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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Herman's Hermits, "A Must To Avoid"

Drawn in part from previous posts, this is not part of 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!

HERMAN'S HERMITS: A Must To Avoid

Written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri

Produced by Mickie Most

Single, MGM Records, 1965

When I think of rock 'n' roll movies, I don't think of concert films or documentaries. I think of scripted flicks with some excuse for a plot (however slight), and pop idols singin' their songs. I primarily think of star vehicles, like Sonny and Cher in Good Times or Bloodstone in Train Ride To Hollywood. As a kid growing up in the '60s, I only saw two such films: The Beatles' magnificent A Hard Day's Night and the significantly less-great Hold On!, the latter starring Herman's Hermits. 

A little bit o' background here: I love Herman's Hermits, and none of the seeming snark above should lead you to forget that fact. I love many of the Hermits' records, especially "No Milk Today" and "A Must To Avoid," but also including all of their big hits and many of their lesser-known tracks. Yes, please consider me a big fan of Herman's Hermits on record.

As for their movies? The Lord says love the singers, hate the singers' films.

Although I did indeed see Herman's Hermits in Hold On! when it was still in theaters, let's forget about that. And believe me, it's an easy movie to forget. Instead, let's move ahead by a decade and change, to when I was an 18-year-old college freshman in 1978. That's when I scored a truly beat-up copy of the Hold On! soundtrack LP, a record that was a lot more interesting than the cinematic trifle that spawned it.

One may be tempted to dismiss the album as a trifle as well, but it was at least an interesting trifle; I loved some of it, and I wasn't much put off by the rest. If I could take or leave (mostly leave) "The George And Dragon," "Leaning On A Lamp Post," and Shelley Fabares' "Make Me Happy" (which skipped on my copy anyway), I had more enthusiasm for "Hold On!," "Wild Love," "All The Things I Do For You Baby," and "Gotta Get Away." My biggest go-to tracks on Hold On! were "Got A Feeling," "Where Were You When I Needed You" (later a hit for the Grass Roots), and "A Must To Avoid." 

"A Must To Avoid" quickly became my favorite Herman's Hermits. My local heroes the Flashcubes likewise gave it their seal of approval by covering "A Must To Avoid" in their live sets, and that served to validate what I already knew: "A Must To Avoid" is power pop, as in pop with POWER!, a rockin' number that eschews leaning on a lamppost in favor of leaning forward as power pop oughta. The Hold On! album meant a lot to me in the summer of '78, when I routinely played it alongside my cache of punk and power pop.

Then, as now, "A Must To Avoid" was the track I played the most.

The sharp-eyed among you will notice some scribbling on the above photo of my copy of the Hold On! LP.  I saw a bar-band line up of Herman's Hermits (minus Peter Noone) at a nightclub in 1978 (right in the same time frame that I was seeing the Ramones and the Runaways, the Kinks, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and the Flashcubes). The Herman-less Hermits played a bar called The Gin Mill in Liverpool, NY, and they put on a swell show, after which I solicited autographs from bassist Karl Green, guitarist Derek Leckenby, and drummer Barry Whitwam, plus guitarist Frank Renshaw, who had replaced Keith Hopwood in Hermitdom. I saw Peter Noone on several subsequent occasions, including one show with his fab early '80s new wave group the Tremblers, but have never had an opportunity to get him to add his signature alongside those of his erstwhile co-workers.

The Tremblers were themselves an incredible second act for Noone. By the early '80s, Noone was tired of being cute 'n' cuddly ol' Herman. To paraphrase CREEM magazine's review of the Tremblers' lone album Twice Nightly: Noone was sick of leaning on the damned lamppost, and he wanted some action. Even the band's name--a play on "knee-tremblers," a reference to clandestine sex in the alley--was a bit ruder than anything ever said to Mrs. Brown about her lovely daughter. 

Noone was unable to reconcile his former image with the new image he wanted. The Tremblers' live set consisted of all of the tracks from the album, and nothing else: No non-LP covers, no other new material, and for God's sake no Herman's Hermits songs. That was an unfortunate decision. It's not like the Tremblers projected a junkie image like they were Johnny Thunders or something, nor were they metal or punk, nor any more salacious than the Knack (who were salacious enough). Their music was a tangent to that of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, or a more boppin' version of the Cretones, or a less-raucous relative of the Romantics. The lone cover was Elvis Costello's "Green Shirt," as heard on Twice Nightly. I could see why he/they might not want to perform "I'm Henry VIII I Am," but "A Must To Avoid" or "No Milk Today" would have enhanced their set. 

Enhanced their set? Hell, a run-through of "A Must To Avoid" by this crack combo woulda been as far from a must to avoid as human minds can imagine, and it woulda brought the motherlovin' house down. 

When I saw the Tremblers, I called out a request for "Oh, You Pretty Things," the David Bowie song that had been Noone's first post-Hermits single about a decade before that. Noone brushed off the idea with a breezy We know that one! as he moved on to "Steady Eddie" or "Dad Said" or whatever Tremblers song was next on the set list.

I liked Twice Nightly a lot, and I'm still thrilled I had a chance to see its songs performed live. The Tremblers weren't around for very long, and Noone soon reverted to his old role as Herman. Second verse, same as the verse. It's a pretty good verse. I would love to hear Noone incorporate some verses from what he did with the Tremblers into what he does as Herman with his Hermits. Peter has long demonstrated his ability to lean into something good.

And the Tremblers could have killed with "A Must To Avoid." Lean in. Pop with power. Way better than the movie. Hold on, Hermits. Hold on.

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.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1302

Sometimes the real world teaches us the wrong lessons. You don't need me to preach about what's wrong or right (though that won't stop me when I feel the urge to do so). Right now, the only kindling I'll add to this bonfire of our vanities is a quaint notion that maybe hate is a bad idea.

And that ain't kindling, man. At least it shouldn't be.

Within the maelstrom of everything everywhere all at once, it may seem--it may be--superficial to wanna talk about pop music. I insist that whatever benign element brings us comfort and joy--art, community, love, faith, a decent meal--can help provide the spark we need just to keep on keepin' on. 

It won't stop bullets. I guess that means it is superficial after all. But there's something to be said for any small reason to find delight in this maddening mortal life.

Sometimes the real world teaches us a correct lesson. We can learn to value life in the here and now, to appreciate the positive even as we're bombarded by the negative. We can learn to love. We can learn to live. We do all of this knowing that it can end without notice.

I approached this piece with the intention of writing about why we chose Peter Noone as this week's Featured Performer, a deliberate pick to spotlight a living artist rather than mourn a departed one (and, frankly, to hype Peter's new single with our friends the Half/Cubes). I...wandered from that goal, and I won't apologize for what my soul felt the need to write in its place. We're going to salute the late Mark Volman with next week's show and its Featured Performer Flo and Eddie. We'll mourn, as we've had to mourn so damned often in the past, and as we will still have to mourn too many more times in the future.

For now, though: Some pop music, to soothe and support as we sort through the real world's frustrating syllabus. Hate remains a bad idea. Violence is even worse. But what do we know? Our kindling isn't meant to burn anyone. It's just there to keep us--to keep everyone--warm around a campfire, listening to music and imagining a better, kinder real world. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

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

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

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

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

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

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

Volume 5: CD or download

TIRnRR # 1302: 9/14/2025

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

THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight (Jem, single)

PILOT: Magic (Renaissance, Anthology)

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part One) (MOJO, VA: Songs The Beatles Taught Us)

JUST BOYS: All In All (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

THE TURTLES: Elenore (Sundazed, The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands)

MEYCE: I Trust You (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

--

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce (Big Stir, single)

THE PALEY BROTHERS: Ecstasy (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

TOM KENNY AND THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

THE JOHNNY POPSTAR LUV EXPLOSION: Guess I'm Just A Friendly Guy [alternate mix--Flo & Eddie's Zappa characters] (n/a, Lizzy The Supermarket Drag Queen)

THE TREMBLERS: You Can't Do That (Cherry Red, Twice Nightly)

ANY TROUBLE: Trouble With Love (Cherry Red, VA: Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81)

--

THE CORNER LAUGHERS: Dark Matter (Big Stir, VA: Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies)

AIMEE MANN: Choice In The Matter (DGC, I'm With Stupid)

THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

GAME THEORY: No Matter What [demo] (Omnivore, Dead Center)

THE ANDERSON COUNCIL [WITH PETER NOONE]: Mrs. Kirkby's Refrigerator (Jem, Worlds Collide)

THE dB's: What's The Matter With Me [New York Rocker sessions] (Propeller Sound Recordings, I Though You Wanted To Know: 1978-1981)

--

EYTAN MIRSKY: Apologize In Advance (n/a, All Over The Map)

RASPBERRIES: Play On (RPM, Powewr Pop Volume Two)

HERMAN'S HERMITS: No Milk Today (EMI, Singles Collection +)

THE JAM: Beat Surrender (Polydor, Direction Reaction Creation)

DAVY JONES AND PETER NOONE: Today's The Day (single)

NICK LOWE: I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass (Yep Roc, Jesus Of Cool)

--

ELENA ROGERS: 9 Lives (single)

JUNIPER: Baby Doll (Confidential Recordings, She Steals Candy)

THE SPONGETONES: Lulu's In Love (Big Stir, The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond)

BIG STAR: O My Soul (Ardent, # 1 Record/Radio City)

RICHARD X. HEYMAN AND PETER NOONE: Hoosier (Girl) (Turn-Up, Heyman, Hoosier & Herman)

THE WACKERS: It's My Life (Cherry Red, VA: Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies)

--

PERILOUS: Glass Of Something (single)

THE MUFFS: That's For Me (Omnivore, No Holiday)

THE TREMBLERS: I Screamed Anne (CHerry Red, Twice Nightly)

WAH! HEAT: Better Scream (Cherry Red, VA: The Sun Shines Here--The Roots Of Indie Pop 1980-84)

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity (single)

ICICLE WORKS: Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) (EMI, VA: Living In Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Vol. 5)

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

HERMAN'S HERMITS: A Must To Avoid (MGM, Hold On!)

THE BEE GEES: Kitty Can (Polydor, Idea)

THE RAMONES: Judy Is A Punk (Rhino, Ramones)

THE MOTORS: Forget About You (Virgin, Approved By The Motors)

BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

WRECKLESS ERIC: Whole Wide World (Rhino, VA: DIY: Teenage Kicks--UK Pop I)

--

THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS: Changes (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie)

THE YACHTS: I Couldn't Get Along Without You (Cherry Red, VA: Suffice To Say--The Complete Yachts Collection)

DOLPH CHANEY: Girl From Germany (Big Stir, VA: Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes)

THE MnM'S: I'm Tired (Burger, Melts In Your Ears 1980-1981)

HERMAN'S HERMITS: Got A Feeling (MGM, Hold On!)

THE KINKS: Come On Now (Essential, Kinda Kinks)

--

PETER NOONE: Oh,You Pretty Things (EMI, HERMAN'S HERMITS: Singles Collection +)

DAVID BOWIE: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (Rykodisc, Pin Ups)

THE WEEKLINGS: Mr. Soul Satisfaction (Jem, Raspberry Park)

DANA GILLESPIE: Andy Warhol [Weren't Born A Man version] (Cherry Red, VA: Oh! You Pretty Things--Glam Queens And Street Urchins 1970-76)

THE TREMBLERS: Maybe I'll Stay (Cherry Red, Twice Nightly)

TINA HARVEY: I'm Waiting For The Man (Cherry Red, VA: Oh! You Pretty Things--Glam Queens And Street Urchins 1970-76)

HERMAN'S HERMITS: I'm Into Something Good (EMI, Singles Collection +)

THE BEATLES: What You're Doing (Apple, Beatles For Sale)

--

HERMAN'S HERMITS STARRING PETER NOONE: Dandy (No.one Records, Greatest Hits Live)

10 SONGS: 8/22/2025

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 # 1299.

JIM BASNIGHT: See It In Your Eyes

The music of Jim Basnight has found a welcoming berth on many a TIRnRR playlist over the years. Mr. Basnight's frequent rocker miles on this program include credits as a solo artist and with the Moberlys, the Meyce, the Jim Basnight Thing, and the Rockinghams, and the flight continues with this debut spin of his ace new digital single "See It In Your Eyes." As it oughta! We're gonna dip back into the archives for a slightly older Basnight track this Sunday, as part of the epic celebration of...wait, is this right? THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO # 1300...?! Jeez, we better turn things up a bit. And you can best be assured that ritual raising of the roof will include a Jim Basnight TIRnRR Fave Rave. As it oughta. As it oughta.

DIONNE WARWICK: Trains And Boats And Planes

I did a fair bit of traveling as a kid. My maternal grandparents lived in Southwest Missouri, so most summers found Mom and I leaving our suburban Syracuse home behind us and taking trains or buses or planes (never a boat, for some reason) to the Ozark region. There was also a 1966 family day trip to Ontario to see my sister's marching band, a Vermont vacation in 1967 (where my dad took me out fishing in a row boat--finally, a use for watercraft!), a car trip from Missouri to California and back in 1968 (as recounted as part of this autobiography of my life in the 1960s), and a visit to the Florida panhandle in 1970. All of these modest treks were accomplished before I entered sixth grade. As an adult, I've visited England, Belgium, and Spain, with very brief stopovers for dinners in France and Morocco. Plus, y'know, Jersey. And Disney World! I hope my future will include more opportunities for travel in this great big world of wonder.

For those of us who live in Syracuse, a visit to the great New York State Fair doesn't quite qualify as a travel plan. I was looking forward to seeing Dionne Warwick perform at the Fair on Labor Day this year, but alas, a scheduling conflict scotches that particular flight plan. Neither trains nor boats nor planes nor even a tricycle can get me to two places at once. 

And that's okay. We do what we can, and we acknowledge that we can't do everything. For now, we'll play Dionne Warwick singing somberly of modes of transportation as they pass her (and us) by. It be that sometimes. 

JOE JACKSON: Enough Is Not Enough

Pretty much all TIRnRR spins of Joe Jackson are offered as long-distance dedications to my dear pal Beth Woodell. I've known Beth since...er, she doesn't want me to complete that sentence. Suffice it to say we were teenagers when we met, and empirical evidence suggests we are not teenagers at this current point in time. I mean, if you're the sort of sucker who believes in math....

Today, Beth is celebrating her 23rd birthday. No, it's not the first (nor even just the fortieth) time she's observed her 23rd. Why limit such celebrations to a mere once? Happy Birthday, Beth! Birthday candles give off less heat when we limit 'em to 23. That's SCIENCE! If we can't believe math, man, let's at least follow the science!

THE TREMBLERS: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight

In the early '80s, former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone was trying to distance himself from his cute 'n' cuddly British Invasion image and establish a more mature rock 'n' roller persona. Toward that end, he formed a crack new wave pop combo called the Tremblers. The Tremblers recorded a very cool album called Twice Nightly, did a little TV (I recall catching them on The Midnight Special), and toured. I saw the Tremblers perform at a Rochester club show, and I can testify firsthand that this combo cooked. No Herman's Hermits songs! Just material from Twice Nightly, actually, including their cover of Elvis Costello's "Green Shirt." Herman had grown up!

But the Tremblers experiment was short-lived. If I have the chronology right, the Tremblers ended when Noone followed an opportunity to star in a production of The Pirates Of Penzance. As years may come and years may go, the lure of the oldies circuit proved more agreeable after Noone regained the right to bill himself as Herman's Hermits. Peter Noone is very, very good as this 'Erman fellow, and we're lucky to have him.

Still, some of us wish Noone could find room in his current second verse/same as the first repertoire for a nod to the Tremblers. Twice Nightly was wonderful, and "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight" in particular would have made a worthy big hit record. It's too bad Peter Noone hasn't seemed interested in revisiting that compelling portion of his career.

Hasn’t seemed.

Past tense. Phrased deliberately. 

I can say no more. Stay tuned. Maybe--just maybe--Peter will be taking her out tonight...again.

THE SPONGETONES: Honest Work

Second week in a row for TIRnRR airplay of "Honest Work," the third bonus studio single released in conjunction with the Spongetones' new live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond. The Spongetones have certainly loomed large in this radio show's legend, so of course we'll be playing them again this Sunday on our 1300th show. Gotta go with one of the classics. Hey! Howzabout a LIVE version of a Spongetones classic for TIRnRR # 1300? As we try to get in as many songs as we possibly can, you'll understand why we've simply gotta include the Spongetones as part of Sunday's victory lap. YES!

THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Scarlet Begonias

And yeah, second week in a row of airplay for something from the Grateful Dead catalog. Across the veil of time, my late 1970s/early '80s self is seriously disgusted with me. I blame the local combination Delta Sonic/Tim Hortons, who lodged this Dead song "Scarlet Begonias" deep into my cranium by playing it over the sound system during two of my recent gasoline 'n' coffee acquisition safaris. It's...arghh, it's a really good pop track. I'm way more open to the Dead now than I was at 18-21 years of age. Hey, Beth! What would your 23-year-old self say? 

I...can't repeat that on the radio, Beth.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

I continue to be knocked out by how radically the Verbs were able to revamp, restructure, and reimagine the Flashcubes' early punk stomper "I Need Glue" while still retaining a line of sight with the original's intent. One of my (many!) favorite tracks on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes.

THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me

I'm looking forward to hearing the entirety of the new tribute album Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie. I love what I've heard so far from Paul Collins ("Hang On To Yourself") and the High Frequencies ("Modern Love"), and I've been especially taken with this high-octane reading of early Bowie nugget "Can’t Help Thinking About Me" as performed by the Cynz. We're playing it again on the 1300th show this Sunday.

FONTELLA BASS: Rescue Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

The culmination of a metric ton of work behind the scenes, the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes will finally see divine release on September 12th. Read about it here, buy it here. And stay close to the radio on Sunday night, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 1300th show spins all three of the new Flashcubes singles attached to this project, programs non-Make Something Happen! treats by four of the Flashcubes tribute album's other participants, throws in a reprise of another group's 2017 cover of the album's title tune, and digs out a fab Flashcubes gem that was the most recent original song recorded and released by the Flashcubes prior to the trio of current Cubic singles. TIRnRR is synonymous with the Flashcubes. I'm a Cicero boy, and my friend Dana rocks. We're the kings of power pop! Join us Sunday as we proudly present exhibit # 1300 in support of that argument.

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: 5/3/2025

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.

Awww, look at me trying to make something happen!

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1283

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

Around the office here, it's full-speed-ahead toward the September release of Big Stir Records' various-artists compilation Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. The Flashcubes have always been my favorite power pop group, and I've long wished for wider appreciation of the group's own original songbook. A tribute album gathering fab pop performers to cover some Flashcubes tunes felt like it could be the best Cubic celebration ever. Make something happen, already!

We've been rolling out teases and previews of Make Something Happen!, and we'll debut Flashcubes tribute stunners by Chris von Sneidern and Callan Foster on our next show. We were also determined to include at least one new original Flashcubes track on the tribute; we lucked out and secured THREE new 'Cubes treats, one apiece from each of the band's songwriters, Gary Frenay, Paul Armstrong, and Arty Lenin. (We figure all of Gary, PA, and Arty's songs inherently honor the propulsive poundin' prowess of 'Cubes drummer Tommy Allen.)

Paul's righteous, rockin' statement of intent "Reminisce" has been invigmoratin' our TIRnRR  playlists for months. Gary's irresistible seizing of the day "The Sweet Spot" (co-written by the late B.D. Love) debuted on last week's playlist, played again this week, and returns to our sovereign airwaves this coming Sunday night. And now, Arty completes the hat trick with "If These Hands," a yearning bit of folk rock that would have sounded right at home on one of the Searchers' late '70s/early '80s albums. 

That is not faint praise. And it's still more evidence that Make Something Happen! seems certain to be one of 2025's very best new releases.

CHUBBY CHECKER: Birdland

On Sunday's show, we back-announced "Birdland" as a track by Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Chubby Checker. Our shows are prerecorded, and although we knew the Hall's 2025 inductees would be announced that night, we didn't know whether or not the often-myopic RnRHOF would deign to give Checker his long-overdue propers. I hedged my on-air statement by adding that, regardless of what happened with this year's (nor any future year's) voting, Checker is and will always a Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer.

Turns out the Hall did get it right this year. In fact as well as act: Welcome to The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Mr. Checker.

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far

Another track from Make Something Happen! "Gone Too Far" was among my many top picks in the Flashcubes' live sets in the '70s. I'm in awe of how Librarians With Hickeys took this already-great Arty Lenin tune and transformed it from its original hybrid vibe of '70s power pop meets the Monkees into something that sounds instead like a mythical '60s side that only existed in dreams that were too much to dream last night. 

The transcendent result conjures an imaginary lost garage pop 45 that could have made its way to a Pebbles compilation. In my mind, it creates an image of a forgotten sidebar in pop history, where an unknown Midwest combo played local sock hops and teen scenes, and stayed together just long enough to cut this one killer single. The B-side was either an inept frat-rock cover or an undistinguished beatless beat ballad. 

The A-side was "Gone Too Far." 

Then this hapless group's lead singer was drafted, and most of the rest of the group left music behind. Maybe the guitarist went on to be a cult figure in subsequent pop, rock, and indie work, maybe he remained as obscure as his erstwhile bandmates. Either way, this band that never was left us this one enduring example of tattered, battered brilliance.

I made that all up, and I don't have any specific real-world counterpart to any of the above fancifying. But this reaction was immediate for me when I first heard Librarians With Hickeys' cover of "Gone Too Far." They did a fantastic job of making this their own.

THE TREMBLERS: Maybe I'll Stay

In the early '80s, (then-) former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone had a brief goal of separating himself from his hit fling with Mrs. Brown's lovely daughter and establish himself as a straight-up rock 'n' roll singer. Twice Nightly, the sole album credited to Noone's short-lived combo the Tremblers, remains a stirring, no-nonsense realization of this goal. I've referred to the Tremblers as "New Wave Herman," but that may imply an element of gimmicky fad-following that is not at all in evidence on this fine record. I wish the Tremblers had decided to stay.

SAM PHILLIPS: Faster Pussycat To The Library!

If someone ever pulls off a B-movie called Faster Pussycat To The Library!, I would totally go see it, especially if it were to play at the drive-in on a double bill with another make-believe grindhouse flick:

THE PLIMSOULS: Dangerous Book

Faster Pussycat To The Library! and Dangerous Book. Man, someone get a call into Tarantino. We'll bring the popcorn. Maybe Librarians With Hickeys can make an on-screen cameo, like the Strawberry Alarm Clock in Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls?

THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE BONGOS: Come Back To Me

Later this month, Jem Records will be releasing The Shroud Of Touring, a fabulous archival document of a 1985 live set by the Bongos. I've been a Bongos fan for decades, my own earnest Bongomania commencing with live versions of "Telephoto Lens" and "In The Congo," as heard on Start Swimming, a 1981 compilation that presented two in-concert tracks apiece from the Bongos, the Raybeats, the dB's, the Bush Tetras, and the Fleshtones. This introduction compelled me to pick up the Bongos' full-length debut album Drums Along The Hudson at my earliest opportunity. Hooked by the live cuts on Start Swimming, the studio versions of "Telephoto Lens" and "In The Congo" became my Fave Raves in the Bongos' hit parade, and they have retained that status nearly 45 years later. I also adored their Numbers With Wings EP and Beat Hotel album, and the latter was a go-to for in-store play when I worked at a record store in 1985. (Until this moment, I was not even aware of a 2013 Bongos release called Phantom Train. I will be acquiring that target shortly.)

As we await the release of The Shroud Of Touring, which will itself be celebrated on May 30th with a Bongos live reunion show in Asbury Park (on a bill with TIRnRR superstars the Cynz and the Grip Weeds), we're gonna spin a few tracks from the Bongos' studio catalog. That campaign begins with "Come Back To Me," a superb Beat Hotel number that I'm surprised to say we ain't played before. We'll hear an earlier Bongos cut on our next show, and material from The Shroud Of Touring will start swimming in our stream on May 11th.

THE RAMONES: I Wanna Be Sedated [Ramones-On-45 Mega-Mix!]

From a previous post:

One doesn't normally associate the Ramones with extended dance mixes. That seeming dichotomy works to perfection in "I Wanna Be Sedated [Ramones-On-45 Mega-Mix!]."

It's loud. It's danceable. It's the bubblepunk of the Ramones caught makin' out with club chicks. It's "I Wanna Be Sedated" set to a heavier beat, with bits of "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Teenage Lobotomy," and "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" edited in, peppered with prerequisite dance-mix Sensurround moves, but retaining a far-from-sedate line-of-sight with the purity of the Ramones.

I should hate this. I freakin' love it. Awright, all you punks 'n' bumpin' bunnies alike: we can't control our fingers, we can't control our brains. Can't control our feets, either. BAMbambumpbam, ba-BAMbambumpbam. We know what we want.

THE BEATLES: I'm Only Sleeping

And we'll leave the light on for you.

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.