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.

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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: 6/2/2022

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1131.

POP CO-OP: Suspension

Over the course of four consecutive weeks, it was our great honor and privilege to open each fresh broadcast with the debut of an exclusive new track from Suspension, the ultrafab new album from ultrafab pop guys Pop Co-Op. Now, they belong to the world. Lucky world! For our final act before ceding bragging rights, we served up the title tune, and reveled in the self-rewarding act of playing records. We were exclusive; now, we welcome all of you to the club.

And on Friday, June 3rd--TOMORROW!--Pop Co-Op is throwing a virtual Suspension release party, and you're invited. Music! Chatter! Prizes! FUN! And we have been personally promised that there is no danger of us learning anything substantive while we're at it. It all sprawls forth from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Pop Co-Op Time, and YOU, mis amigos y amigas, really oughtta haveta. 

(Oh, and what the hell--we'll play yet another new track from Suspension on next week's show. All radio shows should do that.)

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: September

Back in the fall of 1978, when the darlin' I now refer to as my lovely wife Brenda was still billed as my lovely new girlfriend Brenda, our individual musical tastes appeared...well, if not incompatible, at least divergent. I favored rock 'n' roll, punk, power pop, the Sex Pistols and the Jam, and Brenda preferred a mix of pop, soul, disco, and soft rock, Santana and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Never the twain shall meet? Don't be silly. As Hoover and Martinez have been telling us in a recent TIRnRR Pick T'Click, the heart wants what the heart wants. The rest can be sorted over time.

And sort we did. Before very long, Brenda was writing Ramones lyrics in the margins of her notebook, and I was playing Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight" (by my own choice) at a party in my dorm suite. Over the course of ensuing decades, Brenda and I have enjoyed dates to see performances by Carole King, KISS, Chicago, the above-mentioned Ramones, the above-mentioned Earth, Wind and Fire, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Peter, Paul and Mary, Cheap Trick, Billy Joel, David Bowie, and preexisting mutual interests from the Monkees to Paul McCartney. And more! Prince. Talking Heads. David Johansen. Harmony bridges artificial chasms. Turn it up, cross over...and dance.

When we met in '78, two of Brenda's favorite songs were Rose Royce's "I'm Wishing On A Star" and EWF's "September." I didn't appreciate either of them at the time. I do now. We're going to be seeing Earth, Wind and Fire again this summer, on a bill with Santana. Evolution is revolution. And the records keep going 'round.

Some years back, I gave Brenda an Earth, Wind and Fire boxed set for Christmas. Nowadays, I think I play it more often than she does. Love has changed the minds of pretenders, while chasing the clouds away.

THE FLASHCUBE WITH THE SPONGETONES: Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?

In announcing this epic summit meeting between the Flashcubes and the Spongetones, the good folks at Big Stir Records credited This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl for connecting the 'Cubes and Big Stir in the first place. Well, we're eager to accept that credit! I mean, I can't sing or play guitar, so I'll take whatever meager little musical claim t' fame I can scrounge up. 

But, while we can pad our c.v. with whatever role we played in introducing artist to label, Dana and I were only talking about Big Stir releasing a single from the Flashcubes' live album Flashcubes On Fire. Instead, the 'Cubes came up with "Baby It's Cold Outside," their ace collaboration with Mimi Betinis of Pezband, and this series of Cubic covers for Big Stir was off and piledriving. See, the artists create. We are but humble servants.

Um...sort of humble. Let's not get crazy with the humility here.

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

We've been dropping a few teases here and there about a new Dana & Carl project we cryptically refer to as Something Else! That is not the project's name. Many of you can probably guess what project it is. We'll have a whole set of Something Else! on our June 5th show, and that set will include "Rock & Roll Kiss" by Perilous, one of my favorite new tracks of 2022. Suffice it to say that "Rock & Roll Kiss" is indeed Something Else!

LAURIE BIAGINI: Imposter Syndrome Burn

We've had the pleasure of playing a few tracks from singer-songwriter and international treasure Laurie Biagini's forthcoming new album Stranger In The Mirror, so of course we jumped on her latest teaser track "Imposter Syndrome Burn" as soon as it became available. We're fans! (And incidentally, it's worth noting that an earlier track from Laurie's Stranger In The Mirror is also Something Else!)

KELLEY RYAN: The Church Of Laundry

Ah, long-time TIRnRR Fave Rave Kelley Ryan! Kelley's fab single "The Church Of Laundry" was this show's most-played track in 2021, and let us assure you, the tally wasn't at all close. And we're still playing it, 'cuz it's GREAT! And, although "The Church Of Laundry" won't appear on next week's playlist, let us further assure that it is--you guessed it!--Something Else!

DEADLIGHTS: Pretend To Pretend

While "Pretend To Pretend," the incomparable current hit from Jeff Shelton under his rockin' pop dba Deadlights, is absolutely positively Something Else!, it's more important to note that the song is available right now as a digital single, and its proceeds directly benefit humanitarian aid in Ukraine. What are we saying? GO BUY IT!

THE MONKEES: Birth Of An Accidental Hipster

This. Six years ago, when the Monkees were about to release their stunning, triumphant comeback album Good Times!, its advance singles "She Makes Me Laugh," "You Bring The Summer," and especially "Me & Magdalena" had already primed us to expect magnificence. The album track "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" sealed the deal. The release of Good Times! prompted me to write my first review since I ended my two-decade freelancing stint for Goldmine in 2006. It was my favorite album of 2016. And if I were to rank my preferences among the thirteen official studio albums released under the Monkees' name, Good Times! might place as high as # 3 (behind Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Headquarters), and no lower than # 5 (depending upon if I put the Head LP at # 4 or # 5). I like Good Times! even more than the two Don Kirshner-era albums (The Monkees and More Of The Monkees) and The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees. "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" is the tipping point. The greatest comeback album ever made.

