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 # 1299.
JIM BASNIGHT: See It In Your Eyes
The music of Jim Basnight has found a welcoming berth on many a TIRnRR playlist over the years. Mr. Basnight's frequent rocker miles on this program include credits as a solo artist and with the Moberlys, the Meyce, the Jim Basnight Thing, and the Rockinghams, and the flight continues with this debut spin of his ace new digital single "See It In Your Eyes." As it oughta! We're gonna dip back into the archives for a slightly older Basnight track this Sunday, as part of the epic celebration of...wait, is this right? THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO # 1300...?! Jeez, we better turn things up a bit. And you can best be assured that ritual raising of the roof will include a Jim Basnight TIRnRR Fave Rave. As it oughta. As it oughta.
DIONNE WARWICK: Trains And Boats And Planes
I did a fair bit of traveling as a kid. My maternal grandparents lived in Southwest Missouri, so most summers found Mom and I leaving our suburban Syracuse home behind us and taking trains or buses or planes (never a boat, for some reason) to the Ozark region. There was also a 1966 family day trip to Ontario to see my sister's marching band, a Vermont vacation in 1967 (where my dad took me out fishing in a row boat--finally, a use for watercraft!), a car trip from Missouri to California and back in 1968 (as recounted as part of this autobiography of my life in the 1960s), and a visit to the Florida panhandle in 1970. All of these modest treks were accomplished before I entered sixth grade. As an adult, I've visited England, Belgium, and Spain, with very brief stopovers for dinners in France and Morocco. Plus, y'know, Jersey. And Disney World! I hope my future will include more opportunities for travel in this great big world of wonder.
For those of us who live in Syracuse, a visit to the great New York State Fair doesn't quite qualify as a travel plan. I was looking forward to seeing Dionne Warwick perform at the Fair on Labor Day this year, but alas, a scheduling conflict scotches that particular flight plan. Neither trains nor boats nor planes nor even a tricycle can get me to two places at once.
And that's okay. We do what we can, and we acknowledge that we can't do everything. For now, we'll play Dionne Warwick singing somberly of modes of transportation as they pass her (and us) by. It be that sometimes.
JOE JACKSON: Enough Is Not Enough
Pretty much all TIRnRR spins of Joe Jackson are offered as long-distance dedications to my dear pal Beth Woodell. I've known Beth since...er, she doesn't want me to complete that sentence. Suffice it to say we were teenagers when we met, and empirical evidence suggests we are not teenagers at this current point in time. I mean, if you're the sort of sucker who believes in math....
Today, Beth is celebrating her 23rd birthday. No, it's not the first (nor even just the fortieth) time she's observed her 23rd. Why limit such celebrations to a mere once? Happy Birthday, Beth! Birthday candles give off less heat when we limit 'em to 23. That's SCIENCE! If we can't believe math, man, let's at least follow the science!
THE TREMBLERS: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight
In the early '80s, former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone was trying to distance himself from his cute 'n' cuddly British Invasion image and establish a more mature rock 'n' roller persona. Toward that end, he formed a crack new wave pop combo called the Tremblers. The Tremblers recorded a very cool album called Twice Nightly, did a little TV (I recall catching them on The Midnight Special), and toured. I saw the Tremblers perform at a Rochester club show, and I can testify firsthand that this combo cooked. No Herman's Hermits songs! Just material from Twice Nightly, actually, including their cover of Elvis Costello's "Green Shirt." Herman had grown up!
But the Tremblers experiment was short-lived. If I have the chronology right, the Tremblers ended when Noone followed an opportunity to star in a production of The Pirates Of Penzance. As years may come and years may go, the lure of the oldies circuit proved more agreeable after Noone regained the right to bill himself as Herman's Hermits. Peter Noone is very, very good as this 'Erman fellow, and we're lucky to have him.
Still, some of us wish Noone could find room in his current second verse/same as the first repertoire for a nod to the Tremblers. Twice Nightly was wonderful, and "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight" in particular would have made a worthy big hit record. It's too bad Peter Noone hasn't seemed interested in revisiting that compelling portion of his career.
Hasn’t seemed.
Past tense. Phrased deliberately.
I can say no more. Stay tuned. Maybe--just maybe--Peter will be taking her out tonight...again.
THE SPONGETONES: Honest Work
Second week in a row for TIRnRR airplay of "Honest Work," the third bonus studio single released in conjunction with the Spongetones' new live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond. The Spongetones have certainly loomed large in this radio show's legend, so of course we'll be playing them again this Sunday on our 1300th show. Gotta go with one of the classics. Hey! Howzabout a LIVE version of a Spongetones classic for TIRnRR # 1300? As we try to get in as many songs as we possibly can, you'll understand why we've simply gotta include the Spongetones as part of Sunday's victory lap. YES!
THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Scarlet Begonias
And yeah, second week in a row of airplay for something from the Grateful Dead catalog. Across the veil of time, my late 1970s/early '80s self is seriously disgusted with me. I blame the local combination Delta Sonic/Tim Hortons, who lodged this Dead song "Scarlet Begonias" deep into my cranium by playing it over the sound system during two of my recent gasoline 'n' coffee acquisition safaris. It's...arghh, it's a really good pop track. I'm way more open to the Dead now than I was at 18-21 years of age. Hey, Beth! What would your 23-year-old self say?
I...can't repeat that on the radio, Beth.
THE VERBS: I Need Glue
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I continue to be knocked out by how radically the Verbs were able to revamp, restructure, and reimagine the Flashcubes' early punk stomper "I Need Glue" while still retaining a line of sight with the original's intent. One of my (many!) favorite tracks on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes.
THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me
I'm looking forward to hearing the entirety of the new tribute album Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie. I love what I've heard so far from Paul Collins ("Hang On To Yourself") and the High Frequencies ("Modern Love"), and I've been especially taken with this high-octane reading of early Bowie nugget "Can’t Help Thinking About Me" as performed by the Cynz. We're playing it again on the 1300th show this Sunday.
FONTELLA BASS: Rescue Me
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands
The culmination of a metric ton of work behind the scenes, the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes will finally see divine release on September 12th. Read about it here, buy it here. And stay close to the radio on Sunday night, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 1300th show spins all three of the new Flashcubes singles attached to this project, programs non-Make Something Happen! treats by four of the Flashcubes tribute album's other participants, throws in a reprise of another group's 2017 cover of the album's title tune, and digs out a fab Flashcubes gem that was the most recent original song recorded and released by the Flashcubes prior to the trio of current Cubic singles. TIRnRR is synonymous with the Flashcubes. I'm a Cicero boy, and my friend Dana rocks. We're the kings of power pop! Join us Sunday as we proudly present exhibit # 1300 in support of that argument.
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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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