This Week's Wednesday

Wednesday is my day off from retail work, which makes it my designated day to record my parts for each week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and to try to get around to doing whatever else needs doing. I always run out out of Wednesday before I run out of Wednesday things to do.

I didn't want to get out of bed. I felt even lazier than usual--not so much tired as...disinterested? That's not exactly it either. It wasn't depression or apathy or anything of similar note. Just an aura of oomphlessness. Didn't wanna get out of bed. 

Nonetheless: Twenty minutes to nine. Legs kicked out from prone position, swung out to my right for momentum, arise, arise, the form of man, feet on the floor, eyes on the looming whatever. Up 'n' at 'em, Atom Ant!

Truth be told, I did enjoy a beer before bed on Tuesday evening, a refreshing tool to quench thirst, counteract warmer-than-preferred climate, battle the enemy ennui, and possibly build stronger bones and teeth. That last claim is questionable. Maybe the one Tuesday evening beer was enough to establish a bit o' Wednesday morning state of the sluggish. My younger self would be so disappointed with me.

My first task each Wednesday morning is to update my bank accounts and pay a bill or two online. Then I decide what else needs doing in what order. Mow the lawn? With the ol' oomph reserve already lacking and the promise of warmer temps threatening to annex my sovereign airspace, I figured that could wait til next week. It'll be all right! Best address the radio show instead.

As usual, Dana and I set the week's playlist over the phone on Tuesday. I'm always bummed by how much great stuff we have to leave out of the show for time constraints. That was exacerbated this week by the arrival of some longer-than-ideal individual tracks that happened to be irresistible longer-than-ideal individual tracks. I mean, five minutes is about twice the length of a radio-ready single, but the new five-minute single by Cast featuring P. P. Arnold--P. P. ARNOLD!!!--could not be denied. Choices were made. We'll have another three hours to fill the following Sunday.

It's proven to be a good idea for me to annotate the track credits before recording my parts of the radio show. This feels like a more leisurely process than rushing to get everything in order on Saturday, plus it gives me time to get comfortable with the playlist before attempting to execute it. With all of that settled into place, my coffee and I recorded the show's spoken bits with relative efficiency. I was hampered by tech issues that delayed the process, but the show was done by noon. Off to Dana it went.

Some low-level tidying. A shower. My weekly trip to Comix Zone. Back home by 2:00 or 2:30, armed with a knuckleheaded determination to ignore the oppression of the mercury's 88-degree reading, I decided to mow the freakin' lawn. Yechh, but target acquired, mission accomplished, and ¡Jesus Marimba!, I needed another shower stat. Brenda arrived home from work, and I realized I hadn't gotten around to eating anything all day but some chips and salsa a few hours back. Oops. We went out to grab some dinner before going grocery shopping. Back home, a load of laundry done while we watched some TV and enjoyed some popsicles. When Brenda went to bed, I took my third shower of the day and returned to the computer for some final Wednesday work.

As I write this, I'm listening to two absolutely terrific forthcoming albums I'd planned to write about today. I did manage to jot down a few thoughts about each of them, and I shared these initial observations with the respective record labels. I'm not directly involved with either record, but I was asked to give feedback to the relevant parties, and I'm pleased and honored to do so. I can't wait to tell you about these two flat-out fantastic October releases, and I can guarantee you they're gonna get significant airtime on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio.

But now, I'm nearly out of Wednesday. That, I fear, is the nature of my Wednesdays. To be continued, right? I'll keep on continuing for as long as my Wednesdays continue, too.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Shaun Cassidy, "Hey Deanie"

Expanded from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

SHAUN CASSIDY: Hey Deanie

Written by Eric Carmen

Produced by Michael Lloyd

Single from the album Born Late, Curb Records, 1977

Teen idolatry is part of pop music, as it should be. The Beatles were as much teen idols as Bobby Sherman was a bit later on, or as any subsequent poster lads from the Bay City Rollers through whatever contemporary pretty face I'm too old to know about. 

Shaun Cassidy should be held in higher regard among power pop fans. Like his half-brother David Cassidy, our Shaun could sing; the fact that both Cassidys became 16 magazine heartthrobs via TV exposure (in The Partridge Family and The Hardy Boys respectively) doesn't change the fact of their God-given talent. Shaun himself wrote a terrific teen idol anthem called "Teen Dream," a delightful ditty basically thrown away as the B-side of his hit (but less interesting) cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe In Magic." 

And Shaun had a way with Eric Carmen songs, as evidenced by his renditions of Carmen's "That's Rock 'n' Roll" and "Hey Deanie." Carmen's own versions of these songs were fine, better than fine. But Cassidy brought them both closer to a power pop ideal. At a time when Carmen himself seemed less interested in the raucous style he’d pioneered with the Raspberries, Cassidy’s vibrant versions of these songs served as a potent reminder of the frenzied, over-the-top pop mania Carmen had decided to leave behind. Cassidy even went so far as to declare to Newsweek magazine that “I’m not teenybop, I’m power pop...melodic!”

(Cassidy also served as the direct inspiration for one other teen-pop-meets-power-pop footnote, as Syracuse, NY’s own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes later wrote a song called “Boy Scout Pinup,” telling the tale of a young girl fantasizing about her Shaun Cassidy poster coming to life...and she didn’t want him to be a boy scout, baby. And the 'Cubes used to include "Hey Deanie" in their live sets.)

Cassidy's overt pop (even power pop) was the stuff of his first two albums, Shaun Cassidy and Born Late, both issued in 1977. 1978's Under Wraps was an attempted step toward maturity. Hey, just like Eric Carmen! Being (or trying to sound) grown-up isn't necessarily a good thing, though Under Wraps does include Cassidy's capable take on Brian Wilson's "It's Like Heaven"). The album was not as big a hit as Cassidy's previous records. 1979's Shaun Cassidy Live was his farewell to the screamin' girls of boy-scout pinup stardom. It didn't sell. 

So, for fifth and final album Wasp, Cassidy enlisted Todd Rundgren to produce something edgier, something new wave. It was a ballsy move; some thought it desperate, I suppose, but it seems sincere. Wasp includes three songs written by Rundgren, and a fourth written by Rundgren, Cassidy, Roger Powell, and John Wilcox. The rest of the album is filled with covers of songs by David Bowie, Talking Heads, the Four Tops, the Animals, the Who, and Ian Hunter. 

Wasp also fell short of sales goals. I believe this fact should be accepted as further evidence that growing up is way, WAY overrated.

Lost in a teen dream, I still listen to Cassidy occasionally. By the time I was in college from 1977 to 1980, what Mason Reese woulda called the borgasmord of my primary rockin' pop influences--British Invasion, AM Top 40, bubblegum, loud rock 'n' roll, and punk--had gelled within the general parameters of what I considered power pop. Cassidy's version of "Hey Deanie" fit within those parameters, and it still does. The track is a durable souvenir of my own youthful pop embrace, of hearing Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers on AM radio, seeing the Ramones and the Flashcubes in nightclubs, and absolutely reveling in the sheer rush of it all. "Hey Deanie" wasn't quite as integral a component of that rush as, say, "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," but it was indeed a part of my palpable thrill of pop music in the late '70s.

And, as with many songs I love, I have a specific memory that shines its stubborn glow on "Hey Deanie." In my dorm room one afternoon in 1978, my roommate introduced me to a friend of his, an intro that included an obligatory eye-rollin' dismissal of my preferred rockin' pop musical taste. Imagine!, my roommate sort of said, Carl would rather listen to SHAUN CASSIDY than the Grateful Dead!

I shrugged it off, like I always did, like I always do. Then as now: Don't even try to tell me what to like or what not to like. "Hey Deanie" might not be the two-word response I offer to anyone making that attempt.

And also then as now: "Hey Deanie" is its own reward, a pure pop song secure in the wonder of its identity as a pure pop song. The stars are dancing like diamonds in the moonlight. We could never find a better time to be in love.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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.

COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: Fourth issues acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s

Today's gallery gathers the covers of some fourth issues I acquired in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Not necessarily my fourth issues; sometimes a book's literal fourth issue was my first, and sometimes it was a back issue I scored after the fact. This gallery goes strictly by the numbers, and it continues a series following along these lines (as seen here, here, and here).

We'll be sticking exclusively to the '60s-'80s era of acquisition I've established for these galleries. Today's selection includes books I bought new, back issues I acquired after the fact (but within the timeline), and B-stock contraband originally purchased without their covers. As always: No, these aren't actual photos of comics in my collection. But I did have each and every one of 'em at some point in time.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1296

Several years back, my wife Brenda came into our old studio a couple of times to serve as guest co-host for that week's show. There was a presumption among some of our listeners that Brenda's taste in pop music ran strictly toward a mix of folk and soul, a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll, all born of immersion in the AM Top 40 radio that forged us. The presumption was not unfounded. The listeners likely expected Brenda to program some Carole King and Gladys Knight (as she did), and other stuff along those pleasant and agreeable lines.

When Brenda played "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath, intrepid TIRnRR listener Joel Tinnel immediately said to us, "I...was not expecting that."

The democracy of pop radio encouraged the blending of different genres. It was, of course, all pop music. The late Ozzy Osbourne was part of the wonderful world of pop music. As he should be. I do not pretend to be an authority on Ozzy or Sabbath or metal or hard rock in general. But I used to hear "Iron Man" on AM radio. And it felt cool in a way I couldn't have understood or articulated. 

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio cannot claim to have ever played much Sabbath, nor any of Ozzy's solo work, nor even his duet with Lita Ford. We've only played six Black Sabbath songs--"Paranoid," "Iron Man," "Looking For Today," "Rat Salad," "St. Vitus Dance," and "Tomorrow's Dream"--with "Am I Going Insane" added this week, and "Paranoid" back now for an encore spin (leading into a track by the Beatles, Ozzy Osbourne’s all-time favorite band). But we have much respect for Osbourne. If my own pop path led me in other directions, I must nonetheless acknowledge that Ozzy was a welcome part of my path. Do I get to the Ramones without hearing and appreciating Black Sabbath first? I don't think I do. 

The members of Black Sabbath proclaimed that they'd sold their souls for rock 'n' roll. Ozzy Osbourne was hailed as the Prince of Darkness. But as I've said many times: There is no such thing as the Devil's music; the Devil has no music to call his own. Music visits us from the heavens. It lifts us, drives us, embraces us, and propels us. Its trappings vary. Its transcendence does not. 

And furthermore: It's been reported that Ozzy's just-completed final shows with Black Sabbath enabled him to donate 190 million dollars to worthy charities in this crushing time of global need. If there really is an eternity beyond us, Ozzy Osbourne has now ascended into its ranks. Godspeed, Prince of Darkness. There isn't a trace of irony in that statement. Godspeed, Iron Man. Godspeed, Blizzard of Oz. This crazy train is bound for glory. Godspeed, Ozzy, and thank you. 

This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

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 all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

Carl's latest book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get Carl's previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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

Volume 5: CD or download

TIRnRR # 1296: 7/27/2025

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold

AL JARDINE: Islands In The Sun (n/a, Islands In The Sun)

BLONDIE: In The Sun (Chrysalis, Blondie)

KEVIN ROBERTSON: We Found The Summer (Futureman, Yellow Painted Moon)

ROLLERCOASTER: Insane (Bomp!, VA: Pop On Top! The Cream Of Australia's Power Pop Crop)

BLACK SABBATH: Am I Going Insane (Warner Brothers, We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'n' Roll)

THE ROUGHNECKS: You're Driving Me Insane (Eceip, VA: The History Of Syracuse Music--Volumes X &XI)

--

DOM MARIANI: Apple Of Life (single)

BLUE ASH: Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her) (Collectors' Choice Music, No More, No Less)

GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT: Pathetic (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

BILL LLOYD: Alright (Whole In One, A Selection Of Power Pop 1985-2020)

SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man (Atlantic, The Best Of Sam & Dave)

VENUS AND THE RAZORBLADES: Alright You Guys (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In the Seventies)

