10 SONGS: 11/8/2025

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 # 1309

THE GOLD NEEDLES: Ghost In The Airwaves

Awright! Even as we barrel past October 31st with manic intent, we're still playing goodies from Big Stir Records' fabulous Halloween compilation Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies. Yeah, we pride ourselves on being jack o'lanterns for ALL seasons. This week, that deliberate pursuit of tricky treats brings us to the Gold Needles' Chilling-Thrilling-HAUNTED! hit "Ghost In The Airwaves," which seems a natural choice to put the ol' poltergeist into our little mutant radio signal. We'll hear Strawberry Alarm Clock's contribution to this album on our next show. And for further gilded 'n' pointed deviltry, stay tuned for more from the Gold Needles in two weeks, as we dive into their brand-new album Mood Elevator. Stick with us, you silver threads! We all shine on.

THE PRETENDERS: What You Gonna Do About It?

Both Dana and I love the music of the Small Faces, and I'm gonna guess that Chrissie Hynde and her great Pretenders are Small Faces fans as well. Their take on the Small Faces' "What You Gonna Do About It?" is outstanding, and might even surpass the original. 

THE HALF/CUBES: When I Look In Your Eyes

"When I Look In Your Eyes" was the first track by the Romantics that I ever heard on the radio. It wasn't my first exposure to the Romantics; it was Romantics # 6 for me, as I already owned copies of their two indie singles ("Little White Lies"/"I Can't Tell You Anything" and "Tell It To Carrie"/"First In Line"), plus the compilation LP cut "Let's Swing." But in 1979, the only DJ I'd heard spinning any of those Romantics classics was future DJ me, either at home in the Syracuse suburbs or in my Brockport college dorm room.

In (I think) late '79, Syracuse's 95X started playing "When I Look In Your Eyes" as an advance track from the Romantics' forthcoming eponymous debut album. That album wasn't released until January 1980, but I clearly remember hearing the track on 95X prior to the LP's street date. My memory insists I heard it in the summer, but I suspect my memory mighta been drinking. Whenever it was, I was thrilled to hear power pop on commercial radio.

My hometown heroes the Flashcubes were contemporaries of the Romantics, and the two bands shared bills at shows in Syracuse and Detroit. Alas, the Romantics' appearances in the 315 always occurred when I was out of town, matriculatin' elsewhere. The Flashcubes also had a track ("Christi Girl") on the same compilation (Waves Vol. 1) that sported the Romantics' "Let's Swing."  

Now, the Half/Cubes (featuring Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay and drummer/producer Tommy Allen, plus Randy Klawon and Fernando Perdomo) have recorded an absolutely exquisite cover of "When I Look In Your Eyes" as a track on the uber-fab new Half/Cubes album Found Pearls. It still sounds great in its natural habitat: On the radio, playing loud.

THE SPONGETONES: It Seemed So Easy

Power Pop Hall of Famers the Spongetones are a regular and welcome presence on TIRnRR, and 2025 has provided us with a treasure trove of new Spongetones tracks to program with our usual delirious dedication. They released three swell new singles this year, and then packaged those studio winners as the "and beyond" portion of  their new live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond. They have a track on the above-hyped Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies. Of course they have a track on my labor-o'-love compilation Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Duh.

And the Spongetones pay proper tribute to power pop's ur-band Raspberries with a kickin' cover of "It Seemed So Easy," as heard on our pal Ken Sharp's flat-out fantastic compilation Play On: A Raspberries Tribute. We're gonna play this again on our next show, too. All hail this Year of the Spongetones.

THE CHELSEA CURVE: Rally Round

Wait, how has this not already appeared in a previous 10 Songs...?! I swear to Joey Ramone. I'd fire me if I could find someone cheaper. The Chelsea Curve's "Rally Round" is wall-to-wall invigmoration, it's one of this year's best singles, and we're gonna keep on playing it for the specific purpose of invigmoratin' in earnest. Invigmoration is its own reward. Rally round!

SLADE: Gudbuy T' Jane

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Do You Wanna Dance?

From a previous 10 Songs:

As much as we associate the film Rock 'n' Roll High School with the Ramones, actress P. J. Soles was the film's actual star, playing Riff Randell, teen rock 'n' roller. But the Ramones are at the heart of it all, and I can't imagine how the movie would have played with its previous intended band Cheap Trick (or director Allan Arkush's teen fantasy of a making a movie with the Yardbirds), nor how producer Roger Corman's original concept of Disco High could have succeeded on any aesthetic level. The essential nature of the Ramones' involvement here reminds me of what Roger Ebert said about the Beatles' first movie: If A Hard Day's Night had been shot in color, but was otherwise identical, frame by frame, it would not have been the same classic (and classic feeling) film as it is in black and white. The iconic black and white images of the Beatles are an essential part of A Hard Day's Night, just as the Ramones are central to Rock 'n' Roll High School.

Ramones music plays throughout the film, mixed with treats by Chuck Berry, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Devo, MC5, Alice Cooper, Brownsville Station, the Velvet Underground, and more. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Marky have brief "acting" bits, and five on-screen musical appearances. When we first see them, they lip-sync "I Just Want To Have Something To Do," and they show up in a dream sequence in Riff's bedroom--nice work if you can get it--serenading her with "I Want You Around." 

The Ramones return for two more songs at the film's climax. The film ends with title tune "Rock 'n' Roll High School," but the first of the two is "Do You Wanna Dance?," a cover of the familiar rock 'n' roll classic. For a very, very long time I regarded this as my all-time favorite cover of anything by anybody. And while I've kinda shifted my allegiance to the Ramones' cover of Tom Waits's "I Don't Want To Grow Up," I still wanna dance.

Don't you?

KATRINA LESKANICH: Honey Lamb

Katrina and the Waves' sublime signature hit "Walking On Sunshine" was my own Song of the Summer in 1985, and it's not even the group's very best track (an honor I'd bestow upon "Red Wine And Whiskey"). I get a warm 'n' sunshiny feeling just knowing that Katrina Leskanich is still walking that walk, and her glorious new single "Honey Lamb" remakes a lesser-known Katrina and the Waves to spectacular result. 

ACAPULCO LIPS: Fuzzy Sunshine

Gotta admit that I wasn't familiar with Acapulco Lips prior to hearing them as guests on a recent episode of the always-vital Only Three Lads podcast. The group's bassist/vocalist Maria-Elena Herrell immediately earned my respect by naming the Barracudas's Drop Out With The Barracudas (one of my all-time Love At First Spin perfect albums) among her Top 5 beach albums. PREACH!! And if mere great taste on the part of Herrell and her bandmates weren't enough to automatically make you a fan, a listen to their music will win you over to the righteous cause of all things Acapulco Lips. And while I'm cursing the fact that I didn't know about the group during [ahem] THE TWELVE YEARS THAT HAVE PASSED SINCE THEIR FIRST RELEASE, I thank O3L in there here and now, and we play this gorgeous track "Fuzzy Sunshine" from 2025's Now. Better late than not at all, and any record you ain't heard is a new record. If the sunshine's fuzzy, man, it feels fresh to me.

THE MONKEES: Daily Nightly

Psychedelic!

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 (no, 11!) SONGS: 1/12/2024 (Our Most-Played Artists In 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 first of two editions of 10 Songs expands to 11 songs, celebrating TIRnRR's 11 most-played artists in 2023. The Countdown show is available as a podcast.

11. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Listen, The Snow Is Falling

TIRnRR ends each year/begins the next with a Countdown show, playing back what we played a lot over the course of the preceding twelve months. Our friend Fritz Van Leaven minds our stats, and provides us with two countdown lists, detailing the year's most-played artists and most-played tracks.

For a very long time, the countdown tallies were based solely on the year's accumulated spins, resulting in a number of ties. Fritz thought that was waaaay too clunky, so he instituted a series of tie-breakers to maintain the sort of compelling order a proper countdown needs. That's why the number of tracks included in the countdown--a Top 46 this year, a Top 60 last year, a Top 56 the year before that--varies so much. The tie-breakers provide structure, but we make sure to include all tracks that qualify for the countdown.

The same goes for the artist countdown. This year, our # 11 and # 10 most-played artists received the same number of individual spins, so today's 10 Songs fist-bump huzzah of our most-played acts in 2023 needs to ape Spinal Tap and go to...you know. Eleven is the number. The number is eleven.

With two songs in our most-played tracks countdown (including our # 2 track "Can't Wait 'Till Summer"), Librarians With Hickeys scored some significant TIRnRR spinnin' in 2023.  To represent them in our artist countdown, we selected their sublime cover of Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling." 

We're told we can expect new music from Librarians With Hickeys in 2024. It seems pretty likely we'll be playing it. Listen.

10. STEVE STOECKEL: Christine

It would be accurate (and cool!) to call Steve Stoeckel a friend of this show. Dana and I have been fans for years 'n' years, blasting off from Steve's wonderful work as a member of the Spongetones and proceeding in all directions. We've never met Steve, but somewhere along the way we became on-line pals. We're delighted to play his music, solo and in groups. Steve credits TIRnRR with sparking the creation of his group Pop Co-Op, and he was one of the prime movers behind Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Thank you, friend!

The 2023 release of Steve's first solo album The Power Of And gave us MORE Steve Stoeckel to play. So we played it. That's what friends are for. 

(Plus, it's really good. That doesn't hurt either.)

9. THE GRIP WEEDS: Rainbow Quartz

The Grip Weeds made their first-ever Syracuse appearance in October, and we're still buzzin'. Whatta band! They've been TIRnRR perennials for a quarter of a century, and that ain't gonna stop. The Grip Weeds' 2022 all-covers album DiG has been a very frequent playlist resource for Dana and I both, and the DiG cover of the Byrds' "Lady Friend" was a shoo-in for the list of our ten most-played tracks.

We like good covers, and we like 'em a lot. Still, we're hankerin' to hear more Grip Weeds originals. To represent the Grip Weeds on our most-played artists countdown, we reached back to the Grip Weeds' 2015 album How I Won The War and an irresistible track called "Rainbow Quartz." But make no mistake: Whether it's a cover or an original, we dig the Grip Weeds.

8. THE PRETENDERS: Night In My Veins

One of TIRnRR's strengths is that its playlists are built by two people, 50-50, rather than by just one. Dana and I have similar ideas about what fits our chosen format, but the specifics are programmed by a melting pot of our respective points of view. Dana programs the annual Dana's Funky Soul Pit by himself. I generally solo-program one playlist a year. And Fritz, of course, does the Countdown. Otherwise? Half Dana. Half Carl. I play a record. Dana plays a record. Back and forth. This is rock 'n' roll radio.

I love the Pretenders. I saw the original lineup in 1980, bought the singles and albums, and my affection for the group has never wavered. Having completed the draft of my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I'm trying to compose a celebration of the Pretenders' "Back On The Chain Gang" for a (very) theoretical GREM! sequel. I'm a Pretenders fan.

That said, the Pretenders' airplay on this show is almost always one of Dana's picks. No reason why, and I'm delighted to hear 'em, including the selections Dana's been playing from the Pretenders' fab 2023 album Relentless. Great, great stuff, and all well worthy of a home on the radio.

To represent the Pretenders on our artists countdown, the initial pick was "Cuban Slide," a superb non-album track from 1979 which was just too long to squeeze into an already jam-packed show. Instead, 1994's terrific "Night In My Veins" served as an equally able choice. 

7. THE KINKS: Who'll Be The Next In Line

The House Band! The Kinks are the only act to ever take over the entirety of the programming for an episode of TIRnRR, and we actually did TWO all-Kinks shows. I don't think we played them as much as we should have in 2023...but we still played 'em often enough to secure # 7 on the list of our most-played acts last year. 

I betcha they'll place at least a little higher in 2024. Who'll be the next in line? We'll see.

6. JUNIPER: Picture Of You

Teen singer Juniper is for damned sure no stranger to TIRnRR's playlist. But her 2023 release She Steals Candy was just huge for us last year, even more so than any of her previous TIRnRR Picks T' Click. Two of She Steals Candy's sweet treats were among our go-tos in '23: The wonderful "Ride Between The Cars" (represented on the countdown by its AM mix) and her incredible cover of Amy Rigby's "Baby Doll" (our # 3 track). Also from She Steals Candy, Juniper's cover of Delbert McClinton's "Picture Of You" provides a perfect, wistful ache to represent her as our sixth most-played artist in 2023.

5. THE MUFFS: Sad Tomorrow

The Muffs entered our custom-made radio world in the early '90s, when their eponymous debut album was released. This fell in between the sudden demise of the first Dana and Carl radio series We're Your Friends For Now in 1992 and the start of whatever the hell it is we've done on TIRnRR from December 27, 1998 to date. I reviewed The Muffs for Goldmine, and I fell particularly hard for its track "Saying Goodbye." Shortly after its release, "Saying Goodbye" became the first Muffs track ever played on a Dana and Carl radio show, appearing on an episode of our '90s gig between gigs Radio Peace, the series of shows we recorded on cassette (a weird story that's part of our weird history).

And when we signed on for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1 on 12/27/1998, "Sad Tomorrow" (from the Muffs' second album Blonder And Blonder) was part of our first TIRnRR playlist. It remains a part of TIRnRR's DNA, as does most of the Muffs' under-celebrated cranky catalogue of wonder.

4. THE MONKEES: Love Is Only Sleeping

The Monkees may be the most unfairly overlooked and underappreciated superstar artists of the rock 'n' roll era. If that seems like a contradiction in terms, consider the bickering but congruent sets of facts that the Monkees were enormously popular but critically reviled in their day. The legacy of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork continues to attract newer fans and delight long-time believers as well, even as know-nothing pundits deny the group's merit and The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame sticks its fingers in its ears (and its head up its ass) and murmurs Neener-Neener-CAN'T HEAR YOU! whenever someone makes the logical case that it's way past time to induct the Monkees.

TIRnRR will continue to give the Monkees their due. And for as long as we have a show, it's very unlikely there will ever be a year when the Monkees won't be among our most-played acts.

As for the song we selected to represent the Monkees at # 4, here's a li'l something from a post called "Once Upon A Once-In-A-While: My 25 Favorite Monkees Tracks:"

"I've written elsewhere of my discovery of the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Head albums as a high school senior in the Spring of 1977. I had already heard 'Love Is Only Sleeping' in TV reruns, but it really hit me for the first time in '77. Lyrically, this Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil song may be about female sexual dysfunction (more so than Sandie Shaw's deceptively-titled 'Girl Don't Come' anyway), but it's so much more than that. It's a tale of hope. It's a tale of frustration and despair conquered by passion and persistence, sweet deliverance earned and embraced. Chip Douglas' bass and Nesmith's guitar slice, as Michael's lead vocal shimmers with cool, calm confidence, all made breathier and more inviting by harmony from Dolenz. Love is only sleeping. Try it! It can work for you, too!"

3. THE BEATLES: Magical Mystery Tour

Roll up! I think Dana would agree that neither this radio show nor pop music itself could have happened for us in the same essential and meaningful way if not for the Beatles. I'm just old enough to remember the rush of Beatlemania in 1964, and I still remember how they were simply synonymous with pop when I was four years old.

Six decades later: They still are. 

2. THE FLASHCUBES: Alone In My Room

I'm not 100 % sure, but I'm pretty sure we played every track from the Flashcubes' 2023 album Pop Masters at least once last year; if so, it's probably the only album that can make that claim. Two of its tracks made our Top Ten. A third, the Flashcubes' cover of Dwight Twilley's "Alone In My Room," serves to represent the 'Cubes as our second most-played artist of the year.

The Monkees. The Beatles. The Flashcubes. If you know this show, that makes it pretty clear who are # 1 most-played act has gotta be.

1. THE RAMONES: Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue

Inevitable. My book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones was published in 2023, and while the Ramones are gonna be among our top acts each 'n' every year anyway, there was never any doubt they'd be our # 1 group this time out. The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll group of all time. The Ramones at # 1? Obviously.

To represent the Ramones on our artist countdown, we were originally going to use their invigmoratin' cover of Tom Waits' "I Don't Want To Grow Up." It is, after all, The Greatest Record Ever Made!, and a righteous statement of intent. BUT! We needed something shorter, and went instead with a different statement of intent. "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." 

Because goals are important.

And thus this recap of our most-played artists in 2023 concludes with the Ramones. Tomorrow, a recap of our ten most-played tracks will begin with the Ramones. Hey-ho, let's go.

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

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: Boxing Day Edition

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 # 1213: The 25th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show. This show is available as a podcast.

THE GRIP WEEDS: Santa Make Me Good

For this 2023 holiday season, the jolly souls at the mighty Jem Records label have executed the mitzvah of reissuing the Grip Weeds' fabulous 2011 album Under The Influence Of Christmas. Tracks from this record have been frequent fixtures on our TIRnRR Christmas shows since the dawn of ever, dating back even before the original album's release. We're delighted to see it return to retail--where it belongs!--with the extra added jingle that three of its tracks have been remixed especially for this big 'n' bright world of Christmas Future.

One of those remixed tracks is "Santa Make Me Good," with guest lead vocals from none other than Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Kicks! CHRISTMAS kicks! Following our traditional welcoming song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John and Yoko, the Ghost of Christmas Cool decreed this nice, naughty gem absolutely hadda open our program of The 25th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N ' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show.  

JUSTINE'S BLACK THREADS: Angels We Have Heard On High

We lost some heroes in 2023, and we lost some friends. The late Justine Covault was both, and a TIRnRR Fave Rave as a performer with Justine and the Unclean and as a proud ambassador of the rockin' pop cause, particularly with her own label Red On Red Records. Justine will be missed for a very, very long time. 

Angels we have heard on high. We've heard some angels right here with us, as well.

THE GEMS: Love For Christmas

Such a pretty song, and it's far more obscure than it should be. The Gems were a girl group in the '60s, recording for Chess Records, and Discogs informs us that the Gems also served as backing vocal group for other Chess artists. I would be very open to buying a CD compilation of the Gems' work, especially if the rest of their material is even half as sublime as "Love For Christmas." 

This single was released in 1964, and its assorted assembled Gems presumably include one then-unknown Minnie Riperton, who was a member of the group. If Riperton is on this track, it's a lovely footnote to her career; if she ain't, this is still one fantastic record to love for Christmas.

MAPLE MARS: Christmastime In The City

Our only new holiday track this year, but it's a good one: a split digital single from the merry and bright Big Stir Records, featuring a new Maple Mars song called "Christmastime In The City" coupled with that group's Rick Hromadka covering the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling." Let those silver bells clang 'n' call at will. It's Christmastime in the city.

THE MONKEES: House Of Broken Gingerbread

I like the Monkees' 2018 album Christmas Party, but I've never quite been able to fully embrace its charms. Weird but true: I resent the fact that the Monkees' final studio album was a Christmas record instead of, y'know, a real album. I love Christmas music when I'm in the mood for it, and I love the Monkees year-round. After the out-and-out triumph of the Monkees' 2016 album Good Times!, I would have very much preferred one more...yeah, one more real Monkees album.

I can't justify my apparent Grinchiness in this matter, but nor will I deny it. And what the hell, I was the Grinch in our 1968 third grade production of the play based on the Dr. Seuss book; maybe I've retained a bit of my role's curmudgeonly demeanor, even if my heart did grow three sizes that day.

On the annual TIRnRR Christmas shows, we usually--almost always--play "Riu Chiu," a 16th century Spanish classical folk song that the Monkees--Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork--performed a cappella on their TV show in 1967. I was working at a record store at the time of resurgent Monkeemania in 1986, and kids who'd seen reruns of the TV series on MTV came in looking for the Monkees' "Riu Chiu." Alas, it had never been released to retail.

An alternate version of "Riu Chiu" (without Davy Jones, with producer Chip Douglas) appeared in 1990 on the rarities/previously-unreleased CD collection Missing Links Volume Two. The original TV performance has since been released as well (on an expanded version of the Monkees' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.), and it was also included on the Target-exclusive edition of Christmas Party.

This year, we gave "Riu Chiu" some well-deserved time off, and we went instead to the Christmas Party track "House Of Broken Gingerbread." Written by novelist Michael Chabon and the late, great Adam Schlesinger (who produced Good Times! and most of Christmas Party), the song is told from the POV of a child whose parents have divorced. It's not exactly a happy holiday song, but Micky's commanding vocal and winning way with a Fa-la-la-la-lalala-la nonetheless manage to make spirits bright.

I  wish the Monkees had made one more non-seasonal album after Good Times! That wish ended with the deaths of Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith, and I am emphatically not interested in Micky adding new parts to unreleased recordings by Peter, Michael, and/or Davy. So Christmas Party must stand as the Monkees' final studio album.

And even a Grinch can concede its value.

IRENE PEÑA: Will You Turn Up (For Christmas)

What better way to set those visions of sugarplums dancin' in our heads than the sound of America's Sweetheart Irene Peña? NO better way! This bouncy number comes to us courtesy of the fab 'n' festive compilation Big Stir Singles: The Yuletide Wave, a star of wonder that also pointed this year's TIRnRR holiday spectacular toward tunes from the Brothers Steve, Dolph Chaney, Blake Jones and the Trike Shop, and Kimberly Rew and Lee Cave-Berry. Turn up for turnin' up! This ain't no silent night, people. Rest ye later, merry gentlekids. We got sweet treats to enjoy.

THE RAMONES: Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE IDEA: It's About That Time

It's about that time we gather 'round the Christmas tree

Staring at the packages

Wonder which one's for me

Outside the streets are painted white

Windows aglow with colored lights

On the TV It's A Wonderful Life

"It's About That Time" by the Idea (aka Phil Angotti and the Idea) is my all-time favorite Christmas track, my all-time favorite Christmas song. No qualifier applies. It's not just my favorite power pop Christmas song, or my favorite rock 'n' roll Christmas song, or my favorite pop Christmas song, or my favorite secular Christmas song; it's my FAVORITE Christmas song. It never fails to make me feel good. It puts me in the spirit whether I wanna be in the spirit or not. It is joy and delight in audio form. Play it. Sing along with it. It's about that time.

THE PRETENDERS: 2000 Miles

It is a built-in characteristic of our annual Christmas shows that we have way, way more holiday music we wanna play than we have airtime to play them. This year, tracks by Graham Parker (with Nona Hendryx), the Smithereens, Darlene Love, the Flirtations, the Decibels, and King Elvis I actually made the playlist prior to some necessary trimming, and a bunch of other almosts (including Dean Landew's "Holiday Bash," Rotary Connection's "Christmas Love," and Michael Mitsch's "Christmas Crystals") were on deck, waiting for a spot. A three-hour slot fills up quickly. 

Dana and I each had a preferred track for our final individual selection of the season. Mine was, of course, the Idea's "It's About That Time." Dana's was "2000 Miles" by the Pretenders. We played them back to back to end the show's main part, the giddy anticipation of "It's About That Time" transitioning into the longing ache of "2000 Miles." 

That's the mix of emotion this season offers us. There are things we want that we can't have, things well beyond the realm of material goods. If we're lucky, we're able to balance the lack of what we can't attain with something that we can.

I wrote this at Christmas three years ago. It may bear repeating:

Father Christmas sighed.

He was a saint, but he was in many ways still as human as any of us. It had been such a long, difficult year. He could feel the pain of so, so many, of the children and the grown-up children alike, all over this world of wonder. Pain. Fear. Despair. The chilling gray of uncertainty. He knew the magic of hope. He embraced the redemptive power of faith. And yet he understood that even the belief in something better might not be enough to cast sufficient light into the darkness.

He also knew that the magic--of hope, of faith, of belief, of light itself--was often the only resource one could summon. The magic could fuel courage, and be fueled by courage in turn. The magic could draw strength from love, and fortify love with strength. 

It wasn't about the toys. It was never really about the toys. It was always about striving to be better, kinder, to be good rather than evil, nice rather than naughty. He still believed. He would always believe. 

That ache in his shoulder, that heaviness in his chest--did he suffer those mundane ailments a century ago? Did he feel them last year? He couldn't remember, and he decided it didn't matter anyway. He had a job to do. 

Father Christmas rose from his chair. He wiped away the stray tear that stung his eye, and he hoisted his sack over his back. The damned thing got heavier every year. But he stood, determined and resolute. He was a symbol; he knew his importance and he knew his limitations. He didn't have Playstations, nor playthings of any kind. No His and Hers sports cars, no Beatles records, not even a fruitcake. The material gifts would be given and received outside of his provenance. His sack was filled with the magic itself: the wishes, the dreams, the prayers for brighter days, and the will to make days brighter to the best of our mortal ability.

As he boarded his sleigh, Father Christmas thought back once again to the words of Robert Frost, the words he recalled every year as he began his miracle trek around the globe: 

"I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."

He would not fail. His belief would see him through. 

And us? Music will help see us through. On Dasher, on Dancer. Especially Dancer. 2000 miles. Better pull up a playlist and hit the road.

GEORGE HARRISON: Ding Dong, Ding Dong

A new year awaits. Tomorrow, December 27th, is This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 25th anniversary, and Dana and I will be recording a celebratory show to air on New Year's Eve. In the mean time, we ring out the old and ring out the new with George Harrison. 

Once again: Happy Holidays from Dana and Carl.

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

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl