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 # 1097.
THE RAMONES: I Just Want To Have Something To Do
THE CRUSHING VIOLETS: A Groovy Kind Of Love
We are a DIY radio show. We operate on a not-for-profit community radio station, broadcasting on low-power FM in the Syracuse market and webcasting to the four corners of the globe. The latter exercise continues to puzzle us, as we do realize that globes don't have corners. Nonetheless: onward! We pick our own playlists, concoct our own hype, and hope that only the music explodes, and not the equipment.
Each week, Dana and I sift through past favorites, recent acquisitions (both fresh and vintage), and sparklin' NEW releases to slap a show together. The process is as benevolent as an evil agenda can be.
Antanina Brooks has been following TIRnRR for a little bit, and she reached out to us to see if we might be interested in playing something by her own combo, the Crushing Violets. Okeydokey! Antanina sent us the latest Crushing Violets EP A Dream Without Color, and we picked their cover of the Mindbenders' "A Groovy Kind Of Love" to introduce the Crushing Violets to our little PlayTone Galaxy O' Stars. We'll aim to include one of the group's original songs in next week's show.
THE DIXIE CUPS: Iko Iko
A sneak peek behind the curtain of TIRnRR's programming: this track was not originally in this week's playlist, at least not as Dana and I set it up on Tuesday. Prerecording the shows allows the luxury of occasionally changing my mind about one of my selections. I had another song in this spot--a popular hit record from the '70s, and a fine tune its own right--but it just didn't fit the flow of the playlist. Feel is a huge part of this little mutant radio program, and the feel wasn't there in this case. The Dixie Cups were available to come off the bench instead. The show is saved!
THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR: Vanishing Girl
XTC, calling themselves the Dukes of Stratosphear, sounding like the Hollies, but in reality still XTC. I'm resilient when it comes to pop music, so none of that makes my head hurt. There are days when this is my favorite XTC track.
KID GULLIVER: Stupid Little Girl
Kid Gulliver has become a TIRnRR Fave Rave over the last, I dunno, year and a half or something. Sometimes a specific song--in this case, Kid Gulliver's fabulous "Forget About Him"--just sticks, and we wind up playing it a lot, a go-to track that defines whatever it is we do on this show. This feeds an interest in playing more of the artist's work. We generally play each Kid Gulliver single as soon as it's released.
"Stupid Little Girl" is the latest single, originally part of the group's 2021 EP Gimme Some Go! It was the only Gimme Some Go! cut we hadn't gotten around to playing--primarily because..hey, SQUIRREL!--but we've now remedied that with deliberate dispatch. We're not, y'know, stupid. It's also a video, and it's part of Kid Gulliver's first-ever full-length album, the just-released Kismet. Kismet collects all of your Kid Gulliver go-tos in one irresistible package, from "Boy In A Bubble" and "Beauty School Dropout" through TIRnRR Pick Hit "Forget Abou Him" and their cover of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke." Your helpful radio hosts suggest you buy it awready. Fave Raves need love, too.
THE ON AND ONS: Better Every Day
The On And Ons' 2020 EP Menacing Smile scored some significant burn on the ol' playlists, particularly with the ace track "9 Days." And you'd best prepare for additional scorch marks, because the On and Ons are BACK FOR MORE! Yes, as in Back For More, which is the title of their brand-new album. I am so clever it itches. But man, is this ever good stuff. Haven't decided yet whether we'll skip around the record for additional tracks, or if we'll just keep on (and on) pounding "Better Every Day." We win either way. And so do you!
IRENE PEÑA: In This Room
As much as I hate being late to a party, a great party can embrace the tardy and make us feel as welcome as its first revelers. It's been ten years since the release of Nothing To Do With You, the debut album from Irene Peña. We didn't hear about Irene until late 2016 (a story told here), and we've been playing catch-up ever since.
And Irene's made it easy for everyone to catch up, as she continues the tenth-anniversary celebration of Nothing To Do With You by issuing each of its eleven tracks as individual digital singles, one single per month. We're up to track/single/divine gift # 8 with "In This Room," another luxurious sample of the sublime songcraft of Irene Peña. Late to the party? Yeah, that's me. Sorry about that! But I'm glad to be here now.
PRINCE: Hot Summer
"Hot Summer," from Prince's 2021 release Welcome 2 America, has become such a welcome earworm that I don't care that I'm still playing a summer song as the leaves fall and the temperature drops. I don't even care that I despise hot weather anyway. This song shines. Hot summer, yeah!
THE ROMANTICS: National Breakout
I never owned very many prerecorded cassettes. There were a few I recall--the soundtrack to Billy Jack, the New York Dolls' Too Much Too Soon, the Pretenders' Learning To Crawl, a fantastic Kinks collection called Golden Hour Of The Kinks, a various-artist gem called Garage Sale, a couple of budget Beatles albums, tapes by various local and/or indie acts, and a few others--but cassettes were mere conveniences for me. I'd occasionally pick up a cassette if the, y'know, real album--the LP--wasn't available.
I don't know why an LP of the Romantics' second album,1980's National Breakout, wouldn't have been available when I was in the market for or it; for whatever forgotten reason, I wound up with the tape instead. And I loved the title tune, which remains one of my top Romantics tracks. It should have been their national breakout, but the Romantics were still waiting for that grand success in 1980. Yeah, "What I Like About You" was on their debut album, but it wasn't a hit at the time; it became familiar after the fact, courtesy of MTV, but it never breached the Top 40. Nor did anything from National Breakout, nor from their heavier follow-up Strictly Personal. 1983's In Heat, with its hit singles "Talking In Your Sleep" and "One In A Million," was what finally gave the Romantics the national breakout they deserved.
I have the National Breakout album on CD now. I still have the cassette, too. I never did own it on vinyl.
THE NUTLEY BRASS: I Wanna Be Sedated
Well. Don't we all?
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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
I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.
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