Friday, March 31, 2023

10 SONGS: 3/31/2023

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 # 1174. This show is available as a podcast.

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Can't Wait 'Till Summer

When we receive a new album for TIRnRR airplay consideration, both Dana and I take foolish pride in our ability to pick out great singles. I say we've done pretty well in that regard, but we fell short with "Can't Wait 'Till Summer," the current single from Librarians With Hickeys' superswell 2022 album Handclaps & Tambourines.

In all fairness to us, it's worth noting that our initial pick t' click from this album was the brilliant "I Better Get Home," and we have no second guesses about poundin' that one into the airwaves. I mean, that track is powered by confident cries of HEY!, and ya can't go wrong putting confident cries of HEY! on the radio. You can't. We did our job with that one.

Alas, our obsession with "I Better Get Home" rendered us oblivious to the boundless pop splendor of "Can't Wait 'Till Summer." Man, whatta great single, even without the prerequisite power of HEY! The track is tinged with melancholy, less a celebration of surf and sun and more reminiscent of the fleeting nature of summer romance, the longing and even regret we hear in the Beach Boys' "Girl Don't Tell Me" and Chad and Jeremy's "A Summer Song." The mighty Big Stir Records has released "Can't Wait 'Till Summer" as a digital single; we played it this week, and we'll play it again next week. It didn't need to wait for summer. It just needed to wait for its turn. 

(PLUS! It has a really nice new video.)

THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer
THE MONKEES: You Bring The Summer


Opening this week's shindig with Librarians With Hickey's "Can't Wait 'Till Summer" compelled us to follow with two more summer-titled tunes. Happier summer songs. Never mind that spring has barely sprung, or that it's still been snowing in Syracuse. It's the sun-kissed thought that counts.


"Syracuse Summer" was written by Gary Frenay of the Flashcubes, and released as a single by the Tearjerkers in 1980. Lead vocals are by Gary's long-time pal/Tearjerkers guitarist Charlie Robbins and Tearjerkers bassist Dave DeCirce, Gary and his fellow Flashcube Arty Lenin join Ducky Carlisle and Keith Vincelette on backing vocals (as Northside All-Star Singers), Gary sings the bridge, and Tearjerkers guitarist Dave Soule and drummer Larry Dziergas complete the magic of this perfect, perfect single. This sublime tribute to the mercurial climate of Central New York--Seasons change and you live extremes/You got snowfall covering your sunny dreams--has owned a permanent berth on my all-time Hot 100 for more than four decades. Its only CD or digital appearance to date was on our 2013 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3, which included a cool percussive intro that was omitted on the original 45.


"You Bring The Summer" was the second preview single from the Monkees' stellar 2016 album Good Times! That second single served as a great reassurance for me at the time. I was initially underwhelmed with the first single "She Makes Me Laugh," and I wrote about that here; "You Bring The Summer" was an instant, welcome earworm, and its release prompted me to write an emotional reminiscence of my high-school friendship with another Monkees fan. With "You Bring The Summer," I knew for sure that good times were in store. Good Times! turned out to be my favorite album of the year, and the subject of the only record review I've written since my Goldmine days.


("You Bring The Summer" also made a brief appearance in the 2016 Netflix miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. Good enough for Lorelei and Rory? Good enough for all of us, man. Good enough for all of us. Bring it.)

ORBIS MAX AND LISA MYCHOLS FEATURING ED RYAN: RUOK

A cautionary tale from the combined forces of Orbis Max and Lisa Mychols featuring Ed Ryan, "RUOK" is gorgeous on its own merit and vital in its reminder that our friends need us, just as we need them. Are you okay? We need to ask. 

And we've gotta listen closely to the answer.

BRENDA LEE: What'd I Say

In addition to her pivotal role in inspiring my lovely wife Brenda's preferred nickname, Brenda Lee was Little Miss Dynamite, and you can hear that explosive ability in her rockin' '50s sides like "Sweet Nothin's." I think more people associate Lee with ballads like "I'm Sorry," or with her holiday smash "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," records which don't demonstrate Lee's capacity for the incendiary.

My top two Brenda Lee performances would be both sides of this phenomenal 1964 UK single, "Is It True"/"What'd I Say." Recorded in London, produced by noted British hitmeister Mickie Most, and with Jimmy Page on guitar, these tracks are dynamite indeed. I knew the irresistible A-side from its appearance on Rhino Records's essential girl-group sound boxed set One Kiss Can Lead To Another, but I first heard Lee's wild 'n' terrific take on Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" a week or two ago, when I snagged a copy of a various-artists set called The Rebel Kind: Girls With Guitars 3. Whoa! Dynamite on demand. That what I say.

THE TEMPTATIONS: My Girl

The occasionally random nature of the TIRnRR programming process: I don't remember if I had any intention of playing the Temptations this week. But when Dana chose a spin of Iggy Pop's "Pumpin' For Jill," I automatically followed with "My Girl." As one does. Don't seek to understand the programming process. The programming process is the programming process.

My long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) does not include an entry for "My Girl," though it would certainly qualify for that ongoing and infinite discussion. The song is referenced in two other entries, for the Temptations' "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" and former Temps lead singer David Ruffin's "I Want You Back:"

"...The Temptations had been one of Motown's most consistent hitmakers throughout the '60s, and success had continued into the early '70s. The group's line-up had changed over time; David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams were all former Temptations by the time of 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone' in '72. 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone' was as far removed from earlier Temps hits like 'My Girl' and 'The Way You Do The Things You Do' as the party of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s was removed from the party of Nixon's Southern strategy in the late 1960s...."

"Ruffin had been a proven and experienced hitmaker with the Temptations. If Motown was the sound of young America in the '60s, the Temptations were arguably the sound of Motown. Their hits were many, their popularity vast, and 'My Girl' in particular is immortal, and perhaps the definitive Motown single. 'My Girl' is furthermore the sort of pervasive classic that is always lying somewhere near the surface of your subconscious, a tune you might not think anyone ever actually wrote, but which must instead have been passed down from generation to generation.

"Ruffin had been the lead voice on 'My Girl,' as well as on the Temptations' 'Ain't Too Proud To Beg,' '(I Know) I'm Losing You,' and 'I Wish It Would Rain,' among others. But by 1968, being one of the Temptations had ceased to bring Ruffin sunshine on a cloudy day. With that, he was no longer a Temptation..."

So why isn't "My Girl" in the GREM! book? Don't seek to understand the writing process. The writing process is the writing process.

THE BEAS: International Girl


The Beas' obscure 1966 B-side "International Girl" also receives a mention in The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), though it's just a passing reference in (off all things) my Freddie and the Dreamers chapter. The A-side "Nothing Can Go Wrong" is also cool but no less obscure, and it can't match the sheer zip of "International Girl," which shoulda been the focus track. See, they coulda used Dana & Carl to pick the singles. Granted, I was six at the time, but I would have served if I had been called to do so.

"International Girl" was the reason I bought my copy of The Rebel Kind: Girls With Guitars 3, the compilation that gave me Brenda Lee's "What'd I Say." I knew "International Girl" from some '60s girl group compilation I downloaded with my eMusic membership years ago. Those files disappeared when my iTunes library melted circa 2019. I love the track, so it was high time I replaced it. If memory serves, "International Girl" made its TIRnRR debut in August of 2010, a dedication to my daughter Meghan the night before we flew to England for her first overseas trip. International girl/Dance all around the world.

The liner notes to The Rebel Kind say that songwriter Jerry Styner claimed that the unidentified lead singer of the Beas went on to be a member of the Honey Cone, best-known for their '70s bubblesoul classic "Want Ads." I have found nothing to corroborate that claim. But what the hell: I'm using it as an excuse to start a rumor that Reggie Mantle of the Archies played bass on "International Girl." Why not? Veronica was an international girl, too.

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Sitting In My Room

As I continue to prepare for the May publication of my new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, we've been programming a lot of Ramones music. That's not unusual--the Ramones are always one of our top acts on TIRnRR--but I do currently have a more deliberate intent to play this group I call the American Beatles, the greatest American rock 'n' roll group of all time. This piece touches a bit on how the months of April and May figure to be specific celebrations of 2023 as my year of the Ramones.

I've been re-listening to the Ramones' 1981 album Pleasant Dreams. It's such a great record, even though it doesn't sound like any other Ramones album. Here's a sneak peak at what I'll be saying about Pleasant Dreams in a forthcoming post:

"Pleasant Dreams was produced by Graham Gouldman, who achieved great success in the '60s as a songwriter for the Yardbirdsthe Hollies, and Herman's Hermits, and subsequently as a performer with 10cc. And, as Johnny Ramone said in our interview, 'The guy from 10cc producing the Ramones? 10cc sucks, and it's not right for the Ramones.'

"On Pleasant Dreams, Gouldman's production made the Ramones sound...I dunno, smoother than expected? Phil Spector had done something similar with 1980's End Of The Century, another album that doesn't sound like any other Ramones album. In Spector's hands, the bubblepunk purity of the Ramones got lost in his Wall of Sound; Gouldman turned the Ramones into a new wave pop band. Neither End Of The Century nor Pleasant Dreams is at the same transcendent level as the classic first four Ramones albums that preceded them.

"Ignoring the anomaly of this album's place in the larger Carbona-huffin' picture, though, I need to risk contradicting myself: Pleasant Dreams is a fantastic record. Fantastic. I know Marky Ramone liked it, and we've established that Johnny hated it, but the fact that it wasn't Rocket To Russia doesn't prevent it from being compelling in its own right nonetheless.

"Pleasant Dreams is loaded with great Ramones songs, from 'We Want The Airwaves' to 'It's Not My Place (In The 9 To 5 World)' to 'She's A Sensation' to the superb album closer 'Sitting In My Room.' 'The KKK Took My Baby Away' is the best-known of the bunch. Would the tracks sound better if Ed Stasium or Tommy Ramone had produced them? Possibly. They sound pretty good as-is...."

Prior to my reacquaintin' session with Pleasant Dreams, I'd forgotten how just friggin' cool its last track "Sitting In My Room" is. Pleasant Dreams will never be my favorite Ramones album; the first four albums have a lock on my top spots, I've always been fond of 1983's Subterranean Jungle, and the group's '90s stuff was way better than most folks realize. But Pleasant Dreams is also solid. We'll hear my # 1 favorite Pleasant Dreams track on our April 9th show. 

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

Perilous' ace number "Rock & Roll Kiss" was one of my top tracks in 2022, and we were delighted to include it on our most recent compilation album This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Perilous play out live, and we're working on a plan to make that happen at a book release party in May.

Which book? Oh, you know which book....

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

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available for preorder, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

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

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Ramones Stuff (ALL the stuff. And more!)

 

2023 is my year of the Ramones. It's time to start kickin' that year into gear.

As we get closer to the May 2023 publication of my book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, I'm going to be revvin' up for some Ramones-related posts and activities. But before we get to those, let's have another look at the cover for my book:

Yeah, that's spiffy! To promote the book, I will be appearing on Syracuse's long-running morning TV show Bridge Street, which airs on our ABC affiliate WSYR Channel 9. I'm looking into doing in-stores at a couple of Syracuse area bookshops, and I'm in the midst of organizing a book release party with live music at a local nightclub. I'll tell you more about all of these events as details become available. 

(I would also really like to do an in-store at The Lift Bridge, the book store in my former college town of Brockport, NY. When I was a freshman at Brockport in the fall of 1977, I bought my first Ramones record--the record that changed my life--at a vinyl emporium then located across the street and kitty-corner from The Lift Bridge. It would mean a lot to me to return to the scene of the crime, but I have not heard back from the Lift Bridge folks, and I suspect this ain't gonna happen.)

A podcast and radio host has contacted me about doing an interview on behalf of Gabba Gabba Hey! I don't know if he wants me to say anything about that yet, so I'll wait on announcing until the host gives me the proper hey-ho, let's GO! That said, I am certainly available to speak with any pundits, journalists, DJs, or other antisocial influencers who are open to the idea of having me pounce upon their soapboxes to spread my Gospel according to the Ramones.

Throughout April on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, I'll be selecting my # 1 favorite individual tracks from each of the Ramones' fourteen studio albums. We'll be playing those back, four songs per week, from April 2 through April 23, with two bonus tracks filling out the bill on our April 23rd show, and selections from each of four live Ramones albums on April 30.  We'll continue to spotlight the Ramones into the month of May, and during Memorial Day Weekend we'll have a special show dedicated in its entirety to the Ramones. That's on May 28, with music from the Ramones themselves, solo Ramones efforts, cool covers of Ramones songs, songs about the Ramones, songs that inspired the Ramones, and other related 1-2-3-4! treats. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, at Syracuse's 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!

And right here at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), we'll have a few Ramones posts for your glue-sniffin', cretin-hoppin', Blitzkrieg-Boppin' reading pleasure. I will likely go back and finish writing an album-by-album annotated Ramones discography, something I considered but decided against including in the pages of Gabba Gabba Hey! I'm nearly halfway through writing Chewin' Out A Rhythm On My Bubblegum, a long post about my 25 favorite Ramones tracks. I betcha we'll have still more Ramones content huffin' the ol' Carbona in this spot in the very near future.

Of course, if you'd like to read about the Ramones, I have a new book I wanna recommend. Operators are standing by. My year of the Ramones is stationed and ready. The few. The proud. Gabba Gabba.

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

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available for preorder, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

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

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: These Are The 1990s, Part Deux

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.

Awright there, hot shot: time for a sequel. PART DEUX!

My recent fake TIRnRR playlist These Are The 1990s got a pretty good reaction, so I'm incorporating a few suggestions, adding a lot more of my own extra notions, and concocting a follow-up. As our pal Robbie Rist said in response to the previous '90s playlist, "There was a ton of great music in the '90s. Just hardly any the general public was aware of it.”

So once again, we mix a scattered few popular '90s tracks with more cult faves and obscurities, and we come up with a killer, killer '90s playlist. No acts are duplicated from Part Un, though some individual performers return (including Susan Cowsill, Michael Nesmith, members of the Flashcubes, and Robbie Rist hisself). Will we head from here into a 2000s playlist? Fittingly, only time will tell.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl--y'know, the real one--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 westcottradio.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
***And NOW AVAILABLE! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5!***
     CD or download

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available for preorder, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at 
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/

Fake TIRnRR Playlist: These Are The 1990s, Part Deux

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS: The Rain Song
NICE GUY EDDIE: Never Saw The Sun
OWSLEY: I'm Alright
COTTON MATHER: Payday
CHEAP TRICK: Hard To Tell
SQUEEZE: Some Fantastic Place
--
MADDER ROSE: Beautiful John
THE KENNEDYS: Life Is Large
THE MONKEES: Dyin' Of A Broken Heart
THE RICHARDS: Five Personalities
THE DICKIES: Elevator (In The Brain Hotel)
THE CHEVELLES: Valentine
--
KARA'S FLOWERS: Oliver
FUGEES: Killing Me Softly
SHOES: I Miss You
GARY FRENAY: We Connect
VELOCITY GIRL: I Can't Stop Smiling
THE RUBINOOS: Amnesia
--
VOX POP: Must Be A Word
THE PHENOMENAL CATS: Seagirl
THE KINKS: Look Through Any Doorway
NIXON'S HEAD: Zoom
CHOPPER: Swirling Girl
BILL LLOYD: I Went Electric
--
DEL AMITRI: Not Where It's At
FASTBALL: Fire Escape
THE MASTICATORS: He's The One
SAM PHILLIPS: Baby I Can't Please You
WHITE FLAG: Wuthering Heights
THE LEONARDS: The Worst Thing I Could Do
--
THE KNACK: Smilin'
THE B-52'S: Debbie
THE RELEASE PARTY: Done By Mirrors
JEREMY: I'm Flying
ACTION SWINGERS: No Heart And Soul
CLOUD ELEVEN: Tokyo Aquarium
--
ALICE PEACOCK: Get Your Own
BEAT ANGELS: Go Your Way
KATYDIDS: The Boy Who's Never Found
DIVINYLS: Bless My Soul (It's Rock-N-Roll)
DOUG POWELL: A Prayer For Ray Davies
GIGOLO AUNTS: Where I Find My Heaven
--
THE JELLYBRICKS: Miss You
JOHN HIATT: Permanent Hurt
MATTHEW SWEET: I've Been Waiting
THE LAST: You Won't Win
LYRES: But If You're Happy Now
POPSICKO: No Better Time
LEMONHEADS: It's A Shame About Ray
THE DEL LORDS: About You
--
SUGAR: If I Can't Change Your Mind
STRANGE FRUIT: All Over The World
THE RINGLING SISTERS: Garden Of Allah (Once Again For Zelda)
KATE JACOBS: Now They're Here
THE GREENBERRY WOODS: That's What She Said
THE DAVE RAVE GROUP: When Patti Rocked
URGE OVERKILL: Positive Bleeding
MARTIN LUTHER LENNON: I Own The World
--
ANNYLAND: Sank Without A Bubble
THE STALLIONS: Why

Monday, March 27, 2023

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1174

It's barely spring, but our first three songs this week have SUMMER! in their titles. As I write this, I'm feeling chilly and a little cranky. This year's Central New York winter weather wasn't particularly miserable--certainly nothing like what our friends in Buffalo had to endure--but even though I also hate a hot 'n' sweaty climate, I find myself more than ready for slightly warmer comforts.

For now, a heavy coat remains my uniform of choice. But my Ramones t-shirts stand ready to serve when called. In my car, with the heat up or the windows down, through snow 'n' sleet, spring rain, a refreshing breeze, sunshine in the day or bright lights at night, the radio has our soundtrack in all seasons.

Librarians With Hickeys can't wait 'till summer. The Tearjerkers promise a Syracuse summer. The Monkees declare that you bring the summer. It's just about time to swap out those snow tires. April's looking our way. 

Is she smiling at us...? 

I think she is, man. I think she is. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on the first Sunday night of spring 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, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at 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
Volume 5: CD or download

HEY! Looking for something to read? Check out Carl's book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones You can also follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/ If you would like to receive links to each day's blog, please reply to this email.

TIRnRR # 1174: 3/26/2023
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)
--
LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Can't Wait 'Till Summer (Big Stir, single)
THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer (Futureman, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)
THE MONKEES: You Bring The Summer (Rhino, Good Times!)
THE BARBARELLAS: Teenage Werewolf (Sympathy For The Record Industry, Queen Of The Galaxy)
E-I-E-I-O: Go West Young Man (Frontier, Land Of Opportunity)
--
ORBIS MAX AND LISA MYCHOLS FEATURING ED RYAN: RUOK (single)
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: Lost & Found (Varese Sarabande, VA: Soulful Pop)
CHAPTER II: The Son Is Coming Soon (Peppermint, VA: Peppermint Presents...RAT RACE!)
HEADGIRL: Please Don't Touch (Lemon, GIRLSCHOOL: The Singles)
BLUE ASH: It's All In Your Mind (Peppermint, VA: Peppermint Presents...RAT RACE!)
--
THE BLUSTERFIELDS: Breakdown (New Atlas, II)
ICICLE WORKS: Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) (EMI, VA: Living In Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Vol. 5)
HARRY NILSSON: Subterranean Homesick Blues (RCA, Pussy Cats)
SHANE FAUBERT & GARY PIG GOLD: You And Me [naked] (unreleased)
DAVID JOHANSEN: Girls (Razor & Tie, David Johansen)
--
THE SUCCESSFUL FAILURES: Millions Of People (FDR, Wrong Together)
DAVID BOWIE: Heroes (Virgin, Best Of Bowie)
ACTION CITY: The Once Upon A Time (Futureman, More Action City)
IGGY POP: Pumpin' For Jill (Arista, Party)
THE TEMPTATIONS: My Girl (Motown, Gold)
JOHN CALE: My Maria (Island, Helen Of Troy)
--
THE SPEEDWAYS: Dead From The Heart Down (Kool Kat Musik, Talk Of The Town)
THE dB'S: She's Green I'm Blue [New York Rocker Sessions] (Propeller Sound Recordings, I Thought You Wanted To Know 1978-1981)
THE BEAS: International Girl (Ace, VA: The Rebel Kind: Girls With Guitars 3)
RANDY KLAWON: Margin Of Error (single)
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Who Loves The Sun (Polydor, Peel Slowly And See)
--
WEST COAST MUSIC CLUB: Maine Parade (Kool Kat Musik, Exhumed)
THE 101'ERS: Keys To Your Heart (Soul Jazz, VA: Punk 45: Sick On You!)
FREDDIE & THE DREAMERS: A Love Like You (EMI, The Definitive Collection)
THE ZOMBIES: Care Of Cell 44 [alternate mix] (Varese Sarabande, Odessey And Oracle 50th Anniversary Edition)
RANSOM & THE SUBSET: Don't Remember What Was Her Name (Futureman, Perfect Crimes)
XTC: That's Really Super, Supergirl (Ape House, Skylarking)
--
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter (Arista, The Definitive Collection)
X-RAY SPEX: I Can't Do Anything (Sanctuary, Germfree Adolescents)
EYTAN MIRSKY: Lost You In The Jet Stream (single)
WIRE: Mannequin (Pinkflag, Pink Flag)
NOLAN PORTER: Singer Man (Porterville, No Apologies/Nolan)
THE WHO: Happy Jack [acoustic] (MCA, A Quick One [expanded])
--
MARCO BUSATO: I Don't Know Why (Kool Kat Musik, Night Of My Times)
LULU: Tossin' And Turnin' (RPM, Shout! The Complete Decca Recordings)
STEVE STOECKEL: Laura Lynn (Big Stir, The Power Of And)
BIG STAR: I'm In Love With A Girl (Ardent, # 1 Record/Radio City)
JUNIPER: I Cry Cause I Care (Confidential, She Steals Candy)
THE IN CROWD: Things She Says (RPM, VA: Excerpts From...Keith West)
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Tell Me Again (Grown Up Wrong!, Between The Lines)
THE KINKS: Come On Now (Essential, Kinda Kinks)
--
THE PLUS 4: She's In My Head (single)
THE VAPORS: Spring Collection (Cherry Red, Waiting For The Weekend)
THE RAMONES: Sitting In My Room (Rhino, Pleasant Dreams)
THE UNDERTONES: (She's A) Runaround (Rykodisc, The Undertones)
THE TOURISTS: Blind Among The Flowers (Camden, Greatest Hits)
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Chain Of Fools (Atlantic, The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970)
THE BEATLES: I Feel Fine (Apple, Past Masters)
--
GO HOME PRODUCTIONS: Daytrip To Heaven (single)
THE MONKEES: For Pete's Sake [TV edit] (Rhino, Headquarters [& More])
THE SMITHEREENS: Little Child (Koch, Meet The Smithereens)

