10 SONGS (plus a High School Reunion BONUS!): 7/18/2026

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1345

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Subterranean Homesick Blues

We open this week's broadcast bop-a-thon with another great track from the forthcoming tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Bob Dylan, this one courtesy of that force of rockin' pop nature known as the High Frequencies. As our pal Fritz Van Leaven reminds us, Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" was directly inspired by Bashful Bobby's "Subterranean Homesick Blues;" for their take on the song, the High Frequencies retain the original punk and bile of Robert Zimmerman and Declan McManus alike, while applying an accomplished dash of pure, pretty effervescence that enhances the experience without diluting its anger. The pumps still work! Maybe vandals tried to take the handles, but the mighty muscle of the High Frequencies stopped the damned vandals cold. LOOK OUT, KID! You will absolutely be seeing and hearing this one in future playlists. 

RAMSEY LEWIS: Wade In The Water

Before viewing Questlove's excellent new documentary Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That's The Weight Of The World, I did not know that EWF's Maurice White had been a drummer with the Ramsey Lewis Trio from 1966 to 1970. See, ya learn stuff watching TV. That connection was sufficient to prompt Ramsey Lewis's return to the TIRnRR playlist, a feat accomplished with the title tune from Wade In The Water, the first Lewis album to feature White. Wade in the water? Smokin' on the water! We'll hear another track from the same album this Sunday night.

Why? We got a good reason. (And we're not taking the easy way out.)

THE ICICLES: I Wanna Know

THE BLUE HERONS: Take A Break

From this week's playlist commentary:

"... A recent Only Three Lads podcast introduced me to the music of the Blue Herons, and further informed me that Blue Herons singer Gretchen DeVault was also in the Icicles. And I love the Icicles! That compelled me to buy the current Blue Herons album Demon Slayer, to pull out my trusty CD copy of the Icicles' A Hundred Patterns, and to include a track from each in this week's playlist...."

Over the past couple of decades, the Icicles' "Snowman" has been a frequent fixture of our seasonal playlists, and I confess my short attention span--which my daughter once described as AD...OS! (Attention Deficit...Ooo, SHINY!)--prevented me from delving further. We remedied that by playing "I Wanna Know," another go'geous track from A Hundred Patterns, and I cursed the AD..OS! that stopped us from programming this perfect crystal twenty years ago. 

When Gretchen and her Blue Herons collaborator Andy Jossi were on O3L, the show's hosts Brett Vargo and Uncle Gregg played the title track from Demon Slayer, and I was duly mesmerized: Dreamy and vibrant, with echoes of '90s worthies like the Primitives and the Darling Buds. WANT! And got. That's why a benevolent deity gave me a credit card in the first place.

I intended to include that title track in this week's show, but the playlist ran a teensy bit too long, forcing me to sub the slightly shorter "Take A Break" in its place. Not to worry! We will slay that soulless demon on our next show.

THE RAMONES: I Wanna Live

From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

I moved back to Syracuse from Buffalo in 1987. It was not a great time in my life, and it was still going to be a little while before things got better. 

In good times and less-good times, music has always been a highlight. I don't remember if I heard "I Wanna Live" before picking up my copy of the Ramones' 1987 album Halfway To Sanity. I may have seen its video on MTV, but my memory insists I didn't even know the Ramones had a new album out when I spotted and immediately purchased Halfway To Sanity at The Record Theatre up on the SU hill. 

The album includes a fab guest appearance by Blondie's Debbie Harry on "Go Li'l Camaro Go," a meeting of CBGB's minds I'd been wishing for since the late '70s. Nonetheless, my favorite was (and is) "I Wanna Live." 

Is it a life-affirming track? By default, I guess, though it could also be read as a suicide note. But the guitar sounds like it wants to live. Joey Ramone likewise sounds like he's digging in for the long haul. It's what I want, and I'm going with that. 

GENERATION X: Dancing With Myself

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SPONGETONES: Lifetimeline

This week's show was already programmed when we received word that TIRnRR Fave Raves the Spongetones were releasing a new single. Well, we've gotta play THAT!. Advance copy secured, playlist tweaked ever-so-slightly, and this uberfab track "Lifetimeline" was on the radio where it belongs. And it's back where it belongs again on our next show. The lifetimeline is secure.

SKOOSHNY: It Hides More Than It Tells

Think Like A Key Music is one of our favorite archival labels, particularly for their recent slate of previously-unreleased '70s and '80s live tracks by the majesty of the Shirts (as heard here and here). Think Like A Key's new Skooshny collection The Recordings 1971-1981 plays right into our lovably ornery demographic, preserving 21 tracks of left-of-the-dial pop music that merited a much wider audience. I remember reading about Skooshny in the pages of Bomp! magazine (and I think in Trouser Press) when I was in my teens and early twenties, but I don't think I heard any of their music at the time.

Well! We're hearing it now, thanks to the good folks at Think Like A Key Music. And we're putting it on the radio. More next week.

BETH PEABODY: Out And About

A lot of the coolest radio shows on the whole friggin' planet have been playing "Get It Out," the fabulous current single by Beth Peabody. It's a great song choice, and "Get It Out" deserves every second of that airplay.

We also played Beth's "Get It Out" last week, but we've been playing its virtual flip side "Out And About" all along. Both songs were written and previously recorded by Jim Basnight, Beth sang on Jim's versions, and Jim now plays on Beth's new versions, too. Jim's "Get It Out" has itself received its share of TIRnRR spinnage, and maybe that's why our current Beth Peabody selections have gravitated to "Out And About" instead of "Get It Out."

Still, I don't think we're merely defaulting to "Out And About." Man, both tracks are as radio-ready as one could wish, but there is a specific groove in "Out And About" that just annexes my attention, making its continued TIRnRR playlist appearances both inevitable and unerringly, righteously appropriate.

THE AMPLIFIER HEADS: Rock 'n' Roll Riot

This little mutant radio show has been all in for the Amplifier Heads' forthcoming album Super 8, doling out advance singles as they've become available. That willfully manic plan brings us this week to "Rock 'n' Roll Riot," an exercise in a-stompin' and a-rompin' that lives up to the celebratory promise of its title. Rock 'n' roll riot? Sign us up! And yet another track from Super 8 will open our next radio riot on Sunday. Man your stations, Amplifier Heads! There's a riot going on the air.

MONOGROOVE: Back To School

Back to school? Yep. Got a 1976 high school reunion party that I'll be crashing next week. I'm sure that night's soundtrack will stick to the music of the Me Decade, but for now we start our prep time with a spin of  Monogroove's TIRnRR Pick Hit "Back To School." We'll continue that prep on our next show, supplementing "Back To School" with three additional secondary-education tracks (two from the '70s, one from before I was born) that put the proper BOOM! in the ol' sis-boom-bah. 

And just like when I was in high school: I solemnly swear not to learn anything.

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

My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 

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

10 SONGS: 1/31/2026

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 # 1321

THE LEGAL MATTERS: Stuck With Me

I've been corresponding with Keith Klingensmith of the Legal Matters since well before This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio went on the air in December of 1998. Let's go back to my supplemental liner notes for 2017's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 for an edited recap:

"...Keith's name comes up a lot in the discussion of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Keith is one of TIRnRR's best friends; as a fan, as a listener, as a supporter, as a facilitator (Keith's on-line label Futureman Records curates the digital release of our TIRnRR compilations), and as a performer, Keith has been one of us from the get-go...

"...My first contact with Keith was in the '90s, via some online pop music connection--probably AOL, I guess. At the time, I was among several pop fans who participated in a weekly Monday night power pop chat group. I don't remember whether or not I specifically met Keith through that chat; I suspect it was more a matter (if not quite a Legal Matter) of Keith noticing a comment I made somewhere, bemoaning the fact that I couldn't find the Spongetones' Where-Ever-Land CD. Keith to the rescue! Some time later, Keith also provided me with a copy of Here To Observe, the truly hard-to-find debut LP by Springfield, Missouri's phenomenal pop combo Fools Face (Keith wisely kept a copy of the group's incredible third album Public Places for himself), and I'm pretty sure my copy of Artful Dodger's classic debut album came from our Keef...

"...Through Keith, I also met his partner in the Phenomenal Cats, Chris Richards. There's a wealth of cool music for ya. I mean, the Phenomenal Cats' cover of the Left Banke's 'I've Got Something On My Mind' made me appreciate a simply sublime pop song I'd somehow managed to mostly ignore up to that point. The combined and separate threads of Chris 'n' Keith wove through solo tracks by each, plus Hippodrome, the Pantookas, Chris Richards and the Subtractions, Keith Klingensmith and the TM Collective, and the Legal Matters, the latter a trio with Keith, Chris, and Andy Reed. The Legal Matters' eponymous debut was one of 2014's best albums, and follow-ups Conrad and Chapter Three rightly became the toast of the pop world...

"...Keith Klingensmith is an integral part of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's story. Our online comradeship predates the show, and has continued unabated throughout the passing three decades. He's been one of our biggest supporters, helping to spread the good word of TIRnRR, sending fans and artists alike our way, contributing to our quixotic cause, and keeping previous TIRnRR compilations available as downloads via Futureman Records...."

So! Back in the present day: A forthcoming new Legal Matters album, Lost At Sea? Yes, of course we're playing it. To paraphrase Lenny Haise, guitarist for teen sensations the Wonders: We're playin' it, you're playin' it, we're ALL playin' it. And we move on to the album's latest single "The Message" on our next show. After all these years, Keith and his pals are stuck with us. It's a legal matter.

STYX: Everybody Raise A Glass

As an exercise in blogging, I often slap together fake TIRnRR playlists, imagining song selections for themed shows we're probably never going to do, but could. I'm considering the idea of constructing a pretend playlist comprised of sets by acts I didn't appreciate immediately, and in some cases still don't really like.

One such act would be Styx. My God, when I was in my teens and twenties, I absolutely loathed Styx, and time hasn't really mellowed my antipathy for the Styx stuff I hated the most. Mind you, even at the time of my determined loathing--unadulterated loathing--I made an exception for the pop bliss of "Lorelei," which I often cited as proof of my belief that even an artist whose work you generally despise might be capable of creating one track you love. And I kinda liked "Too Much Time On My Hands," as well. Overall, though, my distaste for Styx was greater than my disdain for the Eagles, the Grateful Dead, Southern Rock, prog, or disco, and possibly greater than all of those undesirables combined. The upshot of our story: I was not and am not a Styx fan.

That said, the phenomenal latter-day Styx track "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" is an all-time TIRnRR Fave Rave, and there are a handful of vintage Styx tracks that I don't mind. I don't think the day will come when I have any use whatsoever for "Babe" or "Renegade" or goddamned "Mr. Roboto," but I concede that the Styx brand name doesn't necessarily have to prompt an immediate revulsion.

Yeah, y'know...not necessarily.

"Everybody Raise A Glass" is from the 2025 Styx album Circling From Above, and I heard it a couple of weeks ago on another can't-miss episode of The Spoon podcast (specifically on this episode). The men of The Spoon--Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers--are Styx fans, but I love 'em anyway. And the track's winning and accomplished channeling of all things Queen makes it an irresistible addition to our own show's playlist. 

Even with the bands we don't like as much as some of our friends do, an open mind can unlock the doors of discovery. Raise a glass! Here's to the Men of The Spoon, and also to our old correspondent Kathryn Francis, wherever she is. Thank you, friends. Domo arigato. It's Styx, babe.

TALKING HEADS: Burning Down The House

Believe it or not, if I were to compile the above-mentioned playlist of acts that didn't appeal to me on first exposure, Talking Heads would be a contender. I revised my initially dismissive opinion of the group in relatively short order, and I remain grateful that I was able to witness a great Talking Heads live performance in the '80s. But in 1977, the first Talking Heads song I heard was their single of "Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town," and I hated it. I trashed it in an emeritus contribution to my high school newspaper (a piece carrying the sorta-familiar title "Groovin' [Like The Hip Folks Do]"); in retrospect, I realize I didn't like "Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town" because it didn't sound at all punk, which was what I expected and craved. I liked "Psycho Killer" better, and became a fan thereafter. I don't even mind "Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town" any more.

See? I can mature! Just...not usually.

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

For the latest single from the Half/Cubes' fine current album Found Pearls, the lads enlist the aid of Robert Crenshaw and Tom Teeley to accomplish an exquisite rendition of Marshall Crenshaw's already-sublime "Whenever You're On My Mind." This little mutant radio show first played it as a then-unreleased teaser track last February, and I'm starting to believe the Half/Cubes' take edges out both our Marshall and the great Ronnie Spector as the definitive "Whenever You're On My Mind." They're all winners in my mind.

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

And they say ya can't learn stuff listening to the radio.

SPECTRAFLAME: Love Don't Live Here No More

Spectraflame's "Love Don't Live Here No More" makes its fourth consecutive appearance on the TIRnRR playlist. As it oughta! The single is now part of the group's new eponymous five-song digital EP, and it will rack up TIRnRR Spin # 5 this coming Sunday.

As it oughta. Love still has a home right here.

THE RAMONES: All's Quiet On The Eastern Front

From a previously-posted celebration of my 25 favorite Ramones tracks:

The 1-2-3-4! rules of our ABC format dictate that a list of my favorite Ramones tracks starts with its quirkiest selection. "All's Quiet On The Eastern Front" appeared on the Ramones' 1981 LP Pleasant Dreams, an album that doesn't sound like any other Ramones album. Pleasant Dreams was produced by Graham Gouldman, who achieved great success in the '60s as a songwriter for the Yardbirds, the Hollies, and Herman's Hermits, and subsequently as a performer with 10cc. And, as Johnny Ramone said in our interview, "The guy from 10cc producing the Ramones? 10cc sucks, and it's not right for the Ramones."

On Pleasant Dreams, Gouldman's production made the Ramones sound...I dunno, smoother than expected? Phil Spector had done something similar with 1980's End Of The Century, another album that doesn't sound like any other Ramones album. In Spector's hands, the bubblepunk purity of the Ramones got lost in his Wall of Sound; Gouldman turned the Ramones into a new wave pop band. Neither End Of The Century nor Pleasant Dreams is at the same transcendent level as the classic fist four Ramones albums that preceded them.

Ignoring the anomaly of this album's place in the larger Carbona-huffin' picture, though, I need to risk contradicting myself: Pleasant Dreams is a fantastic record. Fantastic. I know Marky Ramone liked it, and we've established that Johnny hated it, but the fact that it wasn't Rocket To Russia doesn't prevent it from being compelling in its own right.

Pleasant Dreams is loaded with great Ramones songs, from "We Want The Airwaves" to "It's Not My Place (In The 9 To 5 World)" to "She's A Sensation" to the superb album closer "Sitting In My Room." "The KKK Took My Baby Away" is the best-known of the bunch. Would the tracks sound better if Ed Stasium or Tommy Ramone had produced them? Possibly. They sound pretty good as-is.

"All's Quiet On The Eastern Front" was my immediate pick when I bought the album in '81, and it has remained so. It's the sprightliest song ever done about a serial killer, stalking the street 'til the break of day, a track delivered with decidedly un-Ramoneslike percussion, and with backing vocals from Dee Dee Ramone asking that musical question, Can't you think my movements talk? Hey, you unsuspecting soon-to-be victims: Pleasant dreams!

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part 1)

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time

From the High Frequencies' current album Get High, "Cleanup Time" has become one of my top go-to tracks of late. Invigmoratin'! And it plays here again on Sunday, within an added political context. In this country, it is long, long past cleanup time.

SORROWS: Cricket Man

Epic. Power pop greats Sorrows recorded their originally-unreleased farewell album Parting Such Sweet Sorrow in one single night's session in 1981. Decades later, this eminently satisfying record was rescued from the archives and at long last issued by the visionary Big Stir Records label in 2025. It was one of the best albums of the year.

"Never Mind" became our show's pick hit from the record--it was our # 15 most-played track in 2025--but the mic-drop moment is "Cricket Man," Sorrows' immense and heartfelt tribute to the recently-slain John Lennon. It takes TIRnRR a while to find sufficient airspace to accommodate a five-and-a-half-minute track in our short-attention-span format, no matter how utterly wonderful the track is. "Cricket Man" was worth waiting for. Nothing is Sorrow-proof, and "Cricket Man" provides a stunning salute to one of the prime architects of the music we love, and a stirring farewell from a great band deeply affected by the pop world the Beatles helped build.

Fab. Sweet. Unforgettable.

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: 1/23/2026

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 # 1320

SERGIO CECCANTI: Leave The Past, Don't Look Behind

Our little mutant radio show has a long and rewarding history with the mighty Kool Kat Muzik label. Even before Ray Gianchetti (Mr. Kool Kat hisself) made his superfine rockin' pop imprint the home of our TIRnRR compilation albums, we've been programming Kool Kat cuts since the dawn of ever. Every new Kool Kat release is automatically under consideration for TIRnRR airplay, and almost all of them result in at least one track getting a spin on one (or more!) of our playlists. We're FANS!

And right now, I'm a big fan of Leave The Past, Don't Look Behind, the new Kool Kat Musik release by Sergio Ceccanti. The title track is just perfect--perfect!--for the radio-ready vibe we crave, channeling a '60s garage-pop atmosphere in service of a steely-eyed determination to seek a sure-footed next step forward. It opens this week's show, and it plays again this Sunday night. As it oughta! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio is kool for kats.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

"I Don't Want To Grow Up." Still true, and always gonna be true. I used a Greatest Record Ever Made! essay about the track in my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, I included it on a list of my 25 favorite Ramones tracks, and upped the ante to cite it among my top five Ramones picks when Dana and I appeared as guests on a 2024 episode of the essential Only Three Lads podcast. I play it a lot every January, when science insists I've aged another year. As a flip of a calendar page means I'm getting older, I resolutely flip off the abhorrent notion of growing up. And as I've written before:

I take great satisfaction in the fact that a track on the very last Ramones record is among my all-time Fave Raves, right alongside the irresistible music on the Ramones' first four albums at the end of the '70s. Grow up? As if.

We're told that growing up is inevitable. It isn't. We age, sure, but there's more to life and living than the accumulation of calendar pages. What do you want to be when you grow up? When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer. Somewhere along the way, I figured out I could be a better writer if skipped the maturity phase entirely. Honestly, I don't think I could have hacked adulting. Grow up! I say no. Why on Earth would I ever wanna do that?

Understand: I'm not Peter Pan, nor do I wish to be. I have responsibilities, and I carry them out. That's part of the deal, and that's cool. We can accomplish stuff, serious shit, without abandoning the sense of glee that helped get us this far.

Because I am proudly and emphatically a senior-citizen kid who still dreams, still reads superhero comic books, still listens to my rockin' pop music a little louder than I should.

And I've written books, books crafted by the wide-eyed spark that's always driven me, whether I was a six-year-old discovering Batman or a teenager hearing "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" for the first time.

As always: Growing up is for squares, man. The Ramones weren't gonna do it. We don't have to do it either. Don't want to. Won't need to. Ain't gonna.

BOB WEIR: One More Saturday Night

In the course of the 1994 interviews that eventually became my Ramones book, I told Johnny Ramone that one could compare the Ramones to (of all people) the Grateful Dead; though the two acts were otherwise dissimilar and then some, both bands built their fan base upon a foundation of live shows rather than record sales or radio exposure. Johnny bristled at the merest suggestion that the Ramones and the Dead could be mentioned in the same discussion.

My younger self would have likewise bristled at the notion of ever developing any sort of appreciation for the music of the Grateful Dead. It turned out that declining the odious dead-end option of growing up didn't require me to keep my mind and ears closed. I resisted for a long time, but even amidst my intransigence I could never deny the sheer splendor of the Dead's "Uncle John's Band," nor the pure pop gravitas of their 1987 MTV smash "Touch Of Grey," nor the Nuggets-worthy blast of 1967 gems "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" and "Cream Puff War." My long strange trip trucked its way into grudging acceptance of the Dead, and ultimately into a greater interest. While my preferred short-attention approach to digging music precludes the likelihood of me embracing extended jams, I have to admit that I've come to like a number of Grateful Dead tracks. I don't even hate "Sugar Magnolia" anymore--and I REALLY hated "Sugar Magnolia" when I was a teen.

TIRnRR occasionally (if infrequently) plays the Dead. Dana played "Box Of Rain" on August 10th, and I played "Scarlet Begonias" the following week. Now, the passing of guitarist Bob Weir compels us to play a couple of tracks, in tribute, in recognition and, of course, in gratitude. Sticking with songs that Weir co-wrote, we settled on "One More Saturday Night" and "Hell In A Bucket."

I've known "One More Saturday Night" for years, but my brain didn't remember it was a live track. Wikipedia directed me to the song's original retail appearance, as a studio track on Weir's 1972 solo album Ace. Solo album status notwithstanding, the other members of the Dead accompany Weir throughout Ace.

Whether live Dead or studio Weir with the Dead, "One More Saturday Night" bops with barroom authority. Early '80s new wave Americana beat rockers the Kingpins could have covered it pretty much as-is, and I wish my younger self had been more willing to listen. Hey, younger self! We won't waste time asking you grow up. But maybe you could lighten up? After all, what's one more Saturday night among friends?

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

I'd never heard this song from the Little Girls' 1983 album Thank Heaven! until about a month ago, but it's for damned sure become one of my current pop obsessions. And hey! There's a video for it!

We'll play "How To Pick Up Girls" again on our next show. When obsessions call, we better pick up.

BADFINGER: Baby Blue

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

Badfinger's "Baby Blue" is also my all-time # 1 favorite track, and I can't believe it took me this long to put the song into one of our weekly GREM! spots.

BLUE ASH: Say Goodbye

A chance to play previously-unavailable material by 1970s power pop stars Blue Ash? Yes, please. Dinner At Mr. Billy's dives into the archive to gather eighteen Blue Ash tracks recorded in a span from 1970 to 1974, and it's promised as the first in a series of Blue Ash rarity releases. The legacy grows!

HONEYCHAIN: Let's Get Pretty

"Let's get pretty." Worthy goal! Playing Honeychain on the radio is also a worthy goal, and their new single "Let's Get Pretty" is pretty amazing. I feel prettier already.

THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Hell In A Bucket

The Dead's other MTV hit, and just a fantastic track in its own right. Godspeed, Bob Weir.

DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars?

On January 18th of 2016, an open letter to David Bowie served as the inaugural post of my new daily blog. I later expanded that original blog entry with additional commentary, to serve as a chapter in my 2024 book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

I didn't see it coming.

David Bowie's death in January of 2016 had far more impact on me than I would have ever thought likely. There were external factors in play; my daughter had just begun a semester in London, and it would be, by far, the longest time I would ever go without seeing her. I felt fragile, mortal. I felt sad, my pride in her accomplishments and delight in her opportunities not quite sufficient to ease the ache inside. Bowie died. I wasn't even all that much of a fan. Yet his passing hit me harder than any celebrity death since losing Joey Ramone on Easter Sunday in 2001.

I needed to release the feeling. Somehow. I wrote this open letter to David Bowie, intending to use it as commentary for the posted playlist of our This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio tribute to Bowie, which played on January 17th of '16. My 56th birthday. Look at that caveman go.

It wasn't enough. I couldn't email the playlist out and just let it go. I needed more. I started my blog on January 18th, with this letter to Bowie as my inaugural post. It had been ten years since I gave up freelancing; it hadn't been fun anymore. I promised myself I would post something, however slight, every single day. Every. Goddamned. Day. No excuses. I had largely stopped writing. I needed to get back to writing. Immediately.

Although I had always liked the track "Life On Mars?," particularly when I saw Bowie perform it in concert, it had never been one of my top Bowie tracks. "Rebel Rebel," "Panic In Detroit," and "Suffragette City" had been my go-to Bowie tunes. That changed in 2016, as I found myself listening to "Life On Mars?" obsessively, clinging to its...what? Its artiness? Its desperation? The smoke and mirror of its implied depth, the verve of its execution, the simple beauty of its being? Yes. And Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, tickling the ivories so expressively on that recording. Sailors fighting in the dancehall, a lawman beating up the wrong guy. The song felt like a connection to what was lost, to what could still be recovered, to what could always be remembered.

The drumbeat of mortality seemed just incessant in 2016. Prince's death in June felt like the last straw, but it wasn't. Trump's election was a vicious blow. On election night, Meghan texted me from college, looking in vain for reassurance as we both watched the electoral results with growing dread and horror. Jesus, 2016 wasn't even two weeks old when Bowie died. We should have taken that as a sign to return the damned year to sender, postage due.

We survived. Not intact, not good as new, but...survived. As I mourned David Bowie here, my daughter was in England mourning actor Alan Rickman, so beloved by her for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. We commiserated with each other's loss. She wrote Rickman a touching thank-you note, which she placed at Charing Cross Station in his memory. I wrote a letter to David Bowie, and I started a blog. I cried. I wrote. I wrote more in 2016 than in any single year before that.

And I played a song called "Life On Mars?" Is there life on Mars? Is there life anywhere? The ache we feel is part of it. Talking about it helps. Writing about it helps. It's about to be writ again. It's a God-awful small affair. That's life.

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time

Looking at the news of the nation and the world, I say it's long past time for a cleanup, especially in the Oval Office. The High Frequencies have a soundtrack. Grab your disinfectant, and the will to use it.

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: 12/6/2025

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 # 1313

THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot

While I didn't get any books published in 2025, I'm insanely proud of the one major project I did manage to complete this year: Compiling and curating the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes for the mighty Big Stir Records label. The release of this salute to my all-time favorite power pop group was a dream come true, fulfilling my long-standing wish that some of the Flashcubes' outstanding original songs needed to be recognized and celebrated, in this case via fresh interpretations by a number of other rockin' pop bright lights, from Graham Parker and Mike Gent through Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas. We even got the Flashcubes themselves to contribute three stellar new tracks, and each of those seems certain to be among TIRnRR's most-played tracks of 2025. (We'll find out for sure when we get to our COUNTDOWN! show on December 28th.)

Meanwhile, the good folks at Big Stir are doing their own well-deserved end of year victory lap with the release of the budget compilation 25 For '25: The Big Stir Records Hit Machine. With the CD priced at a mere $5 American, it presents a unique opportunity to program 2025 Big Stir winners by Sorrows, 20/20, Chris Church, the Bablers, Crossword Smiles, Nelson Bragg, Splitsville, the Spongetones, Maple Mars, Shplang, the Jack Rubies, Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Armoires, Hungrytown, Dolph Chaney featuring the Speed of Sound, the Pepper's Ghost Players, the Gold Needles, Lady Darkevyl, the Corner Laughers, Michael Simmons, and the Legal Matters in one swell foop. In one glorious, low-priced swell foop!

Since the above listing only presents 21 for '25, you would be correct in presuming the other four tracks are from the Flashcubes tribute: "Make Something Happen" by sparkle*jets u.k., "Gone Too Far" by Librarians With Hickeys. the Graham Parker-Mike Gent triumph "Pathetic," and the Flashcubes' "The Sweet Spot."

In my ongoing capacity as the world's most-insistent Flashcubes fan, I purchased my very own copy for my burgeoning collection of compilation albums that include a little sumpin by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse. From Waves Vol. 1 in 1979 through 2025's I Wanna Be A Teen Again--American Power Pop 1980-1989, Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and now 25 For '25: The Big Stir Records Hit Machine, the lights remain bright and glow even brighter still. Smile everyone! It's the Flashcubes.

THE RAMONES: I'm Affected

The 2023 publication of my first book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones prompted me to reassess my feelings toward each of the Ramones' studio albums. I'd always regarded the first four albums--Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket To Russia, and Road To Ruin--as bedrock, while still thinking Road To Ruin was a slight step down from the essential Ramonesness of its three predecessors. Now, I regard Road To Ruin as the Ramones' masterpiece, but ya can't go wrong with any of that nonpareil set of 1-2-3-4!!

I'm still disappointed with the fifth album, 1980's End Of The Century, which has moments of promise, even brilliance, but just ain't in the same league as Ramones through Road To Ruin. As I wrote in my second book, 2024's The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"...By this point, legendary record producer Phil Spector viewed himself as the Ramones' anointed savior, and he wanted the chance to prove it. "Do you want to make a good record," he asked them, "or do you wanna make a great one?" His resumé of 45 rpm success was impressive, his early '60s Wall of Sound production responsible for the Ronettes and Crystals hits that were integral parts of the AM pop world during the formative years of the young Ramones-to-be. A perfect match?

"No. It was not a perfect match.

"Sure, the Spector-produced End Of The Century would be the Ramones' highest-charting album (albeit still with no radio hits), but his painstaking, glossy technique diluted the Ramones' power rather than enhancing it. Joey and Phil got along well--it's been said that Spector really wanted to produce a Joey Ramone solo LP--while Johnny despised Spector, and Spector pulled a gun on Dee Dee during the making of the album. End Of The Century has its moments, but it is nowhere near the equal of the four Ramones albums that preceded it. Spector delivered the opposite of what he'd promised: With Spector at the helm, the Ramones had made a good album rather than a great one...."

The album's lead-off track "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" is perfect--there's a reason we named our little mutant radio show after a line in that song--and second track "I'm Affected" sure does rock, even with Spector's ham-handed weakening of its power. It would have been something to hear it as, y'know, a purer Ramones track.

