Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

Back on the air! Back on the web! Back in the saddle again, though we probably won't play anything by Aerosmith. Unless we do; you never know with us. WE never know with us. So let's add new music from Eric Barao, Kenny (with Anton Barbeau), and Terry Draper to last week's deferred promises of new Eytan Mirsky, Lannie Flowers, Popdudes, The Jellybricks, The Ex-Teens, and The Beatpunkers, plus TIRnRR debuts by The Somethings and Intensive Care. Hell, we even throw in a '70s track by The Hollies that we've never played before, and we'll reprise some established Fave Raves from our little Play-Tone Galaxy Of Stars, a galaxy that certainly includes The English Beat. We're back. BACK, I say! Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the internets at http://sparksyracuse.org/

iPad Comics

I started accumulating digital comic book files somewhere around 2010-2011, I think, maybe a little before that, couldn't have been much after that. Downloadable digital comic books were in plentiful supply around the web until copyright concerns (rightly) shut a lot of those unauthorized sites down for good. Though I admit to taking advantage of such resources when they were available, I made a personal point of never grabbing anything that was regularly or readily available at retail--absolutely no then-current comics, no book collections--and concentrating solely on stuff I couldn't get at my comics shop. 

For me, digital comics are a convenience, but generally not my preferred method of reading comics. Frankly, I'm just not all that interested in reading on a device; I'd much rather hold a book in my hands and turn its pages. I don't do ebooks, either. I've purchased maybe two or three digital comics that were otherwise out of print, and I get most of my comics fix when I buy my weekly stack at Comix Zone in North Syracuse every Wednesday, supplemented by the occasional trade collection. 



Nonetheless, I do also love my digital comics. I have something like three thousand of them stored on my computer; I've shed a few I no longer want, lost a few others along the way, and I continue to add more from public domain comics resources like Comic Book Plus, Digital Comics Museum, and Archive.org. Any time I want to read a vintage adventure of the original Captain Marvel or the 1960s Charlton Comics Action-Heroes, it's all just a click away.





I started stockpiling these things before I owned an iPad, but the goal was always to put 'em on that portable device. If one was going to read digital comics, the iPad seemed the perfect size to accommodate that wish. When I went to Spain in 2012, I took along the iPad with the idea of reading digital comics during down time. Instead, I wound up reading a hardcover mystery novel by Max Allan Collins and a hardcover bio of Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim. Captain Marvel may as well have just stayed home.




We have a new iPad now, and I'm revisiting the idea of reading comics on our trusty older device. I've taken most everything else off that iPad, and loaded about 1000 comic books on it. It came in handy while waiting for a car repair this week, as I sat in the dealer's waiting room and immersed myself in the first twelve issues of Marvel's The Avengers from the '60s. It was fun, and I think I'm going to re-read the run from that point forward until the mid '70s; if I do, The Avengers will be the subject of an upcoming edition(s) of Comic Book Retroview.



These are the comics titles I've chosen to store (in varying amounts) on my iPad for now: 80 Page Giant, Action Comics, Adventure Comics, The Adventures Of Bob Hope, The Adventures Of Jerry Lewis, Air Fighters Comics, All-Flash Quarterly, some DC dollar tabloids, All Select Comics, All Winners Comics, All-American Comics, All-American Western, All-Star Comics, America's Greatest Comics, Aquaman, The Avengers, Batman, Big Shot Comics, Black Cat Comics, Blonde Phantom, Blue Beetle, Blue Ribbon Comics, Bomba The Jungle Boy, Boy Commandos, The Brave And The Bold, Bulletman, Buz Sawyer, Captain Action, Captain America Comics, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Adventures (etc.), Charlton Premiere, Charlton Wild Frontier, Comic Cavalcade, Crack Comics, Crime Smasher, Danger And Adventure, Daredevil Battles Hitler, DC 100-Page Super Spectacular, DC Special, The Destructor, Detective Comics, Dick Tracy, Doc Savage, Doctor Strange, Doll Man Quarterly, Ellery Queen, Fatman, Flash Comics, The Flintstones At The New York World's Fair, Funnyman, Ghost Comics, Gold Key Spotlight, The Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Hands Of The Dragon, Hoppy The Marvel Bunny, Hot Wheels, I Am Coyote, Ibis The Invincible, Inferior Five, Iron Man And Sub-Mariner, Jezebel Jade, Jonny Quest, Jumbo Comics, Justice Inc., Justice League Of America, Kid Eternity, Lady Luck, Lars Of Mars, Leading Comics, The Lone Ranger, Man In Black, Man O' Mars, Mary Marvel, Marvel Boy, Marvel Family, Marvel Feature, Marvel Mystery Comics, Marvel Super-Heroes, Master Comics, Metal Men, Mighty Comics, Military Comics, Minute Man, My Greatest Adventure, Mysterious Suspense, Not Brand Echh, Pep Comics, Peter Cannon Thunderbolt,The Phantom, Phantom Lady, The Phoenix, Planet Comics, Plastic Man, Police Comics, Rima The Jungle Girl, ROG-2000, The Sandman, Scorpio Rose, The Scorpion, Scribbly, Secret Origins, The Secret Six, Sensation Comics, The Shadow, Shazam!, Sheena, Shock SuspenStories, Showcase, Silver Surfer, Smash Comics, The Spectre, The Spirit, Spy Smasher, Stanley And His Monster, Star Spangled Comics, Steve Canyon, Sub-Mariner, Dell's Super Heroes, Superboy, Supergirl, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane, Supersnipe, Sword Of Sorcery, Tales From The Crypt, Tarzan, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Tiger-Man, Top-Notch Comics, USA Comics, Vampirella, Whiz Comics, World's Finest Comics, Wow Comics, Zip Comics, and Zorro. There's room for more, and I will probably add and also trade out more titles and more individual issues.




For all that, it remains to be seen how much I'll actually read my iPad comics. I don't intend to have any more extended stays at the auto service center, and I'm way behind on catching up with my towering stacks--plural!--of current comics (a subject for another post). But I like having these available when I want them. And you know, while still waiting for my car, I stopped my reading (prematurely) when I thought the car was almost ready. I should pick up The Avengers from where I left off: Avengers # 13, "The Castle Of Count Nefaria!," the first issue of The Avengers I ever read as a kid. I have it in my hardcover Marvel Masterworks, and my softcover Marvel Essentials. My much-loved, much-read original comic book is long, long gone. But it's on my iPad. And it's waiting for me, whenever I want to read it again. iPad Comics ASSEMBLE!





TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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.

GUILT-FREE PLEASURES (A Defense Against The Dark Arts): Milli Vanilli

There is really no such thing as a guilty pleasure in pop music. Unless you happen to love neo-Nazi ditties or glorifications of hatred or violence, I'd say it's okay for you to dig whatever you wanna dig. Yes, even the hits of The Eagles. Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE POP SONGS! Guilt-Free Pleasures (A Defense Against The Dark Arts) celebrates pop songs. The guilty need not apply.


MILLI VANILLI

First off, I have to say I'm not a fan. It's not a matter of guilty pleasures or anything of comparable silliness; I just never cared about Milli Vanilli's music. And that's okay; just as there's no reason for guilt with music you like, there's no reason for guilt with music you don't like.

But Milli Vanilla were huge, immensely popular. They must have had fans, a lot of fans. But no one admits it anymore. Milli Vanilli has been expunged from the records, stricken from the collective consciousness, the pop music equivalent of being declared a non-person by the Soviets during the Cold War. Milli Vanilli's former fans are kinda like Peter denying Jesus three times before the rooster crows. Milli Vanilli? I do not know them!




We all know the reason for this after-the-fact scrubbing of Milli Vanilli fandom: Milli Vanilli were frauds who had nothing whatsoever to do with the records released under their brand name. It's not the same as The Monkees (even before the fabricated group became an actual band and played actual live concerts, the lead vocals on all of their records were sung by one or another member of The Monkees), nor obviously fictitious combos like The Archies, The Partridge Family, or Judas Priest. Okay, just kidding on that last one. No, Milli Vanilli frontmen Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were sold to the public under false pretenses, marketed as a duo of dancing, singing pretty boys when, in fact, they were dancing, lip-syncing-to-someone-else's-vocals pretty boys. Milli Vanilla's sins were not unique, nor even wholly their own fault; the bulk of the blame should go to the puppeteers who pulled their strings and concocted the facade that sold a jillion records and made a bazillion dollars. But Milli Vanilli got caught, and Rob and Fab were the ones who paid the price for this chicanery. The price was steep: they were disgraced; they had to relinquish the Grammy they'd won as 1990's Best New Artist; attempts at a comeback, with Rob and Fab actually singing, fell far short of their previous success; Pilatus' personal issues consumed him, and he died from a drug and alcohol overdose in 1990. Pilatus' death was ruled accidental.

The callous machinations and eventual tragedy behind the music overshadow Milli Vanilli's recorded legacy. I'm not a fan, so I'm not the one to speak on their behalf. But the question remains: if some people liked or loved Milli Vanilli's records, why wouldn't they still like them now? The records didn't change with the revelations of the men behind the curtain. The records sound the same. They are the same. Fans, you know it's true. 



I guess that's the nature of context in our pop obsessions. Our favorite records don't exist in a vacuum. No disc is an island. We hear the songs, and we think of things we relate to that song. We can't help it, and maybe we shouldn't.

Which brings us to Michael Jackson.



I haven't seen the recent HBO documentary detailing the allegation that Jackson was a serial child molester, a predator who got away with committing an awful, awful crime, and got away with it because he was a superstar, above the law, untouchable. I have no intention of investigating the evidence for or against him, so I can't render a verdict, even a blogger's verdict. When the accusations first surfaced decades ago, my reaction was to believe they were true, and I still suspect they are true. But I can't say how much my opinion was and is affected by Jackson's prevailing oddities. It's not a crime to be weird; let your freak flag fly.

It is a crime to hurt people. It is a crime to hurt kids.

What if Jackson was innocent? But worse: what if was guilty? If the former case, a beloved pop star's reputation has been sullied by accusations he denied when he was alive, accusations he can no longer answer in death. If the latter...that's just horrible. Horrible. All those kids, all that heartbreak and torment, and no one helped them. No one stopped the monster that was Michael Jackson...if he was indeed the monster these charges describe.



I liked some of Michael Jackson's music. Many of his records with The Jackson Five are classic AM radio gems, and I enjoyed some of his early solo work (I lose interest entirely after Thriller). I'm not sure whether or not I want to listen to any of them again. Maybe. Probably? Maybe not. Context matters. I used to love Gary Glitter, another serial predator, but I haven't mustered any enthusiasm to spin a Glitter track in many years. 

Some say we should separate the art from the artist, and I agree. Except when we can't. Phil Spector's a murderer, Ike Turner was abusive, John Lennon was an asshole (though I believe he repented and tried to become a better person than he had been), yet I still listen to them; I can't even conceive of a circumstance where I would swear off listening to The Beatles. Lennon's transgressions were minor compared to those of Spector, Turner, Glitter, and allegedly Jackson. Sometimes I can disconnect the record from the misdeeds of its creators; sometimes I cannot.



I suspect I'll return to listening to some of the J5's stuff eventually, particularly "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There." Unless I don't. Art [...] artist, unless context overcomes the separation. I've never really listened to Milli Vanilli, and I'm not going to start now. But if you were a fan of Milli Vanilli, consider giving them a fresh spin. Maybe you'll like 'em again. In the big picture, Milli Vanilli's crimes were pretty inconsequential. Blame it on the rain.



VERDICT: Deferred

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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.

It's All About Me

While it's certainly possible that the short story I sold recently will wind up being the only short story I ever sell, I still had to come up with a bio to go with it. Hope I get to use it more than once.

Carl Cafarelli's three all-time favorite pop groups are The Beatles, The Ramones, and The Flashcubes. So there. He is the co-host (with Dana Bonn) of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern at WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM in Syracuse, and on the web at sparksyracuse.org. His daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at www.carlcafarelli.blogspot.com covers pop music, comic books, and whatever glittery thing attracts his attention. A daily blog. That boy ain't right in the head. Carl has written for Goldmine, The Syracuse New Times, DISCoveries, Amazing Heroes, Comics Collector, The Comics Buyers' Guide, Yeah Yeah Yeah, The Buffalo News, Rhino Records, Big Stir, Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth, Lost In The Grooves, Shake Some Action, MusicHound Rock, REET, and--yay!--AHOY Comics. He is currently working slowly on his first book, The Greatest Record Ever Made. He still wants to write for The Monkees, and to take a ride in the damned Batmobile.

Awright. Back to writin'.

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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.

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: The Workday Commute, Driven By iPod

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.



Very often on the real-life This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, I will play a track a declare it was because my iPod said so. The random nature of iPod shuffle play frequently offers me a track I may not have heard or thought of in a bit, and that sometimes inspires me to pull the track for inclusion on the following Sunday night's show.

My friend Dave Murray has suggested doing a whole show (or at least my half of a whole show) like that, letting fate dictate the playlist like a music-player lottery. I don't want to do that, because I'm unwilling to relinquish control to that extent, and because it would compromise my vision of what the show should be. We can appear to be random, sure, but it's not what we really are.

But it's a perfectly fine idea for another fake TIRnRR playlist. This imaginary show presents sets made out of the tracks my iPod gave me for some recent morning and evening commutes. It's actually a little too long to be a real-life TIRnRR, but I nonetheless preserved the complete commute playlists as individual sets. The result's pretty good for random. Awright, then! Time to hit the road with fake TIRnRR, driven by iPod.

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 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

Fake TIRnRR Playlist: The Workday Commute, Driven By iPod

THE OHMS: Chain Letter
PINK FLOYD: Wish You Were Here
THE DEAD KENNEDYS: MTV--Get Off The Air
THE JAM: Saturday's Kids
THE BUZZCOCKS: Fast Cars
THE MOSQUITOS: You Don't Give A Hang About Me
THE GO-GO'S: The Whole World Lost Its Head
--
SPARKS: Beat The Clock
THE GRASS ROOTS: Things I Should Have Said
THE GO-GO'S: Surfing And Spying
THE POINTED STICKS: Apologies
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: God Save Rock And Roll
SAM PHILLIPS: Holding On To The Earth
SLADE: Cum On Feel The Noize
--
GREER: All I Need
THE SUPREMES: You Can't Hurry Love
THE KINKS: Juke Box Music
NEIL DIAMOND: You Got To Me
DAVID WERNER: Too Late To Try
THE AD LIBS: The Boy From New York City
HAWAII MUD BOMBERS: One Of The Brave
--
RICKY NELSON: Hello Mary Lou
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding
JOHN LENNON: Instant Karma!
N/A: The F-Troop [TV theme song]
1.4.5.: Right Now
THE MONKEES: As We Go Along
CHEAP TRICK: Baby Loves To Rock
--
PAUL COLLINS: The Kings Of Power Pop 
THE GRACES: Lay Down Your Arms
THE RUNAWAYS: C'mon
BUCK OWENS & HIS BUCKAROOS: Tall Dark Stranger
COLOR ME GONE: Lose Control
SCRUFFY THE CAT: mybabyshe'sallright
GEORGE HARRISON: Crackerbox Palace
--
ELVIS COSTELLO: Alison
TOMMY BOYCE & BOBBY HART: Smilin'
RICK NELSON: Garden Party
THE OXFORDS: Help Me
THE VOGUES: Lovers Of The World Unite
SUZI QUATRO: Tear Me Apart
THE TONY JACKSON GROUP: Fortune Teller
THE JAM: Strange Town
THE CASTAWAYS: Liar, Liar
--
SAM & THE TWISTERS: Fooba Wooba John
THE BEACH BOYS: Good Vibrations
THE DEAD BOYS: Sonic Reducer
THE MONKEES: The Girl I Knew Somewhere
THE FORTY NINETEENS: Disguise
TEARS FOR FEARS: Call Me Mellow
THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop
--
BUDDY HOLLY: Well..All Right
JASON & THE SCORCHERS: Absolutely Sweet Marie
FLORAPOP: Who Can Really Know?
ADDISON LOVE: Anything's Right
THE JAM: All Around The World
PERNILLA ANDERSSON: Alright
RADIO BIRDMAN: Aloha Steve & Danno