10 SONGS: 4/13/2024

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 # 1228. This show is available as a podcast.

DAVE COPE AND THE SASS: One Hell Of A Ride

The music of Dave Cope and the Sass annexed its rightful share of TIRnRR airplay with the group's 2022 album Julee. I was (and remain!) fully in thrall of Julee's title track in particular, an irresistible rockin' pop nugget that earns the technical description razzafrazzin' FANTASTIC!! 

Restraint is for suckers. Embrace the enthusiasm awready.

And NOW! Dave Cope and the Sass return with another fine new release on the mighty Kool Kat Musik label. New album Hidden From The World serves up the prerequisite MORE! that TIRnRR craves. This week's show opens with "One Hell Of A Ride," and we'll hear another Hidden From The World track on this coming Sunday night. Razzafrazzin' fantastic. And one hell of a ride.

MONOGROOVE: I Think Of You

Essential pop act Monogroove includes the talents of the one 'n' only Rin Lennon. Rin should be familiar to the TIRnRR faithful from her work in the '80s as a member of the way-fab combo On The Air. From a previous post:

"On The Air were Rin Lennon (alias Karin), Jennifer Dorfman, and Jamie Garcia, with some other personnel in place of Jamie on some of their previous recordings. I first heard the group via their track 'Even Try,' which appeared on Rhino's (then-) contemporary girl group compilation The Girls Can't Help It in 1984. My pal Andrea Ogarrio put another On The Air gem on a divine mix tape she slapped together for me decades ago, and I snapped up the EP itself when I discovered it in a used record shop in Melbourne, Florida in 1994. SCORE!!

"I think the On The Air EP track Andrea mixed into her cassette creation was a wonderful li'l number called 'You've Got What I Want.' My favorite on the record is "This Can't Be Real," written by 20/20's Mike Gallo, a pop gem that remains a fixture on my iPod. Can't play vinyl in the car, man. 'Even Try' isn't on the EP, and a quick scan of Discogs suggests there were a handful of other On The Air tracks released on a previous single. Enough for an On The Air CD compilation? I say so!"

Well! While there ain't no On The Air CD collection as of now, Bandcamp does have an expanded version of On The Air available to purchase as a download. HuzZAH! Bandcamp is also where you can find Monogroove's current album The Flip Side, as well as some previous Monogroove works. We live in a world of plenty!

And we're plenty interested in playing Monogroove on the radio. We'll start with "I Think Of You," a sprightly pop ditty from The Flip Side, and we'll renew our pursuit of plenty this Sunday, with a Flip Side cover of a '60s classic. Monogroove is on the air.

MIKE BROWNING: Just One Day

They say Buddy Holly lives. Mike Browning has proof.

DEAN LANDEW: Job

Dean Landew's 2018 gem "After Work" very quickly accrued lots of acclaim and airplay on this little mutant radio show, and I consider it one of the many defining tracks of whatever the hell it is we do here. Dean's new single "Job" is very nearly the equal of "After Work," and that's high praise from me. "Job" leans forward in the way rockin' pop oughta, implying a seething inner pissed-offedness while barrelin' head like there's no such thing as a care in the whole freakin' world. Catharsis is best when it's catchy.

BIG MAMA THORNTON: Hound Dog

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

WONDERBOY: Arms Of Regret

STILL not Wonderboy's Robbie Rist

In last week's exciting edition of 10 Songs, we mentioned that three tracks--Elena Rogers' "I Feel Alive," Leather Catsuit's "Can't Get You Off My Mind," and Paul Collins' "I'm The Only One For You"--had already punched their virtual tickets for spots somewhere on TIRnRR's 2024 year-end countdown show. Quick work there, people! We gave all of these one more spin this week, and now each will be taking a little well-earned time off. Instead, we'll hear new singles from Paul and Elena this Sunday, and I betcha Leather Catsuit will also return to the ol' playlist afore very long.

We also mentioned that Wonderboy's epic ode to infatuation "Girl Songs" was THISCLOSE!! to likewise locking up a berth on the countdown. Like, probably already there, and definitely at least a probability if not quite a dead-to-rights certainty.

If we stopped playing it right now.

The season doesn't end today. We're not even half-way through, and regardless of whether or not "Girl Songs" has already guaranteed itself a place on the countdown, c'mon--WE'RE GONNA BE PLAYING IT AGAIN! Probably more than once, and I tell ya, its already-recorded appearance on our very next TIRnRR pretty much seals the deal anyway.

But we did give "Girl Songs" this week off. Instead, we widened TIRnRR's dim widdle spotlight to include another track from Wonderboy's Hero Isle album: "Arms Of Regret."

We regret nothing. As a line from one of my three current secret projects says, "this would be a cautionary tale if its central figure were, y'know...repentant."

Regrets? We have a few. Playing Wonderboy isn't one of them.

THE FLASHCUBES: Gudbuy T' Jane

From the album Pop Masters--my favorite record of 2023--we've played the Flashcubes' cover of Slade's "Gudbuy T' Jane" on several occasions. Prior to this week, its most recent spin was on our March 18th show, which was recorded and aired after Pop Masters won the SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Awards) for Best Rock Album. "Gudbuy T' Jane" was what played as Flashcubes Paul Armstrong and Gary Frenay strode to the stage to accept the award on behalf of fellow 'Cubes Tommy Allen and Arty Lenin). 

I wanted to acknowledge the moment and the great track that accompanied it, and I did so on the show itself. But that was also the week we paid tribute to the late Eric Carmen, so that week's associated 10 Songs column was devoted entirely to Carmen's legacy.

It's never too late to congratulate. Congratulations as well to our friends Perilous, whose album YEAH!!! was nominated in the same category. We'll hear a track apiece from Pop Masters and YEAH!!! on Sunday night.

RIDEL HIGH: Self Destructive [demo]

Our introductory spin of Ridel High's demo version of "Self Destructive" (from the Big Stir Records/SpyderPop Records book 'n' vinyl LP compilation package Generation Blue) marks the fourth week in a row that a track from Generation Blue has appeared on our playlist. Let's go for FIVE in a row. Hey, teen sensations Ridel High! Stay after school. We're gonna need you here again on Sunday.

THE CYNZ: Just A Boy

We've been all-in on behalf of Little Miss Lost, the current album by TIRnRR Fave Raves the Cynz. Without checking stats, I think "Just A Boy" is the fourth different track we've played off this album, and that's not counting the singles we programmed before they appeared on the album ("Narrow Hips" and a cover of Holly and the Italians' "Tell That Girl To Shut Up"). All in.

"Just A Boy" may be the best of the lot. It gets another spin this Sunday. With apologies to the Shangri-Las: When we say we're all in you best believe we're all in, I-N-Z!

THE B-52'S: There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)

What else can you play the night before a total solar eclipse? After spins of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black" and the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," we greeted the darkness of midnight with the B-52's and  "There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon.)"

It was overcast on Monday. I decided to leave work for a bit and head back home so my wife and I could try to watch whatever Totality we could spy, and spy it together.

At the moment of totality, the clouds thinned. Just enough. The air darkened. The street lights came on. And Brenda and I could see the moon completely block the sun. It was a magic moment, and we were able to experience it at each other's side.

As I write these words, I'm dealing with a professional setback. It's depressing and sobering. I'll fight my way back to the light. Maybe not today, but soon. 

In the mean time, I can reflect on the cosmic beauty of that moment on Monday, when Brenda and I looked to the heavens and witnessed something spectacular, something we will never see again in this life.

It's worth remembering. It's worth celebrating. It's worth appreciating within the disappointments and failures. The sun comes out again. There will be chances to shine.

If we can.

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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!! 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, 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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl