10 SONGS: 10/20/2022

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 # 1151.

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

The intrepid Rich Firestone--who is the host of Radio Deer Camp right here on SPARK! and also one righteous rockin' dude--has declared that this track from the Smithereens' recently-released archival discovery The Lost Album is a hit record. Book it! "Face The World With Pride" at a Smithereens-approved Top Of The Pops!

We're with Rich. However, the stupid real world of radio formats that are all myopic all the time may not be prepared to follow Rich's lead. So our Reechie has called upon us--all of us, the independent DJs, bloggers, pundits, and loud 'n' boisterous fans--to intercede on the Smithereens' behalf. We hear and we obey. If you have a platform of your own, we join Radio Deer Camp's recommendation that you play the livin' chiclets outta this one.

TIRnRR will do its part. This was "Face The World With Pride"'s fourth straight appearance on our weekly playlist. I betcha we'll play it again next week, too. Hit records have gotta start somewhere. Face the world. Play it with pride.

ARIELLE EDEN: Sagittarius

We've mentioned that we have a new compilation album out, right!? Of course we have! These things don't just hype themselves, people. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 is available at this very transcendent moment, as a CD or a download, it is THE best compilation we've ever done, and we see no need for silly humility as we urge you to buy it. In fact, we recommend you buy more copies than you actually need. Many more copies.

This is an album full of highlights, and one of those highlights is Arielle Eden's beguilin' li'l pop tune "Sagittarius." "Sagittarius" is sprightly and peppy, impossible to resist, and it could be just as appropriate for airing on a contemporary pop radio format as it is for our little mutant pop radio format. It's versatile. And it's cool! The stars decree it.

THE JANGLE BAND: So Long

The weekly This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio shows are international affairs, proudly playing rockin' pop records from all over this wide, wide world of wonder. That we-are-the-world vibe extends to our compilations, at least a little bit. For Volume 5, we have acts from Japan (the Mayflowers), Canada (Laurie Biagini), Sweden (In Deed), and Australia (the Jangle Band). We've been corresponding with the Jangle Band's Joe Algeri for years, and their ace number "So Long" was one of the first tracks we put on our wish list when we started constructing this new compilation.

When we were putting this week's playlist together, Dana mentioned how the mighty Kurt Reil's mastering makes all of the tracks on TIRnRR Vol. 5 snap in such a spectacular way, and how he's hearing the songs now in a way he never heard them before. I agree. And Dana mentioned "So Long" as a track we maybe oughtta play a little more often. I agree with that, too.

THE BEATLES: Helter Skelter

I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS...!

SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

RICHARD ÖHRN: Time's Not Running Out

We mentioned Uppsala, Sweden's phenomenal pop combo In Deed in passing a few paragraphs back. This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 also includes "Peace & Quiet," my favorite among favorite In Deed tracks. We'll hear In Deed's TIRnRR Vol. 5 track on next week's show. But THIS week, we're dead chuffed to serve up a track from In Deed guitarist Richard Öhrn's forthcoming solo album Sounds In English. The album is due out November 11th from our friends at Big Stir Records, and the advance digital single "Love And Friendship" is available right now. TIRnRR approves of these Sounds.

THE KINKS: Revenge

Our house band the Kinks, and a nifty 1964 instrumental called "Revenge." REVENGE! Now we're talkin', huh? Yeah, Lex Luthor was rumored to play rhythm guitar on that track. Well, Lex Luthor or Jimmy Page. Same diff.

JUSTINE AND THE UNCLEAN: Vengeance

Couldn't resist following "Revenge" with "Vengeance," Justine and the Unclean's contribution to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. "Revenge" was our introduction to Justine Covault's fine work a few years back, a prime portal that led us to her own subsequent label Red On Red Records and all sortsa greatness that ensued. She's done so much fantastic stuff, both as a performer and as an ambassador and facilitator for other artists. She is, in short, really, really groovy. "Vengeance" is my favorite. Word on the street suggests there may be a full-length Justine album in the not-too-distant (and not-near-soon-enough) future. Prepare for VENGEANCE! It's FUN!

OSCAR TONEY JR.: Ain't That True Love

One of the many truths in our lives as pop fans is that there is always so much more magnificent music awaiting our discovery: new music, of course, and also old music that escaped our attention.

I don't recallI hearing (or hearing of) '60s soul singer Oscar Toney Jr. before last week. Maybe? Even if so, Toney didn't register with me until, like, now. A chance dive into the CD bins at Sound Garden in Syracuse netted me The Soul Of The Memphis Boys, a compilation CD collecting some Memphis sides by Ben E. King, Elvis Presley, Arthur Conley, James and Bobby Purify, Arthur Alexander, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dusty Springfield, Solomon Burke, Ella Washington, and more. Impulse purchase, come to Poppa!

On this disc, Toney's "Ain't That True Love" freakin' knocked me out. On the radio it went, and on the radio it will return next week. This is a bona fide soul classic, even if hardly anyone knows it. Classic.

There's so much out there, waiting for us to open our ears, eyes, and minds and just notice. The hunt continues. Ain't that...something?

TALL POPPY SYNDROME: Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)

"Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)" was written by Robin Gibb, an obscure ditty eventually included on deluxe reissues of the Bee Gees' 1968 album Idea. In our newfangled 21st century, Tall Poppy Syndrome reimagined it as (in their words) "a Mod-era Who performing the Zombies' Odessey And Oracle." Ah, these musicians and their ideas!

Oh, and it was a sublime idea. Tall Poppy Syndrome includes former Bee Gees guitarist Vince Melouney, which gives their Robin Gibb cover a sort of legacy status. Tall Poppy Syndrome's version of "Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween" radiates confidence and vulnerability in paradoxically equal measure, the fragile emotion at its center granting it emotional gravitas, the surefire swagger of its execution commanding our attention and demanding volume far, far north of a mere 11. We are so, so proud to present this superlative Tall Poppy Syndrome track as part of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. Get it. Crank it. Love it. Stand tall, you poppies. Stand tall.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 5/19/2022

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 # 1129.

POP CO-OP: Short Fuses

Our pre-release campaign on behalf of Suspension, the forthcoming new album from the irresistible melodic buzz force called Pop Co-Op, enters its second week with a spin of another exclusive track. We feel taller! "Short Fuses" pops 'n' sizzles in all the right places, and it opened the big show this week. Yep, just like the Suspension track "I Just Love To Watch Her Dance" kicked off last week's show, and how next week's show and then the next week's show after that will open with...

...well, that would be telling. Stay tuned.

POP CO-OP: Extra Beat In My Heart

In the same spiffy category as "Short Fuses," "I Just Love To Watch Her Dance," [redacted] and [redacted], "Extra Beat In My Heart" is another irresistible new 2022 track from Pop Co-Op. BUT! It will not be included on Suspension; it's from something else. It's not currently available from any resource. It will be. And it is indeed something else.

ARIELLE EDEN: U-Turns

Speaking of something else!, a previous edition of 10 Songs said this about "Sagittarius," a wonderful track from rockin' pop chanteuse Arielle Eden: "Well, now, this is pop music. Arielle Eden first came to TIRnRR's attention last year, through a recommendation from our pal, America's Sweetheart Irene Peña. 'Sagittarius' is Arielle's best yet, a bubbly and inviting track that easily earns this Capricorn's eager approval. This is the dawning of the age of Arielle."

Ms. Eden's recent singles have taken more a country-pop turn, and we continue to play those, too. Her latest effort "U-Turns" cruises on the periphery of modern mainstream country, and contemporary country radio would be improved by programming it. It's ALL pop music! And pop music is something else, man.

SOLOMON BURKE: Cry To Me

The great Solomon Burke: denying efforts to put Baby in the corner since 1962. At its core, "Cry To Me" is really a country song, but country (or any other damned thing) became soul when it was sung by King Sol. 

(And, while I have neither a particular affinity for nor a spiteful grudge against the popular film Dirty Dancing, I have seen it--way, waaay after the fact--and I believe Burke's "Cry To Me" plays on the movie's soundtrack when Patrick Swayze's character was trying to teach Jennifer Grey's character the flick's titular moves. Take it, Baby!)

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

Also something else! And really, really good. BUY IT!

BRAD MARINO: Another Sad And Lonely Night

Although a myopic pop world remembers the Bobby Fuller Four as a one-hit wonder for the superb 1966 smash "I Fought The Law," that song is either my third- or maybe even fourth-favorite BF4 track. And there's a fistful of other Fuller cuts that are nearly as good. One-hit wonder? The world is a ninny.

Brad Marino recognizes the richness of the Bobby Fuller catalog. Marino's latest Rum Bar Records single is an ace, blood-pumpin' cover of Fuller's "Another Sad And Lonely Night," a sturdy little ditty that is my # 1 BF4 track on the days when "Fool Of Love" isn't my # 1 BF4 track. ("Let Her Dance" rounds out my Bobby Fuller Top 4.) 

And I tell ya, Mr. Marino rises to the occasion of honoring Fuller's legacy. Whether you're investigating the great originals or immersing yourself in our Bobby's many able proxies, there is a world of treasure to discover beyond the well-known bop of breaking rocks in the hot sun. We'll be playing Brad Marino's "Another Sad And Lonely Night" again on next week's show.

STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK: Incense And Peppermints

Going out to the Z-man, wherever he is. It's my happening, and it freaks me out!

I don't remember if I knew Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense And Peppermints" at the time of its 1967 chart reign--I was seven years old, but it's possible--or if I came to embrace the song after the fact. If the latter, I may have heard of the 1970 sexploitation film Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls before I knew "Incense And Peppermint;" I certainly didn't see the movie itself until many, many years later, and I didn't know that Strawberry Alarm Clock appeared in it, but I saw a Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls pictorial in Playboy, and that got my adolescent attention. (What business did a ten-year-old have reading Playboy? The business of staring at unclothed women. Plus articles, I guess.)

But yeah, in addition to the pulchritudinous charms of its actresses, Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls presented Strawberry Alarm Clock in a party scene, lip-syncing their hit from a few years back, and then doing the same with two new songs for the soundtrack LP (as well as pretending to back up the film's fictional combo the Carrie Nations).

Unlike the Carrie Nations, Strawberry Alarm Clock kept their clothes on.

THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FLASHCUBES: I Wanna Be With You

Recently, Pop Co-Op's Steve Stoeckel referenced something I wrote for the first issue of Big Stir magazine in 2018: "Enthusiasm isn't everything. But nothing of value endures without it." I wholeheartedly agree with me on that point.

I bring this up again because it applies specifically to the enthusiasm musical performers can bring to their efforts, and how their own passion for acts that inspired them manifests in fresh magic, magic that can inspire others. That mystic mojo can be in the grooves of original work, or it can be expressed in covers.

Covers can be perfunctory, sure. But they can also serve as sincere and enthusiastic tribute, a thank-you note to the sounds that formed us. As Pop Co-Op's Bruce Gordon says, Let's be the Beatles! Or let's channel Chuck Berry, or Janis Joplin, or the Miracles, Buddy Holly, the Kinks, Otis Redding, the Velvet Underground, the Sex Pistols, Joan Jett. For the Flashcubes--my favorite power pop group--one can picture them imagining themselves as the Raspberries.

The Flashcubes have always been avid fans of pop music, rock 'n' roll, the vibrant sound of hooks and la-la-las played at a louder volume than decorum would prefer. The 'Cubes had dozens of influences, from British Invasion through punk, the Who through the Jam. I don't think there's any single act that served as the Flashcubes' biggest overall influence, but the Raspberries would be a huge part of that discussion. The Flashcubes positioned themselves--enthusiastically!--as a power pop band in the late '70s. That power pop approach was embodied by the Raspberries' hits, by "Go All The Way," "Tonight," and "I Wanna Be With You." The 'Cubes were Raspberries fans. That was evident. A power pop band is proud to wear its heart on its sleeve.

I remember witnessing the Flashcubes cover both "Tonight" and "I Wanna Be With You" at club shows when I was a street-legal teen. Their live version of "I Wanna Be With You" is one of the assorted shots o' gusto contained on the recent release Flashcubes On Fire, which preserves a 1979 'Cubes live show and captures the band at the height of their prowess. 

And the height of their enthusiasm. Covers and originals. The value of enthusiasm endures.

(That same enthusiasm carries through the Flashcubes' current series of Big Stir digital singles, covering the likes of Pezband, the Dwight Twilley Band, and Shoes. Chris Carter's British Invasion show recently debuted the 'Cubes' cover of Slade's "Gudbuy T' Jane" [and we'll start playin' that as soon as we get our hands on it], and next week's TIRnRR will include the combined forces of the Flashcubes and the Spongetones remaking the latter's "Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?" There's still much more to come. We're enthused about the possibilities.)

