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 show was an encore presentation of an outstanding edition of Dana's Funky Soul Pit, which has already been celebrated in a previous 10 Songs. With the imminent release of the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, let's expand this week's 10 Songs to 24 songs, and collect some of what we've said about the individual tracks on this album. Most of this commentary is drawn from previous editions of 10 Songs.
THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce
"Reminisce" was written by Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, with lyrics that look back in wonder at the heady days of the Flashcubes' brilliance under the bright lights in the late '70s. The music struts and commands like a Flashcubes song oughta, and the chorus is just magnificent, jaw-dropping, a compelling incitement to raise the ol' fist and be there like you wuz there.
Man, I was there. "Reminisce" captures what it was like.
Make Something Happen! will open with "Reminisce." It's such a great track, and it provides an irresistible introduction to what I hope will be one of this year's very best rockin' pop compilation albums.
'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong's "Reminisce" is so far my favorite individual track of 2025, and it's gonna be a tough one to challenge. The song was first written in the '90s and (I think) only performed once before being filed away and mostly forgotten. (I remember it, of course, but I'm, y'know...me.)
If I understand the subsequent story correctly, several months back PA reconstructed the song from memory, moving what had been a somewhat perfunctory number into the magic realm of rock 'n' roll transcendence, toasting the past but raising the roof in the here and now, even adding a Ramones quote that nails a demonstration of the essential truth that what's cool once is cool forever. The present is built upon the past. We can still jump up, down, and all around to its sound.
And we will! The Flashcubes have meant an awful lot to me, and to this show. "Reminisce" is the perfect song to kick off a celebration, looking back while facing front at the same damned time.
sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen
"Make something happen." It's become a mantra. Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay wrote the song in the '80s, recorded it with post-'Cubes group Screen Test, remade it with the Flashcubes, and it was ably covered by the Slapbacks for our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. Now, we have this sparkly new rendition from sparkle*jets u.k.
The Flashcubes are sublimely adept at executing covers. But the Flashcubes are not a cover band. And it's high time more bands covered them. Make something happen? Damned straight we will.
On Make Something Happen!, "Reminisce" segues into sparkle*jets u.k.'s luscious cover of the album's title tune. It's a song I wanted the Monkees to record for their 2016 triumph Good Times! (and I'd still like to hear a version with a Micky Dolenz lead vocal), and I'm delighted with how wonderful the song sounds now in the always-capable hands of sparkle*jets u.k.
[And extra, EXTRA kudos to sparkle*jets u.k.'s inimitable Michael Simmons, for overseeing the production of this compilation. My land, our Michael is talented!]
LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far
"Gone Too Far" was among my many top picks in the Flashcubes' live sets in the '70s. I'm in awe of how Librarians With Hickeys took this already-great Arty Lenin tune and transformed it from its original hybrid vibe of '70s power pop meets the Monkees into something that sounds instead like a mythical '60s side that only existed in fantasies that were too much to dream last night.
The transcendent result conjures an imaginary lost garage pop 45 that could have made its way to a Pebbles compilation. In my mind, it creates a Nuggets-bred illusion of a forgotten sidebar in pop history, where an unknown Midwest combo played local sock hops and teen scenes, and stayed together just long enough to cut this one killer single. The B-side was either an inept frat-rock cover or an undistinguished beatless beat ballad.
The A-side was "Gone Too Far."
Then this hapless group's lead singer was drafted, and most of the rest of the group left music behind. Maybe the guitarist went on to be a cult figure in subsequent pop, rock, and indie work, maybe he remained as obscure as his erstwhile bandmates. Either way, this band that never was left us this one enduring example of tattered, battered brilliance.
I made that all up, and I don't have any specific real-world counterpart to any of the above fancifying. But this reaction was immediate for me when I first heard Librarians With Hickeys' cover of "Gone Too Far." They did a fantastic job of making this their own.
CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise
Peerless pop performer Chris von Sneidern is an expatriate Central New Yorker--315 represent!--and he's one of power pop's brightest lights. Given his firsthand local boy familiarity with Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes, Chris was an obvious and prerequisite choice to include in Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Chris does not disappoint. He took on the tribute's most daunting task: A cover of my favorite Flashcubes song, "No Promise."
"No Promise" was written by Gary Frenay. We included the Flashcubes' demo version of "No Promise" on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 (as discussed here), and the official version from the group's Bright Lights anthology earned its own chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). One suspects that I kinda like the song.
Chris von Sneidern's cover nails it. Drop the freakin' mic awready. And it reinforces my belief that Make Something Happen! is destined to be one of this year's best collections.
That is a promise.
GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT: Pathetic
Ahem.
Yeah, we got Graham Parker--GRAHAM MOTHERLOVIN' PARKER!!--to cover the Flashcubes for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. We feel taller! Credit Mike Gent of the Figgs for making this particular something happen, revamping and adapting 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong's "Pathetic" into a worthy vehicle for the well-respected GP, and seeing it through to perfection.
Although it would be inaccurate to call the great Graham Parker a punk rocker, the irascible 'n' irrepressible vibe of some of his 1970s material places him (at the very least) on punk's periphery. Parker wasn't a punk...but a lot of punks loved him. This punk sure did.
As such, GP was among the first artists I ever heard within this broad not-really-a-category category of the punk-adjacent. In my senior year of high school, 1976-77, WOUR-FM in Utica, NY was playing Parker's "Hotel Chambermaid," and they were also playing Nick Lowe's "So It Goes." In the summer of '77, WOUR added the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" to its parade of Hey, Carl! Dig THIS!! revelations. None of these three sounded at all like the other two. The common ground was attitude.
The shared trait was transcendence.
Graham Parker is, of course, still at it, gloriously still at it, and still a reliable resource for Hey, Carl! Dig THIS! Consider his cover of "Pathetic" as case-closed evidence of that.
JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded
Joe Giddings is an unheralded rockin' pop treasure. His current album Stories With Guitars is the best thing since sliced amphetamines, and its track "Tonite Tonite" is pret' damned likely to make our year-end countdown show. Jeez Louise, let's herald this guy awready!
Now, the esteemed Mr. Giddings has also turned in a cover of the Flashcubes' "You're Not Grounded," which is his contribution to Make Something Happen! The song was written by 'Cubes guitarist Arty Lenin, and recorded by Arty 'n' the lads for the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. Joe's cover of "You're Not Grounded" achieves the seemingly impossible: It's a Flashcubes cover that I--the world's most insistent Flashcubes fan--consider even better than the great Cubic original. Impossible--but TRUE! And brilliant from the ground up. That's how ya make something happen.
BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities
From the tribute album's acknowledgements:
"Special thanks to Robbie Rist; two years ago, when I said that someone should put together a Flashcubes tribute album, he immediately replied (and I'm paraphrasing): "YOU do it. You know bands! And I'll be on it!" When Robbie speaks, power pop fans listen."
This power pop fan listened anyway. And as the Flashcubes tribute album moved from Wouldn't it be cool? to GO TIME!!, it was clear to me that our Robbie should use the great power and responsibility of his nom de bop Ballzy Tomorrow to do a cover of the Flashcubes' "Five Personalities."
"Five Personalities" was originally recorded by Paul Armstrong's group the Richards (as heard on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3), co-written by PA with Richards lead singer Norm Mattice and CNY guitar legend Mark Doyle. With some additional songcraft from Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay, "Five Personalities" was subsequently recorded by the Flashcubes themselves for their 2003 album Brilliant, and that arrangement provides the basic template for Ballzy Tomorrow's Make Something Happen! entry.
And Mr. Rist runs with it. Hell, Gary Frenay recently declared Ballzy Tomorrow's (and I quote) "phenomenal" rendition of "Five Personalities to be "Best version of the song yet. So inspired!" PA chimed in with "Stellar!," and 'Cubes drummer Tommy Allen added a reverent "AWESOME!!!"
They are correct. But I expected nothing less. When Robbie Rist speaks, power pop fans listen. And when Robbie plays and sings? They listen even harder. Robbie Rist gives us an interpretation of "Five Personalities" that our friends at Big Stir describe as "majestically Queen-like whimsy." We concur!
THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot
In planning a Flashcubes tribute album, I was determined to include at least one new track by the Flashcubes themselves. In fact, we will have a 'Cubic trinity of fresh Flashcubes offerings, one apiece written or co-written by Paul Armstrong, Arty Lenin, and Gary Frenay.
Gary co-wrote "The Sweet Spot" with the late B.D. Love, who was also known to long-time Syracuse music fans as Buddy Love. That's not the NYC pop performer of the same dba, nor is it Jerry Lewis for that matter. Our Buddy/B.D. fronted Buddy Love and the Tearjerkers and My Sin, and he was an integral part of our local scene in the new wave era.
Other than the times 'Cubes guitarist Arty Lenin sat in on drums for Buddy Love and the Tearjerkers, I believe "The Sweet Spot" is the first Flashcubes-B.D. Love collaboration. And oh, it's something sweet. We are honored to be able to honor B.D. Love's memory by including this track on Make Something Happen!
Sweet. Sweet. Sweet.
THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park
Here we have the nonpareil coffee-house pop combo the Kennedys executing a sublime cover of Arty Lenin's "Walking Through The Park," revamping the original version's Left Banke-inspired vibe into a seemingly incongruous but unerringly stunning exercise in acoustic bossa nova. The Kennedys provide an achingly wonderful soundtrack to the melancholy stroll of the broken-hearted. Might be a difficult task for some artists to pull off. For the Kennedys, it's a walk in the park.
MEEGAN VOSS AND STEVE JORDAN/THE VERBS: I Need Glue
Meegan Voss was a veteran participant in that same vibrant late '70s Syracuse music scene sparked by the Flashcubes, and her 1978-1980 group the Poptarts shoulda been stars. Now, she and her husband Steve Jordan perform together as the Verbs. I remember Meegan from the Poptarts days, and I remember watching Steve on TV in the '80s, when he was the drummer for the house band on Late Night With David Letterman. Steve has worked with just about everybody, though one suspects his current gig as the Rolling Stones' drummer kinda pops out on the ol' résumé with extra added satisfaction.
We are so fortunate to have Meegan and Steve involved in this Flashcubes tribute project, and it's such a unique kick to hear how the Verbs have taken "I Need Glue," a very early Flashcubes punk number, and made it their freakin' own.
I continue to be knocked out by how radically the Verbs were able to revamp, restructure, and reimagine this punk stomper while still retaining a comfy tether to the original's intent. One of my (many!) favorite tracks on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes.
DOLPH CHANEY: Girl From Germany
TIRnRR Fave Rave Dolph Chaney was a late addition to the Flashcubes tribute album, as Dolph stepped in when circumstances forced another artist to withdraw from the project. And mein Gott, did Dolph ever deliver, and how! We suggested Arty Lenin's "Girl From Germany" as an appropriate Chaney choice, and faster'n you can say JAWOHL!, he responded with this inventive and engaging interpretation. As Dolph hisself explains:
"The idea was, 'what music would the Girl From Germany probably like, that might represent the gap the singer is feeling?' So I picked Kraftwerk, Blondie, Devo, and Berlin-era Bowie, and that inspired the synth approach."
Ich lieb es. Wunderbar! Danke schön, Herr Chaney. Danke schön.
POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week
An important quality of a good tribute album is a willingness to accept and encourage respectful reinterpretations of the source material. The creative souls that comprise the mighty Pop Co-Op did just that with their audacious re-imagining of the Flashcubes' second single "Wait Til Next Week." The original (a 45 I bought directly from Gary at a 'Cubes gig on Bowery in 1979) is a compact essay on the woes of delayed gratification, a post-punk power pop continuation of themes explored by the great Eddie Cochran. Our lads in Pop Co-Op amp up the underlying frustration and anger, but keep it simmering under the surface, chugging to a different rhythm that subtly suggests catharsis and resentment at the same time. One suspects the members of the band may be ready to throw some bottles around when their set's done. Wait til next week...?! But I'm frustrated NOW!
Don't worry. With a band like Pop Co-Op in charge of the room, it's gonna be all right. And if they hit you with one of those airborne bottles, you probably had it coming.
THE PEPPERMINT KICKS: Muscle Beach
Make Something Happen! has been a dream project for me. I've been a Flashcubes fan since my first 'Cubes show more than 47 years ago, and it is such a kick--a peppermint kick!-- to hear so many other incredible pop performers give us their own masterful interpretations of songs written by members of the Flashcubes.
TIRnRR stalwarts the Peppermint Kicks serve up a case in point with their blood-pumpin' rendition of "Muscle Beach." Written by Paul Armstrong, "Muscle Beach" was a fan-favorite staple of Flashcubes live shows circa 1979, and you can hear evidence of its sheer in-person power on the '79 club set preserved on the Flashcubes On Fire live album.
Our peppermint kicksters--Sal Baglio of the Amplifier Heads and Dan Kopko of the Shang Hi Los--capture that original Cubic mojo to perfection, making the song their own while retaining a line of sight with teen me 'n' my bright-lights peers swilling beer and doing the Jumping Jack upstairs at the Firebarn at the end of the '70s, the end of the century.
I do not want to be nineteen again. I would not even consider trying to surf through all that tsuris anew. But "Muscle Beach?" That's where I wanna be. Well done, you Peppermint Kicks.
TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class
Best day EVER!
Tom Kenny is an international treasure, and he was born 'n' bred right here in our beloved Syracuse, NY. You may know him as the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants, Plastic Man, The Penguin, and a zillion others across a zillion animated credits. In live action, he was the evil Binky the Clown in his hometown buddy Bobcat Goldthwaite's 1991 film Shakes The Clown. To my daughter, he was the voice of both the Mayor and the narrator on The Powerpuff Girls. I tell that story here and here.
But as I like to point out and repeat: Before Tom Kenny was your SpongeBob Squarepants, he was our Tomcat, one of us, a participant in the same boppin' late '70s/early '80s local music scene that Dana and I loved so much, the scene that gave the world the Flashcubes, Maura Kennedy, Chris von Sneidern, the Penetrators, and many others. He found fame as a talented and celebrated voice actor; to us, he's so much more than that. He's a music fan from way back, and he channels that passion as a stupendous live performer. From local faves the Tearjerkers in the early '80s through the simply sublime Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas today, international treasure Tom Kenny remains solid gold on stage and off.
So yes, of course we wanted Tom to record a track for our Flashcubes tribute. Credit 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay for suggesting his song "Welcome To The Working Class" as the perfect Cubic choice for Tomcat and his superlative and uber-tight band o' Hi-Seas and company to tackle; a more perfect match of artist and material will not be found anywhere. Not even in Bikini Bottom, nor in Townsville, nor Gotham City itself.
I have heard that "Welcome To The Working" is the first recording the Hi-Seas have completed since the November 2024 passing of their music director, the great Andy Paley. Beyond the blow of personal tragedy, having to overcome the loss of Paley's enormous talent was no doubt a daunting task. From this bittersweet transition, one hopes there will be many more new Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas recordings yet to come. An international treasure. Welcome, indeed.
THE CHOOSERS: Christi Girl
In the summer of 1978, I haunted Gerber Music's Penn Can Mall location, badgering the (remarkably patient) staff about when the Flashcubes' debut single "Christi Girl" would be available for purchase. I was 18 years old, in between my freshman and second years at college, with a part-time job at another Penn Can store (which made it even easier for me to haunt Gerber Music at will).
Anyway. Gerber had a promo copy of the 45 on hand, so even though they couldn't sell it to me just yet, they did let me hear the record play through the store's sound system. And I was fully stoked when it finally became time to trade cash for 'Cubes.
We should know the things nobody else can know
When I was a teenaged Flashcubes fan, a newly-minted owner of my very own "Christi Girl" 45, could I have imagined that 47 years later I would be involved in getting a bunch of fab rockin' pop bands to record a bunch of Flashcubes songs for a Flashcubes tribute? Would I even conceive the possibility of a Japanese band doing "Christi Girl?"
Whatever I coulda/couldn'ta at the time, these fanciful notions are coming true now. A few years ago, the Choosers offered a live video of their rendition of "Christi Girl." It for damned sure passed the audition, so Gary Frenay reached out to recruit the Choosers for this project.
It was an absolute priority for a version of "Christi Girl" to appear on the Flashcubes tribute album. The Choosers even gave us a fresh graphic emulating the look of the original Flashcubes 45, taking us once again to that special place nobody else can go. Somewhere, one hopes that the long-lost Christi approves.
HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind
THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police
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. An integral part of this job well done is 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. Wanna make something out of it? Well, we're glad to have ya with us.
"You're Not The Police" was the final track completed for Make Something Happen!, and I'm so stoked with how the Armoires were able to grab the original version's annoyance with a too-possessive lover, flip the gender POV for extra relevance and oomph, filter the whole thing through the imaginary grooves of, I dunno, Younger Than Yesterday And Today At Budokan, and somehow magically, deliciously craft an artistic triumphant that sounds very little like what the Flashcubes did with the song, but simultaneously embodies the song's essence in no uncertain terms.
See, that's the sort of vision that gives Armoires Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome the gravitas to start and maintain a visionary label like Big Stir Records. It has been my great, great honor to work with them on this project, and my great pleasure to hear how their group has interpreted this song by my beloved Flashcubes.
Set bright lights to stun, and let 'em flash like a squad car in hot pursuit. You have the right to remain silent...but why would you wanna do that?
THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands
More than a year's work is about to pay off with the September 12th release of Make Something Happen! Poundin' the console on behalf of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse is technically work, and it's also a calling. Plus it's fun! Given all the fabulous covers the Flashcubes have recorded and released over the past several years, I wanted to call more attention to the wonder of the Flashcubes' own brilliant songbook. A various-artists Flashcubes tribute album seemed the best way to accomplish that, so we gathered a bunch of talented artists, matched them with a bunch of songs written or co-written by members of the Flashcubes, and sent 'em off with one simple directive:
Make something happen.
And now comes the third and final single in advance of this tribute. Back in 1978, the Flashcubes' first 45 was "Christi Girl," a ballad written by 'Cubes guitarist Arty Lenin. In 2025, Arty closes this portion of the Flashcubes' singles discography with another lovely ballad, "If These Hands," a yearning bit of folk rock that would have sounded right at home on one of the Searchers' irresistible late '70s/early '80s albums.
We naturally talk about the songwriters, as befits an album intended as a salute to a group's original songs. Let's also throw in a bit of praise for Flashcubes drummer Tommy Allen, not just for his incomparable percussive skill, but for the sheer pop and power he brings to this material as a producer. This stuff sounds amazing, and that's due in large part to our boy Tommy.
Putting this album together has been a lot of work, and there's a long, long list of people who deserve credit for making this particular something happen. Even though others did most--almost all--of the heavy lifting here, I find myself exhausted in its aftermath.
Exhausted, but proud.
If memory serves, the last original song recorded and released by the Flashcubes prior to these three new singles was "Carl (You Da Man)" for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1 more than twenty years ago. As flattering and fulfilling as it was that this band that's been so important to me wrote and recorded a killer song about Dana and me, I could not allow that to stand as the last word in original Flashcubes recordings.
It isn't the last one anymore. "Reminisce." "The Sweet Spot." Maybe "If These Hands" will be the Flashcubes' final recording, or maybe there will be more yet to come. I hope so. Either way, man, we made something happen. It was well, well worth the work.
ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Bad Dream
Like Dolph Chaney, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin were a very, very late addition to Make Something Happen!, which makes it all the more astonishing that they were able to concoct and combust this scorchin' li'l read of Paul Armstrong's "Bad Dream" in the approximate equivalent of no time at all. Haste makes GREAT!
"Bad Dream" (from Brilliant) has never been one of the Flashcubes' better-known numbers, even among fans, but its driving intensity serves this tribute album quite well. Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin make our best bad dreams come true.
THE MAYFLOWERS: Born To Cry
Aw, this is just beautiful. Kyoto's phenomenal pop combo the Mayflowers are long-time friends of the Flashcubes. Our previous compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 included a great Mayflowers track called "Sunflower Girl," co-written by Osamu Satoyama of the Mayflowers and Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay. With these connections already in place, it made picture-perfect sense for the Mayflowers to cover a Gary Frenay song for Make Something Happen!
The Mayflowers chose to make something happen with "Born To Cry," a gorgeous Frenay ballad the Flashcubes recorded circa '79 or '80, after Paul Armstrong had left the 'Cubes and before the 'Cubes morphed into Screen Test, the Cubic-based trio of Frenay, Lenin, and Allen. "Born To Cry" was a captivating song then, and it remains captivating in the masterful hands of the Mayflowers.
When we posted an earlier work-in-progress look at the tentative line-up for Make Something Happen!, one 'Cubes fan responded immediately with the question, Where's "Born To Cry?" Now, here 'tis. No tears necessary. The Mayflowers were born for this.
SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes
The combined rockin' pop forces of Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols turn in their own super-yummy take on the Flashcubes' "When We Close Our Eyes." Brilliant!
A brief bit of behind-the-scenes huzzahs to Super 8's Trip Ryan and his collaborator Lisa: "When We Close Our Eyes" was written by Flashcubes guitarist Arty Lenin, and it may be my favorite from Arty's songbook, rivaled only by "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young." Given my affection for the song, it was important for me to see it included on Make Something Happen! It had been assigned to another artist, but alas, that didn't work out. Trip 'n' Lisa stepped in to save us, and they did so pretty late in the game. YAY, Trip and Lisa! The Cubic legion salutes you, with open eyes, and radio turned UP.
CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight
It's tempting to say that Callan Foster's epic take on Gary Frenay's "It's You Tonight" was one of the precipitating events that made Make Something Happen! happen. That's not exactly true--the vague idea of maybe someday doing a Flashcubes tribute album predates Callan's one-man-'Cubes cover--but his version and its accompanying video blew me away. And it provided instant validation of my belief that a Flashcubes tribute album was viable and necessary.
And now we are making it happen. Thanks, Callan! It's you tonight.
SORROWS: Radio
"Radio" was the B-side of the Flashcubes' second single "Wait Til Next Week." The song was co-written by Paul Armstrong and Gary Frenay, and although it was a live favorite at the time, it fell into disfavor within the band and was dropped from the set.
Coincidentally, within days of snaggin' my copy of "Wait Til Next Week"/"Radio" from Gary at Gildersleeves on Bowery in '79, I also picked up "Jealousy"/"She's Got It" by the Poppees. Sorrows formed out of the aftermath of the Poppees, and Sorrows' recent album Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow is guaranteed representation on TIRnRR's 2025 year-end countdown show. Guaranteed.
And for Make Something Happen!, Sorrows have given us a cover of "Radio" that is nothing short of full-on freakin' phenomenal.
Listen: You can search the four corners of the globe, and by the time you realize globes don't have corners, you'll already know what a fiercely loyal Flashcubes fan I am. Given that, consider the sheer gravity of me saying that Sorrows have accomplished the definitive version of the Flashcubes' "Radio." Pop music is my religion. Radio is one of my pulpits. With "Radio," Sorrows deliver the sermon we need.
Testify. And put your antenna to the sky.
THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young
"Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" is a song by Arty Lenin. It was first performed by the Flashcubes in 1979, demoed by the 'Cubes, subsequently recorded and released by Flashcubes offshoot Screen Test, and eventually redone in this brightly-lit new century for the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. The song's lyrics are among the most effective expressions of teen alienation I've ever heard, a clique-inflicted miasma buoyed and ameliorated by the transcendence of its pop. Even now, listening to it with senior-citizen ears that are more years removed from high school than the onset of Beatlemania was removed from America's entry into World War I, "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" can still make me feel the snub and the sting of my time serving that sentence in teen purgatory. Yet I love the song. That's the power of art, the power of music.
The Flashcubes' fellow Power Pop Hall of Famers the Spongetones' new rendition of "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" lives up to its incredible Cubic legacy. I'm stunned, I'm grateful, and I'm thrilled that Dana and I have the opportunity to play this on the radio.
As we exult in the legacy of the Flashcubes and how much their music has meant to me over a span of nearly five decades, I dig the flow and symmetry of opening a Flashcubes tribute album with the new Flashcubes track "Reminisce" and barreling our way to the Stongetones' authoritative closing statement "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" at the end. Reminisce. Nothing Really Matters When You're Young. Look back. Reflect. And rock out with fist raised.
A great album's final track has to be as vital and compelling as a great album's first track. Mission accomplished here. It matters. It always will.
MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! A TRIBUTE TO THE FLASHCUBES is out September 12th from Big Stir Records. You can read the liner notes here, and you can buy your very own copy of this album right...
And we thank you for helping us make something happen.
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 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.
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