This week's show opens with "Bad Brain," a track from the Ramones' 1978 album Road To Ruin. Road To Ruin was the group's fourth album, and while I've always loved it, I've also always attached an asterisk, insisting that it was a (very) slight step down from the three classic Ramones albums that preceded it. I've recently realized that opinion was (to quote a line from a previous Ramones album) D-U-M-B. Road To Ruin is fantastic--and I did always feel that it was fantastic--and now I'm starting to wonder if it may really be the Ramones' masterpiece.
You're never too old to reassess. The unexamined record collection is not worth keeping. For those of us who like to immerse ourselves in what we love in pop culture, it's an ongoing (and delighted) process to revisit and renew, to rediscover, and to revise when appropriate. Nostalgia can be a factor, but I'm generally more interested in what rocks me right now, past or present. There's time for new stuff, and there's time for old stuff, and I say those times oughta be the SAME time. On our best days and nights, that time should always be at hand, immediate, and everlasting.
Is Road To Ruin even more of a masterpiece than its immediate predecessor Rocket To Russia? At present, I'm inclined to say it is, but I'm willing to call it a draw. In prepping this week's radio shindig, I realized "Bad Brain" was the only Road To Ruin track that had never before graced a TIRnRR playlist. Well, check THAT one off the ol' to-do list.
And so, the music plays on. We'll adjust the playlist as we go. Half the fun? Man, that IS the fun. The road to ruin beckons. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This show is available as a podcast.
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).
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TIRnRR # 1208: 11/19/2023
TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold
THE RAMONES: Bad Brain (Rhino, Road To Ruin)
SWEET: Ballroom Blitz (Capitol, The Best Of Sweet)
JESSE BRYSON: Some Sing, Some Dance (unreleased)
CARLENE CARTER: I'm So Cool (Demon, Musical Shapes/Blue Nun)
THE BANDWAGON: You (Kent, Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache)
THE GRIP WEEDS: Journey To The Center Of The Mind (Jem, DiG) --
THE HALF CUBES: Jet Lag (unreleased)
THE TOYS: May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone (Sundazed, A Lover's Concerto/Attack!)
KLAATU: Anus Of Uranus (Klaatunes, 3:47 E.S.T.)
THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jupiter (Roadrunner, Freaked Out & Small)
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GIRL WITH A HAWK: Feel Me (single) TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS: Hanky Panky (Rhino, Anthology)
ON THE AIR: This Can't Be Real (Pulse, On The Air)
THE BYRDS: I Knew I'd Want You (Columbia, Mr. Tambourine Man)
--
THE BANGLES: Open My Eyes (Down Kiddie, Sweetheart Of The Sun)
TEDDY PENDERGRASS: I Don't Love You Anymore (Philadelphia International, The Essential Teddy Pendergrass)
THE RASPBERRIES: Goin' Nowhere Tonight (RPM, Power Pop Volume One)
MAJOR LANCE: Hey Little Girl (Epic, Everybody Loves A Good Time! The Best Of Major Lance)
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1.4.5.: Right Now (Beautiful Sounds, Rhythm n' Booze)
SAM & DAVE: Hold On I'm Comin' (Atlantic, VA: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968)
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DAN AYLESTOCK AND VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH: Complicated (single) TSAR: Disappear (Hollywood, Tsar)
BILLY OCEAN: L.O.D. (Love On Delivery) (Varese Sarabande, VA: Soulful Pop)
BLONDIE: I'm On E (Chrysalis, The Platinum Collection)
--
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
ARTHUR CONLEY: Sweet Soul Music (Rhino, Sweet Soul Music)
BARRY McGUIRE: California Dreamin' (Ace, VA: You Heard It Here First!, Vol. 2)
PRINCE: Hot Summer (NPG, Welcome 2 America)
--
BUSH TETRAS: You Taste Like The Tropics (Wharf Cat, Rhythm & Paranoia: The Best Of Bush Tetras)
TAYLOR SWIFT: The Last Great American Dynasty (Republic, folklore)
LULU: Forget Me Baby (RPM, Shout! The Complete Decca Recordings)
--
THE ACTION: I'll Keep Holding On (Grapefruit, Shadows & Reflections)
FOOLS FACE: Nothing To Say (Talk, Tell America)
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter (Arista, The Definitive Collection)
ASTROPUPPEES: On My Way (Manatee, Sugarbeat)
THE COASTERS: Yakety Yak (Rhino, Yakety Yak--The Platinum Collection)
THE BEATLES: Don't Pass Me By (Apple, The Beatles)
--
THE RAMONES: I Wanna Be Sedated (Rhino, Road To Ruin)
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