I'm always pleased with our annual Countdown show. I don't think there's ever been one that didn't feel like an invigmoratin' victory lap, a full-throttle chance to play back what we played a lot over the course of the preceding twelve months. Condensed essence of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Where we think we've been. What this place looked like during the year just passed. We can't thank our intrepid stats man Fritz Van Leaven enough for keeping track of whatever it is we do. The Countdown shows exist because Fritz says thay should exist.
Don't argue with Fritz.
This year's Countdown show wound up honoring two of TIRnRR's favest of long-time Fave Raves. The Ramones were, of course, our most-played act in 2023; leading up to the publication of my Ramones book last May, I knew that had to be my Year of the Ramones, even more so than any previous year. The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time. We played the Ramones NINETY TIMES in 2023. Chewing out a rhythm on my bubblegum. New York City really has it all. Hey-Ho, let's GO!
Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes were our second most-played act, and their cover of the Motors' "Forget About You" was our # 1 most-played track. The Flashcubes' covers album Pop Masters was my favorite 2023 release, and its airplay reflected that.
Those are the top spots on our two Countdowns, the recaps of our most-played acts and most-played tracks. But the lists are instructive in their entirety. The countdown of our 17 most-played tracks is roughly split between heroes from our youth--the Ramones, the Flashcubes, the Beatles, the Monkees, the Kinks, the Pretenders, Badfinger, Blondie, and the Mosquitos--and acts we discovered as (presumed) adults: The Muffs, Juniper, the Grip Weeds, Steve Stoeckel, Librarians with Hickeys, Eytan Mirsky, Mike Browning, and Justine and the Unclean. Collectively, this illustrates our conviction that new stuff and old stuff sound best when played together.
On the other hand, the countdown of our 46 most-played tracks is overwhelmingly dominated by relatively recent releases. 31 of these tracks were released within the past few years, with particular emphasis on 2023 material. When Fritz sent us the countdown stats, I was surprised that we had leaned quite that hard into the new, but I'm delighted by it.
Ultimately, though, we all know a record's age is irrelevant. Say it again: Great records don't care what year it is. Here's a radio show built out of some of the great records we played last year.
And now: It's time to start building next year's Countdown. Ya ready, Fritz? Ya ready, Dana? I'm game if you are.
Count on it.
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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