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 # 1238.
THE FLASHCUBES: Do Anything You Wanna Do
This week's extravaganza opens with the Flashcubes' ace annexation of Eddie and the Hot Rods' power pop classic "Do Anything You Wanna Do." I didn't mention this on-air, but I knew when we programmed the show that I would be recording my parts for this episode on my daughter's 29th birthday.
Given that, of course we open with "Do Anything You Wanna Do."
Do anything you wanna do. It's the ambition I've always wished for her, the advice I've always offered her, and the words-to-live-by I've always hoped could guide her through a world of fulfillment and delight. I'm a proud father every second of every day.
BLOODSTONE: My Little Lady
Among the advantages of free-form playlist-building is that inspiration can come from anywhere, and neither a programming director nor (even worse) a programming consultant can block the mission-from-God implementation of your divine revelation.
Bloodstone is a soul group best-known for their sublime 1973 hit "Natural High." Last week, everybody's pal Robbie Rist (no doubt himself inspired by immersion in recent viewings of The Midnight Special on YouTube) posted:
"Bloodstone was a BAND! Not four guys in pastel suits with a backing band. And the high voiced dude played BASS! Dang. Skills."
Fair enough. And both a gent named Mark Fletcher and I immediately asked Robbie if he had ever seen Bloodstone's movie. One can imagine the pricking of his thumbs as Robbie replied:
"THEY DID A MOVIE???????"
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Yep! I recall seeing Bloodstone's 1975 flick Train Ride To Hollywood on HBO when I was still a '70s teen. It's goofy and very much of its time, steeped in '70s nostalgia for Hollywood's golden age, featuring the Bloodstone gang cavorting alongside actors playing Humphrey Bogart, Bela Lugosi, W. C. Fields, Clark Gable, et al. (Typical scene? The Hollywood crew getting stoned, and Dracula telling Sam Spade, Don't Bogart that joint!) The entire movie is up on YouTube, and I should maybe oughta give it another view one of these days.
Anyway, Robbie's mention of Bloodstone was sufficient to determine that it was high [HAR!] time this little mutant radio shindig played Bloodstone again. We have played them before--we played "Rock 'n' Roll Choo Choo" from, you guessed it, Train Ride To Hollywood--but that was years ago. I didn't want to play the obvious choice of "Natural High," at least not this early in the show, so we opted for the lesser-known "My Little Lady."
(I wanted to circle back and play "Natural High" at the show's end, but we ran out of time. So "Natural High" will finally make its long-overdue TIRnRR debut this coming Sunday night. Two weeks in a row with a band called Bloodstone! Thanks for the inspiration, Robbie.)
WONDERBOY: Girl Songs
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| For dramatic purposes, the part of Robbie Rist will be played by DC Comics character Sunny Sparkle |
Form follows function. Or function follows form--I forget which. Either way: Bloodstone singin' about a little lady in one set, then Robbie Rist with Wonderboy extolling the merit of girl songs in the next. That's how you build a better playlist, people.
The recent tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards has been feeding our playlists with satisfaction-level frequency. We played one of the Grip Weeds' contributions to that tribute (the great "We Love You") a couple of weeks back, and this week it seemed time to turn our attention to their cover of "Dandelion." We'll hear two more Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards tracks on our next show, one of which we've played before, and one we, y'know, ain't played yet. But. We. WILL!
"Get Off Of My Cloud" was the first Rolling Stones song I knew, a well-remembered AM radio smash in 1965. I was but five years old, but even then I noticed how the Stones tweaked the familiar phrase Two's company, three's a crowd into their own uniquely cantankerous One is company, two's a crowd. On my cloud, baby.
BILLY JOEL: You May Be Right
The form function form thing again. Dana played Los Straitjackets performing Nick Lowe's "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass." Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" literally opens with the sound of breaking glass.
You gotta love that.
NICK LOWE: So It Goes
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
sparkle*jets u.k.: Box Of Letters
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio has been all-in for sparkle*jets u.k. since the dawn of ever, or at least since the dawn of TIRnRR. We signed on the air in December of 1998, and it wasn't long before "10 Inches" (from the group's 1998 album In, Through, And Beyond) secured a playlist berth or two on the big show. We're fans!
And this fan is really taken with the new sparkle*jets u.k. album Box Of Letters. We've been playing the album's title tune as an advance single for a few weeks already, and we'll be playing it again Sunday night. We'll also be playing another Box Of Letters track, too.
Because that's what "all in" means.
THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer
I hate hot weather. I hate cold weather, too; it's not an either/or situation, and it certainly makes sense to me to despise both extremes anyway. But when it's chilly, I can add extra layers of clothing. I can't peel off my skin when the temps pop to some unholy number that starts with a friggin' 9.
Hey, you remember Robbie Rist, star of stage, screen, and some 10 Songs mentions a few paragraphs north of here? When he was visiting Syracuse earlier this year, we got together for a lovely evening of banter and dining. As we were leaving the restaurant, Robbie saw me donning my old-man toque, and exclaimed with great dismay:
LOOK! LOOK! Carl's wearing a HAT! It's COLD!!!! How do you people live here...?!
I'd mock him, but I'm too busy sweating now.
Even so, the residual little kid lurking within me retains an affection for summer. There's a sense of greater possibilities, a broader array of things to do, the elusive allure of vacation and fun.
It doesn't last as long so it means a little bit more.
Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay wrote "Syracuse Summer," the ultimate tribute to Central New York's mercurial climate. It was first recorded by the Tearjerkers in 1980, with Gary singing the bridge. I find I can hate hot weather and still absolutely, unequivocally adore this song. I am large. I contain multitudes.
THE RAMONES: Rockaway Beach
The summer's here. The time is right. And it's not hard, not far to reach. Surf's up, brudders and sisters. Surf's up.
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar.
Carl's book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is 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 The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will be published in July. 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
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