This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1192

Workaday lives require the respite of camaraderie, and the comfort of art and music. In music, given a vast playground that sprawls at the very least across the decades and decades of the rock 'n' roll epoch, we like to frolic with willful abandon and without the merest regard for chronology.  

The Cynz. The Beatles. sparkle*jets u.k. 1.4.5. The Flashcubes. Sorrows. The Paul Collins Band. The Midnight Callers. The Isley Brothers. THE Sorrows (not to be confused with Sorrows). War. Suzi Quatro. Arthur Alexander. Graham Parker and the Goldtops. 

I mean, c'mon! Why stay in just one area or era? It's ALL pop music!

Amy Rigby. Jensen Bell. The Muffs. Humble Pie. The 13th Floor Elevators. The Crickets (in the 1980s, mind you). Johnathan Pushkar. The Small Faces. The Jam. Mad Monster Party. The Kinks. Johnny Halliday, singin' Eddie Cochran in French.

Is that enough? NO! We--all of us, man--need to keep playing for as long as we're able. We're not infinite. 

But our music is.

Kid Gulliver. The Singles. Juniper. The Chelsea Curve. The Spongetones. Sparks. The Association. Carolyn Franklin. The Ramones. The Pretenders. The Mosquitos. Sam Cooke. Dolph Chaney. The Springfields. Jack Lee. Fleetwood Mac. Dion. Star Collector. The Traveling Wilburys. The Boat Missers. KISS. The Steve Deaton Three. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. John Egan.

Let 'em play. New Math and Stupidity, Herb Alpert and Television, the Supremes and Sugar. We didn't get to the Monkees this week? It's okay. There's always next week, if the infinite allows.

Play on. For absent parties and for everyone who's with us today or (God willing) tomorrow, in celebration of all we remember and all we see and hear in the present tense, music is our mutual friend. 

It's time to dance with our friends. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another 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, 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 # 1192: 7/30/2023

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

THE CYNZ: I Need You (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies)

sparkle*jets u.k.: Today Will Be Yesterday Tomorrow (Big Stir, Best Of Friends)

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You (Big Stir, Pop Masters)

THE PAUL COLLINS BAND: I'm Getting Married (Wagon Wheel, From Town To Town)

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: It's Your Thing (Epic, The Essential Isley Brothers)

WAR: Lonely Feelin' (Hip-O, Icon 2)

--

JENSEN BELL [with KIM SHATTUCK]: Happy Chocolate (jensenbell.com, Modern Dating Tips)

HUMBLE PIE: Heartbeat (Charly, Town And Country)

THE CRICKETS: Your M-M-Memory Is T-T-Torturing Me (Columbia, T-Shirt)

THE SMALL FACES: Wham Bam Thank You Mam (Sanctuary, Ultimate Collection)

MAD MONSTER PARTY: Just Lucky (n/a, Mad Monster Party)

JOHNNY HALLYDAY: Elle Est Terrible [Somethin' Else] (Jasmine, Elle Est Terrible! The Rock 'n' Roll Years)

--

KID GULLIVER: All Because Of You (kidgulliver1.bandcamp.com, single)

JUNIPER: Baby Doll (Confidential Recordings, She Steals Candy)

THE SPONGETONES: One More Day (Loaded Goat, Too Clever By Half)

THE ASSOCIATION: Along Comes Mary (Collectors' Choice Music, And Then...Along Comes The Association)

THE RAMONES: She Talks To Rainbows (Radioactive, ¡Adios Amigos!)

THE MOSQUITOS: That Was Then, This Is Now (Kool Kat Musik, This Then Are The Mosquitos)

--

DOLPH CHANEY: Mr. Eli (Big Stir, single)

JACK LEE: Breaking Into My Heart (Alive, Anthology: Bigger Than Life)

DION: Runaround Sue (Buddah, VA: Dick Clark 20 Years Of Rock N' Roll)

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS: Runaway (Concord, The Traveling Wilburys Collection)

KISS: Calling Dr. Love (Mercury, Rock And Roll Over)

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Refugee (MCA, Anthology: Through The Years)

--

NEW MATH: Take To The Night (Propeller Sound Recordings, Die Trying & Other Hot Sounds [1979-1983])

TELEVISION: See No Evil (Elektra, Marquee Moon)

THE SUPREMES: All I Want (Motown, The '70s Anthology)

SUGAR: If I Can't Change Your Mind [solo mix] (Rykodisc, single)

HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS: Bittersweet Samba (Shout Factory, Whipped Cream & Other Delights)

STUPIDITY FEATURING KEITH STRENG: Waking Up The Band (Red On Red, Waking Up The Band)

--

JOHN EGAN: Take Away (johnegan.bandcamp.com, Better Late Than Never)

THE STEVE DEATON THREE: Open My Eyes (plowhandle.bandcamp.com, The Steve Deaton Three)

THE BOAT MISSERS: Different Drum (dreamworldpop.bandcamp.com, Undercover)

STAR COLLECTOR: Don't Have To Fold (n/a, Attack, Sustain, Decay...Repeat)

FLEETWOOD MAC: Second Hand News (Warner Brothers, Rumours)

THE SPRINGFIELDS: Bicycle Song (Slumberland, Singles 1986-1991)

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SAM COOKE: Chain Gang (Abkco, Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964)

THE PRETENDERS: Back On The Chain Gang (Sire, The Singles)

CAROLYN FRANKLIN: Chain Reaction (Kent Soul, Sister Soul: The Best Of The RCA Years 1969-1976)

SPARKS: Mickey Mouse (Repertoire, Angst In My Pants)

THE CHELSEA CURVE: How Can I (Resist You)? (Red On Red, single)

THE SINGLES: He Can Go, You Can't Stay (Rainbow Quartz, Better Than Before)

--

THE KINKS: She's Got Everything [backing track take 2] (Sanctuary, The Anthology 1964-1971)

THE JAM: Going Underground (Polydor, Direction Reaction Creation)

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: I Gotta Move (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrate Ray Davies)

THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: The Word (Charly, The Psychedelic World Of The 13th Floor Elevators)

THE MUFFS: Sad Tomorrow (Omnivore Recordings, Blonder And Blonder)

AMY RIGBY: Tom Petty Karaoke (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5)

--

GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS: Since You Left Me Baby (Big Stir, Last Chance To Learn The Twist)

ARTHUR ALEXANDER: Woman (Big Stir, ...Steppin' Out!)

SUZI QUATRO: Love Is Ready (RSO, Rock Hard)

THE SORROWS: Take A Heart (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II)

THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS: Baby Let Me Be (Jem, Rattled Humming Heart)

SORROWS: Play This Song (On The Radio) (Big Stir, Love Too Late...The Real Album)

1.4.5.: Let's Groove (Northside, 3 Chords & A Cloud Of Dust)

THE BEATLES: Dear Prudence (Apple, The Beatles)

--

NEW MATH: Die Trying (Propeller Sound Recordings, Die Trying & Other Hot Sounds [1979-1983])

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

On the NEW MUSIC!! end of things, we have THE CYNZ (covering THE KINKS), DOLPH CHANEY, KID GULLIVER, JOHN EGAN, and GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS. We have a new archival release from Rochester's finest, NEW MATH. Pretty cool, huh? Wait...that doesn't quite fill an essential three-hour rockin' pop radio show, does it? No worries! We have no shortage of irresistibles at hand, recent and classic alike, from THE FLASHCUBES, WAR, THE PAUL COLLINS BAND, JUNIPER, THE MUFFS, SUZI QUATRO, THE MOSQUITOS, KISS, THE SUPREMES, JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR, THE BOAT MISSERS, THE PRETENDERS, SPARKS, THE CHELSEA CURVE, THE SMALL FACES, THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS, ARTHUR ALEXANDER, THE CRICKETS, STAR COLLECTOR, THE ISLEY BROTHERS, THE BEATLES, and THE RAMONES. And MORE! We've got your three hours of great rockin' pop radio covered. 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 apps. The weekend stops HERE!

