10 SONGS: 10/4/2025

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 # 1304.

DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE AND HART: I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight

This week, we put the TIRnRR spotlight on Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, serving as our Featured Performers and also as our Featured Songwriters. And we kicked that off with a 1976 live-in-Japan performance by Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart, reuniting Tommy and Bobby with former co-workers Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones from the Monkees. The guys who sang 'em and the guys who wrote 'em! And in this case they're all singing "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," a song that was Boyce and Hart's biggest hit as performers. Great, great song in either rendition.

THE FLASHCUBES: She

A feature on Boyce and Hart as songwriters allowed us to program a bunch of their songs as interpreted by a number of different artists. That includes the Monkees (of course!), as well as a few covers of B & H tunes recorded by and primarily associated with the Monkees. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes cut a fabulous version of the 1966 More Of The Monkees album track "She" for a 2017 Monkees tribute album called Listen To The Bands. I confess that I suggested the 'Cubes do "Love Is Only Sleeping," but the 'Cubes rightly knew that "She" was a better match. HEY!

THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police

From the Flashcubes covering the Monkees, let's move to the Armoires covering the Flashcubes. From the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, the Armoires apply Byrdswax and all sortsa Cheap Tricks for their rendition of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police." Flippin' the song's gender POV delivers extra added gravitas, drawing a rockin' pop line in the sand, a line that will not be breached. Back off, bro! If I wanted the cops, I'd be watching TV.

THE FOUR TOPS: Last Train To Clarksville

It still feels weird to me that my favorite Motown group the Four Tops covered a Monkees song, and weirder still that they covered two Monkees songs, Neil Diamond's "I'm A Believer" and Boyce and Hart's "Last Train To Clarksville." Both of these were on the Four Tops' 1967 album Reach Out, an LP that mixed the two Monkees covers with covers of the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee," Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter," and the Association's "Cherish," all alongside some new tunes crafted at Hitsville USA.

The Four Tops' Left Banke and Tim Hardin covers were magnificent, and the album gave the world the outstanding Four Tops classics "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Bernadette," "Standing In The Shadows Of Love," and "7 Rooms Of Glow." In contrast, neither of these fine Monkees songs is a proper fit for the Four Tops. Interesting as oddities only.

JAY AND THE AMERICANS: Come A Little Bit Closer

When we consider Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart's success as songwriters, a lot of people (me included) automatically think of Boyce and Hart songs recorded by the Monkees. That list includes "(Theme From) The Monkees," "Last Train To Clarksville," "I Wanna Be Free," "Let's Dance On." "She," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "I'll Spend My Life With You," "Mr. Webster," "Words," "Valleri," "P. O. Box 9847," "Through The Looking Glass," and "I Never Thought It Peculiar," among others. There's even a Boyce and Hart song ("Whatever's Right") on the Monkees' 2016 triumph Good Times!, a track begun in the '60s and finished in this high-flyin' 21st century.

One of Boyce and Hart's most notable successes outside of the Monkees' aegis is "Come A Little Bit Closer," which they wrote with Wes Farrell. It was a # 3 hit for Jay and the Americans in 1964, and an integral part of my childhood musical memories. MY kind of song!

TOMMY BOYCE AND BOBBY HART: Out And About

Boyce and Hart followed their success with the Monkees by trying to establish themselves as a recording act, the guys who sang 'em and the guys who wrote 'em. The above-noted "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" was their only Top 20 hit (# 8 in 1967). Nonetheless, their established track record as tunesmiths and producers made them bona fide contenders in the pop music sweepstakes.

The guys' pursuit of brass rings and gold records led them to a guest appearance on the TV sitcom I Dream Of Jeannie. The show aired on NBC, the very same network that aired The Monkees. The episode included a scene set in a record store, which displayed copies of Headquarters (ironically, the album released after Boyce and Hart were effectively relieved of duties as Monkees producers). The ensuing hijinks portrayed cute 'n' magical Jeannie's efforts to move into rock 'n' roll artist management with Boyce and Hart as her first clients. 

I haven't watched this episode in a very long time, but a quick visit to YouTube supports my memory that Boyce and Hart lip-synced two of their records on the show: "Girl, I'm Out To Get You" (as Jeannie uses her magic to turn Tommy and Bobby into musicians, perhaps a sly shot at the assembly process that created the Monkees), and "Out And About," the latter with the lovely Jeannie herself sitting in on drums as they audition for Wall of Sound producer and future murderer Phil Spector.

The sitcom exposure was not sufficient to lift the "Out And About" single higher than # 39. BUT! They did get to meet Jeannie.

ANNE RICHMOND BOSTON: Mr. Webster

The Monkees (well, Micky Dolenz and some studio pros) first recorded Boyce and Hart's "Mr. Webster" during the sessions for what became the 1967 album More Of The Monkees. That version was originally unreleased, and the group returned to it in '67 for a fresh recording used on their album Headquarters, the Monkees' third album and the first to feature the Monkees themselves as the musicians in the studio. As produced by Boyce and Hart and played by studio musicians, the first recorded version is overly melodramatic, even ponderous, in telling its tale of a long-tenured and underappreciated bank teller; for Headquarters, the Monkees worked with producer Chip Douglas to give the song an underlying bounce that actually enhances the drama without detracting from it. The Headquarters "Mr. Webster" is the definitive "Mr. Webster."

Anne Richmond Boston of the Swimming Pool Q's recorded a cover of "Mr. Webster" for the 1992 compilation Here No Evil--A Tribute To The Monkees. Boston's "Mr. Webster"  threads the needle between the two disparate Monkees takes, retaining drama but eschewing melodrama in a slow burn that is both folkier and silkier. 

THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone [live]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

REDD KROSS: Blow You A Kiss In The Wind

In addition to appearing on I Dream Of Jeannie, Boyce and Hart were also on an episode of Bewitched, once again playing themselves and once again gettin' mixed up with a magic chick. Two magic chicks in this case, the show's star Samantha and her wicked identical cousin Serena, both played by Patty Duke...er, I mean Elizabeth Montgomery. Jeez, you can lose your mind when magical cousins are two of a kind. 

Where was I? Right: On Bewitched, our heroes perform "I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind" at the Cosmos Cotillion. And, continuing a TV tradition from The Monkees (where a storyline called for Michael Nesmith to be credited as the author of the Boyce and Hart composition "Gonna Buy Me A Dog"), Bewitched presents Serena as the author of "I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind." You can re-live and remember the episode's performances of the song by Serena and by Boyce and Hart right here.

You know who else remembers Boyce and Hart on Bewitched? Why, Redd Kross, of course. Hawthorne, California's other great group included a cover of "Blow You A Kiss In The Wind" on their 1984 EP Teen Babes From Monsanto. Serena could not be reached for comment.

THE MINUS 5: Boyce & Hart

On Sunday, the afternoon before this week's evening broadcast of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, I was listening to former Paul Revere and the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay's Underground Garage show American Revolution. In a set paying tribute to Boyce and Hart, Lindsay played the Minus 5's specific tribute to the pair, a wonderful track called--what else?--"Boyce & Hart."

And it was only the fact that I was driving at the time that prevented me from kicking myself as the track played. Why didn't I think to include that in our own B & H feature? The song comes from the Minus 5's album Of Monkees And Men, a collection of Minus 5 originals inspired by the Monkees and their milieu. We did include another track from Of Monkees And Men earlier in this week's show ("Micky's A Cool Drummer"), but I completely forgot about the even more appropriate "Boyce & Hart." My brain was apparently out and about. I wonder what it's doing tonight?

Ah, but fortune stepped in! An unexpected complication forced us to swap out one of the tracks played during the show's coda, and that provided a perfect opportunity to sub in the Minus 5's sublime "Boyce & Hart" at the very end of the show. Thank you, MonkeeMen! And Godspeed Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

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

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

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

10 SONGS: 7/19/2025

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 # 1294.

THE SPONGETONES: Help Me Janie

Dana and I were latecomers to the magic of the Spongetones, but we've made up for lost time with a proud and efficient gusto, and it would be accurate to list the Spongetones as one of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's long and hook-infatuated history. We jumped immediately on to the splendor of the Spongetones' recent single "Lulu's In Love," and we approached brand-new single "Help Me Janie" with the very same enthusiastic approach of We have to play this NOW!!!!

"Lulu's In Love," "Help Me Janie," and another soon-to-be-released new Spongetones single will also appear as studio bonus tracks on the Spongetones' forthcoming live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond, brought to you by the visionaries at Big Stir Records. We opened this week's show with "Help Me Janie." This Sunday, we'll play "Help Me Janie" again, and we'll hear a little bit of 40th Anniversary Concert live Spongetones, too. One of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Of course we play them. It's what we do.

