10 SONGS: 3/21/2026

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 # 1328

THE ON AND ONS: Speck Of Smiling Faces

From the group's native Australia to our native Syracuse airwaves, the On and Ons have been fixtures on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio since their 2020 EP Menacing Smile, and that unrelenting barrage of pure pop oomph will keep on keepin' on and on with the forthcoming On and Ons album Luminary. The album ain't out until April, but advance single "Speck Of Smiling Faces" has already made its way to hearts, ears, and smiling faces everywhere in the here, the now, and the AWIGHT!. One should expect no less from  luminaries like the On and Ons.

THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: Joyride

"St. Valentine's Day Massacre" by the great Norwegian garage pop group the Cocktail Slippers is one of my all-time favorite tracks, and it earned its own chapter in my 2024 book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Through an evolving line-up, the group has continued to fascinate and amaze with the same tightly-executed sass that made us love 'em in the first place. New single "Joyride" offers another delighted cruise in the Slippersmobile, where speed limits are optional and the radio's volume is always set to SURRENDER!! Joy! Let's ride.

THE SURFRAJETTES: She Loves You

The Surfrajettes at Middle Ages Beer Hall In Syracuse 3/19/2026

Decades ago, I had the pleasure of witnessing a performance by the Ventures, wherein the group had the admirable audacity to open their fantastic show with "Walk--Don't Run." The club owner introduced the Ventures as "the best fucking dance band in the world," and damned if they didn't prove it.

That torch has been passed to a new generation of North Americans. Over the course of the past eleven years, Toronto's phenomenal pop combo the Surfrajettes have established themselves as one of this world's preeminent surf instrumental groups. On Thursday, the Surfrajettes and their ace opening act Bethlehem Shalom kicked off the second leg of their Road Dogs tour in our beloved Salt City for a show at Middle Ages Beer Hall, and their energetic fun-in-the-sun twang served as the perfect weapon to drive a motherlovin' stake through the icy heart of Syracuse Winter. Armed with original tunes and impeccable savvy in choosing covers (routinely reaching outside the box to convert material by Cream, Iron Butterfly, Spice Girls, and more into their own chosen style), the Surfrajettes are what the Ventures were: The best fucking dance band in the world. The Ventures would be proud to share that distinction with the Surfrajettes.

I remain chagrined by the fact that TIRnRR didn't get around to programming the Surfrajettes until last week's spin of the title track from their Easy As Pie album. We're slackers, but we're slackers with a vision. This week brings us Surfrajettes TIRnRR spin # 2, as the 'Jettes apply yeah-yeah-yeah reverb to "She Loves You" (from previous album Roller Fink). This coming Sunday night brings a reprise of "Easy As Pie," and Dana and I agree that maybe we should just commit to playing the Surfrajettes every week from now on. Pipeline to the stars, man. Surf's up.

THE GREENBERRY WOODS: Whenever You Want Me Too

Rapple Dapple! In my liner notes to Rhino's 1997 compilation Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '90s, I wrote:

"The unfortunate fate of the Greenberry Woods offers a sobering reminder that even the best pop bands can still be resolutely ignored by the buying public. Maryland's favorite pop sons released two absolutely dreamy albums--1994's Rapple Dapple and 1995's Big Money Item--only to be met with appalling indifference by retail and radio. Following the group's apparent demise, a couple members resurfaced in a new group called Splitsville, and released an interesting, cartoony debut album on Big Deal in '96. But Splitsville ain't a proper substitute for the Greenberry Woods, whose passing we mourn here with a spin of their signature tune 'Trampoline,' an impossible-to-resist barrage of singalong charm and halcyon AM-pop style. Come back, guys!"

(Before we go any further, it's important to note that, my '97 self notwithstanding, I soon became a Splitsville fan as well. Pop pundits. We can be a mite slow on the uptake sometimes.)

And now, the return of '90s pop stars the Greenberry Woods should merit a guaranteed berth on any power pop radio playlist, and their new single "Whenever You Want Me Too" certainly deserves that instant-add status. Hell, "Whenever You Want Me Too" woulda fit in on Rapple Dapple, and I further dig its correct titular use of the word "too" to create an effective pun for would-be lovers everywhere. We want this. We hope you want it too.

GENERAL JOHNSON AND JOEY RAMONE: Rockaway Beach (On The Beach)

From a previous post:

I first heard about this beach-music team-up of Joey Ramone and former Chairmen of the Board singer General Johnson when Joey Ramone called to tell me about in 1994. Yes, I am cooler than you are. (I should probably let that illusion stand in place, but Joey's call to me was just a follow-up to a Goldmine interview we'd done within the previous week, as he wanted to make sure I was aware of a number of projects he was doing outside the Ramones' aegis. He never called again. My claim to being cooler than you are is, y'know, suspect at best.)

(Those interviews are, of course, preserved in my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. You should get yourself a copy from publisher Rare Bird Books, or contact me directly to purchase an autographed copy.)

But: back to the record! It's an ongoing testimony to the greatness of Ramones songs that they can thrive in different interpretations. The Swedish girl-pop group Shebang did a girl-pop bubblegum version of "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker." Ronnie Spector covered "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" and "She Talks To Rainbows." KISS did "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" with more kitchen-sink Phil Spector than the Spector-produced original. The Nutley Brass and the Ramonetures did entire albums of Ramones covers, in the respective styles of elevator music and surf instrumentals. It all worked. These Blitzkrieg bops remain more versatile and universal than anyone realized at the time.

Remaking the power-pop bubblepunk of "Rockaway Beach" as a soulful slow-groove Carolina beach shag would seem a preposterous notion...until you hear it. Whoa! Grab a blanket, grab your honey, and snuggle by the fire as the sun descends. It's not hard, not far to reach. Hitch a ride, baby.

MADONNA: Dear Jessie

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE DOLLYROTS: Attention Span

"Attention Span...?!" See, that's kind of a problem area for us, especially for me. I suffer from what my daughter calls ADOS, which is Attention Deficit...Oooooo, SHINY!

Where was I? Oh, right. "Attention Span," the flat-out full-on invigmoratin' new single from the irresistible rockin' pop forces of the Dollyrots. PAY ATTENTION! It spins here again this Sunday night.

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Stand!

Good advice.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

Also good advice. 

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

And we finish with a snarky 'n' buoyant pop tune pretending to offer good advice while still being, y'know, snarky. I suspect the Little Girls are snickering at the odious machinations of hapless would-be Lotharios. I say we snicker right along with them.

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: 1/15/2025

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 # 1268

THE NON-PROPHETS: Alibi

We're as punched as pleased to welcome the Non-Prophets back to the TIRnRR playlist. The Non-Prophets are the dba of our bud Allan Kaplon, who scored some significant airplay here with his solo album Notes On A Napkin. Our Allan returns to the collective Non-Prophets billing for "Alibi." For this track, the Non-Prophets also include Stacy Carson and Bruce Gordon (half of TIRnRR Fave Raves Pop Co-Op), it's produced by Don Dixon, and it's a match made in Heaven's boppin' li'l nightspot. "Alibi" opens this week's show, and it will be back next week. We believe this particular "Alibi."

THE OSMONDS: Crazy Horses

WONDERBOY: Down By The Lazy River

The passing of Wayne Osmond prompted us to program a few tracks by the Osmonds. I wasn't much of an Osmonds fan during my prime AM Top 40 era in the early- to mid-'70s, but I later came to appreciate some of the group's harder rock efforts.

It's no joke to combine "the Osmonds" and "harder rock efforts" in the same sentence. The title tune from the group's 1972 Crazy Horses proved that Led Zeppelin had nothing on them Osmonds. We've played "Crazy Horses" before, and we've played similarly head-bangin' Osmonds nuggets like "Yo Yo" and "Hold Her Tight." This week, it felt imperative to bang the noggin once again to the sturm und drang of "Crazy Horses," as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio remembers Wayne Osmond.

(The Osmonds also opened our second set this week, with a spin of "One Way Ticket To Anywhere" from their 1973--ahem--CONCEPT ALBUM The Plan. We circled back to the Osmonds in the show's last hour, when we finally got around to one of their biggest hits, the superswell bubblesoul classic "One Bad Apple [Don't Spoil The Whole Bunch]." Oddly enough, of our three Osmonds selections this week, "One Bad Apple"--the best-known of that whole bunch, girl--is the only one we had never played before.)

One Osmonds hit that I did enjoy contemporary to its chart life was 1971's "Down By The Lazy River." I was eleven years old, and it may have been the first instance of me realizing that I liked a song or group that wasn't considered cool, but I didn't care--I liked it anyway. There's your blueprint for my life, right there, the precursor of when I was in college a few years later, with a Bay City Rollers poster tacked on my dorm room wall as a conscious act of defiance (and of many decades proudly sneering in the face of any sucker who tried to tell me I couldn't love the Monkees). Get thee behind me, hipsters!

"Down By The Lazy River" is represented on the playlist by a faithful, rollickin' cover performed by TIRnRR superstars Wonderboy. Wonderboy's ace rendition appeared on the fantastic 2002 various-artists set Right To Chews: Bubblegum Classic Revisited, and it's also available as a digital single.

THE COOLIES: Pathetica

THE FLASHCUBES: Pathetic

As experienced rockin' pop radio programmers, Dana and I know better than to shy away from a good segue, no matter how obvious the segue is. Sometimes the obvious choice is the unerringly proper choice. We pursued that notion in this week's show with a four-play of tambourine-related ditties by the Tambourine People, Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, the Lemon Pipers, and ABBA, and again a bit later in the playlist, as Dana's selection of Amy Rigby's coiffure-related cut "Bangs" compelled me to follow with the Cowsills' follicly-focused gem "Hair." We are SO damned clever.

By the same literal-minded token, it seemed imperative to tailgate the paradoxically righteous self-doubt of the Coolies' "Pathetica" with the Flashcubes' disdainful dismissal "Pathetic." The former was written by the late, great Kim Shattuck, and is native to the Coolies' certified great EP Uh-Oh! It's...The Coolies, the latter penned by 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong and featured on the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. Opposing POVs, but they go great together.

(Speaking of the Flashcubes' "Pathetic:" A persistent rumor--if not quite the Rumour--suggests we can look forward to a newly-recorded cover of "Pathetic," courtesy of a British singer, songwriter, and performer of some note. We must note that rumour...er, rumor is not yet confirmed.) 

ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

As debuted on last week's show: The SpongeTones cover the Flashcubes. This track is not yet available to the general public. The same can be said of as-yet-unreleased Flashcubes covers by sparkle*jets u.k., the Kennedys, and Pop Co-Op, each of which we've already played here, and forthcoming dives into the Cubic songbook courtesy of such fabulous acts as...well, that would be telling. For now: [REDACTED]. But perhaps not redacted for very much longer. At some point, you've just gotta make something happen.

THE ON AND ONS: Been There

The On and Ons' new album Come On In is officially released this Friday, January 17th. Hey, Happy Birthday to ME!! I celebrate with pop music. And pop music from the On and Ons is for damned sure worth celebrating. Nonetheless: Get off my lawn, you kids. 

20/20: King Of The Whole Wide World

20/20's new album Back To California is officially released this Friday, January 17th. Hey, another Happy Birthday to me! I am indeed worth it. The celebration continues. Hell, I guess the kids can stay on my lawn if they really want to.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

As I near the completion of my 65th solar orbit, my thoughts on the strange concept of Growing up...?! remain resolute and unchanged:

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. 

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

10 SONGS: 10/11/2024

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 # 1254.

THE ON AND ONS: Long Ride

Australia's phenomenal pop combo the On and Ons have been TIRnRR Fave Raves for several years already, and news that the lads are now affiliated with the mighty Jem Records label makes us kvell. Kvelling is a good thing, expressing a giddy 'n' delighted feeling inside. Rockin' pop music makes us kvell. As it oughta.

Two new tracks from the On and Ons' forthcoming Jem Records debut Come On In reinforce our confidence in the kvell-worthy nature of this alliance. We opened this week's broadcast with the better'n nifty Come On In Jem gem "Long Ride," and circled back to open our closing set with its equally-effervescent album mate "Sunny Jim." We'll have a third Come On In treat on our next show. Come on in! The On and Ons have granted us a license to kvell.

DWIGHT TWILLEY: Alone In My Room

I intended to play this great Dwight Twilley track (from his 1979 album Twilley) on last week's epic Cubic Roots salute to songs that inspired the Flashcubes and the Half/Cubes. Recognizing the need to program something from the Flashcubes' sublime 2023 all-covers album Pop Masters, we subbed in the Pop Masters version of "Alone In My Room" and postponed the Twilley original to this week. I give the edge to the Flashcubes' take on this, but ya can't go wrong either way.

CARLA OLSON AND TALL POPPY SYNDROME: Is It True

As pop fans, when we listen to multiple versions of the same song, we often develop an allegiance to the version that hooked us first. For example, with the Dwight Twilley song that opens this week's 10 Songs, my first real awareness of "Alone In My Room" came via the Flashcubes' cover; I probably heard Twilley's original some time before the last couple of weeks, but it was the Cubic rendition that got my attention, and kept it.

So even the combined forces of Carla Olson and Tall Poppy Syndrome may face long odds in trying to pry my devotion away from Brenda Lee with their new cover of our Brenda's 1964 single "Is It True."

"Is It True" is far and away my favorite Brenda Lee track. It wasn't a hit in America, and I didn't hear it until Rhino Records included "Is It True" in the fabulous 2005 various-artists boxed set One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found. This amazing 4-CD compilation is like the Nuggets of the '60s girl-group sound, and Brenda Lee's "Is It True" is one of its absolute highlights. I adored the song immediately, and have never stopped loving it.

So my gosh, Carla and her Tall Poppy comrades deserve mega accolades for holding their own here. It's not just that their "Is It True" is accomplished and well-performed--I would have expected nothing less from that level of talent--it's that the elusive mojo is there. You believe them. I believe them. I'm not prepared to relinquish my torch for Brenda Lee's original, but I'm very happy to say that I now have two go-to versions of "Is It True." Is it true? Yep. I'll testify to that under oath. 

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: No More Goodbyes

What could sway TIRnRR from its single-minded determination to program recent Librarians With Hickeys single "Hello Operator" with the subtle restraint one expects from carpet-bombing? The release of another new Librarians With Hickeys single. Duh. In truth, we played both "Hello Operator" and its brand spankin' new brother "No More Goodbyes" this week, and "No More Goodbyes" will return next week. Even there, I almost played "Hello Operator" again in place of "No More Goodbyes"--I really, really dig "Hello Operator"--but then I realized that I also really, really dig "No More Goodbyes." Both singles serve as teasers for the group's forthcoming new album How To Make Friends By Telephone, and I am secure in the certainty that I am really, really going to dig the whole album when it appears. No more goodbyes. Hello...!

THE CYNZ: Woman Child

Like Librarians With Hickeys, the Cynz are another A-list rock 'n' roll group whose each new release is likely a given for some TIRnRR airplay burn. No reason to make an exception here, as the new Cynz single "Woman Child" offers further empirical evidence of their essential asskickin' capability. Deadly Cynz! "Woman Child" will spin again on our next show.

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rebel, Rebel

During my recent guest appearance on Dedication--Fans Remember The Bay City Rollers, I mentioned the slow evolution of my interest in the Rollers. When I was a college student bin the late '70s, I put a Bay City Rollers poster on the wall of my dorm room as an act of defiance...but I didn't actually own a lot of Rollers music at the time. I had two 45s ("Saturday Night" and "Rock And Roll Love Letter") and two LPs (Dedication and It's A Game), and an intense curiosity about one other Rollers song that I didn't yet own. It took a while, but my Rollers collection did grow in time.

On Dedication, hosts Laura Brady and Suz Rostron invited me to list my ten favorite Rollers tracks. My list includes two selections from the It's A Game, but not the track from that album that scored the most turntable time when I was matriculatin': The Bay City Rollers' cover of David Bowie's "Rebel, Rebel."

Nowadays, I rarely play the Rollers' version of "Rebel, Rebel." It's not that I dislike it, but nor is it in the front quarters of my consciousness anymore. I wasn't all that much of a Bowie fan in '78; a Bowie-loving college pal despised the Rollers' version, but I liked it either about the same as or a little more than I liked Bowie's original. At the time. That time changed, as time will do. I have other Rollers tracks I like or love a lot more. 

Nonetheless, after mentioning it on Dedication, it seemed high time for "Rebel, Rebel" by the Bay City Rollers to make its return to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. I do now prefer Bowie's original...but I retain my long-ago affection for Tartan-clad rebellion as well. Hot tramp, I love you so. She's a rebel.

DAVID BOWIE: I Dig Everything

So noted, David. So noted.

DONNA SUMMER: Hot Stuff

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE HALF/CUBES: Let Me Make Love To You

During a couple of previous TIRnRR broadcasts, legendary Maui DJ Michael McCartney expressed his appreciation for some of our intrepid programming decisions, specifically noting his delight in blastin' his speakers as we played Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" and delighting in our Cubic Roots spin of Flo and Eddie's "Let Me Make Love To You." This week, we played "Hot Stuff" and the Half/Cubes' cover of "Let Me Make Love To You" (from the Half/Cubes' recent Pop Treasures album) in the same set, and offered both of 'em as a tip o' the hat to everyone's pal Michael. Blast away, Michael! Blast away.

THE FLASHCUBES: Christi Girl

The decision to program the Flashcubes' "Alone In My Room" last week forced us to cut another 'Cubes track we'd planned to play, specifically guitarist Arty Lenin's "When We Close Our Eyes." We figured we would make up for it by spinning an Arty song this week, but instead of "When We Close Our Eyes," we reached all the way back to 1978 for a fresh play of the Flashcubes' debut single.

"Christi Girl" was the Flashcubes' first record, a 45 (backed with "Guernica" and "Got No Mind") released in 1978. It's a pretty pop ballad written by Arty, and it also made its way to a Bomp Records various-artists set called Waves, Vol. 1, and years later it was exhumed for a Rhino Records power pop compilation CD. Since the Flashcubes only released a grand total of two records during their original late '70s run--1979's "Wait Till Next Week"/"Radio" 45 was the other one--"Christi Girl" was, by default, the Flashcubes' best-known song, at least to the extent that any Flashcubes song could be described as "best-known."

Prior to its release in 1978, I haunted Gerber Music in North Syracuse, badgering clerks there nearly every day about when the damned thing would be available for me to buy. The store had an advance promo copy of the 45 at the store, and they indulged me by playing it on the store's stereo, and then instructing me to go away and come back when it's actually released, ya pesky kid.

And I did. Er...plus a few more stops at Gerber in the interim, asking that musical question, Is it in yet? Is it in yet? Is it in yet...? I bought it the first day it was available.

I cannot overstate how important the Flashcubes have been to me. As I've said elsewhere, it's possible that I would have gotten around to writing about pop music and co-hosting a weekly rock 'n' roll radio show even without the Flashcubes' influence, but it would be a stretch for me to imagine how that would have been. When I was given the honor of inducting the Flashcubes into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2014, I noted once again the three groups that had the greatest and most lasting influence upon my life as a pop fan: The Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes.

A few months back, I bristled when someone referred to the Flashcubes as a cover band. No. No. I get the genesis of that presumption, given that that the Flashcubes' last two non-compilation albums have indeed been all-covers. But people need to dig a little deeper and discover the brilliance of their originals, a collection of ace tunes crafted by Arty Lenin, Paul Armstrong, and Gary Frenay. I tell ya: More artists should be covering them.

In 2021, a supercool Japanese pop group called the Choosers posted a video of their fab in-studio live performance of "Christi Girl." It would be WAY Fab if the Choosers would...um, choose to record an official version of "Christi Girl." It's time for the world to know the things that only we can know.

Somebody: Make something happen.

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

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. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

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

10 SONGS: 4/22/2023

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 # 1177. This show is available as a podcast.

THE RAMONES: My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)

Our April mission to play my # 1 favorite track from each of the Ramones' official studio albums has reached the next set of four: 1986's Animal Boy, 1987's Halfway To Sanity, 1989's Brain Drain, and 1992's Mondo Bizarro. Gotta confess that Animal Boy is my least favorite Ramones album, but it was still a dead heat for me between two fine Animal Boy numbers: "Something To Believe In" and "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down," the latter previously released as a single under the title "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg."

Johnny Ramone didn't like either of 'em. In the 1994 interviews presented in my Ramones book, Johnny was aghast that I liked "Something To Believe In" (his specific reaction to my fondness of the track was "Oh, God!"), and he despised the political POV of "Bitburg:" 

"I think Dee Dee was just trying to jump on the bandwagon of, especially in Europe, people were singing political type songs, and the whole political issue. Because basically, any songs we had prior to that [with] even any mention of politics were usually sort of conservative, right? We would sing songs about Vietnam and things like that, and they were always sort of pro those movements...

"...I did not want to be doing any political songs. I didn’t want to be bad-mouthing the president. I was upset by the cover; the English record company did that. I think they were trying to jump on anything to knock America in any way. I didn’t wanna see Europeans doing it. It’s okay for Americans to criticize ourselves, but I don’t want the Europeans doing it...."

The interview transcripts suggest that in 1994 I liked Animal Boy more than I do now. Which means it's probably high time for a fresh listen.

THE ON AND ONS: Let Ya Hair Down

"Let Ya Hair Down" is the title tune from a brand-new album from Australia's phenomenal pop combo the On and Ons. Sidney's Finest have established themselves as TIRnRR Fave Raves, and from what I've heard so far, this new record reinforces their sterling rockin' pop rep. "Let Ya Hair Down" is a magnificent track to start with; the Let Ya Hair Down track we're playing on our next show is even better.

K.D. LANG AND THE RECLINES: Walkin' In And Out Of Your Arms

I really wanted to include this scorchin' k. d. lang gem in last week's Sire Records/Seymour Stein tribute, but I forgot all about it when Dana and I slapped the playlist together. I blame the destructive allure of absolute torch and twang. "Walkin' In And Out Of Your Arms" is such a great, radio-ready track, with a boppin' style equally suited to a number of formats, from country to alternative to whatever the hell it is we do on this show. Shame on us for not playing it sooner.

SERGE GAINSBOURG AND BRIGITTE BARDOT: Comic Strip

Ooh-la-la AND Zowie! Not as steamy as "Je t'aime...moi non Plus" (which was a European hit for Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, written for [and originally recorded by] Brigitte Bardot), "Comic Strip" mixes Bardot's purring of Batman '66-style sound effects with Gainsbourg's superheroic sense of cool. Kitsch? Mais oui. 

THE HALF-CUBES FEATURING THE PERNICE BROTHERS: The Weakest Shade Of Blue

My favorite power pop group the Flashcubes are working on a new...hmmm? What...? I still can't talk about that...?! 

Fine. We did play the Flashcubes' most recent single "Get The Message" later in the show, and we for damned sure allotted time for a spin of this new single from the Half-Cubes. The Half-Cubes are 'Cubes rhythm section Gary Frenay and Tommy Allen, their forces combined with the guitar stylings of Cleveland rockin' pop stalwart Randy Klawon. The Half-Cubes' debut single enlists the aid of the Pernice Brothers for a splendid new version of the Pernice lads' classic "The Weakest Shade Of Blue." Not half-bad? ALL-good, in fact.

(And, because we have a long-standing predilection for ignoring NDAs, this is the second time we've played the Half-Cubes' "The Weakest Shade Of Blue." We gave it a (clandestine?) spin back in February, when the Half-Cubes themselves were still kinda hush-hush. Bad boys? That's us! And by the same token, our next show will feature an as-yet unreleased taste of the Flashcubes' [redacted], the very same [redacted] teased two paragraphs north of here. Should we fear repercussions? Nah. We have diplomatic impunity. We'll play the Half-Cubes again, too.)

THE RAMONES: I Wanna Live

I moved back to Syracuse from Buffalo in 1987. It was not a great time in my life, and it was still going to be a little while before things got better. 

In good times and less-good times, music has always been a highlight. I don't remember if I heard "I Wanna Live" before picking up my copy of Halfway To Sanity. I may have seen its video on MTV, but my memory insists I didn't even know the Ramones had a new album out when I spotted and immediately purchased Halfway To Sanity at The Record Theatre up on the SU hill. 

The album includes a fab guest appearance by Blondie's Debbie Harry on "Go Li'l Camaro Go," a meeting of CBGB's minds I'd been wishing for since the late '70s. Nonetheless, my favorite was (and is) "I Wanna Live." 

Is it a life-affirming track? By default, I guess, though it could also be read as a suicide note. But the guitar sounds like it wants to live. Joey likewise sounds like he's digging in for the long haul. It's what I want, and I'm going with that. 

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Can't Wait 'Till Summer

I am steadfastly and delightedly obsessed with Librarians With Hickeys' "Can't Wait 'Till Summer." Listen, man: in pop music, obsession is its own reward. Why wait? And it's back again on our next show.

THE RAMONES: I Believe In Miracles

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MICKEY AND SYLVIA: Dearest

Sometimes we have to confess that we just didn't know: to me, "Dearest" was a song by Buddy Holly, an informal acoustic performance he recorded solo in his NYC apartment, later gussied up a bit for release (as "Umm Oh Yeah") after his death. I had no idea that it was first recorded and released by Mickey and Sylvia. Hell, although I do know that Sylvia Robinson went on to have a hit (as Sylvia) with the breathy la-la-la-LA! bedroom naughtiness of 1973's "Pillow Talk," and that she was the founder of elite hip-hop label Sugarhill Records, my previous awareness of Mickey and Sylvia started and ended with their irresistible 1957 smash "Love Is Strange."

I've always loved "Love Is Strange," and I should have figured there was more Mickey and Sylvia greatness beyond that one immortal record. I guess it's time to learn more. Their original version of "Dearest" is sweet and inviting, and it's a fine place to start. Umm oh yeah....

THE RAMONES: Touring

The Ramones originally recorded "Touring" for their 1981 album Pleasant Dreams, but it was left unreleased at the time. Joey told me, "I had written it for Pleasant Dreams, and actually, we did a version of it [for] Pleasant Dreams. I had written it around the time of 'Sheena' and 'Rock ’n’ Roll High School,' and Seymour [Stein] felt it sounded too close to, I think, 'Rock ’n’ Roll High School,' which it might’ve [laughs].

"But it was a fun song. I mean, it really kind of conjures up all the great moments of why you’re doing what you’re doing. And from touring around the world and meeting all kinds of guys and girls [laughs], the whole bit. It was a fun song, a fun song to write."

Overcoming little technicalities like not being released in proper form at the time, the song managed to become one of my early '80s go-tos, thanks to a 1982 cover version by the Mystics. The reconstituted doo wop group, famed for their 1959 hit "Hushabye," changed Joey's lyrics and title to "Doreen Is Never Boring." I bought it and dug it, but wished I could hear the Ramones piledrive through it.

The wish came true when the Ramones recorded a new version for 1992's Mondo Bizarro. The Ramones' first studio album since Dee Dee left home and C. J. Ramone took over the four-string spot, Mondo Bizarro is a solid effort, blessed with kickass cuts like "Censorshit," "Poison Heart," "Strength To Endure" (sung by C. J.), and a seemingly incongruous (but fully righteous) cover of the Doors' "Take It As It Comes." For all that, my heart retains its devotion to "Touring."

Doreen could not be reached for comment.

For dramatic purposes, the part of Doreen shall be played by Brigitte Bardot. She...does not look boring at all.

TIRnRR's tour of the Ramones' studio albums concludes on our next show, featuring my # 1 top picks from Acid Eaters and ¡Adios Amigos!, supplemented by my favorite non-album Ramones track and my favorite Ramones soundtrack offering. SPOILER ALERT: the latter is not "Chop Suey." We'll follow with a salute to the Ramones' live albums on April 30.

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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!!

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