This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1293: Good Vibrations! Brian Wilson and the Legend of Summer

TIRnRR # 1293: GOOD VIBRATIONS! Brian Wilson and the Legend of Summer: 7/6/2025

Welcome to a special edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl: GOOD VIBRATIONS! Brian Wilson and the Legend of Summer. We've assembled some music in tribute to the genius of Brian Wilson; we have performances by Wilson solo and with the Beach Boys, and covers of some of Wilson's songs. But also some original music created by other artists inspired by Brian Wilson, some unrelated songs about summer, and some that just seem to fit. The songs were chosen for their flow, their feel...

...Their vibration.

THE BEACH BOYS: Good Vibrations (Capitol, Smiley Smile & Wild Honey)

GARY FRENAY: It's Like Heaven (Northside, File Under Pop Vocal)

MICHAEL SIMMONS: Sail On, Sailor (single)

P. P. ARNOLD: God Only Knows (Sequel, The First Cut)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes (Columbia, Magic)

RASPBERRIES: Cruisin' Music (RPM, Power Pop Volume Two)

--

Brian Wilson did not invent summer, but he was a primary auteur in crafting its myth, its legend, its iconography in pop culture and pop music. One obvious example of that mythmaking is the promise offered in a song Wilson co-wrote with Jan Berry, an impossible promise that seemed plausible in its pure pop context:

Two girls for every boy.

JAN AND DEAN: Surf City (EMI, Surf City: The Best Of Jan And Dean)

THE KRAYOLAS: Surf's Down (single)

BRIAN WILSON: Night Time (Rhino, Brian Wilson)

LISA MYCHOLS AND SUPER 8: Don't Worry, Baby (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson)

NELSON BRAGG: We're Gonna Laugh About It (Big Stir, Mèlodie De Nelson: A Pop Anthology)

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime (Epic, Greatest Hits)

--

Success breeds jealousy. Murray Wilson was jealous of his son Brian. And when Murray's...abrasive characteristics forced the Beach Boys to fire him as their manager and would-be Svengali, Murray attempted to retaliate by grooming another group, the Sunrays, to steal the Beach Boys' thunder. The Sunrays' success was fleeting and limited. 

But there was some success.

THE SUNRAYS: I Live For The Sun (Time-Life, VA: Classic Rock: Bubblegum, Garage And Pop Nuggets)

AMERICA: God Of The Sun (Rhino, The Definitive Pop Collection)

BRIAN WILSON: You Still Believe In Me (Sanctuary, Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live)

THE RUBINOOS: Watching The Sun Go Down (Yep Roc, From Home)

CURT BOETTCHER: It's A Sad World (Rev-Ola, Chicken Little Was Right)

THE RAMONES: Surfin' Safari (Captain Oi!, Acid Eaters)

--

Brian Wilson is acknowledged as a genius, rightly so. But he often worked with collaborators, particularly in crafting lyrics. He worked with Roger Christian, Tony Asher, Van Dyke Parks, among others. And he worked with his cousin, Mike Love. There were certainly negatives in that relationship. But it's important to remember that Mike Love was indeed part of this story, and he deserves credit for his role in helping Brian Wilson conjure this magic legend of summer, and the warmth of the sun.

THE BEACH BOYS: The Warmth Of The Sun (Capitol, Surfer Girl & Shut Down Vol 2)

THE YELLOW BALLOON: Springtime Girl (Sundazed, The Yellow Balloon)

MIKE BROWNING: Summer Sun (single)

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze (EMI, The Essential Isley Brothers)

THE SMITHEREENS: Girl Don't Tell Me (Sunset Blvd, Covers)

THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Good Laugh Mun (Grown Up Wrong!, Between The Lines: The Complete Jordan/Wilson Songbook '71-81)

--

Family is important, or at least it should be. The Beach Boys were three brothers, a cousin, and a next door neighbor. They called their record label Brother. They named an album Friends. Family and friends. As Brian's son-in-law Rob Bonfiglio reminds us: There's no one else I'd rather love. 

