Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: A THREE-YEAR CRUCIBLE! Acts I Heard For The First Time When I Was 16 to 18 Years Old, 1976-1978

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.

The teen years can be a crucible. For today, let's ignore the trauma and uncertainty of that particular period of metamorphosis, and focus instead on its good side: The discovery of new music.

The imaginary playlist sprawled below gathers tracks by artists I heard for the first time when I was 16 to 18 years old. Our period of study spans January of 1976 through December of 1978, beginning just before my 16th birthday and ending a little before my 19th. That starts with the spring of my junior year in high school, and pumps up its volume as I mature (HA!) through high school graduation and my first three semesters in college.

And it was indeed a period of rockin' pop discovery for me. AM radio to FM radio, TV shows, rock magazines, movies, friends, and EVERY DAMNED THING I COULD LATCH ONTO fed my voracious desire for more. More music! MORE!!!

In each case (with a few exceptions), the track selected is the first song I can remember hearing from that artist. The quartet of exceptions--the Flashcubes, New Math, the Poptarts, the Fast--are accompanied by asterisks, designating bands I saw perform live before ever hearing their music elsewhere; those spots are filled by whatever track served as my subsequent introduction to the group's recorded work. The playlist includes older artists I heard after the fact, and it's dominated by contemporaneous rock 'n' rollers I heard as they emerged at the time.

Obviously, this wasn't my first period of discovery, and it certainly wasn't my last. Hell, we won't get to the last discovery until the doctor pulls the sheet over my face and says, Okay, I'm calling this one a wrap

But this was my crucible. The Ramones and the Flashcubes joined the Beatles to form my pop music Trinity. The crucible was good, or at least the music part of the crucible was good. 

As always: I am not under oath at any point in these proceedings. These are my best recollections of a heady time that sounded terrific in my ears. How ya doin' Crucible? Let's party.

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

PS: SEND MONEY!!!! We need tech upgrades like Elvis needs boats. Spark Syracuse is supported by listeners like you. Tax-deductible donations are welcome at 
http://sparksyracuse.org/support/

You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at 
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/

Fake TIRnRR Playlist: A THREE-YEAR CRUCIBLE! Acts I Heard For The First Time When I Was 16 To 18 Years Old, 1976-1978

THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop
GRAHAM PARKER: Hotel Chambermaid
THE VILLAGE PEOPLE: Macho Man
BLONDIE: X-Offender
NICK LOWE: So It Goes
HEART: Magic Man
--
PATTI SMITH: Ask The Angels
TELEVISION: Elevation
SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young
THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
THE MC5: Kick Out The Jams
TALKING HEADS: Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town
--
THE RUNAWAYS: Cherry Bomb
THE JAM: Batman Theme
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Misery
STARZ: Cherry Baby
ELVIS COSTELLO: Watching The Detectives
CHEAP TRICK: So Good To See You
--
THE DICTATORS: America The Beautiful
THE BABYS: Isn't It Time
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
DEVO: I Can't Get No Satisfaction
EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do
JUDAS PRIEST: Diamonds And Rust
--
THE ROMANTICS: Little White Lies
THE GREG KIHN BAND: For You
THE CLASH: Remote Control
KANSAS: Carry On Wayward Son
THE ADVERTS: Gary Gilmore's Eyes
EDDIE MONEY: Baby Hold On
--
THE DAMNED: Stab Yor Back
THE PLEASERS: Lies
THE KNICKERBOCKERS: Lies
THE RICH KIDS: Rich Kids
THE NERVES: Gimme Some Time
ORLEANS: Still The One
--
THE FLASHCUBES: Christi Girl*
THE RUBINOOS: I Think We're Alone Now
GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS: Move It On Over
PRISM: See Forever Eyes
WILLIE ALEXANDER AND THE BOOM BOOM BAND: You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND: Inner Mystic
--
CHARLIE: She Loves To Be In Love
RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS: Love Comes In Spurts
MEAT LOAF: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
BLUE OYSTER CULT: (Don't Fear) The Reaper
NEW MATH: Die Trying*
THE CARS: Just What I Needed
THE SHIRTS: Operetico
BOSTON: More Than A Feeling
--
THE POPTARTS: I Won't Let You Let Me Go*
GENERATION X: Ready Steady Go
JOAN ARMATRADING: Love And Affection
THE FAST: Kids Just Wanna Dance*
SHAUN CASSIDY: Da Doo Ron Ron
RONNIE SPECTOR AND THE E STREET BAND: Say Goodbye To Hollywood
THE VOGUES: Five O' Clock World
TUFF DARTS: All For The Love Of Rock 'n' Roll
--
THE RUTLES: I Must Be In Love

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