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 # 1177. This show is available as a podcast.
THE RAMONES: My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)
Our April mission to play my # 1 favorite track from each of the Ramones' official studio albums has reached the next set of four: 1986's Animal Boy, 1987's Halfway To Sanity, 1989's Brain Drain, and 1992's Mondo Bizarro. Gotta confess that Animal Boy is my least favorite Ramones album, but it was still a dead heat for me between two fine Animal Boy numbers: "Something To Believe In" and "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down," the latter previously released as a single under the title "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg."
Johnny Ramone didn't like either of 'em. In the 1994 interviews presented in my Ramones book, Johnny was aghast that I liked "Something To Believe In" (his specific reaction to my fondness of the track was "Oh, God!"), and he despised the political POV of "Bitburg:"
"I think Dee Dee was just trying to jump on the bandwagon of, especially in Europe, people were singing political type songs, and the whole political issue. Because basically, any songs we had prior to that [with] even any mention of politics were usually sort of conservative, right? We would sing songs about Vietnam and things like that, and they were always sort of pro those movements...
"...I did not want to be doing any political songs. I didn’t want to be bad-mouthing the president. I was upset by the cover; the English record company did that. I think they were trying to jump on anything to knock America in any way. I didn’t wanna see Europeans doing it. It’s okay for Americans to criticize ourselves, but I don’t want the Europeans doing it...."
The interview transcripts suggest that in 1994 I liked Animal Boy more than I do now. Which means it's probably high time for a fresh listen.
THE ON AND ONS: Let Ya Hair Down
"Let Ya Hair Down" is the title tune from a brand-new album from Australia's phenomenal pop combo the On and Ons. Sidney's Finest have established themselves as TIRnRR Fave Raves, and from what I've heard so far, this new record reinforces their sterling rockin' pop rep. "Let Ya Hair Down" is a magnificent track to start with; the Let Ya Hair Down track we're playing on our next show is even better.
K.D. LANG AND THE RECLINES: Walkin' In And Out Of Your Arms
I really wanted to include this scorchin' k. d. lang gem in last week's Sire Records/Seymour Stein tribute, but I forgot all about it when Dana and I slapped the playlist together. I blame the destructive allure of absolute torch and twang. "Walkin' In And Out Of Your Arms" is such a great, radio-ready track, with a boppin' style equally suited to a number of formats, from country to alternative to whatever the hell it is we do on this show. Shame on us for not playing it sooner.
SERGE GAINSBOURG AND BRIGITTE BARDOT: Comic Strip
Ooh-la-la AND Zowie! Not as steamy as "Je t'aime...moi non Plus" (which was a European hit for Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, written for [and originally recorded by] Brigitte Bardot), "Comic Strip" mixes Bardot's purring of Batman '66-style sound effects with Gainsbourg's superheroic sense of cool. Kitsch? Mais oui.
THE HALF-CUBES FEATURING THE PERNICE BROTHERS: The Weakest Shade Of Blue
My favorite power pop group the Flashcubes are working on a new...hmmm? What...? I still can't talk about that...?!
Fine. We did play the Flashcubes' most recent single "Get The Message" later in the show, and we for damned sure allotted time for a spin of this new single from the Half-Cubes. The Half-Cubes are 'Cubes rhythm section Gary Frenay and Tommy Allen, their forces combined with the guitar stylings of Cleveland rockin' pop stalwart Randy Klawon. The Half-Cubes' debut single enlists the aid of the Pernice Brothers for a splendid new version of the Pernice lads' classic "The Weakest Shade Of Blue." Not half-bad? ALL-good, in fact.
(And, because we have a long-standing predilection for ignoring NDAs, this is the second time we've played the Half-Cubes' "The Weakest Shade Of Blue." We gave it a (clandestine?) spin back in February, when the Half-Cubes themselves were still kinda hush-hush. Bad boys? That's us! And by the same token, our next show will feature an as-yet unreleased taste of the Flashcubes' [redacted], the very same [redacted] teased two paragraphs north of here. Should we fear repercussions? Nah. We have diplomatic impunity. We'll play the Half-Cubes again, too.)
THE RAMONES: I Wanna Live
I moved back to Syracuse from Buffalo in 1987. It was not a great time in my life, and it was still going to be a little while before things got better.
In good times and less-good times, music has always been a highlight. I don't remember if I heard "I Wanna Live" before picking up my copy of Halfway To Sanity. I may have seen its video on MTV, but my memory insists I didn't even know the Ramones had a new album out when I spotted and immediately purchased Halfway To Sanity at The Record Theatre up on the SU hill.
The album includes a fab guest appearance by Blondie's Debbie Harry on "Go Li'l Camaro Go," a meeting of CBGB's minds I'd been wishing for since the late '70s. Nonetheless, my favorite was (and is) "I Wanna Live."
Is it a life-affirming track? By default, I guess, though it could also be read as a suicide note. But the guitar sounds like it wants to live. Joey likewise sounds like he's digging in for the long haul. It's what I want, and I'm going with that.
LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Can't Wait 'Till Summer
I am steadfastly and delightedly obsessed with Librarians With Hickeys' "Can't Wait 'Till Summer." Listen, man: in pop music, obsession is its own reward. Why wait? And it's back again on our next show.
THE RAMONES: I Believe In Miracles
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
MICKEY AND SYLVIA: Dearest
Sometimes we have to confess that we just didn't know: to me, "Dearest" was a song by Buddy Holly, an informal acoustic performance he recorded solo in his NYC apartment, later gussied up a bit for release (as "Umm Oh Yeah") after his death. I had no idea that it was first recorded and released by Mickey and Sylvia. Hell, although I do know that Sylvia Robinson went on to have a hit (as Sylvia) with the breathy la-la-la-LA! bedroom naughtiness of 1973's "Pillow Talk," and that she was the founder of elite hip-hop label Sugarhill Records, my previous awareness of Mickey and Sylvia started and ended with their irresistible 1957 smash "Love Is Strange."
I've always loved "Love Is Strange," and I should have figured there was more Mickey and Sylvia greatness beyond that one immortal record. I guess it's time to learn more. Their original version of "Dearest" is sweet and inviting, and it's a fine place to start. Umm oh yeah....
THE RAMONES: Touring
The Ramones originally recorded "Touring" for their 1981 album Pleasant Dreams, but it was left unreleased at the time. Joey told me, "I had written it for Pleasant Dreams, and actually, we did a version of it [for] Pleasant Dreams. I had written it around the time of 'Sheena' and 'Rock ’n’ Roll High School,' and Seymour [Stein] felt it sounded too close to, I think, 'Rock ’n’ Roll High School,' which it might’ve [laughs].
"But it was a fun song. I mean, it really kind of conjures up all the great moments of why you’re doing what you’re doing. And from touring around the world and meeting all kinds of guys and girls [laughs], the whole bit. It was a fun song, a fun song to write."
Overcoming little technicalities like not being released in proper form at the time, the song managed to become one of my early '80s go-tos, thanks to a 1982 cover version by the Mystics. The reconstituted doo wop group, famed for their 1959 hit "Hushabye," changed Joey's lyrics and title to "Doreen Is Never Boring." I bought it and dug it, but wished I could hear the Ramones piledrive through it.
The wish came true when the Ramones recorded a new version for 1992's Mondo Bizarro. The Ramones' first studio album since Dee Dee left home and C. J. Ramone took over the four-string spot, Mondo Bizarro is a solid effort, blessed with kickass cuts like "Censorshit," "Poison Heart," "Strength To Endure" (sung by C. J.), and a seemingly incongruous (but fully righteous) cover of the Doors' "Take It As It Comes." For all that, my heart retains its devotion to "Touring."
Doreen could not be reached for comment.
 |
| For dramatic purposes, the part of Doreen shall be played by Brigitte Bardot. She...does not look boring at all. |
TIRnRR's tour of the Ramones' studio albums concludes on our next show, featuring my # 1 top picks from Acid Eaters and ¡Adios Amigos!, supplemented by my favorite non-album Ramones track and my favorite Ramones soundtrack offering. SPOILER ALERT: the latter is not "Chop Suey." We'll follow with a salute to the Ramones' live albums on April 30.
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, 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.
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