10 SONGS: 1/17/2024

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 # 1216. This show is available as a podcast.

EMPEROR PENGUIN: What's The Worst That Could Happen

There are people--informed people, musician and music fan alike--who believe record labels don't matter. 

We disagree. 

Oh, it's true that a big-box corporate label is useless (or worse) to artists not pullin' in the mega-numbers, and it's also true that independent artists in the 21st century have tools to market themselves directly, tools that did not exist in previous eras. In those contexts, yeah, eff The Man. The artist is better off in those examples without the label.

But a good indie label can provide an invaluable means to getting new music to the right sets of ears. A great indie label can be a true partner to the artist, especially when physical releases are involved. That does matter. It can matter a lot.

One great indie label near 'n' dear to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's heart is Kool Kat Musik, led by the vision of Ray Gianchetti. We're proud to be biased here; Kool Kat released the last three TIRnRR compilations, and our Mr. Ray also did the CD version of fellow great indie label Futureman Records' digital set Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. But both Dana and I were Kool Kat fans long before we were Kool Kat...whatever we are that's more accurate than "artists." We play Kool Kat releases, new and old, nearly every week. Much of that is compelling stuff that might not have gotten to us if it hadn't been pushed our way by this great indie label called Kool Kat. Thanks, Ray!

This week's show includes spins of Kool Kat releases by the Mosquitos and Armchair Oracles, a sneak peek at a near-future Kool Kat release from On The Runway, and it opens with an irresistible track from Emperor Penguin, asking that musical question, "What's The Worst That Could Happen?" That comes to us courtesy of the latest Emperor Penguin album Gentlemen Thieves, and we're delighted to add yet another Kool Kat treat to our own humble Play-Tone Galaxy. Kool Kat's cool by us.

THE WEEKLINGS: None Of Your Business

Speaking of great indie labels, Marty Scott's storied Jem Records imprint was one of my big go-to resources for the grooviest imports and indie releases in the '70s and '80s, when I was a somewhat younger rockin' pop fanatic. Marty's considerable (and HOW!!) experience in the music biz lends an undeniable oomph to his current efforts with Jem's modern incarnation. 

That prerequisite oomph has landed lotsa Jem releases by lotsa Jem stars on lotsa TIRnRR playlists. From the Grip Weeds and the Cynz to the Midnight Callers and the Gold Needles, and certainly including  the superfine tribute compilations in the Jem Records Celebrates series, Jem has been amply represented from week to week on this little mutant radio show. We're very much looking forward to a near-future Jem release from Paul Collins, and to the forthcoming Jem Records Celebrates [redacted]. Thanks, Marty!

Right now, we're commencing airplay of Raspberry Park, the latest from the force of nature that is the Weeklings. ALL HAIL THE WEEKLINGS! We start with this week's spin of the album's first single "None Of Your Business." Marty and his PR Empress Maureen Daye Pietoso have now said GO! to airplay of the rest of the record, and that starts on our next show. 

Jem of the airwaves. It's EVERYbody's business.

BO DIDDLEY: Bo Diddley 1969

BUBBLEGUM BO DIDDLEY! I dig this beyond any rational expectation. For some reason, ol' Bo did not perform this when I saw him on an oldies package tour many years ago. 

Go figure.

And yeah, "Bo Diddley 1969" is barely (if even) a footnote to the mighty Diddley's rockin' c.v. It ain't exactly "Who Do You Love" or "Say Man;" it's not even "Background To A Music." But I like it. Bo Diddley, Bo-Bo-Bo Diddley! 

THE HALF CUBES: Tell Someone You Love Them

When we discuss the great indie labels of today, we have to give much respect to Big Stir Records. Big Stir's Rex Broome and Christina Bulbenko are musicians themselves, transmogrifying dead air into beautiful sounds as the Armoires, and their passion for what they do drives the ongoing success of their label. We play Big Stir on the radio almost every week, with a spin of the latest from the Incurables this week and a new one from the Jack Rubies next time out. Thanks, Rex and Christina!

This week's extravaganza also serves up an as-yet-unreleased treat from Big Stir recording artists the Half Cubes. The Half Cubes include Gary Frenay and Tommy Allen (two of the founding members of Big Stir recording artists the Flashcubes), working with talents like Fernando Perdomo and Randy Klawon on a mind-blowing array of accomplished covers. One hopes there'll be an album someday.

Meanwhile, this Half Cubes cover of "Tell Someone You Love Them" (previously done by none other than Dino, Desi and Billy) is just stellar. Lead vocal duties here fall to Rob Bonfiglio, who is married to Carnie Wilson and plays in his father-in-law Brian Wilson's band. Good vibrations! And another fantastic track from the Half Cubes.

ROCKY BURNETTE: Tired Of Toein' The Line

I made a mistake on the radio this week. Yes, the AGAIN!! is a given. Dana played Rocky Burnette's "Tired Of Toein' The Line," one-third of an in-set series of Dana's picks by Rocky's brother Billy Burnette ("Oh, Susan") and their daddy Johnny Burnette with his Rock 'n' Roll Trio ("Train Kept A-Rollin'). I mentioned how I disliked Rocky's "Tired Of Toein' The Line" at the time of its hit reign when I was in high school, but that I'm more'n okay with it now.

WRONG!

Not the part about dislike evolving to like; that's accurate. But I graduated from high school in 1977; "Tired Of Toein' The Line" was a hit in 1980, the year I graduated from college. See, I messed up my own timeline. I can't even toe that line, man. I blame my advanced age.

DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars?

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

ARMCHAIR ORACLES: Nilsson Wilson

A song that references Harry Nilsson and the Beach Boys? Jeez, talk about pandering to the TIRnRR demo. We approve! From Armchair Oracles' new Kool Kat Musik album Nothingeveris. Thanks AGAIN, Ray!

MILLIE SMALL: Killer Joe

As much as I love Millie Small's lone American hit "My Boy Lollipop," I sometimes wonder if little Miss Bluebeat's greatest track might actually be her vibrant cover of the Rocky Fellers' "Killer Joe." Millie flips the POV of the original, changing the narrative voice of a boy fuming helplessly as his crush Marie dances with the fierce and fearsome Killer Joe to that of a chick fretting as her guy Killer Joe frugs and frolics with that obviously hinge-heeled hussy Marie. As I've said before: It's Rashomon with a beat!

THE FLASHCUBES: You For Me

Little-known fact: The Flashcubes' collaboration with Big Stir grew from seeds planted when the 'Cubes were promoting their self-released live-in-1979 album Flashcubes On Fire. That album came out in 2022, and during the run-up to its release we thought maybe one of its incendiary cuts could be a good candidate for Big Stir's digital single series. Little did we know where that would lead! The road to 2023's magnificent Pop Masters album mixed its paving material and paid off its state inspectors right here.

The Flashcubes On Fire track "You For Me" was written by guitarist Paul Armstrong, and this live version is its only released incarnation. A demo exists, but it can't compare to the fire heard here, with the Flashcubes' other guitarist Arty Lenin playin' his twelve-string just like ringin' a bell, Arty and bassist Gary boppin' in together for a combined vocal hook that conveys a bended knee and a fist in the air, drummer Tommy channeling Keith Moon and every mooned-over face that ever graced a Tiger Beat magazine lead feature, and Paul himself testifying with as flat-out, full-on, unabashed POP a thing as he's ever done. Underrated tune, even among 'Cubes fans.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

Also The Greatest Record Ever Made! It isn't in that book, but it is in this book.

And as I say every year on this date: Don't want to. Won't need to. Ain't gonna.

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 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: 11/4/2021

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 # 1101.

DOLPH CHANEY: This Halloween

Even though this week's show fell on October 31st, I wasn't all that interested in playing many Halloween songs. I'm not opposed to Halloween at all, but nowadays I'm largely (and benignly) indifferent to its celebration. I buy candy to give out to the few kids who ring my doorbell, and I do still dig that part of Halloween; but, with one exception (which we'll get to in a couple of paragraphs), I didn't care to program much in the way of All Hallows' Eve tunes this year. There would be no Monster Mashing in this show.

However, we certainly couldn't pass up an opportunity to play a new gem from TIRnRR hitmaker Dolph Chaney. Dolph's new Big Stir Records digital single "This Halloween" was the precise no-trick treat we needed to kick off a quick three-song half-set of Halloween songs. And that led into the one Halloween track I will never, ever tire of hearing....

BARON DAEMON AND THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist

The Greatest Record Ever Made! Grab a hold of your baby, and hold her tight.

SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS: I Put A Spell On You

Other than the above classic by the Baron and his Bloody Buddies, there aren't a lot of songs I'm moved to play for Halloween. I could make a case for the Lollipop Shoppe's incredible '60s side "You Must Be A Witch," or Tegan and Sara's irresistible "Walking With A Ghost," and I guess a number of tracks by KISS or Alice Cooper would qualify by default. There are a few other viable choices, but I've gotta give it up for Dana's selection of "I Put A Spell On You" by the maniacal Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Man, this is great stuff, and it's a track I don't think I've appreciated as much as I shoulda in previous spins. Something about it clicked for me this year like never before. Because you're MINE...! BWAAH-HA-HA-HAAAA! 

THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: Hush

One Sunday a few weeks back, two shows here on the mighty SPARK! Syracuse--This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and Rich Firestone's Radio Deer Camp (the latter heard every Sunday from 5 to 7 pm Eastern at your familiar http://sparksyracuse.org/)--both played different tracks from the Cocktail Slippers' new album Shout It Out Loud!  TIRnRR opted for "Be The One," and Reechie played the group's cover of the Billy Joe Royal/Deep Purple perennial "Hush." This week, we got around to playin "Hush." Your move, Reechie!

(Or not. Rich programs his show just fine without our input.)

LEE HARRINGTON AND LYNDA MANDOLIN: Sweet Child

Generally speaking, any Red On Red Records single is pretty damned likely to get at least one spin on TIRnRR. Among the label's releases so far, just about all of them have been prime examples of radio-ready rockin' pop, and the only reason we don't play more of them more often is because we only have a three-hour radio show. I'm thinking we should do a Red On Red feature on some future show, similar to a Big Stir Records feature we did earlier this year, and I'm waiting for one specific Red On Red release before we look into doing that. In the mean time: MORE RED ON RED! Lee Harrington and Lynda Mandolin's "Sweet Child" maintains Red On Red's above-cited string o' radio-ready reliables, and so does a new single by the Chelsea Curve that we'll be hearing on next week's show. We're all ready for more Red On Red.

KID GULLIVER: You'll Never Know

Speaking of Red On Red, Kid Gulliver's Kismet was the label's first full-length album release, and (I think) the first Red On Red physical media product. HuzZAH! Of course I bought it; I'm a fan! We've played a number of Kismet's tracks as digital singles--"Forget About Him" has earned particular distinction as an all-time TIRnRR Fave Rave--and now we add "You'll Never Know" to our Kid Gulliver parade of hits.

THE MONKEES: Love To Love

In 1967, when the members of the Monkees tried to assert some measure of control and/or participation in the making of records that bore their brand name, golden-eared (but shortsighted) musical supervisor Don Kirshner resisted the change. Seeking to maintain his preferred status quo, Kirshner snuck Davy Jones into the studio to record lead vocals for a trio of tracks prepared the old-fashioned way: Kirshner-controlled, with the Monkees only singing and never frickin' playing, ever. Two of the tracks, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "She Hangs Out," were issued as a single in Canada, an action that infuriated higher-ups in the Monkee machinery and resulted in Kirshner being shown the door into summer instead.

The Canadian single was withdrawn, and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" was issued as a U.S. 45, paired with a track sung and played by the Monkees, a Michael Nesmith song called "The Girl I Knew Somewhere." The Monkees later remade "She Hangs Out" for their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. 

"Love To Love" was the third of those three final Kirshner tracks, and it remained in the vault for more than a decade. It first surfaced (in lo-fi form) on an Australian compilation called Monkeemania around 1979, and it was subsequently exhumed by Rhino Records in better-sounding state for some Monkees repackages. Like "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," and like earlier Monkees releases "I'm A Believer" and "(Look Out) Here Comes Tomorrow," "Love To Love" was written by Neil Diamond. It was remixed and tweaked (with new backing vocals by Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork) for the Monkees' triumphant 2016 album Good Times! No offense to "I'm A Believer," but "Love To Love" is my favorite Monkees performance of a Neil Diamond song, and possibly my single favorite Davy Jones vocal.  

MANDY MOORE: I Could Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week

Although my daughter was a Radio Disney listener in the Y2K decade, and I heard my share of Britney Spears and the like because of that, I completely missed Mandy Moore's teen pop offerings. Which is just as well, since it turned out that I didn't like 'em anyway. I do recall sampling (and buying) Moore's versions of XTC's "Senses Working Overtime" and Joan Armatrading's "Drop The Pilot," prompted by my friend John Borack's recommendation of her 2003 covers album Coverage. The production on Coverage is too slick for my taste, but Moore's performances are good, and you can see some stripped-down live performances on YouTube that provide a better showcase of her talent (and a glimpse of what the album could have been).

Her 2009 album Amanda Leigh gave us "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week," a perfect pop song co-written by Moore and the Candy Butchers' Mike Viola (the voice of the Wonders!). My wife and I recently started watching the TV series This Is Us for the first time, bingeing episodes from the first and second seasons (and counting); Moore is one of the ensemble drama's co-stars, and that was sufficient motivation for "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week" to make its return to the TIRnRR playlist.

QUINT: Good Morning London

We're gonna need a bigger boat. Our pal Robbie Rist didn't realize we've played his ace British punk pastiche "Good Morning London" a time or three on TIRnRR. But we have, and rightly so. Recorded under the nom du chomp Quint for the epic Sharknado film franchise, "Good Morning London" is...well, I was gonna say it's Jawsome, but that would be beneath even my lenient humor standards. Nonetheless, the song fits (wait for it!) swimmingly with whatever the hell it is we do on this show, so of course we played it again. Can't resist a sequel, right?

MILLIE SMALL: Killer Joe

Like "The Transylvania Twist," the great Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" is slated for individual attention in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). In prepping to write that chapter, I figured I oughtta immerse myself in a little more of Small's work, so I snagged a nice 2-CD set called The Best Of Millie Small. One of its highlights is our Millie's take on the Rocky Fellers's "Killer Joe," flipping the gender POV from the original's fretting about his girl Marie dancing with that lothario Killer Joe to Millie Small lamenting as her guy Joe trips the light fantastic with that tramp Marie. It's Roshomon with a beat! Listen, kids: just ditch faithless Joe and Marie, and try a dance with each other instead. Hmmm. Wonder if Marie's boy might be named "Lollipop."

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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.