10 SONGS: 6/8/2024

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 # 1236. 

sparkle*jets u.k.: Box Of Letters

One of the rules for puttin' on a show is to open BIG. A new single by the mighty sparkle*jets u.k. fits that bill from our POV, especially with this fab track "Box Of Letters." BIG pop music! We'll hear it again on our next show. Big pop music is its own reward.

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: Don't Stop

No, it's not the Fleetwood Mac song (not that there would be anything wrong with that). Johnathan Pushkar's righteous rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Don't Stop" comes to us via the new tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards. Dana's pick! 

And a good pick it is, too. It's a 21 century Stones track, and I wasn't at all familiar with the original version. Hey, wait here while I check that one out.

Awright, I'm back. The Rolling Stones' version is fine, but I do prefer the pop of Pushkar's take. We'll hear another track from Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards on our next show.

ALAN MERRILL: Everyday All Night Stand

The late Alan Merrill was an American musician who sounded like a British musician. I mean that as a compliment. Merrill was a member of the Arrows, a '70s UK group that also included fellow Yank Jake Hooker. The Arrows are best remembered for a then-obscure B-side written by Merrill and Hooker: "I Love Rock And Roll." 

Joan Jett was a fan. We know the song now because Joan Jett loved it, covered it, and spread its Gospel. Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. I wrote about the song back in 2020, right after Merrill died due to COVID:

"Joan Jett is about my age, and of course I had a crush on her. Duh. When the Runaways split at the end of the '70s, Jett seemed the one former member most likely to make some interesting new music; Lita Ford was more suited to hard rock, Sandy West, Jackie Fox, and Fox's replacement Vickie Blue didn't appear to be headed to solo careers, and although Cherie Currie (with her sister Marie Currie) did an appealingly basic cover of Rainbow's 'Since You've Been Gone,' none of them quite had Jett's potential. But Joan herself? Joan loved rock 'n' roll.

"So she made rock 'n' roll. She kicked the bad habits that could have ended her career and her life, she kept playing, she kept recording, and she kept playing some more. Her eponymous 1980 debut album (later reissued as Bad Reputation) was one of my favorite records in that period. She had done some recording with former Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook, some of which appeared on that first album. But the B-side of her UK single cover of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" remained non-LP. I confess I was a little disappointed with the Gore cover, but I played that B-side a lot. That was 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'...

"While (forgive the redundancy) I love 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll,' I've never felt it was Joan Jett's very best track. I'd put 'Love Is Pain,' 'Bad Reputation' (and nearly all of that debut album), her take on Bruce Springsteen's 'Light Of Day,' 'This Means War,' 'Eye To Eye,' and several others above it. Similarly, when the Coronavirus claimed the song's co-author Alan Merrill last month, I recalled that it wasn't quite my favorite among his own catalog either."

My favorite Merrill track remains "Everyday All Night Stand,": which I first heard on his 2012 album Snakes And Ladders. I didn't realize until, like, a week ago that the Snakes And Ladders track was a remake of a song Merrill had originally recorded and released in the early '70s, pre-Arrows. The earlier version is now among my all-time Fave Raves, and a near-miss for my recently-posted All-Time Hot 150.

Allan Merrill was one of the first musicians I heard of succumbing to COVID. It feels like a million years ago, and it feels like yesterday. As I write this, I'm still in shock over the real-life yesterday's news that long-time TIRnRR friend Scott Cornish  has also passed from this damned virus. 

Brenda and I with Scott "King" Cornish at a Joan Jett show

I don't have words. I don't. I don't even have a song to play, because Scott was so passionate about so, so much music. Many of our other friends have already spoken eloquently in Scott's memory, and I cede the dais to all of them. We mourn together. Godspeed, King Cornish. Here's to an everyday all night stand.

Somewhere.

HUNGRYTOWN: Green Grow The Laurels

Lush Americana. Don't argue with the blogger, man. Hungrytown's new album Circus For Sale is available right now. Go! GROW!

