Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of my blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). The blog was set in motion by the lingering and unexpected sense of loss I felt in the aftermath of David Bowie's death on January 10th of 2016. Later, I would look back and realize that my feelings were magnified by the fact that my daughter was spending a semester in England, and the distance of an ocean between us made me miss her even more than I missed her when her campus was a mere 90-minute drive from here.
At the time, I could neither understand nor articulate any of that. Instead, I wrote an open letter to David Bowie, and used it as the commentary accompanying the printed playlist for the 1/17/2016 edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. The feeling did not diminish.
I had to do something about it.
By 2016, I hadn't quite abandoned my long-time wish to be a writer, but nor was I doing much writing of any kind. I'd quit freelancing in 2006. Friends and family--particularly Dana, Dave Murray, Gary Frenay, my wife, my mom, and my Uncle Carl--had encouraged me to get back into writing, and some suggested blogging. Blogging? Yeah, what the hell. I started a daily blog, using the text of my open letter to Bowie as my inaugural post.
Daily blog...?! Nothing succeeds like excess. And nothing forces you to get stuff done like a public commitment forces you to get stuff done. I maintained the blog's daily schedule (and then some) until the results of the 2024 election depressed me so much that I had to cut back to a reduced blogging schedule: I resumed daily blogging in January. Even with that two-month period of blogging a little less frequently, this blog now stands at more than 3750 public posts, a larger figure than the 3653 days that have splortched forth since that first public Bop on 1/18/2016.
Dear David....
On January 18th of 2016, I returned to writing by committing to a daily blog, a blog that commenced with an open letter to a rock 'n' roll star the world had lost the previous week. Since then, I've written and sold short stories (my first-ever fiction sales), I've written and published two nonfiction books, I've appeared on podcasts and TV talk shows, made in-person author appearances at bookstores, libraries, and record stores. I aim to have at least two more books published in 2026, with more to follow. I write at least a little bit nearly every day.
All of the above comes to me from the support of family and friends, from the platform of co-hosting a radio show, and from the experience of writing a daily blog. It comes from something I first wrote for this little mutant radio show on my 56th birthday, an open letter to David Bowie that became my first of over 3750 blog posts.
With more to come. Dear David: Thank you. Wish you were here. 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. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
BOB WEIR: One More Saturday Night (Warner Brothers, Ace)
DAVE EDMUNDS: Sweet Little Lisa (Swan Song, Repeat When Necessary)
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