5 ABOVE: Bands Who Were ALMOST Famous

5 Above picks five great things within a specific category. Look out below--these are five that rise above.

As my nearly half-dozen regular readers are aware, I recently decided to cut back on blogging, reducing my posting schedule from its clinically stupid daily frequency to three or maybe four posts a week. So, of course, right after walkin' away from the ol' Bop a day grind, the latest episode of one of my favorite podcasts compels me to slap together a fifth post this week. Just when I think I'm out....

The podcast is Only Three Lads, the weekly celebration of classic alternative music from the '70s through the '90s. For this week's O3L, hosts Uncle Gregg and Brett Vargo, along with guest Third Lad Alex Boucher, discussed their choices for the top five bands who were almost famous. It's a fascinating subject, it made for a fascinating show, and it made me want to compile my own Top 5 list.

It's difficult for me to separate the idea of great bands who were almost famous from the idea of great bands who were unfairly obscure. They're similar categories, but not quite the same. The "almost famous" qualifier suggests we're specifically talking about acts who seemed poised to grab the brass ring in some big and spectacular way.

Before we get to my Top 5, let's mention a few acts who are just outside our chosen parameters:

TOO SOON!

The Remains and the Mynah Birds should be legit contenders to top anyone's list of rock's all-time Almosts, but both groups had their brief careers in the 1960s, predating the O3L era. The Remains were Boston's most popular rock combo in the mid '60s, and they seemed to have it all: Songs, talent, charisma, a major label deal, national TV exposure, and oh, by the way, THEY OPENED FOR THE BEATLES in 1966. They had everything but record sales. 

The Mynah Birds, with future superstars Rick James and Neil Young, were set to be Motown's first rock group, but they broke up when James was arrested for being AWOL from Uncle Sam.

THEY WERE FAMOUS! Then they weren't

The Cowsills and the Bay City Rollers had huge hits (in the '60s and '70s respectively), but the public at large was uninterested in their second acts. The Cowsills' 1998 album Global is my # 1 favorite album of the '90s, yet it's been an obscure rarity until its recent deluxe reissue.

When the Bay City Rollers' lead singer Les McKeown left the group at the end of the '70s, the remaining Rollers recruited new lead singer Duncan Faure, shortened their name to just "the Rollers," and released some very fine rockin' pop records that sold a metric bupkis.

FAMOUS...later

The Ramones. Icons now, so we can't claim they're a mere almost. At the time, though, they did not receive anywhere near the recognition or record sales they deserved.

And now...MY list of the Top 5 almost-famous bands of the O3L era.

5. ARTFUL DODGER

Artful Dodger released three albums on Columbia in the '70s, then a fourth (the long outta print Rave On) on Ariola. Live and on record alike, the group seemed like an irresistible cross between the best of Badfinger and the best of the Faces. I don't think I'd ever heard a note of their music before catching them at a club show in '79, but their performance nailed everything worth nailing. Goosebumps. Goosebumps, and a raised fist. Although they hailed from Virginia, I understand they were big, big stars in Cleveland, where they received notable FM radio exposure. The stardom did not translate elsewhere.

4. THE PANDORAS

There were at least two distinctly different phases of the Pandoras' career in the '80s. The original line-up was a proud product of the garage, armed with Nuggets-inspired attitude and a fantastic original song called "It's About Time." That version of the Pandoras exploded into rock and dust after just one album. Founding member Gwynne Kahn went on to form the magnificent Mad Monster Party, the single best '80s group that no one got to hear. Paula Pierce formed a new Pandoras group, which included Kim Shattuck, later of the Muffs.

Paula's version of the Pandoras recorded a brilliant pop album (Stop Pretending) for Rhino Records, and the group was subsequently signed to Mercury. They recorded an album called Come Inside, bigger things appeared imminent, but the record was never released. Mercury dropped the Pandoras without ever issuing even a single Pandoras track.

3. THE NEW YORK DOLLS

Everything I know and love about punk rock owes its rambunctious genesis to the New York Dolls. No Dolls? That would mean no Ramones, no Sex Pistols, no Clash, no punk scene, no new wave scene, no alternative scene; just something bland and boring in its place. The Dolls weren't built to last, but man, they were important, and man they were kickass fun. And they looked fine on television: Go watch 'em on YouTube clips from The Midnight Special, cavortin' and paradin' in America's face like they were--book it!!--The Next Big Thing. Stars. STARS!, I tell ya!

