Thursday, March 28, 2024

BOPPIN' PLAYS THE HITS! My 25 All-Time Most-Viewed Posts

Above image by Tyrone Biljan, courtesy of 13thdimension.com

My clinically stupid commitment to keep a daily blog commenced on January 18, 2016. I haven't missed a day yet. 

Along the way, a few of my posts have found an audience. Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) passed the one million clicks mark in January, and continues to amass views on its own modest scale. Sure, some posts draw the cyber equivalent of bupkis. Some draw thousands.

These are the twenty-five Boppin' posts that have drawn the most traffic. The list is based on what Blogger's logistics tell me, and comparing viewer stats for each individual post. The result does not match what Blogger lists publicly in the Popular Posts columns on the blog page itself. 

Stupid algorithms. 

I don't know which list is more accurate, but the list I've compiled below is based on what analytics claim as accumulated clicks for each post. Right or wrong: Let's BOP!

HONORABLE MENTION: THE KINKS and QUICK TAKES FOR K

Two posts in my series The Everlasting First fell short of making our countdown, but there's an asterisk that would have placed them. Both The Everlasting First: Quick Takes For K [music edition] (March 3, 2017) and The Everlasting First: The Kinks (March 6, 2018) would have been Top 40 posts on their own. But they were originally a single post, with the Kinks bit the featured part. I revamped the format for The Everlasting First in 2018, retroactively separating main features from Quick Takes. If I hadn't done that, the combined stats would have lifted the original Kinks plus Quick Takes post to # 8 overall.

25. VIRTUAL TICKET STUB GALLERY: THE RAMONES, THE RUNAWAYS, and THE FLASHCUBES (1/25/2017)

24. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Dave Clark Five, "Any Way You Want It" [1/10/17]

23. THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT! THE HISTORY OF POWER POP [2/25/2016]

22. SINGERS, SUPERHEROES, AND SONGS ON THE RADIO: My Life In Pop Culture, The 1960s [4/2/2016]


21. ONCE UPON A ONCE-IN-A-WHILE: My 25 Favorite Monkees Tracks
 [9/13/2017]


20. ON BROADWAY [6/17/2016]


19. HE BUYS EVERY ROCK 'N' ROLL BOOK ON THE MAGAZINE STANDS, PART 3: Power Pop Means Pop With POWER! (Not Some Whimpering Simp In A Beatles Haircut) [3/9/2018]


18. GAME SHOWS, PART TWO: MTV'S REMOTE CONTROL [3/8/2018]

17. MAIN STREET RECORDS, BROCKPORT, NY [1/26/2016]

16. THE MONKEES BRING THE SUMMER: A GIRL I KNEW SOMEWHERE [5/4/2016]

15. AMAZING HEROES: Who's...WHO?! Lesser-Known Characters In The DC Comics Universe [6/3/2016]

14. PAT DiNIZIO [a guest tribute by RICH FIRESTONE] [12/14/2017]

Pat DiNizio, State Theater, Falls Church, VA. January, 2012. Photo courtesy Laura Lynn Music Photography

13. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Searchers, "Hearts In Her Eyes" [3/14/2018]

12. MY ALL-TIME HOT 100 [With An Asterisk] [9/11/2018]


11. MOVIES IN MY MIND [BEHIND THE SCENES]: The Fictional Players In JUKEBOX EXPRESS [2/15/2018]

(NOTE: This was an annotation for a previous flight of fancy called Jukebox Express; the annotation drew considerably more clicks than its source material did.)

10. THE MONKEES: Me And Magdalena [5/20/2016]


9. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Badfinger, "Baby Blue" [10/27/2016]

(NOTE: This was the very first entry in my long-running Greatest Record Ever Made! series, dedicated to the notion that an infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. And they've GOTTA take turns! They're records! That's what records do!

You see a few other GREM entries sprinkled within this Top 25, and there have been dozens of others that have appeared on this blog, and still a bunch more that have not. I have written a book called The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1); that book is in the hands of a potential publisher. As always: Here's hopin'. And I guess that's all I have to say.)

8. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Baron Daemon and the Vampires, "The Transylvania Twist" [10/31/2017]

7. THE MONKEES: GOOD TIMES! review [5/26/2016]

6. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The First Class, "Beach Baby" [2/24/2017]

5. THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Smithereens, "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" [7/10/2019]

4. THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES, PART 1: Red-Hot & Groovy [5/26/2018]


(NOTE: I've always thought it weird that this introductory piece got so much more traction than PART 2, which was my 1993 interview with the Groovies' Cyril Jordan.)


3. THE MONKEES: Welcome To The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame [9/10/2016]


2. BATMAN MEETS THE MONKEES [4/14/2017]


1. AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF BUBBLEGUM MUSIC
 [7/30/2016]

And let me tell ya: This wasn't even close, and it doesn't even account for additional clicks from when I presented the piece in serialized form. This bubblegum history, which I originally wrote for Goldmine magazine in 1997, is certifiably my greatest hit. An edited version also appeared in the 2001 book Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth.

BONUS TRACKS!!

A good retrospective plays the hits. A great retrospective adds deeper cuts. These are a few of my favorite Boppin' posts that bubbled under--in some case WAY under--our Top 25:

THE FLASHCUBES: A Brighter Light In My Mind [11/23/2016]

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Material Issue, "Kim The Waitress" [8/1//2018]

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Eytan Mirsky, "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" [1/17/2019]

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Stevie Wonder, "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever" [7/21/2020]

I've Got The Music In Me (And That's Where It's Gonna Stay) [1/21/2017]

And what may be my # 1 favorite:

The Road To GOLDMINE [12/20/2016]

Your Boppin' may vary. But there's always tomorrow. And the next day. And the next....

My first book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones was published in 2023. I don't think it would have happened if not for this blog. Will The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) be next? Stay tuned....

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Fake THIS IS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO Playlist: Acts I Never Saw In Concert (but my friends did)

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is simply too large a concept to be neatly contained within a mere three-hour weekly time slot. Hence these occasional fake TIRnRR playlists, detailing shows we're never really going to do...but could.

I've been fortunate enough to witness live performances by a lot of great rockin' pop acts. Today's exercise in imaginary playlists doesn't list any of those great acts; instead, we have a program of artists I didn't see, but whom one or another of my friends did.

To retain some focus here, I'm only counting acts I believe were witnessed in live concert by someone I've known--or at least met--in person. If I added the scope to include online friends and e-buddies, we'd be here all week. The concert attendees include family members, pals, former pals, coworkers, casual acquaintances, and working musicians who may have played on the same bill with the artist in question. 

The latter category includes the Flashcubes, whom I've seen dozens of times, including slots on bills with the Runaways, the Ramones, Joe Jackson, 999, Artful Dodger, David Johansen, and the Fast. The 'Cubes also played with a bunch of acts I never got to see: the Police, U2, the Jam, Fotomaker, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Pat Benatarthe Star Spangles, and more. I'm gonna presume that when the 'Cubes weren't on stage themselves, they likely had a chance to see these other acts play.

And yeah, I know two people (my friend Pete and my brother-in-law Tony) who saw the Beatles. My friend Dawn saw the Jimi Hendrix Experience open for the Monkees. My lovely wife Brenda's first concert was Yes, and she also saw Cyndi Lauper (but left the show after Cyndi's set, skipping out on Stevie Ray Vaughan). A high school friend saw Suzi Quatro open for Alice Cooper. My sister Denise saw Led Zeppelin and the Beau Brummels (on separate bills). My friend Dave saw Blue Öyster Cult, and Dave's forthcoming novel will include his real-life reminiscence of that show's anticlimactic encore. My boss saw the Yardbirds and Fairport Convention. My friend Greg saw the Sex Pistols' final show in '78 (with the Avengers opening), and my friend Fritz caught the original Pistols quartet's reunion tour. TIRnRR's intrepid co-host Dana saw Styx, Rockpile, the Cure, the New Pornographers, and about a zillion other worthies. I'm a single degree of separation from tons of fine shows.

There were a few more acts I almost included. I'm pretty sure I know folks who saw Slade, the New York Dolls, Mott the Hoople, Elvis Presley, and the Knack. C'mon, Robbie Rist must have seen the Knack! I'm sure my friend Lois saw King Elvis I, and probably Devo, too. Plus she was at Woodstock. And I betcha Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong saw Slade, the Dolls, and Mott. But I didn't want to overthink this, nor did I really want to contact anyone to confirm or deny their own Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery. So I stuck with what I felt were certainties.

I was tempted to list the Clash (whom I did see, but in the crappy Cut The Crap line-up without Mick Jones) and Badfinger (which was really Joey Molland with latter-day bandmates). And I almost omitted Blondie, since I saw Debbie Harry and Chris Stein (billed under their names rather than as Blondie). But we shouldn't split hairs here, so I'm going by the billing. I saw the Clash and Badfinger; I didn't see Blondie.

But some of my friends did.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl--y'know, the real one--airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ 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). TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

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:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
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Volume 5: CD or download

PS: SEND MONEY!!!! We need tech upgrades like Elvis needs boats. Spark Syracuse is supported by listeners like you. Tax-deductible donations are welcome at 
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at 
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: Acts I Never Saw Live (but my friends did)

THE BEATLES: I Want To Hold Your Hand
SMOKEY ROBINSON: Cruisin'
SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young
THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
THE YARDBIRDS: Heart Full Of Soul
THE BONGOS: In The Congo
--
THE B-52'S: 52 Girls
STEVE FORBERT: Romeo's Tune
LOS LOBOS: Will The Wolf Survive?
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: Fire
CYNDI LAUPER: Money Changes Everything
THE POLICE: Roxanne
--
ALICE COOPER: School's Out
THE JAM: The Modern World
U2: I Will Follow
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Ties That Bind
YES: 
PAT BENATAR: Heartbreaker
--
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES: I Don't Wanna Go Home
THE MAVERICKS: Dance The Night Away
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
THE BEAU BRUMMELS: Laugh Laugh
LED ZEPPELIN: Communication Breakdown
FAIRPORT CONVENTION: Time Will Show The Wiser
--
RASPBERRIES: Go All The Way
BLONDIE: One Way Or Another
RICK NELSON: Garden Party
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
ELTON JOHN: Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: All For Swinging You Around
--
ROCKPILE: Teacher Teacher
BONEY M: My Friend Jack
THE SPONGETONES: (My Girl) Maryanne
MARTI JONES: Tourist Town
THE RUBINOOS: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
SQUEEZE: Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
--
THE WHO: I Can't Explain
MARSHALL CRENSHAW: Cynical Girl
STYX: Lorelei
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL: Summer In The City
THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
SHOES: Tomorrow Night
--
THE AVENGERS: We Are The One
CARLA OLSON: Remember That Moon
THE ZOMBIES: This Will Be Our Year
THE LAUGHING DOGS: Get 'Im Outa Town
THE SCRUFFS: Revenge
FOTOMAKER: Come Back
KARA'S FLOWERS: Sleepy Windbreaker
MIAMI SOUND MACHINE: Conga
--
THE STAR SPANGLES: I Live For Speed
THE FABULOUS POODLES: Mirror Star
THE CURE: Friday I'm In Love
HEART: Kick It Out
THE DICTATORS: (I Live For) Cars And Girls
YES: Roundabout
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT: This Ain't The Summer Of Love
THE MC5: Kick Out The Jams
--
SLOAN: The Good In Everyone
EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

TRADING COMICS (a wish list of six comics series ripe for reprint in trade collections)

SPOILER ALERT: I love comic books; always have, always will. I buy my weekly haul at Comix Zone in North Syracuse, and I occasionally pick up trade collections of older material. These are six hypothetical trade collections I would like to see. These are mostly from the DC Comics library--Marvel Comics has already done a pretty good job of keeping its history in print--with side trips to Charlton Comics, Eclipse Comics, and others.

THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY LEWIS

Not gonna happen. Never in a million years. 

DC's licensed title based on comic actor Jerry Lewis ran for eighty-four issues, 1957 to 1971, and those followed forty preceding issues as The Adventures Of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, 1952-1957. 

Yep, 124 issues in all. One suspects it must have been sufficiently popular to stick around that long. I know I loved it when I was a kid in the '60s, and guest appearances by Batman and Robin, Superman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman made it even more appealing to me. I would love to read 'em all.

But it's likely a dead issue. I don't know to what extent (if any) DC has retained any right to reprint this material; I suspect DC has no standing to reprint it. Maybe--maybe--the Jerry Lewis estate holds the rights, and could strike a deal with DC to reprint, or either self-publish or arrange for someone else to reprint it (without the four stories that guest-starred the above-mentioned Justice League of America members). 

Ain't likely. The potential readership is too small, and not worth the trouble for DC or the Lewis estate.

But I'd like to see it.

(Oh, and I did my own tribute to Jerry and his DC supporting cast characters Renfrew and Witch Kraft in a short story called "The Lovable Lunkhead Returns.")

BLACKHAWK

Blackhawk was originally published in the '40s and '50s by Quality Comics. When Quality ceased publication in the mid '50s, DC purchased a number of Quality's IPs, including Blackhawk. The title continued at DC until 1968, and has been revived at various times since then.

There have been Blackhawk reprints, but my all-time favorite run of the series has been unseen since its original publication. That would be Blackhawk # 251 through 273, 1982-1984, the wonderful and all-too-brief run written by Mark Evanier, usually with art by Dan Spiegle.

Man, these were just terrific comics, great art and great story, and for me they are far and away the most interesting Blackhawk stories ever made. They really, really need to return to retail, and they need to return with Evanier's text pages included. Let's hear it: HAWK-A-A-A!

CROSSFIRE/DNAGENTS

Speaking of Mark Evanier, these two interconnected 1980s series from Eclipse Comics were among my favorite books of that decade; Crossfire in particular is one of my top three '80s books, virtually tied at my top spot with Scott McCarl's Zot! and Love And Rockets by Los Brothers Hernandez

DNAgents was sort of in the super-teen outcast mold of Marvel's Uncanny X-Men, and likewise comparable to DC's New Teen Titans; the success of those titles presumably sparked Eclipse's interest in DNAgents, but the latter was never an imitation. As much as I respect Uncanny X-Men and as much as I enjoyed Marv Wolfman and George Perez's work on New Teen Titans, it was DNAgents that thrilled me the most. Drop-dead beautiful art by DNAgents co-creator Will Meugniot didn't hurt, either.

And, as noted, I loved Crossfire even more. Everything Evanier and Spiegle brought to Blackhawk was even more so with their own character Crossfire, a bail bondsmen who takes over the masked identity of a slain criminal to battle in secret for justice. Set in Hollywood, the series gave Evanier license to draw from his own experience working in movies and television to add SoCal entertainment industry verisimilitude to Crossfire's adventures. 

I hear there is little immediate likelihood of DNAgents and/or Crossfire being reprinted, perhaps even less of a chance than that of Evanier and Spiegle's Blackhawk. That's a real damned shame, and both series (with the attendant crossover Crossfire And Rainbow mini-series) cry out for fresh availability and appreciation.

And again: WITH Mark Evanier's original text pieces.

E-MAN


The lack of comprehensive and accessible reprints of E-Man is a huge hole in the current comics landscape. Originally created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton for Charlton in the '70s, the property was purchased and revived in the '80s by First Comics. You can read the recollection of my own introduction to the character here.

There's just a ton of stuff to bring back here, from the original ten Charlton issues and the twenty-five First Comics issues through one-shots, mini-series, various side projects starring E-Man supporting character Michael Mauser, P.I. (including The P.I.s mini-series co-starring Mauser with Ms. Tree), and some 21st century stories by Cuti and Staton for the independent Charlton Bullseye book, done prior to Cuti's passing in 2020. All wonderful, fun comics that absolutely must be preserved for old and new readers alike.

GOODGUY

The late Jim Hanley's Goodguy was a loving homage to the original SHAZAM!-shoutin' Captain Marvel, and ol' Goodguy appeared in various comics fanzines in the '70s. I never saw much of this material, and I have no idea of who owns it, but I adored what little I saw. Maybe it's too obscure for the marketplace, but it seems like someone should be able to make this happen. I would very much like to read more than the itty-bitty little bit of the Goodguy chronicles that I've seen to date.

HOT WHEELS

Maybe not as impossible as Jerry Lewis reprints? DC briefly had the rights to do a comic book based on Mattel's Hot Wheels toys, using characters and continuity from the 1969-1971 Hot Wheels TV cartoon series. DC did six issues of Hot Wheels in 1970-71, with snappy storytelling (initially by Charlton Comics vet Joe Gill) and absolutely gorgeous artwork by Alex Toth

(How gorgeous was Toth's work on this title? When the legendary Neal Adams took over the art chores for the sixth and final issue, he was...fine. Great, even. But Adams wasn't better than Toth on Hot Wheels.)

The Hot Wheels property remains popular enough that maybe someone could deem it worthwhile to broker a deal to reprint these. I'm emboldened by the fact that Ed Catto was able to bring DC's licensed five-issue 1968-69 Captain Action series back in a way-swell hardcover reprint volume, with Superman's Captain Action # 1 guest appearance intact. Maybe there's hope for Hot Wheels.


In addition to the six series listed above, it would be cool to see DC Comics trades collecting Action Comics Weekly, Inferior Five (the original '60s book, not the recent revival), the utterly charming '80s series 'Mazing Man, the Silver and Bronze Age Plastic Man, Plop!, and the Golden Age Scribbly And The Red Tornado. Speaking of Action Comics Weekly, that book also picked up the story of the great short-lived 1960s Secret Six series, and consider this a vote in favor of a comprehensive Secret Six reprint, to boot. I'm sure there are others! But these are my requests for today.

Wanna trade?

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl