I wanna be your boyfriend
There is an element of yearning inherent in pop music. Sure, the phrase "rock 'n' roll" is specifically about sex, but rockin' pop can include a longing for love along with its lust for action. Hands to be held. Promises to share. Long walks, fate-filled dances, first dates, second dates, the tantalizing prospect of more. The more can be as chaste or as earthy as mutual hearts desire.
It would be disingenuous (to the point of outright fibbing) to claim that power pop isn't at least sometimes about gettin' it on. I mean, the Knack and the Raspberries (among others!) would beg to differ immediately. The Rubinoos' 1979 power pop classic "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" has always had it both ways, implying a one-night stand that can last forever. The song's presumed innocence is balanced by its sheer urgency. Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna be your boyfriend.
Brazil's phenomenal pop combo Banda AL9 have just released their own incredible cover of the Rubinoos' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," retaining the original oomph and deliberate dichotomy, as faithful as a good boyfriend must be, and as electrifying as consummation should be. Banda AL9's Rubinoos cover opens this week's show.
And we follow Banda AL9's "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" immediately with a different song of the same title, courtesy of the Ramones. Playing against punk type, the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" feels even more emphatically innocent than the Rubinoos song; Dee Dee Ramone once claimed that the Bay City Rollers wanted to cover that very Ramones song, and while the claim is almost certainly nonsense...
...it's also plausible nonsense. Pop music. It is large. It contains multitudes. Just like love does. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Snday 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).
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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.
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:
TIRnRR # 1336: 5/10/2026
TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain’t played before are listed in bold
BANDA AL9: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Wicked Cool, single)
THE RAMONES: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Rhino, Ramones)
GIRLSCHOOL: 20th Century Boy (Lemon, The Singles)
YOUNG HOMEBUYERS: Boyfriend (Zero Hour, VA: Power Pop From The Garage: Austalian Power Pop, 74-86)
THE PORTUGAL JAPAN: Boy Meets Girl (Dionysus, VA: Innocence Is Bliss [A Female Frenzy Of Sensational Sounds!)
THE ANGELS: My Boyfriend's Back (Mercury, VA: Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology)
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THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT: Follow (Collectables, The Super K Collection)
AMOS MILBURN: Down The Road Apiece (EMI, The Best Of Amos Milburn--Down The Road Apiece)
NICK LOWE: When I Write The Book (Yep Roc, Quiet Please...The New Best Of Nick Lowe)
THE SEVEN AND SIX: The Wonder (n/a, EP # 1)
THE POPPY FAMILY: Beyond The Clouds (March, A Good Thing Lost 1968-1973)
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DAR WILLIAMS: Teen For God (Razor & Tie, My Better Self)
P. P. ARNOLD: God Only Knows (Sequel, The First Cut)
TALK TALK: Talk Talk (Parlophone, The Party's Over)
TALKING HEADS: Love Goes To A Building On Fire [demo] (Rhino, Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live)
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7 DOOR SEDAN: I'm On A Rocket Ship (Heading My Way Back Home) (single) THE ONLY ONES: Another Girl, Another Planet (Rhino, VA: DIY: Teenage Kicks - UK Pop I [1976-79])
THE SUPREMES: Stop! In The Name of Love (Motown, DIANA ROSS & THE SUPEREMES, The Ultimate Collection)
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SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man (Atlantic, VA: The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968)
THE ENGLISH BEAT: Rough Rider (IRS, I Just Can't Stop It)
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ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Everything In The World/Cement Man (single) THE MONKEES: She (Rhino, More Of The Monkees)
THE REPLACEMENTS: Takin' A Ride (Sire, For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986)
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The Greatest Record Ever Made!
HEADGIRL: Please Don't Touch (Lemon, GIRLSCHOOL: The Singles)
THE REMAINS: Don't Look Back (Rhino, VA: Nuggets)
JOHNNY NASH: I Can See Clearly Now (Rhino, VA: Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience)
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THE RIFLEBIRDS OF PORTLAND: And Your Bird Can Sing (Regional, April)
THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING GLENN BURTNICK: Bend Me, Shape Me (single)
ELASTICA: Annie (DGC, Elastica)
THE JAM: All Mod Cons (Polydor, Dig The New Breed)
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BANDA AL9: She Calls Me Love (Wicked Cool, Hey! Hey! We're Banda AL9)
THE DAMNED: Smash It Up (Part 2) (Sanctuary, Smash It Up: The Anthology 1976-1987)
THE FLASHCUBES: Got No Mind (Northside, Flashcubes On Fire)
SQUEEZE: Vicky Verky (A & M, The Squeeze Story)
SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go (single) THE BEATLES: Getting Better (Apple, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
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THE METERS: Thinking (Rhino, Look-Ka Py Py)
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