PARTHENON HUXLEY: Double Our Numbers

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SLYBOOTS: Blindsided

Ace NYC combo Slyboots made their TIRnRR debut two weeks ago, with a spin of their recent cover of Meat Puppets' "Oh, Me." All well 'n' groovy. Now, we dig a little bit deeper for a way swell Slyboots original called "Blindsided." "Blindsided" was released last summer, but you know the drill: 

Any record you ain't heard is a new record.

And, new or old, we're delighted to hear this record. We'll hear it again Sunday night.

THE GRIP WEEDS: We Love You

THE AVENGERS: Paint It Black
THELMA HOUSTON: Jumpin' Jack Flash

THE BEATLES: I Wanna Be Your Man

This week, programming picks t' click from Jem Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards inspired us to supplement that Nanker Phelge mania by closing out the show with a few extracurricular Stones covers. 

That closing half-set commenced with one of the Grip Weeds' two contributions to this superb Stones tribute album. I'm sure we'll get to their take on "Dandelion" before long, but we for damned sure wanted to slot in the Grip Weeds' characteristically confident performance of "We Love You" ASAFP. "We Love You" has long been one of my very favorite Rolling Stones tracks, and our Grip Weeds do it justice. Grip Weeds go WILDE!

We then switch to a pair of older Stones covers. From circa 1978, the great San Francisco punk group the Avengers pull off a fiery version of "Paint It Black," and then Thelma Houston serves up a 1969 recording of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" that is A) her single best-ever track, and B) a peer to the Stones' seemingly nonpareil original. It IS, in fact, a gas, gas, gas!

Finally, we close with a Stones cover that isn't exactly a cover. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "I Wanna Be Your Man" for those Rolling Stones; it was the Stones' second single, and their first UK hit. The Beatles then recorded it themselves, with Ringo singing lead. No offense to our little Richard and his moptopped fellow Fabs, but the Rolling Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man" is a rare case of a Beatles song done better by a group other than the Beatles.

Oh, and the Beatles' version is also great. Beatles or Stones? In the larger scheme o' things, there's simply no need to pick a side. Together, lads!

BONUS TRACK!

THE ROLLING STONES: Sing This All Together

Well? Why don't we sing this song all together? Inquiring minds wanna know. C'mon. Let's roll.

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

Carl's book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will be published in July. Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 7/28/2023

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 # 1191. This show is available as a podcast.

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: I Gotta Move

Johnathan Pushkar's cover of the Kinks' "I Gotta Move" is the first advance track from the forthcoming tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies, and it's a good one. The original was on the American Kinks-Size LP, which was the first Kinks album I ever owned (part of my indoctrination into Kinks fandom during my senior year in high school). It's a pretty basic tune, sure, but Johnathan conveys the necessary dedicated-follower bounce to retain its bop in our newfangled 21st century. We'll play it again next week, and we'll also play another Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies track, courtesy of the Cynz. We need to! We don't wanna get left behind.

THE SUPREMES: Love Train

Man alive, I've been knocked out by the '70s stuff Dana's been playing by the Supremes. I talked about it a bit in the July 14th 10 Songs, and this material just seems so ripe for rediscovery...or, really, discovery, for the first time. Why weren't these records huge? And why is the two-CD collection The '70s Anthology a high-priced collectible rather than the readily-available essential it oughtta be? I don't why, I don't know how, but I blame Diana Ross.

As I groove vicariously through Dana's spins of '70s Supremes, the group's sublime cover of the O'Jays' "Love Train" satisfies the ol' (Nathan) jones for this week. 

THE WAITRESSES: Square Pegs

It's not punk. It's new wave. Totally different head. Totally.

IYKYK.

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

Awright. As the rockin' pop world prepares its eager self for the release of the Flashcubes' incomparable new album Pop Masters, Big Stir Records' Chief Boppin' Officers Rex Broome and Christina Bulbenko recently had this to say about our own little mutant radio show, the 'Cubes, and Pop Masters:

Rarely have a show, a band, and an album gone so hand-in-hand as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, the Flashcubes, and the new record Pop Masters.

We accept that with honor, pride, and humili...okay, scratch the humility part. Let's not get crazy.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of the Flashcubes in my life and in the development of TIRnRR. I ain't kidding: The Beatles. The Ramones. The Flashcubes. For me, all my other favorites come after that Trinity. Pop Masters. Truth in advertising. Album of the year, mate. Album of the year.

THE DONNAS: Wig Wam Bam

My TIRnRR history Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet reveals that we've been playing the Donnas since our very first show, December 27, 1998. Lately, we've been dipping back more and more into the Donnas' earliest releases, a period that commenced even before there was any such thing as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. 

Our archival source for such grungy transcendence is a Real Gone Music Donnas collection called Early Singles 1995-1999. When Dana programmed the Donnas' cover of Sweet's "Wig Wam Bam" for this week's show, I joked about how the Donnas do, in fact, get a few of Sweet's original lyrics right in their rockin' rendition. Otherwise, they just make it up as they go: Sweet's opening prose Hiawatha never bothered too much/About Minnihaha and her tender touch/'Til she took him to the silver stream is altered by the Donnas into the way more salacious I don't wanna be a bother too much/I just wanna be the girl you wanna touch/You make me cream in my jeans.... And so on.

Dana dismissed the wisecrack. "Girls with guitars," he said. 

And he is correct. Girls, meet the boys. Boys, the girls. Wig-wam, bam sham-a-lam. Or words to that effect.

DAISY JONES AND THE SIX: Regret Me

A band doesn't have to be real to make a radio-ready record. Here on TIRnRR, we offer equal time for fiction and fact. When we feel like it, anyway. SO! The made-for-streaming Daisy Jones and the Six on this week's program, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac next week. There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure in pop music. We remain regret-free.

THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS: Jacaranda

We pre-record our shows. It's a coincidence when one of our selections carries a connection to some news headline that splatters forth in between recording the show on Wednesday and airing it on Sunday night. We played Hayley and the Crushers' fantastic "Jacaranda" this week because it's, y'know, fantastic. Its lyrics about ditching tinyville livin' in favor of tropical summer fun in the sun were chosen for turn-it-up status without any real-world context in mind.

But yeah, like Hayley sings: screw the small town.

THE MUFFS: On My Own

THE PANDORAS: I'll Walk Away

Ex post facto programming. We didn't initially intend to make the late Kim Shattuck our featured performer this week. In fact, we were nearly done nailing down this week's song selections when I realized that Dana had included a number of songs in quiet tribute to Kim, recognizing what would have been her 60th birthday on July 17th. These were performances Kim did with the Coolies, the Beards, and three tracks by the Muffs. Dana picked the Muffs' TIRnRR Fave Rave "On My Own" to close the pre-encore portion of the show.

I thought Dana's idea of a tribute To Kim Shattuck was compelling and important, and I wanted to participate. I swapped out several of my song picks in favor of tracks that included Kim, records by Derrick Anderson, Bowling For Soup, one more by the Muffs ("Nothing") to play at the very, very end, and four Shattuck-equipped tracks by the Pandoras. 

"On My Own" comes from the Muffs' farewell album No Holiday. It was released just after Kim passed in October of 2019, and it was TIRnRR's single most-played track in 2020. It's still a frequent treat on our playlists, and probably always will be. 

The Pandoras' "I'll Walk Away" has never been given an official release. It appeared on a collection called Psychedelic Sluts!, a CD of questionable legitimacy and disappointing fidelity. The track was originally intended for Come Inside, a proposed (and completed) 1987 album which would have been the Pandoras' first release for Elektra Records. Come Inside got as far as a test pressing and a listing in the Schwann catalog, but Elektra dropped the Pandoras and scuttled the release. The album has yet to see the light of day.

That's a shame. Come Inside leans hard (HAR!) into single-entendre innuendo and arena rock moves; even its title is a sex joke (come inside the Pandoras--GET IT?). Subtlety wasn't a big thing in the '80s. But the album has its moments, particularly the fascinating power ballad "I'll Walk Away." I'm generally not one for power ballads, unless they're power ballads by the Ramones. I make an exception for the Pandoras' "I'll Walk Away."

In a just world, Come Inside would have been released and hit big. John Hughes would have used "I'll Walk Away" in the climactic scene of one of his teen movies. Missed opportunity. The Pandoras would have made it. Their leader Paula Pierce would have lived longer. Kim Shattuck would have lived longer. But now...

...we walk away.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 2/24/2023

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 # 1169. This show is available as a podcast.

HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS: Casino Royale

As the pop world mourns the passing of the legendary Burt Bacharach, we decided to thread a tribute to Bacharach and his frequent songwriting partner Hal David throughout this week's program. I think we managed a nice blend of recognized prerequisites from the Bacharach-David songbook with a few less-expected choices in song and/or performer.

Our first strand of that thread was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' title tune from the all-star 1967 James Bond comedy Casino Royale. It's an instrumental, so you don't hear lyricist David's work here, but we chose the track deliberately as our snarky response to pundits who greeted news of Bacharach's passing with quotes from what they mistakenly believed were Bacharach's lyrics. Bacharach was the melody guy; he collaborated with gifted lyricists like David, and it's a disservice to those lyricists to assign credit to Bacharach.

Although Hal David passed in 2012, we wanted to pay equal tribute to David in our salute to Burt Bacharach. And, since "Casino Royale" does have lyrics--they're just not used in this instrumental version--the song is credited to Bacharach and David. And our Bacharach-David tribute was under way. With guns. And knives. We're fighting for our lives...!

STEVE STOECKEL: Mod Girl

In our position as hosts of The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, Dana and I possess the good sense, good taste, and good, good, good, good vibrations to be big fans of the music of Steve Stoeckel. Steve Stoeckel in the Spongetones? Check! Steve Stoeckel in Jamie and Steve? ALSO check! Steve Stoeckel in Pop Co-Op? Checkity-check-checkaroonie! Steve Stoeckel and his THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL Allstars? Duh. All good!

So of course we're delighted to expand that ongoing circle o' good with Steve's first-ever solo album The Power Of And. We've been playing stellar tracks from The Power Of And the past few weeks, and this week we got around to "Mod Girl." There's a lot of good stuff on this record.

And we got around to "Mod Girl" twice this week. We played the album track, and in the following set we played an unreleased a cappella mix that shows off the amazing backing vocals by Jamie Hoover and Elena Rogers. Goosebump City! We sure hope the good folks at Big Stir Records release this mix as well. And we'll play it again next week.

IRENE PEÑA: In This Room

Yes, it's America's Sweetheart Irene Peña! "In This Room" is my favorite among a big stack of sublime Irene Peña numbers, and it's available on her digital album Nothing To Do With You, and on our 2022 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. This particular spin was in anticipation of Dana & Carl's guest appearance on Irene's Twitch TV channel Irene Peña Music this coming Sunday, February 26th, at 7 pm Eastern. SUNDAY! We'll chat! We'll laugh! She'll wonder why she's wasting her valuable time on the likes of Dana & Carl! But she'll manage it all with a smile (or at least a smirk), because she's AMERICA'S SWEETHEART! We hope you'll join us on Twitch this Sunday, and then come back for TIRnRR as we open our show with another example of Irene's musical magic. Sweet is its own reward.

MIKE BROWNING: Blood Of Oblivion

We have played Mike Browning's fabulous current cover of the Rainy Daze's 1967 obscurity "Blood Of Oblivion" each and every week since its release as a single earlier this year. It is guaranteed a berth on our 2023 year-end countdown show. An act of Congress couldn't keep it out. It's taking a break next week, but we absolutely love it, and it will be back very, very soon.

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: Let's Get Small

Fab musician Johnathan Pushkar is into the Marvel Comics movies, and I think he's also into the comic books that spawned that cinematic universe. Me, too! I identify as more of a DC Comics guy in general--I'm BATMAN!!--but I love DC and Marvel superheroes as much as I love my rockin' pop music. Johnathan's new single "Let's Get Small" provides an opportunity to combine those interests, with an engaging li'l radio-ready ditty in tribute to the latest Marvel cinematic outing, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Pop guys ASSEMBLE!

I go back a long, long way with Ant-Man. The current character (on film and on the comics page) is Scott Lang, but my Ant-Man in the '60s and '70s was Dr. Hank Pym. By the time I first saw the character in 1966, he'd already grown into being Giant-Man, a member of the Mighty Avengers. After my earlier introduction to Marvel with Sub-Mariner and the Incredible Hulk in Tales To Astonish, Giant-Man and his fellow Avengers the Wasp, the Mighty Thor, the Invincible Iron Man, and Captain America represented my second exposure to the Marvel Age of Comics.

This comic book was published in 1965. but I saw it in '66

I'm proud of my passions. At the still-(willfully) immature age of 63, I keep on blasting my music, reading my comic books, and seeing most of the new superhero flicks as they're released. Dig what you dig. 

A few recent purchases at Comix Zone in North Syracuse

Johnathan Pushkar gets it. Those who don't get it are just thinking too small.

GENE PITNEY: Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

COLIN HAY: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

NANCY SINATRA: Wishin' And Hopin'

The results of playlist construction can surprise even the ones who construct 'em. It was a given that a Dusty Springfield track would be part of our Bacharach-David thread. I figured it would be Dusty's version of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"...until I decided some intangible oomphability in ex-Men At Work frontman Colin Hay's rendition suited our needs better.

Right. So! Dusty's "Wishin' And Hopin'," a record I fondly remember from my childhood. Slam dunk choice. Then I heard Nancy Sinatra's version, and really wanted to include that. I wasn't gonna give up on Dusty--no way, no how--so her shimmering performance of "The Look Of Love" became our designated Dusty Bacharach-David.

During the show, we heard from listeners who regard "The Look Of Love" as Dusty's best record, and their favorite rendition of any Bacharach-David gem ever recorded by anyone. See, the playlist takes care of itself. Even when it surprises us.

THE RAMONES: She's The One

The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time. For me, 2023 is the year of the Ramones. Sure, every year is another 1-2-3-4! Ramones year in these quarters, but especially so this year because of my Ramones book. As someone who's spent the last five decades wanting to write books, finally getting my first book published is a pretty big deal. I'm going to try not to be a boor about it, try to rein in my enthusiasm as much as I can, but...yeah, this is a pretty big freakin' deal.

But it was Dana who played the Ramones on this week's show. From the group's fantastic 1978 album Road To Ruin, "She's The One" was described in Bomp! magazine as the Ramones' best-ever fast song. Since the lads weren't especially known for their ballads, that's high praise. And it's another high-octane part of my year of the Ramones.

DIONNE WARWICK: Do You Know The Way To San Jose

We end almost all of our shows with at least one after-the-tag bonus track--WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT! We got a little more This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio!--to spin immediately after Dana and I have signed off for the week. Given our Bacharach-David tribute thread, this week's bonus also needed to be something from that songbook.

My original intent was to use the 5th Dimension's "One Less Bell To Answer" in this spot. As I thought more about it, and knowing that Dionne Warwick was often said to be Bacharach's favorite interpreter of his work, and even though we'd already played her superb rendition of "Walk On By," it felt imperative to end with a Warwick track. 

And it had to be "Do You Know The Way To San Jose." I remember the song from its hit heyday in 1968, which just happened to be the summer I made my first trip to California (a tale told as part of this long narrative of my life in the '60s). The track's sprightly, winning ambiance belies the capitulation expressed in its lyrics. 

Or is it capitulation? Granted, the singer in this story is ditching dreams of stardom in L.A. for a reset in San Jose, presenting a spiritual predecessor to the luckless would-be superstar catching a midnight train to Georgia in the classic '70s hit by Gladys Knight and the Pips. But both Dionne and Gladys see a path to a potential happy ending. There are many ways to succeed. Some of those ways include success on one's own terms.

Do you know the way? It seems that Dionne Warwick did know. Bacharach and David definitely knew. Whether a great big freeway like L.A. or a chance to really breathe in San Jose, Hal David's words teamed with Burt Bacharach's melodies to craft the sound of the American...no, the International Dream.

(I almost included a little snippet of me trying to sing the first verse of "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" before introducing Dionne's record as the way the song is supposed to sound. I thought better of it. I'm certain Dionne would have remained Bacharach's favorite. And rightly so.)

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available for preorder, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 6/15/2021

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous 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 # 1081.

STOECKEL & PEÑA: Why

This new record has been our little secret for quite some time, and we're delighted to now be able to share it with the world. "Why" is the first release by Stoeckel & Peña, as in Steve Stoeckel (of The Spongetones, Pop Co-Op, and Jamie & Steve) and America's Sweetheart Irene Peña. Both were previously among the many fine folks responsible for "Waterloo Sunset," a benefit project credited to TIRnRR Allstars, covering The Kinks to raise money for whatever the hell it is Dana and I do here. 

So yeah, we're BIG fans of Stoeckel & Peña. We've been chompin' at the bit for this chance to spin their wonderful debut single, and its minty-fresh release on the mighty Big Stir Records label brings that glorious chance firmly into the now. Why? Because we like it. We like them. Much more to come from Stoeckel & Peña (in all their diverse pop incarnations) as TIRnRR rolls on. 

The secret's out. 

Spread the word.

And if you don't know "Why," well, you should.

JIM BASNIGHT: Middle Of The Night

This little mutant radio show has a long and proud history of playing Jim Basnight's music. Solo, with The Moberlys, with The Rockinghams...hell, if Jim ever joins forces with the chick who sang "Rescue Me," we'll start playing Fontella Basnight, too. "Middle Of The Night" is Jim's latest, a new single from the above-mentioned Big Stir Records. Of course we played it. It's Jim Basnight. Playing Jim Basnight is what we do.

ARETHA FRANKLIN: Save Me

Why does this lesser-known Aretha Franklin LP track from 1967 appear to be set on a collision course with our year-end countdown? Playlists are built on whatever groove we hear in our heads, regardless of whether or not anyone else can hear it as easily. "Save Me"'s mix of a "Gloria" riff with a casual lyrical reference to "the Caped Crusader, Green Hornet and Kato, too" establishes a groove that compels me to play it. Aretha's will. I am as Aretha made me. 

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS: You've Come A Long Way Baby

Dana and I have established a willingness--an eagerness!--to play records by Josie and the Pussycats. The early '70s cartoon group? The 2001 film version? BOTH! We love both. We have no need for Riverdale or any of that angsty nonsense, but we're good with hearing either of those earlier Josies and their long-tailed (with ears for hats) cohorts.

This week's show included "You've Come A Long Way Baby," a 1970 shoulda-been-smash single by Josie and company. Here's an excerpt from my history of bubblegum music, talking a little bit about that incarnation of Josie, Melody, and Valerie:

"One Saturday morning act that may have deserved a better fate was Josie and the Pussycats. The group is something of a pop culture footnote for introducing the world to one Cherie Moor, later to find fame as actress/singer Cheryl Ladd. Though based on an Archie Comics title, the music for Josie And The Pussycats was produced, not by Don Kirshner, but under the direction of songwriter Danny Janssen, best known for co-writing "Little Woman" for Bobby Sherman. And the sound Janssen chose for Josie and the Pussycats was cast, not in the image of The Archies, but in the soulful pop style of The Jackson Five.

'That was fully the intention of Danny Janssen,' [bubblegum aficionado] Bill Pitzonka says. 'They held auditions for the girls for Josie and the Pussycats and he had selected the three girls. Cheryl Ladd—who wasn't Cheryl Ladd then—Cathy Dougher, and Patrice Holloway. And when he presented them to Hanna-Barbera they said, "Well, we really like Patrice Holloway, but we've never had a black cartoon character before." And he said, "Well, tough," Pitzonka notes with a laugh. "'I won't do the project unless she does it, because she's got the greatest voice for it."

"'So they sat on it for a while and he didn't hear back, and then they said, "Come down to the studio, we're doing Josie and the Pussycats." And (Janssen said), "You didn't fire her, did you? Because I wasn't gonna do it." And they said "No, just come down to the studio." They hired every major soul musician in L.A. to work on those sessions. Because they said, "We're gonna do this right, we are gonna do this right." And that's why there is a black character in Josie and the Pussycats, and why the music has such a soul slant.'"

THE LINDA LINDAS: Never Say Never

No, it's not a cover of Romeo Void's early '80s new wave touchstone of the same title. It's arguably better than that. The Linda Lindas have become the buzz band of 2021, deservedly so, and we're happy to do our little part to participate. "Claudia Kishi" has been our Linda Lindas Pick T' Click so far, but "Never Say Never" is my favorite. For now.

JOHNATHAN PUSHKAR: Junior's Farm

Like Red Bull, Johnathan Pushkar gives you Wings. I never get tired of that line. Everyone else is waaaaay past tired of it, but I never get tired of it. Never mind me; just listen to Johnathan's take on "Junior's Farm," from his brand-new album Compositions. C'mon, it's worth putting up with me if it means you get to hear that.

AMY RIGBY: I Don't Want To Talk About Love No More

Amy Rigby's gotten a lot of TIRnRR airplay over the years, both as a solo act and as a duo with her husband Wreckless Eric. I jumped on her track "Dancing With Joey Ramone" as soon as I heard it--it was one of my first iTunes purchases, and it's flat-out amazing--but the bulk of Amy's spins here have been as Dana's choice. I'm also a fan, mind you, but Dana's usually the one getting Amy Rigby into our playlists.

And lately, Dana's been playing a few tracks from Little Fugitive, the 2005 Amy Rigby album that gave the world "Dancing With Joey Ramone." "Like Rasputin" and "The Trouble With Jeanie" demonstrated that Little Fugitive held more delight beyond the great track I already knew, and this week's spin of the wonderful "I Don't Want To Talk About Love No More" made it obvious that I needed to own my own copy of Little Fugitive.

And now I do. Thank you, Discogs! I betcha I'll be adding more Amy Rigby to my collection soon. Radio's job is to sell records. Even if it's selling records to other DJs.

NANCY SINATRA AND DEAN MARTIN: Things

No, I didn't see it coming either. I'll take SONGS I DIDN"T EXPECT TO HEAR ON TIRnRR THIS WEEK for $1000, Alex.

IRENE PEÑA: Must Have Been Good

The release of Stoeckel & Peña's "Why" prompted us to celebrate Steve 'n' Irene as our Featured Performers this week, threading examples of their fine work throughout the playlist. With that plan in place, we wanted to close with a 1-2 punch of their greatest individual hits. "Must Have Been Good" was our introduction to Irene, a track from her 2017 album Trying Not To Smile. I think we first heard it as a single in 2016, courtesy of my former Goldmine colleague John M. Borack (who plays drums on the track). "Must Have Been Good" also found its way on to our own 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4; its inclusion on TIRnRR # 4 helped to shape the overall feel of that set (a tale told here). Our Irene Peña feature absolutely had to culminate in a spin of "Must Have Been Good."

THE SPONGETONES: (My Girl) Maryanne

There was never any doubt about what song would close out our Steve Stoeckel spotlight. In a decades-long career loaded with oodles and oodles of great moments, The Spongetones' performance of his song "(My Girl) Maryanne" is the single greatest moment.

It is also The Greatest Record Ever Made!

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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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
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