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 # 1312
THE RAMONES: Punishment Fits The Crime
Each week, when getting ready to plan the show's playlist with Dana, I keep a list of potential track choices to consider. The list includes new stuff, recent faves, old faves, old tracks we've never played before, and assorted items of varying vintage and familiarity that might fit into the presumed master plan of whatever it is we do on TIRnRR. The list carries through from week to week, its contents adjusted as we go.
The Ramones' "Punishment Fits The Crime" has been on that list for many weeks. The song was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts, sung by Dee Dee, and included on the group's 1989 album Brain Drain (the last Ramones studio album to include Dee Dee as anything other than just songwriter). Frankly, Brain Drain is a contender for my least favorite Ramones album, but it does give us the fantastic "I Believe In Miracles," plus "Pet Sematary" and "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," proving that even the merest Ramones album is still A RAMONES ALBUM!! Anyway, "Punishment Fits The Crime" fits in the category of "old tracks we've never played before," and that status is what placed it in my week-to-week list of playlist possibilities.
Prior to this week's programming session, I realized it had been a little while since we'd opened a show with the Ramones. I considered programming one of my many, many Ramones Picks T' Click in that leadoff spot, but opted to finally give "Punishment Fits The Crime" its long-overdue TIRnRR debut.
Throughout the process, it didn't even occur to me that the song's title could apply to...you know who. Let's hope we find a legal punishment to fit that guy in the very near future. As another punk band said: All crimes are paid.
THE LEGAL MATTERS: Everybody Knows
The minute I found out that the Legal Matters were doing a new album for Big Stir Records, I immediately petitioned the band and label for permission and access to play the then-forthcoming advance single. The album, Lost At Sea, is due in 2026, and the single "Everybody Knows" was released to radio just after this week's show was recorded. But we got it! Everybody knows we would be playing it; we knew we could not wait another week to do so. And everybody should know now: We're playing it again this Sunday.
SHOES: Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)
We don't get many opportunities to program new music by power pop legends Shoes, and we've never before had an opportunity to play Shows covering power pop's Ur group Raspberries. Opportunity SEIZED! Shoes' rendition of the Raspberries hit "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" comes to us from the superb various-artists 'Berries salute Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, a tribute curated by our friend Ken Sharp. Want a hit record? Look no further.
(Raspberries' original version of "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" ands Shoes' own incredible 1978 single "Tomorrow Night" are among the 145 tracks--one 45 at a time!--I discuss in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]. SPOILER ALERT: I like both of those records a lot. You can read all about them and their 143 GREM! brethren and sistren by ordering your own copy of the book. I'm Carl Cafarelli, and I approve this message. The Greatest Record Ever Made [Volume 2] is [very] tentatively planned for 2027.)
THE BUSBOYS: The Boys Are Back In Town
When Robbie Rist saw in this week's show hype that we were playing the BusBoys, he immediately wanted to know if we were playing new music by this great group. Alas, although we did program the BusBoys' then-recent single "In My Heart" back in 2024 (and likewise with "Love On My Mind" in 2022), we weren't even aware that there was new BusBoys music available. Honestly, I'd fire the TIRnRR research department, but that department is, y'know, me, and I've got tenure.
Robbie's (presumably) figurative headslap to our collective noggin prompted a fresh search for new BusBoys tuneage, resulting in a purchase of the 2025 digital-only album In My Heart. Target acquired! The album includes both of the 2020s singles mentioned above, and we'll debut another track from In My Heart on Sunday. Thanks for the nudzh, Robbie! Meanwhile, here's another spin of the BusBoys' best-known track "The Boys Are Back In Town," as heard when the BusBoys appeared in the 1982 Eddie Murphy-Nick Nolte flick 48 Hours. 'Cuz when the boys are back, there ain't no foolin' around.
THE MONKEES: Papa Gene's Blues
PLAY, magic fingers!
TAYLOR SWIFT: The Last Great American Dynasty
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
KEN SHARP: I'm A Rocker
One more from Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, "I'm A Rocker" as performed by the set's auteur Ken Sharp. I owned the original Raspberries 45 of "I'm A Rocker" when I was a teen in the '70s, and I was puzzled that it wasn't on the Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen compilation LP. Our Ken knows Raspberries' best better'n anybody, and he honors that legacy here.
DIRTY LOOKS: Let Go
Staten Island's phenomenal pop combo Dirty Looks with their signature tune. From a previous 10 Songs:
Statement of intent. This Staten Island trio's eponymous debut LP was released on the Stiff America label in 1980, and "Let Go" was an immediate fave rave on 97 Power Rock, a Sunday night alternative-rock showcase aired on Buffalo's 97 Rock FM. Hmmm. A Sunday night rock 'n' roll radio show? I may have made note of that particular notion for possible future use.
"Let Go" is a perfect post-punk radio pop song, fueled by new wave rock energy, rooted in catchy 1960s radio fare, and dead certain that the Ramones, the Who, Joe Jackson, and Paul Revere and the Raiders are Heaven-sent inspirations.
It's not easy to write a song about rock 'n' roll. It's not. Too many attempts at rock anthems feel forced, or overly earnest, pompous, clueless, heavy-handed, and...blechh. With "Let Go," Dirty Looks pull it off with style, and they make it seem like a cinch. Don't you know that rock 'n' roll is still the best drug? The drumming is hyperactive, the bass pushy (in a good way), the guitar simple and authoritative, the vocals and harmonies steadfast, reflecting the confidence of a group secure in the knowledge that it has God on its side. All you gotta do, let go, let go, let GO! GO! GO! GO! Belief is infectious. And godDAMN, this sounds so exhilarating on the radio.
It always has.
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: Clowntime Is Over
Is clowntime over? All respect to Elvis Costello and the Attractions, but clowntime ain't really over until we heed the words of the Ramones:
Let the punishment fit the crime.
THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time
And if there is any justice, clowntime will give way to cleanup time. "Cleanup Time" is my favorite track on the High Frequencies' super groovy new album Get High, and like our opening track by the Ramones, the title's topically apt nature didn't strike me until after the fact. Nonetheless: CLEANUP ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE! Mops at the ready. Let's go.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment