10 SONGS: 1/10/2026

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 # 1318

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There

The news of the world this week does not inspire optimism. Nonetheless: We open the new year with testimonials of hope and resilience courtesy of Eytan Mirsky and the Four Tops. Both songs are given chapters in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). The book was not intended as fiction, the brutal nature of the real world notwithstanding.

You can read an earlier version of my GREM! celebration of Brother Eytan's fantastic "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" in its blog appearance right here. For now, let me add this bit from the book's chapter about the mighty Four Tops:

"...'Reach Out' is no less melodramatic than 'Standing In The Shadows Of Love' or 'It's The Same Old Song' or 'Seven Rooms Of Gloom.' But its sense of heightened emotion is put to a higher purpose: Not just lamenting lost love, but planting feet firmly, chin set, and reaching out to help a loved one make a stand when the chips are down. It's pure, it's inspirational, and it's spine-chillingly convincing and uplifting...."

We need that, especially in these times of trouble, when we feel like we can't go on. All hope isn't quite gone, not just yet. It's time to rewrite our stories. This year. Reach out. 

TAYLOR SWIFT [FEATURING SABRINA CARPENTER]: The Life Of A Showgirl [dressing room rehearsal version]

Look: I realize that I'm not in Taylor Swift's demo. But I respect her talent, I respect her accomplishment, and I very much respect her super ability to piss off a lot of people who piss me off. I've already waxed rhapsodic about Swift's sublime 2020 track "The Last Great American Dynasty," while simultaneously noting that most of her work is likely to fall outside my chosen pop parameters.

With that said, the fact that I don't listen to any contemporary hits radio format means I didn't hear the title tune from Swift's 2025 album The Life Of A Showgirl until a few weeks ago. I think the studio version of this collaboration between Swift and Sabrina Carpenter was played incidentally during the six-part Disney + docuseries Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era, but what got my attention was Swift and Carpenter's dressing room rehearsal performance of the song. That was stunning, allowing the words and melody to breathe free, unencumbered by extraneous (to me) gloss and thump. This rendition became an immediate personal pop obsession, prompting me to buy the track and put it on a radio show that's generally more known for playing the Ramones and the Flashcubes rather than Taylor Swift. See, great songs can fit in anywhere.

THE CYNZ: Love's So Lovely

The Cynz were TIRnRR's 13th most-played artist in 2025, and they placed two songs among our 50 most-played tracks. One of those tracks, "Heartbreak Time," was a single that has now been remixed as part of the brand-new Cynz album Confess, which is due out this month from the Jem Records label. As we commence a new year of countdown stats, we debut "Love's So Lovely," the latest single from Confess, and we'll be playing it again on Sunday. We confess a love of Cynz.

TREVOR BLENDOUR: She's Still My Baby

About a month ago, I got a text from beloved actor/musician/producer/debonaire man-about-town Robbie Rist:

"Sir.

Trevor Blendour (pronounced blender)

Look him up.

I think he's a great addition to TIRnRR.

Has a new album called Breaking Up With Trevor Blendour.

Find it."

We hear and we obey. Thanks for the tip, Robbie! (And, um...how did you get this number? Just askin'...)

MIKE BROWNING: It's Festival Time

Festival time? Man, it's ALWAYS a festival when Mike Browning releases a new single, and "It's Festival Time" puts that sentiment in writing. And if the snowy season in Syracuse doesn't immediately conjure images of FESTIVAL!, we can close our eyes, listen, and wave the ol' cigarette lighter high. We'll wave it again this Sunday. Don't argue with festivals.

THE TROGGS: Wild Thing

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

ELVIS PRESLEY: Hard  Headed Woman

The ONLY King we acknowledge.

SPECTRAFLAME: Love Don't Live Here No More

Another tip courtesy of the charmingly ubiquitous Robbie Rist, and this time it's a project he's involved in. "Love Don't Live Here No More" is the latest single from St. Petersburg, Florida's phenomenal pop combo Spectraflame, a fab force commanded by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Steve Burgess. Our Robbie adds drums, bass, backing vocals, and MORE GUITAR!, Lee Pons plays the keys, and the result is ready-made for rockin' pop radio. HEY! That's where WE come in! I knew we'd get to play some kinda part in this. Our part is to play it this week, and again next week. The love of pop music still lives here, and it lives here with gusto to spare.

(Er...our apologies to Spectraflame for announcing the song on-air last week as "Love Don't Live Here ANY More." I'd say we learned our lesson, but we did it again on our next show. Jeez, it's a good thing we're so adorable.)

THE VOGUES: Five O'Clock World

Good enough for Drew Carey. Good enough for us.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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

10 SONGS: 9/20/2025

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 # 1302.

THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight

This new single by the Half/Cubes featuring Peter Noone finds the Herman's Hermits singer revisiting his early '80s work fronting the ace new wave rockin' pop combo the Tremblers. This is not something Noone revisits very often, and the fact that he's participated in a new and effervescent remake of my favorite Tremblers tune is righteous cause for joy 'n' merriment in these quarters. 

The single serves as herald to the new Half/Cubes album Found Pearls, due in October from Jem Records. I would tell you more about it. except that it's too early for me to tell you more about it. But I've heard it and it's fabulous. I was among several friends of the band and the label that were asked for an opinion of what oughta be the first focus track. I replied:

"To me, the obvious commercial choice is 'I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight.' It almost doesn't matter whether or not it's one of the album's best tracks (though it does happen to be among them); Peter Noone's involvement is noteworthy to begin with, but the idea of him returning to a track he did with the Tremblers is--what's the phrase?--a big fucking deal. Man, Robbie Rist just mentioned the Tremblers on his podcast a couple of weeks ago, lamenting the fact that Peter never, ever re-visits that album or era. This is a friggin' home run, and it feels like a natural pick for a focus track."

More hype to come. Enjoy this friggin' home run in the meantime. 

THE TURTLES: Elenore

With the passing of Mark Volman of the Turtles, our next show will pay tribute to Flo & Eddie (Volman with long-time collaborator and fellow Turtle Howard Kaylon) as our Featured Performers. We still wanted to squeeze a Turtles spin into this week's program as well, and we opted for one of the hits: "Elenore," written by the Turtles themselves as their snarky response to White Whale Records label suits demanding the group do another frothy 'n' frolicsome pop ditty like "Happy Together." The Turtles (really Kaylon) wrote "Elenore" as a satire of "Happy Together."

The Turtles did not intend anyone to take the deliberately goopy, over-the-top lyrics of "Elenore" seriously, nor as anything other than a grumpy middle digit flashed at their label. But White Whale loved it, released it at 45 RPM, and it became one of the group's biggest smashes. That's show biz.

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

With the release of the new Half/Cubes single (and the promise of more), plus the release of the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, right now is a really, really good time for fans of all Cubic pop. The Flashcubes' rhythm section of bassist Gary Frenay and drummer/producer Tommy Allen are the central figures in the Half/Cubes, and they established their once and future power pop legend alongside guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin. The Flashcubes. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse, and an incredibly important act in my life.

That's why I wanted to organize a Flashcubes tribute album: 21 great acts covering 21 great original Flashcubes songs, bolstered by three brand-new tracks from the Flashcubes themselves. Paul Armstrong's "Reminisce" was the first single, and it's the leadoff track on Make Something Happen!

It's also my favorite song of 2025. All I want to do is reminisce with you. Hey-ho, let's go. Reminiscing isn't all I wanna do, but the foundation built by our past gives us a platform to race into whatever comes next.

THE JOHNNY POPSTAR LUV EXPLOSION: Guess I'm Just A Friendly Guy [alternate mix--Flo & Eddie's Zappa characters]

The Flo & Eddie tribute on our next show will skip the Turtles' biggest hits, delving a tiny bit deeper into a quartet of lower-charting singles and LP tracks from a great group that was so much more than just their best-known singles. Alas, that means "Elenore" will have the weekend off, showing how to be exactly what she'd be with whomever she'd rather be, happy together.

One track will will play again in our Flo & Eddie feature is this alternate mix of "Guess I'm Just A Friendly Guy" by the Johnny Popstar Luv Explosion. The track (from the EP Lizzy The Supermarket Drag Queen) was a frequent fixture on our playlists back 'round the turn of the century, and although Flo & Eddie did also sing back-up on the non-alternate mix, we favored this mix, with Flo & Eddie reprising the willfully whiny voices they used as member of the Mothers with Frank Zappa. And we're gonna play it again on Sunday night.

THE TREMBLERS: You Can't Do That

Oh yes you CAN! At the dawn of the 1980s, when Peter Noone wanted to try to establish a more (for lack of a better description) serious rock 'n' roll image separate from cute 'n' cuddly 'Erman of the 'Ermits, he formed his crack combo the Tremblers. Because he COULD do that! Great live band, great album called Twice Nightly, and ultimately a great lost opportunity, as the only thing it couldn't do was get the record-buying public on board. Stupid record-buying public.

Peter and the Tremblers deserved better. "You Can't Do That" is the first track on Twice Nightly, and it sets the album's tone with defiant, confident aplomb. It's my second-favorite Tremblers track, right after "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight," followed closely by "Maybe I'll Stay" and "I Screamed Anne" and "Wouldn't I" and "Steady Eddie" and the cover of Elvis Costello's "Green Shirt" and...the whole damned record. Twice Nightly is superb. With the Tremblers, Peter Noone could for damned sure do that. 

And he did.

EYTAN MIRSKY: Apologize In Advance

What do we do when we get brand-new music from Brother Eytan Mirsky? We PLAY that brand-new music from Brother Eytan Mirsky! Obviously. Dana notes that Eytan's new album All Over The Map seems to have something of a country feel to it, and Brother Eytan does indeed bring some winning twang to Forest Hills without ceding an acre or an inch of his Queens-bred Everyman snark. We'll hear more new Mirsky music this Sunday, as Eytan covers Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin and Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin cover Eytan Mirsky. We ARE the world!

PERILOUS: Glass Of Something

I propose a toast: Here's to another absolutely ace new single from the irresistible force known as Perilous. Glass of something? Set 'er up, and here's to ya.

HERMAN'S HERMITS: A Must To Avoid

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities

From Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes: Noted Tremblers fan Robbie Rist and his Ballzy Tomorrow dba take on one of my many favorite Flashcubes originals. From Half/Cubes featuring Peter Noone to the Tremblers to Robbie Rist to the Flashcubes and back to Robbie Rist; this week's edition of 10 Songs has just about completed the fullness of its circle.

HERMAN'S HERMITS: I'm Into Something Good

That's us. That's us all over. Getting into The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet is, by definition, getting into something good.

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: 6/7/2025

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 # 1288

TOM KENNY AND THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class

Tom Kenny is an international treasure, and he was born 'n' bred right here in our beloved Syracuse, NY. You may know him as the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants, Plastic Man, The Penguin, and a zillion others across a zillion animated credits. In live action, he was the evil Binky the Clown in his hometown buddy Bobcat Goldthwaite's 1991 film Shakes The Clown. To my daughter, he was the voice of both the Mayor and the narrator on The Powerpuff Girls. I tell that story here and here.

But as I like to point out and repeat: Before Tom Kenny was your SpongeBob Squarepants, he was our Tomcat, one of us, a participant in the same vibrant late '70s/early '80s local music scene that Dana and I loved so much, the scene that gave the world the Flashcubes, Maura Kennedy, Chris von Sneidern, the Penetrators, and many others. He found fame as a talented and celebrated voice actor; to us, he's so much more than that. He's a music fan from way back, and he channels that passion as a magnificent live performer. From local faves the Tearjerkers in the early '80s through the simply sublime Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas today, international treasure Tom Kenny remains solid gold on stage and off.

So yes, of course we wanted Tom to record a track for our forthcoming compilation Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. And man, did he and his superlative and uber-tight band o' Hi-Seas deliver. And then some! Credit 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay for suggesting his song "Welcome To The Working Class" as the perfect Cubic choice for Tomcat and company to tackle, and a more perfect match of artist and material will not be found anywhere. Not even in Bikini Bottom, nor in Townsville, nor Gotham City itself.

I have heard that "Welcome To The Working" is the first recording the Hi-Seas have completed since the November passing of their music director, the great Andy Paley. Beyond the blow of  personal tragedy, having to overcome the loss of Paley's enormous talent was no doubt a daunting task. From this bittersweet transition, one hopes there will be many more new Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas recordings yet to come. An international treasure. Welcome, indeed.

GRAHAM PARKER: Back To Schooldays

As I recall, my first awareness of Graham Parker's song "Back To Schooldays" was in 1981, when I read that none other than Rick Nelson had covered it. Even then, I didn't hear Nelson's version nor Graham Parker and the Rumour's 1976 original until a little bit later in the ol' timeline. I caught up eventually. Although we've played a more recent live performance of the song by Graham Parker and the Goldtops, I'm amazed that this is the TIRnRR debut of the studio version, from Graham's album Howlin' Wind. Looks like our trip back to schooldays merits a spell in detention, but consider this a good-faith attempt at extra credit.

(Have we mentioned yet that Graham Parker has also recorded a Flashcubes cover for the much-anticipated Make Something Happen! tribute album? No? Well, I'm sure we'll get around to mentioning it soon. I tell ya, all this detention can slow ya down.)

JIM BASNIGHT: All Summer Long

We love playing new music from Jim Basnight, and we're therefore delighted to add his new single "All Summer Long" to the TIRnRR playlist. Though the song shares its title with a Beach Boys classic, it's all original all the time, so grab the Coppertone and get set to frolic already. Sure, we'll be frolicking on the Bayou, but don't quibble: It's SUMMER!

EYTAN MIRSY: Jessie's Girl

BALLZY TOMORROW: Old Gangsters Never Die

Andrew Curry has compiled a number of superb tribute albums, each one full of accomplished and compelling interpretive salutes to its designated subjects: lite rock, the second British Invasion, the music of 007, Paul Williams, and Andy Gibb. Can't go wrong with any of them, which is why we've played 'em all on TIRnRR.

Second By Second By Minute By Minute: The Songs Of Rick Springfield is the newest release from Curry Cuts, and I won't be surprised if this winds up getting even more Dana & Carl airtime than its illustrious predecessors. 

In 1981, "Jessie's Girl" was Springfield's first breakout hit in the US. He'd been a star in his native Australia, and he played himself in animated form on the 1973 American TV cartoon series Mission: Magic! As an actor, he did a lot of TV work, achieving wider notice in '81 on the soap opera General Hospital. The soap stint coincided with his ascension on the pop music charts.

Is "Jessie's Girl" Springfield's signature tune? I think it is, so we begin our recognition of this magic mission with Brother Eytan Mirsky, coveting his best friend's girl with unashamed longing and aplomb. We follow with Robbie Rist fronting his nom de bop Ballzy Tomorrow for a supercool performance of "Old Gangsters Never Die," a Springfield tune I did not know prior to this.

A great tribute album can do that: Introduce you to deeper cuts and expand your awareness and appreciation of lesser-known gems to be found within an artist's body of work. I have, at best, a slightly better than cursory knowledge of the Rick Springfield canon, going beyond the hits into his lovely 1972 debut single "Speak To The Sky" and partial memory of his 1973 album Comic Book Heroes. Clearly, I have some homework to do. But we have this fine Rick Springfield tribute album to get us started.

(Ballzy Tomorrow also has a track on our Flashcubes tribute album, as do a few other artists on Second By Second By Minute By Minute. The best tribute albums demand the best talent!)

ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Why Can't You Come

ARTHUR ALEXANDER: Red Beans And Gasoline

Both Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin and Arthur Alexander are among the acts covering the Flashcubes on Make Something Happen!, the latter with his ace combo Sorrows. In the mean time, Rob and Arthur are covering each other! A brand new split single pairs Skin-Tight Skin's cover of Arthur's "Why Can't You Come" with Arthur's rendition of Rob's "Red Beans And Gasoline." Now there's a high-octane meal!

THE MONKEES: I Never Thought It Peculiar

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

LISA MYCHOLS: What Kind Of Fool Am I

One more from Second By Second By Minute By Minute: The Songs Of Rick Springfield, courtesy of Lisa Mychols. This is just fantastic, and yeah, it just so happens that Ms. Mychols will also be on the Flashcubes tribute, collaborating with Super 8. Ain't no fools to be found here.

THE FLASHCUBES WITH MIKE GENT: Reminisce

The Flashcubes' new digital single is out on June 27th, and available for preorder now in advance of its appearance on the Flashcubes tribute album in September. Reminisce AND look forward. It's the most effective way to make something happen.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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

10 SONGS: 1/11/2025

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 # 1267

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

THE ZOMBIES: This Will Be Our Year

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

TIRnRR kicked off the new year with a hopeful spin of Brother Eytan Mirsky's "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year," followed by its benevolent forebear "This Will Be Our Year" by the Zombies. "Hopeful?" Maybe naive or even delusional would be closer to reality, but we're not quite ready to surrender just yet.

And so we followed that opening salvo with the Smithereens' "Face The World With Pride." I'll be returning to the subject of this fantastic track in the very near future. For now, we offer it alongside Eytan and Zombies alike: As manifesto, as line in the sand, as statement of stubborn, defiant intent. Hell, throw in a little Twisted Sister and O'Jays for good measure. Face front, true believers. With pride on our side, let's keep on kickin'.

SUGAR PIE DeSANTO: Soulful Dress

The ongoing reality of time elapsing and shadows growing longer brings a never-ending supply of goodbyes. Soul singer Sugar Pie DeSanto passed in December, and while she never became the household name she deserved to be, her music has been an occasional fixture of this little mutant radio show. I've gotta admit that, if not for Dana, I wouldn't be at all familiar with Sugar Pie DeSanto, but when he's played her, I've listened and enjoyed. I need to do a deep, deep dive into the DeSanto oeuvre, so I deferred to Dana as he made the essential Sugar Pie selections for our miniature tribute. 

"Soulful Dress" was the first track we played after the three-song opening HOPE?! barrage detailed above, and we circled back later in the show for DeSanto's "Witch For A Night" and "In The Basement (Part 1)," the latter side a collaboration with Etta James. Our encore spot presented two additional slices of Sugar Pie, "It Won't Be Long" and "Mr And Mrs." Sugar Pie DeSanto was a giant talent; more folks need to hear her stuff, just so they can fall in love with it like I fell in love with it.

THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

As we stumble forth into the potential morass of 2025, we do look forward to the September release of [REDACTED]. What, exactly, is [REDACTED]? If we could tell you, it wouldn't be [REDACTED]. It won't be [REDACTED] for much longer.

In the meantime....

"Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" is a song by Arty Lenin, guitarist and founding member of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. It was first performed by the Flashcubes in 1979, demoed by the 'Cubes, subsequently recorded and released by Flashcubes offshoot Screen Test, and eventually redone in this brightly-lit new century for the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. The song's lyrics are among the most effective expressions of teen alienation I've ever heard, a clique-inflicted miasma buoyed and ameliorated by the transcendence of its pop. Even now, listening to it with senior-citizen ears more years removed from high school than Beatlemania was removed from America's entry into World War I, "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" can still make me feel the snub and the sting of my time serving that sentence in teen purgatory. Yet I love the song. That's the power of art, the power of music.

Power Pop Hall of Famers the SpongeTones have recorded an as-yet-unreleased cover of "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young," and their new rendition lives up to its incredible Cubic legacy. I'm stunned, I'm grateful, and I'm thrilled that Dana and I have the opportunity to play this on the radio. We'll play it again this Sunday night, and we look forward to the day you'll be able to add this great track to your rockin' pop library.

When, where, and how will you be able to snag your own copy of the SpongeTones' "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young?"

Well. That's [REDACTED].

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part One)

Our passions help (or try to help) sustain us in troubled times. Our hobbies and interests can provide the distraction or involvement we need to function when we might feel tempted to just shut down. Music, movies, books, gaming, competitive napping, writin' a blog, et al. fall within the broad category of things that ease our efforts to get through the all-of-this of all of this. In the words of a former Beatle: Whatever gets you through the night. 

For me, my night- and day-clearing activities include listening to music, reading comic books and pulp fiction, watching TV, and following a few sports teams. One of those sports teams is the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills have had a pretty good season so far. As the playoffs commence, they have at least an outside shot at getting to the Super Bowl, which means they have a shot at winning the Super Bowl. 

That would be cool. It won't take away any of the tsuris and misery of the real world, it won't heal the sick, feed the hungry, or end the wars. A victory for Buffalo won't extinguish flames in California, nor prevent the national tragedy that will occur on January 20th. In schemes that are grand, the meaning of a sports competition will be small.

But it's something to cheer for. Those inconsequential somethings, however ephemeral, do have meaning in the moment. We take the win or endure the loss, and try to fight on through another day.

When the Buffalo Bills score a touchdown, fans sing along to a variation of the Isley Brothers' R & B touchstone "Shout," reworded The Bills make me wanna SHOUT! We can use some shoutin'. Primal scream! Big, BIG primal scream. Catharsis and comfort serve a purpose. Let's go, Buffalo. Survive and advance. Just like the rest of us.

(NOTE: If you're a Denver fan, it's okay; we can still be friends, win or lose. Cheers.)

20/20: Laurel Canyon

One guaranteed good thing about 2025 is the release of a new album by 20/20. 20/20 is one of power pop's defining acts, and their new stuff is just as compelling as the acknowledged classics they did so many decades ago. We've already played a couple of advance tracks from the group's forthcoming new album Back To California, and we'll have yet another one spinning on our very next show Sunday night. In between, we offer this debut TIRnRR airing of "Laurel Canyon," which is my early choice for the album's top track. 

AMERICA: Sister Golden Hair

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

WONDERBOY: Happy? That's Me!

The lads of Wonderboy react to the news that their splendid Hero Isle album cut "Girl Songs" was TIRnRR's # 1 most-played track in 2024: Happy? That's ME! We're ALL happy, lads. Or at least we're trying to be.

THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop

Happy or not: 1-2-3-4! This malevolent new year for damned sure won't cruise to higher ground if we don't provide a little course correction. Armed with pride, eyes on redemption, this year will be our year, or we will fall fighting back. Hey-ho. Let's go, goddammit. Let's go.

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

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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

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.