THE BUZZCOCKS: Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shoudn't've)

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SPYGENIUS: So You Say You Lost Your Baby

On last week's exciting episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, we played "Son Of The Morning, Go Man Go!," the advance single from Spygenius' forthcoming (and, at the time, secret) new album Jobbernowl. This week, well, we didn't yet have Jobbernowl in hand when we did the programmin' the playlist thing, but we went waaaaaaay back to those quaint olde days of 2021 for a track from the previous Spygenius masterwork Spygenius Blow Their Covers. Virtually no thought went into this choice. Just felt like playing this very swell version of Gene Clark's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby;" we never need an excuse to play varied and sundry versions of Gene Clark tunes. Hey! We now have Jobbernowl in our possession! We'll hear a track from that on next week's show. Man, this radio gig is fun! Pop music on the radio. We are honored and privileged. 

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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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

POP-A-LOOZA: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Buzzcocks, "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is another chapter in the infinite saga of The Greatest Record Ever Made!, this time spotlighting The Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)." An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.

As noted in the piece, this was once scheduled to be included in my proposed book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), but was later removed from the planned Table of Contents. It subsequently worked its way back into the TOC, but now it's out again. There's nothing wrong with the piece itself, but (like a chapter about The Romantics that I've also removed) it doesn't fit the flow of the book. With that, The Buzzcocks and The Romantics join completed entries about The Raspberries, The Castaways, The Ventures, Al Hirt, The Beatles, The Beatles again, and The Ramones on the cutting room floor. (Beatles and Ramones are still well represented by other songs, of course.)

The actual book's future is uncertain at best (a situation detailed here). It ain't quite dead yet. I'll be posting an updated and--gulp!-- expanded Table of Contents some time soon, listing the whompin' stompin' 205 songs chosen for their own infinite turns in The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). 

(I'm also working on a different book, believe it or not. And it appears that one just might have a quicker path to publication. Keep watching this space.)

But today, we turn back to the subject of The Greatest Record Ever Made! A classic single by The Buzzcocks provides the infinite soundtrack for the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"

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



This piece is a modified version of what I wrote for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio when Pete Shelly passed away in late 2018, repurposed as a chapter for my forthcoming book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Ultimately, however, the Buzzcocks chapter didn't quite fit in with my plans for the book. It be that way sometimes. Nonetheless, the chapter is presented here for your enjoyment.

THE BUZZCOCKS: "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"
Single, United Artists Records [U.K], 1978

Singles Going Steady was my introduction to the music of The Buzzcocks. Although it was really just a compilation of the group's singles, it was the first Buzzcocks album released in America. I cherished it from that day forward. "Ever Fallen In Love?" "What Do I Get?" "I Don't Mind." "Orgasm Addict." "Love You More." "Everybody's Happy Nowadays." "Harmony In My Head." "Promises." Classics, all of 'em. And that was just Side One!

I'm sure I read about the band before that visit to the record shop, but I can't remember whether or not I'd heard any of the songs before snapping up my copy of Singles Going Steady. Either way, I knew: My music. My kind of record. My kind of band. Music firmly rooted in the example of the 1960s British Invasion, music that couldn't have existed without British punk (and American Ramones) making it possible. 

Other than Steve Diggle's "Harmony In My Head," all of those amazing tracks on Side One of Singles Going Steady were written or co-written by Pete Shelley. Shelley and Diggle were inspired by The Sex Pistols, but informed by a working knowledge of hooks and harmonies, the power of pop, the sheer thrill of what a 45 rpm record could do when played loud, when played on the radio. Some called The Buzzcocks the punk Beatles. To me, another touchstone seemed closer to the mark: The Buzzcocks reminded me of The Kinks.

I can't explain exactly why. Maybe it was a vague similarity in the quirky nature of the lead vocals. Maybe it was the shrugging off of any pretense of perfection, the casual embrace of its own ragged glory. For whatever reason: God save The Buzzcocks. Now and always, God save The Buzzcocks.

Although The Buzzcocks' "What Do I Get" has shown up (incongruously) in American advertising--one still awaits the day when "Orgasm Addict" will appear in a TV commercial for ED drugs--the group's signature tune has to be "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" (shortened to just "Ever Fallen I Love?" for the American LP). The song's lyrics reflect a same-sex relationship, though the notion of falling in love with someone we shouldn't have transcends the specifics of sexuality and gender politics. Few of us have been fortunate enough to avoid that trap entirely, to never find ourselves ensnared with a boy or a girl who ain't nothin' but trouble, however that trouble manifests its ornery self. The Buzzcocks' recording is convincing and commanding, making what may be a really bad romance sound really good, at least on the stereo. Where it's safe!

Ever fallen in love? With a guy or gal who just isn't right for you, or perhaps with a style of music that will mark you permanently out with the in crowd? Testify, brothers and sisters. The pundits said punk wasn't built to last. Pete Shelley passed away suddenly in December of 2018. The music outlasts us. It will outlive us all. It's okay to fall in love with that.

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Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1)

Our most recent compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is still available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.