--

DAVEY LANE: Over, Over & Out (Kool Kat Musik, Finally, A Party Record)

THE VANDELLS: Another Girl (Cherry Red, VA: Kids On The Street--UK Power Pop And New Wave 1977-1981)

MONOGROOVE: That Girl (Kool Kat Musik, Popsicle Drivethru)

PEZBAND: Baby It's Cold Outside (Rhino, VA: Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '70s)

THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie)

PHIL SEYMOUR: Baby, It's You (The Right Stuff, Precious To Me)

--

ORBIS MAX: Used To Be (single)

DANNY WILKERSON: Enough For Somebody (SpyderPop/Big Stir, Wilkinson)

THE SPONGETONES: Help Me Janie (Big Stir, single)

LANNIE FLOWERS: Summer Blue (SpyderPop/Big Stir, Flavor Of The Month)

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime (Epic, Greatest Hits)

THE PENGWINS: If U Want 2 (SpyderPop, single)

--

THE CHELSEA CURVE: Kindawanna (Rum Bar, single)

THE PALEY BROTHERS AND RAMONES: Come On Let's Go (Big Beat, VA: Come On, Let's Go! Power Pop Gems From The 70s & 80s)

THE CORNER LAUGHERS: Speak To The Sky (Curry Cuts, VA: Second By Second By Minute By Minute: The Songs Of Rick Springfield)

ENGINEERS: Call On Me (Cherry Red, VA: Kids On The Street--UK Power Pop And New Wave 1977-1981)

MICKEY AND SYLVIA: Dearest (Rainbow, Presenting Mickey & Sylvia)

THE NERVES: Hanging On The Telephone (Alive, One Way Ticket)

--

THE JETTE PLANES: 5:55 (n/a, Behind Three Walls)

NIKKI AND THE CORVETTES: He's A Mover (Bomp, Nikki and the Corvettes)

THE RUBINOOS: Let's Make It Tonight (Cherry Red, VA: I Wanna Be A Teen Again [North American Power Pop Of The '80s)

THE DARLING BUDS: Hit The Ground (Columbia, Pop Said...)

JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

THE TWEEDS: I Need That Record (Big Beat, VA: Come On, Let's Go! Power Pop Gems From The 70s & 80s)

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SHAUN CASSIDY: Hey Deanie (Curb, Greatest Hits)

THE REALISTS: I've Got A Heart (Cherry Red, VA: Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81)

THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot (Big Stir, single)

THE NAME: (You're Gonna) Lose That Girl (Cherry Red, VA: Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81)

THE HUMBUGS: What I've Left Behind (Kool Kat Musik, AM Operetta)

THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR: Vanishing Girl (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)

--

LOLAS: Underneath The Waves (Kool Kat Musik, Big Hits And Freak Disasters)

SHONEN KNIFE: Till The End Of The Day (Virgin, The Birds And The B-Sides)

THE KINKS: I Took My Baby Home (Sanctuary, The Anthology 1964-1971) 

GENE CLARK WITH THE GOSDIN BROTHERS: Needing Someone (Sundazed, Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers)

THE GRIP WEEDS: Spinning The Wheel (Jem, Soul Bender)

THE THOUGHTS: All Night Stand (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II)

BARRY HOLDSHIP: It's Only Make Believe (Pop Garden Radio, VA: Sing Me A Song--A 50th Birthday Celebration)

RICKY NELSON: Believe What You Say (Rhino, VA: Loud, Fast & Out Of Control)

--

THE SHIRTS: Lost In A Rhyme (Think Like A Key, Live Featuring Annie Golden)

THAT PETROL EMOTION: It's A Good Thing (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)

PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS: Good Thing (Sundazed, Spirit Of '67)

BIG STAR: Back Of A Car [demo] (Rhino, Keep An Eye On The Sky)

CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land (MCA, The Anthology)

CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

BLACK SABBATH: Paranoid (Warner Brothers, We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'n' Roll)

THE BEATLES: Polythene Pam (Apple, Abbey Road)

--

THE RAMONES: I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed (Rhino, Ramones)

