10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1052.
1.4.5.: She Couldn't Say No
Guitarist Paul Armstrong split from my favorite power pop group The Flashcubes in 1979, initially playing with his girlfriend Dian Zain in varying lineups of The Most. By the end of the summer of 1980, as Zain left The Most, that group's musical core of Armstrong, bassist Dave Anderson, and drummer Ducky Carlisle became 1.4.5. And lemme tell ya, 1.4.5. cooked, a potent and spunky three-piece raised on rock 'n' roll and seasoned by punk. The 1981 Pink Invasion EP was the only contemporary audio document of the original 1.4.5., though the EP was much later combined with previously-unreleased material to form the CD anthology 3 Chords & A Cloud Of Dust, for which I wrote liner notes.
From Pink Invasion, "She Couldn't Say No" remains my favorite among favorite 1.4.5. tracks. Word reaches us that the song will be used in the pilot episode of the new TV series Firefly Lane, which will debut on Netflix at the end of December. Toppermost of the poppermost, lads!
THE B-52'S: Planet Claire
Best-ever appropriation of "Peter Gunn." Outside of, y'know, "Peter Gunn." I adored The B-52's from the moment I first heard them in 1979, and we really oughtta play them more often. There's a lot to love throughout the decades of the group's long career, but the debut LP is a special memory that actually lives up to that memory.
JIM BASNIGHT: New Guitar In Town
As music lovers, one of the many things we can appreciate about Jim Basnight is that he's one of us. The cat loves music like we love music. That shows in his work, starting with The Moberlys in the late '70s, continuing through all he's done since then. And it's certainly evident in his current all-covers album Jokers, Idols & Misfits, a 21-song salute to The Kinks, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Real Kids, The New York Dolls, The Sonics, The Who, and more. TIRnRR # 1052 marks the second week in a row of airplay for Basnight's invigmoratin' take on The Lurkers' "New Guitar In Town," and one suspects it won't be the last. We're fans. Jim Basnight's a fan, too.
THE BEATLES: Two Of Us
We closed this week's show with a double shot of our favorite group, The Beatles. If my spin of "Thank You, Girl" (the superior U.S. Capitol Records mix, of course) was a bit of an obvious choice to play on Thanksgiving week, Dana's selection of "Two Of Us" was perhaps less telegraphed but no less appropriate.
We're on our way home/We're on our way home/We're going home
I guess that's only true in our hearts this year. It's as okay as it can be. The heart is where it matters the most.
THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby
THE HOLLIES: Look Through Any Window [French lyric version]
HA! Dana's ongoing nefarious plan to play foreign language tunes and then snicker in the background as I mispronounce every syllable in sight falls short this time. With its English title intact, The Hollies do all of the linguistic heavy lifting in this French lyric version of their shiny pop gem "Look Through Any Window," leaving me free to concentrate on mispronouncing English words instead. Mais oui!
LULU: To Sir, With Love [museum outings montage]
As much as I love Lulu's smash hit single of "To Sir, With Love," my heart well and truly belongs to this alternate version from the To Sir, With Love soundtrack, which contains an important extra verse and a different arrangement. Here's part of what I have to say about it in my eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):
...Lulu's familiar hit single of "To Sir, With Love" is fabulous and unforgettable, a worthy candidate for proclamation as The Greatest Record Ever Made. This different version, the "Museum Outings Montage" from the soundtrack of the film To Sir, With Love, is even better."To Sir, With Love" is one of my wife's favorite songs, perhaps even her all-time # 1. Brenda was surprised to discover some years back that I also love it, and more surprised to learn that my This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio co-host Dana loves it, too. I dunno, maybe she thought we thought we were too cool for the song.
As if anyone could possibly be too cool for Lulu....
THE MONKEES: Me & Magdalena [Version 2]
I remain puzzled that there has not yet been an expanded physical edition of The Monkees' 2016 triumph Good Times! There were four bonus tracks issued at the time of the album's original release. "A Better World" was only available on the version of the CD sold at FYE. "Love's What I Want" was only on the Japanese release. "Terrifying" and "Me & Magdalena [Version 2]" were on the iTunes digital version. The four tracks have (I think) since been gathered together on a limited-edition Record Store Day vinyl EP, but I want the whole thing in one place, on a legit CD. If there's more as-yet-unreleased stuff to add to such a package, all the better. I don't understand what Rhino Records is waiting for.
THE ROMANTICS: Open Up Your Door
To me, this cover of Richard and the Young Lions' ace 1966 nugget is the highlight of The Romantics' 1983 album In Heat. Considering the fact that this album also includes Romantics perennials "Rock You Up," "One In A Million," and the group's biggest chart hit "Talking In Your Sleep," that ain't faint praise. (Yeah, 1979's "What I Like About You" is The Romantics' best-known song, but it missed the Top 40 entirely.) "Open Up Your Door" sure sounds like it could have been a Romantics original; I didn't even realize it was a cover until years later, when the original appeared on Rhino's Nuggets boxed set.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Success. Stardom. Excess. Sly and the Family Stone generated hits, created influence, made some cash, and fed some bad habits along the way. The music was often phenomenal, a uniquely psychedelic hybrid that was absolutely rock and absolutely soul. The personal toll of this success, the weight of its numbing and high-flying rewards, would not be small. Its cost to Sly Stone in particular would be considerable.
The above paragraph is from The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), part of a chapter discussing Sly and the Family Stone and the group's GREM! entry "Everybody Is A Star." That song was a B-side. The A-side was "Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."
In a year that has made a sense of gratitude feel elusive, maybe even pointless, we should remember that every year--each and every year--is someone's worst year ever. It may be the year someone lost a job. It may be the year a love finally ran its course, bitterly and tearfully. It may be the year one is forced to say a goodbye one does not wish to say. It may be the year when there was not even that chance to say goodbye.
In that context, it may seem petty to whine about not being able to go out dancing. But as we navigate the odd path that 2020 provides, as we wish we could hold friends and family once again, as we remain aware of the ever-present possibility of last farewells both spoken and unspoken, we still try to retain a longer, wider perspective. If we can. It's easier to say than it is to execute. But we try. And we're grateful for the opportunity to try.
Someone has it a lot better than we do. Someone else is going through something far worse. Words and wishes can't make life fair. Even actions may well fall short. But light is better than darkness. Hope is better than despair.
And hope is what we're thankful for. The opportunity to try. Stay safe, my friends. And thank you.
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:
Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio: CD or download
Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
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