Pop Geek Heaven: GABBA GABBA HEY! A CONVERSATION WITH THE RAMONES

I've been corresponding with Bruce Brodeen for decades. His label Not Lame Recordings released a ton of cool music; when Not Lame ceased, Bruce's subsequent venture Pop Geek Heaven kept the fires burning for all things POP. Bruce is a believer, and he is one of the best friends power pop fans have ever had. Ya don't know Bruce? His Remember The Lightning exit interview with S. W. Lauden will serve as another clue for you all.

As Bruce retires Pop Geek Heaven, relocates to different surroundings, and steps away from the public part of his flamekeeping duties, I'm particularly touched that he chose to recommend my book Gabba Gabba Gabba! A Conversation With The Ramones as his parting plug in the final Pop Geek Heaven newsletter:

ANOTHER BOOK and this one is about...THE RAMONES and is written by one of power pop's top shelf thought-leaders, Carl Cafarelli So we all have a handful of bands and artists that changed our lives, especially when we were teengagers. For me, they are T. Rex, Iggy & the Stooges, New York Dolls and...the Ramones. I bought the debut in the Spring of 1976 and...it was unlike anything that had come before it(granted, I was 14) - or came afterwards. It just made SENSE. Good sense and...the mix! Bass isolated in the left channel, guitars isolated in the right AND then vocals and drums pasted on top of both channels. Put that in your cheap headphone pipe and smoke *that*, dude! WTF!?! Right?! Right. None of us back then, any age, didn't know what hit us! You either got it, right away - or you didn't, and never would. God help you. Honestly, thinking about it now, add the artists that I mentioned that came before influencing me, the first Ramones album laid into the stone the path of working in rock 'n roll for me as a professional career. As it did for countless tens of thousands of other fans in the 70s. Anyway, I have my autographed copy of "Rocket To Russia" signed by the original band in the fall of 1977 at the Harvard Coop in Boston(great show that night w/ insane bill!) that I will be selling in the middle of 'the big move' but I am going to replace that slab of vinyl with...THIS BOOK. CLICK HERE to check it out!

Thanks, Bruce! We'll meet again. The power pop community remains in your debt.

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.

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!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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: 7/28/2023

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 # 1191. This show is available as a podcast.

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: I Gotta Move

Johnathan Pushkar's cover of the Kinks' "I Gotta Move" is the first advance track from the forthcoming tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies, and it's a good one. The original was on the American Kinks-Size LP, which was the first Kinks album I ever owned (part of my indoctrination into Kinks fandom during my senior year in high school). It's a pretty basic tune, sure, but Johnathan conveys the necessary dedicated-follower bounce to retain its bop in our newfangled 21st century. We'll play it again next week, and we'll also play another Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies track, courtesy of the Cynz. We need to! We don't wanna get left behind.

THE SUPREMES: Love Train

Man alive, I've been knocked out by the '70s stuff Dana's been playing by the Supremes. I talked about it a bit in the July 14th 10 Songs, and this material just seems so ripe for rediscovery...or, really, discovery, for the first time. Why weren't these records huge? And why is the two-CD collection The '70s Anthology a high-priced collectible rather than the readily-available essential it oughtta be? I don't why, I don't know how, but I blame Diana Ross.

As I groove vicariously through Dana's spins of '70s Supremes, the group's sublime cover of the O'Jays' "Love Train" satisfies the ol' (Nathan) jones for this week. 

THE WAITRESSES: Square Pegs

It's not punk. It's new wave. Totally different head. Totally.

IYKYK.

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

Awright. As the rockin' pop world prepares its eager self for the release of the Flashcubes' incomparable new album Pop Masters, Big Stir Records' Chief Boppin' Officers Rex Broome and Christina Bulbenko recently had this to say about our own little mutant radio show, the 'Cubes, and Pop Masters:

Rarely have a show, a band, and an album gone so hand-in-hand as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, the Flashcubes, and the new record Pop Masters.

We accept that with honor, pride, and humili...okay, scratch the humility part. Let's not get crazy.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of the Flashcubes in my life and in the development of TIRnRR. I ain't kidding: The Beatles. The Ramones. The Flashcubes. For me, all my other favorites come after that Trinity. Pop Masters. Truth in advertising. Album of the year, mate. Album of the year.

THE DONNAS: Wig Wam Bam

My TIRnRR history Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet reveals that we've been playing the Donnas since our very first show, December 27, 1998. Lately, we've been dipping back more and more into the Donnas' earliest releases, a period that commenced even before there was any such thing as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. 

Our archival source for such grungy transcendence is a Real Gone Music Donnas collection called Early Singles 1995-1999. When Dana programmed the Donnas' cover of Sweet's "Wig Wam Bam" for this week's show, I joked about how the Donnas do, in fact, get a few of Sweet's original lyrics right in their rockin' rendition. Otherwise, they just make it up as they go: Sweet's opening prose Hiawatha never bothered too much/About Minnihaha and her tender touch/'Til she took him to the silver stream is altered by the Donnas into the way more salacious I don't wanna be a bother too much/I just wanna be the girl you wanna touch/You make me cream in my jeans.... And so on.

Dana dismissed the wisecrack. "Girls with guitars," he said. 

And he is correct. Girls, meet the boys. Boys, the girls. Wig-wam, bam sham-a-lam. Or words to that effect.

DAISY JONES AND THE SIX: Regret Me

A band doesn't have to be real to make a radio-ready record. Here on TIRnRR, we offer equal time for fiction and fact. When we feel like it, anyway. SO! The made-for-streaming Daisy Jones and the Six on this week's program, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac next week. There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure in pop music. We remain regret-free.

THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS: Jacaranda

We pre-record our shows. It's a coincidence when one of our selections carries a connection to some news headline that splatters forth in between recording the show on Wednesday and airing it on Sunday night. We played Hayley and the Crushers' fantastic "Jacaranda" this week because it's, y'know, fantastic. Its lyrics about ditching tinyville livin' in favor of tropical summer fun in the sun were chosen for turn-it-up status without any real-world context in mind.

But yeah, like Hayley sings: screw the small town.

THE MUFFS: On My Own

THE PANDORAS: I'll Walk Away

Ex post facto programming. We didn't initially intend to make the late Kim Shattuck our featured performer this week. In fact, we were nearly done nailing down this week's song selections when I realized that Dana had included a number of songs in quiet tribute to Kim, recognizing what would have been her 60th birthday on July 17th. These were performances Kim did with the Coolies, the Beards, and three tracks by the Muffs. Dana picked the Muffs' TIRnRR Fave Rave "On My Own" to close the pre-encore portion of the show.

I thought Dana's idea of a tribute To Kim Shattuck was compelling and important, and I wanted to participate. I swapped out several of my song picks in favor of tracks that included Kim, records by Derrick Anderson, Bowling For Soup, one more by the Muffs ("Nothing") to play at the very, very end, and four Shattuck-equipped tracks by the Pandoras. 

"On My Own" comes from the Muffs' farewell album No Holiday. It was released just after Kim passed in October of 2019, and it was TIRnRR's single most-played track in 2020. It's still a frequent treat on our playlists, and probably always will be. 

The Pandoras' "I'll Walk Away" has never been given an official release. It appeared on a collection called Psychedelic Sluts!, a CD of questionable legitimacy and disappointing fidelity. The track was originally intended for Come Inside, a proposed (and completed) 1987 album which would have been the Pandoras' first release for Elektra Records. Come Inside got as far as a test pressing and a listing in the Schwann catalog, but Elektra dropped the Pandoras and scuttled the release. The album has yet to see the light of day.

That's a shame. Come Inside leans hard (HAR!) into single-entendre innuendo and arena rock moves; even its title is a sex joke (come inside the Pandoras--GET IT?). Subtlety wasn't a big thing in the '80s. But the album has its moments, particularly the fascinating power ballad "I'll Walk Away." I'm generally not one for power ballads, unless they're power ballads by the Ramones. I make an exception for the Pandoras' "I'll Walk Away."

In a just world, Come Inside would have been released and hit big. John Hughes would have used "I'll Walk Away" in the climactic scene of one of his teen movies. Missed opportunity. The Pandoras would have made it. Their leader Paula Pierce would have lived longer. Kim Shattuck would have lived longer. But now...

...we walk away.

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.

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!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: Love At Subsequent Spin

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.

As music fans, we are often blessed with opportunities to fall in love with some performers the first time we hear them. But sometimes that initial spin doesn't quite do it. We need more evidence. We need to hear another song. Or two. Or....

Today's playlist is built with tracks that were not my first conscious exposure to the artist. But these were the tracks that made me take greater notice. Sometimes the notice lingered; as an adolescent and young teen, I knew the Kinks as the act that did that song "Lola" I'd heard and dug on the radio, but it was a subsequent dive into some of their previous singles--"All Day And All Of The Night," "You Really Got Me," and "Tired Of Waiting For You," in that revelatory order--that made me a fan.

(On the other hand, some notices aren't meant to last. As much as I love "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" by Styx and "The Boys Of Summer" by Don Henley, those thrills didn't dilute my absolute and continuing disdain for "Mr. Roboto" and "Dirty Laundry." That's illustration of the fact that even an act you despise may be capable of one track you adore. Maybe in spite of yourself.)

Individual revelations aren't always chronological. We discover music when we discover it. REMEMBER! Great records don't care what year it is. And any record you ain't heard (or don't remember hearing before) is a new record.

So here's some tracks I liked better than I liked my introductions to the artists at hand, and even a few tracks that dramatically broadened my appreciation of an artist I was already beginning to dig. Pop music loves a good redemption story. And true love is worth waiting for.

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 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

***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, 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: Love At Subsequent Spin

THE KINKS: All Day And All Of The Night

THE KINKS: You Really Got Me

THE KINKS: Tired Of Waiting For You

PATTI SMITH: Gloria

PRINCE: 1999

CHEAP TRICK: Surrender

--

DAVID BOWIE: Suffragette City

TAVARES: Free Ride

THE SPINNERS: My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)

MELANIE WITH THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS: Lay Down (Candle In The Rain)

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Glad All Over

THE FOUR TOPS: It's The Same Old Song

--

STEVIE WONDER: Uptight (Everything's Alright)

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: I Need To Know

THE KNACK: Good Girls Don't

THE DICTATORS: Sleepin' With The TV On

TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You

--

THE BEACH BOYS: Sloop John B

THE BEACH BOYS: Girl Don't Tell Me

FOOLS FACE: American Guilt

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze

THE JAM: In The City

THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS: Don't You Worry About Me

--

THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action

THE RUBINOOS: Wouldn't It Be Nice

ABBA: SOS

THE BANDWAGON: Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache

LYRES: Help You Ann

THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band

--

THE OHIO EXPRESS: Beg, Borrow And Steal

THE DEAD BOYS: 3rd Generation Nation

R.E.M.: Radio Free Europe

WAR: Why Can't We Be Friends?

JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS: You've Come A Long Way Baby

GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS: Ferry Cross The Mersey

--

ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel

SHAUN CASSIDY: Hey Deanie

THE IDES OF MARCH: Roller Coaster

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Ties That Bind

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Brilliant Disguise

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes

--

TINA TURNER: The Acid Queen

THE WHO: I Can't Explain

PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Kicks

LED ZEPPELIN: The Ocean

KATRINA & THE WAVES: Red Wine And Whiskey

GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Discovering Japan

--

THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

DON HENLEY: The Boys Of Summer

THE dB'S: Love Is For Lovers

CHAD & JEREMY: A Summer Song

JUICE NEWTON: Queen Of Hearts

ROSANNE CASH: Pink Bedroom

THE TEMPTATIONS: My Girl

LOVE: 7 And 7 Is

--

STYX: Kiss Your Ass Goodbye

GABBA GABBA HEY! The timeline of writing, selling, and publishing a book

My first book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones was published in early May--not quite three months ago--thanks to the good folks at Rare Bird Books. I'm proud of the work, proud of the product itself, and thrilled with the positive reaction it seems to have received. Giddy? That's ME!

A few people have asked how long it took me to write the book. My pat first response is 50 years!, dating from when my thirteen-year-old self decided in 1973 that it oughtta be the posh, posh writin' life, the writin' life for me. A more accurate answer would be 29 years, going back to the 1994 Ramones interviews that are the book's raison d'être. I could also say it took just under ten years, dating from when I began going through the material again with specific book-writing intent in 2013.

I wound up putting the 2013 efforts aside. Really, the process of turning this into a book commenced in earnest in 2021. So: two years! With, y'know, building blocks and blueprints concocted over previous decades. For my own amusement, here's a timeline of Gabba Gabba Hey!'s genesis.

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

My first freelance writing sale

Before we get to to the actual timeline, we need to acknowledge the usual contributing factors. I was born in 1960, decided in 1973 that I wanted to be a writer, and hijinks ensued. 

I first read about the Ramones in 1977, and fell hard for their music by the end of that year. In December '77/January '78, I wrote my first stab at rock journalism. I made my first freelance writing sale in 1984, my first sale to Krause Publications in 1985, and my first sale to Krause's music periodical Goldmine in 1986. See my 1980s autobiography The Road To GOLDMINE for details.

I started co-hosting radio shows with Dana Bonn in 1992, and we began the somehow-still-running This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio With Dana & Carl on December 27, 1998. 

From 1986 to 2006, I wrote a ton of stuff for Goldmine. When Goldmine was prepping for a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary in 1994, I pitched editor Jeff Tamarkin on the sheer inevitably of a Ramones cover story for Goldmine. He agreed.

Let's start the timeline there.

EARLY 1994

Goldmine editor Jeff Tamarkin assigns me to write a cover story about the Ramones. I propose interviewing the Ramones for an autodiscography and personal history of the group's career. Jeff puts me in touch with the Ramones' publicist Ida Langsam. Ida arranges telephone interviews with the four then-current members: Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Marky Ramone, and C. J. Ramone. My request for access to previous members Dee Dee Ramone, Tommy Ramone, and Richie Ramone is politely deferred, and (no surprise) does not happen.

FEBRUARY 1994

The interviews take place, resulting in approximately five hours of conversation preserved on cassette tapes. About a week after the interviews, Joey Ramone calls me back because he thought of a few additional projects he wants to discuss. I tell him that, if i wind up with more details than I could fit into a magazine article, I'll preserve the information for use in some future work instead.

Oooo--foreshadowing!

SPRING AND SUMMER 1994

Transcribing the interview tapes is what we in the pop journalism industry like to call "a crazy, long-ass drudge." The piece has an open deadline, as long as I can get it done in time to run during Goldmine's 20th anniversary year. A Goldmine interview with Joan Jett takes place after my Ramones interviews, but has a much more pressing deadline, and needs to be addressed first.

My wife Brenda helps transcribe the interviews, I double-check the transcripts against the tapes, and begin the process of assembling and editing the separate interviews into something that can read like a conversation. I slap together introductory material, and finish writing a really, really long magazine article. I have to leave out a lot of stuff, but I manage to fit quite a bit of in. I tweak it all a bit, and I'm satisfied with the result.

AUGUST 1994

I submit the completed interview/article to Jeff. He accepts it.

FALL 1994

Goldmine's intrepid 'n' amazing Managing Editor Bonni Miller informs me that she's pulled off the seemingly impossible task of fitting this whole damned thing into one issue without crowding everything else into some other magazine, like Popular Mechanics, or, I dunno, Glue Sniffers' Guide. The issue is published with a cover date of September 30, 1994, sporting my suggested cover featuring the Ramones with Homer Simpson. I'm told reader reaction is good. Ida Langsam expresses her astonishment at how friggin' big the article is. 

MY copy isn't autographed, but I'm delighted to see this exists somewhere!

And then, it's on to other projects. Time passes....

SPRING 2002

The Ramones are inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Joey doesn't live to see it. The Hall Of Fame's website lists my Ramones interviews as recommended reading. The thought of expanding the interviews into book form springs into being right around here.

But I don't do anything about it. Not yet. 

SPRING 2006

My final work for Goldmine is published. I never formally quit freelancing with GM; I just stop doing it, and (with scattered exceptions) effectively take a break from writing. My heart just ain't in it anymore.

FALL 2013

My daughter Meghan begins her freshman year at college. Rather than just continuing to stare at the empty nest, I revisit the idea of writing a book built from my Ramones interviews. I begin transcribing the Goldmine piece, but put it aside after a couple of months.

LATE 2014/EARLY 2015

As my former Goldmine colleague Ken Sharp preps the second volume of his own collected-interviews book series Play On! Power Pop Heroes, he asks if I have any interviews with Joey and/or Johnny Ramone, and can he use some of that material in his book?

I do. And he can.

Play On! Power Pop Heroes Volume Two is published shortly thereafter. Ken includes due credit for my contribution, "from Carl Cafarelli's forthcoming book Gabba Gabba Hey! Conversations With The Ramones." That is the book title I have in mind at this time.

JANUARY 18, 2016

Out of nowhere, the death of David Bowie compels me to start writing a daily blog. Daily. Man, that's nuts. 

I haven't missed a day since.

2016-2019

On my blog, I begin The Greatest Record Ever Made!, a series of essays about individual songs, dedicated to the notion that an infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. GREM! starts to seem like it oughtta be a book. I get an agent. I write a book proposal. My DIY hype machine gathers its mutant steam. The book's proposed title becomes The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). A lot of friends express their support for the idea of a GREM! book. 

One of these friends is writer and musician S. W. Lauden, aka Steve Coulter. In October of 2019, Steve suggests that Rare Bird Books might be a good home for The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), and recommends I get in touch with Tyson Cornell at Rare Bird. Not wishing to do anything that could be seen as double-crossing my agent, I send an introductory email to Tyson with CC to my agent, and wait to see if anything develops on this (or any) front.

Nothing develops.

2020

Yechh.

And whatever forward motion GREM! might have had dissipates. 

2021

As The Greatest Record Ever Made! moves to the back burner, I start thinking again about my Ramones book, now called Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. In February, I reach out to Tyson Cornell, describe the book to him, and ask him if Rare Bird might be interested. I send him the transcripts of the interviews.

In March, my agent and I finally acknowledge the obvious and part company. No hard feelings, and I learned a lot of good things in the process. 

In May, Rare Bird confirms interest in Gabba Gabba Hey! A tentative deal memo is drafted and accepted in June. I continue to work on the book, and finish it before the end of the year. (I also finish the first complete draft of The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1] by mid-January of 2022.)

MARCH 2022

The contract is signed. Rare Bird Books will publish Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. The completed manuscript is submitted to Rare Bird. 

LATE 2022

Tyson connects me with Rare Bird's Marketing Director Alexandra Watts. Haile Johnson from Rare Bird's editorial department contacts me to begin reviewing the copyedited text. We address everything to mutual satisfaction, and I sign off on the final edit in November. We review the galley interior, and reach final approval in December.

2023

Full speed ahead! Many conversations with Alexandra, plans for promotion, and my growing anticipation of--at long last!--having a book published. I see the book listed on Amazon. I get my first advance glimpse of the wonderful cover graphic. The first presale copies of the book arrive at my house in April, ready for me to [ahem] AUTOGRAPH and return to Rare Bird for proper distribution. Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is officially published on May 9, 2023. The delightfully dizzying whirlwind of promoting it commences. I am very, very happy.

SO! How long did it take me to write my Ramones book? 

A lifetime. 

And it was worth every second.

And now...The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)? It's written. It's ready. Can one book lead to another? Time will tell. Time will tell.

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.

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!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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