10 SONGS: 6/30/2022

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday 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.

Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde in the mini-series Pistol

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1135.

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING STEVE CONTE: Gudbuy T' Jane

Man, I am really, really enjoying these continued opportunities to speak the phrase "new music from the Flashcubes." Here, my all-time favorite power pop combo enlists the aid of guitarist Steve Conte, a latter-day member of the New York Dolls, to cover one of my top-of-the-pops AM radio hits from the '70s.

Slade was, commercially, a much bigger deal in their native England than they were here in the Colonies. Nonetheless, although Slade's 1973 single "Gudbuy T' Jane" peaked at # 68 on Billboard's Hot 100, it was a legit smash on Syracuse's WOLF-AM when I was in eighth grade, proving once again that Syracuse is just cooler than the rest the country. I'm sure the young Flashcubes heard it, and it impacted them like it impacted me. What a great record! What a great, great record.

The 'Cubes and Conte do it justice, retaining Slade stompin' swagger and enhancing it with the pure pop panache we expect from Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse. We'll be playing this new "Gudbuy T' Jane" single again on next week's show.

(We will, in fact, be playing ALL of the Flashcubes' singles next week, from the '70s through today, from the old Northside Records days into their current series of classic power pop covers for the good folks at Big Stir Records. It's all part of a July 3rd TIRnRR extravaganza called COME ON LET'S GO!, which combines the Flashcubes' singles discography with a celebration of power pop's past, serving up classic '60s, '70s, and '80s power pop, pure pop, and the power pop periphery. We will even throw in another new, as-yet-unreleased Flashcubes single. We humbly recommend you ditch any other commitments and join us for COME ON LET'S GO!, TIRnRR's classic power pop celebration on July 3rd.)

THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows

When we were programming this week's show, Dana asked me if I'd yet seen the 2021 documentary Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, which recently aired on PBS. Dana tsk tsked my reply that I had not, and then waxed rhapsodic about a scene therein where Don Was isolates the vocals on the Beach Boys' recording of "God Only Knows." That vocals-only snippet mesmerized Dana, prompting the inclusion of the familiar, timeless Pet Sounds track on the ol' playlist.

I have a complicated history with the Beach Boys, a group I once spurned in ignorance but later embraced as wisdom and heart prevailed. Seeing Carl Wilson sing "God Only Knows" at a Beach Boys concert in the late '80s remains one of the all-time most magical moments in my live music memories. Years later, a 2016 experience witnessing Brian Wilson and his band perform Pet Sounds live compelled me to write an emotional piece that is one of my favorites among the many things I've written for this blog.

Tsk tsks have their value. On Saturday, my wife Brenda and I watched Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road. Mesmerizing. Just like Dana said it was.

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

We've been (rightly) making a big deal that we're fortunate enough to include this boppin' track "Rock & Roll Kiss" by Perilous on our forthcoming compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. But the track is also a part of the group's freshly-released three-song set Perilous, and that merits a little bit of attendant hoopla, too.  And it goes like THIS...!

ARTHUR ALEXANDER: Shot Of R & B

There is ample evidence that the Beatles adored Arthur Alexander's records. Paul McCartney himself said something to the effect that the Fab lads set out to be a soul group, wanting to sound like Arthur Alexander. Yes, much as the American Beatles, the Ramones, tried to be a bubblegum pop group like the Bay City Rollers. While the Ramones never actually covered the Rollers, the Beatles covered Alexander's "Anna" on Please Please Me, and they did his "Soldier Of Love" and "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" in early live shows and BBC sessions.

My first exposure to "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" came via the Beatles on The Deccagone Sessions, my first bootleg album. The Flamin' Groovies covered it, too--I'm sure they also learned the song from a Beatles bootleg rather than from Arthur Alexander. No matter. We come to great songs by whatever paths brings us. Get a shot of rhythm and blues, with a little rock 'n' roll on the side. Just for good measure.

(My Razor & Tie Arthur Alexander best-of CD lists this track as "Shot Of R & B," so I've continued that listing when we play it on TIRnRR.)

R.E.M.: Superman

Unlisted bonus tracks were an occasionally-common thing on CDs--the precursor of mid-credits scenes in Marvel movies, the successor of the post-credits scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off--but I don't recall many occurrences of unlisted bonus tracks on LPs. The only example that comes to mind is "Train In Vain" on the Clash's London Calling. 

