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 # 1294.
THE SPONGETONES: Help Me Janie
Dana and I were latecomers to the magic of the Spongetones, but we've made up for lost time with a proud and efficient gusto, and it would be accurate to list the Spongetones as one of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's long and hook-infatuated history. We jumped immediately on to the splendor of the Spongetones' recent single "Lulu's In Love," and we approached brand-new single "Help Me Janie" with the very same enthusiastic approach of We have to play this NOW!!!!
"Lulu's In Love," "Help Me Janie," and another soon-to-be-released new Spongetones single will also appear as studio bonus tracks on the Spongetones' forthcoming live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond, brought to you by the visionaries at Big Stir Records. We opened this week's show with "Help Me Janie." This Sunday, we'll play "Help Me Janie" again, and we'll hear a little bit of 40th Anniversary Concert live Spongetones, too. One of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Of course we play them. It's what we do.
VAN HALEN: You Really Got Me
In early 1978, I was a second-semester freshman in college when Van Halen released their insistently unsubtle cover of the Kinks' British Invasion classic "You Really Got Me." I loved the Kinks' version, and I detested--detested!!--Eddie 'n' Alex 'n' Michael 'n' David Lee's meatball bludgeoning. I subsequently opened my mind to allow occasional tolerance (and even appreciation) of some individual Van Halen tracks (particularly the great "Dance The Night Away"), but my fortified opposition to the very idea of Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" remained entrenched and unassailable.
On the other hand, our pal Dave Murray is fond of the VH version, and he had a birthday this week. So what the hell; I bought the track and we played it on the show. ("Bought the track?" Yeah. I really got it.)
I will concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is miles better than the "You Really Got Me" I attempted for this year's annual Dave Murray birthday video. And I also have to concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is fine, the lingering disdain expressed by my eighteen-year-old self notwithstanding. It's not the equal of the Kinks--let's not veer too close to the loopy here--but it inhabits its skin as it oughta, and I'm starting to understand its appeal.
One track apiece from each of the three discs in a fabulous new compilation called I Wanna Be A Teen Again (North American Power Pop 1980-1989). I Wanna Be A Teen Again was curated by Australian publicist and music guy David Laing, a friend to TIRnRR and a friend to all who cherish the pop with the power. The esteemed Mr. Laing's own Grown Up Wrong! label is responsible for my go-to Flamin' Groovies compilation Between The Lines: The Complete Jordan/Wilson Songbook '71-81, and David has likewise done stellar work assembling I Wanna Be A Teen Again for the UK's mighty Cherry Red Records.
The presence of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes makes I Wanna Be A Teen Again a compulsory purchase for me--I buy every project that includes the Flashcubes--but man, I would have wanted this set with a Badfinger-approved no matter what. You got your big names, you got your relative obscurities, and you have all star positions in between. On this week's show, we repped I Wanna Be A Teen Again with spins of the Flashcubes' basement tape of "It's You Tonight" (which was later re-recorded in the '90s for Jordan Oakes' first Yellow Pills compilation), the Wigs' ace "Tell It All," and MTV 120 Minutes superstars Redd Kross with "Ballad Of A Love Doll," and circled back for NRBQ's "You Can't Hide" at the end of the show. Is it power pop? Don't ask. Just dig.
If you're stranded in the British Isles (and I, for one, would be deeply jealous), you can order I Wanna Be A Teen Again directly from Cherry Red. If you're back in the USA, I recommend purchase through Kool Kat Musik. Either way, in the words of the late Bob Segarini: Gotta have pop!
LOLAS: Underneath The Waves
Speaking of Kool Kat Musik, one of the label's own fresh releases is a new album from long-time TIRnRR Fave Raves Lolas. Lolas' debut album Ballerina Breakout was a fixture on this show upon its release in 1999 (our first full year on the air); we know 'em, we love 'em, we can't live without 'em. And the latest Lolas long-player Big Hits And Freak Disasters lives up to the legacy, as Lolas keep on keepin' on with the sound that suits The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. From Big Hits And Freak Disasters, "Underneath The Waves" debuts on this week's show, and will return to the airwaves this Sunday.
AMY RIGBY: Heart Is A Muscle
We have heard that Amy Rigby wasn't all that enthused about her song "Heart Is A Muscle," that maybe she almost chose not to record it, and that she probably wasn't sure about releasing it once she did record it.
Well.
For whatever it's worth, this track from Amy's oh-so-nice 2024 album Hang In There With Me was one of TIRnRR's most-played tracks last year, and it has already secured a berth on 2025's year-end countdown show. Gotta keep the ol' heart exercised.
OSCAR TONEY, JR.: Ain't That True Love
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police
The forthcoming various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes has been a long-percolatin' labor of love, and the project is barreling with giddy determination toward its September 12th street date. Hey, look! WE MADE SOMETHING HAPPEN!
Over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to view (and wholeheartedly approve) Margie Finer's design for the album's graphics, and finally bask in the glow of a job well done. On this week's show, we reprised Make Something Happen! delights by Ballzy Tomorrow, sparkle*jets u.k., and the Kennedys, and we were pleased to present the premiere of the Armoires' uberpop Beatles-Byrds-Cheap Trick interpretation of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police." Send out an APB: The Armoires' "You're Not The Police" provides further brilliant evidence of the sheer arresting (HAR!) nature of this collection.
On Sunday, the Armoires' "You're Not The Police" will return to the scene of the crime, alongside further spins of Cubic covers by Ballzy Tomorrow and Librarians With Hickeys, plus another spin of the Flashcubes' own new single from Make Something Happen! Wanna make something out of it? Well, we're glad to have ya with us. Set bright lights to stun.
THE BEACH BOYS: That's Why God Made The Radio
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Asked and answered. We rest our case.
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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. You can read about our history here.
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