ROB BONFIGLIO: No One Else I'd Rather Love (Kool Kat Musik, VA: Pop Aid 3: A Pop Compilation To Benefit Those Affected By The California Wildfires)

AL JARDINE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Heroes And Villains (Not Lame, VA: International Pop Overthrow Vol. 4) 

BRIAN WILSON FEATURING CARNIE AND WENDY WILSON: Do It Again (MCA, BRIAN WILSON: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times)

LAURIE BIAGINI: Just Another Daydream (n/a, Stranger In The Mirror)

SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times  (Silent Planet, VA: Making God Smile [An Artists' Tribute To The Songs Of Beach Boy Brian Wilson])

THE TRADE WINDS: I Believe In Her (Varese Sarabande, VA: The Warmth Of The Sun: Songs Inspired By The Beach Boys)

--

The legend of summer was not confined to California. Across the country and around the world, sun-starved hearts answered the call to celebrate. Man, we even heard the call in between blizzards here in Syracuse, New York.

THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer (Futureman, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3)

EUCLID BEACH BAND: There's No Surf In Cleveland (Sony, VA: Cleveland International Records 1977-1983)

20/20: Drive (Bomp, VA: The Roots Of Powerpop)

BRIAN WILSON: Surf's Up (Nonesuch, Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE)

DOUG POWELL: 'Til I Die  (Silent Planet, VA: Making God Smile [An Artists' Tribute To The Songs Of Beach Boy Brian Wilson])

R.E.M.: Why Not Smile (Warner Brothers, Up)

--

Artists do not create in isolation. They draw inspiration from other artists, other art. And if Brian Wilson were here with us this evening, I betcha he would tell you: 

THIS is The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RONETTES: Be My Baby (Abkco, The Best Of The Ronettes)

THE RECORDS: Darlin' (Demilo, VA: Smiles, Vibes & Harmony [A Tribute To Brian Wilson])

THE HONEYS: He's A Doll (Capitol, The Honeys Collection)

JEFFREY FOSKETT: Surfer Girl Lullaby (New Surf Limited, Sunnys Off)

BRAD JONES: Let's Pretend (Ginger, VA: Raspberries Preserved)

ERIC CARMEN: Top Down Summer [2018] (single)

--

Speaking of artists influencing other artists: The Beach Boys and the Beatles. Brian's increasingly accomplished pop genius inspired Rubber Soul. Rubber Soul inspired Pet Sounds. Pet Sounds inspired Revolver.

THE BEATLES: For No One (Apple, Revolver)

THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE ALL: Love Tonight (Cherry Red, Greetings From Planet Love)

BRIAN WILSON: Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight (Rhino, Brian Wilson)

THE ANDERSON COUNCIL: I'd Love Just Once To See You (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson)

THE PARADE: Sunshine Girl (Time-Life, VA: Classic Rock: Bubblegum, Garage And Pop Nuggets)

JASON BYRD: I'll Be All Right (The Paisley Pop Label, Busy Day)

--

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what can we say about pastiche? If it works, it can touch the divine. It can transcend. Just like before, it can walk by the shore in the moonlight.

THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby [single version edit] (Cherry Red, Beach Baby: The Complete Recordings)

JASON HARROD: In My Room (Silent Planet, VA: Making God Smile [An Artists' Tribute To The Songs Of Beach Boy Brian Wilson])

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR AND RICHARD BARONE: I Get Around (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson)

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS: Fun, Fun, Fun (Blackheart, Good Music)

MICHAEL SIMMONS: First Days Of Summer (Crab Apple, First Days Of Summer)

BRIAN WILSON AND FRIENDS: Our Prayer (BMG, Brian Wilson & Friends)

THE BEACH BOYS: Wouldn't It Be Nice (Capitol, Pet Sounds)

--

It was nice. Thank you, Brian. It was very nice indeed.

Thank you for joining us for this celebration of the genius and impact of Brian Wilson. The sun still shines. There are still girls on the beach. And I'll still listen in my room. The legend of summer continues. This is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.

THE BEACH BOYS: Pet Sounds (Capitol, Pet Sounds)

JEFFREY FOSKETT: Summer Love (New Surf Limited, Sunnys Off)

GENERAL JOHNSON AND JOEY RAMONE: Rockaway Beach (On The Beach) (Forward, VA: Godchildren Of Soul--Anyone Can Join!)

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold

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 all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

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Carl's latest book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get Carl's 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.

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

Volume 5: CD or download

10 SONGS: 6/27/2025

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 # 1291

BRIAN WILSON: Love And Mercy

If some quirk of cosmic regulation and rulemaking decreed that only one--ONE--musician, performer, songwriter, and/or producer of the rock 'n' roll era could be acclaimed as genius, that one genius would be Brian Wilson.

Wilson's transcendent brilliance is widely recognized, but I was slow to accept it. As a kid in the 1960s, my awareness of the Beach Boys was peripheral--one of my older siblings had a copy of the Surfer Girl LP--and while I must have heard their hits again and again on AM Top 40 radio, they didn't really register in my ears at the time. One presumes I wasn't picking up the good vibrations.

That changed, sure, but the change took a while. In the '70s, even as teen me became increasingly obsessed with '60s rock 'n' roll, the Beach Boys were still merely a peripheral. A high school acquaintance tried to convince me of Brian Wilson's bona fides as occupying a rarified strata alongside the Beatles, and I found that notion preposterous.

Guess I'm dumb.

By the end of high school in 1977, I did love "Good Vibrations" and I liked or loved some of the early hits. I thought "Wouldn't It Be Nice" sounded intriguing in commercials for the movie Shampoo, and while I didn't like any of the '70s Beach Boys music I heard, the lure of the classic Hawthorne sound compelled me to pick up the Endless Summer 2-LP compilation. I added a copy of Pet Sounds during my freshman year in college. After college, circa '81 or '82, I bought used 2-LP reissues of 20/20 & Wild Honey and Friends & Smiley Smile. 

For all that, I still wasn't ready to proclaim the genius of Brian Wilson. That willful myopia crumbled as I heard Capitol Records' series of two-on-one CD reissues of the Beach Boys' '60s albums. Revelation. Not because of format; because I was finally paying attention. That led me to reacquaint myself with Pet Sounds.

You know how I talk about the greatest record ever made, insisting that an infinite number of individual tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. I mean that. But when it comes to albums, man, there is only one all-time greatest album. Pet Sounds. It remains as near to the celestial as human ears can comprehend.

In that same general time frame, I also bought Brian Wilson's then-recent eponymous album on CD, sold to me by a Desert Shore Records clerk named Dana. Yes, the one-and-only that Dana. Ah, the dialectic of pop music. The album's opening track "Love And Mercy" is Brian Wilson's best-known solo song, a singularly appropriate comfort in our troubled times, and the imperative choice to open this week's show, as TIRnRR mourns the passing of a genius named Brian Wilson.

THE BEACH BOYS: In My Room

"In My Room" was on that Surfer Girl album in the ol' family music library, and I won't even attempt an explanation of why I didn't notice its irresistible warmth until many years later. Stupid kid. I'll be in my room.

THE FLASHCUBES WITH MIKE GENT: Reminisce

The new single is out TODAY! Act accordingly. "Reminisce" by the Flashcubes with Mike Gent is my top new track of 2025 so far, and its debut as a digital single marks the first official release of material from the forthcoming various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. 

"Reminisce" will spin again on our next show, alongside the debut airings of three more Make Something Happen! tracks by Ballzy Tomorrow, Dolph Chaney, and the Verbs, plus a reprise of the Choosers' cover of the Flashcubes' first single "Christi Girl." AND! We'll throw in non-Flashcubes material from each of the other acts on Make Something Happen!, servin' up other fine treats courtesy of sparkle*jets u.k., Librarians With Hickeys, Chris von Sneidern, Graham Parker, Joe Giddings, the Kennedys, Pop Co-Op, Hamell On Trial, Super 8 featuring Lisa Mychols, the Armoires, the Peppermint Kicks, the Mayflowers, Callan Foster, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas, Sorrows, and the Spongetones. We have the hitmakers who make things happen!

THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

BIG STAR: Thirteen

THE RAMONES: I Want You Around

It's hard to follow "God Only Knows." Nonetheless, Dana pulled off that seemingly dauntless task with the haunting adolescent ache of Big Star's "Thirteen," compelling me to fill out the three-fer with the Ramones' uncharacteristically tender ballad "I Want You Around." Sling and arrows be damned. The eternal teen heart will keep its rhythm and persevere. 

THE CRICKLE: Place In My Heart

Gotta love a combo that took its nom de bop from a childhood memory of mispronouncing the name of "Red Rubber Ball" popmeisters the Cyrkle. The Crickle, bless 'em, are still with us and still vital. Their '80s track "Place In My Heart" is a TIRnRR perennial, and it was part of a glorious 1985 various-artists cassette called Garage Sale! 19 Wylde And Savage Bands!

Garage Sale! was released by the ROIR label in association with Goldmine magazine. And it was the precipitating incident that got me to subscribe to Goldmine, eventually resulting in my twenty-year tenure as a freelance writer for the magazine. That long story is told here.

