10 SONGS: 12/20/2025

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 # 1315

SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man

The passing of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper compelled us to attempt a modest tribute to Cropper's legacy, and the show itself opened with Cropper's immortal guitar work on Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man." Play it, Steve.

From the "Soul Man" chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"It ain't braggin' if you can do it.

"Like many others among my generation of pop fans, my introduction to the music of Sam and Dave was ass-backwards. I have no recollection whatsoever of Sam and Dave's music from when I was a kid in the '60s, nor did I develop any awareness of them as an oldies-obsessed adolescent and teen in the '70s. I'm embarrassed to admit that I first heard the song 'Soul Man' via Saturday Night Live, when John Belushi and Dan Akroyd performed it on the show in their incarnation as Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers.

"I didn't care much about the Blues Brothers on SNL, but the Blues Brothers' subsequent recorded version sizzled, thanks largely to the irresistible guitar work of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper. Cropper and bassist Duck Dunn had also played on the original Sam and Dave recording of 'Soul Man,' and Jake and Elwood's faux soul revival eventually led me to the real deal. Gotta give Belushi and Akroyd some respect for knowing who to hang with. But once I did hear Sam and Dave's 'Soul Man' and 'Hold On, I'm Coming,' I would have neither time nor inclination to ever listen to the Blues Brothers again.

"The song itself is an extended boast. But it's a boast backed up by its collective prowess. Responding to Sam and Dave's command Play it, Steve!, Cropper's guitar work cuts and advances like an agile offensive line, its easygoing sway belying the force and efficiency of its piledriving advance. The Memphis Horns add bounce to spare. Resistance is futile...."

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

It has been a very, very long time since we've played anything by the Little Girls, a fab 1980s SoCal pop combo fronted by sisters Caron Maso and Michele Maso. Their track "Earthquake Song" scored at least one TIRnRR spin some time back in the way back; a recent message from Caron prompted me to snap up a digital copy of their Thank Heaven For Valley Pop compilation, with an eye and ear toward renewed Little Girls airplay. I was immediately struck by the snarky pop perfection of "How To Pick Up Girls," and PRESTO! The Little Girls have at long last returned to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Betcha we'll be hearing 'em again as we pick up 2026. Thank heaven!

JIM BASNIGHT: Get It Out

This week's TIRnRR was our last regular show of 2025, as the rest of December is taken up by The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show this coming Sunday and then the year-end Countdown show on December 28th. The Christmas show has already been recorded, and we submitted an advance copy of that playlist to our stats man Fritz Van Leaven. He, in turn, has provided us with the rankings of our 50 most-played tracks this year.

This week's show included 13 of the tracks that will be in our Top 50 Countdown. Jim Basnight's "Get It Out" happens to be one of 'em. I have seen the Countdown and it is good!

OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Also in tribute to the song's producer and co-author Steve Cropper, and also from The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

 "Far from home, with nothing to do. Nothing worth doing, anyway.

"But who can say what might have been?

"Soul singer Otis Redding's only crossover pop hit was '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay,' an incredible mix of pride and resignation, a swagger reduced to a shrug. It was a posthumous # 1, ascending the charts after Redding perished in a plane crash in 1967. 

"But there was more to the story. There was much, much more to that story.

"Redding was a huge, huge star on the R & B charts. Rock promoter Bill Graham referred to Redding as "the black Elvis," an electrifying showman with a nigh-unique potential to unite black and white audiences under one big soulful pop rock 'n' roll tent. He wasn't a crossover artist, not in the same sense as the Motown acts selling 45s by the truckload to young America. Redding was the single greatest voice of Stax/Volt Records, a Memphis label that was pure soul. Crossover? Let the white kids cross over to us, man. If anyone could achieve that specific level of destiny in the '60s, it was gonna be Otis Redding.

"Except that it wasn't...."

WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

PERILOUS: Can't Stand The Holidaze

JAMIE HOOVER: Surfin' With Santa

THE KRAYOLAS: Maria Believes In Christmas Again

OTIS REDDING: Merry Christmas Baby

As each December comes rollin' around, we're reluctant to start programming much (if any) Christmas music, generally preferring to save the Yuletunes for the Christmas show itself. We did include "Carol Of The Guitars" by the Spongetones in the post-tag spot at the very end of last week's show. Otherwise? Deck your own halls if you wish. We weren't ready yet.

Knowing how difficult it is to squeeze all the seasonal sides we wanna play into the always-crowded playlist for the actual Christmas show, I wanted to mix some of our new 2025 holiday-centric acquisitions into this week's pre-Christmas show extravaganza. Our pals Perilous bring us the gift of cantankerousness with their new single "Can't Stand The Holidaze," Spongetones guitarist Jamie Hoover (working with TIRnRR stalwart Rich Rossi) bails entirely on the silly concept of winter wonderland with his new single "Surfin' With Santa," and the Krayolas fire up replenished faith in something brighter with "Maria Believes In Chjristmas Again." All great, all well worthy of airplay, and the Krayolas' track has the potential to be an evergreen on future This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Christmas shows. (We weren't able to find room this week for a track from Blaine Campbell and the California Sound's Holidays EP, but one will appear in the Christmas show.)

Dovetailing our Steve Cropper feature with our late-December concession that Christmas is indeed coming, we also played Otis Redding's version of "Merry Christmas Baby." The song was first recorded in 1947 by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers--someone send a thank-you eggnog to Wikipedia!--and my first recollection of the tune was when the 1987 various-artists Special Olympics benefit album A Very Special Christmas included a live rendition performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Boss provided me with a fine introduction to the song; it's also been recorded by Ike and Tina Turner, King Elvis I, Chuck Berry, the Monkees, and a sleigh-full of other artists.

Otis Redding's version is definitive.

BOOKER T AND THE MG'S: Jingle Bells

As we get ready for The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show, our celebrative dash through the snow is once again accompanied by the guitar sound of Steve Cropper. Godspeed to the axe of Stax.  

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: 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: 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: 1/24/2025

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 # 1269

BOB DYLAN: I Want You

I'm not a Bob Dylan fan to the extent that many of my peers are Bob Dylan fans. I respect him, and sometimes I even like him, but I don't listen to his work with any discernible frequency. My Dylan spin count would uptick slightly if we include his time as a Traveling Wilbury. Otherwise, it's a relative rarity for me to play a record by Bashful Bobby Dylan.

(That's my Marvel Comics name for the Bard of Hibbing, Minnesota: Bashful Bobby Dylan. Surely Stan Lee would approve.)

Don't let any of the above mislead you into thinking I don't appreciate Dylan's talent and (especially!) his impact. In my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I devote a chapter to "Like A Rolling Stone," my favorite Dylan track:

"...Bob Dylan bulldozed the boundaries of what a pop song could be. He wasn't the first;
the folk tradition contains a rich history of social commentary, and Billie Holiday's 1939
rendition of the anti-lynching lament 'Strange Fruit' was as daring and incendiary as
any song ever released. But Dylan's ambitious lyrical rap and proto-punk arrogance
steamrolled the fences and rewrote the freakin' map. Like Chuck Berry and Elvis
Presley bringing R & B to white kids, Dylan brought a raised expectation of what pop
lyrics could or should be...

"...As a teenager in the '70s, I became a Dylan fan, though I claimed to be more

serious about it than I ever really was. I was supposed to like Dylan. The quest for

Dylanesque authenticity also led me to Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, and Phil Ochs,

though in each case I responded more viscerally to the innate pop appeal of specific

songs, all the while claiming I was connecting with the deep meaning of works of

substance. Or the deep substance of works of meaning. Or hoping to sleep with a folkie

chick.

"The onset of punk dealt a crippling blow to my interest in Dylan, and seeing a Dylan

concert in 1978 put that interest in its grave. I don't know what I was expecting, but I

didn't expect Bashful Bob to hit the stage wearing pants adorned with lightning bolts on

the legs. I resisted any urge to yell JUDAS! Coupled with Dylan's lackluster performance (exacerbated by my nosebleed seats), this wardrobe choice was off-putting. Yeah, even though it was less than two years after I saw KISS, the same year I saw the Ramones, the Runaways, the Kinks, the Flashcubes, and Elvis Costello and the Attractions. And Herman's Hermits. I wasn't opposed to a little pizazz, and I was eager for excitement. But it felt wrong--jarringly wrong--at a Bob Dylan show. Doesn't matter if that's unfair. How does it feel? It feels like I'd rather be at another Ramones show...."

With all that said, the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown prompted Dana to dip into the Zimmerman library on two consecutive weeks, and Dana's picks (Blonde On Blonde cuts "Most Likely You Go Your Way [And I'll Go Mine]" last week, "I Want You" this week) sounded absolutely aces on the playlist. I finally saw the film on Sunday, and it was fascinating, with flawless performances and a compelling narrative. I've been singing Dylan songs to myself ever since.

In the '70s, my sister Denise had a Dylan poster, and my brother Rob had some Dylan LPs (Greatest Hits, Self Portrait, possibly Blonde On Blonde) that I borrowed and played in my teen years. Dylan was on Top 40 AM radio with "Lay Lady Lay" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." I didn't own any Dylan until I much later acquired a beat-up used copy of Greatest Hits. 

I still have that. Maybe it's due for another spin.

THE NON-PROPHETS: Alibi

The Non-Prophets' CBO (Chief Boppin' Officer) Allan Kaplon was thrilled to hear us describe "Alibi" as "their current hit single." We calls 'em as we sees 'em, my friend, and "Alibi" looks and sounds like a hit to us. It will return to TIRnRR on Sunday. That's what hit singles do.

JIM BASNIGHT: Gotta Get Straight

A new single from Jim Basnight? We play those! Always! We're fans. And like us, Jim is himself a fan of rockin ' pop music, his deep interest in all things a-thumpin' and a-janglin' informing his work as he creates more fine things that go a-thumpin' and a-janglin'. It's a process. Respect the process! Gotta get straight, man. And while we're at it, gotta get it on the radio again.

20/20: Remember The Lightning

20/20: Springtime Love Song

With the January 17th release of the fabulous new 20/20 album Back To California, it seemed a good time to program two-in-a-row from these Power Pop Hall Of Fame figures. 20/20 THEN....and 20/20 NOW!!! I...betcha we did the same thing when the album's first advance singles came out last year. 20/20 hindsight. But why re-invent the wheel? We have pop music to play!

"Yellow Pills" is considered 20/20's signature tune, but I like "Remember The Lightning" even more. Both songs inspired the titles of essential power pop publications, Jordan Oakes' well-remembered Yellow Pills (which has been preserved in book form, worth grabbing if you can track it down), and S. W. Lauden's current quarterly Remember The Lightning (and his Substack of the same name). Jordan may recall that I wasn't all that much of a fan of 20/20 initially, but lemme declare that I came around to the 20/20 vision years ago. Everybody's feeling groovy!

And I love the new album. "Springtime Love Song" is, I believe, the sixth different Back To California track to achieve TIRnRR airplay, with a seventh choice primed for a playlist berth this coming Sunday night. It may not be springtime yet, but love is in the air: 20/20 then, and 20/20 now. 

SORROWS: Out Of My Head

Speaking of long-established rockin' pop acts still serving up new releases: New York City's phenomenal pop combo Sorrows have an album called Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow due out in the near future, with advance single "Out Of My Head" released today. Today? Hooray! 

Both the single and album are new to us, but the material was recorded during Sorrows' 1981 hey-hey-HEYday, and unheard by the public until now. On the crunching and triumphant basis of "Out Of My Head," I'd say this stuff has been worth the 44-year wait. Repeat the mantra: Any record you ain't heard is a new record. I'm very much primed to lodge this new record into my head. We'll hear the single again on our next show.

(Word via the grapevine suggests that Sorrows will be recording at least one new track this year, a cover of a song originally recorded by the Flashcubes. If so, it provides a fitting symmetry for me: My introduction to the wonderful world of Sorrows came via my purchase of the "Jealousy"/"She's Got It" 45 by Sorrows precursors the Poppees, a single I bought from Sam Goody at Smithtown Mall a day or two after seeing a Flashcubes show on Bowery in 1979. The Flashcubes are in The Power Pop Hall Of Fame; one hopes that someday Sorrows will be in as well.)

THE DENTISTS: You Make Me Say It Somehow

Here again: Any record you ain't heard is a new record. I don't recall whether or not I'd ever heard the music of the Dentists before Brett Vargo rhapsodized about the group's 1985 album Some People Are On The Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now on a recent episode of the Only Three Lads podcast. Brett's recommendation and accompanying song snippet were sufficient inspiration to get me to buy the album (which I downloaded because I'm--in-joke!--a newfangled fancy-pants). Jeez, this record has TIRnRR written all over it, which is a neat trick for a digital album to have something written all over it. Thanks for the tip, Mr. Brett! We'll play another track from this long-titled album on our next show.

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE CYNZ: You Would Not Miss Me

Notwithstanding the considerable TIRnRR airplay accrued by the Cynz in 2024--they were our # 5 most-played artist, and two of their songs ("Just A Boy" and "Woman Child") were among our most-played tracks--I don't think I fully appreciated the sheer overall oomph of their 2024 album Little Miss Lost until it was kinda late in the game. That happens sometimes; we get caught up in individual tracks and lose sight of their magnificent brethren and sistren. We've recently started to pick up and play a few of the Little Miss Lost gems we missed before, including (fittingly) this fine number "You Would Not Miss Me." Little Miss Lost was definitely one of 2024's best albums, and we look forward to a new Cynz album due some time this year.

We will take great care not to miss that one.

SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man

It felt imperative to pay at least some tribute to the late, great Sam Moore this week. Sam and Dave--Moore with the late Dave Prater--were powerhouses of 1960s Stax Records soul, and I wish I could claim I was aware of them before the Blue Brothers covered "Soul Man" in the '70s. But I got there eventually. We played Sam and Dave's lesser-known hit "Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody" in our opening set, and circled back to the original classic "Soul Man" near the show's end. From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"...The song itself is an extended boast. But it's a boast backed up by its collective prowess. Responding to Sam and Dave's command Play it, Steve!, Steve Cropper's guitar work cuts and advances like an agile offensive line, its easygoing sway belying the force and efficiency of its piledriving advance. The Memphis Horns add bounce to spare. Resistance is futile.

"And, above it all, our soul men Sam Moore and Dave Prater testify.

"Isaac Hayes, who co-wrote 'Soul Man' with David Porter, said the song was inspired by the aftermath of a race riot in Detroit in 1967. An expression of defiant pride during troubled times, 'Soul Man' still resonates now as it did then, as an indomitable declaration of will and confidence. Close your eyes, right now, and let your mind conjure Cropper's distinctive guitar lick; you may suddenly feel more sure of yourself than you did just a moment before. 

"Most of are neither Sam nor Dave. I know I'm not. Hell, I'm not even Jake or Elwood. Nonetheless, as we listen to this great soul duo reign o'er the musical majesty the Stax studiomen have provided them, their determination...well, it doesn't quite become ours, but we feel it. It's 1967, and all points forward. Faith. Certainty. Walls are gonna fall, change is gonna come. Comin' to ya, on a dusty road. It ain't braggin' if you can do it. They're not called soul men for nothing."

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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.