10 SONGS: 9/26/2026

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 # 1354

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING TOM KENNY: Got No Mind

Revealed at last! Got, got, got no mind/Got no mind, but I don't mind!

We've been playing this fantastic forthcoming new single for weeks, all the while coyly refusing to, y'know, say what it is. That ends now, as this week's radio show began proudly and loudly with "Got No Mind" by the Flashcubes featuring Tom Kenny. The song was written by Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, and a basement recording of "Got No Mind" served as one of two tracks ("Guernica" was the other) on the B-side of the Flashcubes' 1978 debut single "Christi Girl." As our local Syracuse music community and the larger international power pop community continue to mourn PA's passing earlier this year, his friends are assembling a proper tribute to his impact and legacy.

The tribute starts with this brand new version of Paul Armstrong's Cubic classic "Got No Mind." Recorded in 2026 by the surviving members of the Flashcubes--guitarist Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay, and drummer/producer Tommy Allen--aided 'n' abetted by guitarists Chris Armstrong (PA's son) and Mark Doyle, with gang vocals by Paul's Boston-area buds Mike Gent, Sal Baglio, and Barrence Whitfield, the track is propelled into the motherlovin' stratosphere with vocals by Syracuse's favorite son, famed voice actor, performer, singer, and all-around best guy ever Tom Kenny.

The new "Got No Mind," backed with Paul and his fellow Flashcubes' previously-released (and KICKASS!) track "Reminisce," will be released in November by the visionary Big Stir Records label, and it will be available as a digital single and as a 7" 45 RPM rekkid. The physical single will also be sold at the sure-to-be seismic event A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO PAUL ARMSTRONG, which is set to peel the paint off the walls at Syracuse's legendary home of rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon on Saturday, November 7th.

The Lost Horizon show will feature live performances by Amerikan Primitive, Perilous, 1.4.5. (with The Wax Museum host Ronnie Dark), Boston's Drivin' Sisters, and Tom Kenny, culminating in the Flashcubes' farewell to their brother Paul Armstrong. Dana and I will be your hosts, but don't let that stop you. BE THERE!!

Meanwhile, TIRnRR will keep on programming "Got No Mind" by the Flashcubes featuring Tom Kenny. I also played the track this week during my guest appearance on The Spoon podcast alongside The Men Of The Spoon Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers. True believers. And friends. If there's ever a chance to celebrate the power of friendship and the magic of music...

...I don't mind.

PERILOUS: Overwhelmed By Reality

One of my favorite current bands, I'm looking forward to seeing Perilous again at the Lost in November. Mind you, I did just see them last week at a benefit show for Spark Syracuse, but who sez I can't already be looking forward to seeing 'em again? Man, when I was a club-legal teen in the late '70s, I saw the Flashcubes as often as I could, and the buzz of a Perilous show calls to mind (as in got-got-got no mind!) the buzz of a Flashcubes show. The current Perilous single "Overwhelmed By Reality" spins again on our next show. I'm looking forward to that, too.

BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities

My above-crowed guest appearance on The Spoon began with our Robbie Rist hisself, operating under his rockin' pop dba Ballzy Tomorrow for an invigmoratin' take on the Flashcubes' "Five Personalities." Robbie's rendition comes to us from Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, a 2025 passion project I spearheaded with the good folks at Big Stir. Robbie does an amazing job with this song I've loved for so long, and I believe some members of the Flashcubes regarded Robbie's take as the definitive "Five Personalities." And looking back on the album, I take some satisfaction in knowing Paul Armstrong lived to hear artists like Ballzy Tomorrow, Sorrows, Hamell On Trial, the Verbs with Meegan Voss and Steve Jordan, the Peppermint Kicks, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, and Graham Parker and Mike Gent cover songs written or co-written by PA. 

THE HALF/CUBES: The Mighty Quinn

The Half/Cubes are of course half of the Flashcubes, Gary Frenay and Tommy Allen, working with Randy Klawon and Fernando Perdomo, plus occasional extra special guests. From Jem Records' all-star various-artists tribute album Jem Records Celebrates Bob Dylan, we've been playing the Half/Cubes' ace take on Bashful Bobby's "The Mighty Quinn" because--let's face it!--you've not seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn.

On our next show, we'll move our intrepid Dylanmania to a another winner from Jem Records Celebrates Bob Dylan, this time courtesy of the Grip Weeds. And we will open the show with a new single by the Half/Cubes, covering the mighty Slade. Lights out, lads.

THE RAMONES: Teenage Lobotomy

"Teenage Lobotomy?" May haveta amend that to "Senior Citizen Lobotomy," but otherwise? Some things don't change. Guess I'll have to break the news that I GOT NO MIND to lose....

GREAT BUILDINGS: Hold On To Something

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

HOLLY AND THE ITALIANS: Rock Against Romance

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's willful short-attention-span format discourages longer tracks. When it comes to TIRnRR airplay, a great under-two-minute track is in far better position than a great four-minute song to snag a berth on our playlist. And a five-minute song? This generally isn't the right show for that.

So I concede the fact that a track that's more than five and a half minutes long seems an unlikely component of any given episode of TIRnRR. It's not unprecedented, nor even sufficient cause to stop the presses, but it is something that doesn't happen very often. It happened this week with our first ever spin of "Rock Against Romance" by Holly and the Italians.

Holly and the Italians' 1981 debut (and, really, only) album The Right To Be Italian was a love at first spin, a perfect record that I've always loved without reservation or qualifying clause. Like, all-time Top 20 album at the very least. Its 5:39 closing track "Rock Against Romance" is, I think, the only one of the original LP's ten tracks that we've never played on the show, and hearing it again during a recent commute convinced me that I needed to take a stab at squeezing it in somewhere.

"Rock Against Romance" is nothing short of epic, a full body-and-soul immersion in love's promise and pitfalls, equal parts waifish and steely-eyed, dizzying in its giddiness, grounded in its world weariness, and stubborn enough to dig in its high heels and take arms against a sea of troubles. I would not be shocked to learn that the singer's packin' heat and has the will to use it.

It's also versed in every lesson it learned from listening to pop radio and teen bistro jukeboxes, reading rock mags, pulp paperbacks, and romance comic books alike, and boppin' to the beat in any dive bar that would allow it (or at least not care enough to ban it). Like CREEM magazine said, The Right To Be Italian sounds like Lesley Gore backed by Leave Home-era Ramones. "Tell That Girl To Shut Up" is its most authoritative statement. "Youth Coup" is its manifesto.

"Rock Against Romance" is its mic drop. Gotta find time for a mic drop.

THE MONKEES: The Girl I Knew Somewhere

September 12th marked the 60th anniversary of the debut of The Monkees TV series. For their first two albums, the individual members of the Monkees--Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork--were restricted to vocals-only duties on the records bearing their brand name, and strictly forbidden from playing instruments on the tracks. Nesmith was somehow able to insist on producing the studio sessions for Monkees songs he wrote, but he was not allowed to play even on those sessions. Yeah, the song's author and producer was barred from picking up a friggin' guitar ON HIS OWN MATERIAL. Madness!

That changed in 1967. The Monkees were playing concerts as a live band, and both Nesmith and Tork chafed at Musical Supervisor Don Kirshner's insistence that the Monkees could not--could NOT!--play on their own damned records. The Monkees revolted. Kirshner resisted. Management ruled that the Monkees could be the studio band for their next single, "All Of Your Toys." Kirshner blocked its release (and it remained in the vault until the '80s). The Monkees cried foul. Kirshner was fired. The Monkees prevailed.

And the Monkees played. From a previous post detailing my 25 favorite Monkees tracks: 

"Nesmith's 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere' was originally planned to share a single with the shelved 'All Of Your Toys.' As the B-side of 'A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,' it became the first public document of the Monkees themselves playing on record (with bassist John London). Nice introduction, even if too few acknowledged it. Nesmith occasionally expressed disinterest in writing pop songs, claiming weightier songwriting goals, but he was damned good at writing pop songs. While an alternate version of 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere' features a Nesmith lead vocal, the familiar Dolenz lead is unbeatable, propelled by Tork's harpsichord, Nesmith's guitar, Jones's tambourine, and London's bass. In the early '90s, I knew a college-age Monkees fan named Jennifer Skaja, and she became a fan in part because songs like 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere' sounded a bit like R.E.M. I agree with Jen on that point, and I would further state that a segue of R.E.M.'s '(Don't Go Back To) Rockville' into the Monkees' 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere' would be a just killer 1-2 punch.

RADIO KARMA: Sweetheart Deal

Radio Karma is the dynamic duo of long-time friend of this show Richard Rossi and supercool pop musician Joe Giddings. Rich is also a Flashcubes fan of several decades' standing, while Joe was inducted into 'Cubedom when we recruited him to cover "You're Not Grounded" for the Flashcubes tribute album. Together, they're detectives! Wait...that ain't right. No, together they're deities, at least according to the title of their debut three-song collection We Were Gods. Leadoff track "Sweetheart Deal" is resolutely radio-ready, which is why we've already put it on the radio two weeks in a row. It racks up week # 3 this Sunday. Bless us, Radio Karma!

THE KINKS: You Really Got Me

For Peggy Olson, wherever she is.

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book, its six-chapter novelette digest A Band Called GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!, and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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:9/17/2026

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 # 1353

PERILOUS: Overwhelmed By Reality

We jump-start this week's demostration of better radio through better radio with the debut spin of "Overwhelmed By Reality," the great new single from Perilous. In our ongoing effort to be an eensy bit less, y'know, whelmed, we will hear this fine track again on our next show. In the mean time, rock und rollers in the 315 have a chance to witness Perilous perform the song live on Friday, September 18th--TOMORROW!--at Funk 'n Waffles in Syracuse. It's a SPARK RADIO FUNDRAISER, and Perilous will be on a bill with the Flashing Astonishers and Know Nothing. YOU should be there! It is, after all, an overwhelmingly worthy cause.

THE KENNEDYS: Girl On A Motorcycle

The release of a new album by esteemed coffeehouse pop masters the Kennedys always scores an automatic and irrefutable claim to a piece of TIRnRR airspace, and their latest effort Smoketree continues that well-earned tradition. My immediate Smoketree favorite is "Girl On A Motorcycle," partially for its immediate titular connection to the enduring mystique of Marianne Faithfull...but mostly 'cuz it sounds so good. See, we're proud to be suckers for stuff that sounds good.

THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: Back Where You Belong

Ooo--more stuff that sounds good! We've been meaning to play the Cocktail Slippers' exuberant "Back Where You Belong" for quite some time, starting from way back when it was an ace advance single from the group's then-forthcoming album Joyride. Yeah, we're late to the party, but the album's out now, and trust me: This party is where we all belong. Welcome back, Cocktail Slippers!

SPECTRAFLAME: The Look In Your Eyes

Continuing the saga of TIRnRR's dedication to being suckers for stuff that sounds good, from a previous edition of 10 Songs:

Awright, we've been playing St. Petersburg, Florida's phenomenal pop combo Spectraflame a lot this year, a situation cued up by our pal Robbie Rist's involvement with (and recommendation of) the group, but maintained in dedicated earnest by the quality of Steve Burgess's original pop songcraft. We have three hours of airtime to occupy each week, and it's more efficient to occupy that airtime with good stuff. Spectraflame has proven to be a reliable resource for the good stuff, and "The Look In Your Eyes" is Spectraflame's best one yet. Resistance is futile. Occupation continues. I know that look.

DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

RADIO DAYS: Keep Me Straight

Aw, this is just so unerringly radio-ready, and I say that without intending a reference to the band's name. They're called Radio Days, but this is meant for radio days and nights and maybe even early mornings, too. It's from their new album Off The Record, but I'll go on the record with a straight-up vow to play this again on our next show.

THE MONKEES: Love To Love

September 12th marked the 60th anniversary of the debut broadcast of The Monkees TV series. I didn't see that first episode, but my sister got me watching not long thereafter, and I've been a fan ever since. We completely forgot about the anniversary when programming this week's show, but we did wind up including the Monkees anyway, with this spin of the 2016 remix of "Love To Love." As I wrote in a round up of my 25 favorite Monkees tracks:

Neil Diamond wrote four songs for the Monkees. We've discussed "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," and (in passing) "I'm A Believer," but my pick of the bunch is "Love To Love," recorded right before Don Kirshner's expulsion in '67 and officially unreleased until the '80s (on Rhino Records' 1982 picture disc Monkee Business, though a lo-fi, bootleg-quality recording of the track appeared on a 1979 Australian compilation called Monkeemania, released by Arista). This is my favorite Davy Jones song, an absolutely winning confection of pure, sweet pop music. The version released on the 1996 vault dive Missing Links Volume Three is sublime, but I've come to prefer the 2016 remix used for the Good Times! album, with its added backing vocals by Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.

[REDACTED] FEATURING [REDACTED]: [REDACTED]

Due out in November from the visionary Big Stir Records label. The 45 RPM single will be available for sale at Syracuse's legendary home for rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon on the evening of November 7th, which just happens to be the night of a really loud memorial show honoring Syracuse punk/new wave patron saint Paul Armstrong. A coincidence, I'm sure.

We've been playing it here for weeks, while coyly refusing to name it. We are such mother[redacted]ing teases. We will name it at the top of our very next show. And before that--hey, TOMORROW!--I'll talk about it when I guest on The Spoon podcast with Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers.

And if you already know what it is, that's fine, too. I don't mind.

THE BEATLES: Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Hey, speakin' of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse [redacted], their '70s live sets used to include a cover of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," a Larry Williams R 'n' B gem they (like most of us) learned from the Beatles. When [redacted] opened for the Runaways and the Ramones in 1978, I recall [redacted] guitarist Arty [Redacted] telling me that he'd always thought it was a Beatles original, and had then just recently discovered the Fabs didn't create it. Yeah, I replied helpfully, It was like Little Richard, I think. This serves as a reminder that, at the age of 18, I was already a dumbass.

I did learn better. No, honest! And recently, when I was interviewing Arty [Redacted] for a book I'm writing, he told me:

"Well, you know, the Beatles, you learn more and more when you listen to the songs that they were doing, all those beautiful gems of American black music. I mean, it's an incredible thing. I finally heard the original version of "Devil In Her Heart" [by the Donays] fairly recently. And it's just one of the greatest records you've ever heard. You know, the Beatles just had such unbelievable taste. Because those records, when you listen to Larry Williams and stuff, his versions really hold up in a big way. I mean, [the Beatles] were copying some of the greatest music...."

Agreed. Even the best of the best had to learn somewhere.

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Runaway

Run away? From this reality? Oh, I am IN...!

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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: 12/20/2025

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 # 1315

SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man

The passing of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper compelled us to attempt a modest tribute to Cropper's legacy, and the show itself opened with Cropper's immortal guitar work on Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man." Play it, Steve.

From the "Soul Man" chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"It ain't braggin' if you can do it.

"Like many others among my generation of pop fans, my introduction to the music of Sam and Dave was ass-backwards. I have no recollection whatsoever of Sam and Dave's music from when I was a kid in the '60s, nor did I develop any awareness of them as an oldies-obsessed adolescent and teen in the '70s. I'm embarrassed to admit that I first heard the song 'Soul Man' via Saturday Night Live, when John Belushi and Dan Akroyd performed it on the show in their incarnation as Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers.

"I didn't care much about the Blues Brothers on SNL, but the Blues Brothers' subsequent recorded version sizzled, thanks largely to the irresistible guitar work of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper. Cropper and bassist Duck Dunn had also played on the original Sam and Dave recording of 'Soul Man,' and Jake and Elwood's faux soul revival eventually led me to the real deal. Gotta give Belushi and Akroyd some respect for knowing who to hang with. But once I did hear Sam and Dave's 'Soul Man' and 'Hold On, I'm Coming,' I would have neither time nor inclination to ever listen to the Blues Brothers again.

"The song itself is an extended boast. But it's a boast backed up by its collective prowess. Responding to Sam and Dave's command Play it, Steve!, Cropper's guitar work cuts and advances like an agile offensive line, its easygoing sway belying the force and efficiency of its piledriving advance. The Memphis Horns add bounce to spare. Resistance is futile...."

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

It has been a very, very long time since we've played anything by the Little Girls, a fab 1980s SoCal pop combo fronted by sisters Caron Maso and Michele Maso. Their track "Earthquake Song" scored at least one TIRnRR spin some time back in the way back; a recent message from Caron prompted me to snap up a digital copy of their Thank Heaven For Valley Pop compilation, with an eye and ear toward renewed Little Girls airplay. I was immediately struck by the snarky pop perfection of "How To Pick Up Girls," and PRESTO! The Little Girls have at long last returned to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Betcha we'll be hearing 'em again as we pick up 2026. Thank heaven!

JIM BASNIGHT: Get It Out

This week's TIRnRR was our last regular show of 2025, as the rest of December is taken up by The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show this coming Sunday and then the year-end Countdown show on December 28th. The Christmas show has already been recorded, and we submitted an advance copy of that playlist to our stats man Fritz Van Leaven. He, in turn, has provided us with the rankings of our 50 most-played tracks this year.

This week's show included 13 of the tracks that will be in our Top 50 Countdown. Jim Basnight's "Get It Out" happens to be one of 'em. I have seen the Countdown and it is good!

OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Also in tribute to the song's producer and co-author Steve Cropper, and also from The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

 "Far from home, with nothing to do. Nothing worth doing, anyway.

"But who can say what might have been?

"Soul singer Otis Redding's only crossover pop hit was '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay,' an incredible mix of pride and resignation, a swagger reduced to a shrug. It was a posthumous # 1, ascending the charts after Redding perished in a plane crash in 1967. 

"But there was more to the story. There was much, much more to that story.

"Redding was a huge, huge star on the R & B charts. Rock promoter Bill Graham referred to Redding as "the black Elvis," an electrifying showman with a nigh-unique potential to unite black and white audiences under one big soulful pop rock 'n' roll tent. He wasn't a crossover artist, not in the same sense as the Motown acts selling 45s by the truckload to young America. Redding was the single greatest voice of Stax/Volt Records, a Memphis label that was pure soul. Crossover? Let the white kids cross over to us, man. If anyone could achieve that specific level of destiny in the '60s, it was gonna be Otis Redding.

"Except that it wasn't...."

WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

PERILOUS: Can't Stand The Holidaze

JAMIE HOOVER: Surfin' With Santa

THE KRAYOLAS: Maria Believes In Christmas Again

OTIS REDDING: Merry Christmas Baby

As each December comes rollin' around, we're reluctant to start programming much (if any) Christmas music, generally preferring to save the Yuletunes for the Christmas show itself. We did include "Carol Of The Guitars" by the Spongetones in the post-tag spot at the very end of last week's show. Otherwise? Deck your own halls if you wish. We weren't ready yet.

Knowing how difficult it is to squeeze all the seasonal sides we wanna play into the always-crowded playlist for the actual Christmas show, I wanted to mix some of our new 2025 holiday-centric acquisitions into this week's pre-Christmas show extravaganza. Our pals Perilous bring us the gift of cantankerousness with their new single "Can't Stand The Holidaze," Spongetones guitarist Jamie Hoover (working with TIRnRR stalwart Rich Rossi) bails entirely on the silly concept of winter wonderland with his new single "Surfin' With Santa," and the Krayolas fire up replenished faith in something brighter with "Maria Believes In Chjristmas Again." All great, all well worthy of airplay, and the Krayolas' track has the potential to be an evergreen on future This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Christmas shows. (We weren't able to find room this week for a track from Blaine Campbell and the California Sound's Holidays EP, but one will appear in the Christmas show.)

Dovetailing our Steve Cropper feature with our late-December concession that Christmas is indeed coming, we also played Otis Redding's version of "Merry Christmas Baby." The song was first recorded in 1947 by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers--someone send a thank-you eggnog to Wikipedia!--and my first recollection of the tune was when the 1987 various-artists Special Olympics benefit album A Very Special Christmas included a live rendition performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Boss provided me with a fine introduction to the song; it's also been recorded by Ike and Tina Turner, King Elvis I, Chuck Berry, the Monkees, and a sleigh-full of other artists.

Otis Redding's version is definitive.

BOOKER T AND THE MG'S: Jingle Bells

As we get ready for The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show, our celebrative dash through the snow is once again accompanied by the guitar sound of Steve Cropper. Godspeed to the axe of Stax.  

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: 12/13/2025

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 # 1314

MICHAEL SIMMONS: Switchboard Susan

The rant accompanying this week's posted playlist waxed rhapsodically anna half about Fun Where You Can Find It, the splendid new covers album by rockin' pop whirlwind Michael Simmons. To wit:

"...On Fun Where You Can Find It, the original source material saluted by Simmons is varied and delightful, as our Michael meets 'n' greets the diverse likes of the Grass Roots, the Beach Boys, Squeeze. Steely Dan, World Party, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Lowe, Fountains of Wayne, Genesis, Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey, and Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, looks 'em each in the eye without flinching, smiles, and buys 'em all the drinks of their choice. Whether we're imbibing bourbon or Yoo-hoo, we're havin' a party.

"And here's the party's soundtrack: A Top Ten plus one, going up to eleven with taste, accomplishment, and an overriding belief that the song's the thing, the music matters, and love of music can help turn doldrums into gold. Like Midas. Like Brian Wilson. Like this. True treasure. Anyone who loves pop music should treasure Michael Simmons. 

"We sure do...."

We opened this week's irresistible extravaganza with Michael's ace take on "Switchboard Susan," a Mickey Jupp tune made essential by Nick Lowe. The Searchers also cut of very nice version, and Michael does not disappoint in his own effort to bring a smile to your dial. We'll hear Michael's take on a Steely Dan in our next show.

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

Accept no substitutes: The Flashcubes' "Reminisce" is my favorite new track of 2025. And (with apologies to the Velvelettes), that is really sayin' somethin'. Amidst this year's considerable real-world faults, we have seen a veritable treasure trove of utterly fantastic new music. There has been music to inspire us, music to comfort us, music to challenge us, music to nurture us, music to cheer us, music to marshal the power of righteous anger, music to transcend, music to look ahead...

...and music to reminisce.

I'm biased--proudly so--but I do believe that a project I curated--the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes--can stand among the year's best. Each of the album's 24 tracks is compelling in its own right, and damned near nonpareil in context, gathering 21 great acts executing great covers of great songs written by members of the Flashcubes, and we set the ol' needle firmly into ragin', ravin' red by inviting the Flashcubes to contribute three new original recordings as well. 

The Flashcubes rise to the occasion of enhancing their own tribute album, and all three of the new 'Cubes classics--"Reminisce," "In These Hands," and "The Sweet Spot"--are bright-lights brilliant, all worthy contenders for anyone's Tops of '25 list. 

"Reminisce" was Make Something Happen!'s first advance single. It's the album's lead-off track. Rumor suggests it may soon be getting another renewed push as a single. And each and every spin of "Reminisce" compels me to raise my friggin' fist in accord and sheer exultation. The buzz is eternal, self-renewing, and endlessly invigorating. The path forward is built from the experiences that brought us this far. The mantra supplied by the Ramones and reaffirmed by the Flashcubes remains steadfast and true:

Hey-ho. Let's go.

SWEET: The Ballroom Blitz

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

PERILOUS: Glass Of Something

The mighty Perilous have a new EP called SOS, which collects all of their previous 2025 digital singles plus a remix of their remake of "Band Aid," a song originally done by drummer Paul Doherty's former group the Trend. Perilous have been TIRnRR Fave Raves from the get-go, they allowed us to use their incredible "Rock 'n' Roll Kiss" on our 2022 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, AND they played at the release party for my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. Say it with me: WE'RE FANS!! And that's worth a toast with a glass of something. We'll have a brand-new Perilous holiday track on our next program.

GAME THEORY: Linus And Lucy

Sure, it's Game Theory covering a much-loved perennial first heard 60 years on the inaugural broadcast of the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. But it's NOT a Christmas tune! Not really! It's too soon for Christmas music! It's not time yet! It's...we...but...

...damn.

THE JAC: Summer Forever

THE HALF/CUBES: Feels Like Summer

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime

THE RAMONES: Rockaway Beach

Willful denial. Technically, we're not even up to winter yet, but who are we kidding? This is Syracuse! OF COURSE it's been snowing! I say thee Duh! The release of the superswell new single "Summer Forever" by the JAC provided sufficient excuse for me to slip a frolicsome foursome of fun-in-the-sun frivolity into this week's closing set (mingling with abandon alongside Dana's spins of Amy Rigby, XTC, the Pretenders, and Her Majesty's Ramones the Beatles).

I was not at all familiar with Tim Wheeler's "Feels Like Summer"--I'm listening to it for the very first time as I write this--but I was immediately in favor of programming  the Half/Cubes' exuberant cover, as heard on their current album Found Pearls. Wheeler's original is likewise pretty cool (even in summer), and it feels like ya can't go wrong either way.

I have previously written that Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun In The Summertime" is "as inviting and idyllic as any June-July-August embrace ever committed to wax, a comforting groove that shines in the daytime and sways with the shadows of twilight." I later added, "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."

And the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" speaks for itself. Even though the Beatles will always be my all-time favorite group, the Ramones inspire a specific resonance and reverence within me. No other band's music can match the Ramones' ability to improve my moods at their darkest moments. Church of Ramones. Testify, brudders. The summer promised in "Rockaway Beach" currently is far and hard to reach...but we'll hitch a ride and get there when we get there.

THE SPONGETONES: Carol Of The Guitars

And so the calendar grows thin. The Spongetones herald (as in "Hark...!") the tentative beginning of TIRnRR's short Christmas season. We rarely play Yuletunes before mid-December, but we've gotta admit it's about that time. We'll dip a stocking into that pool on our next show, with new seasonal sides from Perilous, Jamie Hoover, and the Krayolas, plus two Christmas Stax classics in memory of our Featured Performer Steve Cropper. We'll follow up the following week, December 21st, with The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show.

Eggnog all around!! I'll join you as soon as I've cleared my driveway.

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.