STYX: Lorelei

Even the act you actively despise may be capable of creating one or more tracks you flat-out adore. As much as I hated Styx in the '70s and '80s--and, believe me, I hated Styx in the '70s and '80s--even then I knew I liked their peppy pop song "Lorelei." I still do like it, singer Dennis DeYoung's bombast notwithstanding, while retaining my decades-old disdain for most of the familiar Styx songbook.  (I was also okay with "Too Much Time On My Hands, and I worship a 2003 Styx track called "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" as just over-the-top friggin' fabulous. So: three. Three cool tracks from an act I otherwise shun. Here's to ya, Lorelei.)

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 1/5/2021

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous 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 # 1058.

AMERICA: Sister Golden Hair

The music of the group America may or may not seem a bit outside of my usual rockin' pop parameters. They were generally far too mellow for my taste, and my embrace of punk in the late '70s certainly didn't leave me particularly open to soft rock, a phrase I viewed as an oxymoron. Furthermore, my roommate during my freshman year in college loved America, and our volatile relationship made me inclined to dislike anything that he liked.

I like to tell myself I've matured a teeny li'l bit over the past 43 years. Now, America's "Sister Golden Hair" is set to receive an entry in my eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Here's an excerpt:

...My perception of the group America remains permanently tethered to my memory of Arthur. I hated their records. I may or may not have been okay with (or, more likely, indifferent to) either "A Horse With No Name" or "Ventura Highway" when they occupied my radio in 1972, but I had no use for "Muskrat Love," "Lonely People," or "Tin Man." I don't remember hearing "I Need You" until Arthur played it for me, and its lyrics We used to laugh/We used to cry/We used to bow our heads and wonder why were like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. Now, I bow my head and wonder why. All these years later, I can't explain why I was so dismissive of this music. 

Even within my willful stance as a teen misanthrope, I had to concede that America's song "Sandman" was possessed of a simmering, surly spirit. And, no matter how much I claimed to hate America, I had to admit that "Sister Golden Hair" was just brilliant.

This was an unenlightened period in my young life. For example, I thought The Beach Boys were hopelessly square. RAWK! I thought anything mellow had to be the sound of capitulation to the mundane, the boring. I held fast to an underdeveloped mind-set cast somewhere between Annie Hall and Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. 

Yet I loved pop music. I liked ABBA, I liked Bay City Rollers, I loved Herman's Hermits. Loving Shaun Cassidy's hit version of Eric Carmen's "Hey Deanie" at the same time that I was getting into The Clash isn't necessarily a contradiction--it's ALL pop music--but I was a contradiction, and so sure of my conflicting convictions. 

Will you meet me in the middle
Will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little
Just enough to show you care?
Well, I tried to fake it
I don't mind sayin'
I just can't make it

"Sister Golden Hair" is everything you could want from an AM pop radio hit. It sounds bright and sunny, catchy as hell, while conveying a sense of yearning and regret. I understand regret: I still look back and wish I'd been better. Even within the maelstrom of sullen teendom, as I blithely made blunders and committed sins that I should have known enough not to do, as I dug in my heels to hate a band my roommate and former friend adored, I grudgingly--no, willingly--accepted the wonder of "Sister Golden Hair"....

THE CLICK BEETLES: Hey Renee

"Renee" is a really great pop-song girl's name. The Click Beetles' righteous frontbeetle Dan Pavelich knows this, so he was empowered to follow in the tracks of The Left Banke and Material Issue to craft his own Renee tune for The Click Beetles' 2020 album Pop Fossil. "Hey Renee" was recently released as a digital single by the good folks at Big Stir Records, giving us an excuse to play it as a new record. See? That's the pop magic of Renee.

ARIELLE EDEN: Sagittarius

Well, now, this is pop music. Arielle Eden first came to TIRnRR's attention last year, through a recommendation from our pal, America's Sweetheart Irene Peña. "Sagittarius" is Arielle's best yet, a bubbly and inviting track that easily earns this Capricorn's eager approval. This is the dawning of the age of Arielle.

THE FLIRTATIONS: Nothing But A Heartache

The Flirtations' "Nothing But A Heartache" was on of my favorite 45s when I was a kid, and it certainly earns a spot in The Greatest Record Evber Made! (Volume 1):

One of the many lessons learned in the British Invasion was that rockin' pop fans in England sometimes appreciated American music more than Americans did. In the mid '60s, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Animals, and others took inspiration from Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, et al.--American acts that had lost preeminence on homeland radio and record charts--and sold that sound right back to the States. The British invaded and conquered with weapons at least partially made in the former colonies.

As a tangent to this phenomenon, some American performers relocated to the U.K. in search of a piece of the action. Nascent producer Shel Talmy traded Chicago for London, and wound up overseeing classic work by The Kinks, The Who, The Easybeats, and The Creation. Los Angeles-based vocal group The Walker Brothers found success elusive until relocating across the pond, and both Jimi Hendrix and Suzi Quatro discovered England was more receptive to their pursuit of stardom than their respective Seattle and Detroit stomping grounds had been. 

Add The Flirtations to that list. Sisters Shirley, Earnestine, and Betty Pierce were from South Carolina, and they formed a girl group called The Gypsies in 1962, with their friend Lestine Johnson completing the quartet. A pair of singles on the Old Town Records label in '64 and '65 failed to establish chart supremacy over Herman's Hermits or The Yardbirds, nor over domestic competition from The Supremes. Lestine Johnson split, replaced by Tuskegee, Alabama's native daughter Viola Billups. More singles, no more success, and the departure of Betty Pierce as the remaining trio of Shirley, Earnestine, and Viola became The Flirtations in 1966. In 1967, The Flirtations decided London was the place they had to be, and they moved to that place said to swing like a pendulum do, that rain-gray town known for its sound. London, meet The Flirtations...

..."Nothing But A Heartache" was The Flirtations' only hit, and a modest one, peaking at # 34 in Billboard. Its B-side was a sturdy and engaging out-of-season seasonal shot called "Christmas Time Is Here Again," a delightful little present deserving of greater Yuletime notoriety. The companion album Sounds Like The Flirtations is loaded with soulpop/girlpop gems awaiting proper appreciation. Oh, but that one hit....

CISSY HOUSTON: Down In The Boondocks

Another of my favorite singles as a child was Billy Joe Royal's "Down In The Boondocks" from 1965 (pop music's best year ever). Soul singer Cissy Houston covered the song some time in (I think) the early '70s, and while I'm not prepared to surrender my lifetime allegiance to Mr. Royals's original version, Ms. Houston's Gospel-bred prowess makes it her own. Cissy Houston's niece Dionne Warwick, cousin Leontyne Price, and daughter Whitney Houston demonstrated that singing talent runs in the family. Um...yeah.

MELANIE WITH THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS: Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)

My Mom hated Melanie. I mean, it wasn't anything personal; if Melanie Safka had shown up at our house or something, I'm sure Mom would have offered her a bite to eat and a chance to sit and relax for a bit, all the while politely begging Ms. Safka not to sing. The distaste was based purely on artistic grounds; when Mom was working at a factory, Melanie's 1971 hit "Brand New Key" came on the radio. It came on the radio repeatedly, as hit records are inclined to do. Over the clang 'n' clatter of hardware and machinery, the waifish voice trilling I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key reached Mom's ears like Trotsky's icepick. Mom thought it was the worst approximation of music she'd ever heard. Experiencing the song again at a later time--outside the factory, away from the industrial thrum and bang of assembly work--did not improve Mom's initial impression, nor did any subsequent spin improve Mom's view of the song. Noise. This is pop music?

I was eleven years old at the time. And while I may have enjoyed teasing Mom about this song she disliked so much, I didn't have any particular love of it, either. 

But. 

Although "Brand New Key"'s hit reign in '71 was the first time I recall hearing Melanie's name in connection with a song, it was not the first Melanie song I knew. In September of 1970, when I was entering sixth grade, one of my favorite radio records was "Look What They've Done To My Song Ma," which was written by Melanie and a hit for The New Seekers. Listening now to both The New Seekers' single and Melanie's own recording of that song, I'd swear it was actually Melanie that I heard on the radio as middle school beckoned. That doesn't likely; it was almost certainly The New Seekers getting airplay on AM Top 40 in Syracuse, my stubborn contrary memory notwithstanding.

But I betcha I also heard Melanie's first Top 10 hit, "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)," earlier that same year, when I was still safely ensconced in elementary school. What a terrific, uplifting song, with the sanctified might of The Edwin Hawkins Singers lifting Melanie up to soar as high as the angels above. I'd had no real use for the straight black Gospel sound of The Edwin Hawkins Singers' huge 1969 hit "Oh Happy Day" when I was nine, but "Lay Down" effortlessly mingled their celestial sound with Melanie's folk-singer vibe, and it all wound up as pop music. Irresistible pop music. Forget the damned roller skates. "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" is the key, right here.

Oh, almost forgot: when "Brand New Key" was still a recent radio memory, I saw some photographs of Melanie for the first time, and the notion of laying down with her seemed very appealing to this eleven-year-old. I don't think Mom would have approved.

THE MONKEES: Sunny Girlfriend [acoustic remix of master vocal]

It still strikes me as a little bit odd that many of us routinely buy multi-disc deluxe reissues of what were originally single LPs. Odd or not, we're fans, and we want this stuff. I think the expanded Pet Sounds was my first such willful overkill, and when I heard the announcement for Rhino Handmade's three-disc version of The Monkees' 1967 album Headquarters, I was in. That set's unique acoustic remix of Michael Nesmith's "Sunny Girlfriend" became my preferred version of the song. Here's what I wrote about it in a previous post about my 25 favorite Monkees tracks:

Nesmith's "Sunny Girlfriend" is one of the many highlights on Headquarters, a rollickin' country-rock romp with a freewheeling ambiance that gives sound and form to the feeling of liberation and possibility The Monkees must have felt as they sought to establish themselves outside of Kirshner's assembly line. The joy is infectious, and even more so in this acoustic remix found on the 3-CD Headquarters Sessions set. She owns and operates her own sunshine factory. If ultimately a put-down of a girl who "doesn't really care," it is neither hapless nor vindictive, and maintains its joy from start to finish.

THE OHMS: Chain Letter

There are two separate caches of pop music circa late '70s and early '80s that top my list of lost classics of the era. One is the cavalcade of shoulda-been-hits by Fools Face, a Springfield, Missouri combo whose second album Tell America was one of my favorite LPs of the '80s, but whose fabulous treasure trove of ace material remains obscure and difficult to get; none of it has ever been reissued, and my copies of their second and third albums are the only copies I've ever even seen. It's a fabulous catalog worthy of wider acclaim, but few will ever have the opportunity to hear it.

The Ohms are perhaps even more obscure than Fools Face. The group played the same late '70s Syracuse club scene that produced my favorite power pop group The Flashcubes. Both the 'Cubes and The Ohms broke up well before receiving their proper due, leaving only a handful of singles behind (two Flashcubes 45s, and just one lone Ohms disc, "Chain Letter"/"Teenage Alcoholic"). But The Flashcubes' legacy lingered, their demos were eventually released, and they regrouped to record more stellar material. The Ohms were forgotten outside of the 315 area code.

They deserved better. A rockin' pop power trio--guitarist and singin' songwriter Zenny Caucasian, bassist Rick Suburban, and drummer Ducky Carlisle--I think The Ohms first split right around the time that "Chain Letter" was released in 1979. As the single drew positive notice in Trouser Press magazine, Zenny and Ducky re-Ohmed, with new bassist Keith Korvair. They cut some terrific, terrific home recordings (including essential tracks like "You're So Surreal," "Boppin' At The USO," and my pick hit, "License To Kill") before powering down for good. Lost classics, for sure.

POP CO-OP: Yellow Pills

Covering a well-known song can be a daunting task. It's one thing if you're throwing in a raucous rendition of a Badfinger or Hollies gem to goose a live audience into an active frenzy; it's quite another to attempt your own recording of it. If your version strays too far from the recognized blueprint, it may border on heresy. If it sticks too closely to what we already know, well then, what was the point?

So here comes Pop Co-Op, taking on one of power pop's all-time Big Kahunas, 20/20's "Yellow Pills." And damned if they don't mess with it, slap it around a bit, fiddle under the hood, apply a fresh coat of blush, rearrange the chairs on the deck, mix a few metaphors, a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants. The result is initially off-putting--I confess I was puzzled at first spin--but each successive spin reveals its potential brilliance. It changes the rhythm. It changes the feel. It retains the heart. Open your eyes, give it a try, and feel free. From Futureman Records' new 20/20 tribute album Action Now: 20/20 Re-Envisioned.

THE TEMPTATIONS: I Can't Get Next To You

Well, New Year's Resolutions are all about setting goals and trying to achieve them. "I can't get next to you?" That kind of attitude guarantees failure, my friend. Repeat after me: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

I think this sucks, I think this sucks, I think this sucks....
THE LITTLE ENGINE WITH A BAD ATTITUDE

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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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.