Tonight on THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

It ain't every week that we get to debut new music from BEACH BOYS legend AL JARDINE, so, y'know, let's open the show with THAT! We also have more new music from DOM MARIANI, DAVEY LANE, ORBIS MAX, THE CHELSEA CURVE, and THE JETTE PLANES, recent irresistibles by THE CYNZ, THE GRIP WEEDS, THE CORNER LAUGHERS, THE SPONGETONES, KEVIN ROBERTSON, GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT, THE FLASHCUBES, MONOGROOVE, JOE GIDDINGS, THE HUMBUGS, LOLAS, and CHRIS VON SNEIDERN, and time-tested reliables (and the odd outta-left-field revelation) by BLACK SABBATH, BLUE ASH, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, BLONDIE, DANNY WILKERSON, LANNIE FLOWERS, THE NERVES, MICKEY AND SYLVIA, THE RUBINOOS, NIKKI AND THE CORVETTES, THE DARLING BUDS, PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS, SHONEN KNIFE, BIG STAR, CHUCK BERRY, and more. Oh, and THE SHIRTS. Gotta play THE SHIRTS! We'll start with the latest from AL JARDINE. Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, https://sparksyracuse.org/, streaming on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. The weekend stops HERE!

10 SONGS: 7/26/2025

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 # 1295.

THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me

This blog began in January of 2016, when my reaction to the death of David Bowie compelled me to start writing again. Following Blog Post # 1 on January 18th 2016 (my open letter to Bowie, later reconfigured as a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), I began this daily blog. Other than a reduced schedule for a couple of months following the disaster of the November election, I never missed a single day, nor have I missed a day since resuming the regular schedule on January 18th of this year. As I wrote at that time:

"Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) began nine years ago today, when my lingering emotion in the aftermath of David Bowie's death compelled me to start a daily blog. This was a rash and possibly stupid decision, but I kept at it, with at least one post every single day until this past November. At that time, a combination of writing projects in need of my attention and my absolute disgust with the results of the Presidential election led me to pause and reconsider. I cut back to a reduced schedule of three to four posts a week, and I separated myself from the silly idea of maintaining a daily blog.

"Like John Lennon said when he reunited with Yoko Ono: The separation didn't work out...."

Given the prevailing (if unexpected) importance of Bowie in my story, a new various-artists tribute to Bowie has to be an automatic addition to the This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist. This is especially true for Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie, which is chock full of appearances by so many familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves. C'mon! The Weeklings AND the Grip Weeds AND Paul Collins AND the Anderson Council AND Richard Barone AND Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men AND the Midnight Callers AND the Airport 77s AND the High Frequencies AND the On and Ons, all on one disc, all covering Bowie...?! To quote Lenny Haise, guitarist for '60s teen sensations the Wonders: "I'm signing, you're signing, we're ALL signing...!"

In addition to all of the Jem stars listed above, the first advance track from Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie comes to us courtesy of the Cynz. HuzZAH! We LOVE the Cynz, and they turn in an absolutely ace rendition of "Can't Help Thinking About Me." That's one of my own top Bowie tracks, and the Cynz friggin' nail it. It will spin again on our next show.

DAVID BOWIE: Queen Bitch

Well, we had to follow the Cynz singing Bowie with an example of Bowie singing Bowie, right? I think his BBC performance of "Queen Bitch" with the Spiders From Mars is our most-played Bowie track, making it the obvious choice here. 

THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot

This go'geous track "The Sweet Spot" was written by Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay and the late Syracuse stalwart B. D. Love, and it's the latest advance single from the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Each of the 21 artists we invited to record Flashcubes covers for this project delivered to the fullest extent of their brilliance, and the addition of three new tracks by the 'Cubes makes the whole thing shine with even greater brightness. 

A sweet spot indeed.

MONOGROOVE: That Girl

A song for Marlo Thomas, wherever she is. NO! I KID! I'm a kidder. When I heard that Monogroove had a new digital single available, I bought it faster'n you can say Donald Hollinger. It's great, and it joins the playlist to continue our show's proud tradition of, y'know, playing Monogroove. We're playing it again on Sunday.

The good news doesn't stop there! The single is included on a new Monogroove album called Popsicle Drivethru. The CD is due soon from our friends at Kool Kat Musik, and the digital album is available now. MULTIgroove!

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime

My Greatest Record Ever Made! book contains a chapter about "Everybody Is A Star," which has generally been my top Sly and the Family Stone go-to. Since we lost Sly Stone in June, I've found "Hot Fun In The Summertime" has been on my mind and, consequently, in my ears and on the radio. If memory serves, a poll of Trouser Press magazine readers in the early '80s named "Hot Fun In The Summertime" as the # 1 choice for the title of all-time top summer song. Surpassing the Beach Boys in that category would seem a daunting task. But if anyone could do it, it would have to be Sly.

KEVIN ROBERTSON: We Found The Summer

Oooo--this is nice. Our buds at Futureman Records have a new album from Kevin Robertson of the Vapour Trails, and said new Kevin Robertson album Yellow Painted Moon kicks itself off with this luscious radio-ready tune "We Found The Summer." If you're seeking to find some summer, look no further. And "We Found The Summer" will shine again in Syracuse this coming Sunday night.

THE SHIRTS: Lost In A Rhyme

I am often amazed and delighted by unexpected discoveries from the vault. The visionaries at Think Like A Key Music have gone a-burrowin' through the archives of irresistible but unreleased rockin' pop, and they've pulled out a previously-unheard 1981 live-in-the-studio performance by '70s CBGB's fixtures the Shirts. Screw the Dead Sea Scrolls; finding what is essentially a fourth Shirts album from the group's original run is revelation and a half, especially considering the fact that I don't have (and don't really remember) the second Shirts album (1979's Street Light Shine) and have never heard their third (1980's Inner Sleeve).

No matter! Live Featuring Annie Golden is vintage, classic Shirts, of a piece with their magnificent eponymous debut album from 1978. "Lost In A Rhyme" is our immediate Pick T' Click, and these Shirts fit us perfectly.

AMOS MILBURN: Down The Road Apiece

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SLADE: Gudbuy T' Jane

From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

My love of rock 'n' roll radio was forged by my absolute fascination with AM Top 40, beginning when I was a kid in the '60s, manifesting in earnest when I was in middle school and high school in the '70s. My migration to FM by the time I graduated from high school in 1977 didn't change the fact of the matter: Radio was everything. 

In those days, Top 40 stations in one city weren't necessarily playing all of the same potential hit records as Top 40 stations in other cities. Regional hits. Years later, I was surprised to learn that, say, "Tonight" by the Raspberries and "Blockbuster" by Sweet weren't radio smashes all across the USA. But here in Syracuse, they were. And so was "Gudbuy T' Jane" by UK stompers Slade.

My God, I loved this record. Still do. Slade were huge in their native land, but the colonies didn't catch on until the '80s, first via the numbskull proxy of covers by Quiet Riot and then by the much-belated appearance of Slade themselves on the American pop radar (and on MTV) with "My Oh My" and "Run Runaway."

My first is still favored: "Gudbuy T' Jane." Made for the airwaves, then and now. Get with it, America. Jane is all right, all right, all right, all right.

THE BEATLES: You Never Give Me Your Money

Most of our weekly playlists end with a little something by the Beatles. That fully Fab spin is followed by our sign-off and a bonus track or two, but the playlist proper usually concludes with your John, Paul, George, and/or Ringo, comin' at you from their secure perch at the Toppermost of the Poppermost.

And here's a Beatles track we've never played in any of the preceding 1,294 editions and additional sundry TIRnRR specials over the past 26.75 years: From Side 2 of Abbey Road, "You Never Give Me Your Money."

Yeah, I was surprised, too. Well! Time to cash in finally play it, I guess.

There isn't any money. But there are still more great things we ain't played yet, including a dwindling but discernible supply of Beatles tracks. And yes, before you ask, we have played "Revolution 9" at least once, possibly twice. More play remains. More work remains, old stuff and new stuff alike. Music justifies itself. Enthusiasm justifies itself. Once again: Here's to the act you've known for all these years.

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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