10 SONGS:9/17/2026

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 # 1353

PERILOUS: Overwhelmed By Reality

We jump-start this week's demostration of better radio through better radio with the debut spin of "Overwhelmed By Reality," the great new single from Perilous. In our ongoing effort to be an eensy bit less, y'know, whelmed, we will hear this fine track again on our next show. In the mean time, rock und rollers in the 315 have a chance to witness Perilous perform the song live on Friday, September 18th--TOMORROW!--at Funk 'n Waffles in Syracuse. It's a SPARK RADIO FUNDRAISER, and Perilous will be on a bill with the Flashing Astonishers and Know Nothing. YOU should be there! It is, after all, an overwhelmingly worthy cause.

THE KENNEDYS: Girl On A Motorcycle

The release of a new album by esteemed coffeehouse pop masters the Kennedys always scores an automatic and irrefutable claim to a piece of TIRnRR airspace, and their latest effort Smoketree continues that well-earned tradition. My immediate Smoketree favorite is "Girl On A Motorcycle," partially for its immediate titular connection to the enduring mystique of Marianne Faithfull...but mostly 'cuz it sounds so good. See, we're proud to be suckers for stuff that sounds good.

THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: Back Where You Belong

Ooo--more stuff that sounds good! We've been meaning to play the Cocktail Slippers' exuberant "Back Where You Belong" for quite some time, starting from way back when it was an ace advance single from the group's then-forthcoming album Joyride. Yeah, we're late to the party, but the album's out now, and trust me: This party is where we all belong. Welcome back, Cocktail Slippers!

SPECTRAFLAME: The Look In Your Eyes

Continuing the saga of TIRnRR's dedication to being suckers for stuff that sounds good, from a previous edition of 10 Songs:

Awright, we've been playing St. Petersburg, Florida's phenomenal pop combo Spectraflame a lot this year, a situation cued up by our pal Robbie Rist's involvement with (and recommendation of) the group, but maintained in dedicated earnest by the quality of Steve Burgess's original pop songcraft. We have three hours of airtime to occupy each week, and it's more efficient to occupy that airtime with good stuff. Spectraflame has proven to be a reliable resource for the good stuff, and "The Look In Your Eyes" is Spectraflame's best one yet. Resistance is futile. Occupation continues. I know that look.

DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

RADIO DAYS: Keep Me Straight

Aw, this is just so unerringly radio-ready, and I say that without intending a reference to the band's name. They're called Radio Days, but this is meant for radio days and nights and maybe even early mornings, too. It's from their new album Off The Record, but I'll go on the record with a straight-up vow to play this again on our next show.

THE MONKEES: Love To Love

September 12th marked the 60th anniversary of the debut broadcast of The Monkees TV series. I didn't see that first episode, but my sister got me watching not long thereafter, and I've been a fan ever since. We completely forgot about the anniversary when programming this week's show, but we did wind up including the Monkees anyway, with this spin of the 2016 remix of "Love To Love." As I wrote in a round up of my 25 favorite Monkees tracks:

Neil Diamond wrote four songs for the Monkees. We've discussed "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," and (in passing) "I'm A Believer," but my pick of the bunch is "Love To Love," recorded right before Don Kirshner's expulsion in '67 and officially unreleased until the '80s (on Rhino Records' 1982 picture disc Monkee Business, though a lo-fi, bootleg-quality recording of the track appeared on a 1979 Australian compilation called Monkeemania, released by Arista). This is my favorite Davy Jones song, an absolutely winning confection of pure, sweet pop music. The version released on the 1996 vault dive Missing Links Volume Three is sublime, but I've come to prefer the 2016 remix used for the Good Times! album, with its added backing vocals by Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.

[REDACTED] FEATURING [REDACTED]: [REDACTED]

Due out in November from the visionary Big Stir Records label. The 45 RPM single will be available for sale at Syracuse's legendary home for rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon on the evening of November 7th, which just happens to be the night of a really loud memorial show honoring Syracuse punk/new wave patron saint Paul Armstrong. A coincidence, I'm sure.

We've been playing it here for weeks, while coyly refusing to name it. We are such mother[redacted]ing teases. We will name it at the top of our very next show. And before that--hey, TOMORROW!--I'll talk about it when I guest on The Spoon podcast with Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers.

And if you already know what it is, that's fine, too. I don't mind.

THE BEATLES: Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Hey, speakin' of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse [redacted], their '70s live sets used to include a cover of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," a Larry Williams R 'n' B gem they (like most of us) learned from the Beatles. When [redacted] opened for the Runaways and the Ramones in 1978, I recall [redacted] guitarist Arty [Redacted] telling me that he'd always thought it was a Beatles original, and had then just recently discovered the Fabs didn't create it. Yeah, I replied helpfully, It was like Little Richard, I think. This serves as a reminder that, at the age of 18, I was already a dumbass.

I did learn better. No, honest! And recently, when I was interviewing Arty [Redacted] for a book I'm writing, he told me:

"Well, you know, the Beatles, you learn more and more when you listen to the songs that they were doing, all those beautiful gems of American black music. I mean, it's an incredible thing. I finally heard the original version of "Devil In Her Heart" [by the Donays] fairly recently. And it's just one of the greatest records you've ever heard. You know, the Beatles just had such unbelievable taste. Because those records, when you listen to Larry Williams and stuff, his versions really hold up in a big way. I mean, [the Beatles] were copying some of the greatest music...."

Agreed. Even the best of the best had to learn somewhere.

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Runaway

Run away? From this reality? Oh, I am IN...!

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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! David Ruffin, "I Want You Back"

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)

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!

DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back

Written by The Corporation [Berry Gordy, Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards]
Produced by Clay McMurray
Recorded circa 1970, originally unreleased. First issued on the various-artists set The Ultimate Rarities Collection # 1--Motown Sings Motown Treasures, Motown, 1998

When working on a new recording, there are times when an artist is absolutely confident the great track at hand will become a surefire hit. Book it. Top of the pops, # 1 with a bullet. In the '80s, the members of a fantastic pop band called the dB's were certain, certain that they'd created an irresistible worldwide smash with their recording of a terrific song called "Love Is For Lovers." The song didn't even chart. But it felt like a hit, and it still feels like it should have been a hit. 

One wonders if David Ruffin had that feeling when he was recording "I Want You Back," that surefire faith that he would hit the toppermost of the poppermost with this new hit. If he did, he could not have been more wrong.

In this situation, some hubris would have seemed justified, really. Ruffin had been a proven and experienced hitmaker with the Temptations. If Motown was the sound of young America in the '60s, the Temptations were arguably the sound of Motown. Their hits were many, their popularity vast, and "My Girl" in particular is immortal, and perhaps the definitive Motown single. "My Girl" is furthermore the sort of pervasive classic that is always lying somewhere near the surface of your subconscious, a tune you might not think anyone ever actually wrote, but which must instead have been passed down from generation to generation.

Ruffin had been the lead voice on "My Girl," as well as on the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," and "I Wish It Would Rain," among others. But by 1968, being one of the Temptations had ceased to bring Ruffin sunshine on a cloudy day. With that, he was no longer a Temptation.

Solo success ultimately proved fleeting for Ruffin. 1969's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" was a Top 10 hit on both the pop and R & B charts, and "I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved" and "I'm So Glad I Fell For You" were Top 20 soul hits ignored by the pop Top 40. As the success of the Temptations continued into the early '70s, the group's former lead singer could have used a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. For Ruffin, the hits had stopped.

Could Ruffin's version of "I Want You Back" have been the hit it deserved to be, the hit Ruffin's recording career kinda needed it to be? Alas, not in the real world. Some believe that Ruffin recorded "I Want You Back" roughly contemporary to when the Jackson Five cut the version that would become their smash debut Motown single. It was, after all, standard operating procedure for acts within Berry Gordy's empire to record competing versions of the same song, with a designated Chosen One then anointed as hit-worthy. But the J5's "I Want You Back" ascended the charts in 1969; Ruffin's version was likely recorded in 1970, part of the sessions for a proposed 1971 album shelved by Motown. 

Nonetheless: it should have been released. And it should have been a hit.

Ruffin's "I Want You Back" eventually saw the light of day in...wait, 1998?! Well, that's screwy. It was on a compilation called The Ultimate Rarities Collection # 1: Motown Sings Motown Treasures. It was the second track on the CD, following (of course) the Jackson Five's rendition of the Miracles' "You've Really Got A Hold On Me." Ruffin had already been dead for seven years by the time this track finally made its long-delayed trip to retail racks.

Who can say what might have been? Ruffin's unreleased 1971 album was at long last exhumed for belated public consumption in 2004. David (aka The Unreleased Album) is absolutely prime Ruffin, and I can't wrap my head around wondering why we weren't allowed to hear it when it was new. And, as great as the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" is, Ruffin's is even better. A hit. It should have been a hit.

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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 (plus one bonus): 9/5/2026

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 # 1351

[REDACTED] FEATURING [REDACTED]: [REDACTED]

Mystery track! We debuted this on last week's blowout celebration of TIRnRR # 1350, and it opens this week's show. Still can't tell you about it just yet. If you happen to be at The Lost Horizon in Syracuse on Saturday, November 7th, rumor has it that the physical 7" 45 RPM of this mystery track will be available for purchase at the merch table, courtesy of our friends at Big Stir Records. As stated previously: Grab your bright lights and bikini bottoms--bikini tops are optional.

I don't mind.

DOLLY PARTON: Release Me
DOLLY PARTON: Don't Drop Out

DOLLY PARTON: Jolene

TIRnRR's unique mojo may or may not be equal to the task of presenting a proper tribute to the late Dolly Parton, but there was no power in this mortal sphere that could prevent us from at least offering some humble tribute to her legend and legacy. Over the course of our first 1,350 shows, we've only played a grand total of three different Dolly Parton tracks, "9 To 5," "Don't Drop Out," and "Jolene," and I'm pretty sure the spin of "9 To 5" was the work of a guest programmer. 

But if Ms. Parton wasn't a TIRnRR perennial like the Ramones, both Dana and I had enormous respect for her. I remember one time when a listener asked why a show like ours would program "Jolene," and I answered: Because it's a great track. Great tracks are welcome around these parts. (And I will eventually repurpose the commentary for this week's posted playlist as part of a Greatest Record Ever Made! piece about "Jolene.")

For this week's show, "Jolene" was an absolute must, and so was "Don't Drop Out," Dolly's astounding girl-group sound single from 1966. I had something specific in mind to serve as coda (see below), and we included her lovely version of the country classic "Release Me" in our opening set.

DAVID RUFFIN: Let Somebody Love Me

This coming Sunday night's TIRnRR serves up the long-awaited return of Dana's Funky Soul Pit. Dana's annual soul/R 'n' B/funk extravaganza is one of our most popular presentations, and Dana has outdone himself once again with this year's fabulous edition. This is can't-miss entertainment, and we hope you'll tune in Sunday night, September 6th, from 9 to Midnight Eastern. Get set to sweat.

And this year's Soul Pit will include a few tracks by David Ruffin. Best known as one of the lead singers in the Temptations, Ruffin's subsequent solo career offered a lot of extraordinary work that didn't always find the large audience it deserved. A 2004 release called David (aka David Ruffin--The Unreleased Album) collected a number of (mostly) previously-unissued sides Ruffin recorded from 1969-1971, and it's an amazing record. This week, I pulled out a sublime David track called "Let Somebody Love Me." For the Soul Pit, Dana has a different track from the same collection. Irresistible stuff.

MARY KARLZEN: Mr. Typewriter

Oooo--speaking of irresistible stuff! Our pal Robbie Rist is a big fan of Mary Karlzen, a singin' songwriter who appeared as a guest on a recent episode of The Spoon podcast. Robbie also played on some of Mary's fab new album For All That We Dreamed Of (as does the incredible Fernando Perdomo), and a Spoon spin of the For All That We Dreamed Of delight "Blindsided" served up sufficient spark to get me to buy the album--a podcast's job is to sell records--with the intention of inserting "Blindsided" into this week's TIRnRR.

BUT! Robbie suggested we should oughta play another track from the album instead, and we have been known upon occasion to just do as we're told awready. So Robbie's fave rave "Mr. Typewriter" (also a great choice) stands as Mary Karlzen's TIRnRR debut, with "Blindsided" likely for a near-future show. Hail, Mary!

EARTH, WIND & FIRE: September

THE DONNAS: I Don't Want To Go To School

Wait--SEPTEMBER...?! Didn't summer just start? I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!

THE TEARJERKERS: Syracuse Summer

The Greatest Record Ever Made! 

TIM CURRY: I Do The Rock

News that actor Tim Curry had passed reached us just as we were about to record this week's show. We had to tweak the playlist a bit--apologies to Judas Priest (whose "Living After Midnight" was bumped to accommodate the change), and also to Rush (whose "Circumstances" fell victim to time constraints resulting from the switch)--but it felt imperative to represent Curry in this spot.

Like many of us, my introduction to Tim Curry was his bravura performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I thought the film was a hoot, and I'm glad the first time I got to see it was in a matinee screening, unaccompanied by costumed moviegoers, practiced audience participation, and props ranging from airborne hot dogs and rolls of toilet paper to copies of The Cleveland Plain Dealer folded over one's head. I got to experience the movie as a movie, and I found it hilarious. The experience was then enhanced and writ larger over subsequent screenings and the now-familiar attendant hoopla. Lips, baby. LIPS!

One of my favorite Curry performances was his role on several episodes of the Wiseguy TV series. Curry played Winston Newquay, an evil record label executive (which isn't necessarily a redundant phrase), and he was so riveting and deliciously malevolent that I really wish he'd been cast as the Joker in the 1989 Batman film. Curry was an artist, and an unforgettable presence in everything he did. 

From Rocky Horror, we could have played Frank-N-Furter's signature song "Sweet Transvestite" as our Curry selection, but really, Curry's 1979 radio hit "I Do The Rock" felt like an undeniable choice. I do the Rock myself! Maybe not as well as Tim Curry did the Rock--I could never whack a ball with such velocity--but y'know...don't dream it. Be it. It's a lesson worth learning, remembering, and embracing. All the world's a stage. And a stage was what Tim Curry was born to inhabit.

DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT AND EMMYLOU HARRIS: After The Gold Rush

All in a dream, all in a dream: A dream of the sound of Heaven, brought to Earth with the angelic voices of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. Godspeed, Dolly Parton.

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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: 3/7/2026

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 # 1326

THE RAMONES: I WANNA BE SEDATED

Compiled from a pair of previous posts:

She was asleep, sitting up, her head resting on my shoulder. I was in love with her. And I was already in love with the music of the band whose new album was about to be played on the radio. Love and music. Reasonable goals. I just want to have something to do.

It was October of 1978. Brenda and I had just met, already exchanged I love yous, and were determined to see where that road would lead us next....

Those were the opening paragraphs of a Love At First Spin piece I had planned to write about the Ramones' fourth album Road To Ruin. I felt the story would have too much overlap with my Love At First Spin tribute to Rocket To Russia, so the Road To Ruin entry will likely remain unfinished. But the facts remain: I first heard Road To Ruin when Rochester's WCMF-FM played it in its entirety, listening as I sat in my dorm suite with my arm around this girl I'd just met and fallen for. Road to ruin? Road to something better.

"I Wanna Be Sedated" stood out immediately, helped in no small part by its superficial resemblance to Alice Cooper's "Elected," transcending that influence with its paradoxical hybrid of a wish to be numbed combined with a full-throttle approach that couldn't be taken down by a flurry of tranquilizer darts. I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain. Sounds a lot like the act of being smitten. I want it.

The Ramones--I do prefer referring to them with a definite article--never had a hit record. Their Billboard Hot 100 peak was # 66 for "Rockaway Beach" in 1977. Their highest-charting album was End Of The Century (# 44 in 1980), edging out Rocket To Russia (# 49 in '77), the only two Ramones LPs to ascend beyond the # 50 slot. They did better overseas, but as Johnny Ramone once told me, "...It was never no big deal, really, having a hit in England. All that mattered, really, was America. It's okay having a hit in England, but the main thing was you wanna make it at home."

Their legacy endured, and just about everyone now has at least some general familiarity with some of the Ramones' recorded work. Hell, you can hear the Ramones in TV commercials. "Blitzkrieg Bop" is likely the Ramones' most universally-recognized track, but "I Wanna Be Sedated" comes close. It was not released as an American single from Road To Ruin, only achieving 7" status when reissued in the late '80s in conjunction with the best-of set Ramones Mania. One imagines edge-averse 1979 radio programmers wouldn't have been quick to embrace a pop tune about sedation, just as that notoriously timid lot had been skittish about playing the Ramones up to that point. But one also wonders if such a single might have found a wider audience, if only it had been released at the time.

(The Johnny Ramone quote cited above comes from my 1994 interviews with the Ramones, contained within my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones.)

MR. BRUCE GORDON: Every Day You Get To Choose

Our pal Mr. Bruce Gordon has been a fixture on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio pret' much from the get-go. The components of that fixture have included Bruce's fine pop work as Mr. Encrypto and Mr. Encrypto and the Ciphers, with Pop Co-Op and TIR'N'RR Allstars, and through current wonders under the Mr. Bruce Gordon dba. As I wrote upon the release of Mr. Bruce Gordon's 2023 release One Tall Order:

"Ladies and gentlemen, MR. BRUCE GORDON! You know him and love him as Mr. Encypto and as one-fourth of the irresistible Pop Co-Op. Now Bruce Gordon is ditching the 'Encrypto' moniker, retaining his alter ego's honorific, and steppin' out under his own name for the first time since the dawn of ever.

"Mr. Bruce Gordon's emergence from the power pop witness protection program results in the sublimely easy-going new album One Tall Order. One Tall Order is a sweet sway of ten engaging tracks steeped in lessons learned from a lifetime of listening: listening to the radio, AM and FM, listening to deep LP cuts, and listening between the grooves, to Motown and new wave, Steely Dan and British Invasion, folk and rock and singer-songwriter, the Church of Brian Wilson, and always to the rising voice within. 

"Fan and artist in one man, this peerless pop mister is ready to reveal his secret identity. Mr. Bruce Gordon. It's time we ALL knew that name."

Now, the unencrypted Mr. Bruce Gordon returns to reinforce the ol' fixtures with a brand-new single, "Every Day You Get To Choose." You can choose to get that here, and you can choose to tune in to hear it again on our next show. 

THE CORNER LAUGHERS: Dusking

"Dusking" is the latest advance tease from the Corner Laughers' forthcoming new album Concerns Of Wasp And Willow, and it serves as yet another inviting point of entry into the group's luscious blend of folk-pop, accomplished with sheer heartwinning beauty. Calling this music "gorgeous" sells it short. As dusk heralds darkness, we'll light a fire and gather together.

SPECTRAFLAME: I Always Wanted You To Stay

Man, we can't keep up with these prolific pop guys. By the time we were able to debut the splendor of Spectraflame's recent single "I Always Wanted You To Stay" on this week's show, the lads had already released another new track, "The Pawn And The Prize." WE CAN'T KEEP UP...!! 

But what the hell--it's worth the effort. We'll give "I Always Wanted You To Stay" another playlist berth on our next show, and we'll attempt to catch up with "The Pawn And The Prize"...eventually. Spectraflame will probably have released a triple-LP live album and a boxed set by then. 

AIMEE MANN: Driving With One Hand On The Wheel

One of the greatest rewards of doing this radio show has been the opportunity to discover so much great new music, and so much great new-to-me music. A lot of those fresh revelations are courtesy of Dana, including his spin this week of Aimee Mann's 1995 non-album single "Driving With One Hand On The Wheel." Supernifty! The road of discovery motors on.

THE CYNZ: You Wreck Me

The Cynz get a significant amount of airplay on this little mutant radio show, mostly because both Dana and I recognize the empirical truth that every rock 'n' roll radio show that claims to be a rock 'n' roll radio show oughta be slotting a significant amount of airplay to the Cynz. I mean, come on, people! Duh!

Lately, TIRnRR has been pummeling the atmosphere with tracks from the current Cynz album Confess, including this resolutely ace cover of Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me." Wreckin' the airwaves for the greater good! It's what a rock 'n' roll radio show should do. We'll return to another track from Confess on our next show. 

DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

When working on a new recording, there are times when an artist is absolutely confident the great track at hand will become a surefire hit. Book it. Top of the pops, # 1 with a bullet. In the '80s, the members of a fantastic pop band called the dB's were certain, certain that they'd created an irresistible worldwide smash with their recording of a terrific song called "Love Is For Lovers." The song didn't even chart. But it felt like a hit, and it still feels like it should have been a hit. 

One wonders if David Ruffin had that feeling when he was recording "I Want You Back," that surefire faith that he would hit the toppermost of the poppermost with this new hit. If he did, he could not have been more wrong.

In this situation, some hubris would have seemed justified, really. Ruffin had been a proven and experienced hitmaker with the Temptations. If Motown was the sound of young America in the '60s, the Temptations were arguably the sound of Motown. Their hits were many, their popularity vast, and "My Girl" in particular is immortal, and perhaps the definitive Motown single...

...Ruffin had been the lead voice on "My Girl," as well as on the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," and "I Wish It Would Rain," among others. But by 1968, being one of the Temptations had ceased to bring Ruffin sunshine on a cloudy day. With that, he was no longer a Temptation.

Solo success ultimately proved fleeting for Ruffin. 1969's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" was a Top 10 hit on both the pop and R & B charts, and "I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved" and "I'm So Glad I Fell For You" were Top 20 soul hits ignored by the pop Top 40. As the success of the Temptations continued into the early '70s, the group's former lead singer could have used a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. For Ruffin, the hits had stopped.

Could Ruffin's version of "I Want You Back" have been the hit it deserved to be, the hit Ruffin's recording career kinda needed it to be? Alas, not in the real world. Some believe that Ruffin recorded "I Want You Back" roughly contemporary to when the Jackson Five cut the version that would become their smash debut Motown single. It was, after all, standard operating procedure for acts within Berry Gordy's empire to record competing versions of the same song, with a designated Chosen One then anointed as hit-worthy. But the J5's "I Want You Back" ascended the charts in 1969; Ruffin's version was likely recorded in 1970, part of the sessions for a proposed 1971 album shelved by Motown. 

Nonetheless: It should have been released. And it should have been a hit....

THE RUNAWAYS: School Days

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SAM COOKE: (What A) Wonderful World

"Wonderful world?" With all due respect to the legendary Sam Cooke, I'd like to get a second opinion regarding his diagnosis of this world's attributes. At its core, Cooke was right: There is great wonder to be found within the heart of this frantic planet. Alas, we are led by far too many who don't know much about history. 

Nor anything else.

THE BEATLES: Carry That Weight/The End

The love you take is equal to the love you make? That sounds like a lot of weight to carry, lads. Here's hoping Abbey Road leads to a freeway.

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: 2/18/2026

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 # 1324

MIKE BROWNING FEATURING ELENA ROGERS: Over And Under And All Around

THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO TEAM-UP! Like the first time Marvel Comics bowslinger Hawkeye joined forces with Marvel Comics bowslinger other Hawkeye, TIRnRR Fave Raves Mike Browning and Elena Rogers pool their mighty talents for the amazing, fantastic, and incredible new single "Over And Under And All Around." I can do this all day, and I can play this all day. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

DAVID RUFFIN: I've Got A Need For You

From a previous 10 Songs: 

"I continue to be mystified about why Motown Records didn't release David Ruffin's proposed album David in the early '70s. It's such a fantastic record, and I wish we'd been able to experience it fifty years ago...

"...Sublime stuff. It borders on heresy, but I may even prefer the tracks on David to Ruffin's classic work with the Temptations."

From the originally-unreleased David, Ruffin's exquisite take on the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" earned a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), and we've programmed a number of the album's other tracks at various times here on TIRnRR. Stellar, stellar album. I can't fathom what Motown execs were thinking when they shelved it. 

MICHAEL SIMMONS: America

America feels like a dream to me now.

As duly ranted here, I'm in absolute thrall to Fun Where You Can Find It, the recent all-covers album by Michael Simmons. Among its garden of earthly sweets 'n' treats, my go-to selection has become Michael's lovely and moving version of Simon and Garfunkel's "America." Much of this interest is driven by the need for comfort in the midst of the country's spiraling miasma. The song provides some of that comfort, at least to the extent that a record can provide comfort. 

GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS: I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Most music-lovers likely consider Marvin Gaye's performance of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" definitive, and I would agree. If I understand the story right, Gaye recorded the song before Gladys Knight and the Pips did, but Gladys's "Grapevine" reached retail well before Marvin's, and it became a hit. Years ago, and for many years thereafter, I dismissed the Pips' take as too...show biz? Vegas, even? That was nonsense--nonsense!!--and I disavow my former POV as the hopelessly chuckleheaded take it was. Stupid young punk! 

WORMSTEW: Spinning

SUPERgroup! SoCal pop combo Wormstew has been around for ages honestly, originally as a solo DIY recording project for songwriter Mike Schnee. Now a trio, with the right honorable Mr. Schnee joining forces with longtime TIRnRR stalwarts Teresa Cowles and the above-mentioned Michael Simmons, Wormstew's new digital single "Spinning" heralds the release of their forthcoming album Last Days Of Loma. We're spinning! It's what good DJs do.

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE HALF/CUBES: Whenever You're On My Mind

As we continue to bliss out with the pristine perfection of the Half/Cubes' current album Found Pearls, a long-player filled t'burstin' with nonpareil covers of underappreciated  pop pearls, my mind wanders to prolonged consideration of what other worthy source material our Half/Cubes could unearth for a hypothetical third album. It's...a long list, and I'm still adding to it as an idle exercise in delighted daydreaming. In the here and now, we're enthusiastically digging the latest single from Found Pearls, a go'geous cover of Marshall Crenshaw's "Whenever You're On My Mind," which the Half/Cubes accomplish with able assistance from Tom Teeley and Robert Crenshaw. Whenever pop music's on my mind, the Half/Cubes are THERE!

PARTHENON HUXLEY: Double Our Numbers

ALSO The Greatest Record Ever Made! We played Ballzy Tomorrow's ace cover of "Double Our Numbers" on last week's epic tribute to Parthenon Huxley. We program the original version this week. Once again: Godspeed, Parthenon.

TELEVISION: Elevation

Yet another hero passes, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio remembers Television bassist Fred Smith. Television's 1977 debut album Marquee Moon is rightly recognized as classic, and I've always been particularly drawn to its Side Two opener "Elevation." From its chapter in my GREM! book:

"Vertigo.

"For the disaffected and dissatisfied in 1977, no track expressed the feeling of rock music in dizzying free fall with greater menace and implied ennui as 'Elevation' by Television...

"...From Television's debut album Marquee Moon, the track 'Elevation' just fascinated me when I was 17. Fall of 1977, freshman in college, trying to finally hear all these punk or new wave or whaddayacallit bands I'd read so much about in the pages of Phonograph Record Magazine. I asked the campus radio station for help, and was rewarded with the sounds of the Ramones, Blondie, the Dictators, the Adverts, the Jam, Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band, the Runaways, and oh yeah!, Television. I could never get enough of this jagged, loping, serpentine noise, so mesmerizing, so different, so gratifyingly dizzying in its willful application of elevation going to my head. And staying there. Marquee Moon was among my earliest LP purchases in this broad category of NEW MUSIC circa '77 and '78. It would not be the last...."

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

The only thing more powerful than hate is love. And yes, Slyboots' "If We Could Let Go" is indeed another sterling example of The Greatest Record Ever Made! My favorite individual track of 2024 and one of my favorite tracks of the decade, we'll hear this wonderous gem again on our next 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.

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.