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 # 1263.
20/20: Spark
Any serious list of power pop's all-time definitive groups will include 20/20. Their 1979 track "Yellow Pills" is a recognized classic, and it inspired writer Jordan Oakes to start a cool power pop publication (and an essential subsequent series of various-artists pop anthologies) named after the song. In my exhausting...er, exhaustive history of power pop, I wrote of 20/20:
"20/20 was formed by guitarist Steve Allen and bassist Ron Flynt, both Tulsa natives who subsequently moved to L.A. They befriended fellow Tulsa expatriate Phil Seymour, and played on the demos that helped Seymour get his own record deal. Bomp! magazine’s Gary Sperrazza! recommended drummer Mike Gallo to the group, completing 20/20's initial configuration.
"The first 20/20 release was the Bomp! single 'Giving It All,' which was actually a Steve Allen solo track that predated the group. Guitarist Chris Silagyi joined 20/20 in time for the group’s eponymous debut album, released by Portrait in 1979.
"Though perhaps a bit too dominated by new wave synthesizer styles in spots, the 20/20 album was still a triumphant melange of catchy music with an occasional dark edge. The single 'Cheri' was pretty good, but 'Yellow Pills' and 'Remember The Lightning' were the real standouts. The album got no higher than # 138 on the Billboard chart, but it remains a pop classic.
"Mike Gallo had left the group by the time of 1981’s Look Out!, replaced on drums by Joel Turrisi. Look Out! was not quite the equal of the debut, but it came very close (and charted slightly higher at # 127). The leadoff track, 'Nuclear Boy,' offered a signal that the band was delving further into the dark side hinted at on the first album, while 'The Night I Heard A Scream' deftly mixed its downbeat tale with a gorgeous, buoyant melody.
"20/20 was dropped by Portrait after Look Out!, and released a final record, Sex Trap, on the Mainway label in 1982. Although the group itself faded away, its legacy didn’t...."
And now, 20/20's legacy includes a forthcoming new album, Back To California, brought to you by the combined rockin' pop forces of Big Stir Records and SpyderPop Records. The legacy stands, and I'm kinda tickled that its release date coincides with my latest in a long line of birthdays on January 17th.
We've already played the title track from Back To California a couple of times as an advance single, and we'll have much further airplay from this album as 2025 barges its way into being. This week, we couldn't resist opening the show with a new 20/20 track that shares its name with our own beloved radio station. Here on Spark Syracuse, we are delighted to present new music from 20/20. Legacies begin with a spark. Sometimes, legacies can continue with a spark as well.
SPARKS: The Decline And Fall Of Me
Also couldn't resist following a song called "Spark" with a track by Sparks. Humor ain't exactly rocket surgery, man.
THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS: The Eraser
YouTube sensation Matthew Street recently granted a big ol' video thumbs-up to my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), so I figured we'd say Thanks, Matt! by spinning a little spin of one of Matt's favorite groups on the whole friggin' planet, the Midnight Callers. Matt, in turn, was so pleased with the reciprocal shout-out that he posted another video extolling the virtues of TIRnRR. Mutual admiration society here!
Our Matt requested another Midnight Callers gem for our next show. We'd already planned to repeat play of their single "The Eraser," but what the hell--TWO Midnight Callers tracks on the radio in Syracuse this coming Sunday night. It's the least we can do for a YouTube sensation.
THE CYNZ: Room Without A View
We've been playing the Cynz a lot this year, and I am dead certain they will have at least one track in our year-end countdown of TIRnRR's most-played tracks in 2024. We like the Cynz.
But somehow we never got around to playing this fantastic track from the group's current album Little Miss Lost until now. The precipitating event moving this onto our playlist was hearing Rich Firestone program it on Radio Deer Camp, right here on SPARK! I didn't even recognize that it was a song originally done by the Smithereens, 'Reens guitarist Jim Babjak's involvement in the remake notwithstanding. My brain no am function goodly. Thanks to Reechie for inspiring its play here, thanks to Dave Murray for pointing out That's a superb cover of A SMITHEREENS SONG, YOU DOLT!, and thanks to the Cynz and the Smithereens for being the Cynz and the Smithereens.
THE HUMBUGS: She's Not Sad
THE HUMBUGS: Be Careful What You Wish For
Two in a row by the Humbugs. The Humbugs THEN...and the Humbugs NOW!! "She's Not Sad" is an all-time TIRnRR classic, one of the defining tracks of this little mutant radio show's long and storied history, a gem introduced to eager listeners via the group's 2006 album Twist The Truth. LEGACY!
Ah, but now the Humbugs have a new album, AM Operetta, and we've been playing its lead-off track "Be Careful What You Wish For." This calls for a two-fer! Then, now, always. Don't be sad. Your wish is granted with care.
JOAN ARMATRADING: Eating The Bear
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
ELENA ROGERS: Mercy Mountain
Like the Cynz, Elena Rogers seems a lock for an appearance on TIRnRR's year-end countdown. Also like the Cynz, it seemed high time to play something else beyond what we've already been playing. From Elena's current album Prelude To Whatever, "Mercy Mountain" is as audacious and accomplished as anything in pop music, stunning in both its inventive intricacy and its delightful accessibility. Yeah, just like the rest of Elena Rogers' work. Yet another example of the best of 2024.
SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go
THE best track of 2024. My favorite anyway. Buy it here.
THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight
At the top of this week's 10 Songs, we celebrated the ongoing and expanding legacy of power pop heroes 20/20. We are so fortunate to have so many of our rockin' pop idols still active, still vital, still doing. In July, I finally got to witness a performance by the Rubinoos--dream come true! Paul Collins' 2024 album Stand Back And Take A Good Look is one of this year's best, the SpongeTones are working on new recordings, and for all of my fellow long-time fans of pop with power, our gods are in their Heaven and all is right with the world.
Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses the Flashcubes have always been at the toppermost of my poppermost, and they're still with us, too. Their 2023 all-covers album Pop Masters was my # 1 for that year, spinoff group the Half/Cubes (with 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay and 'Cubes drummer/producer Tommy Allen) have their own exquisite 2024 covers collection Pop Treasures, and the Flashcubes (Gary, Tommy, and guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin) have a few new tracks in the works. I've heard early mixes of two of those tracks, and I can't wait to share the finished versions on the radio in 2025.
I'm writing a book about the Flashcubes, Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. Similar in format to my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, my Flashcubes book will be an oral history of the group, as recalled by the 'Cubes themselves and a few others who were there to witness and/or participate. There is yet another 'Cubes-related project percolatin' in the background. We'll hear more about that when we arrive at the right time to make something happen.
In the mean time, this week's radio rendezvous looks back to the spark--that word again--of the Flashcubes' resurgence. The Flashcubes formed in 1977, but the original line-up splintered in 1979 and the remaining 'Cubes retired the brand name in 1980. They came back in the '90s, all four of the founding members, and they've been with us ever since.
The first latter-day original Flashcubes recording was "It's You Tonight," a Gary Frenay song that dates back to the old days, but given a completely fresh full studio version circa 1993. The new recording was done at the request of Jordan Oakes for his first Yellow Pills compilation.
See how these power pop legacies interconnect?
From small things, Mama. We look back, we look forward, and we look at the splendor of all that dances around us in the here and now. Great records don't care what year it is. There's always room for something new. And there's always time to revisit a memory. It happens to me every time we meet. Legacy is its own reward.
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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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 about our history here.
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