10 SONGS: 3/27/2026

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 # 1329

THE ANDERSONS!: From The Get-Go

SPECTRAFLAME: I Always Wanted You To Stay

We play the hits. Our little mutant radio show first invaded the airwaves at the very end of 1998, a few months after power pop force of nature the Andersons! released their debut album Separated At Birth. From that album, an insanely infectious track called "From The Get-Go" was a huge, huge favorite during TIRnRR Year One, and it still occasionally makes its winning way to our playlists even now. Our old pal Robbie Rist was a proud member of the Andersons!; the first time Dana and I appeared as guests on The Spoon (Robbie's podcast with co-hosts Chris Jackson and Thom Bowers), Robbie figured that your Dana and your Carl had probably played the Andersons! on the radio, but he wasn't for-sure certain. "Robbie," I assured him, "We were playing the Andersons! from the get-go."

HA! I slay me.

Robbie's worked with tons of artists. One of his current collaborations is with Florida's phenomenal pop combo Spectraflame, whose recent single "I Always Wanted You To Stay" has already just about locked up a berth on our year-end countdown show. Central 'Flame Steve Burgess knows how to craft and execute a pop tune, and our Robbie knows how to help him deliver it. A hit record. It stays on the playlist for our next show.

ANY TROUBLE: Playing Bogart

THE HOLLIES: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress

Listen: If you're gonna try your hand at playing Bogart, you're gonna wind up sitting in a nest of bad men, whiskey bottles piling high. Any Trouble's "Playing Bogart" into the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" may be the most impeccable segue in TIRnRR's long history of impeccable segues. Pop noir!

DEVIL LOVE: Tell Me You Love Me

Devil Love's wonderful current single "Tell Me You Love Me" has become a welcome earworm, playing inside my delighted li'l cranium with remarkable frequency. TIRnRR airplay has not yet mirrored my love for this track, though that's just a byproduct of programming logistics; for example, I planned to play "Tell Me You Love Me" again on our next show, but it was among several selections bumped aside when the passing of Chip Taylor prompted me to wedge in five songs from the Chip Taylor songbook. Devil Love's fantastic single will be back. I tell you: I love it.

(Incidentally: The Chip Taylor tribute will include two obvious hits, one [in some circles] lesser-known album track, and two covers, one of which I mistakenly refer to on-air as the original version. Oops.)

THE SMITHEREENS: House We Used To Live In

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SHIRTS: Starts With A Handshake

In 2025, the visionary Think Like A Key Music label released Live Featuring Annie Golden, a previously-unissued 1981 live-in-the-studio exhibition by CBGB vet'rans the Shirts. It's invigmoratin', like getting a brand-new classic Shirts record, and its track "Tears Comin' Down" made our year-end countdown show of TIRnRR's most-played tracks in 2025.

Now, Think Like A Key once again emerges from the archives with more new old Shirts. Live At Paradise 1979 preserves a Boston gig broadcast on WBCN, and it friggin' kicks, man. The album includes bravura performances of long-time TIRnRR Shirts favorites like "Tell Me Your Plans" and "Reduced To A Whisper," plus a lotta fab shots we ain't played yet. If there are still more vintage Shirts hangin' in the closet, here's hoping Think Like A Key Music can dig them out as well. And if the label could clear rights to reissue the group's two long-outta-print Capitol Records long-players (and the rest of the group's albums to boot), well, those Shirts would provide the best fit ever.

THE HALF/CUBES: Something's Gonna Happen

We have--of course!--been playing selections from the Half/Cubes' superb current album Found Pearls, as any decent rockin' pop radio outlet should. BUT! We now have a brand-new non-album Half/Cubes single, with Special Guest Bat Villain Glen Burtnik of the Weeklings taking on lead vocals for a cover of the American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me." That will open our next show this Sunday night.

SERGIO CECCANTI: Leave The Past, Don't Look Behind

From a previous 10 Songs:

"Our little mutant radio show has a long and rewarding history with the mighty Kool Kat Muzik label. Even before Ray Gianchetti (Mr. Kool Kat hisself) made his superfine rockin' pop imprint the home of our TIRnRR compilation albums, we've been programming Kool Kat cuts since the dawn of ever. Every new Kool Kat release is automatically under consideration for TIRnRR airplay, and almost all of them result in at least one track getting a spin on one (or more!) of our playlists. We're FANS!

