MICHAEL SIMMONS: Fun Where You Can Find It

This rant on behalf of Michael Simmons's superlative covers album Fun Where You Can Find It appeared as commentary accompanying the posted playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1314. It also needs to stand on its own as another proud example of my own embrace of the art of hype, and as endorsement of a great, great record. You can buy a vinyl copy of Fun Where You Can Find It right here, and a CD copy here. Hell, while you're at it, why not pick up a matching tote bag and T-shirt? If you're looking for fun, consider this a map to where you can find it.

Michael Simmons is a true treasure, a rockin' pop force of nature, a benevolent Midas capable of transmogrifying the mundane into pure pop gold. He's demonstrated his magic touch time and time again: As a solo artist, as the pilot of the incomparable combo sparkle*jets u.k., as one of the driving elements of the always-loveable Popdudes, and as the producer and sonic wondermaker of so many great records by so many other sublime artists. Closer to TIRnRR home, Michael is the reason my own passion project Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes sounds so seamlessly, unerringly awesome.

In pop circles, I don't hear the Michael Simmons name mentioned anywhere near as often as it oughta be. sparkle*jets u.k.'s Box Of Letters was one of THE best albums of 2023, and the new Michael Simmons covers album Fun Where You Can Find It arrives just in time to claim its rightful place as one of 2025's best as well.

On Fun Where You Can Find It, the original source material saluted by Simmons is varied and delightful, as our Michael meets 'n' greets the diverse likes of the Grass Roots, the Beach Boys, Squeeze. Steely Dan, World Party, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Lowe, Fountains of Wayne, Genesis, Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey, and Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, looks 'em each in the eye without flinching, smiles, and buys 'em all the drinks of their choice. Whether we're imbibing bourbon or Yoo-hoo, we're havin' a party.

And here's the party's soundtrack: A Top Ten plus one, going up to eleven with taste, accomplishment, and an overriding belief that the song's the thing, the music matters, and love of music can help turn doldrums into gold. Like Midas. Like Brian Wilson. Like this. True treasure. Anyone who loves pop music should treasure Michael Simmons. 

We sure do.

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: 9/13/2025

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 # 1301.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

There was an unconscious symmetry in play when we invited the mighty sparkle*jets u.k. to join in on the new Big Stir Records various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. I mean, we wanted them because they're freakin' fantastic, and their most recent album Box Of Letters was one of THE best releases of 2024. In pursuit of a better tribute album, of course we needed sparkle*jets u.k. with us on this.

Although Make Something Happen! was my idea, and I was its (I guess) project manager, I wanted the Flashcubes involved in the process. Over and above granting use of their original songs so all of these other fine artists could cover them, Gary, Paul, Arty, and Tommy offered input on song selections and wish lists for potential performers, and they personally recruited some of the acts who agreed to contribute. Furthermore, it was important that the album include at least one new recording by the Flashcubes; they gave me three new tracks, and they're all fabulous. 

Some have commented (positively, I think) about how unusual it is for a band to appear on its own tribute album. I say sparkle*jets u.k. established a precedent in 2000 by assembling I ♥ sparkle*jets u.k. Yep, they piloted the creation of their own tribute album, group members Michael Simmons and Susan West participated on some of the tracks, and it was glorious. They made something happen!

They're still doing that. For our newly-released Flashcubes tribute, sparkle*jets u.k. executed a stunning rendition of the title track, and Michael Simmons mastered the entire album to irresistible result. Symmetry. That happened, and it is something.

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity

I often mention that there is so much more great music out there that most of us don't get around to hearing. Credit our friends Brett Vargo and Uncle Gregg at the essential weekly podcast Only Three Lads for my recent belated discovery of LeMoyne Alexander. Mr. Alexander is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer with a long list of credits in hip-hop and R & B, and his recent guest appearance on O3L not only introduced me to LeMoyne Alexander, but specifically to his extraordinary 2024 single "Insecurity." Whoa! I'm retroactively declaring "Insecurity" to be one of my top tracks of '24. 

There's so much out there that we don't know, that we don't get an opportunity to know. With LeMoyne Alexander's superb rockin' pop track "Insecurity," we'll try to make up a little bit of lost time. It plays on this week's show. And it's secured a spot on our next show. 

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

The third single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. And perhaps not the final single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Stay tuned.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

From Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Hey, there's a video to go with it!

THE ROLLING STONES: One Hit (To The Body)

A single from the Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work, "One Hit (To The Body)" is my favorite Stones track of the '80s, my favorite since at least 1978's "Shattered," and possibly my favorite since 1972's "Happy." I'm a little surprised that this is the first time the song has ever appeared on a TIRnRR playlist. Our goal is to PLAY the hits! And this is one hit well worth playing.

THE RAMONES: Judy Is A Punk

On this little mutant radio show, we like to refer to the Ramones as "the American Beatles." This week, let's call 'em the American Herman's Hermits, if only for the familiar Second verse, same as the verse! that Joey Ramone employs as a call to arms for his band o' brudders on "Judy Is A Punk." Hermits singer Peter Noone will be the Featured Performer on our next show, and we'll supplement that feature with another spin of the Ramones' "Judy Is A Punk."

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

Good advice. From a previous 10 Songs:

I remember hearing Rihanna's hit "Umbrella" in 2007, and not being especially taken with it. In 2008, the updated version of her Good Girl Gone Bad (Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) landed into my consciousness via my then-teen daughter, whose interest in "Take A Bow" and "Disturbia" brought those songs to my attention as well. I was a little surprised to discover I liked them (especially "Disturbia"), but I did indeed like them.

I missed out on the track "Shut Up And Drive." I've heard it, but I never noticed it until a random search for playlist ideas brought me to it earlier this month. It was like a brand new song to me, and I loved it.

(How did I know I loved it? The fact that I played it on obsessive repeat would be a pretty clear clue to that.)

Wikipedia describes "Shut Up And Drive" as a new wave song--no, really!--based on "Blue Monday" by New Order. No offense to the mopey British guys, but I prefer it the way Rihanna did it.

THE HIT SQUAD: Best Of Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE PEPPER'S GHOST PLAYERS: Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Ghoul You Want

Make Something Happen! isn't Big Stir Records' only new various-artists blockbuster. For Halloween, the friendly spirits at Big Stir offer Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies, a collection pre-equipped with a self-descriptive title that sums itself up so I don't have to.

I'm knocked by this album's sheer audacity, and the collective ability of its participants to make it so. The collection has an old soul, and I mean that in the best way: It effortlessly mixes spoken-word introductions with season-appropriate music that revels in ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night, and it effectively channels the ambition of every 1970s artist who attempted to pull off a concept album of any kind. And, unlike many who made the attempt back then, Big Stir's people do pull it off. Chilling! Thrilling! The Haunted! part is a bonus.

For on-the-air Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies this week, we chose the album's two opening tracks, the Pepper's Ghost Players' spoken introduction "Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP" and Librarians With Hickeys' "Ghoul You Want," which is my first immediate favorite from the album's accumulated tricks and treats.

Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies is a holiday blessing, even if it is for a holiday not traditionally associated with blessings. We'll have another track from the album on our next show. This bubbling cauldron can use a big stir. 

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.

Release Day! MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! A TRIBUTE TO THE FLASHCUBES

                             

After more than a year of prep and behind-the-scenes work, today is the official street date for Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. This labor of love gathers 21 great acts to cover 21 great songs written by members of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. We bolster the tribute tracks with three brand-new studio originals recorded by the 'Cubes themselves, with all of these assorted bright lights shining together as one.

The great Michael McCartney, host of the venerable radio show The Time Machine on Mana'o Radio KMNO-FM in Maui, was nice enough to devote nearly an hour of airtime  Make Something Happen! this past Saturday. For a limited time, you can still hear Michael chat with me about the project, our comments nestled all comfy 'n' cool amidst a number of tracks from Make Something Happen! Michael pulled a double on-air shift on Saturday, so the Cubic portion of this show is archived under the name The Past, The Present And The Forgotten. For the next week or so, you can access the September 6th edition of The Past, The Present And The Forgotten via Mana'o Radio's Listen On Demand option; just specify the show (The Past, The Present And The Future) and the date (September 6th). My portion of the show stretches from the 34:29 mark (commencing with the Kennedys' cover of the Flashcubes' "Walking Through The Park") through the 1:31:21 mark (the conclusion of a spin of my favorite Turtles track, played in memory of Mark Volman). Can't thank Michael enough for the attention and indulgence. Michael! You da MAN!

Now: MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! You can read my liner notes and acknowledgments here, you can view extensive track-by-track supplemental liner notes here, and you can buy your very own copy of Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes directly from our friends at Big Stir Records, via Bandcamp, from our other friends at Kool Kat Musik, and from a variety of resources accessible right here.

I am still exhausted in the aftermath of putting this record together. SO worth it. I could not be prouder of the result. Now it's your turn to grab and enjoy. Operators are standing by. 

You know what to make of it.

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN!
A TRIBUTE TO THE FLASHCUBES
CD/Digital, September 12, 2025
Big Stir Records BSR-0146

1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce
2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen
3. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far
4. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise
5. GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT: Pathetic
6. JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded
7. BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities
8. THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot
9. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park
10. MEEGAN VOSS AND STEVE JORDAN/THE VERBS: I Need Glue
11. DOLPH CHANEY: Girl From Germany
12. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week
13. THE PEPPERMINT KICKS: Muscle Beach
14. TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class
15. THE CHOOSERS: Christi Girl
16. HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind
17. THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police
18. THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands
19. ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Bad Dream
20. THE MAYFLOWERS: Born To Cry
21. SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes
22. CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight
23. SORROWS: Radio
24. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

ALL SONGS WRITTEN OR CO-WRITTEN BY THE FLASHCUBES.

Compiled and produced by CARL CAFARELLI
Executive Producers: REX BROOME, CHRISTINA BULBENKO and MICHAEL SIMMONS
Mastered by MICHAEL SIMMONS
Package Design by MARGIE FINER
Cover Illustration by KAME (Japan)
Liner Notes by CARL CAFARELLI

This is a SYRACUSE NOISE production, in association with THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO WITH DANA & CARL

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.

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! A dream of a Flashcubes tribute album becomes real

Well. Looks like we did indeed make something happen.

Details and liner notes here.

BUY IT! Um...here.

A million thanks to all involved. Questions? Make 'em brilliant, and ask away. 

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.

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! Continuing to tweak the FLASHCUBES tribute album

As we edge toward finishing off the master for Big Stir Records' forthcoming collection Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES, it's increasingly clear that this is gonna be an absolutely kickass compilation. We start with great material--a selection of songs written by my favorite power pop group the Flashcubes--put 'em in the hands of fave rave acts who know their own bright-lights magic and how to conjure with it, and brilliance results. Add three brand-new tracks by the Flashcubes themselves, and by God, we are indeed making something happen. 

We've been slowly revealing more and more specifics about what artists will be on the album, and what Flashcubes gems they've covered. We've been rolling them out a little at a time on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, including debut spins of Make Something Happen! tracks by Sorrows, the Choosers, and Librarians With Hickeys over the last two weeks, along with our second and third new Flashcubes track reveals in the same time frame. This Sunday night, we'll debut Chris von Sneidern's "No Promise" and Callan Foster's "It's You Tonight," and we'll reprise previous Make Something Happen! spins of the Flashcubes' "The Sweet Spot" and the Spongetones' "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young."

And I tell ya: It's all I can do to restrain myself from playing all of 'em in one show. This is some great rockin' pop stuff, and I'm proud to have my small part in helping to make this particular something happen.

Sunday's show will also feature a work-in-progress mix of another track from Make Something Happen!, as Mike Gent of the Figgs delivers a great cover of the 'Cubes perennial "Pathetic." Mike is working with another artist on this one, and that secret surprise artist's lead vocal contribution is gonna make "Pathetic" even greater. Not quite ready to reveal that artist's identity just yet, but we'll drop some pretty direct clues when we introduce Mike's early mix of "Pathetic" on the show Sunday night.

I've been tweaking the album's track order, mindful of having one song apiece by 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay and guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin in each three-song sequence. This isn't the final line-up, but here's what we're looking at right now:

1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

3. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far

4. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise

5. [REDACTED] WITH MIKE GENT: Pathetic

6. JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded

7. [REDACTED]: Five Personalities

8. THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot

9. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

10. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

11. [REDACTED]: I Won't Wait Another Night

12. HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind

13. SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes

14. [REDACTED]: You're Not The Police

15. [REDACTED]: I Need Glue

16. THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

17. [REDACTED]: Muscle Beach

18. [REDACTED]: Born To Cry

19. [REDACTED]: She's Leaving

20. CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight

21. THE CHOOSERS: Christi Girl

22. [REDACTED]: Welcome To The Working Class

23. SORROWS: Radio

24. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

Sequencing is the most fun part of assembling a compilation album. With every compilation I've programmed or co-programmed over the last two decades, it's always been important to arrive at a sequence that flows like a great album should flow. Gotta have a compelling opening, backed up by further, mounting evidence of musical wonder at work. Every song is vital, everything needs to compel you to keep listening, and the final tracks at the end of the compilation have to be at least as exciting as everything that led up to them. Best mix tape ever.

I'm still working on the sequencing for Make Something Happen! This, I think, is very close, and it's getting closer. From "Reminisce" to "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young," this is gonna be a terrific pop album.

Skeptical? Tune in to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio this Sunday, May 4th, from 9 to Midnight Eastern, as we open the show with Chris von Sneidern's "No Promise." I tell ya, that track by itself should be enough to convince you.

The album is due out in September. I finished the first draft of the liner notes last week. The first digital single is out...er, I may not be able to tell you that yet. But it's by the Flashcubes, I know what and when it is, and I look forward to sharing that information with you very, very soon. As always: Stay tuned. Smile everybody. It's the Flashcubes.

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.

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! Another small update on THE FLASHCUBES TRIBUTE ALBUM

There has been a little bit more forward movement on the forthcoming compilation album Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. The album remains on-target for its September release date from the good folks at Big Stir Records.

I'm still holding off on announcing the names of the complete slate of participating artists; for the time being, we are only listing those who are already public knowledge through some resource or another. The disc will include three new recordings by the Flashcubes themselves, and the album will open with their ace new cut "Reminisce" (my favorite track of 2025 so far). We've played the Flashcubes tribute tracks from sparkle*jets u.k., the Kennedys, Pop Co-Op, and the Spongetones on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Chris von Sneidern has announced that he's covering "No Promise," and we've mentioned Hamell On Trial's gloriously cantankerous reading of "Got No Mind," which would require too many bleeps to make it sufficiently FCC-friendly for airplay but which will compel the ritual raising of fists when the album comes out.

As of our previous update, we had two spots listed as tentative; that number has since reduced its bad self to a mere one, and I'm pretty sure that will also be confirmed soon. I've received two more finished tracks--we'll get back to those in a second--and heard rough mixes of a couple of others. One of those rough mixes has the potential of adding a lead vocal from...no, that would be telling, but man, here's hopin'! Overall, we seem to be right about where we should be.

This past Sunday's edition of TIRnRR opened with a Flashcubes tribute album track by Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols, covering the Cubic classic "When We Close Our Eyes." Our next show will open with Joe Giddings covering "You're Not Grounded." We'll add those artists to the tribute album's public listing now, and we'll also add Callan Foster, who created an irresistible video for his exquisite cover of "It's You Tonight" (as seen here).

The rest? Still [REDACTED], including the two rough mixes referenced two paragraphs north of here. Here, my friends, is what you're allowed to know at this still-early date:

Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES

Big Stir Records, September 2025

1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

3. [REDACTED]: Gone Too Far

4. [REDACTED]: Pathetic

5. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise

6. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

7. [REDACTED]: Five Personalities

8. CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight

9. [REDACTED]: Christi Girl

10. HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind [EXPLICIT]

11. [REDACTED]: You're Not The Police

12. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

13. [REDACTED]: I Need Glue

14. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

*15. [REDACTED]: I Won't Wait Another Night

16. [REDACTED]: Muscle Beach

17. [REDACTED]: Born To Cry

18. JOE GIDDINGS: You’re Not Grounded 

19. [REDACTED]: She's Leaving

20. SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes

21. [REDACTED]: Radio

22. [REDACTED]: Welcome To The Working Class

23. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

24. DUCKY CARLISLE: THE FLASHCUBES!!

25. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

*=tentative

The song sequence remains unchanged at this time, but may be subject to tweaking as we go.

And a-tweaking we will go! Bright lights stand ready.

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.

THE FLASHCUBES TRIBUTE ALBUM: quick semi-update

Original poster by Joe Glisson

Here's a quick mini-update on the Flashcubes tribute album I'm helping to assemble. Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES is due for release in September from the mighty Big Stir Records label. It will consist of 21 covers of songs written by members of the Flashcubes, plus three brand-new recordings by the Flashcubes themselves. You can read a bit of background on the project here and here.

One week after teasing the album's track listing, we are inching an eensy bit closer to the final line-up. Within the past few days, three act/track combinations that were tentative last week have now moved from pencil to ink. I have five spots that are still tentative, and two of those I would deem likely to be confirmed soon. I hope to have answers on all five before long.

The blueprint posted last week had the three new Flashcubes tracks scattered like Crackerjack prizes throughout the album, opening with Paul Armstrong's ace new tune "Reminisce" and spacing the new Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin songs out at later points in the program. I received a comment that the three new 'Cubes cuts should be saved for the end, kinda like an encore after a great show. While I really like the symmetry of opening with "Reminisce" and closing with the SpongeTones' cover of "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young," I'm trying out a sequence with the new Cubic trio at the end. Here's this week's still heavily-redacted blueprint:

*asterisk indicates one of the five tracks I consider tentative at this time

1. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

2. [REDACTED]: Gone Too Far

*3. [REDACTED]: Pathetic

4. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise

5. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park 

6. [REDACTED]: Five Personalities

7. [REDACTED]: Christi Girl

8. [REDACTED]: Got No Mind

9. [REDACTED]: It's You Tonight

10. [REDACTED]: Face In The Crowd

11. [REDACTED]: Fourth Of July

*12. [REDACTED]: I Won't Wait Another Night

*13. [REDACTED]: Misunderstanding

14. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

*15. [REDACTED]: When We Close Our Eyes 

16. [REDACTED]: I Need Glue

17. [REDACTED]: You're Not The Police

*18. [REDACTED]: Taking Inventory

19. [REDACTED]: Radio

20. [REDACTED]: Welcome To The Working Class

21. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

22. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

23. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

24. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

There will be changes. 

One final note: Russ Donahue wanted to make sure I give credit to artist Joe Glisson, who drew the original poster I've used in this and previous posts. Russ wrote, "[Joe] drew that as part of the promotion we did for the band’s performance at LeMoyne College, and the building behind their faces is the administrative building at LeMoyne. In keeping with those times, the good Fathers weren’t pleased, which made the event that much more enjoyable!"

Cool story, Russ! And it's part of the tradition of what happens when you 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.

THE FLASHCUBES TRIBUTE ALBUM: First tease

As announced on this week's exciting edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, we are hard at work on a tribute album celebrating Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. The tribute album is called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES, and it's due in September from the good folks at Big Stir Records. The album's title is remarkably similar to the title of my forthcoming book Make Something Happen! The Story Of A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. One presumes that similarity is not a coincidence.

We're not quite ready to reveal all of the details of the tribute album just yet, as a lot of Cubic parts are still being fitted into their proper places. It has long been my wish for the tribute to include at least one new track written and recorded by the Flashcubes themselves, so the disc will open with "Reminisce," a superb new tune written by 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong. Now, the Flashcubes have agreed to provide two more new tracks, one apiece written by bassist Gary Frenay and guitarist Arty Lenin. I did not think those two tracks would be available for the tribute, and I'm giddy that we've secured them for Make Something Happen!

The album is still a work in progress. For now, here's a heavily redacted look at its current blueprint:

Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES

1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

3. [REDACTED]: Gone Too Far

4. [REDACTED]: Radio

5. [REDACTED]: Christi Girl

6. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise

7. [REDACTED]: Pathetic

8. [REDACTED]: When We Close Our Eyes

9. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

10. [REDACTED]: Girl From Germany

11. [REDACTED]: Five Personalities

12. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

13.[REDACTED]: A Face In The Crowd

14. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

15. [REDACTED]: It's You Tonight

16. [REDACTED]: Got No Mind

17. THE FLASHCUBES: [REDACTED]

18. [REDACTED]: Fourth Of July

19. [REDACTED]: I Won't Wait Another Night

20. [REDACTED]: She's Leaving

21. [REDACTED]: You're Not The Police

22. [REDACTED]: Muscle Beach

23.[REDACTED]: Welcome To The Working Class

24. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young 

I can just about guarantee that the final product will stray at least a little bit from this blueprint. I'm awaiting word from a few artists regarding their commitments and/or song choices, and two of the songs listed above have not yet been assigned to a performer. But a lot of them are set, and that's a start. Specifically, it's a start on making something happen.

Worthy goal, that. Set your bright lights on September. It's ALL happening in September.

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.