America turned its face to...well, probably to something bland and boring. The New York Dolls are not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Odds are they never will be. 

2. THE FLASHCUBES

Yeah, I know. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes never came close to breaking out, only released a couple of singles during their original 1977-1980 lifespan, never got a record deal. What's so almost famous! about that?

You. Weren't. There.

In the '70s, Flashcubes fans like me absolutely and completely believed the group was going to be huge. They were such a great live band, they wrote such irresistible songs, they had such sheer rock 'n' roll presence, that we all knew--knew--their stardom was inevitable. On paper, sure, I guess they never came all that close. But in our hearts, our imaginations? The first time I saw them, I was certain it was like seeing the Beatles at The Cavern. 

A few years back, I wrote a what-if story about what could have happened if the Flashcubes had achieved the success they deserved. But in that imaginary world, the Flashcubes stopped being Flashcubes. Our real world still has the Flashcubes--score a rare win for the real world! They're working on new recordings. I heard one of the new songs a couple of days ago, and it's guaranteed to be one of my favorite tracks in 2025.

Fame. Pfui. Who needs fame when you have the Flashcubes?

1. THE RUBINOOS

In this discussion of bands who almost hit it big, the Rubinoos are my unchallenged # 1. Unlike the Flashcubes, the Rubinoos did come tantalizingly close to the top, top, top of the pops. Their 1977 cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" missed the Top 40 by just five notches, and they seemed on the brink of mega success. I saw 'em on American Bandstand! They had the look, the image, the spirit, the chops, the charm...everything. 

And they had the songs. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is like THE surefire # 1 hit that, y'know, didn't even chart. Didn't. Even. CHART?! Oh, the humanity! Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna see a recount!

But like the Flashcubes, the Rubinoos are still with us, still making extraordinary music, still putting on incredible live shows. I wish more people knew about them. 

But I'm glad I know about them.

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

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

10 SONGS: 10/11/2024

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 # 1254.

THE ON AND ONS: Long Ride

Australia's phenomenal pop combo the On and Ons have been TIRnRR Fave Raves for several years already, and news that the lads are now affiliated with the mighty Jem Records label makes us kvell. Kvelling is a good thing, expressing a giddy 'n' delighted feeling inside. Rockin' pop music makes us kvell. As it oughta.

Two new tracks from the On and Ons' forthcoming Jem Records debut Come On In reinforce our confidence in the kvell-worthy nature of this alliance. We opened this week's broadcast with the better'n nifty Come On In Jem gem "Long Ride," and circled back to open our closing set with its equally-effervescent album mate "Sunny Jim." We'll have a third Come On In treat on our next show. Come on in! The On and Ons have granted us a license to kvell.

DWIGHT TWILLEY: Alone In My Room

I intended to play this great Dwight Twilley track (from his 1979 album Twilley) on last week's epic Cubic Roots salute to songs that inspired the Flashcubes and the Half/Cubes. Recognizing the need to program something from the Flashcubes' sublime 2023 all-covers album Pop Masters, we subbed in the Pop Masters version of "Alone In My Room" and postponed the Twilley original to this week. I give the edge to the Flashcubes' take on this, but ya can't go wrong either way.

CARLA OLSON AND TALL POPPY SYNDROME: Is It True

As pop fans, when we listen to multiple versions of the same song, we often develop an allegiance to the version that hooked us first. For example, with the Dwight Twilley song that opens this week's 10 Songs, my first real awareness of "Alone In My Room" came via the Flashcubes' cover; I probably heard Twilley's original some time before the last couple of weeks, but it was the Cubic rendition that got my attention, and kept it.

So even the combined forces of Carla Olson and Tall Poppy Syndrome may face long odds in trying to pry my devotion away from Brenda Lee with their new cover of our Brenda's 1964 single "Is It True."

"Is It True" is far and away my favorite Brenda Lee track. It wasn't a hit in America, and I didn't hear it until Rhino Records included "Is It True" in the fabulous 2005 various-artists boxed set One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found. This amazing 4-CD compilation is like the Nuggets of the '60s girl-group sound, and Brenda Lee's "Is It True" is one of its absolute highlights. I adored the song immediately, and have never stopped loving it.

So my gosh, Carla and her Tall Poppy comrades deserve mega accolades for holding their own here. It's not just that their "Is It True" is accomplished and well-performed--I would have expected nothing less from that level of talent--it's that the elusive mojo is there. You believe them. I believe them. I'm not prepared to relinquish my torch for Brenda Lee's original, but I'm very happy to say that I now have two go-to versions of "Is It True." Is it true? Yep. I'll testify to that under oath. 

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: No More Goodbyes

What could sway TIRnRR from its single-minded determination to program recent Librarians With Hickeys single "Hello Operator" with the subtle restraint one expects from carpet-bombing? The release of another new Librarians With Hickeys single. Duh. In truth, we played both "Hello Operator" and its brand spankin' new brother "No More Goodbyes" this week, and "No More Goodbyes" will return next week. Even there, I almost played "Hello Operator" again in place of "No More Goodbyes"--I really, really dig "Hello Operator"--but then I realized that I also really, really dig "No More Goodbyes." Both singles serve as teasers for the group's forthcoming new album How To Make Friends By Telephone, and I am secure in the certainty that I am really, really going to dig the whole album when it appears. No more goodbyes. Hello...!

THE CYNZ: Woman Child

Like Librarians With Hickeys, the Cynz are another A-list rock 'n' roll group whose each new release is likely a given for some TIRnRR airplay burn. No reason to make an exception here, as the new Cynz single "Woman Child" offers further empirical evidence of their essential asskickin' capability. Deadly Cynz! "Woman Child" will spin again on our next show.

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rebel, Rebel

During my recent guest appearance on Dedication--Fans Remember The Bay City Rollers, I mentioned the slow evolution of my interest in the Rollers. When I was a college student bin the late '70s, I put a Bay City Rollers poster on the wall of my dorm room as an act of defiance...but I didn't actually own a lot of Rollers music at the time. I had two 45s ("Saturday Night" and "Rock And Roll Love Letter") and two LPs (Dedication and It's A Game), and an intense curiosity about one other Rollers song that I didn't yet own. It took a while, but my Rollers collection did grow in time.

On Dedication, hosts Laura Brady and Suz Rostron invited me to list my ten favorite Rollers tracks. My list includes two selections from the It's A Game, but not the track from that album that scored the most turntable time when I was matriculatin': The Bay City Rollers' cover of David Bowie's "Rebel, Rebel."

Nowadays, I rarely play the Rollers' version of "Rebel, Rebel." It's not that I dislike it, but nor is it in the front quarters of my consciousness anymore. I wasn't all that much of a Bowie fan in '78; a Bowie-loving college pal despised the Rollers' version, but I liked it either about the same as or a little more than I liked Bowie's original. At the time. That time changed, as time will do. I have other Rollers tracks I like or love a lot more. 

Nonetheless, after mentioning it on Dedication, it seemed high time for "Rebel, Rebel" by the Bay City Rollers to make its return to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. I do now prefer Bowie's original...but I retain my long-ago affection for Tartan-clad rebellion as well. Hot tramp, I love you so. She's a rebel.

DAVID BOWIE: I Dig Everything

So noted, David. So noted.

DONNA SUMMER: Hot Stuff

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE HALF/CUBES: Let Me Make Love To You

During a couple of previous TIRnRR broadcasts, legendary Maui DJ Michael McCartney expressed his appreciation for some of our intrepid programming decisions, specifically noting his delight in blastin' his speakers as we played Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" and delighting in our Cubic Roots spin of Flo and Eddie's "Let Me Make Love To You." This week, we played "Hot Stuff" and the Half/Cubes' cover of "Let Me Make Love To You" (from the Half/Cubes' recent Pop Treasures album) in the same set, and offered both of 'em as a tip o' the hat to everyone's pal Michael. Blast away, Michael! Blast away.

THE FLASHCUBES: Christi Girl

The decision to program the Flashcubes' "Alone In My Room" last week forced us to cut another 'Cubes track we'd planned to play, specifically guitarist Arty Lenin's "When We Close Our Eyes." We figured we would make up for it by spinning an Arty song this week, but instead of "When We Close Our Eyes," we reached all the way back to 1978 for a fresh play of the Flashcubes' debut single.

"Christi Girl" was the Flashcubes' first record, a 45 (backed with "Guernica" and "Got No Mind") released in 1978. It's a pretty pop ballad written by Arty, and it also made its way to a Bomp Records various-artists set called Waves, Vol. 1, and years later it was exhumed for a Rhino Records power pop compilation CD. Since the Flashcubes only released a grand total of two records during their original late '70s run--1979's "Wait Till Next Week"/"Radio" 45 was the other one--"Christi Girl" was, by default, the Flashcubes' best-known song, at least to the extent that any Flashcubes song could be described as "best-known."

Prior to its release in 1978, I haunted Gerber Music in North Syracuse, badgering clerks there nearly every day about when the damned thing would be available for me to buy. The store had an advance promo copy of the 45 at the store, and they indulged me by playing it on the store's stereo, and then instructing me to go away and come back when it's actually released, ya pesky kid.

And I did. Er...plus a few more stops at Gerber in the interim, asking that musical question, Is it in yet? Is it in yet? Is it in yet...? I bought it the first day it was available.

I cannot overstate how important the Flashcubes have been to me. As I've said elsewhere, it's possible that I would have gotten around to writing about pop music and co-hosting a weekly rock 'n' roll radio show even without the Flashcubes' influence, but it would be a stretch for me to imagine how that would have been. When I was given the honor of inducting the Flashcubes into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2014, I noted once again the three groups that had the greatest and most lasting influence upon my life as a pop fan: The Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes.

A few months back, I bristled when someone referred to the Flashcubes as a cover band. No. No. I get the genesis of that presumption, given that that the Flashcubes' last two non-compilation albums have indeed been all-covers. But people need to dig a little deeper and discover the brilliance of their originals, a collection of ace tunes crafted by Arty Lenin, Paul Armstrong, and Gary Frenay. I tell ya: More artists should be covering them.

In 2021, a supercool Japanese pop group called the Choosers posted a video of their fab in-studio live performance of "Christi Girl." It would be WAY Fab if the Choosers would...um, choose to record an official version of "Christi Girl." It's time for the world to know the things that only we can know.

Somebody: Make something happen.

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

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

10 SONGS: 9/21/2024

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 # 1251.

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS: Queen Of Hearts

We've been playing a couple of advance singles--"Unsubscribe" and "Alleyways"--from the new Hayley and the Crushers album Unsubscribe From The Underground. The album's out now, so we gave another spin to "Alleyways" in this week's opening set, and kicked off Set # 2 with Hayley and the Crushers' aggressive cover of Hank DeVito's "Queen Of Hearts." The song was first recorded by the ever-solid Dave Edmunds, and became a huge pop hit for Juice Newton. I may be alone among my peers in believing the definitive "Queen Of Hearts" belongs to Juice rather than Dave, but both versions are sublime, and the Crushers also turn in their own cool 'n' spunky rendition. 

Does this mean Hayley Cain is now the reigning Queen of Hearts? The cards say yes. There she is, Miss Queen of Hearts....

DAVE EDMUNDS: Girls Talk

Dana followed my spin of Hayley and the Crushers' "Queen Of Hearts" with Dave Edmunds' ace rendition of Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk." The song has also been recorded by its author, and covered with confidence by the Knack and Linda Ronstadt (among others), but Edmunds absolutely owns this one. My favorite Dave Edmunds track.

DENNIS SCHOCKET AND CLIFF HILLIS: The Girls Are Back In Town

Credit the discovery here to The Spoon podcast with Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers. We had already played "Here Comes Joanna," a mighty fine track from the new Dennis Schocket and Cliff Hillis EP Pop, Girls, Etc., and that track has scored berths on two previous TIRnRR playlists. All good, and I betcha there woulda been more spins to come.

But when Cliff hisself was a recent guest on The Spoon, an in-show play of the Pop, Girls, Etc. track "The Girls Are Back In Town" prompted me to shout out loud: WHY AREN'T WE PLAYING THIS SONG...?! 

Well. Now we ARE. It will spin again this Sunday night. All credit to The Spoon. The girls are back in town? The Spoon says HELLO!

THE ARMOIRES: Ridley & Me After The Apocalypse

We've been hammerin' all available podiums on behalf of Octoberland, the forthcoming new album from SoCal/Appalachukrainia's phenomenal pop combo the Armoires. As we near its imminent release in...um, October, we have this opportunity to play one final teaser single. "Ridley & Me After The Apocalypse" demonstrates a sun still shining brightly after presumed Armageddon, and it adds to the mountain of evidence showing us that Octoberland is one of the very best albums of 2024. We'll hear yet another fab cut from Octoberland on our next show.

THE RUBINOOS: Government Center

THE GREG KIHN BAND: Roadrunner 

JONATHAN RICHMAN AND THE MODERN LOVERS: Back In The U.S.A.

The Rubinoos covering Jonathan Richman! The Greg Kihn Band covering Jonathan Richman! Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers covering Chuck Berry! See? We play the HITS!!

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Money Honey

As noted here, it was my great pleasure to appear last week as a guest DJ on Dedication--Fans Remember The Bay City Rollers on Scotland's TD1 Radio. You can hear my guest spot at this Tartan-festooned link, and it was great fun to talk with the show's hosts Laura Brady and Suz Rostron about the Bay City Rollers and reveal (and play!) my ten favorite Rollers tracks.

"Money Honey" wasn't on my Top Ten Rollers Songs list, but it was a runner-up, and I know it's a beguilin' li'l pop treat favored by Dedication's intrepid hosts. So! "Money Honey" returns to the TIRnRR airwaves, a dedication to Laura and Suz. Money in the bank.

VAN HALEN: Dance The Night Away

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Rockaway Beach

A few days after my appearance on the Bay City Rollers show, Dana and I were guests on Only Three Lads, the invigmoratin' weekly classic alternate podcast hosted by Uncle Gregg and Brett Vargo. Whatta freakin' BLAST!! For those of you who miss the frantic banter of the pre-pandemic TIRnRR live shows, man, have we got a podcast for you: Two hours' worth of four music fans talking about music: Only Three Lads Episode 235.

Although our discussion was vast 'n' wide-rangin'--and included copious plugs for my books The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) and Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones--the main topic was the Ramones. The American Beatles! The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time! Each of us detailed our Top 5 Ramones tracks, and there was considerable crossover between the lists, but with enough individual variation to underscore the transcendent wonder of the Ramones.

"Rockaway Beach" was among the songs mentioned, the Ramones' highest-charting (# 66) single. It was a near-miss for my list--it would have been my # 6--but I'm happy that it did get mentioned. I tell ya, listening back to this podcast was a life-affirming experience. Not because Dana and Carl were on it, but because it was yet another delighted opportunity to immerse myself in the magic of the Ramones: The magic of the Ramones' music, and the magic of its ongoing impact upon my life.

Photo by John Tierney

Chewin' out a rhythm on my bubblegum. I listed my top 25 Ramones tracks last year. I sang "Rockaway Beach" with 1.4.5. at my Ramones book release party. TIRnRR doesn't will itself into existence if not for the Ramones. Not hard, not far to reach. Hitch a ride. We'll blast out the Ramones on the radio.

(And thanks again to Brett and Uncle Gregg. Riff Randell would be proud of you.)

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

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available; you can see details here. My 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is also still available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. 

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.

10 SONGS: 9/14/2024

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 # 1250.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

Three as-yet-unreleased tracks from a compilation album coming from Big Stir Records in 2025. We have little more to say about this at the moment, except to note that each of these tracks is stellar, and that one of them will be the album's de facto title tune. 

Beyond that?

Well. Wouldn't YOU like to know.....

THE HALF/CUBES: My Girl

Oh, this is splendid. Splendid AND sublime! The Half/Cubes, of course, are two of the Flashcubes--bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen--working with Randy Klawon and a legion of super guest-stars to remake a few ace rockin' pop tunes from the past. Some you know. Some you don't know. Hell, some I don't know. The result is their debut album Pop Treasures, one of this year's best records and the best covers album since the Flashcubes' own Pop Masters.

For their Pop Treasures rendition of Eric Carmen's "My Girl," the Half/Cubes enlist the aid of Darian Sahanaja (of Wondermints and Brian Wilson's band) to apply just the right balance of shine and oomph. Gorgeous! And I tell ya: I would love to hear the Half/Cubes take on the Flashcubes' 1978 debut single "Christi Girl," written by Arty Lenin. Bright lights illuminate pop treasures of their own.

(And keep an eye out for an upcoming This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio special, casting its spotlight on some of the individual tracks that so influenced the Flashcubes and the Half/Cubes. Brilliant!)

WAR: Why Can't We Be Friends?

I wrote this in 2020. Still applies:

"We can be friends. But politics do matter. What happens in politics affects all of us, as we determine the way our society should function on a day-to-day basis. Friends care about what happens to friends, about what happens to friends of friends. Friends don't vote with the specific shallow goal of making liberals cry again. Friends don't delight in the notion of progressive heads going all Scanners if America's Biggest Mistake somehow wins a second term. And friends, on the right or the left, don't gloat when the other side loses. That's crass and insensitive. We go high. That's what friends do. That's what everyone ought to do.

"Man, we don't have to agree on everything. We don't even have to agree on all that much. Why can't we be friends? At the end of all of this: Why the hell can't we be friends?"

2024 update: With that said....

None of the above should be misread as willingness to compromise my values. If our values don't mesh in some way, then maybe we shouldn't have been friends to begin with.

OASIS: Digsy's Dinner

Well, this would have been an eensy bit more of a statement if we'd had time to play "Rock 'n' Roll Star" or even "The Hindu Times," but you go to the airwaves with the playlist that fits into a three-hour time slot, not the playlist you wish fit into a three-hour time slot. I've never been much of an Oasis fan, but I've been taken aback by the backlash against recent news of their upcoming reunion shows. Jeez, man, dig what you dig. This reunion means a lot to legions of Oasis faithful, and I'm delighted on their behalf.

This is the only previous thing I've ever had to say about Oasis on this blog:

"In the mid '90s, a coworker named Bob Ketcham was hooked on the first Oasis album, Definitely Maybe, and he shared his enthusiasm with me. Or maybe it was the second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? I don't remember, because Oasis just left me cold at the time. My friend Chuck Higbie in Key West also tried to recruit me into the Oasis Army, but I was a resister, I was. The Flashcubes opened a late '90s live show with an ace cover of Oasis' 'Rock 'n' Roll Star,' and that was a bit of all right, awright. 

"One evening in 2002, my daughter and I were watching Top Of The Pops on BBC America, and I fell in helpless thrall to the then-new Oasis single 'The Hindu Times.' I didn't even mind when Oasis themselves turned up on a subsequent TOTP, and were introduced as 'The greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world!' Nonetheless, my favorite Oasis-related track is 'Birth Of An Accidental Hipster,' the fab song co-written by Noel Gallagher of Oasis with the Jam's Paul Weller for the Monkees' 2016 album Good Times!"

And yeah, for this week's Oasis spin, I wanted to say, "Tonight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star," but time restraints forced us to sub in the much shorter track "Digsy's Dinner." Guess we'll settle for saying, "Eat it, haters."

THE BUZZCOCKS: I Don't Mind

I'LL MIND IF I DAMNED WELL WANNA MIND...!!

ROY CRANK: Don't Kill That World I'm Living In

I wasn't familiar with Ukrainian performer Roy Crank prior to the current release of his ace number "Don't Kill That World I'm Living In." That track is paired with the Armoires' "Snake Island Thirteen" as Songs For Ukrainian Independence Day. And while this show is obviously gonna play TIRnRR Fave Raves the Armoires (see below), Crank's track is also good, really good. "Don't Kill This World I'm Living In" reminds me of Queen at their best, and I think a lot of other pop music addicts will likewise appreciate it. I'm gonna need to take a deeper dive in Roy Crank's body of work. Time to thrill that world we're living in.

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Yesterday's Hero

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE ARMOIRES: You Oughta Be Cut In Half

Pop music as manifesto. The Armoires' Octoberland is nothing short of breathtaking, a firm planting of feet and raising of banner on behalf of values and virtues that are even larger than the music itself. The album opens with "We Absolutely Mean It," closes with "Music & Animals," and threads the sentiments together with nine more tracks of resolute sincerity, empathy, and accomplishment. It is a whole-album experience, as all of the superb advance singles somehow sound even better in context. The influences, whether deliberate or God-given, unite pop, rock, folk, Americana, Europa, Broadway (no, really!), rural soul, California sun, and--to quote an older Armoires song title--Appalachukrania, blended to form a unique and sublime tapestry. The production just sounds amazing, so inviting and warm, enhancing hooks and melodies unwilling to shy away from deeper meaning, hummable tunes unafraid to embrace their own essential kickass identity. The Armoires absolutely mean it. 

I'm convinced.

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

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available; you can see details here. My 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is also still available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. 

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.