My 1986-2006 time as a hired hand for Goldmine looms large in what passes for my legend. The slight notoriety I garnered via GM fed efforts to raise awareness of this little mutant radio show, which has turned out to loom kinda large in its own right. The combined, um...loomage of Goldmine and This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio enable me to pound the pulpit on behalf of rockin' pop music, to write books, and somehow even compile professional CD releases like Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. 

So yes, yay, and yeah-yeah-yeah, Garage Sale! was a VERY important release for me. Thanks, Crickle! Clearly, you're always going to have a place in our hearts here.

ANNETTE FUNICELLO [WITH THE BEACH BOYS]: The Monkey's Uncle

In my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), my chapter about the Monkees' magnificent single "Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)" notes:

"...Everyone who knows me knows that I love the Monkees. I love the TV series, I love the prefab Kirshner-era records, the hey-hey-we're-a-real band triumph of the Headquarters LP, the Monkees with sidemen compromise of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (my favorite Monkees album), the schtick, the ambition, the songs, the image, the truth behind the image. I'm a believer already. But there's something emphatically special about the movie Head and its soundtrack. It's part of the grit that gives the cotton candy substance...."

That said, let us not be too quick to presume the cotton candy has no substance of its own. Pop music is its own reward, and any music that moves you or touches you or engages you has no need to justify itself to anyone else. Let 'em get their own soundtrack. AND their own goddamned cotton candy.

I bring this up here to acknowledge that, for some, the legend which has grown around Brian Wilson will exalt Pet Sounds and SMiLE, but perhaps not so much the Beach Boys' earlier frothy favorites. "Surf's Up" ¡SÍ!, "Surfin' Safari" ¡NO! 

If that POV exists, I disavow its validity. "I Get Around" is essential. "Help Me Rhonda" is essential. "Little Deuce Coupe," "Shut Down," "Surfin' USA," and the rest of this fun-fun-FUN! catalog are timeless, well-crafted, well-executed absolute pop gems, and they would be worthy of accolade even if Brian Wilson's ambition and vision had never went on to declare he just wasn't made for these times.

Paradoxically as ephemeral and eternal as it gets, "The Monkey's Uncle" is the title theme from a 1965 Disney flick co-starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. The film opens with Annette singing the song on-screen with the Beach Boys backing her up, and it's a winningly goofy confection perfection. It doesn't even NEED any grit!

Straitjackets are not appropriate beach wear. We are infinite. We can dance and we can think, we can dream and we can plan, goof around and create, dive into the possibility of the immediate and conjure the promise of the abstract. We can be the beach boys and beach girls we wish to be. Fun, fun, fun. Life is too short to disdain fleeting opportunities to enjoy it.

BRIAN WILSON: 'Til I Die

I'm a leaf on a windy day. As all of us are. We'll return to celebrate the genius of Brian Wilson again on July 6th, with a special edition of TIRnRR called GOOD VIBRATIONS: Brian Wilson and the Legend of Summer. Fun in the sun and the pet sounds of the soul, influence and impact, sincere flattery, girls on the beach, reasons to smile, the feel of a vibe, the vibe of feel, an impressionist portrait of the effect genius can have in inspiring others to craft their own reaction and creation. Surf's up. Godspeed, Brian Wilson.

THE GRIP WEEDS: You're So Good To Me

For this week's feature on Brian Wilson as a performer, we elected to stay away from other artists covering his work. We allowed ourselves one easygoing exception, with the Grip Weeds' able and amiable take on "You're So Good To Me" taking us up to the bitchin' Witching Hour. The track comes from the various-artists set Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson, and you can bet on hearing more selections from that album on our July 6th show.

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.

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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows"

Adapted from a previous piece, this is a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). It's offered here today in memory of a musical genius named Brian Wilson.

An infinite number of tracks can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows

Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher

Produced by Brian Wilson

Single from the album Pet Sounds, Capitol Records, 1966

Ambivalence and certainty can sometimes go hand in hand. It's incongruous, a paradox, but it's true in the sublime case of "God Only Knows." The track is emblematic of the classic album that gave it life: Brian Wilson's 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds is pop music's greatest contradiction: Fragile but indestructible, delicate but strong, frail but immortal. Gossamer and granite. It is a wisp of emotion, heartbreak, love, and hope, a precarious house of cards that will still stand long after we're all dust. It is pop, and it is art, but it is not pop art. It is mature, and it as giddy as a teenager in love with the unattainable. 

The story of Brian Wilson's emotional turmoil and trauma has been everyday legend for decades: The tale of this boy genius, this dumb angel, his mind frayed and tattered from abuse, drugs, and inner demons, withdrawing from the spotlight, retreating to his sandbox, lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did; a nervous breakdown, leading him to leave the Beach Boys' touring group in 1964, and take to the studio to reproduce the unique celestial sounds he heard in his head; "California Girls;" Pet Sounds; a "pocket symphony" called "Good Vibrations;" and another potential masterpiece, a "teenage symphony to God" called SMiLE, left unfinished, abandoned, as Wilson's world closed in and shut down. Brian Wilson was pop music's saddest living casualty.

Yet somehow, he survived. His younger brother Dennis Wilson drowned in 1983, and the youngest of the three brothers, Carl, succumbed to cancer in 1998. Like a surfer-boy Harry Potter, Brian became The Wilson Who Lived. His voice was ravaged by time and torture, his demeanor a reflection of one who'd spent a season--several seasons--in Hell, but Brian Wilson returned to the spotlight nonetheless. He toured, playing with an incredible band that could recreate his perfect sound live. He completed SMiLE, and he saw that it was good. He did a well-received reunion album and tour with the other surviving members of the Beach Boys. He continued to perform, a beached soul freed by the music only he could create.

 "God Only Knows" is the most beautiful song that has ever graced our human experience. It is as close to the divine as our mortal ears can receive and relay, as near to celestial presence as man or woman could ever imagine while still tethered to this physical realm. Its music lifts us even as its lyrics remind us of the limits to our flawed perception, our finite grasp. It reinforces our faith all the same.

"God only knows what I'd be without you." It's secular. It's love song, not psalm. Yet it feels like a sacrament, benediction, a step nearer to a God who may not exist, but whose believers attain redemption and inspiration in the belief itself. Belief makes us better. Love makes us better. Nothing in all of humanity's wisdom, art, science, and culture expresses that with greater eloquence than Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows."

There is a risk in elevating Pet Sounds and forgetting about the simple wonders Brian and the Beach Boys crafted before that, in the days when they were the living avatars of the beguiling and alluring California myth. There are summer days (and summer nights) when "I Get Around" is The Greatest Record Ever Made, as is its B-side "Don't Worry Baby;" hell, arrogant strutting, backed by adolescent insecurity? That's both sides of the teenage experience captured at 45 RPM and wrapped in a picture sleeve. "Surfin' USA," "Help Me Rhonda," "Fun, Fun, Fun," and "Girl Don't Tell Me," each in its own infinite turn. 

The Beach Boys continued to record essential works beyond Pet Sounds, with and without brother Brian. "'Til I Die" from 1971's Surf's Up is heartbreaking in its desolate beauty, and that album's title tune is stunning. And honestly, it's ludicrous to even have this discussion of a greatest record ever made without talking about the miracle of "Good Vibrations."

But the best remains the best. Pet Sounds. The Greatest Album Ever Made.

And "God Only Knows" is the heart of Pet Sounds. The gift of Pet Sounds travels with us throughout our endless troubles and scattered triumphs. 

I recognize only three things in this world that ever really bother me: The past, the present, and the future. There are long, fulfilling moments of respite--moments of love, family, friendship, art, music, camaraderie, and creation--but the road behind us, the road ahead of us, and the small patch of ground upon which we stand in the moment, all contain perils that can strike at any time from any direction. We carry with us that determination that we can outrace our shadows, we can navigate this uneven path, and we can face whatever the hell that big, gray thing is around the next corner. I know there's an answer. Love is here today. Maybe it doesn't have to be gone tomorrow. Maybe we can be made for these times.

Wouldn't it be nice? You never need to doubt it. Someday, we will be so sure about it.

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.

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

VIRTUAL TICKET STUB GALLERY: Seeing the band in its original lineup (or in partial groupings thereof), Part 3

Photo by Dana Bonn

Here's the third and final part of a Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery tour of bands I've seen in their original lineup (or in partial groupings thereof). Part 1 listed bands I saw with their founding configuration intact. Part 2 looked at groups who were one player shy of their charter membership. Finally, today we have a handful of acts for whom I've seen all or most of the original lineup, but not at the same time:

THE BEACH BOYS [4/5, in pieces]

Dennis Wilson passed a few years before my first (and only) Beach Boys show, which took place at the Grandstand at the New York State Fair in...whatever year it was that "Kokomo" hit big. Yeah, 1988. Listen, it's not one of my favorites, but I don't hate "Kokomo" like a lot of folks out there seem to hate "Kokomo." The 1988 version of the Boys included Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Carl Wilson, plus Bruce Johnston. Mike, Al, and Carl were three-fifths of the original lineup (as of the "Surfin'" 45); David Marks replaced Jardine by the time the Beach Boys signed with Capitol (and Marks deserves more credit for being in the Beach Boys for their first four albums, at which point Jardine returned). But nonetheless: Jardine was the original.

And at this show, I got to witness Carl Wilson singing "God Only Knows." I'll gladly put up with Mike Love and the Kokomo side trip if it gets me to that. 

I finally saw Brian Wilson in concert at the Fair on a melancholy day in 2016. That memory is detailed here.

HERMAN'S HERMITS [4/5, in pieces]

When I was still in high school, some lineup of Herman's Hermits (presumably without lead singer Peter Noone) played at a North Syracuse club called The Boardwalk. A phone call to the club confirmed that there would be no all-ages show, scratching any scheme I may have had to see it with a pretty girl of my acquaintance, perhaps with an opportunity to say to her, "Something tells me I'm into something good," likely inviting her reply that I was a must to avoid. Nope. This seventeen-year-old was left leanin' on a lamp post.

I got my chance (with the Hermits, not the girl) in the summer of '78, when that Herman-less Hermits core of bassist (and now lead singer) Karl Green, guitarist Derek Leckenby, and drummer Barry Witwam British Invaded The Gin Mill in Liverpool, NY, with guitarist Frank Renshaw in place of Keith Hopwood. It was a solid club show, even without ol' Herm (or Keith), and I wish I'd had an opportunity to see this band again.

In the early '80s, Peter Noone was trying to shed his Herman image with a new wave group called the Tremblers. The Tremblers only did one album, and I got to see them in Rochester. Even got to shake Noone's hand, but he steadfastly refused to perform any Herman's Hermits material at the time. Now, he refuses to do any Tremblers material. But I've seen him several times since the Tremblers days (the most recent occurring on the same day as the above-linked Brian Wilson show), and he always puts on a good show. 

THE MONKEES [4/4, in pieces]

The resurgent Monkeemania driven by MTV in 1986 brough three of the Monkees--Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork--to my town in 1986. Well, not quite to my town; the Chatauqua Institution stage was a seemingly interminable drive from my Buffalo apartment, and I found myself abruptly between jobs and unable to afford tickets when the Monkees did visit Buffalo a few months later.

But: DREAM COME TRUE! I had seen the Peter Tork Project at Buffalo's Tralfamadore Cafe in the early '80s, and this was my very first chance to witness any sort of Monkees quorum in concert. I concede that the MTV-era Monkees were a little more show biz! than my taste would have preferred, but it was still 3/4 of the friggin' Monkees in concert. I was more than satisfied.

I saw the same Monkees trio again in Canandaigua in 1987, with "Weird" Al Yankovic opening. The Monkees played a much longer set on this tour, still leaning into schtick, but going in for several deeper cuts. As a hardcore fan of the Monkees' music, this was a great evening for me.

Michael Nesmith was supposed to do a Buffalo club date in the early '90s, and I considered a trip from Syracuse to catch that. The show was canceled, however, and it seemed unlikely that I would ever see Nez. I did see Micky and Davy again at the State Fair, and Davy at least once on a Teen Idols tour with Peter Noone and Bobby Sherman.

When Davy Jones died in 2012, I was among the collective everyone presuming that was the end of the Monkees. No one--no one--seriously expected Nesmith to return.

But he did. And I saw Micky, Peter, and Michael in Buffalo later that year. It was one of THE best shows I've ever attended, and I wrote about it here.

I'm sure I've forgotten someone I should have mentioned. I probably saw the complete (or maybe nearly complete) original lineup of Wang Chung when they opened for Tina Turner. I also saw three-fifths of the Runaways, probably a similar fraction of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, about half of the Ventures, half of the Clash, half of the Searchers, two out of six of the Turtles. I've seen a couple of Beatles at different times, a couple of Wings at different times, a couple of New York Dolls at different times, a couple of Spiders From Mars at different times, and possibly all of the Burns Sisters all at once. I've seen a single original component apiece from Aerosmith, the Weavers, Great Buildings, the City, the Dictators, and the Lovin' Spoonful, and I don't know how meager a representation of the original lineups of Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago, the Romantics, and others.

But I saw some shows, I did. The memories linger. Let me hear you make some noise. Let's give a big Boppin' (Like The Hip Folk Do) welcome to...THE ORIGINALS!!

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

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

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 6/22/2021

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 # 1082.

MIKE BROWNING: Picture Book

Clever lads and lasses know the way to TIRnRR's heart: play a song by our house band, the Kinks. That's not a fool-proof plan, though; screwin' up a Kinks song wouldn't make you any friends (Van Halen's popular but yechhh bludgeoning of "You Really Got Me" notwithstanding), so dedicated followers of fashion must understand that success walks hand-in-hand with failure along dead end streets and Waterloo sunsets.

But Mike Browning knows what he's doing. His cover of "Picture Book" was done for a music production class taught by the one 'n' only Jamie Hoover, who really wanted the class to do this song. Good choice, Jamie! Jamie also plays the drums here, and the result is worthy of attention from all of us in the Village Green. Look to the big sky for Class Act, a forthcoming album collecting Mike Browning's recordings for Mr. Hoover's class. Mike, the well-respected men salute you.

THE DIODES: Tired Of Waking Up Tired

Speaking of the house band, during one of the back-announces this week I started to call this song "Tired Of Waiting For You," but I corrected myself and we all shared a jolly laugh at my error. HA! HahaHA! 

But the Diodes' "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" is a power pop classic. I'm delighted to say that I first heard it on the radio, which is where one should be introduced to great songs. This was senior year in college, 1979-80, and it was on either Rochester's WCMF-FM or Toronto's CFNY-FM, probably the former. I had read about the Diodes in Bomp! magazine and/or Trouser Press; I'd previously heard the group's punk-influenced cover of the Cyrkle's "Red Rubber Ball," but none of that prepared me--at all--for how freakin' amazing "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" is. Classic. Classic, classic, classic.

THE FLASHCUBES: I Can't Explain

As mentioned last week, I'm writing the liner notes to Flashcubes On Fire, a CD preserving a kickass 1979 live show by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. The 'Cubes were an absolutely stunning live band, and Flashcubes On Fire captures them at the oomphiest of their considerable oomph. 

The Flashcubes established themselves in large part on the strength of original tunes written by bassist Gary Frenay and guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, all of it propelled by drummer Tommy Allen. But, like all the best groups, the 'Cubes are also rock 'n' roll fans, first and foremost, and they had (and have) terrific taste in covers. Flashcubes On Fire provides ample evidence of that, with the Flashcubes' ace takes on material previously recorded by the Kinks, Big Star, the Raspberries, Eddie Cochran, Link Wray, Arthur Alexander, and Larry Williams (the latter two via indoctrination by the Beatles). And really, every power pop group should be expected to cover the Who. "I Can't Explain" has always been my favorite Who song, and the mighty Flashcubes do it justice. Swift, efficient justice. Justice on FIRE!

THE GRIP WEEDS: You're So Good To Me

When TIRnRR started doing whatever the hell it is we do way back at the end of 1998, tribute albums were simultaneously all the rage and universally despised. That's a paradox, likely a function of perception rather than of fact. 

For our part, Dana and I tended to disdain big-label tribute albums, and to embrace tribute albums done right. The Not Lame label (run by the visionary Bruce Brodeen) was our prime example of a resource for engaging and entertaining tribute discs--Not Lame's Gene Clark tribute Full Circle still makes occasional appearances on TIRnRR playlists--and Jem Records is a contemporary example of an imprint upholding that fine tradition today. Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon was way cool, and the upcoming Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson looks to be a similarly smile-worthy font of good vibrations. Our friends the Grip Weeds provide the first taste of this sweet summer release, with their winning reading of the Beach Boys' "You're So Good To Me."

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Twist And Shout

A group called the Top Notes did it first, in 1961, though their forgotten original is but a footnote in pop history. A then-unknown (but soon to be very well-known) beat group from Liverpool, England did a screaming, raw-throated cover to close their debut LP Please Please Me in 1963, the start of their own ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhhhh-wow-shake-it-up-baby! shot heard 'round the world. 

And the Beatles copied the Isley Brothers' arrangement of "Twist And Shout." In the hands of the Isleys, "Twist And Shout" moved from the pleasant but unremarkable jump of the Top Notes to a swaggering juggernaut well on its way to becoming legend. 

KID GULLIVER: I Started A Joke

It did not start as a joke, nor did it ever become a joke. It started, in fact, because we loved the sound of Simone Berk singing. It continued because we love the sound of Simone Berk singing.

A spin of this sprightly reimagination of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke" (from the new Kid Gulliver EP Gimme Some Go!) marks the 32nd consecutive week that a TIRnRR playlist has included at least one track featuring the voice of Kid Gulliver's CEO Simone Berk. We've played Simone with Kid Gulliver, Sugar Snow, Berk/Lehane, and WhistleStop Rock, and Kid Gulliver's irresistible "Forget About Him" is now recognized as an all-time TIRnRR Fave Rave. Rightly so.

Alas, all good things must eventually come to a pause for sodas at the side of the road. With special programming plans in place for the July 4th TIRnRR, the Simone Berk streak will end after next week's show, having accumulated an impressive 33 notches on the ol' tote board. That's far and away the longest current streak of any performer on this show, and probably one of our longest unbroken streaks ever. We'll celebrate that streak in style next week, with more Kid Gulliver, and more Sugar Snow, as Simone Berk will be our Featured Performer on June 27th. 

No joke.

BRENT SEAVERS: I Wrote A Song

I wrote a song that goes la la lala laaaa....

We introduced this track from the new Brent Seavers album BS Stands For Brent Seavers with a reference to my favorite movie That Thing You Do!, claiming that "I Wrote A Song" sounds like it was commissioned by Andrew White for Play-Tone Records in 1964: I want something snappy! It's a big, big compliment in our pop world, reserved for a pop confection that delivers all of the catchy exuberance the pursuit of snappy! requires.

THE SHIRELLES: Will You Love Me Tomorrow

From my proposed (but possibly imaginary) book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"It might be difficult to reach a consensus on which set of singing females was the definitive representative of the early '60s girl group sound. One could make a credible case on behalf of those bad girls the Shangri-Las, who made their name by being tougher than the rest, hangin' out with bikers, doin' it on the beach, and regretting such transgressions a year later while [REMEMBER!] walking in the sand. We have to consider Phil Spector's wall-of-sound studio masterpieces with the Ronettes and the Crystals as emblematic of what the girl-group sound should be. The Angels. The Marvelettes. The Dixie Cups. The Toys, whose "May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone" is such a magnificently over-the-top gush of hormonal, adolescent pinky-swears that it deserves its own genre. I don't think the Supremes are as integral to this conversation, but I'm sure some believe otherwise. Even solo singers like Lesley Gore were a part of this overall sound, this swell of sweet vocals and harmonies soaring above dramatic and catchy pop music crafted by God himself for an AM radio near you. The girl group sound was vast and mighty.

"And the Shirelles were its most undeniable avatars...."

TRACEY ULLMAN: Terry

I think my first exposure to the divine sound of Kirsty MacColl was vicarious, via an AM radio playing Tracey Ullman's hit cover of Kirsty's wonderful song "They Don't Know." It turned out to be not solely a vicarious introduction, as Ms. MacColl is herself present and accounted for on the Ullman single, singing back-up and (I believe) providing the goosepimple-baiting moment of a transcendent cry of BAYbeee! The thrill is still there, with each and every spin.

Kirsty MacColl

I may not have heard any of Kirsty MacColl's own records until late in the '80s. I don't think I heard the 1983 cut "Terry" until the '90s (or later!), and I was surprised to read just now that MacColl and Gavin Povey originally wrote the song for Ullman to record. Both Kirsty's version and Tracey's version are sublime, and ya can't go wrong either way. I remain mystified by the lack of a comprehensive collection of MacColl's work for Stiff Records.

VAN HALEN: Runnin' With The Devil

Van Halen's above-dissed mishandling of "You Really Got Me" was the first VH track I ever heard. I hated it immediately, and it made the group suspect in my ears from that point forward. 

Still, I occasionally allowed myself to be open to some of VH's music. I mean, they weren't the worst thing on the radio at the time, and it's not like I could get away from 'em anyway. Like Chickenman and Savoir-Faire, they were everywhere. I grew to secretly like (even love) "Dance The Night Away," and I developed some interest in "Jamie's Crying" and "Runnin' With The Devil."

I still can't stand their meatball take on "You Really Got Me." The devil can have that one. 

Betcha he don't want it, either.

The only "You Really Got Me" that matters

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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.

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I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.