R.E.M.'s cover of the Clique's "Superman" half qualifies. The track isn't listed among its LP brethren on the back cover of R.E.M.'s 1986 Lifes Rich Pageant album, but it is on Side Two's label:

The fact that the label lumps "Superman"'s songwriting credit in with the songs written by R.E.M. (rather than actual "Superman" tunesmiths Gary Zekley and Mitchell Bottler) is evidence that the track may have been an afterthought. Great song, though, and ultimately a better-known version than the Clique's fine original.

THE SEX PISTOLS: Pretty Vacant

I don't know what I think of Pistol, the six-part Sex Pistols biopic based on Pistols guitarist Steve Jones' autobiography Lonely Boy. I haven't read Lonely Boy, but I have seen Pistol in its entirety. I found the first few episodes compelling, and actress Sydney Chandler is riveting as Chrissie Hynde, but I felt an increasing sense of disconnect as the series went forward. Does it present an accurate account of the Sex Pistols' short and explosive lifespan? I'm not sure. 

But probably not.

Listen: I expect some fudging of facts when translating real life into entertainment, into a pop presentation. There were a few moments in Pistol where the narrative strays from the facts as I think I know them (though perhaps not as far astray as the jumbled timeline of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, nor as horrifyingly off-model as the film CBGB's), but I accept that. What's more jarring is a perhaps-unavoidable end result that reduces the seismic transcendence of the Sex Pistols--the filth and the fury--to something...lesser. Shallower. I'm glad I watched it. I'm not sure if I liked it.

I loved the Sex Pistols; I told that story here. Elsewhere, I wrote, "As a band, they are criminally underrated, as so many have focused on the clatter and the noise of punk while ignoring the solid rock 'n' roll combo--guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and original bassist Glen Matlock--chuggin' away beneath Johnny Rotten's (effective) wailing. Sid Vicious could neither sing nor play, and replacing Glen with Sid threw the group's musical aspect out the broken window."

"God Save The Queen" is my favorite among the Sex Pistols canon, with "Pretty Vacant" a very close second, and much else similarly worthy of saturation airplay (though we will never in a million years be able to play "Bodies"). Never mind the bollocks. And never mind the biopics. Here's the Sex Pistols. And we do care.

MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

(For absent friends, 43 years on.)

JESSIE BRYSON: Come Back

Next week's COME ON LET'S GO! classic power pop TIRnRR shindig is about legacy, honoring and playing a bunch of great tunes from the past. I guess that approach (for one week only) contradicts our oft-stated commitment to mixing new stuff with old stuff, the way all rockin' pop radio shows should (and which all of the best ones do). 

Still, there's something to be said for pausing every once in a while and exulting in the sounds that made us. So: a legacy show, comprised almost entirely of tracks from the 1960s through the '80s. BUT...still including the Flashcubes' recent singles, bridging the time between. And also including Jesse Bryson's current Big Stir single cover of Fotomaker's "Come Back." I mean, Jesse's "Come Back" features members of the 'Cubes and Fotomaker, it was written by Jesse's Dad Wally Bryson (of the Raspberries and Fotomaker), and it's almost a tangent to what the Flashcubes are doing in their Big Stir singles. So yeah. while next week's show is mostly about yesteryear, mixing in a little bit of NOW! never hurt anyone. 

GLADHANDS: Forget All About It

I reviewed Gladhands' 1997 album La Di Da for Goldmine. I don't remember much of what I said about the album at the time, but I'm sure I liked it. I was particularly taken with "Forget All About It," an irresistible number that I think I called "Rundgrenesque." Which is fair, since Todd Rundgren did write the damned thing, and had originally recorded it with his old group the Nazz in 1969. I hadn't noticed the songwriting credits. 

Oops?

I think I realized my oversight well before I eventually heard the Nazz's original version of "Forget All About It." I'm not sure which version is my favorite, though we should offer an honorable mention of Game Theory's sturdy and appealing home recording of the tune (contained on the collection Across The Barrier Of Sound, and also a part of this week's radio party). But Gladhands introduced me to the song, and they did an absolutely ace rendition. We'll hear from the Nazz on next week's show.

THE FLASHCUBES WITH THE SPONGETONES: Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?

Ready for next week's show? Awright! Come on, let's GO!

