10 SONGS: 1/17/2026

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 # 1319

THE BARRACUDAS: I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again

I love 1965. I regard '65 as pop music's best year ever: The best stuff was popular and the popular stuff was best. I don't actually wish it could be 1965 again--if nothing else, I'd rather consume hemlock or even Diet Pepsi than have to relive the random tsuris experienced over the course of six subsequent decades--but certainly the miserable state of current events feeds a longing for a return to better times.

Nostalgia is tricky. Still, as long as we're able to recognize that rose-colored glasses (and, I guess, rose-filtered headphones) can taint the accuracy of what we think we remember, recollections of cherished moments lend strength and conviction to steps we take on the path before us. Catch us if you can.

Moving ahead on the ol' timeline, Drop Out With The Barracudas was and remains my favorite album of the 1980s. The album's own sense of nostalgia is tempered by snark and self-awareness, a fun-in-the-sun jaunt that understands mortality and impermanence yet chooses to barrel through anyway, whether by stubborn determination or death wish. The album closes with "I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again," a full-throttle evocation of the legend (or myth) of my favorite year.

From the dystopian POV of our far-future world of 2026, Drop Out With The Barracudas is considerably farther away in time than 1965 was from the album's release in 1981. The legend perseveres. Drop out? Fall in. Those who forget the past are condemned to the Orwellian all-of-this of all of...this. We can do better. Doing better starts with a wish.

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

From a previous 10 Songs, celebrating this eventual addition to the annals of The Greatest Record Ever Made!:

"I remember hearing Rihanna's hit 'Umbrella' in 2007, and not being especially taken with it. In 2008, the updated version of her Good Girl Gone Bad (Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) landed into my consciousness via my then-teen daughter, whose interest in 'Take A Bow' and 'Disturbia' brought those songs to my attention as well. I was a little surprised to discover I liked them (especially 'Disturbia'), but I did indeed like them.

"I missed out on the track 'Shut Up And Drive.' I've heard it, but I never noticed it until a random search for playlist ideas brought me to it again. It was like a brand new song to me, and I loved it.

"(How did I know I loved it? The fact that I played it on obsessive repeat would be a pretty clear clue to that.)

"Wikipedia describes 'Shut Up And Drive' as a new wave song--no, really!--based on 'Blue Monday' by New Order. No offense to the mopey British guys, but I prefer it the way Rihanna did it."

GLENN ERB: Fine Day

"Fine Day" is a very fine new single from North Carolina popmeister Glenn Erb, and it's a righteously radio-ready shot of sure-footed swagger. Ooh, and it's produced by long-time TIRnRR Fave Rave Jamie Hoover, adding even more READY! to its established radio-ready status. This radio show is ready to play it again this Sunday. Nothing could be finer.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE: Mirror Man

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES: Reflections

In the radio biz, sometimes the segues just write themselves.

SPECTRAFLAME: Love Don't Live Here No More

Second week in a row for a spin of Spectraflame's ace current single "Love Don't Live Here No More," and the first time it's listed correctly on the posted playlist; last week's playlist claimed the song's title was "Love Don't Lived Here Any More." And I ain't even no grammarian. Of course, I screwed up the title again in my on-air announcements, but I finally--FINALLY--get it right in time for the track's third TIRnRR spin this coming Sunday night. See? I actually CAN learn from my mistakes!

Sometimes.

THE LITTLE GIRLS: I Really Want To Be With You

What do 1980s SoCal rockin' poppers the Little Girls have in common with the Beatles, the Ramones, the Cynz, the Grip Weeds, Mike Browning, Monogroove, and the above-cited Spectraflame? Counting our next program, all of these fine acts have graced each of TIRnRR's first three shows this year. I see no reason to stop now, and I've really been digging the Little Girls' Thank Heaven For ValleyPop compilation. More to come. If the Little Girls really wanna be with you, we are only too happy to provide the means.

ELVIS PRESLEY: Kentucky Rain

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MONOGROOVE: Back To School

We mentioned Monogroove a couple of spots north of here. I've been a fan of Monogroove's Rin Lennon since hearing her former group On The Air's contribution to the 1984 Rhino Records (then-) contemporary girl group compilation The Girls Can't Help It. My pal Andrea Ogarrio included an On The Air track in a mixtape she sent me in the early '90s, and I snagged my very own copy of On The Air's 1987 eponymous six-song EP during a Florida vacation in 1994. More recently, we've been delighted to add Monogroove to our little Play-Tone galaxy o' stars, and "That Girl" (from Monogroove's recent album Popsicle Drivethru) was TIRnRR's # 35 most-played track in 2025. Yep: ON THE AIR! It's what we do.

In 2026, our on-the-air Monogroove presence has been established by the group's recent single "Back To School," and that's been a perfectly peppy rah rah siss boom bop in its own right. Pencils? Books? Teacher's dirty looks? It's all writ in # 2 graphite. "Back To School" pushes against the scornful demands of high school's cliques and ninnies, on behalf of all of us who lurked in the nooks and crannies instead. School is in.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

I'm looking at today's date. And once again I say:

Don't wanna. Won't need to. Ain't gonna.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 10/25/2025

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1307

THE HALF/CUBES: Hard To Get

Ever since we first heard the entirety of the Half/Cubes' then-unreleased new album Found Pearls this summer, we've been jonesin' for an opportunity to share it with listeners. We started programming its advance single "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight" (with Peter Noone hisself helping the Half/Cubes remake this fab tune Noone first did with the Tremblers) as soon as it was cleared for airplay, and the release of the album prompts us to proclaim the Half/Cubes as this week's Featured Performers. No half measures for us!

We gathered tracks from both of the Half/Cubes' albums (Found Pearls and debut long-player Pop Treasures), added a few single releases, and a full-on Half/Cubes feature was achieved. We even threw in their unreleased cover of the Guess Who's "Hand Me Down World" as a bonus track at show's end. 

Our first Half/Cubes track this week was the Found Pearls gem "Hard To Get," a sublime cover of Starclub's epic 'n' atmospheric  MTV classic. I have worshiped this song for decades, and it is so fulfilling to hear the Half/Cubes deliver the oomph the track requires.

THE COWSILLS: The Next In Line

The general record-buying public has no freakin' clue about the sheer wonder of the Cowsills. Some folks remember the group's big 1960s hits, "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "Indian Lake," and "Hair," some may recall their non-hit but definitive cover of the theme from TV's Love American Style, and some will think of the Cowsills' real-life status as the inspiration for the fictional Partridge Family. A few will be aware of the heartbreak revealed in the sobering documentary Family Band: The Cowsills Story.

But all of the above merely scratches the surface of how much greatness can be found in the Cowsills' catalog. I'm not kidding when I say the Cowsills' 1998 record Global is my favorite album of the '90s. All phases of the Cowsills' long recording career have produced many, many moments of absolute pop magic, from the boppin' garage-folk splendor of 1965 debut single "All I Really Want To Be Is Me" through their 2022 album Rhythm Of The World. 

The visionary Omnivore Recordings label's recent release of the 1978 Cowsills sessions known as The "Cocaine Drain" Album offers another clear glimpse of the durable through-line of the Cowsills' brilliance. I wish I could have heard this in the '70s; I'm grateful and gratified to hear it now. 

RICK SPRINGFIELD: Go All The Way

Rick Springfield's girlfriend tells him to go all the way. I don't know if this was before or after she was Jessie's girl. I feel so dirty when they start talkin' cute.

Our friend Ken Sharp is the primary director of Think Like A Key Music's outstanding new collection Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, and I tell ya, the boy done good. Ken is one of the biggest Raspberries fans I know, and he did his idols justice with this compilation. Rick Springfield's cover of "Go All The Way" opens Play On with nearly nonpareil rockin' pop panache, and the earnest urgency never lets up from that point forward. Great, great tribute to one of power pop's defining groups, and the material Ken has assembled lives up to that legacy. We'll hear another fine example of Play On's exuberant accomplishment on our next show. You need this. You'll love this. You want this.

(In addition to his above-mentioned status as a Raspberries fan, Ken Sharp is also one of the biggest KISS fans I know, maybe THE biggest. Sunday night's TIRnRR will spotlight the late Ace Frehley as our Featured Performer, and that feature will include a track from Ken's 2018 album Beauty In The Backseat, a nugget Ken recorded with Half/Cubes stalwart Fernando Perdomo AND special guest guitarist Ace Frehley. We know some people who know some people.)

CROSSWORD SMILES: Black Cats & Broken Mirrors

It has been our great pleasure to debut a track from Big Stir Records' amazing compilation Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies in each of our last six shows. This week's spin of Crossword Smiles' Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies track "Black Cats & Broken Mirrors" makes seven weeks in a row to serve up at least one previously-unplayed cut from this spookeriffic collection, and we're gonna add two more on our next show. Even as Halloween 2025 folds its candy bags, stashes its costumes, and smashes its pumpkins, don't be surprised if additional Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies treats still turn up on future shows. Seasons change, sure. But candy is perennial!

THE TAMS: I've Been Hurt

I don't have any recollection of any version of the song "I've Been Hurt" from when I was a kid in the '60s. I discovered Bill Deal and the Rhondells' 1969 hit (# 35) rendition waaaay after the fact, when the early '80s merging of my record collection with my then-girlfriend (and eventual wife)'s record collection brought that Rhondells 45 into our community property. 

Bill Deal's "I've Been Hurt" was resolutely adequate, but belated exposure to the 1965 original by Southern soul combo the Tams rendered all subsequent cover versions irrelevant. I insist that 1965 was pop music's best year ever. The Tams' "I've Been Hurt" is yet another piece of compelling evidence on behalf of that belief.

MONOGROOVE: Take You Anywhere

Our go-to selection from Monogroove's current album Popsicle Drivethru has been "That Girl," an amiably radio-ready that seems pretty damned likely to score a berth on our 2025 year-end countdown show. Diversifying our good-natured sense of manic obsession, the same album also gives us the equally nifty "Take You Anywhere," so...let's play that one, too! See? It turns out you CAN take us anywhere.

THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise [4-track]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"This is an example of the latest musical trend. It's called power pop.

It was 1978. The band Utopia was appearing on The Mike Douglas Show. The song that Utopia's front man Todd Rundgren introduced as 'the latest musical trend' was practically a golden oldie, a track Rundgren had recorded and released much earlier in the decade, on his 1972 album Something/Anything? The song 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' had not been a hit, its 1972 single release barely making it into the Hot 100, peaking at # 93 with an anchor. For Rundgren to refer to this six-year-old song as the latest...anything could have only been an example of the prickly performer sneering haughtily at trendy hipsters, hip trendsters, and, one supposes, anyone who liked pop music. Yeah, screw them.

Wait, wait! 'Anyone who liked pop music?' That's me he was sneering at, damn it! Oh, the humanity...!

But I didn't care. God, it was such a great song. Seeing it performed on TV asserted the song's hold on me, a hold that was already there, but which tightened its grip securely and permanently with this televised faux embrace of the latest musical trend. Power pop. Suits me just fine...."

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

YEAH! Big thanks to fabulous Underground Garage DJ Palmyra Delran for spinning "I Need Glue," the Verbs' essential contribution to the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. And not only did Palmyra afford spinnage to "I Need Glue" on her superlative satellite radio show Palmyra's Trash Pop Shindig, she named it as her pick for the week's official Tomorrow's Treasure Today. HuzZAH! 

THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight

The first single from Found Pearls. The second single is their ace cover of Crabby Appleton's "Go Back." We also played that one this week, and we'll play it again on Sunday night. A true pearl. It's well worth going back to that.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 7/26/2025

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1295.

THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me

This blog began in January of 2016, when my reaction to the death of David Bowie compelled me to start writing again. Following Blog Post # 1 on January 18th 2016 (my open letter to Bowie, later reconfigured as a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), I began this daily blog. Other than a reduced schedule for a couple of months following the disaster of the November election, I never missed a single day, nor have I missed a day since resuming the regular schedule on January 18th of this year. As I wrote at that time:

"Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) began nine years ago today, when my lingering emotion in the aftermath of David Bowie's death compelled me to start a daily blog. This was a rash and possibly stupid decision, but I kept at it, with at least one post every single day until this past November. At that time, a combination of writing projects in need of my attention and my absolute disgust with the results of the Presidential election led me to pause and reconsider. I cut back to a reduced schedule of three to four posts a week, and I separated myself from the silly idea of maintaining a daily blog.

"Like John Lennon said when he reunited with Yoko Ono: The separation didn't work out...."

Given the prevailing (if unexpected) importance of Bowie in my story, a new various-artists tribute to Bowie has to be an automatic addition to the This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist. This is especially true for Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie, which is chock full of appearances by so many familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves. C'mon! The Weeklings AND the Grip Weeds AND Paul Collins AND the Anderson Council AND Richard Barone AND Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men AND the Midnight Callers AND the Airport 77s AND the High Frequencies AND the On and Ons, all on one disc, all covering Bowie...?! To quote Lenny Haise, guitarist for '60s teen sensations the Wonders: "I'm signing, you're signing, we're ALL signing...!"

In addition to all of the Jem stars listed above, the first advance track from Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie comes to us courtesy of the Cynz. HuzZAH! We LOVE the Cynz, and they turn in an absolutely ace rendition of "Can't Help Thinking About Me." That's one of my own top Bowie tracks, and the Cynz friggin' nail it. It will spin again on our next show.

DAVID BOWIE: Queen Bitch

Well, we had to follow the Cynz singing Bowie with an example of Bowie singing Bowie, right? I think his BBC performance of "Queen Bitch" with the Spiders From Mars is our most-played Bowie track, making it the obvious choice here. 

THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot

This go'geous track "The Sweet Spot" was written by Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay and the late Syracuse stalwart B. D. Love, and it's the latest advance single from the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Each of the 21 artists we invited to record Flashcubes covers for this project delivered to the fullest extent of their brilliance, and the addition of three new tracks by the 'Cubes makes the whole thing shine with even greater brightness. 

A sweet spot indeed.

MONOGROOVE: That Girl

A song for Marlo Thomas, wherever she is. NO! I KID! I'm a kidder. When I heard that Monogroove had a new digital single available, I bought it faster'n you can say Donald Hollinger. It's great, and it joins the playlist to continue our show's proud tradition of, y'know, playing Monogroove. We're playing it again on Sunday.

The good news doesn't stop there! The single is included on a new Monogroove album called Popsicle Drivethru. The CD is due soon from our friends at Kool Kat Musik, and the digital album is available now. MULTIgroove!

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime

My Greatest Record Ever Made! book contains a chapter about "Everybody Is A Star," which has generally been my top Sly and the Family Stone go-to. Since we lost Sly Stone in June, I've found "Hot Fun In The Summertime" has been on my mind and, consequently, in my ears and on the radio. If memory serves, a poll of Trouser Press magazine readers in the early '80s named "Hot Fun In The Summertime" as the # 1 choice for the title of all-time top summer song. Surpassing the Beach Boys in that category would seem a daunting task. But if anyone could do it, it would have to be Sly.

KEVIN ROBERTSON: We Found The Summer

Oooo--this is nice. Our buds at Futureman Records have a new album from Kevin Robertson of the Vapour Trails, and said new Kevin Robertson album Yellow Painted Moon kicks itself off with this luscious radio-ready tune "We Found The Summer." If you're seeking to find some summer, look no further. And "We Found The Summer" will shine again in Syracuse this coming Sunday night.

THE SHIRTS: Lost In A Rhyme

I am often amazed and delighted by unexpected discoveries from the vault. The visionaries at Think Like A Key Music have gone a-burrowin' through the archives of irresistible but unreleased rockin' pop, and they've pulled out a previously-unheard 1981 live-in-the-studio performance by '70s CBGB's fixtures the Shirts. Screw the Dead Sea Scrolls; finding what is essentially a fourth Shirts album from the group's original run is revelation and a half, especially considering the fact that I don't have (and don't really remember) the second Shirts album (1979's Street Light Shine) and have never heard their third (1980's Inner Sleeve).

No matter! Live Featuring Annie Golden is vintage, classic Shirts, of a piece with their magnificent eponymous debut album from 1978. "Lost In A Rhyme" is our immediate Pick T' Click, and these Shirts fit us perfectly.

AMOS MILBURN: Down The Road Apiece

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SLADE: Gudbuy T' Jane

From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

My love of rock 'n' roll radio was forged by my absolute fascination with AM Top 40, beginning when I was a kid in the '60s, manifesting in earnest when I was in middle school and high school in the '70s. My migration to FM by the time I graduated from high school in 1977 didn't change the fact of the matter: Radio was everything. 

In those days, Top 40 stations in one city weren't necessarily playing all of the same potential hit records as Top 40 stations in other cities. Regional hits. Years later, I was surprised to learn that, say, "Tonight" by the Raspberries and "Blockbuster" by Sweet weren't radio smashes all across the USA. But here in Syracuse, they were. And so was "Gudbuy T' Jane" by UK stompers Slade.

My God, I loved this record. Still do. Slade were huge in their native land, but the colonies didn't catch on until the '80s, first via the numbskull proxy of covers by Quiet Riot and then by the much-belated appearance of Slade themselves on the American pop radar (and on MTV) with "My Oh My" and "Run Runaway."

My first is still favored: "Gudbuy T' Jane." Made for the airwaves, then and now. Get with it, America. Jane is all right, all right, all right, all right.

THE BEATLES: You Never Give Me Your Money

Most of our weekly playlists end with a little something by the Beatles. That fully Fab spin is followed by our sign-off and a bonus track or two, but the playlist proper usually concludes with your John, Paul, George, and/or Ringo, comin' at you from their secure perch at the Toppermost of the Poppermost.

And here's a Beatles track we've never played in any of the preceding 1,294 editions and additional sundry TIRnRR specials over the past 26.75 years: From Side 2 of Abbey Road, "You Never Give Me Your Money."

Yeah, I was surprised, too. Well! Time to cash in finally play it, I guess.

There isn't any money. But there are still more great things we ain't played yet, including a dwindling but discernible supply of Beatles tracks. And yes, before you ask, we have played "Revolution 9" at least once, possibly twice. More play remains. More work remains, old stuff and new stuff alike. Music justifies itself. Enthusiasm justifies itself. Once again: Here's to the act you've known for all these years.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here

10 SONGS: 4/20/2024

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 # 1229. This show is available as a podcast.

THE HALF CUBES: The Girl

'Rubes and 'Cubes! The Half Cubes, of course, are piloted by two members of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes--Tommy Allen and Gary Frenay--working with Randy Klawon and Fernando Perdomo. For their latest single, a remake of the Rubinoos' fabulous song "The Girl," the Half Cubes recruited half of the Rubinoos--Jon Rubin and Tommy Dunbar are your designated Half Rubes--and the result is the livin', breathin', boppin' embodiment of radio-ready. This one's for "The Girl!" We'll hear the track again on our next show. 

WONDERBOY: Girl Songs

Could not resist following our opening spin of "The Girl" with "Girl Songs" by Wonderboy. Man, why would we wanna resist? As I've been saying: Girl songs mean a lot to me.

PAUL COLLINS: In Another World

I believe This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio has demonstrated our allegiance to the music of Paul Collins. I've been a fan since I snapped up his former group the Nerves' EP when I was a college student in the '70s, moving on from there to Paul's incredible "Walking Out On Love" and the debut of his next group, the Beat. The Beat's eponymous 1979 debut album is recognized as one power pop's all-time classics, and Paul Collins is legend in that genre. You don't need me to tell you that, sure, but I like saying it: Paul Collins is legend.

And his current album Stand Back And Take A Good Look is a worthy continuation of the legend. Its lead-off single "I'm The Only One For You" is already guaranteed a berth on our year-end countdown of TIRnRR's most-played tracks in 2024. 

Now, we turn our attention to the album's latest single. "In Another World" renders its sense of wistful yearning all pretty 'n' pop, a janglier embodiment of eyes on the freakin' prize. We played it this week, and we're playing it again Sunday night. Airplay befits a power pop legend. We'll do our part.

In this world.

MONOGROOVE: One Tin Soldier

Last week's edition of 10 Songs recounted my history as a fan of Rin Lennon, starting decades ago with her former group On The Air and continuing into her contemporary work with Monogroove. From their most recent album The Flip Side, Monogroove made their TIRnRR debut with last week's spin of "I Think Of You."

This week, we returned to The Flip Side for Monogroove's cover of "One Tin Soldier." When I was an adolescent, I considered the Original Caste's 1969 hit version The Greatest Record Ever Made, and I ain't kiddin'. The song's plea for peace amid brutality struck a chord within my own simplistic young quest for deeper meaning; its subsequent use (via a cover by Coven) in the film Billy Jack placed its decrying of hating one's neighbor and cheating one's friend in a film otherwise devoted to scenes of its titular hero's ritual I-just-go-BERSERK! kicking of Fascist ass. A contradiction? I was thirteen when I saw the movie in '73, and I was all in. I figured the bad guys had it coming. GO AHEAD, Billy Jack!

The song is still welcome to my ears. Rin Lennon told me Monogroove "chose that song because it's a message that really needs to be heard. We indeed made it a bit more edgy so that the younger generation might listen to it."

The (subtle) edge serves Monogroove's version well. Maybe there will be trumpets blowing come the Judgement Day. A kingdom on a mountain. Peace on Earth. That's all we say.

ELENA ROGERS: Queen

In a recent email to some musicians, I made a passing reference to Elena Rogers as "insanely talented." That is, if anything, selling her short. We've been playing Elena's sublime single "I Feel Alive," and we'll follow suit with spins of her newest single "Queen." Insanely talented. We'd be crazy to even consider missing out on the chance to program all this great stuff. God save "Queen."

THE FLASHCUBES: Come Out And Play

Playtime! The Flashcubes have been a large part of my life for more than forty-five years. Looks like that's gonna continue in the near future. Work and play. Time to make something happen.

THE RAMONES: Swallow My Pride

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE CYNZ: Just A Boy

Seven deadly Cynz! 1) We play the music of the Cynz; 2) We started our Cynzmania with their 2022 single "Narrow Hips;" 3) "Narrow Hips" accrued enough spins to be among our most-played tracks that year; 4) The Cynz keep releasing 'em, we keep playing them, from their covers of Holly and the Italians and the Kinks through decadent delights from their current album Little Miss Lost, and also delving into the ol' back catalogue here 'n' there; 5) The Little Miss Lost track "Just A Boy" made its first TIRnRR appearance on our April 7th show; 6) We played it again this week; 7) We make it three weeks in a row with our next show.

Great song. Bless us, Father (and Mother): We have CYNZ!

THE AMPLIFIER HEADS [FEATURING JEN D'ANGORA]: Something Went Down

I tell ya, we've been trying to squeeze this into one of our playlists for weeks. You'd be amazed how quickly a three-hour time slot overfills itself. We were going to play "Something Went Down" when it was a single by the Amplifier Heads featuring Jen D'Angora. Never quite got to it. Now, that self-same rockin' pop summit meeting is on the freshly-minted new Amplifier Heads album Songs From They Came To Rock, and we'd damn well better get with the razzafrazzin' program awready. It spins again on Sunday. We're inept, but we mean well. And we can't deny those who came to rock.

KISS: Calling Dr. Love

Between recording this week's show on April 10th and airing it on April 14th, we learned that our friend Dominique King passed in late March. Dom was an active member of our little TIRnRR community; she fell ill a couple of years back, and we've missed having her participate in our Sunday night chat group, usually bugging us to play more Michigan-bred rock 'n' roll. Losing her now is not a surprise. We mourn nonetheless.

I wouldn't say that Dom was necessarily a big KISS fan. Maybe you'd figure this fire-breathin' NYC combo's "Detroit Rock City" mighta been a pick hit for a woman proud to bill herself as Midwest Guest. But I do know that Dom liked "Calling Dr. Love." She sent us a virtual thumbs-up every time we played it. 

"Calling Dr. Love" 's appearance on this week's playlist is a coincidence. But we dedicate it after the fact to our friend Dominique King. And will open our next show with a deliberate three-song salute to Dom. Godspeed, Midwest Guest. Farewell, my friend.

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 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