10 SONGS (1200th Show Edition): 9/29/2023

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 # 1200. This show is available as a podcast.

THE STALLIONS: Why

We subtitled this week's blowout 1200th show as "Some Fave Raves From Our First 1199." Milestone shows present the challenge of trying to figure out which among many, many key tracks we wanna spin as representation of whatever the hell it is we do. But the result is always invigmoratin', and even though we had to omit a ton of epic greatness, I think this is one of the best milestone playlists we've done; and over the course of 1200 efforts, we've hit upon some pretty good ones along the way.

I determined weeks ago that I wanted to open this 1200th show with "Why," a cover of a '60s nugget originally done by an obscure group called the Dirty Wurds. The Pandoras covered "Why" in the '80s, but a version recorded in the '90s by NYC punk combo the Stallions just friggin' rules in all its chaotic splendor. For a very long time, the Stallions'"Why" was the all-time most-played track on TIRnRR, almost entirely on the strength of how often we played it in our first few years on the air. Big Star's "September Gurls" snatched the most-played title away from the Stallions quite some time ago, but "Why" is still an integral part of this show's DNA (even though we don't play it much anymore).

I used to introduce this song with a scream, a silly move that maybe two of our fans liked and half of our DJ team abhorred. But I tried to introduce it again in that rambunctious manner for this special show: It's not just any song! It's not just any band! It's...THE STALLIONS WITH "WHY"ON SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK!!!!!!!

Tried it. Recorded it that way. It was...almost adequate, but not quite. I can't do the scream anymore, so I redid it without the scream. Time waits for no one, Stallion or otherwise. Ours is not to reason....

MANNIX: Highway Lines

When I opened with "Why," Dana immediately followed it with "Highway Lines" by Mannix. Good choice. After two years with the Stallions at the top of our season-ending countdowns, this track from Mannix's album Come To California was our # 1 track in 2001, and it has been a TIRnRR staple ever since. Even more than "Why" or "September Gurls," I regard "Highway Lines" as the single defining track of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. It later appeared on our compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3, and it will have a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

Another saga 'bout another love gone wrong

And the DJ knows what I'm goin' through

In "Highway Lines," the radio playing in the car serves as sympathetic companion to our lovelorn hero as he drives across the country to make one last stand to salvage a doomed relationship. For TIRnRR # 1200, "Highway Lines" seemed like an ideal lead-in to Laurie Biagini's "Hey Mr. DJ." 

LAURIE BIAGINI: Hey Mr. DJ

Hey Mr. DJ, play me a song

As much as we've loved pret' near everything Laurie has crafted over the years, "Hey Mr. DJ" stands at the pinnacle. We realize it's not about us--the song's titular DJ is Laurie's beacon on a Saturday night, the evening before our own declaration that the weekend stops here--but man, it resonates in a way that's just magic to anyone who ever loved the radio. The track was on her 2022 album Stranger In The Mirror; when we started putting together This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 last year, "Hey Mr. DJ" was the only thing we considered for that compilation's opening track. It initiates TIRnRR Volume 5's girl-and-boy song cycle (an idea that was a sort-of reimagining of this song cycle). "Hey Mr. DJ" is absolutely essential to the concept for TIRnRR Volume 5. 

Hey Mr. DJ; play us some songs.

THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

For three years in a row--2009 through 2011--we undertook three year-long gimmicks on the show. And when I say we, I mean me. Dana's not really one for the gimmicks. Our first gimmick was The 50 KISS Strategy, a straightforward vow to play 50 different KISS tracks within a single calendar year. The following year offered the expanded ambition of The Hundred Hollies Initiative, with a vicious penalty for failure: if we didn't accomplish our goal of playing 100 different Hollies tracks before the year was up, we would have to play Bob Seger's awful "Old Time Rock & Roll" as penance.

Our audience shuddered. Cringed. We played 101 Hollies tracks, just to be sure. Crisis averted!

And 2011 brought us 301 Songs About 301 Girls, an effort to program 301 songs with a girl's name in each title. It started with a goal of 200 songs, grew to 300, and then I added one more because Dana played a 300th qualifying track before I could get to my intended 300th, "Christi Girl" by the Flashcubes. Dana may not be one for gimmicks, but he knows what records to play. 301 Songs About 301 Girls was a lot of fun, and it received the best sustained reaction of any crazy scheme we've ever executed. 

And the scheme started with Girl # 1: Sheena. AKA: The record that changed my life, performed by the American Beatles, the greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time, the Ramones. I could write a book about 'em. New York City really has it all.

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

Although we play a lot of new music nearly every week, a 1200th show should be about legacy. We determined that this week's playlist should only include tracks that accrued some previous TIRnRR airplay. We'll start to address the growing backlog of brand-new releases on our next show. On to # 1201!

But nor did we want to only play older tracks. So this week, in addition to some of the relatively recent individual gems that have already established themselves among our Fave Raves (treats by Kid Gulliver, the Linda Lindas, Dolph Chaney, Circe Link and Christian Nesmith, the Brothers Steve, Pop Co-Op, the Half Cubes, Harmonic Dirt, and the Gold Needles), some of our designated legacy acts are represented by pure gold from the 2020s rather than from previous decades. The Grip Weeds are here with "Lady Friend" instead of "Every Minute," Kelley Ryan with "The Church Of Laundry" instead of something by her old rockin' pop DBA astroPuppees, etc. If we'd gotten around to playing the Catholic Girls, it woulda been their current single "Hear My Prayer" in place of "Someone New" or "Should Have Been Mine."

A track from Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes should be considered a given for any TIRnRR milestone. Hell, the 'Cubes are a given for us on most weeks. The Flashcubes have classic tracks from their original run in the '70s, reunion tracks from the '90s, and a treasure trove of fresh goodies since the dawn of this 21st century. They even wrote and recorded a song about us, a track which led off This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1 in 2005.

The Flashcubes have a new album out, an all-covers set called Pop Masters. It will surprise absolutely no one to hear that it's my top album of 2023. Its current single is an ace cover of the Motors' "Forget About You." 

For our 1200th show, we played that one. Legacy grows. Don't forget to smile everybody! It's the Flashcubes.

TIRnRR ALLSTARS: Waterloo Sunset

TIRnRR first went on the air on December 27th, 1998. You can read up on our weird history here, from the first Dana & Carl radio series We're Your Friends For Now in 1992 through the various limited projects that occupied us during the bulk of the '90s, the debut of TIRnRR, and hijinks that ensued thereafter.

As TIRnRR approaches its 25th anniversary, our stubborn refusal to just go away already is enabled, at least in part, by our seamless mimicry of both Blanche DuBois and Billy Shears: we have always relied on the kindness of strangers, and we get by with a little help from our friends.

This strange kindness and friendly help saved the show (and the station itself) when we were all about to be kicked to the curb at the end of 2006. I'm not exaggerating; we were done, kaput, bereft of life, breathing our last gasps, about to transition from -ing to -ed. Our supporters dictated otherwise. Earlier this year, America's Sweetheart Irene Peña invited us to an interview on her Twitch channel, Irene Peña Music, and then surprised us by presenting a donation on behalf of Irene herself and a number of our other talented pals; you see that moment here. We are blessed with kind, strange, helpful friends.

Another example of this is the 2019 release Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Available as a Futureman Records digital download or a Kool Kat Musik CD, Waterloo Sunset collects tracks by the Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Vegas With Randolph, Pop Co-Op, Michael Slawter, Gretchen's Wheel, the Grip Weeds, the Armoires, the Anderson Council, Pacific Soul Ltd., and Ms. Irene Peña. It was assembled in secret, and presented to us as a fait accompli. I added liner notes (already stressing the Blanche DuBois angle), but otherwise? We had nothing to do with it. It was all the work of our friends. All of it.

The compilation is toplined by a fresh cover of the Kinks' sublime "Waterloo Sunset," performed by TIRnRR Allstars. Our assembled avengers include all of Pop Co-Op--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon (the track's studio wunderkind), Joel Tinnel, and Stacy Carson--plus Keith Klingensmith (who masterminded the project), Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Rich Firestone, and, of course, Irene Peña. The Allstars deliver a stunning rendition of a much-loved classic, and we continue to play it with some frequency. It certainly had to be a part of our 1200th show.

1200 shows. See our friends? They got us here. And as long as we gaze on all of this, all of this...

...we are in paradise.

THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ?

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

We still ain't playin' "Old Time Rock & Roll."

THE POPTARTS: I Won't Let You Let Me Go

The very first song played on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1, December 27, 1998. It wouldn't have been a proper 1200th show without a spin of the Poptarts.

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

Maybe it will be, Brother Eytan. Maybe it will.

CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land

Is there a promised land? I don't know. But Chuck Berry wrote and recorded an irresistible song about that prospect, that possibility. We may as well keep headin' on down that road. Here's to the promise. Here's to the road that brought us this far. Here's to what we hope we'll find if we get to wherever it is we're going. Tell the folks back home: Dana & Carl are on the line.

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, 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: 3/17/2023

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 # 1172, the countdown of the 56 most-played tracks from our This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums. This show is available as a podcast.

THE SMITHEREENS: Got Me A Girl [Volume 4]

One of the many, many services provided to you by This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl was the act of returning the Smithereens' "Got Me A Girl" to retail.

You're welcome.

"Got Me A Girl" originally appeared on the Smithereens' first-ever release, 1980's Girls About Town EP. Since then, it was effectively out of print until we secured permission to use it on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. We weren't able to include it on the album's digital version, so until the Girls About Town tracks see some sort of (long-overdue) reissue elsewhere, our Volume 4 CD is the only place to find it outside of the original vinyl.

We aims t'please. Get it?

JUSTINE AND THE UNCLEAN: Vengeance [Volume 5]

We are insanely--and justifiably!--proud of each 'n' every one of our TIRnRR compilations. Sure, we're as humility-challenged as they come, but I don't think this is mere hubris talkin' here. The first two volumes are very good, and we really started hitting our stride with Volume 3, as Kool Kat Musik gave us free reign to wreak whatever havoc hadda be wrought. The albums have gotten even better as we went on. Yeah, that means 2022's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 was our best, and I'll put that one up against any pop compilation ever done by anybody. If we never do another TIRnRR album, we will have gone out on the highest note possible.

That said, Volume 5 didn't have great representation in this week's countdown of our most-played TIRnRR compilation tracks. A mere four--FOUR!--Volume 5 tracks have accrued enough spins over the years to make this Top 56. But we'll be playing them for years yet to come.

Justine and the Unclean's Volume 5 contribution "Vengeance" has become a TIRnRR Fave Rave, initially as a single from Rum Bar Records, subsequently as part of our ongoing fealty to Justine Covault's own Red On Red Records label, and of course as one of the many highlights on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. Sweet cookie! "Vengeance" remains its own reward.

RONNIE DARK: Sarah [Volume 3]

Ronnie Dark, host of The Wax Museum With Ronnie Dark Sunday nights on Syracuse's WSIV, is a musician and DJ whose own rock 'n' roll interests kinda jibe with those of your Dana and your Carl. Ronnie's song "Sarah" is such a delightful, sorta bubblegummy pop confection, and it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Ronnie's all-time favorite group Paul Revere and the Raiders performing "Sarah" circa "Cinderella Sunshine" or "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon." Catchy as anything ever.

TIRnRR ALL-STARS: Waterloo Sunset [Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio]

We have the best supporters a little mutant radio show could ever want. In 2019, some of those friends got together to organize a surprise compilation album to benefit TIRnRR. They gathered some stellar tracks and assembled 'em on our behalf, and toplined the collection with a new collaborative cover of one of THE greatest pop songs of all time. Let's look back at my blurb announcing the project:

"This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl has friends. A lot of our friends have a lot of talent. Now, some of those friends are putting their talent to use to help us out.

"It's no secret that TIRnRR has always teetered on the brink of oblivion, perpetually cash-strapped but buoyed by the support of our listeners. To raise some much-needed money for our ongoing radio crusade, Steve Stoeckel of the legendary pop group the Spongetones concocted a plan: round up some of his (and our) musical super-friends to record and release a new track, with all proceeds going to benefit Syracuse Community Radio/SPARK!, the community radio station that lets Dana and I take over the airwaves for three hours every Sunday night. Radio's job is to sell records. Now, a record would sell radio!

"So out went the call, to one and to all, and Steve assembled his own power pop Avengers. He started with his bandmates in Pop Co-Op (Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, and Stacy Carson), then roped in Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, Dan Pavelich, and Rich Firestone to form his Magnificent Ten. And they pooled their super powers to craft a brand-new cover of The Greatest Record Ever Made.

"'The Greatest Record Ever Made' has been a long-standing fixture on TIRnRR. An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. We've played a lot of worthy GREM candidates over the years, and I'm writing a book about some of them. But only one Greatest Record Ever Made could be the right GREM for these TIR'N'RR Allstars, a bridge over a dirty old river, rolling into the night.

"Yeah. It had to be a song by TIRnRR's House Band. It had to be the Kinks. It had to be 'Waterloo Sunset.'

"And furthermore: in such capable pop hands, it had to be magnificent. And it is...."

Thank you again, friends. We are in paradise.

THE BLONDES: Suzi Quatro [Volume 2]

As great as this track from the Blondes' Swedish Heat album is, "Suzi Quatro" was not the Blondes track originally proposed for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 2. Jeremy Morris, whose JAM Recordings label put out our first two compilations, suggested we use "I Just Wanna Stay At Home." That's a simply fantastic track, and it woulda been right at home on a TIRnRR collection. But...c'mon! We had an alternate choice, a chance to go with an invigmoratin' number named after my # 1 teenage rock 'n' roll crush. What do you think we did? 

I say thee DUH.

THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me [Volume 2]

Yeah, the Cowsills gave us permission to use one of their very best tracks on a TIRnRR compilation. What have you accomplished lately?

The track in question is "She Said To Me," originally heard on the Cowsills' fabulous, fabulous 1998 album Global. As noted several paragraphs north: an infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. And they're records, so taking turns is what they do. "She Said To Me" earns a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"...As a band, the Cowsills were originally a trio, and then a quartet: guitarists Bill and Bob, and original drummer Barry, who switched to bass when youngest brother John joined and took his place at the drum kit. Brother Paul, sister Susan, and mother Barbara joined in 1967. Brother Richard was never a member of the band.

"The group's story is filled with highs and lows, triumph and tragedy. Many recall the Cowsills fondly, while many others are too quick to dismiss them outright. Because of their perceived clean image? Because of The Partridge Family? Because the music wasn't sufficiently heavy? Lord, if you can't see past all of that and sense the innate talent in play, I can only implore you to just listen. Beyond the ungodly hoops their taskmaster father Bud forced them to navigate, beyond the dichotomy of milk-drinking photo shoots and the usual vices one would expect a young rock 'n' roll band to encounter--Bud kicked his own son Bill out of the band after discovering the latter enjoying a joint--and beyond any other nonsense, real or imagined, there remain these simple facts: the Cowsills could play, and the Cowsills could sing. Nothing could take that away from them, for as long as they drew breath.

"You know some of the Cowsills' history. And I hope you know about the music the Cowsills recorded in the '90s. If you don't know about that stuff, man, I hope you remedy that situation soon.

"Why? Because the Cowsills' Global may well be the best album of the '90s. And if it's not, I can't think of what else could be. Decades later, I continue to be annoyed that no major label would deign to release this wonderful record...

"...'She Said To Me' is the pinnacle. Bob Cowsill once told me something to the effect that Susan sings the hell out of this one. He ain't wrong. Everything connects on this track, from John's propulsive drumming, Paul's keys, and Bob's guitar and bass through deputy Cowsill Bobby Gianetti's lead guitar and the magic, magic Cowsills harmonies. And Susan, singing the hell out of it, as she was ably capable of doing... 

"...There is a magic point in art, in creation, where our pain becomes redemption, our sorrow turns to strength, our devastating losses flow like a river into our determination to endure. The Cowsills family has had to withstand so much loss, including the deaths of brothers Bill, Barry, and Richard. And still their music sounds so uplifting, so...right. Voices join. Harmony heals. A family band. God bless this family and their band."

HELLO HELEN: Fall's Far Away [Volume 1]

Unsung Swedish superstars! It bugs me that hardly anyone knows about Hello Helen, a terrific pop combo whose beguiling self-released album Greetings From Sweden remains too obscure to even rate a listing on discogs.com. The fact that the members of Hello Helen regarded airplay on our little weekly dog and pony show as a career highlight tells you all you need to know about how under-appreciated this group is. We included "Fall's Far Away" on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1, but it's far from the only great-great-great-great-GREAT!! track on Greetings From Sweden. Track this down if you can. Hell, if you own a record label, track Hello Helen down if you can, and reissue this lost pop gem. Let's make these unsung Swedish superstars, y'know...sung.

THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise [Volume 4]

Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse. Regular readers of this blog and listeners of this radio show have probably gotten hip to the fact that I dig the Flashcubes. "No Promise" gets a chapter in The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), and I wrote specifically about its inclusion on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 right here. The 'Cubes also rate a couple of mentions in my forthcoming Ramones book, and I'll have more to say about them later this year.

That's a promise.

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year [Volume 5]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MANNIX: Highway Lines [Volume 3]

I woulda been absolutely shocked if our # 1 most-played TIRnRR compilation track was anything other than "Highway Lines" by Mannix. "Highway Lines" was our most-played track in 2001, and it's never been very far from our playlists since then. The track simmers and burns with the intensity of a relationship making its doomed last stand, and its lyrical dovetailing of passion pursued and deferred with the radio serving as companion and confidante make it a natural pick for whatever the hell it is we do on our show.

Radio and our deepest, most personal  longings. Here's a bit from the Mannix chapter in The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"There are times when the songs on the radio seem to know us better than we know ourselves. That's why we still need the radio.

"Started seein' double, but no time to check the trouble
I see two of him kissin' two of you
Another saga 'bout another love gone wrong
And the DJ knows what I'm goin' though

"How much can it mean to spin a few records on the radio every Sunday night?

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll tell you that the opportunity to share a passion for pop music means a lot to me. That appeal is part of the reason why I first wanted to write about rockin' pop music decades ago as a teen in the '70s. Wait, wait--"write about rockin' pop music?" No. I wanted to write on behalf of rockin' pop music, to serve an agenda, to spread a freakin' Gospel of jangle and buzz, hooks, harmonies, guitar, bass, drums, heart and soul, verse and chorus, amplified sounds, life itself played to the rhythm of a tambourine. I wanted to tell people about the music I liked. I figured there had to be someone else out there that liked it, too...

"...The same need to share this passion led me to radio. There was never, ever any place for me in commercial radio. I didn't want to play what someone else told me to play; I knew what records needed to be played. In the '80s, I met a friend named Dana who also knew what records needed to be played. Together, we invented a format. It's nominally a power pop format, but it isn't really that. It's not any strict format defined from the outside. The format is called This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. 

"We spin a few records every Sunday night. We spin old tunes and new tunes, stuff you know, stuff you might not know. How much can it mean to spin a few records on the radio every Sunday night? To me, man, it means more than words can say...

"...I'm a fan of Mannix. Dana had the group's 2001 concept album Come To California, and I first heard 'Highway Lines' at the same time that our listeners first heard it. I was blown away. That feeling again. Listening to Joe Mannix sing of driving across the country, his engine crying and his tranny dying, passing Delaware, Baltimore and Philadelphia in a last-ditch desperation play to salvage an already-lost love, the radio his only friend...man, it's like 'Radar Love' given depth and heartbreak. 

"Yes I got your letter
And I guess you thought it better
Just to tell me there was another one
But I can't make a stand
With a pen or phone in hand
So baby here I come
Highway lines
Gonna get me back home to you
Highway lines
Gonna have to get me through tonight

"This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio listeners loved it, and they still do. The radio's on, with another saga 'bout another love gone wrong. Joe Mannix says the DJ knows what he's going through. We say Mannix knows what we're going through. How much can that mean? Everything. 

"Listen."

Oh, and speaking of those TIRnRR compilations: GET 'EM ALL!!!

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

***And NOW AVAILABLE! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5!***

CD or download

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

POP-A-LOOZA: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Mannix, "Highway Lines"

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is another chapter in the amazing adventures of The Greatest Record Ever Made!, celebrating the song "Highway Lines" by Mannix.

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Another saga 'bout another love gone wrong, and the DJ knows what I'm goin' through. This chapter about Mannix's "Highway Lines" will appear in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). And--SPOILER ALERT!!--there's a better'n decent chance you'll hear the song on the radio this Sunday night, provided you join us for our barnbustin' extravaganza observance of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1100.

TIRnRR # 1100 explodes into the airwaves and cyberspace this Sunday night, October 24th, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, http://sparksyracuse.org/ And a Greatest Record Ever Made! acknowledgement of an all-time TIRnRR fave rave by Mannix serves as the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

No, not THAT Mannix. Pay attention, people.

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You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: Highway Lines

This will eventually appear as a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). If that becomes a book. Some day

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

MANNIX: Highway Lines

Written by Joe Mannix
Produced by Caleb Southern
From the album Come To California, mannixrock.com, 2001

Hitting 95 and I'm feelin' half-alive
But I had to get things straight again
My engine's cryin' and my tranny she is dyin'
And the radio is my only friend

There are times when the songs on the radio seem to know us better than we know ourselves. That's why we still need the radio.

Started seein' double, but no time to check the trouble
I see two of him kissin' two of you
Another saga 'bout another love gone wrong
And the DJ knows what I'm goin' though

How much can it mean to spin a few records on the radio every Sunday night?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll tell you that the opportunity to share a passion for pop music means a lot to me. That appeal is part of the reason why I first wanted to write about rockin' pop music decades ago as a teen in the '70s. Wait, wait--"write about rockin' pop music?" No. I wanted to write on behalf of rockin' pop music, to serve an agenda, to spread a freakin' Gospel of jangle and buzz, hooks, harmonies, guitar, bass, drums, heart and soul, verse and chorus, amplified sounds, life itself played to the rhythm of a tambourine. I wanted to tell people about the music I liked. I figured there had to be someone else out there that liked it, too.

So I wrote. I wrote in my high school newspaper. I wrote unsold, unpublished articles for magazines, failed submissions to CREEM, unfinished notions intended for Trouser Press. Later, I wrote reviews and articles and interviews that I sold to Goldmine, The Syracuse New Times, DISCoveries, and a handful of others. I wrote liner notes. I wrote pieces published in books. I wrote letters. I wrote internet posts. I testified. And it was true.

The same need to share this passion led me to radio. There was never, ever any place for me in commercial radio. I didn't want to play what someone else told me to play; I knew what records needed to be played. In the '80s, I met a friend named Dana who also knew what records needed to be played. Together, we invented a format. It's nominally a power pop format, but it isn't really that. It's not any strict format defined from the outside. The format is called This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. 

We spin a few records every Sunday night. We spin old tunes and new tunes, stuff you know, stuff you might not know. How much can it mean to spin a few records on the radio every Sunday night? To me, man, it means more than words can say. 

Mannix's "Highway Lines" is probably the most obscure song discussed in this book. It's less heralded even in comparison to a local Syracuse hit single like Baron Daemon's "The Transylvania Twist," or the occasional cult act or lesser-known gem exalted elsewhere within these pages. Hell, even my favorite why-ain't-these-guys-stars?! underdog combo the Flashcubes have at least received some positive ink somewhere. But Mannix? Many of you don't know Mannix at all. But by God, you should.

When a song hits us--really hits us--on first exposure, it doesn't make a damned bit of palpable difference if the song goes on to be a # 1 smash that everybody loves, or if it remains a cherished secret that never reaches the ears of the many. We react in the moment. I felt that immediate sensation of delighted discovery when I first heard "Five O'Clock World" by the Vogues, a # 4 hit in 1965 (thought I didn't know the record until 1977; any record you ain't heard before is a new record). I felt it again when I first heard "Empty Hangers" by Anny Celsi, a fantastic record from 2003 that has never commandeered space on any Billboard chart (though it absolutely should have). Most music fans know the feeling quite well, and quite often. That's why we're fans.

I'm a fan of Mannix. Dana had the group's 2001 concept album Come To California, and I first heard "Highway Lines" at the same time that our listeners first heard it. I was blown away. That feeling again. Listening to Joe Mannix sing of driving across the country, his engine crying and his tranny dying, passing Delaware, Baltimore and Philadelphia in a last-ditch desperation play to salvage an already-lost love, the radio his only friend...man, it's like "Radar Love" given depth and heartbreak. 

Yes I got your letter
And I guess you thought it better
Just to tell me there was another one
But I can't make a stand
With a pen or phone in hand
So baby here I come
Highway lines
Gonna get me back home to you
Highway lines
Gonna have to get me through tonight

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio listeners loved it, and they still do. The radio's on, with another saga 'bout another love gone wrong. Joe Mannix says the DJ knows what he's going through. We say Mannix knows what we're going through. How much can that mean? Everything. Listen.

(Oh, and Joe Mannix is no relation to the TV detective played by actor Mike Connors. Or so we've been lead to believe.)

That other Joe Mannix

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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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.