This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1153

There's been a lot going lately. First and foremost, we have our brand new compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. I won't even feign objectivity as I say how razzafrazzin' great this album came out, thanks to all of our talented artists, Kurt Reil's superb mastering, Anthony Parisi's incredible graphics, and Kool Kat Musik's Ray Gianchetti for making it all happen. Plus, y'know, us for assembling the damned thing. You can read about the compilation here, buy the CD here, and buy the digital album here. Our friends in Syracuse can also pick up the CD at Sound Garden. We are very, very proud of this release.

To promote the CD, Dana and I appeared with our friend Michael Mitsch as he hosted the October 23rd edition of Back To The Future on WMSC-FM in Montclair, New Jersey. It was a kick anna half to chat with Michael and listen to some sublime rockin' pop music. You can hear that three-hour show in its entirety right here. We thank Michael for inviting us, and we're very open to speaking with other DJs, bloggers, vloggers, pundits, columnists, and catchybuzz advocates on behalf of whatever it is we do on our little mutant radio show.

I've been preparing for the release of my first book, due out in the spring. I've also completed a fresh tweak of my other proposed book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), and sold a new short story to AHOY Comics. I maintain my daily blog, and I continuously pull at the strings of MORE! It's a giddy experience.

And then there's this radio show itself. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is always a weekly highlight, and the reason I've been able to do all of those other things. We remain convinced this is The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. It all starts with that.

The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. Fresh evidence of that claim appears below. 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, on the web at  http://sparksyracuse.org/, and via the TuneIn Radio and Radio Garden apps as Westcott Radio.

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

And NOW AVAILABLE! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5!: 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 # 1153: 10/30/2022

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 AMPLIFIER HEADS: Zombie Moon (n/a, Rectifier)

THE PYRAMIDIACS: Tuesday's Girl (Bomp!, VA: Pop On Top! The Cream Of Australia's Power Pop Crop)

JOHNNY JOHNSON & THE BANDWAGON: Mr. Tambourine Man (Kent, Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache)

JONATHAN RICHMAN: Cold Pizza (Blue Arrow, Cold Pizza & Other Hot Stuff)

RONNIE SPECTOR: Something's Gonna Happen (Bad Girl Sounds, Something's Gonna Happen)

LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Passionate Kisses (Rough Trade, Lucinda Williams)

--
IRENE PEÑA: In This Room (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

MEANTIME: Two For One (Sound Asleep, VA: Home Runs: Songs That'll Take You All The Way, Vol. II)

EYDIE GORME: Blame It On The Bossa Nova (Columbia, Blame It On The Bossa Nova)

OTIS REDDING: Day Tripper [alternate take 4] (Ace, VA: Come Together: Black America Sings Lennon & McCartney)

LINDA RONSTADT: Love Is A Rose (Rhino, Greatest Hits 1 & 2)

WILLIAM PEARS: It's A Bingo World (Permanent Press, William Pears)

--

THE JACKLIGHTS: Underachiever (Red On Red, single)

GAME THEORY: Faithless (Omnivore, Real Nighttime)

THE RAMONES: Surfin' Safari (Captain Oi!, Acid Eaters)

SPARKLE*JETS U.K.: You And Your Sister (Big Stir, single)

MILLIE SMALL: Killer Joe (Caroline, The Best Of Millie Small)

LUCKY WRAY WITH LINK & DOUG WRAY: Teenage Cutie (Primo, LINK WRAY: The Essential Early Recordings)

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THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: The Hero (7T's, Voxx)

GRAHAM PARKER: Sweet On You (Mercury, Heat Treatment)

THE DELFONICS: Going Out Of My Head (Arista, The Very Best Of The Delfonics)

THE BLOSSOMS: Let Your Love Shine On Me (Real Gone Music, DARLENE LOVE: The Many Sides Of Love)

T BONE BURNETT: I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance (Warner Brothers, Trap Door)

THE BLASTERS: Long White Cadillac (Slash, The Blasters Collection)

--

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Ghost Singer (Big Stir, Handclaps & Tambourines)

EMMYLOU HARRIS: Pancho & Lefty (Rhino, Heartaches & Highways)

LAURIE BIAGINI: Hey Mr. DJ (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

OLD 97'S: Harold's Super Service (Bloodshot, Early Tracks)

ROBERT GORDON & CHRIS SPEDDING: Suspicion (Sunset Blvd., Tear Up The House)

LINK WRAY & THE WRAYMEN: Ace Of Spades (Primo, LINK WRAY: The Essential Early Recordings)

--

STEVENSON & COMPANY: Talking Down To Me (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

THE PARTIES: Let's Call It Love (Rainbow Quartz, Coast Garde)

RICHARD ÖHRN: Time's Not Running Out (Big Stir, Sounds In English)

THE PLIMSOULS: Everyday Things (Rhino, The Plimsouls...Plus)

TAMAR BERK: Real Bad Day (n/a, Start At The End)

MATTHEW SWEET: Sick Of Myself (Zoo, 100% Fun)

--

THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis (Mercury, New York Dolls)

THE SEX PISTOLS: Holidays In The Sun (Virgin, Kiss This)

THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (Rhino, More Of The Monkees)

THE MUFFS: Oh Nina (Reprise, Blonder And Blonder)

THE SUPREMES: Up The Ladder To The Roof (Motown, VA: Hitsville USA)

THE PRIMITIVES: Thru The Flowers (RCA, Lovely)

--

CHRIS LUND: Every Thing Is Fine (n/a, Indian Summer)

THE MnM'S: I'm Tired (Burger, Melts In Your Ears 1980-1981)

WENDI DUNLAP: Season Of Loss (Futureman, Looking For Buildings)

THE EVERYDAY THINGS: I've Got My Eye On You (Not Lame, Lighten Up, Francis)

THE CYNZ: Narrow Hips (Jem, single)

THE UNDERTONES: Wrong Way (Rykodisc, The Undertones)

MAD MONSTER PARTY: No Matter What I Do (n/a, Mad Monster Party)

THE STAYAWAKES: Song For Milhouse (Kool Kat Musik, VA: Pop Aid)

--

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride (Sunset Blvd, The Lost Album)

KELLEY RYAN: The Church Of Laundry (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Nobody But Me (Varese Sarabande, Shake It Up, Baby)

THE TOP NOTES: Shake It Up, Baby (Acrobat, VA: The Songs Behind The Legends--The Beatles)

COTTON MATHER: The Book Of Too Late Changes (Star Apple Kingdom, Death Of The Cool)

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

THE DAHLMANNS FEATURING ANDY SHERNOFF: Forever My Baby (Pop Detective, single)

THE BEATLES: I've Just Seen A Face (Capitol, Rubber Soul)

--

JERRY LEE LEWIS: Great Balls Of Fire (Rhino, 18 Original Sun Greatest Hits)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

MAN, this show is good. We'll demonstrate the source of our amiable arrogance with the latest from THE AMPLIFIER HEADS and THE JACKLIGHTS, mixed with sovereign impunity alongside recent, classic, and in-between gems by THE SUPREMES, THE CYNZ, GAME THEORY, THE DELFONICS, LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS, GRAHAM PARKER, MILLIE SMALL, THE SMITHEREENS, RICHARD ÖHRN, THE RAMONES, THE BEATLES, THE ISLEY BROTHERS, THE SEX PISTOLS, EMMYLOU HARRIS, THE PLIMSOULS, SPARKLE*JETS U.K., an obscure early '80s LP track by THE ROLLERS (formerly THE BAY CITY ROLLERS), and more. Oh, and four tracks from THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO, VOLUME 5. And STILL more! Good? Oh yes. VERY good. 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 Radio Garden and TuneIn Radio apps as WESTCOTT RADIO. The weekend stops HERE!

POP-A-LOOZA: UNFINISHED AND ABANDONED! Memories Of The Snowman

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 a continuation of a post from last week, with further words about my aborted comics creation The Snowman, and my abandoned efforts to become a comic book artist: Memories Of The Snowman.

This was written as a sequel to Pop-A-Looza's presentation of The Snowman, the first and only page I wrote and drew for an unfinished notion of a comic book story. I've since discovered a few of my scribbled early '70s rendition of the character. I don't believe superstar comics artist Neal Adams was ever concerned with competition from the likes of me.

Perhaps The Snowman wasn't destined for greatness. But earlier this year, I returned to a preposterous childhood creation called Rain-Hat Sam. I didn't attempt to draw our waterlogged Sam, but I did write a pretty good new prose short story about his final adventure. Earlier this week, that story was purchased by AHOY Comics for publication as a one-off in a future issue of one of AHOY's titles. If the preposterous Rain-Hat Sam can be realized, maybe it's time to revisit The Snowman.

Whether I follow through with that notion, or leave it in its native Unfinished And Abandoned state, The Snowman's real-life back story is a chronicle of my history of trying to learn how to create. And that story 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

Professional Liar Rains...um, REIGNS! (Or: Carl sells another short story)

The one, the only...RAIN-HAT SAM!!

The good folks at AHOY Comics have purchased another one of my short stories. My story "Rain-Hat Sam" will appear as a prose feature in a future issue of one of the many fine AHOY titles.

This is my eighth fiction sale to AHOY, continuing a relationship that begin in 2019 with "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," my first AHOY sale. "Guitars Vs. Rayguns" was also my first-ever fiction sale to anyone, following decades of freelance work in nonfiction markets. HuzZAH! 

"Rain-Hat Sam" is based on an unlikely superhero I created as a kid in the '60s. It was a silly concept of a hero whose magic hat rained on...himself. That's it. Just himself. A ridiculous premise, sure, but I was dead serious about it when I was in grade school. Good ol' Sam was part of my early efforts to create superhero stories, and I held on to this weird notion of a moistened avenger until my early teens. 

Grow up, you say? Not gonna happen.

In seeking to invent fictional worlds, some claim there are no bad ideas, just the risk of bad execution. Rain-Hat Sam was a bad idea. But somehow, I rescued it anyway, and I think I made it work very well for one story.

Um...don't hold your breath waiting for "Rain-Hat Sam II."

The story has not yet been scheduled. AHOY's editorial team will assign one of their pencil-and-ink wizards to craft a single illustration for the story, and I very much look forward to seeing Rain-Hat Sam--of all characters, Rain-Hat Sam!--brought to visual life by one of AHOY's gifted artists. I will post here when the story is set to appear at a comic book store near you.

Rain-Hat Sam. RAIN-HAT SAM! Cower before me, evildoers. Justice gets wet, as the Professional Liar strikes again.

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: 10/27/2022

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 # 1152.

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

It's. A. HIT!! The Smithereens' "Face The World With Pride" (from the recent archival release The Lost Album) marks its fifth consecutive week on the TIRnRR playlist, and its second week in a row at the top of the show. SPOILER ALERT: we're playing it again next week. It's a hit. That's what you do with hits. 

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

Man, this is such an exhilarating track, and we're lucky to have it on our new compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. The force of rockin' pop nature called Perilous combines the lead vocals from Pauline and the Perils with the guitar from Hurtin' Units, the bass from Screaming Meemies, and the pummelin' drums from Syracuse sensations the Trend, and makes 'em all even louder and catchier. Sing, you Perilous peeps. Sing.

THE CYNZ: Narrow Hips

I believe that Perilous would get along smashingly with the Cynz. Furthermore, the Cynz's new single "Narrow Hips" suggests to me that Cynz lead singer Cyndi Dawson would herself dig a rock & roll kiss, presuming it's delivered by the narrow-hipped guy she's singin' about. Hey, it's rockin' pop Tinder! We're told that the Cynz are hard at work on their first album for the mighty Jem Records, and I betcha we'll dig that, too.

CHARLIE: She Loves To Be In Love

May of 1978 gave me my first opportunity to see the Kinks in concert (a story told here). A British band called Charlie was the opening act, and they did not interest me at all. They were slick, they were smug, and they were boring. Dana was also at that show (though this was nearly a decade before we met), and recalled Charlie as a band that couldn't decide if they wanted to be Cheap Trick or if they wanted to be Yes. Charlie did not succeed with either goal. Honestly, their most notable attribute was a generic ability to put out LPs with pretty women on the cover.

But there was this one song. There often is one song, even with an artist you would otherwise dismiss outright. "She Loves To Be In Love" (from Charlie's 1978 album Lines) is also slick, and maybe it's smug, but it ain't boring. It's POP, in a way that the other Charlie tracks I (almost) remember were not. I'll take the one song. Sometimes one song is all you need.

THE BABLERS: You Are The One For Me

Some years back, a fan familiar with This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio commented that Little Steven at the very least owes us a beer. The format of Little Steven's Underground Garage (both the syndicated show itself and the fab satellite radio channel that followed) is similar to TIRnRR's approach, and if I understand the math, our December 1998 debut predates the April 2002 launch of the original Underground Garage by...I can't count that high. But, like, by more than a few weeks. Or months. Or years.

Which is not to suggest that Little Steven stole the idea from us. That's possible, in the same sense that it's possible the Beatles could have reunited to play at CBGB's in 1977, but it's not terribly plausible. We weren't all that well-known, and there were other great shows who came even before us anyway, mixing old and new rock 'n' roll and pop music much like Dana and I and Little Steven and company do, and we didn't copy them either. Great ideas aren't always unique. They're still great ideas, and we're all lucky to have so many resources available to us if we wanna hear the Ramones, the Supremes, and the Shang Hi Los on the same radio show.

That said, we're tickled by the notion that the Bablers' wonderful single "You Are The One For Me" was last week's honoree as The Underground Garage's Coolest Song In The World. We love the song, and we've been playing it quite a bit since its release at the end of April. The track is an absolute lock for the year-end countdown of our most-played tracks in 2022, and we're glad Underground Garage agrees with us: Coolest song in the world!

THE WELL WISHERS: Figure It Out Myself

DEADLIGHTS: Pretend To Pretend

I tell ya, if you're in need of a pumpin', radio-ready pop tune, the Well Wishers will never let you down. "Figure It Out Myself" is the advance single from the Well Wishers' forthcoming album Blue Sky Sun, and it provides further evidence of Jeff Shelton's ability to bend the airwaves at will. You can't go wrong with the Well Wishers.

That rockin' pop guarantee also applies to Jeff's work under the Deadlights dba. A few paragraphs up we mentioned our delight in having Perilous' "Rock & Roll Kiss" on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, and the same most assuredly goes for Deadlights' awesome "Pretend To Pretend." I'm still caught up in the rush of it all, but every track on TIRnRR Vol. 5 is a stunner. We're blessed. No pretense in that.

BARON DAEMON AND THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

POPULAR CREEPS: Gone By 45

Our cherished pop music comes in many flavors, some sweet, some bitter. For every giddy love song or invigorating dance tune, there are so many records with a deep sense of loss embedded at the heart. That's true of a lot of our stories, whether set to music or set down in prose, and it's certainly true of a lot of my own chronicled memories. There are some things we don't ever quite get over. We can learn to adjust, and move on to the extent we're able to move on. We don't forget the loss, not ever. 

And we shouldn't forget. The loss is part of us, and remembering the good parts that preceded a loss can remind us of better things. We are the sum of all of our things, both better and less so.

Popular Creeps understand loss. Their new single "Gone By 45" reflects on short lives, on a friend leaving this world far too soon. One supposes there are lessons to be learned, and a day to be seized, even as we turn the record up and let the sound commiserate with us.

But the ache lingers, as it must, as it should. That's the nature of loss. 

AMY RIGBY: Tom Petty Karaoke

The divine Amy Rigby also understands loss, and articulates its sting with clarity, insight, and cathartic deliverance. When Dana and I appeared with Michael Mitsch on WMSC-FM's Back To The Future on Sunday, we waxed rhapsodic over Amy's talents. I mentioned that "Dancing With Joey Ramone" has long been my favorite Amy Rigby track (and it earns a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), but that her TIRnRR Vol. 5 contribution "Tom Petty Karaoke" was poised to take over that # 1 spot. 

"Tom Petty Karaoke" is sublime. It's sad, it's touching, it's uplifting, it's resigned, it's determined, and it's grandiose yet almost defiantly unpretentious. It hurts, and it heals, a bracing balm for the gnawing we may feel within. We cannot thank Amy enough for letting us use this wonderful, wonderful track on our CD.

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: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! Jefferson Airplane and Jan & Dean

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 Everlasting First Quick Take of my introductions to Jefferson Airplane and Jan & Dean.

Jefferson Airplane's 1967 gem "White Rabbit" was one of the many, many tracks I considered for discussion in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). A "White Rabbit" chapter was penciled into several of GREM!'s proposed Tables Of Contents, usually (I think) right after a chapter about the Velvet Underground, or maybe it was after Grandmaster and Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)." Drug culture would certainly have figured into my nascent idea of a Jefferson Airplane GREM! piece, but what I wanted to say seemed to fit more naturally in my chapter about Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company. I do love "White Rabbit," and I wouldn't rule out returning to that track in the very hypothetical The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 2).

I'm not really much of a Jan & Dean guy. I respect them, and they were the masters of ceremony for my favorite concert movie The T.A.M.I. Show, but I rarely listen to them. Your mileage may vary, and I would advise you mind your MPH if you're approaching Dead Man's Curve. Meanwhile, my introductions to both Jefferson Airplane and Jan & Dean serve 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