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 # 1341: GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!!
CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land
This week's show ties into the publication of my new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. The book is a work of fiction, but we're celebrating its intrinsic mojo by stringing together an irresistible array of rockin' pop music by a few of the many real-life musicmakers mentioned alongside imaginary characters I created for the book's stories. And we'll get to the music in just a sec, right after these important words from our sponsor:
Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies gathers tales of a foul-mouthed rock 'n' roll guitarist hijacked into space, an Old West gunslinger, a film noir gun moll who longs to be in a musical, a humorous fill-in superhero suddenly called to greatness, a former boy band star turned record company fix-it man, a would-be painter, an obsessed collector, a fated swordswoman, a fallen giant, a frustrated time traveler, a condemned sinner guiding tourists in Hell, a departed soul interviewing for a spot in Heaven, a 1976 Beatles reunion concert, and other untruths detailing love, loss, disappointment, miscellaneous hijinks, a fascination with shiny objects, and—occasionally--a juvenile sense of humor.
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The first story in the book is the first short story I ever sold, 2019's "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," a foul-mouthed farce about a rock band from Earth playing gigs on other planets. Chuck Berry was the first among many actual musicians name-checked in this and subsequent stories. After all, NASA's inclusion of "Johnny B. Goode" on the gold record sent into space with Voyager 1 and 2 is what built the extraterrestrial market for rock 'n' roll in the first place. As Rocky, the leader of the book's titular planet-hopping combo Guitars Vs. Rayguns relates:
"Tonight's gig's been going well. Just one fight so far, and the drummer was only wounded; he's out for the night, but we'll get by with just two guitars and a bass if we gotta. Some Big Star, some Everly Brothers, Prince, Grip Weeds, Supremes, Pop Co-Op, Small Faces, and always, always some Chuck Berry. We're about midway through 'Promised Land' when an asshole in the audience tries to interrupt us...."
And that leads into more of the miscellaneous hijinks the book's back cover blurb promises. Take us to the Promised Land. Chuck.
THE CYNZ: Love's So Lovely
The Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! book presents a total of 27 short stories, including five stories starring the irrepressible space-traveling bar band from whom the book takes its title. There is also a sixth story centered around one of the band's members. The other 21 tales are unrelated to the adventures of this band called Guitars Vs. Rayguns.
A few of the book's non-GvsR! stories are centered around music. "Home Of The Hits" sticks strictly to characters of my creation, with no references to real-life musicians. "Open Letter To An Imaginary Rock Band" finds its narrator listing a bunch of acts (KISS, the Stylistics, the Sex Pistols, Motörhead, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Talking Heads, the Isley Brothers) he prefers to his younger brother's favorite band (the fictional Pants-On Flyers). "I'm At Bat!" name-checks OIivia Newton-John, the Kinks, Nelson Riddle, the Jam, the Marketts, and Neil Hefti. Both "Time, And The Junk Food Of Your Life" and "Pop Friction" mention the Beatles, and the Fab Four also star in their own story about a 1976 reunion concert. The volume of real-life music-makin' names cited within that Beatles short story may rival the cumulative number of bands referenced in all five (or six) of the GvsR! chapters.
But yeah, the dedicated GvsR! band stories provide a pervasive supply of pop music name-dropping threaded throughout the book. The vast majority of them are passing references, and that status includes this line invoking the name of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio fave raves the Cynz:
"...The setlist was still peppered with covers, everything from the Buzzcocks and the Selecter to the Cynz and Etta James. But we were doing more and more originals, and our drunken and violently irascible audiences were responding. Favorably. Fuck, we had a gig last week out near Sirius, and only one raygun fight broke out. One! Unheard of in our experience. Suddenly, the ETs far and wide were dancing and listening. We were heading to the toppermost of the motherfucking poppermost...."
As a writer and a music fan (and, y'know, a DJ), my mind is always occupied with dozens of random notions and dozens of irresistible song choices. Always. I wanted Guitars Vs. Rayguns' repertoire to reflect that. And I specifically wanted to mention the Cynz because lead singer Cyndi Dawson has been so supportive of all of my books. Cyndi: THANK YOU!
(And in the real world, "Love's So Lovely" [from the current Cynz album Confess] has already secured a berth on TIRnRR's year-end countdown show. And I wouldn't be surprised if it makes our Top Ten. Hey, Cynz! The guitars and the rayguns salute you.)
THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
One of the (theoretical) growing-up experiences that impacted my development as a pop pundit, music journalist, and writer of stuff was the act of standing my ground whenever anyone told me I shouldn't like something. Over time, I learned to shrug off naysayers, and to keep right on digging what I dig. Comic book superheroes. Punk rock. Pulp fiction.
The Monkees.
The more some folks tried to convinced me that the Monkees were worthless, the more they deepened my conviction that they didn't know what they were talking about. I'd seen the TV show, I'd heard the records. I know what I like. I loved the Monkees, and I still do.
The Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! book includes three separate references to the Monkees. In my Beatles reunion story, when John, Paul, George, and Ringo have an informal get-together to reacclimate to playing as a band, they perform a presumably-jokey (but not disrespectful) jam of the familiar "(Theme From) The Monkees." Later in the book, when Guitars Vs. Rayguns are auditioning a new member, the Monkees' "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is one of a slew of covers the potential group is unable to nail.
My favorite Monkees moment in Guitars Vs. Rayguns! occurs still later in the book, when the members of my raygun-target rock group find themselves in danger, and they steal a plot element directly from The Monkees TV series to escape their predicament. The idea's inspiration is given full and proper in-story credit. Saved by the Monkees! I believe the fans will be pleased.
But I would have that faith, wouldn't I? After all, I'm a believer.
THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise
Big Stir Records recording artists the Flashcubes loom large in my legend. You can be assured that in the GvsR! chronicles, the Flashcubes are represented and appreciated by rock 'n' roll fans across the planets and across the galaxies.
Guitars Vs. Rayguns drummer Leiko is certainly a Flashcubes fan, especially of 'Cubes drummer Tommy Allen (alongside Keith Moon, Marky Ramone, Clem Burke, Dennis Diiken, and Ringo Starr. Here's evidence of that:
"...Leiko leaned in for emphasis. 'I'm Keith fucking Moon. I'm Marky fucking Ramone. I'm Clem fucking Burke. I'm Dennis fucking Diken from the Smithereens, Tommy fucking Allen from the Flashcubes, Ringo fucking Starr if I wanna be Ringo fucking Starr.
" 'I'm fucking LEIKO, bitches!...' "
So noted. In the universe of GvsR!, the Flashcubes are stars, as big as any other stars in any galaxy.
I like that universe.
WONDERBOY: Girl Songs
Robbie Rist is a long-time friend of this show, and Dana and I have twice been guests on The Spoon, the essential podcast our Robbie co-hosts with Chris Jackson and Thom Bowers. As a tip of the hat, I wanted to add Robbie's old SoCal pop band Wonderboy to the long list of acts that Guitars Vs. Rayguns covers in their phaser-blasted live sets. And given clear evidence within the narrative that Guitars Vs. Rayguns guitarist Rocky really likes the ladies--really, really likes the ladies--Wonderboy's pop gem "Girl Songs" is a perfect match.
P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop
C'mon--it wouldn't be one of my books if it didn't reference the Ramones. In one of the book's non-GvsR! stories, a character mentions driving through a blizzard as his iPod treats him to neck-snappin' segues from the Ramones to Dizzy Gillespie to the Girls From Petticoat Junction. In "Jack Mystery (some truths and some white lies)," the actor auditioning for the lead role in a comic book movie wears a Ramones t-shirt. Within the five (or six) GvsR! stories, a character uses the expression "I swear to Joey Ramone," the bassist expresses a desire to channel Brian Wilson, James Jamerson, and Dee Dee Ramone, and we've already seen that drummer Leiko intends to be Marky fucking Ramone (among others). The Ramones. The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time. Hey-ho. Let's go!
JOAN JETT: Bad Reputation
From my short story "Lone Star Falling," which I think is among the best things I've ever written:
"...But Marie looked up at Faye. The eyes could not see. Nonetheless, Marie said out loud, 'LaFayette?'
"Faye had not heard anyone call her by her full first name in...well, she couldn't remember how long it had been. 'Yes, Mom! It's LaFayette.' Usually unflappable, Faye's nerves were on Def Con 1. 'How are you, Mom?'
" 'George!,' Marie called out. 'LaFayette's here for a visit. Come see your daughter.'
" 'No, Mom. Let's not bother Daddy right now.' Faye's father George had died in a car accident decades ago, when Faye was in seventh grade. Faye saw no reason to correct her mother's illusion. 'Let's just have a chat for a second, just you and me, Mom.'
" 'Fifi...?'
Faye froze. Her mother hadn't called her by that name since she was a little girl. 'Fifi? Is that you?' Before Faye could muster a reply, Marie's mind switched again. 'LaFayette! Turn off that noise and set the table for dinner!'
" 'It's not noise, Mom,' said Faye, recalling the exact conversation she had with Marie all those years ago. 'It's Joan Jett. Come on, Mom. Dance with me!'
"Marie smiled as Faye began to dance by the creeping phlox. Marie also started to dance, or rather to mimic the act of dancing while still confined to her wheelchair. 'Such language,' Marie said. 'Couldn't this Joan Jett say she doesn't give a darn about her reputation?'
" 'Works better this way, Mom. It's kickass!'
" 'LaFayette!'
" 'It's okay, Mom. Doesn't this music make you feel alive?'
"Marie was silent, but the glow of her smile continued...."
YOKO ONO: Move On Fast
I have a lot of respect for Yoko Ono, but most of her music falls outside of my chosen pop parameters. Dana's a fan. That said, there are three Yoko tracks I like very much: Her 1980 B-side "Kiss Kiss Kiss" earned a chapter in my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), her 1971 seasonal treat "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" is luscious and sublime, and "Move On Fast," a pumpin' track from her 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe, rocks. Yoko haters need not apply.
My first awareness and appreciation of "Move On Fast" was provided courtesy of the weekly classic alternative podcast Only Three Lads. Like Dana, O3L co-host Brett Vargo is big on Yoko, and while he hasn't yet managed to convert his partner Uncle Gregg to the cause, Brett insists Gregg will come around eventually. Me? I'm grateful to Brett for hooking me on this track.
Yoko Ono appears as a supporting character in my 1976 Beatles reunion fantasy piece. I think she comes off quite well, and I hope Brett will approve of her depiction. Dear Yoko: The world of Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! holds nothing but love for you.
THE BEATLES: Paperback Writer
Why, yes--I am a paperback writer. Dear sir or madam, will you read my book?
ENCORE! THREE MORE SONGS!!
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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
