illustrated by future superstar artist Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (inked by Mike Royer, one of the legendary Jack Kirby's best embellishers).

For our 100-Page FAKE! edition, we've added a 1969 Batman and Aquaman crossover from The Brave And The Bold, illustrated by Neal Adams. Adams' brief run on B & B was the first to establish the image of The Dark Knight in the wake of the campy Batman TV series, and his moody twilight depiction of Batman--soon to be THE Batman--remains majestic to behold. Writer Bob Haney ain't no slouch here, either.

(While dragging pages from that issue of B & B into today's post, I noticed the issue also contained a text piece about The Vigilante. Coincidence? Yes! But here it is anyway.)

I decided I wanted to include the 1968 debut appearance of Western (anti-) hero Bat Lash, not even really thinking about how appropriate it was for period cowboy Bat Lash to lead into contemporary cowboy The Vigilante--serendipity! Bat Lash was created and written by Sergio Aragones, and illustrated by Nick Cardy, one of my all-time favorite comics artists (and quite possibly my all-time # 1). I am aware of the seeming contradiction in saying that Cardy's my favorite artist, but that Aparo is my favorite Aquaman artist, given that Cardy drew the Sea King for many years, too. I am large. I contain multitudes. A Golden Age Kid Eternity story rounds out our reprint selections.

Aquaman in "H Is For Holocaust," Adventure Comics # 442 (November-December 1975)
Batman and Aquaman in "The Sleepwalker From The Sea!," The Brave And The Bold # 82 (February-March 1969)
Kid Eternity (untitled), Kid Eternity # 4 (Winter 1947)
"Bat Lash," Showcase # 76 (August 1968)
The Vigilante in "Gnome Man's Land," Adventure Comics # 442 (November-December 1975)

All characters copyright DC Comics Inc. The Kid Eternity story is now public domain; the rest can only be depicted here in sample pages. My subscribers get the whole thing. We'll be back soon to wrap up the Adventure Comics career of The Seven Soldiers Of Victory. But first: AQUAMAN!

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