"And right now, I'm a big fan of Leave The Past, Don't Look Behind, the new Kool Kat Musik release by Sergio Ceccanti. The title track is just perfect--perfect!--for the radio-ready vibe we crave, channeling a '60s garage-pop atmosphere in service of a steely-eyed determination to seek a sure-footed next step forward...."

Like Devil Love's "Tell Me You Love Me," Mr. Ceccanti's "Leave The Past, Don't Look Behind" hasn't yet received the TIRnRR exposure it deserves. But it will spin again this Sunday, and on some future Sundays thereafter. Leave the past. We'll barrel ahead from here.

THE CYNZ: Love's So Lovely

Awright, this one we HAVE been playing, and we're not stopping now. So lovely. So right. From their current album Confess, the Cynz supply the love we all need.

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.

10 SONGS: 11/10/2023

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 # 1206. This show is available as a podcast.

BIG STAR: September Gurls

Over the course of nearly 25 years of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, I'm pretty sure Big Star's "September Gurls" remains our all-time most-played track. I doubt it even has any serious competition at that particular pinnacle. 

I think at least part of the reason for the song's ongoing TIRnRR sovereignty (aside from the fact that it's, y'know, terrific) is rooted in a tacit understanding that Big Star was a cherished underground act that the faithful believed shoulda been the big stars their dba claimed. From the "September Gurls" entry in my proposed book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"Big Star was a big secret. As I became familiar with Big Star's records, I became a fan. And I soon learned that being a Big Star fan was like being a member of an underground pop society, a discerning, scattered network of music enthusiasts who knew--knew--there was more out there, old and new, than we were hearing on any radio station anywhere. Big Star was the golden ticket. You like Big Star? You're one of us, then. 

"This goes well beyond the limited parameters of hipster snobbery, of us versus them, of self-conscious cool that is, in fact, not cool in any way. This is faith. This is belief in the power of song. This is the inner certainty that there is greatness everywhere, awaiting someone to appreciate it and spread its Gospel. And there is no greater manifestation of that belief than the pure, tear-stained splendor of Big Star's 'September Gurls.'

"How can I deny what's inside?"

TAYLOR SWIFT: Welcome To New York

Big Star was correct: Never deny what's inside.

I admit I was a little bit surprised when my lovely wife Brenda floated the idea of the two of us checking out Taylor Swift's concert movie. I was even more surprised by how much I flat-out enjoyed Taylor Swift: The ERAS Tour, a film that offers a marvelous, fascinating immersion into the phenomenon of a Taylor Swift live show. Good choice, Brenda!

Previously, my take on Taylor Swift was that she's a remarkable talent whose music was intended for a demographic that doesn't include me. Fair enough. It didn't stop me from respecting her, even admiring her, and recognizing that she's a star whose celebrity status was built by talent, as well as a star who uses her celebrity responsibly. These are good things. I needn't wish to sing along with "Bad Blood" to appreciate any of that.

Now? Man, I think I need to take a deeper dive into some of her records. This week's show was programmed and recorded prior to my viewing of The ERAS Tour, but I felt motivated to check out her recently-released 1989 (Taylor's Version). Its track "Welcome To New York" struck me as something of a piece with whatever it is we do on TIRnRR. It is, as we say, ALL pop music.

Welcome.

ANY TROUBLE: Playing Bogart

In high school, I knew a girl who often wanted to hear my inept impression of Humphrey Bogart. Mind you, my Bogart was nothing short of terrible, but she seemed to dig it, and this teen boy was generally A-OK with the idea of being able to accomplish something--anything!--that a pretty teen girl might dig. Herszh lookin' at you, Szhweetheart....

I don't think I caught on to the music of Any Trouble until many years after the fact. And it's only just now that I've made a mental connection between the group's lyrical ode to playing Bogart and my own clumsy attempts at Bogie on demand all those decades ago. Play it again, Szham.

JOHNNY JOHNSON AND THE BANDWAGON: Let's Hang On

With no offense intended to the Jersey boys, I say Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon's 1969 cover of the Four Seasons' "Let's Hang On" is the definitive version. The Bandwagon were a criminally undervalued soul group--their "Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache" keeps company with Big Star in my Greatest Record Ever Made! book--and they had a particular knack for pulling off covers that were better than the originals. The Bandwagon  took one of the Monkees' worst tracks, "The Day We Fall In Love," and somehow made it better'n decent, and they went toe-to-toe with the likes of the Rascals ("People Got To Be Free"), the Hollies ("Gasoline Alley Bred"), and Bob Dylan via the Byrds ("Mr. Tambourine Man"); in each case, the Bandwagon emerged the victor.

Same goes for the Bandwagon's reading of "Let's Hang On." Sorry, Mr. Valli. But there's no need to hang your head; the Bandwagon were just that good.

THE RAMONES: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Following the May 9th publication of my book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, I put together a blog post about my 25 favorite Ramones tracks. That list includes "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow." This is what I wrote about that track:

"We don't generally think of the Ramones as balladeers. But the Ramones were raised on AM Top 40 radio when AM Top 40 was fantastic, bred by the sounds of girl groups, British Invasion, Motown, garage, bubblegum, rock, and pop. Ballads were part of that environment.

"And the Ramones were--perhaps incongruously--great at ballads. That should not be true...but it is. I'm not much for power ballads myself. But Ramones power ballads? The Ramones made power ballads cool.

"We got a new album out. It's called Rocket To Russia. This one's called 'Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.'

"With Dee Dee's count-in following Joey's introduction, the first time I heard 'Here Today. Gone Tomorrow' was when the Ramones played it at my first Ramones live show. Stunning, and a remarkably effective slow burn amidst the fast-loud-rules of the Blitzkrieg Boppin' and Cretin Hoppin' that surrounded it in concert. 

"By then, I think I'd already read Greg Shaw's rave about the song in the pages of Bomp! magazine. Hearing it live delivered on Shaw's promise, and the studio track lived up to it. The Ramones as balladeers. Someone had to pay the price.

"It was worth it."

On two separate occasions in October, I got to witness the great 1.4.5. as they performed "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" in their live sets, the song dedicated both times to the late Ducky Carlisle. Tough disguises tender, but only if we don't bother to look for the hearts that beat beneath leather jackets, the emotion that lurks behind practiced scowls.

Here. Then gone.

THE GRIP WEEDS: Organ Grinder's Monkey

One of my two 1.4.5. live shows in October was the Grip Weeds' recent gig at The Lost Horizon in Syracuse. Whatta show! And one of its unexpected highlights was when the Grip Weeds dazzled us with their cover of "Organ Grinder's Monkey," a way obscure 1970 single by the equally obscure group Frosty. The song opens the Grip Weeds' magnificent 2022 covers album DiG, and hearing it performed live at the Lost compelled us to play it on the radio. About time! Dance, monkey. Dance!

SOLOMON BURKE: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

Some things in life are certain. Death. Taxes. Construction on I-81. And also TIRnRR playlists that include a spin from my favorite album of 2023, the Flashcubes' Pop Masters. Their cover of the Motors' "Forget About You" is on a (wait for it!) certain collision course with our year-end countdown. As it should be.

"Forget About You" had last week off, and it's taking next week off as well. But we still had another Pop Masters track last week, and I can risk the sin of spoilers as I say we'll have yet another Pop Masters gem spinning next week.

Much more pleasant than death or taxes, and a damned sight more interesting than roadwork. Pop Masters. You can be certain of that.

DAVE KUCHLER: In It With You

Acknowledging that the Flashcubes' Pop Masters is unassailably secure in its position as my album of 2023, Dave Kuchler's "In It With You" could stake a credible claim as my favorite individual track of the year. You can find it on Dave's album Love + Glory, and you can hear it again on the radio this coming Sunday night in Syracuse.

THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It

The show's over already...?! I blame that whole FALL BACK nonsense. What time is it? The Jive Five have the answer: It's time for love. 

The right answer, I say. Love is always the right answer.

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