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO


Hey, time to march on outta this month! This week's parade o' pretties serves up the latest releases from LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS, THE SUCCESSFUL FAILURES, ORBIS MAX AND LISA MYCHOLS FEATURING ED RYAN, WEST COAST MUSIC CLUB, THE BLUSTERFIELDS, THE SPEEDWAYS, MARCO BUSATO, RANDY KLAWON, and THE PLUS 4. We supplement the brand-new with more from THE BEATLES, ARETHA FRANKLIN, EYTAN MIRSKY, THE MONKEES, LOU REED, ACTION CITY, IGGY POP, THE TEMPTATIONS, THE KINKS, BLUE ASH, THE BARBARELLAS, HARRY NILSSON, JUNIPER, THE RAMONES, THE WHO, THE BAY CITY ROLLERS, and whatever else it takes to kill three hours and call it a radio show. And we kill 'em pretty good! Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and via the Radio Garden and TuneIn Radio app as WESTCOTT RADIO. The weekend stops HERE!

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Other Writers' Blogs

The Ego Has Landed!

My friend Dave Murray is writing his first novel. Dave describes Tougher Than The Rest as "a story loosely based on my life, about a middle-aged man with end-stage cystic fibrosis who is trying to hold on until a life-saving lung transplant becomes available." I've read draft versions of some of its chapters, and it's a fascinating, emotional, and often funny work. I look forward to reading the complete novel, and I think many of you will likewise dig it. 

To promote the book, Dave has started his own blog. On his blog The Ego Has Landed!, Dave will be offering a serialized look at chapters from Tougher Than The Rest. Yep, just like the pusher giving you a taste of smack so's he can hook ya. Pretty soon you'll have a Murray on your back. Don't monkey with Murray, man. That stuff'll kill you. Tougher Than The Rest may be habit-forming. Ask your doctor if Tougher Than The Rest is right for you.

Because only a lunatic would commit to the preposterous idea of a daily blog--that's guano crazy!--Dave plans to update The Ego Has Landed! once a week. Boppin' (Like The Hips Do!) will hereby demonstrate a moment of lucidity and recommend you check out The Ego Has Landed! for the weekly chapters of Tougher Than The Rest

On my blog, I have a list of recommended blogs by other writers: "When I'm not reading my blog, I'm reading these blogs." Adding Dave's blog prompted me to execute the long-overdue task of updating that list, replacing dead links and tacking on a few other blogs that should have been there before. Here's my recommended blog list:

13th Dimension (Dan Greenfield's wonderful comics blog)

Gary Frenay: We Connect

I Don't Hear A Single (Don Valentine's essential pop music blog)

Joe Congel Fiction Stories

John Tierney: Long Winded--Short Attention Span (Open letter to John: Come back!)

Monkees Live Almanac

News From ME (Writer Mark Evanier provides the working model for whatever it is I do here)

Radio Deer Camp

Super-Team Family...The Lost Issues!

The Ego Has Landed!

Tony Isabella's Bloggy Thing (by the creator of DC Comics superhero Black Lightning)

Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician (Syracuse University sports)

With feng shui in fool swing, this list is a work in progress. I should be adding links to a few more irresistible blogs soon.

Meanwhile, we welcome Dave Murray to our informal Legion of Super-Bloggers. Tougher than the rest? That must be his super power. Ladies and gentlemen: the ego has landed.

Dave's previous book

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

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available for preorder, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

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