10 SONGS: 2/13/2025

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1323

BALLZY TOMORROW: Double Our Numbers

Our Featured Performer this week was the late, great Parthenon Huxley, and I think we managed an effective and loving tribute to this wonderful artist. We played a lot of Parthenon's music, including material under his own nom de bop, with his group P. Hux, fronting latter-day Electric Light Orchestra incarnation the Orchestra, as a member of Veg, as Rick Rock, with 3KStatic, collaborating with Jeffrey Foskett, and as part of his "pretty good band" with Rusty Anderson, Jen Condos, and Rob Ladd. It was Hux to the max, all in memory of a TIRnRR idol.

For all that, we deliberately skipped my favorite Parthenon Huxley song: "Double Our Numbers," from his brilliant 1988 album Sunny Nights. Our pal Robbie Rist is one of the biggest P. Hux fans we know, so we wanted our P. Hux tribute to include Robbie's cover of "Double Our Numbers," marketed under Robbie's alter ego Ballzy Tomorrow. From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

We have said this many times, yet it bears repeating: Enthusiasm is its own reward.

Enthusiasm drives our individual fandom, and I mean that in a good way. It certainly drives this little mutant radio show. Sure, there can be something said on behalf of detached objectivity...but ferchrissakes not in pop music, or at least not when we're listening to pop music. Objectivity? No. Not on our watch.

Robbie Rist occasionally feigns detachment, but he's never afraid to let his enthusiasm be known. Robbie loves pop as much as anyone loves pop; he loves it unashamedly, proudly. As a performer, Robbie will not hesitate to share his own enthusiasm with the audience

Case in point: Robbie Rist loves the music of Parthenon Huxley, particularly the music on Parthenon Huxley's 1988 album Sunny Nights, and most particularly the Sunny Nights track "Double Our Numbers."

Robbie is right about all of that. "Double Our Numbers" is exquisite, and the subject of one of my Greatest Record Ever Made! rants (and a seeming shoo-in for the hypothetical GREM! Volume 2). The song never became the rockin' pop staple it deserved to be, and I don't think it's available on any current streaming service.

So Robbie's kept the song alive, with a faithful rendition released under his Ballsy Tomorrow dba, all the while tipping his hat and dutifully applying heart to sleeve in recognition of Parthenon Huxley's original.

If you love a song, you wanna play that song, sing that song, dance to that song. And you want to introduce that song to your friends. 

Double our numbers. Triple our numbers. Robbie Rist has the right idea. Greater strength in numbers. Enthusiasm rewards and renews.

We'll hear Parthenon Huxley's original version of "Double Our Numbers" on our next show. We're enthused. And we're doubling down.

THE CYNZ: You Wreck Me

We're also enthusiastic about the music of the Cynz, and we've been playing selections from the group's new album Confess with zealous, righteous conviction. This week, we turn to their absolutely ace cover of Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me," and we may have wrecked a speaker trying to crank this one up to proper volume. So worth it. We'll circle back to a previous Pick Hit from Confess on Sunday night.

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl

From an American girl singin' a Tom Petty song into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singing "American Girl." I tell ya, sometimes the segues just program themselves.

SORROWS: Just One Fool To Blame

I continue to be amazed at the gift of Sorrows' 2025 release Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow, a previously-unreleased 1981 one-night-studio-stand that serves as the group's in-era farewell but sounds like it was recorded tomorrow. The album was a consistent fixture on our playlists last year, and we just debuted its epic John Lennon salute "Cricket Man" on our January 25th show. Two weeks later, we return to the well of constant Sorrows for "Just One Fool To Blame," which turns out be just one more winner from an album overflowing with post-teenage heartbreak of the sweetest kind.  

THE FLASHCUBES: I Won't Wait Another Night

In the course of my work curating my passion project Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes for Big Stir Records in 2025, I had a series of communications with Parthenon Huxley about the possibility of him recording a Flashcubes cover for the compilation. His schedule didn't allow him a lot of opportunity to get this done, but he was friendly and open to the idea, and settled tentatively on doing a solo acoustic 12-string rendition of 'Cubes guitarist Arty Lenin's lovely ballad "I Won't Wait Another Night." 

Our conversation began in February of 2025. I then sent Parthenon several possibilities for him to evaluate from the Cubic catalog, and after considering another Arty tune ("Cycle Of Pain"), he picked "I Won't Wait Another Night" as his preference. He had a lot of working and gigging commitments, including a cruise. In March, he noted that he was closing in on an arrangement of the song. In April, he moved his Make Something Happen! participation status from tentative to "I will participate."

A downturn in Parthenon's health prevented that participation. He remained friendly and engaged in subsequent messaging, but I told him that it was more important for him to get better and feel better than it was to for him to risk damaging his vocal chops while trying to recover from a persistent cough. I expressed appreciation and gratitude for his interest and indulgence, and he expressed hope that we might meet in person some day.

This week, we played the Flashcubes' own original version of "I Won't Wait Another Night." A toast to absent friends, and a toast to what might have been.

P. HUX: Better Than Good

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

And yes, I did indeed repurpose much of this for my subsequent GREM! celebration of "Double Our Numbers." Serving the greater good, and that's much better than good.

HOLLY AND THE ITALIANS: Tell That Girl To Shut Up

Holly and the Italians' 1981 debut long-player The Right To Be Italian is a perfect record from start to finish. The 'tude classic "Tell That Girl To Shut Up" is the best-known among the original LP's ten tracks, but they're all great, presenting an irresistible oomph-a-thon of girl-group pop, New York punk, and undeniable rock 'n' roll climbing in the back seat and pulsating to the backbeat. One of my all-time favorite albums.

ELVIS COSTELLO: (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shows

I saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions perform on campus when I was a Freshman at Brockport in early 1978, and I wrote an extended reminiscence of that experience here. The performance did not include the 1977 My Aim Is True track "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," but we did hear (but not see) Declan and the lads run through the tune that night. Let's look back at that part of my in-concert recollection:

"...Costello's debut album, My Aim Is True, featured studio backing by a group called Clover; he formed the more raucous, willfully chaotic Attractions after that. My Aim Is True was well-received by critics; I suspect a few critics may have embraced it because it was tangentially punk, but not really, and endorsing it might make such critics seem slightly hipper than they actually were. But My Aim Is True was a terrific album, deserving of accolades regardless of the unconscious reasons prompting such praise.

"Still, it was surprising to return to Brockport and discover that Elvis Costello was scheduled to perform on campus. Although there was some underground support for punk and new wave among a beleaguered minority of students (and a very small handful of DJs on the student-run radio station WBSU), Brockport was simply not a hip place. The predominant musical taste of Brockport students was embodied by the Grateful Dead, Southern rock, and similar shit-kickin' and/or stoner stuff. It was either that, or dat ole debbil disco. The campus newspaper The Stylus had dismissed the Sex Pistols' album in a fit of blind, frothing fury: "Simply put, this album sucks." This was not a CBGB's crowd...

"...This was only my third rock concert. I'd seen KISS in 1976, and (yechh!) the Charlie Daniels Band in '77. More importantly, though, I'd seen my first club show and my first punk or new wave or trend du jour show in January, when I witnessed Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes for the first time. I already knew that was a life-changing experience; why not hope for another revelation, with Elvis Costello and the Attractions?

"As we waited outside the ballroom before showtime, Costello rushed sullenly and silently past us, en route to his soundcheck. We heard run-throughs of 'Alison' and '(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes' coming from behind the closed doors of the ballroom. It would be the only time we'd hear either of those songs that night...."

So, a question for the armchair pundits in our audience: This was my only Elvis Costello show; are "Alison" and "Red Shoes" a part of my virtual ticket stub gallery, or not? The well-shod angels in our midst await your decision.

THE BEATLES: Here Comes The Sun [Take 9]

Listen, man: Here in Syracuse, we're still waiting for proof of this elusive "sun" of which you speak. We'll believe it when we see it.

PARTHENON HUXLEY: Beautiful

Another one of the biggest P. Hux fans we know is loyal TIRnRR listener Eleanor Cook. Our Eleanor has guest-programmed a couple of shows for us, and one of those shows included "Beautiful,"  a go'geous tune from Parthenon Huxley's 2013 album Thank You Bethesda. Beautiful. And a beautiful way to conclude our tribute. Godspeed, Parthenon.

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: 2/7/2026

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 # 1322

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

Much of this week's show was programmed in anger, and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Minneapolis. We opened with Slyboots' "If We Could Let Go," a gorgeous, life-affirming declaration of gaze fixed forward in the face of life's casual (and institutionalized) cruelty. It's become one of my favorite songs, and it was the only song I considered for this week's first spin. In September, I posted a Greatest Record Ever Made! appreciation of the track. As we kick off our own statement of dissent and resolution, I'm going to quote that piece in its entirety:

"If We Could Let Go." I'm trying. Honest, I'm trying.

Slyboots are a great, great group from New York, and they're deserving of much wider notoriety. Their 2024 single "If We Could Let Go" is heartbreaking in all the best ways, a song full of hope and ache, empowered with an awareness of how far we fall short in pursuit of peace, love, and understanding, and driven by determination to overcome that gap and collectively become the better people a burning world needs us to be. Not merely my favorite track from last year; it's a legit contender for my all-time Hot 100. 

The song's title offers a path forward in troubled times, even if it's a path I'm not sure I'm ready to take. Yet. As close to throwing a gauntlet as an earnest plea for peace can be, the songwriting for "If We Could Let Go" is credited to the group. Lead singer Tiffany Lyons imbues the lyrics with an implied weariness bolstered by strength of passion and clarity of purpose. Guitarist KG Noble, bassist Margaret LaBombard, drummer Ted Marcus, and keyboardist Gregorio Lozano surround Lyons with bounce and determination, a steel-willed grace battalion buoyed by angelic backing vocals courtesy of Noble and Lozano.

As we sing along, and as we ponder the salvation in letting go of prejudice and distrust, there are things we should not relinquish. Hold fast to belief in something better. Hold each other up. Hold on. Stand and hold on. Draw strength from our passions, our delights, our embrace of art and family and community. Take comfort in what we love, and commit to fight on behalf of what we love. Pray and work for a future better than today. One foot in front of the other.

How can one hold on to hope in hopeless times? I guess the best we can do is keep pushing forward. Music turned up louder than our doubts. Hands held or raised as we see fit. Eyes on...well, if not on the prize, at least on our next step in the direction of the prize. We may feel like we'll never arrive, and that fear may prove correct. 

But let go of that fear. There are so many reasons to lose heart, to lose focus, to lose our way in the darkness all around us. There are so many reasons to just give up. With "If We Could Let Go," Slyboots gently--firmly--urge us to let go of the darkness that surrounds us.

Let go of the hate. Let go of the hurt. If we could let go. Let go of the if. We can. We will. Slyboots make their case. Let's go, Slyboots.

THE RAMONES: I Believe In Miracles

It would be impossible to overstate the importance of music in my life. From listening to my Aunt Anna's Chubby Checker 45 in the early '60s through co-hosting a little mutant radio show six decades later, music has moved me, inspired me, and built me. With the possible (probable) exception of the Beatles, no musical act has had more pervasive and prevailing impact upon me than the American Beatles, the greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time, the Ramones. And not even the Beatles can annex and fortify my sovereign POV to the sublime extent that the Ramones can. It's true in good times. It's equally true in times like these. Gabba Gabba, man. Gabba Gabba.

From a previous post:

In times of trouble, when we find ourselves caught at the crossroads of moral quandary and indecision, we must always ask ourselves one question:

What would the Ramones do?

I doubt many people think of the Ramones as avatars of hope. Maybe they shouldn't...but maybe they should? If ever there was a band that persevered, endured, and just kept on doing, popular resistance be damned, it was the Ramones. They were a cult act. They became legitimate pop culture icons, through sheer force of will. A miracle, indeed.

The song "I Believe In Miracles" came late in the Ramones' career. 1989. It was a mere seven years before their final concert, a good fifteen years after the Bowery birthed them; thirteen years after their debut album, eleven years after their final Hot 100 single, nine years since the last Ramones album to (barely) breach the upper 50 in Billboard's LP chart. They had continued to make records. Sales--modest to begin with--diminished further. There were no miracles in their foreseeable future.

The determinedly uplifting lyrics of "I Believe In Miracles" were written by Dee Dee Ramone, and they offer a stunning affirmation of faith in the face of dismally long odds. The song was on Brain Drain, an album which also contained "Pet Sematary," the title tune from a then-new film based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. I even heard "Pet Sematary" on commercial radio once or twice--there's your miracle!--so maybe a belief in better fortune wasn't entirely groundless.

Just, y'know, mostly groundless. "Pet Sematary" did well (# 4) on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, but never troubled the Hot 100. Brain Drain peaked at # 122. It was the Ramones' final studio album for Sire Records. And it was Dee Dee's last record as a Ramone.

Dee Dee's abrupt departure from the brudderhood was startling, and his decision to jump ship seemed to stand in contrast to the resolute dedication implied by what he wrote in "I Believe In Miracles." Perhaps sometimes a song is just a song.

And perhaps sometimes--most times?--a song can be more than just...well, just anything. I used to be on an endless run, believed in miracles 'cause I'm one. Our art is a lifeline to our aspirations, a potential guidebook to what we want to be, what we could be. If reality falls short of our intentions, that failing doesn't negate the audacity to hope, nor indicate that we should deny ourselves the opportunity to rise: we have been blessed with the power to survive, after all these years of being alive.

One could have expected Dee Dee's exit, his act of packing up and taking his miracles home, to signal the Ramones' death knell. One woulda been wrong. A young bassist dubbed C. J. Ramone joined Joey, Johnny, and Marky in the final leather-clad incarnation of this Gabba-Gabba heyday. C. J. is in the video for "I Believe In Miracles." The Ramones kept on going. That's what the Ramones did, always. Their three post-Dee Dee studio albums in the '90s carried flashes of brilliance. And Dee Dee, bless 'im, continued to write songs for his former group. 

That wasn't a miracle. That was family. The few, the proud. Semper Fi.

Should we believe in miracles? Well, what would the Ramones do? It's a simple answer: 1-2-3-4. Get on with it. Hey-ho, let's GO! It doesn't always work out. But sometimes, every now and again, miracles are there for those who believe.

THE LEGAL MATTERS: The Message

It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under. Although the Legal Matters' new single "The Message" shares its title with a hip-hop classic by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, it is most assuredly its own message. As the group's Andy Reed explains, "In today’s political landscape, I’ve grown frustrated with the hypocritical, religious types. It’s not aimed at religion specifically, just those who weaponize it.” 

We get the message, and we approve. The single's out now; the new album Lost At Sea is due February 27th. Message received.

THE CLASH: Clampdown

The popular meme is correct: These are the times Joe Strummer trained us for. Let fury have the hour. Anger can be power.

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MELANIE WITH THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS: Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)

All around us, the world gives us an eternal supply of reasons to give in and give up. We counter the thud and drone with...well, with whatever we can, with any means or method capable of marshalling our spirits. Music is one of many such methods, a favored go-to when we need nurturing or inspiration, consolation or spark. In 1970, Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers provided a song that still serves that purpose for me. From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

...What a terrific, uplifting song, with the sanctified might of the Edwin Hawkins Singers lifting Melanie up to soar as high as the angels above. I'd had no real use for the straight black Gospel sound of the Edwin Hawkins Singers' huge 1969 hit "Oh Happy Day" when I was nine, but "Lay Down" effortlessly mingled their celestial sound with Melanie's folk-singer vibe, and it all wound up as pop music. Irresistible pop music. Forget the damned roller skates. "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" is the key, right here.

"We were so close/There was no room/We bled inside each other's wounds." Well, the lyrics pin this one to the Viet Nam War era. "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" was inspired by Melanie's performance at Woodstock, a song written to express how it felt for her to see this massive crowd--perhaps not really a half a million strong, but giving the impression of a large, large number--as she sang and played her own songs of peace. The rain came down. You can hear her on the Woodstock Two album, performing "My Beautiful People" and "Birthday Of The Sun," dedicating her music with a giggle to the beautiful, wet people. You can hear her smile. You can hear her belief. 

After Woodstock, Melanie took all of what she'd seen, all of what she felt, and turned it into "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)." Raise the candles high. If you don't we could stay black against the night. The Edwin Hawkins Singers provide amazing grace, immortal soul, an oh-happy-day's journey into night. Raise them higher again. We could stay dry against the rain...."

THE JAM: In The City

In the city there's a thousand men in uniform/And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man

Those lines cut deep in 1977. They cut even deeper now.

APOLLO 100: Joy

Classic Top 40 is fine, but let's raise a glass to classical Top 40. In 1971, Apollo 100 took an electric pop-rock arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring" into the Top Ten and onto AM radios everywhere. "Joy." The song's title describes its effect. As we said on the radio Sunday night:

"We acknowledge that when things go wrong, playing pop music on the radio doesn't do much of anything to correct what's wrong. But we channel our outrage, our dedication, our belief that we CAN change, for the better. 

"Belief is hope. Hope is joy.

"On this show, and in this life, we embrace the audacity of joy."

THE BEATLES: Revolution

We do not know that it's gonna be all right. And it won't be all right any time soon enough. We ain't givin' up just yet. 1-2-3-4!

MICHAEL SIMMONS: America

From his exquisite covers album Fun Where You Can Find It, Michael Simmons covers Simon and Garfunkel. All come to look for America. I swear it's out there. Keep the faith, baby. Keep the faith.

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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding"

This was written a few years back, and it appears as a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I wish our stupid world would stop keeping the damned thing relevant.

An infinite number of tracks can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. It's Elvis Costello's turn today.

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding

Written by Nick Lowe

Produced by Nick Lowe

Single [B-side of Nick Lowe's "American Squirm", originally credited to Nick Lowe and his Sound], Radar Records [UK], 1978

There are so many reasons for me to love this song. It was written by the great Nick Lowe, and originally recorded in 1974 by his group Brinsley Schwarz. It was covered by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, whose brilliant rendition was found on their 1979 album Armed Forces, the first record Brenda ever gave to me. Its lyrics are simultaneously hopeful and defiant. A cover by Curtis Stigers appeared on the multimegacolossalsmash soundtrack to The Bodyguard in 1992, providing Lowe with a nice paycheck and some sort of happy ending. Peace. Love. Understanding. 

Yet I hate the circumstances that so often prompt me to play it.

The week after 9/11, we didn't play much in the way of hopeful or happy tunes. We were angry and afraid, sad, angry, sad, angry. On that week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Dana and I opened the show with "I Stand Tall" by the Dictators, and proceeded to seek catharsis through music. For the week after that, we received a request from our pal Liz Belmont in New York City, as she dealt with the day-to-day post-9/11 miasma of the embattled Greatest City In The World. Liz wanted hope. Liz wanted the promise of better. Liz wanted to know what was so funny about peace, love, and understanding. Liz wanted Elvis Costello and the Attractions. 

We played the song for her. And we embraced the notion of looking for light in the darkness of insanity.

But so many times, as acts of violence and moments of sheer horror have pummeled us again and again and again and again and...damn it. God damn it. I love this song. I hate the recurring reason why I turn to it.

I don't really believe in God. I don't really disbelieve either; I'm not an Atheist, nor is my belief (or lack thereof) formal enough for me to consider myself an Agnostic. I don't question the existence of God so much as I remain unconvinced either way. I don't know. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it: I don't know.

Technically, I'm still a Catholic, I guess. I was raised Catholic, confirmed Catholic, and I went to Catholic church for decades. But I don't go to the meetings anymore, and I don't pay my membership dues. I respect the Church. I am no longer a part of it.

I respect your faith. Because, I don't know, you may be right. The Christians may be right. The Jews may be right. The Muslims may be right. The Wiccans, the Buddhists, the Atheists? I don't know. Maybe Corporal Klinger was right, in the spec M*A*S*H TV outline I concocted for a Radio and TV Writing course in college, as Klinger's quest to be dismissed from the army as a crazy person led him to fabricate a religion based on the divinity of the Lone Ranger. Hi-Ho Silver, Hallelujah!

Okay. That last one is not right. The others? I don't know. Neither do you.