VAN HALEN: You Really Got Me

In early 1978, I was a second-semester freshman in college when Van Halen released their insistently unsubtle cover of the Kinks' British Invasion classic "You Really Got Me." I loved the Kinks' version, and I detested--detested!!--Eddie 'n' Alex 'n' Michael 'n' David Lee's meatball bludgeoning. I subsequently opened my mind to allow occasional tolerance (and even appreciation) of some individual Van Halen tracks (particularly the great "Dance The Night Away"), but my fortified opposition to the very idea of Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" remained entrenched and unassailable.

On the other hand, our pal Dave Murray is fond of the VH version, and he had a birthday this week. So what the hell; I bought the track and we played it on the show. ("Bought the track?" Yeah. I really got it.)

I will concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is miles better than the "You Really Got Me" I attempted for this year's annual Dave Murray birthday video. And I also have to concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is fine, the lingering disdain expressed by my eighteen-year-old self notwithstanding. It's not the equal of the Kinks--let's not veer too close to the loopy here--but it inhabits its skin as it oughta, and I'm starting to understand its appeal. 

THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight

THE WIGS: Tell It All

REDD KROSS: Ballad Of A Love Doll

One track apiece from each of the three discs in a fabulous new compilation called I Wanna Be A Teen Again (North American Power Pop 1980-1989). I Wanna Be A Teen Again was curated by Australian publicist and music guy David Laing, a friend to TIRnRR and a friend to all who cherish the pop with the power. The esteemed Mr. Laing's own Grown Up Wrong! label is responsible for my go-to Flamin' Groovies compilation Between The Lines: The Complete Jordan/Wilson Songbook '71-81, and David has likewise done stellar work assembling I Wanna Be A Teen Again for the UK's mighty Cherry Red Records.

The presence of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes makes I Wanna Be A Teen Again a compulsory purchase for me--I buy every project that includes the Flashcubes--but man, I would have wanted this set with a Badfinger-approved no matter what. You got your big names, you got your relative obscurities, and you have all star positions in between. On this week's show, we repped I Wanna Be A Teen Again with spins of the Flashcubes' basement tape of "It's You Tonight" (which was later re-recorded in the '90s for Jordan Oakes' first Yellow Pills compilation), the Wigs' ace "Tell It All," and MTV 120 Minutes superstars Redd Kross with "Ballad Of A Love Doll," and circled back for NRBQ's "You Can't Hide" at the end of the show. Is it power pop? Don't ask. Just dig.

If you're stranded in the British Isles (and I, for one, would be deeply jealous), you can order I Wanna Be A Teen Again directly from Cherry Red. If you're back in the USA, I recommend purchase through Kool Kat Musik. Either way, in the words of the late Bob Segarini: Gotta have pop!

LOLAS: Underneath The Waves

Speaking of Kool Kat Musik, one of the label's own fresh releases is a new album from long-time TIRnRR Fave Raves Lolas. Lolas' debut album Ballerina Breakout was a fixture on this show upon its release in 1999 (our first full year on the air); we know 'em, we love 'em, we can't live without 'em. And the latest Lolas long-player Big Hits And Freak Disasters lives up to the legacy, as Lolas keep on keepin' on with the sound that suits The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. From Big Hits And Freak Disasters, "Underneath The Waves" debuts on this week's show, and will return to the airwaves this Sunday.

AMY RIGBY: Heart Is A Muscle

We have heard that Amy Rigby wasn't all that enthused about her song "Heart Is A Muscle," that maybe she almost chose not to record it, and that she probably wasn't sure about releasing it once she did record it.

Well.

For whatever it's worth, this track from Amy's oh-so-nice 2024 album Hang In There With Me was one of TIRnRR's most-played tracks last year, and it has already secured a berth on 2025's year-end countdown show. Gotta keep the ol' heart exercised.

OSCAR TONEY, JR.: Ain't That True Love

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police

The forthcoming various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes has been a long-percolatin' labor of love, and the project is barreling with giddy determination toward its September 12th street date. Hey, look! WE MADE SOMETHING HAPPEN!

Over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to view (and wholeheartedly approve) Margie Finer's design for the album's graphics, and finally bask in the glow of a job well done. On this week's show, we reprised Make Something Happen! delights by Ballzy Tomorrow, sparkle*jets u.k., and the Kennedys, and we were pleased to present the premiere of the Armoires' uberpop Beatles-Byrds-Cheap Trick interpretation of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police." Send out an APB: The Armoires' "You're Not The Police" provides further brilliant evidence of the sheer arresting (HAR!) nature of this collection.

On Sunday, the Armoires' "You're Not The Police" will return to the scene of the crime, alongside further spins of Cubic covers by Ballzy Tomorrow and Librarians With Hickeys, plus another spin of the Flashcubes' own new single from Make Something Happen! Wanna make something out of it? Well, we're glad to have ya with us. Set bright lights to stun.

THE BEACH BOYS: That's Why God Made The Radio

Asked and answered. We rest our case.

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

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

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

POPTOPIA! Power Pop Classics Of The '90s

In 1997, I was hired by Rhino Records for a freelance assignment to write liner notes for a compilation CD called Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '90s. It was one of three decade-specific pop collections released simultaneously. Jordan Oakes wrote liners for the '70s disc, John M. Borack wrote for the '80s disc, and Ken Sharp provided editorial supervision for the lot of them. Jordan, John, and Ken are pretty good company to keep, and I'm proud to have been associated with this project.

I wish I still had my original manuscript for the liner notes; at Rhino's request, the original included additional paragraphs discussing a few other acts the label had in mind to include on the CD, acts that Rhino was either unable to license or chose to omit. Here is my essay as it was published in the CD booklet.

The 1990s are the best of times to be a power pop fan. 

Oh, you can scoff if you wish, but the evidence is incontrovertible. Aside from the plethora of classic pop reissues available now in greater abundance than ever before, the '90s have seen a veritable explosion of worthy acts working within the broad context of pure pop and power pop, vying for your heart, mind and wallet with unabashed hooks and harmonies, and a killer instinct that'll go for your throat if your heart won't answer.

Power pop, that increasingly generic catchphrase for melodic rock 'n' roll, has shed some of its excess baggage over the years. For one thing, the retro elements are far more subdued: you don't see a lot of skinny ties or mohair suits on pop bands nowadays. For another, pop is at long last starting to escape from its cult ghetto. Billboard did a report in '95 about power pop's apparent resurgence, and Tony Perkins' annual Poptopia! festival in L.A. promises to raise pop's profile even more. And, while massive pop mania remains an unlikely prospect, the upshot is that more cool bands are forming and playing, and more cool records are being made.

A lot more cool records are being made. While previous volumes in the Poptopia! series have the advantage of historical perspective, we're still right in the thick of things when it comes to '90s power pop. There's a desire to present as much of what's going on as space permits. But space simply won't permit a proper cross section of current successful pop acts, along with the lesser-known pop acts toiling in underserved anonymity. There are dozens upon dozens of worthy tracks, but this CD will only hold 18 of 'em.

So an attempt was made to balance the big names with the relative obscurities. Choices were made--some due to circumstances beyond Rhino's control (and pocketbook)--but it's hoped that the result offers a fair representation of what the pop scene sounds like in this last decade of the 20th century. It sounds pretty damned good to me, and if it's possible for you to listen to this in your car at full-throttle, well then, you've got the right idea.

Matthew Sweet has come a long way since we first heard of him in 1983, as a member of Oh-OK, the nearly forgotten Athens, GA band then principally known because one of the members was Michael Stipe's sister. Sweet put all of that behind him with his third album, 1991's Girlfriend, an engaging pop tour de force propelled by the guitar work of Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine (formerly of Television and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, respectively). The title track and "I've Been Waiting" are the kind of lush pop tunes you wanna hear over and over again.

If a bunch of informed pop pundits were to vote on the definitive pop albums of the '90s, one that is certain to appear on a majority of ballots would be Bellybutton, the 1990 debut from Jellyfish. They were an almost defiantly pop act, wallowing in trashy retro chic, but delivering the goods with unparalleled panache on wax. Bellybutton is loaded with willful cops from the Beatles/Beach Boys bag o' tricks, notably on the MTV faves "The King Is Half-Undressed" and "Baby's Coming Back," and on "That Is Why," the album's most brazenly Beatlesque tune. After a line-up change, Jellyfish recorded one more album, 1993's Spilt Milk, before ceasing to exist.

Q magazine described the music of Ride as "the missing link between The Monkees and Jesus And Mary Chain." This Oxford, England foursome evolved over a series of records for Sire, but embraced the pop ideal for one album only, 1992's Going Blank Again. The highlight of Going Blank Again is "Twisterella," a swirling, head-spinning popfest. Following this beguiling taste of a perfect single, Ride immediately forgot about pop entirely and rode into the sunset in 1995.

Gigolo Aunts started out as a relatively low-key power pop combo, as demonstrated by a quick spin of 1988's Everybody Happy, an overlooked but ace exercise in a-boppin' and a-poppin'. Since then, the Aunts cranked up the amps and raised the grunge quotient just a touch for 1994's Flippin' Out. "Cope" is an interesting illustration of the group's hard pop dichotomy at its best: even as they start to swagger in prototypical college-radio fashion, just when you think you've got the song pegged as an agreeable but standard alterna-rocker, that chorus comes outta nowhere to imbed its whale-size hooks into your soul.

It's unfair (and technically inaccurate), but history may wind up remembering The Rembrandts as mere one-hit wonders for "I'll Be There For You," their phenomenally popular theme song for the TV sitcom Friends. The duo of Danny Wilde and Phil Solem has been revered for their irresistible pop savvy ever since their days in the early '80s pop band Great Buildings. As The Rembrandts, they've released three albums of luxurious, melodic pop cast in the image of The Everly Brothers, and had a # 14 hit in 1991 with "Just The Way It Is, Baby." "Rollin' Down The Hill" is from their second album, 1992's Untitled, and it provides a perfect encapsulation of The Rembrandts' inviting, understated sound.

One of the more obscure acts on this compilation, The Tearaways evolved from a Santa Monica pop band called The Volcanos, and their simply awesome 1993 debut See The Sound (produced by 20/20-Three O'Clock veteran Earle Mankey) reveals a band eminently worthy of the widest possible attention. "Jessica Something" is but one of many alluring tracks on that debut, an album that all pop fans should immediately seek out with eager dispatch. While a touch less immediate than See The Sound, 1996's De La Vina nonetheless serves further notice that we should be keeping an eye and ear on these Tearaways.

With a glorious vocal blend that calls to mind the magnificence of The Hollies, The Posies have proven there's more to Seattle music than grunge and more grunge. While Posies Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer's stint as members of the '90s touring version of Big Star is an impressive résumé item, it's still just a footnote to The Posies' own accomplishments. Though fans are divided over the merits of the group's early, smoother pop albums (1988's Failure and 1990's Dear 23) and the sharper edge added to 1993's Frosting On The Beater and 1996's Amazing Disgrace, Frosting On The Beater seems to be the most popular Posies work. "Solar Sister" is a proud representative of that long-player, its edge still sharp but its shiny pop sheen undiminished.

"If I had the Wondermints back in 1967, I would have taken Smile out on the road." What kind of band must Wondermints be to inspire such an unbelievably cool benediction from Brian Wilson--Brian friggin' Wilson!--pop's most holy patron saint himself? The Wondermints are probably the most acclaimed of all the acts in L.A.'s burgeoning power pop scene. The group's accomplished and avowedly pop approach, which combines tantalizing hints of every band you loved on AM radio in the '60s with a touch of early '80s new wave, was first released on a series of indie cassettes, and on their first 45, the superb, haunting "Proto-Pretty." This all-American group had to go all the way to Japan to get a record deal, though New York City's Big Deal label came through with a domestic release in late '96.

The Lemonheads have evolved from a nondescript posthardcore outfit into an engaging pop conglomeration centered around singer/guitarist Evan Dando. The group first founds its audience via a smirking cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" on 1992's It's A Shame About Ray. Come On Feel The Lemonheads (1993) gave us the juicy, jangly "Into Your Arms" and secured The Lemonheads' position as alternative-pop superstars. And, lest it be forgotten that a certain measure of Tiger Beat-style idolatry should be part and parcel of genuine pop mania, then you've gotta concede that Dando's good looks certainly didn't hurt the group's commercial prospects. (Though if one more joker refers to Dando as an "alterna-hunk," I'll personally swat said joker with a rolled-up Shaun Cassidy poster.)

Back when '70s nostalgia seemed ludicrous, brothers Jeffrey and Steven McDonald set about transforming their punkish combo Redd Kross into an aggressive post-punk pop band that seemed to draw equal inspiration from KISS and The Bay City Rollers. The McDonalds even appeared in 1991's '70s-revival flick The Spirit Of '76 with David Cassidy! Today, Redd Kross is rightly recognized as a potent pop powerhouse, capable of making little girls swoon on the one hand and raisin' the motherlovin' roof on the other. Both elements are displayed in "Lady In The Front Row," a souring treatise on rock 'n' roll stardom and fandom (from the group's ace 1993 Phaseshifter album), a track which cordially invites you to sway with cigarette lighter held high.

Both members of Jellyfish, albeit at different times, Jason Falkner and Jon Brion finally got to be in a band together when they formed The Grays, an act with a decidedly harder edge than that of the lads' goofier alma mater. The Grays' 1994 Ro Sham Bo album may have been a touch too heavy for some Jellyfish devotees, but tracks like "Same Thing," emblematic of the group's sound, did find an audience among more aggressive rockin' poppers.

The Rooks have become New York City's most notable pop act, beloved by the discerning few who know of the group's sublime work-- of singer/guitarist Michael Mazzarella's nonpareil pop originals and Kristin Pinell's shimmering guitar leads. "Reasons" was first heard on the band's debut album The Rooks, and it's distinguished by a drop-dead gorgeous chorus that will convince you the late Chris Bell and Gene Clark are harmonizing along from beyond this mortal coil. By the time you read this, The Rooks will have a new album out from the visionary Not Lame label.

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

On the more alternative side of pop, Velocity Girl offers a sound that Rolling Stone described as "haunting yet hummable noise pop." The group has done a whole passel o' records for Sub Pop, with "I Can't Stop Smiling" coming to us from 1994's ¡Simpatico! It may not be power pop in the traditional Beatles/Who/Beach Boys/Big Star sense, but it sure is catchy nonetheless.

With frank Big Star moves in its music and an album, 1994's Teenage Symphonies To God, named for Brian Wilson's long-ago description of his goals for The Beach Boys' aborted Smile LP, Velvet Crush makes no secret of its influences. This Rhode Island trio has made a name for itself as a confident purveyor of Big Star/Byrds janglepop while avoiding mere imitation. "Hold Me Up," from Teenage Symphonies To God, is the group's best-known track.

Vancouver pop band Zumpano plays an almost giddily pleasant pastiche of '60s pure pop, recalling scads of Turtles and Grass Roots 45s spun on the neighbor girl's Close-N-Play record machine. The incongruity of such a clean-sounding pop act recording for Sub Pop, a label that usually favors at least a bit more grit in its grooves, didn't stop 1995's Look What The Rookie Did from being a delightfully sugary confection, guaranteed to get your fingers to snappin' and your teeth to rottin'. "The Party Rages On" is a wonderfully cheery kiss-off, the nicest sounding hit-the-road-ya-crumb ditty to come down the pike in recent memory.

Chapel Hill, NC's native son Rick Miller, aka Rick Rock, is better known in pop circles as the one and only Parthenon Huxley--the name he used for his stunning 1988 album Sunny Nights--and as producer of records by E (today better known as front man of The Eels). Nowadays, singer/guitarist Huxley fronts a threesome called P. Hux, aided and abetted by bassist Rob Miller and drummer Gordon Townsend. P. Hux is resolutely rock-solid and proved it on Deluxe, a record proclaimed by readers of Audities magazine ("The Journal Of Insanely Great Pop") as the very best of '95. If "Every Minute" is your first dose of Huxley, then you've got some catching up to do.

Finally, The Idle Wilds bring the Big Star connection home, with a very nice debut album, 1995's Dumb, Gifted And Beautiful, released by erstwhile Big Star label Ardent (for which Jody Stephens still works as an A & R guy). For all that, The Idle Wilds take great care not to languish in the shadow of Chilton and Co., turning their amps to 11 and running through a bracing set of originals, like "You're All Forgiven," that acknowledges the past but lives in the present. What more could one ask from a power pop record?

And that rocks our little '90s power pop party to an appropriately exuberant close. This only scratches the surface of all the great pop that's been turned during this fabulous (make that fab) decade. Between big names like Gin Blossoms and Oasis, shoulda-been-bigger names like Material Issue (R.I.P., Jim Ellison), and countless other essential acts you may not know, or may be just barely aware of, the music need never stop.

So don't stop. This is pop with power--music to excite your soul, break your heart, and cause you to drive too fast. It's music best heard, in the words of the late Jim Ellison, with the radio up and the window down. So punch the pedal and crank it up. Feel free to sing along and pound on the steering wheel in whatever rhythmic fashion you can muster. If it's a tale of love lost, don't be afraid to cry. And if it's a power pop celebration, then let the thrills go unabridged. What a wonderful, wonderful time to be a pop fan.

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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
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Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).