(For the record: I'm also way fonder of the Ramones' sixth album Pleasant Dreams than I was before, and it now rivals its follow-up Subterranean Jungle for the # 5 spot on my Ramones Albums Hit Parade. I remain one of the few Ramones fans who thinks Too Tough To Die is merely...okay. The Ramones never made a bad studio album, and they only made one bad live album [Loco Live]. But yeah, some of the albums were better than others.)

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time

"Cleanup Time" is my fave among faves on the High Frequencies ace new album Get High, and that's a statement of Hell, YEAH! when you're dealing with an album as good as this. I wish I'd jumped on the track a tiny bit sooner than I did--mathematically, it's too late for "Cleanup Time" to accrue sufficient spins to secure a berth on the countdown show--but I betcha it would have otherwise cleaned up nicely.

JIMMY SILVA AND THE EMPTY SET FEATURING KIM WONDERLY: Train Crossing

Always steal from the best. When friend to TIRnRR Rich Firestone played this wonderful Jimmy Silva track on his fab Spark Radio show Radio Deer Camp last week, I immediately realized it was a programming idea well worth swiping outright. Thanks, Reechie! I've owned the track for many years, but sometimes you need a good DJ to remind you of what ya should have already known. Always, always steal from the best.

JIMMY CLIFF: Miss Jamaica

This week's show included a few spins in memory of reggae music icon Jimmy Cliff. From a previous 10 Songs:

As I think back, I can't remember where I first heard the music of Jimmy Cliff. I've never seen the film The Harder They Come, and I don't know when I was first exposed to Cliff's classic tracks "Many Rivers To Cross" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want It." The latter was included on the mix tapes I made for my daughter Meghan when she was little. My first vicarious contact with Cliff was likely the Animals' cover of "Many Rivers To Cross" on their 1977 reunion album Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted.

But I do know that I first heard Cliff's 1962 ska tune "Miss Jamaica" in 1992, when Dana played it one week on our old TIRnRR precursor We're Your Friends For Now on WNMA. The song is certainly unlike Cliff's subsequent and better-known reggae sides; it's agreeably goofy, and I immediately found the difference between early Jimmy Cliff and later Jimmy Cliff noteworthy and fascinating. 

THE OHMS: License To Kill

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

POPDUDES: Drivin' Around

This intrepid radio show has been carpet-bombing our playlists with selections from Play On: A Raspberries Tribute. This week's ritual Play On spin belongs to the always-reliable Popdudes, who give us an effervescently cruisin' take on Raspberrries' beach-bound classic "Drivin' Around." We have a lengthy and way cool history with Popdudes principals John M. Borack and Michael Simmons, and we're delighted to program their fine, fine music. Popdudes have appeared on several of the This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation CDs, John was a colleague when I was freelancing for Goldmine magazine (for whom John still writes), and Michael Simmons was the magic maestro masterin' the magnificent music on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. We're fans!!

We're also big fans of Michael's own music, both with his group sparkle*jets u.k. (whose most recent album Box Of Letters was one of the tippety-top best records of 2024) and as a solo guy. Our Michael has released a simply splendid new covers album called Fun Where You Can Find It, and it is an absolutely essential purchase. We've already played the album's cover of the Beach Boys' "Sail On, Sailor" back when it was a pre-release teaser, and we will open our next show with another fine shot of Fun Where You Can Find It.

Meanwhile: PLAY ON! Long hot days, we'll be catchin' the rays. Popdudes at the wheel. Let's cruise.

THE SLAPBACKS: Make Something Happen

THE LEGAL MATTERS: Everybody Knows

Speaking of John M. Borack, he was also the drummer on the world's first Flashcubes cover, the Slapbacks' "Make Something Happen." Man, that title is familiar. The Slapbacks provided this treat for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 in 2017, and you can read that track's back story right here.

The Slapbacks were fronted by Keith Klingensmith, whose Futureman Records label is the digital home of most of the TIRnRR compilations. Keith's main rockin' pop recording gig is with indie sooperstars the Legal Matters, and that combo has a new album (Lost At Sea) due out on Big Stir in 2026. We started playing the advance single "Everybody Knows" last week, we played it again this week, it will spin again on our next show, and it's out in physical form on the 25 For '25 comp we extolled at the top of today's blog. Everybody knows? Everybody WINS!

JIMMY CLIFF: The Harder They Come

We will all fall. We are defined by how we stand before that inevitable fall. Across all rivers, Jimmy Cliff stood tall. Godspeed to one of reggae's enduring legends. 

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.