And it's okay if you believe in something that can't be proven. That's why it's called faith. You may be secure in your belief system to the point that you take it as fact, as...well, Gospel. I have no problem with that. Your beliefs are yours to embrace, yours to proclaim, yours to accept as truth. Faith. Faith is not a sin. 

It only becomes a sin when it is forced upon others. It becomes evil when believers kill on its behalf.

It's true of terrorists, foreign and domestic. It's true of individuals and it's true of groups, true of anyone who would take a weapon of any kind, proclaim a venomous conviction that some lives don't matter, and pass deadly judgement where judgement is not theirs to give. If there is a Hell, its flames await each and every one of them and those who enable them, from fringe groups and hatemongers to the soulless ghouls running the fucking NRA. 

I have attended many Christian services over a span of decades, mostly Catholic, some Protestant, including some Mennonite services. I have attended a number of Jewish services. I have attended one Muslim service, a funeral at the Islamic Society Of Central New York. I confess (har!) that there were a few occasions when a priest or preacher said something from his pulpit that pissed me off, but even the worst of them never struck me as a murderer. More often than not, the Christian services I've experienced have been celebrations of love and hope. The Jewish services I've experienced have been celebrations of love and hope. My sole Muslim service experience was a celebration of love and hope. Religion isn't evil.

But religion is often used as a cloak for the unspeakable. No God--no God--sanctions the slaughter of innocents. This I do know. Zealots--mortal zealots--pervert what they claim is the Sacred Word, and use it as license to commit heinous acts that will condemn them to damnation eternal, as the God they worshiped looks on sadly and says, How could you so misunderstand my command to love?

Love.

I believe in love. I believe in a spiritual bond that connects us all, without silly regard for our many differences. I believe we can be better. I believe that hatred is strong, and I concede that hatred will win many battles. We will have cause to question our faith. But I believe love will prevail. 

When will love prevail? I don't know.

Here on Earth, if there is a God, we are the ones responsible for carrying out His or Her work. Sometimes I believe, and I put God's name to that belief. Sometimes I despair, but retain faith that all hope is not gone, that there is more than pain and hatred and misery. 

What's so funny? Really, what's so goddamned funny?

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: 11/29/2025

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 # 1312

THE RAMONES: Punishment Fits The Crime

Each week, when getting ready to plan the show's playlist with Dana, I keep a list of potential track choices to consider. The list includes new stuff, recent faves, old faves, old tracks we've never played before, and assorted items of varying vintage and familiarity that might fit into the presumed master plan of whatever it is we do on TIRnRR. The list carries through from week to week, its contents adjusted as we go.

The Ramones' "Punishment Fits The Crime" has been on that list for many weeks. The song was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts, sung by Dee Dee, and included on the group's 1989 album Brain Drain (the last Ramones studio album to include Dee Dee as anything other than just songwriter). Frankly, Brain Drain is a contender for my least favorite Ramones album, but it does give us the fantastic "I Believe In Miracles," plus "Pet Sematary" and "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," proving that even the merest Ramones album is still A RAMONES ALBUM!! Anyway, "Punishment Fits The Crime" fits in the category of "old tracks we've never played before," and that status is what placed it in my week-to-week list of playlist possibilities.

Prior to this week's programming session, I realized it had been a little while since we'd opened a show with the Ramones. I considered programming one of my many, many Ramones Picks T' Click in that leadoff spot, but opted to finally give "Punishment Fits The Crime" its long-overdue TIRnRR debut.

Throughout the process, it didn't even occur to me that the song's title could apply to...you know who. Let's hope we find a legal punishment to fit that guy in the very near future. As another punk band said: All crimes are paid.

THE LEGAL MATTERS: Everybody Knows

The minute I found out that the Legal Matters were doing a new album for Big Stir Records, I immediately petitioned the band and label for permission and access to play the then-forthcoming advance single. The album, Lost At Sea, is due in 2026, and the single "Everybody Knows" was released to radio just after this week's show was recorded. But we got it! Everybody knows we would be playing it; we knew we could not wait another week to do so. And everybody should know now: We're playing it again this Sunday. 

SHOES: Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)

We don't get many opportunities to program new music by power pop legends Shoes, and we've never before had an opportunity to play Shows covering power pop's Ur group Raspberries. Opportunity SEIZED! Shoes' rendition of the Raspberries hit "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" comes to us from the superb various-artists 'Berries salute Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, a tribute curated by our friend Ken Sharp. Want a hit record? Look no further.

(Raspberries' original version of "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" ands Shoes' own incredible 1978 single "Tomorrow Night" are among the 145 tracks--one 45 at a time!--I discuss in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]. SPOILER ALERT: I like both of those records a lot. You can read all about them and their 143 GREM! brethren and sistren by ordering your own copy of the book. I'm Carl Cafarelli, and I approve this message.  The Greatest Record Ever Made [Volume 2] is [very] tentatively planned for 2027.)

THE BUSBOYS: The Boys Are Back In Town

When Robbie Rist saw in this week's show hype that we were playing the BusBoys, he immediately wanted to know if we were playing new music by this great group. Alas, although we did program the BusBoys' then-recent single "In My Heart" back in 2024 (and likewise with "Love On My Mind" in 2022), we weren't even aware that there was new BusBoys music available. Honestly, I'd fire the TIRnRR research department, but that department is, y'know, me, and I've got tenure.

Robbie's (presumably) figurative headslap to our collective noggin prompted a fresh search for new BusBoys tuneage, resulting in a purchase of the 2025 digital-only album In My Heart. Target acquired! The album includes both of the 2020s singles mentioned above, and we'll debut another track from In My Heart on Sunday. Thanks for the nudzh, Robbie! Meanwhile, here's another spin of the BusBoys' best-known track "The Boys Are Back In Town," as heard when the BusBoys appeared in the 1982 Eddie Murphy-Nick Nolte flick 48 Hours. 'Cuz when the boys are back, there ain't no foolin' around.

THE MONKEES: Papa Gene's Blues

PLAY, magic fingers!

TAYLOR SWIFT: The Last Great American Dynasty

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

KEN SHARP: I'm A Rocker

One more from Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, "I'm A Rocker" as performed by the set's auteur Ken Sharp. I owned the original Raspberries 45 of "I'm A Rocker" when I was a teen in the '70s, and I was puzzled that it wasn't on the Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen compilation LP. Our Ken knows Raspberries' best better'n anybody, and he honors that legacy here.

DIRTY LOOKS: Let Go

Staten Island's phenomenal pop combo Dirty Looks with their signature tune. From a previous 10 Songs:

Statement of intent. This Staten Island trio's eponymous debut LP was released on the Stiff America label in 1980, and "Let Go" was an immediate fave rave on 97 Power Rock, a Sunday night alternative-rock showcase aired on Buffalo's 97 Rock FM. Hmmm. A Sunday night rock 'n' roll radio show? I may have made note of that particular notion for possible future use. 

"Let Go" is a perfect post-punk radio pop song, fueled by new wave rock energy, rooted in catchy 1960s radio fare, and dead certain that the Ramones, the Who, Joe Jackson, and Paul Revere and the Raiders are Heaven-sent inspirations.

It's not easy to write a song about rock 'n' roll. It's not. Too many attempts at rock anthems feel forced, or overly earnest, pompous, clueless, heavy-handed, and...blechh. With "Let Go," Dirty Looks pull it off with style, and they make it seem like a cinch. Don't you know that rock 'n' roll is still the best drug? The drumming is hyperactive, the bass pushy (in a good way), the guitar simple and authoritative, the vocals and harmonies steadfast, reflecting the confidence of a group secure in the knowledge that it has God on its side. All you gotta do, let go, let go, let GO! GO! GO! GO! Belief is infectious. And godDAMN, this sounds so exhilarating on the radio. 

It always has.

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: Clowntime Is Over

Is clowntime over? All respect to Elvis Costello and the Attractions, but clowntime ain't really over until we heed the words of the Ramones:

Let the punishment fit the crime.

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time

And if there is any justice, clowntime will give way to cleanup time. "Cleanup Time" is my favorite track on the High Frequencies' super groovy new album Get High, and like our opening track by the Ramones, the title's topically apt nature didn't strike me until after the fact. Nonetheless: CLEANUP ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE! Mops at the ready. Let's go.

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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.