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

POP-A-LOOZA: Another Updated List Of TV Series I've Seen From Start To Finish

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is an updated list of TV series I've seen from start to finish.

Since compiling this list a month ago, I've added Pistol, the six-part Sex Pistols biopic series directed by Danny Boyle. I was initially fascinated by the first two or three episodes, but my enthusiasm dimmed as the series continued. I'll have a little bit more (though not much more) to say about Pistol in this week's edition of 10 Songs, which posts tomorrow.

But, before I saw Pistol, there was already a long list of TV series I had watched in their entirety. That list is the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

BOPPIN's Monthly Day Off

Once a month, Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) takes a brief pause from its clinically-stupid commitment to daily public posts. On that day, we slap together a li'l sumpin solely for both of our paid supporters. This month's private post for patrons is another (potential) chapter from my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), this time casting its dim widdle spotlight on "We Used To Be Friends" by the Dandy Warhols. I knew the song from its use as the opening theme to the TV series Veronica Mars. But the song itself connects to a deeper and darker regret I still feel inside.

Because of its personal nature and the emotions tethered to it, this chapter is not in the book's current blueprint. But...it may still wind up in the book, if there is a book. 

Meanwhile, it will be available later this week for my patrons. You can become one of my patrons via this convenient link: Fund me, baby! The private post goes out on Friday. Regular daily public posting resumes tomorrow.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1135

It's like the Brothers Steve say: we got the hits. In the '80s, when I was managing a record store, there were a few instances of a single from a previous decade ascending the pop chart because the song appeared in a then-recent movie. It happened with the Contours' "Do You Love Me," Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," and the Beatles' "Twist And Shout," and it's happened again in our shiny-bright 21st century, as exposure on the TV series Stranger Things has propelled Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" into the toppermost portion of the poppermost charts. Run, Kate. RUN!

Seems like a good excuse for us to play it, too. Like WE need an excuse. We got the hits! And great records don't care what year it is. From across the span of the Rock 'n' Roll Era, from the Drifters through the Handcuffs, whether it's British Invasion, soul, punk, classic Top 40, left-of-the-dial, or the best of right freakin' now...it's ALL right freakin' now. Immediacy doesn't need to justify itself. Hits don't have to apologize for anything. We have a hill to conquer. Turn it up.

NEXT WEEK: COME ON LET'S GO! Hop into our time machine for a three-hour celebration of classic power pop, pure pop, and the power pop periphery from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. We'll supplement this barrage of vintage oomph by also spinning ALL of the Flashcubes' singles, then and now, from Northside Records to Big Stir Records. That will include one forthcoming Flashcubes single that hasn't been released yet. This extravaganza will be one of our most full-on POP shows ever, so don't miss your dream date with classic power pop on July 3rd. And 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 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 all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). 

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

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

PS: SEND MONEY!!!! We need tech upgrades like Elvis needs boats. 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/

TIRnRR # 1135: 6/26/2022

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)

--

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING STEVE CONTE: Gudbuy T' Jane (Big Stir, single)

THE BLACK KEYS: Wild Child (Nonesuch, Dropout Boogie)

AMY RIGBY: Raising The Bar (Koch, Middlescence)

PETER HOLSAPPLE: Continental Drifters (Omnivore, Game Day)

NOLAN PORTER: Keep On Keepin' On (ABC, Nolan)

THE MILKSHAKES: Soldiers Of Love (Damaged Goods, Talkin' Bout...Milkshakes!/After School Session)

--

MAPLE MARS: Teenage Dream (Big Stir, Someone's Got To Listen)

THE BABLERS: You Are The One For Me (Big Stir, single)

THE DRIFTERS: There Goes My Baby (Atlantic, All-Time Greatest Hits & More 1959-1965)

KATE BUSH: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (EMI, Hounds Of Love)

THE BROTHERS STEVE: We Got The Hits (Big Stir, # 1)

THE MUFFS: Really Really Happy [demo] (Omnivore, Really Really Happy)

--
BOB BURGER: Impression (Jem, The Domino Effect)

THE GO-GO'S: Beatnik Beach (IRS, Vacation)

SCOTTY GRAND, JACOB YOFFEE & ROAHN HYLTON: All I Know (The Wonder Years Theme) (single)

THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows (Capitol, Pet Sounds)

POP CO-OP: Ghost Heart (Futureman, Suspension)

THE THREE O'CLOCK: With A Cantaloupe Girlfriend (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)

--

THE BISHOP'S DAREDEVIL STUNT CLUB: What They're After (Kool Kat Musik, Please Stand By)

THE MOTORS: Forget About You (Virgin, Approved By The Motors)

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss (Kool Kat Musik, VA: this Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

THE GRASS SHOW: Alice (Food, Something Smells Good In Stinkville)

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: I Like It Like That (Hollywood, The History Of The Dave Clark Five)

MINDREADERS: Fever In My Pocket (Cherry Red, VA: Just A Bad Dream)

--

MIKE BROWNING: Wishes And Kings (n/a, Another Bite At The Apple)

THE REBUTLES: When You Were Eighteen (n/a, Nick Frater Presents The Rebutles: Ron, Dirk, Stig And Barry The Solo Years, Vol. 1)

ARTHUR ALEXANDER: Shot Of R & B (Razor & Tie, Ultimate)

MICHAEL CARPENTER: I've Been Loving You (Futureman, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)

THE POLICE: Roxanne (A & M, Every Breath You Take)

R.E.M.: Superman (IRS, Lifes Rich Pageant)

--

JEREMY: Meant To Be (JAM, Brighter Day)

FABULOUS: There's A Riot Going On (Cherry Red, VA: C91)

THE SEX PISTOLS: Pretty Vacant (Virgin, Kiss This)

BIG STAR: Way Out West (Ardent, # 1 Record/Radio City)

OTIS REDDING: Pounds And Hundreds (Rhino, Otis!)

THE GRIP WEEDS: Lady Friend (Jem, DiG)

--

MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress (Mercury, Freak City Soundtrack)

GUIDED BY VOICES: Glad Girls (Matador, The Best Of Guided By Voices: Human Amusements At Hourly Rates)

MAD MONSTER PARTY: Death Valley Days (n/a, Mad Monster Party)

GRIN: White Lies (Epic, The Very Best Of Grin Featuring Nils Lofgren)

JESSE BRYSON: Come Back (Big Stir, single)

THE GO-BETWEENS: Was There Anything I Could Do? (Beggars Banquet, 16 Lovers Lane)

--

THE HANDCUFFS: I Cry For You (Pravda, Burn The Rails)

THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Yes I Am (Grown Up Wrong, Between The Lines)

JEBB: Sound The Alarmed (Robo Jack, single)

MARSHALL CRENSHAW: Cynical Girl (Rhino, This Is Easy)

TIGER BOMB: Rave On Again (Dionysus, single)

REAL McCOY: I Get So Excited (Cherry Red, Looking At The Pictures In The Sky)

THE PRIMITIVES: Thru The Flowers [new version] (Castle, Buzz Buzz Buzz)

--

ROBIN LANE: All I'll Ever Need (Red On Red, single)

GLADHANDS: Forget All About It (Big Deal, La Di Da)

THE VOGUES: Five O'Clock World (Varese Sarabande, The Best Of The Vogues)

GENE CLARK WITH THE GOSDIN BROTHERS: Elevator Operator (Columbia, Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers)

THE KINKS: Better Things (Velvel, Give The People What They Want)

GAME THEORY: Forget All About It [Scott and Michael home recording) (Omnivore, Across The Barrier Of Sound: PostScript)

THE TAMS: I've Been Hurt (Acrobat, Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy)

THE BEATLES: I Should Have Known Better (Apple, A Hard Day's Night)

--

THE FLASHCUBES WITH THE SPONGETONES: Have You Ever Been Torn Apart? (Big Stir, single)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

NEW MUSIC FROM THE FLASHCUBES! That's one of my very favorite phrases, "New music from the Flashcubes!" Life is good. We'll open the show with THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING STEVE CONTE taking on a classic originally done by SLADE, and we'll live up to the promise of that beginning with more new stuff from MAPLE MARS, THE BLACK KEYS, BOB BURGER, MIKE BROWNING, THE BISHOP'S DAREDEVIL STUNT CLUB, POP CO-OP, and JEREMY, a new single from JEBB, and our prerequisite blend of then and now, courtesy of THE DRIFTERS, THE BEACH BOYS, TIGER BOMB, THE SEX PISTOLS, PETER HOLSAPPLE, PERILOUS, THE GRASS SHOW, THE HANDCUFFS, ARTHUR ALEXANDER, GENE CLARK, THE TAMS, ROBIN LANE, MARSHALL CRENSHAW, JESSE BRYSON, OTIS REDDING, THE GRIP WEEDS, THE THREE O'CLOCK, THE DAVE CLARK FIVE, and more. We have three hours to fill. May as well fill it with THE BEST THREE HOURS OF RADIO ON THE WHOLE FRIGGIN' PLANET! It starts with new music from THE FLASHCUBES. Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/, and via the TuneIn Radio and Radio Garden apps as Westcott Radio.

POP-A-LOOZA: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! Dawn, The dB's, The Dead Boys, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Dickies, The Dictators, and The Drifters

Don Rickles introduced me to the Dickies...?! Talk about firing a rocket!

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post looks back at Quick Takes of my introductions to the music of Dawn, the dB's, the Dead Boys, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, the Dickies, and the Drifters in another exciting installment of The Everlasting First!

A mixed group? It's all pop music. In my A-Z series The Everlasting First, this 2016 entry was part of the first time I split off my Quick Takes as a post separate from the main post for that letter. As I recall, I did that because my original entry for the letter D ran long, so I prepped the Quick Takes to run on their own for one letter only.

I don't remember if the original Quick Takes for D post included comics alongside your Drifters, Dawn, and Dave Dee. Probably? Later, I decided that the music and comics posts should be separate, and the Quick Takes should likewise be their own thing. The decision was retroactive, so (among others) the original D is for THE DAMNED and DOC SAVAGE post became D Is For THE DAMNED and D is for DOC SAVAGE.

The Everlasting First has since made it through the letter T, and I hope to resume the series some time soon with an undertaking of U is for...Uncle Scrooge? The Undertones? I'll figure it out. Meanwhile, my introductions to a big ol' bunch of musical acts filed under "D" serves as the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: Somethin' Else

This chapter from my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) previously appeared in different form as part of a longer post. This is how it will appear in the book (IF it's included in the book's final draft).

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they tak turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

EDDIE COCHRAN: Somethin' Else

Written by Sharon Sheeley and Bob Cochran

Produced by Eddie Cochran

Single, Liberty Records, 1959

Power pop's point of origin remains a point of contention for many of its fans. Some insist that power pop was a reaction against prevailing musical trends in the '70s, and therefore nothing recorded before the Beatles' 1970 break-up can be called power pop. I don't agree with that at all. Power pop is a genre, a sound; claiming that sound can't exist prior to a specific date reduces it to nostalgia, some kind of retro move, and I reject that notion. Power pop existed in the '60s. Pete Townshend coined the phrase around 1967, and the Who's early records embody the power pop ideal. The Kinks. The Creation. The Nazz. I think the label also applies to some of the Beatles' singles, and I pinpoint "Please Please Me" as power pop's Ground Zero. 

While I still don't think that the great rockin' pop stuff from Buddy Holly, Phil Spector, or the Beach Boys quite qualifies as power pop--it all strolls amiably, but doesn't LEAN FORWARD with the urgency I expect from power pop--it's difficult to dismiss the power pop bona fides of Eddie Cochran. Cochran's "Summertime Blues" is really close, its stroll balanced by legit power chords and seething teen frustration. (The Who did a fantastic cover of "Summertime Blues" on the Live At Leeds album, and Blue Cheer bludgeoned it into a distinctive proto-metal hit single, but I don't think either of them topped our Eddie.) The party anthem "C'mon Everybody" is maybe a further half-step removed, but "Nervous Breakdown" and especially "Somethin' Else" provide concrete evidence of pre-Beatles power pop.

Leaning forward as forward can be, "Somethin' Else" is simultaneously earnest and horny. Written by Cochran's girlfriend Sharon Sheeley and his brother Bob Cochran, the song combines joy and frustration seamlessly and winningly, acknowledging that it's a bummer when you can't afford a cool car, but concluding (as someone once wrote) that the wheels don't really matter as long as you get the girl. She's sure fine-lookin', man. WOW! She's somethin' else! 

No less an avatar of rebellion than Sid Vicious did a surprisingly faithful cover of "Somethin' Else," released under the Sex Pistols' aegis but recorded after the group had already taken its final holiday in the sun. Sid's version should have been awful, but it was actually pretty damned good. And it was either his version or a live performance by the Flashcubes that introduced me to the song. 

But Eddie, man. Eddie. He was somethin' else indeed.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 6/23/2022

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday 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 # 1134.

THE HANDCUFFS: I Cry For You

I first heard the pulse-poundin' prowess of drummer Brad Elvis when he was in the group Screams in the '70s, and subsequently when he was with the Elvis Brothers in the '80s. Later, I became a big fan of Big Hello, an ace combo that included Brad and his wife, super-powerhouse singer-guitarist Chloe F. Orwell. Brad 'n' Chloe eventually bid farewell to Big Hello to form their current team, the Handcuffs.

On this little mutant radio program, we've played Screams, the Elvis Brothers, Big Hello, the New Monkees covering the Elvis Brothers, Brad's other group the Romantics, and we've played tracks from each 'n' every one of the Handcuffs' previous albums, Model For A Revolution, Electroluv, and Waiting For The Robot. Let's face it, we have a history with Handcuffs. That...doesn't sound right. But we dig the Handcuffs, and we play the Handcuffs.

Why stop now? The Handcuffs have a fab new album, Burn The Rails, and its radio-ready track "I Cry For You" opens this week's exciting edition of TIRnRR. As it should. With Brad and Chloe, we have a proud tradition to uphold.

NOLAN PORTER: If I Could Only Be Sure

As a pop fan with more than six decades' experience, I'm constantly thrilled by fresh reminders that there's still so much fantastic music I haven't yet discovered. That includes new releases, of course, but it also means old stuff that somehow escaped the spotlight of my short attention span. You know the mantra: Any record you ain't heard before is a new record.

Nolan Porter was a soul singer in the early '70s. The irrepressible interwebs suggest that Porter recorded two LPs, No Apologies and Nolan, and scraped the bottom of the Hot 100 with a few of his singles. About two weeks ago, intrepid TIRnRR listener Dave Murray brought one of Porter's singles to my attention, and now I'm an instant Nolan Porter fan. 

Just. Like. That. 

Seriously: what I've heard of Nolan Porter's stuff is flippin' fantastic, making its relative obscurity all the more mystifying. Porter passed away in 2021; his work is well, well worthy of wider acclaim...or at least some acclaim, fercryinoutloud. A CD two-fer reissue of No Apologies and Nolan is an elusive artifact--wish someone would reissue that reissue awready--but I've been buying the digital tracks. Nolan Porter makes his TIRnRR debut with this week's spin of "If I Could Only Be Sure." We'll hear another of Porter's shoulda-been-hits next week.

MAPLE MARS: Gliding

Like Big Hello and the Handcuffs, Maple Mars has likewise been a long-time fixture on TIRnRR playlists. So we jumped at the opportunity to play "Gliding," the advance single from Maple Mars' brand-new album, Someone's Got To Listen. "Gliding" is the second advance Someone's Got To Listen track for which we've done the jumping thing, following our console-thumping on behalf of "Goodbye California" last year.

Wait..."last year?" Man, that's a long time to pause in between teases. BUT! The pause expires at this point, as the album is available for preorder right now, a month ahead of its long-awaited release. We've heard it. It's good with a capital G and that rhymes with P and that stands for POP MUSIC!! Someone's got to listen. You'll be glad you did. More from Someone's Got To Listen coming your way. Immediately.

GARY FRENAY: Just Like Me

I may have mentioned that I'm a big, big fan of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. I may have mentioned that a million times. Restraint is overrated. I may have also mentioned that Dana and I are putting together another irresistible compilation CD, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, due circa Septemberish from the rockin' pop juggernaut Kool Kat Musik. Start gathering your pennies, because you want this.

I may not have mentioned that This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 will include "Just Like Me," a new solo recording from Flashcubes singer/songwriter/bassist/debonaire man-about-town Gary Frenay. Gary originally recorded the song as a demo with his post-'Cubes outfit Screen Test in the '80s, and this finished 21st-century recording also employs the talents of Gary's 'Cubes and Screen Test colleagues Arty Lenin and Tommy Allen. The track will appear on Gary's next solo album, due out in 2023, but it will make its first commercial appearance on TIRnRR 5. 

That's our goal with TIRnRR: to continue to bring you fine, fine pop music, both on the radio and at retail. Worth mentioning, right? You're welcome, my friends. You're welcome.

BALLZY TOMORROW: Out There

Speaking of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, we've also secured the services of our pal Robbie Rist, who offers us "Out There," a swell and sturdy bopper he recorded with his rockin' pop dba Ballzy Tomorrow. Its snark is its power, its power is POP, and we've got it all for you right here on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio.

LAURIE BIAGINI: In The Here And Now

It's been waaaaay too long since the last Laurie Biagini album, 2013's Sanctuary Of Sound. We've been playing advance tracks from Laurie's new effort Stranger In The Mirror, and we're delighted to say that album has now been released. We celebrate by playing one of its tracks, the non-single "In The Here And Now," which sounds so catchy and compelling we think it oughtta be a single after all. We play the hits!

ROBIN LANE: All I'll Ever Need

We debuted Robin Lane's new single "All I'll Ever Need" on last week's show. Robin herself posted a note of gratitude for the airplay; whenever a veteran artist shares appreciation for whatever the hell it is we do here, I'm struck with a wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self about it. Hey, late '70s/early '80s incarnation of me!, I'd say. Someday, my friend, you're going to receive acknowledgement, even thanks, from a lot of the people making the records you're listening to right now. You'll hear from members of Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, the Beat, the Pandoras, the Records, Nikki and the Corvettes, the Cowsills, the Rubinoos, the Barracudas, the Knickerbockers, Screams, and more! You'll talk to the Ramones and Joan Jett on the phone. Hell, Micky Dolenz will share something you wrote about the Monkees. No, never mind what "sharing" means in this far future world. Trust me; it's a good thing.

My younger self, naive li'l git he/I was, will believe all of it. The fact that it's true is friggin' mind-blowing. And it remains a thrill, even as my teens and early twenties slip even further away in the rear view mirror. I'm still that giddy, star-struck kid. 

I always will be. It's still all I'll ever need.

THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY: Singing My Song

My 62nd birthday was in January. When I was younger, 62 seemed so old. Now, while it's true that my curated collection of aches and pains can sometimes make me feel as old as my teen self once deemed 62 to be, it's also true that I ain't dead yet. I still read my superhero comic books, I still listen to my rockin' pop music, and I still retain a spark that insists I'm not too old for fun. I've developed sufficient maturity to perform necessary tasks and meet expected obligations. If time has slowed me down an eensy little bit, I'm still only 62. 

We don't measure that in dog years. I aim to dance to punk rock at my daughter's wedding next year, and to keep dancing for a few decades thereafter. Don't tell me I can't. I didn't listen to naysayers when I was 17, and I'm not gonna start heeding the whining of crybabies now. I'm 62. And I'm singing my song.

We're all products of what made us. I was built by family and friends, art and pop culture, education and experience (to the extent either of them stuck with me). I was formed by Batman and the British Invasion, the Sex Pistols, Motown, rock magazines, paperback novels, AM radio, FM radio, science-fiction, cartoons, pretty pinups, bubblegum cards, home cooking, fast food, Watergate, crushes on Suzi Quatro and Yvonne Craig, resentments, love, telephone conversations, occasional excess, regrets, excuses, adjustments, wins, losses, stalemates, and TV shows. And pie. Your individual composition may vary. 

At 62, I'm not ashamed to listen to the Partridge Family. Strike that; I'm proud to proclaim that I listen to the Partridge Family. I'm less likely to listen to their biggest hit "I Think I Love You," but eager to stuff my iPod with PF tracks like "I Woke Up In Love This Morning," "Somebody Wants To Love You," and a peppy debut album track called "Singing My Song." I hear it, and I feel as young as ever. 

But that's not why I listen to it. I don't need outside stimuli to feel young, nor validation to know I'm right. I listen because I like it. I'm old enough to be comfortable with that. Don't bug me when I'm singing my song.

 TAJ MAHAL: Six Days On The Road

The legendary Taj Mahal is primarily regarded as a blues musician, though that oversimplifies his stature and footprint. He's certainly played some rock 'n' roll music in his day, and I say his 1969 take on "Six Days On The Road" is the signature version of this oft-covered country classic (originally a hit for Dave Dudley in 1963). Genre labels are useful. But labels don't define us. 

We define us.

Sing it and play it, Taj Mahal. Time for us to hit the road. And we're gonna make it home tonight.

Going my way, young man?

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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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl