10 SONGS: 11/29/2025

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 # 1312

THE RAMONES: Punishment Fits The Crime

Each week, when getting ready to plan the show's playlist with Dana, I keep a list of potential track choices to consider. The list includes new stuff, recent faves, old faves, old tracks we've never played before, and assorted items of varying vintage and familiarity that might fit into the presumed master plan of whatever it is we do on TIRnRR. The list carries through from week to week, its contents adjusted as we go.

The Ramones' "Punishment Fits The Crime" has been on that list for many weeks. The song was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone and Plasmatics guitarist Richie Stotts, sung by Dee Dee, and included on the group's 1989 album Brain Drain (the last Ramones studio album to include Dee Dee as anything other than just songwriter). Frankly, Brain Drain is a contender for my least favorite Ramones album, but it does give us the fantastic "I Believe In Miracles," plus "Pet Sematary" and "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," proving that even the merest Ramones album is still A RAMONES ALBUM!! Anyway, "Punishment Fits The Crime" fits in the category of "old tracks we've never played before," and that status is what placed it in my week-to-week list of playlist possibilities.

Prior to this week's programming session, I realized it had been a little while since we'd opened a show with the Ramones. I considered programming one of my many, many Ramones Picks T' Click in that leadoff spot, but opted to finally give "Punishment Fits The Crime" its long-overdue TIRnRR debut.

Throughout the process, it didn't even occur to me that the song's title could apply to...you know who. Let's hope we find a legal punishment to fit that guy in the very near future. As another punk band said: All crimes are paid.

THE LEGAL MATTERS: Everybody Knows

The minute I found out that the Legal Matters were doing a new album for Big Stir Records, I immediately petitioned the band and label for permission and access to play the then-forthcoming advance single. The album, Lost At Sea, is due in 2026, and the single "Everybody Knows" was released to radio just after this week's show was recorded. But we got it! Everybody knows we would be playing it; we knew we could not wait another week to do so. And everybody should know now: We're playing it again this Sunday. 

SHOES: Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)

We don't get many opportunities to program new music by power pop legends Shoes, and we've never before had an opportunity to play Shows covering power pop's Ur group Raspberries. Opportunity SEIZED! Shoes' rendition of the Raspberries hit "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" comes to us from the superb various-artists 'Berries salute Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, a tribute curated by our friend Ken Sharp. Want a hit record? Look no further.

(Raspberries' original version of "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" ands Shoes' own incredible 1978 single "Tomorrow Night" are among the 145 tracks--one 45 at a time!--I discuss in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]. SPOILER ALERT: I like both of those records a lot. You can read all about them and their 143 GREM! brethren and sistren by ordering your own copy of the book. I'm Carl Cafarelli, and I approve this message.  The Greatest Record Ever Made [Volume 2] is [very] tentatively planned for 2027.)

THE BUSBOYS: The Boys Are Back In Town

When Robbie Rist saw in this week's show hype that we were playing the BusBoys, he immediately wanted to know if we were playing new music by this great group. Alas, although we did program the BusBoys' then-recent single "In My Heart" back in 2024 (and likewise with "Love On My Mind" in 2022), we weren't even aware that there was new BusBoys music available. Honestly, I'd fire the TIRnRR research department, but that department is, y'know, me, and I've got tenure.

Robbie's (presumably) figurative headslap to our collective noggin prompted a fresh search for new BusBoys tuneage, resulting in a purchase of the 2025 digital-only album In My Heart. Target acquired! The album includes both of the 2020s singles mentioned above, and we'll debut another track from In My Heart on Sunday. Thanks for the nudzh, Robbie! Meanwhile, here's another spin of the BusBoys' best-known track "The Boys Are Back In Town," as heard when the BusBoys appeared in the 1982 Eddie Murphy-Nick Nolte flick 48 Hours. 'Cuz when the boys are back, there ain't no foolin' around.

THE MONKEES: Papa Gene's Blues

PLAY, magic fingers!

TAYLOR SWIFT: The Last Great American Dynasty

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

KEN SHARP: I'm A Rocker

One more from Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, "I'm A Rocker" as performed by the set's auteur Ken Sharp. I owned the original Raspberries 45 of "I'm A Rocker" when I was a teen in the '70s, and I was puzzled that it wasn't on the Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen compilation LP. Our Ken knows Raspberries' best better'n anybody, and he honors that legacy here.

DIRTY LOOKS: Let Go

Staten Island's phenomenal pop combo Dirty Looks with their signature tune. From a previous 10 Songs:

Statement of intent. This Staten Island trio's eponymous debut LP was released on the Stiff America label in 1980, and "Let Go" was an immediate fave rave on 97 Power Rock, a Sunday night alternative-rock showcase aired on Buffalo's 97 Rock FM. Hmmm. A Sunday night rock 'n' roll radio show? I may have made note of that particular notion for possible future use. 

"Let Go" is a perfect post-punk radio pop song, fueled by new wave rock energy, rooted in catchy 1960s radio fare, and dead certain that the Ramones, the Who, Joe Jackson, and Paul Revere and the Raiders are Heaven-sent inspirations.

It's not easy to write a song about rock 'n' roll. It's not. Too many attempts at rock anthems feel forced, or overly earnest, pompous, clueless, heavy-handed, and...blechh. With "Let Go," Dirty Looks pull it off with style, and they make it seem like a cinch. Don't you know that rock 'n' roll is still the best drug? The drumming is hyperactive, the bass pushy (in a good way), the guitar simple and authoritative, the vocals and harmonies steadfast, reflecting the confidence of a group secure in the knowledge that it has God on its side. All you gotta do, let go, let go, let GO! GO! GO! GO! Belief is infectious. And godDAMN, this sounds so exhilarating on the radio. 

It always has.

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS: Clowntime Is Over

Is clowntime over? All respect to Elvis Costello and the Attractions, but clowntime ain't really over until we heed the words of the Ramones:

Let the punishment fit the crime.

THE HIGH FREQUENCIES: Cleanup Time

And if there is any justice, clowntime will give way to cleanup time. "Cleanup Time" is my favorite track on the High Frequencies' super groovy new album Get High, and like our opening track by the Ramones, the title's topically apt nature didn't strike me until after the fact. Nonetheless: CLEANUP ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE! Mops at the ready. 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. 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: 4/5/2024

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 # 1227. This show is available as a podcast.

POP CO-OP: Misfits

The last time the members of pop supergroup Pop Co-Op covered a song by This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's House Band the Kinks, it was as part of TIR'n'RR Allstars, recording a sublime version of "Waterloo Sunset" on behalf of this little mutant radio show. We are still (very nearly) humbled by the kindness of everyone involved in that effort, and you can still grab the accompanying Waterloo Sunset benefit compilation on Kool Kat Musik CD or as a Futureman Records download. GO! BUY! These neck-snappin' segues don't pay for themselves.

Now, Pop Co-Op has a brand-new cover of the Kinks' "Misfits," recorded as part of another super-secret future project, but nonetheless available in today's all-day-and-all-of-the-night better days. For ALL of you fancy dedicated followers of fashion!  This is your chance, this is your time, and this is your download. See? You're fitting in already.

Our pal Rich Firestone debuted "Misfits" Sunday on the fourth-anniversary edition of his epic weekly essentialness Radio Deer Camp, and we followed the path of those same Kinky boots that evening. It all fit together as it oughta.

(Coincidentally, "Misfits" was the title tune from the then-new Kinks album hitting retail racks right around the time of my first Kinks concert in 1978. Serendipity! And we'll hear Pop Co-Op's "Misfits" on TIRnRR again this coming Sunday. Ya can't miss out on "Misfits."

TALL POPPY SYNDROME: This Time Tomorrow

Pop Co-Op's Kinks cover debuts this week, but Tall Poppy Syndrome's rendition of the Kinks' "This Time Tomorrow" now makes its second consecutive TIRnRR appearance. Since its initial spin here, Tall Poppy Syndrome's version of "This Time Tomorrow" has garnered specific thumbs-up validations from each of the surviving original Kinks, Ray Davies, Dave Davies, and Mick Avory.

I was a bit surprised to see Kinks-mandated validation for my endorsement of the track in last week's 10 Songs. From Dave Davies' X account:

I've been re-Tweeted by one of the Kinks. I love this gig. And Tall Poppy Syndrome's "This Time Tomorrow" returns for its third TIRnRR appearance this Sunday. We wouldn't wanna disappoint our friend Dave Davies. 

AM RADIO: Hush

With the exception of the annual Dana's Funky Soul Pit, just about every TIRnRR playlist is gonna serve up some rockin' pop delights from the Big Stir Records label. Like Kool Kat Musik, Jem Records, Rum Bar Records, Futureman, and a few other can't-friggin'-miss indie labels, Big Stir is one of our go-to resources for Fave Raves, both fresh and familiar. Go, Big Stir!

That is evident again this week, as the TIRnRR boppin' itinerary takes us to Big Stir releases by the Bablers, the Brothers Steve, Hungrytown, the Flashcubes, and the Electromagnates. This coming Sunday night's program will crank up Big Stir stars Dolph Chaney, the Speed of Sound, Librarians With Hickeys, and more from Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses the Flashcubes. Go, go, Big Stir, GO!!

Our ongoing Big Stir blitz also includes cool stuff from Generation Blue, the new book and compilation LP package raising its Weezer-like fist on behalf of '90s Hollywood Geek Rock. OooWEEEoooo! The past couple of weeks have seen TIRnRR airplay of "Where The Hell Is She," Shufflepuck's contribution to Generation Blue. This week, AM Radio's Generation Blue track "Hush" gets its turn. And this Sunday's show will program a fab Generation Blue tune from Ridel High.

Yep. It's the Blue Generation. And they've got something to say.  

PAUL COLLINS: I'm The Only One For You

ELENA ROGERS: I Feel Alive

LEATHER CATSUIT: Can't Get You Off My Mind

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio closes out every year with a countdown show, playin' back what we played a lot over the course of the preceding twelve months. It is, as Tevye told us, tradition. Our stats are compiled 'n' kept by the mighty Fritz Van Leaven, and we don't see any of his tabulatin' magic until it's time for us to prep the actual countdown.

But as we close out the first quarter of 2024, even a casual look at this year's playlists so far reveals that Paul Collins' "I'm The Only One For You," Elena Rogers' "I Feel Alive," and Leather Catsuit's "Can't Get You Off My Mind" have already locked up berths on the countdown when it happens. It would take an act of God to shut any of them out. And even if it were to turn out that they don't have God on their side, they do have something else:

The math. The math is on their side.

That doesn't mean all--or any--will make our Top Ten. There are a lot of playlists between now and countdown time. But they will all be on the countdown somewhere.

And each one of these fine gems will accrue another spin on our next show. We play the hits. 

Count on it.

THE KINKS: Who'll Be The Next In Line

With an opening set that includes two Kinks covers, it seemed imperative to play a li'l treat by the Kinks themselves. Yep, turns out the House Band was the next in line.

THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

WONDERBOY: Girl Songs

Like the Paul Collins, Elena Rogers, and Leather Catsuit TIRnRR Pick Hits cited above, Wonderboy's sublime "Girl Songs" will score a spot on our year-end countdown. We think. Pretty sure. It's not quite guaranteed yet...but it probably is. "Girls Songs" will take a break this Sunday night, ceding its space to another track from Wonderboy's Hero Isle album. 

It'll be back. Girls mean a lot to me. "Girl Songs" means a lot. too.

RASPBERRIES: Tonight

When we did our Eric Carmen tribute show a few weeks back, the rules severely limited the number of Raspberries tracks we could play. I wanted to spin the urgent power pop of "Go All The Way," "I Wanna Be With You," "Tonight," and "Ecstasy"--the horny singles--but I also wanted to play "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," "I'm A Rocker," and maybe "Let's Pretend." 

Well, that's a wee bit more than the mere four Raspberries tracks we can play in a three-hour slot.

So we settled on "Go All The Way" and "I Wanna Be With You" from the let's-get-it-on quartet, recalled the confident strut of my "I'm A Rocker" 45, and worshiped at the altar of "Overnight Sensation" 's Top 40 radio ambition and accomplishment. We also played Off Broadway's cover of "Tonight," deferred "Ecstasy" to last week's show, and placed "Let's Pretend" on the reserve list.

We got to the Raspberries' "Tonight" this week. I thought "Tonight" sounded like a hit when I first heard it on Syracuse's WOLF-AM in 1973. That opinion will not change. Not tonight, nor on any other night. 

(I have also decided to add my recent "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" rant to my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). We just want a hit record, man. And we will play it on the radio.)

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: 3/30/2024

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 # 1226. This show is available as a podcast.

THE CYNZ: Fall Away

Pay attention. This gets an eensy bit complicated.

We opened this week's rockin' pop extravaganza with "The Eraser," the latest single from the Midnight Callers. We LOVE the Midnight Callers! The commentary accompanying this week's playlist told of our efforts to make sure we got the then-unreleased track in time to air on Sunday night (two days after its release, but on a show recorded two days before its release). We petitioned Maureen, Jem Records' High Priestess of Hype, and she secured what needed securing. All hail the High Priestess! And it was on with the show.

Our second set opened with Wonderboy, singin' that TIRnRR Pick Hit "Girl Songs." On the occasion of one of our (many) previous programmings of "Girl Songs," we told Wonderboy's Robbie Rist that we were following his tribute to girl songs with something from the Beatles' White Album, and he presumed it would be "Julia." Y'know...an actual girl song. But NO! We'd put in "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" instead. That was a missed opportunity. We corrected it with this week's back-to-back "Girl Songs"/"Julia."

And then: A song BY a girl, playing with some guys, and collectively calling themselves the Cynz. On Jem Records, home of the Midnight Callers. All hail High Priestess Maureen again! We've been playing advance tracks from the new Cynz album Little Miss Lost, and we needed to celebrate its at-long-last-unleashed status by blastin' a new Cynz treat we ain't played yet. Huzzah AND hallelujah!

We'll pay further tribute to High Priestess Maureen on our next show, with further spins of the Midnight Callers and the Cynz, and additional carpet-bombing by Jem stars Paul Collins, the Weeklings, and the Grip Weeds. Gotta keep the High Priestess happy. It makes the listeners happy, too.

(Oh, and "Girl Songs" spins again as well. Also gotta keep Wonderboy happy. It leads to stuff.)

TALL POPPY SYNDROME: This Time Tomorrow

Well, we should have gotten to this one a lot sooner than we did. Here, the great Tall Poppy Syndrome--Paul Kopf, Vince Melouney, Jonathan Lea, Alec Palao, and Clem Burke--take on "This Time Tomorrow," a track originally done by TIRnRR's house band the Kinks. They do a damned good job of it, too, turning in one of the better Kinks covers to reach these dedicatedly followin' ears. 

The track took some sort of wayward path to get to us. But it finally did get to us, so we're playing it now! Tall Poppy Syndrome and the Kinks. Two great tastes that go great together.

And Tall Poppy Syndrome's "This Time Tomorrow" returns to TIRnRR this coming Sunday night, sharing a set with another great band turning in another great new Kinks cover. You won't wanna miss either of them.

CARL DOUGLAS: Kung Fu Fighting

BLONDIE: Kung Fu Girls

Common response to the Carl Douglas hit record listed above: "Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting!"

Blondie's response to that: "Hold my beer."

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: I'll Be Your Mirror

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SHUFFLEPUCK: Where The Hell Is She

Last week's TIRnRR debuted Shufflepuck's "Where The Hell Is She," the advance single from a new limited edition book and LP package called Generation Blue. Generation Blue comes to us courtesy of our friends at Big Stir Records and SpyderPop Records, so let's cede the floor and let our friends tell you all about it:

"Big Stir Records and SpyderPop Records proudly announce a unique music and rock literature event and release: Generation Blue, a Limited-Edition Vinyl LP Compilation and Oral History Book curated and edited by S.W. Lauden. The album and book together explore the Hollywood Geek Rock scene of the '90s and early 2000s, featuring key bands Nerf Herder, Ozma, Baby Lemonade, Psoma, and many others. Previewed by the hit indie single “Where The Hell Is She,” a lost Geek Rock nugget by the band Shufflepuck, the album features eleven rare or exclusive vintage tracks while the book tells the story of the scene in the words of those who were there—including Lauden who played drums for the band Ridel High. The LP/Book package is up for presale exclusively at Big Stir Records' online points of sale (including this website) and sees release April 26 as its tracks hit all digital platforms."

We're told advance sales of Generation Blue have been what's technically referred to as "through the motherlovin' roof," making an already limited edition even, y'know, limiteder. If you want this, ya best act now.

We'll hear another track from Generation Blue on our next show. Meanwhile, this past Sunday on SPARK Syracuse offered two opportunities to hear Shufflepuck's "Where The Hell Is She:" Right here on TIRnRR, and also on Radio Deer Camp.

And speaking of Radio Deer Camp....

PATRICK MACNEE AND HONOR BLACKMAN WITH THE IVOR RAYMONDE ORCHESTRA: Kinky Boots

This week marks the fourth of anniversary of our pal Rich Firestone's essential weekly show Radio Deer Camp, heard every Sunday from 5 to 7 pm Eastern right here on SPARK! YOU, my friends, should really oughta tune in to RDC every week. Like oatmeal, it's the right thing to do.

There is often some crossover between RDC and TIRnRR, when both shows independently decide to play the same track on the same day. That is A-OK by me; ya can't have a hit record if you only play it once. The crossover usually involves a new release (like Shufflepuck's "Where The Hell Is She"), though on occasion our grated minds have thought alike on some older nugget as well. We like to keep you guessing. We like to keep us guessing.

This is Radio Deer Camp, rock 'n' rollers!

But this week served up our most unlikely crossover yet, as both shows played "Kinky Boots." Not the 2005 movie nor its subsequent Harvey Fierstein-Cyndi Lauper stage musical adaptation. No, this "Kinky Boots" was a 1964 single by actors Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, stars of the British TV series The Avengers.

Call me Scarlet Witch again and you're gettin' a kinky boot to the head, mister! 

Yeah, didn't see that crossover comin'. But awright! And congratulations to Rich Firestone and Radio Deer Camp. You keep doing whatever the hell it is you do, and we'll keep doing whatever the hell it is we do. Great radio ensues. 

THE AVENGERS: We Are The One

And of COURSE we followed Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman with the Avengers. GET IT? Avengers Assemble! 

Wait...wrong Avengers. 

Anyway. As for this band called the Avengers, their still-unfinished entry in my Greatest Record Ever Made! series begins: "The Clash sang that anger could be power. Even before that line appeared in the Clash's London Calling album track 'Clampdown' in 1979, a San Francisco group called the Avengers was on stage at Winterland, opening for the Sex Pistols in that group's final appearance meltdown, and embodying the concept of cathartic fury. Anger. Power. Rock 'n' roll."

RASPBERRIES: Ecstasy

"Ecstasy" is a track I really wanted to include in last week's tribute to the late Eric Carmen, but it was not to be. If memory serves, "Ecstasy" was only the fourth Raspberries track I ever heard. It was the third track on the fabulous Raspberries compilation Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen, but I had already heard that LP's first, second, and fourth tracks--"Go All The Way," "Tonight," and "I Wanna Be With You"--on AM Top 40 radio well before power pop Santa Claus left the best-of album under my Christmas tree in 1976. Wally Bryson's jagged Who-like guitar on "Ecstasy" made it an instant obsession.

Our Eric Carmen tribute included "I Wanna Be With You" and "Go All The Way," plus Raspberries' "I'm A Rocker" and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)." We achieved "Ecstasy" this week. And this Sunday night? We'll play "Tonight."

THE FLASHCUBES: Make Something Happen

Make something happen? I'm workin' on it, man. I'm working slow, but I'm workin' on it.

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: 3/23/2024

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 # 1225. This show is available as a podcast.

RASPBERRIES: I Wanna Be With You

Prior to the recent passing of Eric Carmen, I was already working on a near-future piece about the albums that defined me. The piece itself is still a work in progress, but it was always, always going to include Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen, a 1976 collection of tracks by Carmen's former group Raspberries.

(Or the Raspberries. My radio said the band's name came equipped with a definite article. The band said otherwise. Agree to disagree.)

I think I've always acknowledged the importance of those Raspberries records upon impressionable teen me, and on the history of my beloved power pop. In my lengthy power pop chronicle "The Kids Are Alright!," I wrote:

"The crucial role of the Raspberries in the power pop story cannot be overstated. Where several other acts played in a pop style, the Raspberries consciously set out to recreate the frenzied rock ‘n’ roll excitement of Beatlemania. They didn’t want to be a revival act; they wanted to bring the pop of the ‘60s up-to-date with the power of the ‘70s.

"The Raspberries made incredible records, often combining the leering salaciousness of the Rolling Stones with a facade of choirboy (or Beach Boys) innocence that enabled them to get away with blunt sexual solicitations like 'Go All The Way,' a # 5 hit in 1972. 'Go All The Way' was followed later that year by the similarly-themed 'I Wanna Be With You,' perhaps the definitive power pop single...

"...Alas, the party would soon be over. From the beginning, the Raspberries were dogged by meatheaded criticism that they were light-weight, teenybop, even bubblegum. And, like Badfinger before them, the Raspberries were also consistently derided as Beatles clones, a specious charge that ignored the group’s equally-evident roots in dynamic acts like the Who, the Small Faces, the Dave Clark Five, the Hollies, and the Beach Boys. It also ignored the Raspberries’ own contribution in remaking those influences into a thoroughly contemporary sound, and in making that sound their own."

For all that, I still don't think I've properly expressed my debt to these records and how much they have meant to me. Alongside the Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" (the record that changed my life) and Badfinger's "Baby Blue" (my all-time favorite track), Raspberries' "I Wanna Be With You" stands as one of THE most immediately impactful singles ever to reach my eager ears. 

I've never been shy about proclaiming the Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes as my three favorite groups, with the Monkees and the Kinks also serving as parts of my pantheon. I've been too slow to realize and admit that Raspberries have always been right up there with them, too.

With Carmen's death, it seemed imperative for TIRnRR to attempt some sort of tribute to his legacy. And that tribute absolutely had to open with "I Wanna Be With You." It was the second Raspberries hit, but it was the one that started it all for me. It kicks off TIRnRR's salute to Eric Carmen. 

ERIC CARMEN: You Took Me All The Way

Self-referential, sure, but I'll allow it. In 1984, Eric Carmen looked back at Raspberries' first hit "Go All The Way" for this nominal follow-up. We considered programming a number of other Carmen tracks in this spot (including "She Did It," "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again," and "Make Me Lose Control"), but I couldn't resist this track's titular and thematic reprise of Raspberries. We will get to one of those other three Carmen tracks on our next show.

RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL-STARR BAND: Hungry Eyes

Eric Carmen toured as a member of Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band in 2000, singing Raspberries' "Go All The Way" and two of his solo hits, "All By Myself" and "Hungry Eyes." We can only imagine how jazzed a Beatles fan like Eric must have been to be playing in a band with our Ringo. A splendid time was guaranteed for all!

The tour came to Syracuse's Landmark Theatre, and TIRnRR's own inimitable Dana Bonn was working there as house manager. Some time before the show, Dana received a call about a problem backstage. Intrepid investigator Dana discovered that Eric Carmen had been drying his air, and his blow dryer blew the fuse. Dana located the fuse box, restored power, and Eric was able to complete his pre-show coiffure prep. Our hero Dana!

ERIC CARMEN: I Could Really Love You

ERIC CARMEN: Top Down Summer

With the possible exception of my friend Ken Sharp, Tommy Allen may be the biggest Eric Carmen fan on the whole friggin' planet. Tommy's the drummer and producer for Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes, and his production prowess is on dazzling display on 2017's Raspberries: Pop Art Live, the superb audio document of Raspberries' 2004 live reunion. 

Tommy's work on Pop Art Live led directly to a simply stunning 2018 rehab of a pair of Eric's latter-day solo tracks. Let's let the good folks at ericcarmen.com tell the story:

"After producer Tommy Allen put the finishing touches on the critically acclaimed Raspberries: Pop Art Live album, he was itching to get started on another project. For years, Tommy had nagged Eric to let him have a crack at remaking 'Top Down Summer' from Eric’s 1998 Winter Dreams album.

"Tommy, a drummer, felt that the power pop tune could have even more power (and pop) if he could lay some real drums onto the track in place of the drum machine, which became very popular in the late 1990s. Pop Art’s success led Eric to trust Tommy with two tracks from his Winter Dreams album. Tommy took it one step further and made plans to rebuild (and replay) each track with a group of talented musicians.

"After hearing Tommy’s remake of 'Top Down Summer,' Eric said, 'It sounds like a hit record!' We think you’ll agree...."

I don't remember whether or not I heard Winter Dreams in '98. This week, I went back to listen to the original Winter Dreams versions of "I Could Really Love You" and "Top Down Summer," and they were very nice to begin with. The production's not to my taste, but they're both good songs, and their pop appeal is evident beneath the somewhat sterile gloss.

But in Tommy Allen's hands? My God, these are just magnificent. I'm tempted to say they're on a par with some of Raspberries' best...because, dammit, they ARE on a par with some of Raspberries' best. We played the 2018 "Top Down Summer" at the time of its release, and I've gotta admit that I forgot how razzafrazzin' awesome it sounds. I suspect we'll be playing it again. And God bless Tommy for being able to do this on behalf of his hero. 

RASPBERRIES: I'm A Rocker

In 2017, when I did the second of two all-vinyl solo editions of TIRnRR, I made sure to program Raspberries' "I'm A Rocker" single. I had played the first four tracks from Raspberries' Best--"Go All The Way," "I Wanna Be With You," "Tonight," and "Ecstasy," in sequence--on the previous all-vinyl show earlier that year, and for the second go-round I wanted to include this additional slice of my own essential '70s Raspberries experience.

"I'm A Rocker" was not a hit, though its # 94 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 bested the group's classic "Ecstasy," which did not chart at all. "Ecstasy" was (deservedly!) part of Raspberries' Best, but "I'm A Rocker" was an inexplicable omission from that best-of LP. I bought the 45 as a closeout some time after receiving Raspberries' Best as a Christmas gift in '76. To me, it has always been among Raspberries' best.

The single version of "I'm A Rocker"--shorter than the version on Raspberries' Side 3 album--has never been reissued. It's overdue. Let's ROCK!

ERIC CARMEN: That's Rock 'n' Roll

By the time I was in college from 1977 to 1980, what Mason Reese woulda called the borgasmord of my primary rockin' pop influences--British Invasion, AM Top 40, bubblegum, loud rock 'n' roll, and punk--had gelled within the general parameters of what I considered power pop. Teen pop star Shaun Cassidy's hit versions of Eric Carmen's "Hey Deanie" and "That's Rock 'n' Roll" fit within those parameters; the balladry of much of Carmen's post-Raspberries work did not.

(Actually, the balladry of some of his work with Raspberries also fell outside my power pop expectations. But I digress.)

We dig what we dig. And even within this minefield of genre and style demarcation, I wanted to dig Carmen, especially given the continuing relevance of Raspberries in my POV. I remember sampling Eric's "Hey Deanie" on a jukebox at (of all places) a Pizza Hut, and finding it even more disappointing than the pizza.

I'm a lot more open to the Carmen "Hey Deanie" now, and we've occasionally played it on TIRnRR. Prepping this week's show, I was surprised that our stats say we had never played Eric's version of "That's Rock 'n' Roll." So! Knowing that we wanted to play one of Shaun Cassidy's Carmen covers, we played Shaun's "Hey Deanie" and Eric's "That's Rock 'n' Roll." We got the guitars. We got the feeling. That's rock 'n' roll.

Dig it.

RASPBERRIES: Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

CYRUS ERIE: Get The Message

Our regular listeners are well familiar with the Flashcubes' cover of the Eric Carmen composition "Get The Message" (from the 2023 'Cubes album Pop Masters). The song first appeared in 1969, as a B-side by Carmen's then-group Cyrus Erie. It's a fantastic pop tune in either interpretation.

And Cyrus Erie was the first band to contain both Eric Carmen and his future Raspberries partner Wally Bryson. Within just a few years, Eric, Wally, and two members from rival Cleveland group the Choir (Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti) would start fresh as Raspberries. And I got that message from my radio in 1972.

RASPBERRIES: Go All The Way

Federal regulations governing internet radio limited the number of Raspberries and Eric Carmen solo tracks we could play in this week's tribute to Eric. We threw in some covers of Carmen songs to supplement the tribute: The Flashcubes' "Don't Want To Say Goodbye;" Shaun Cassidy's "Hey Deanie;" Bill Lloyd's "Goin' Nowhere Tonight;" the Rubinoos' "Crusin' Music." I really wanted to play Raspberries' "Tonight" and "Ecstasy," but settled this week for Off Broadway's capable cover of the former and deferred the latter to next week. We also considered the Bay City Rollers' cover of "Let's Pretend" and Ken Sharp's version of "Waiting."

And we strongly considered using Lisa Mychols' dreamy acoustic reworking of "Go All The Way" in place of the Raspberries original. That would have left us room to squeeze in either "Tonight" or "Ecstasy" as our fourth Raspberries track.

And it would have bordered on heresy.

Now, we're okay with heresy when it suits us. But (come on!) come on (come on!) come on (come on!) come on (come on!): How could we do a proper tribute to Eric Carmen's rockin' pop brilliance without playing Raspberries' landmark first hit? Unthinkable. And not gonna happen on our watch. Not even if I had a hole in the place where my heart should have been.

With "Go All The Way" and "I Wanna Be With You," Raspberries accomplished two--TWO!--of power pop's shining 'n' defining tracks. I don't think anyone else has ever matched them. As I wrote in "The Kids Are Alright!:"

"The Raspberries may have left the scene prematurely, but their legacy continues to thrive.  Rock history may remember them as mere footnotes, but the pop faithful know better: No group ever embodied the power pop ideal more fully than did the Raspberries."

ERIC CARMEN [with TOMMY ALLEN and BERNIE HOGYA]: Never Say Die

An eleventh song this week. In 2012, several years before Tommy Allen's renovation of "I Could Really Love You" and "Top Down Summer," he had a sort of practice run with "Never Say Die." "Never Say Die" was an unreleased demo Eric did in the early '90s. Tommy recruited Bernie Hogya--who rivals Ken Sharp and Tommy Allen as the world's biggest Eric Carmen fan--to punch the track up into something special. The stirring result got significant airtime on TIRnRR at the time, and it serves as our coda this week.

Godspeed, Eric. Never say die. Love can live forever after tonight. I do believe that what we're doing is right.

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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!! 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.

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