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 SONGS: 4/19/2025

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 # 1281, offered in memory of the late, great Clem Burke.

BLONDIE: Dreaming

I never met drummer Clem Burke. I don't think I ever had any real communication with him, though I'm told he was aware of our radio show and approved of whatever the hell it is we do. The news of his passing was an unexpected punch in the gut. As we mourn the loss of one of our heroes, our hearts go out to his friends and family.

And we had to pay tribute, or at least we had to try to pay some sort of tribute to this man who provided the beat for Blondie, and for so many other fantastic artists. To kick off our salute to the flash and power of Clem Burke, in my head I knew there could be no other song choice besides "Dreaming." That intro! That over-the-top percussive intro that never seems excessive, even as it threatens (convincingly!) to spiral outta control into shambles and abyss. We all know--know--that Clem Burke's got it covered, and he will not cede command of the beat nor let it wander anywhere other than exactly where he wants it to be.

"Dreaming" is the opening track on Blondie's 1979 album Eat To The Beat. After we recorded our show but before it aired, I heard last week's episode of The Spoon, wherein overhost Robbie Rist chose Eat To The Beat's closing track "Living In The Real World" to represent Burke's legacy, and that's a damned fine pick as well. Clem Burke left us with a very, very long list of damned fine picks. We played just a few of them this week. 

JOHN EASDALE: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress

Although we've obviously been Clem Burke fans for decades, our direct if tenuous connection to the man hisself came via Jigsaw Seen guitarist Jonathan Lea. We'll circle back to that subject a bit later in today's post. When our Clem Burke tribute included this fab Hollies cover by John Easdale playing with Clem and Jonathan (among others), Jonathan wrote:

"This track is from the first session I ever played with Clem (along with Mark Englert and Craig Ballam) and it was unlike any session I’d played before (very loose and carefree.) 

"Prior to the session, the executive producer (Greg Dwinnell) told me that this project was costing a fortune and there wasn’t room in the budget to feed everyone so he asked me not to mention anything about food. About fifteen minutes into the session (before we’d even played a note,) Clem says 'Let’s order some food, where’s the menus?' I then look at Greg and he just deflates. Within another couple of minutes, Clem is on the phone with a Chinese restaurant and it sounds like he’s literally ordering everything on the menu. Clem and I had immediately hit it off (birds of a feather?) so he says to me 'Jonathan, do you like orange chicken?' I reply 'Sure,' so he then tells the person taking the order 'Give us two more orders of orange chicken.' I’d only ever worked on indie sessions with shoestring budgets so for me, this was like recording Tusk.

"Thirty years later, I still remember it all vividly. At Clem’s request, we also recorded a version of the Who’s 'The Ox' for a Sub Pop Records project but I’m not sure whatever happened with it."

THE PLIMSOULS: Playing With Jack

The very first episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio aired on December 27th, 1998, and we did indeed include a Clem Burke performance in our inaugural playlist. But it wasn’t a Blondie track; we didn’t get around to playing Blondie for, I think, a couple of months. Let’s face it: We’re slackers.

No, Clem’s appearance on TIRnRR # 1 found him pounding out the beat for power pop luminaries the Plimsouls. Clem was a member of that group at the time of their 1998 album Kool Trash, and its heart-pumpin’ track “Playing With Jack” was a big early favorite on this little mutant radio show. We also wound up playing the Kool Trash track “Dangerous Book” a lot, but “Playing With Jack” was the first of many TIRnRR spins for the Plimsouls and Clem Burke alike.

KATHY VALENTINE: Retouch Me

Kathy Valentine is (deservedly!) in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as bassist for the Go-Go's. She's also a writer, author of the book All I Ever Wanted: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir and a Substack soapbox called The Direction Of Motion. We're fans. Knowing that Clem Burke played on Kathy's 2005 album Light Years, it was imperative for us to return that album's old TIRnRR Fave Rave "Retouch Me" to this week's playlist. 

She also had a long and close relationship with Clem. She writes so movingly about him in this piece that my heart breaks again for those who mourn Clem not merely like we do, as fans from afar, but as people who've lost someone special in their own lives. 

Read. Cry. Then live like Clem did.

BLONDIE: (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE ROMANTICS: Midnight To Six Man

I never got to see Blondie perform live. I saw Debbie Harry and Chris Stein on the Escape From New York tour in 1990 (with the Ramones, Tom Tom Club, and Jerry Harrison), but I don’t believe Clem Burke was playing with them at the time.

Given that, I’m grateful that I did get to witness one Clem Burke performance, and that was when he was with the Romantics in the ‘90s.

I’ve been a Romantics fan nearly as long as I’ve been a Blondie fan, starting with a purchase of the “Little White Lies” 45 in 1978. They used to play occasionally in Syracuse, on a bill with Syracuse’s own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes, but their ‘Cuse shows always occurred after I was back in school and away from home. That’s what I didn’t like about them.

I guess it was kind of full circle that when I finally did get to see the Romantics, Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay was also in attendance, and we thrilled as the Detroit rockers (propelled by the Burke beat) opened their show with a confident cover of the Pretty Things’ “Midnight To Six Man.” Oh, MAN! I knew this was gonna be good...!

BLONDIE: Accidents Never Happen

I am not a musician. I can neither play nor sing, but I consider myself fortunate that I'm able to play great records on the radio, and to write with conviction and (I hope) authority about the sounds that move me. A few years back, I posted a piece called "I've Got The Music In Me (And That's Where It's Gonna Stay)," discussing and coming to terms with my inability to create music. That piece included a reminiscence of playing bongos in college alongside a couple of, y'know, actual musicians in a two-thirds competent jazz trio called Bud Mackintaw & the Skeeters. At the point where the Skeeters went the way all bands from the Beatles to the Shaggs must one day go, I wrote:

"Nonetheless, Bud Mackintaw & the Skeeters parted as friends. How many bands can say that? Tom left Brockport after that semester, but I caught up with him again when he visited campus the following year. I saw Truck and his roommate Ray a few times in '79-'80, too. By then, I'd moved from bongos to dorm-room suite chairs; with my handy-dandy drumsticks, I pounded out a rhythm to accompany Blondie's recording of 'Accidents Never Happen,' just to prove I could keep time as a drummer."

Mind you, I couldn't really keep time as a drummer. But I did my best. I betcha Clem would have approved of the effort, if not the result.

TALL POPPY SYNDROME: Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)

Thanks to Jonathan Lea, I am able to say that Dana and I produced a compilation album that included work by the great Clem Burke. Both Jonathan and Clem were members of Tall Poppy Syndrome, a rockin' pop supergroup also featuring guitarist Vince Melouney of the Bee Gees, singer Paul Kopf from the latter-day edition of the Seeds, and bassist Alec Palao from Cream Puff War magazine and too many bands to list. Their 2021 cover of Robin Gibbs' "Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)" was intended as "Mod-era Who performing the Zombies' Odessey And Oracle-style." Mission accomplished! It caught our ears, and the lads allowed us to use the track on our 2022 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5.

THE TEARAWAYS: Charlie, Keith And Ringo

And Clem. Heroes, meet hero.

BLONDIE: X Offender

All stories start somewhere. "X Offender" was the first Blondie song I ever heard, my aural introduction to Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Jimmy Destri, Gary Valentine, and an incredible drummer named Clem Burke. The song was part of my first teen attempt at rock journalism, and its impact still resonates. The stories and the music continue even when we are no longer able to keep up with them. The rhythm of the stories will not and will never surrender their enduring flash. Godspeed, Clem Burke. 

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

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

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

10 SONGS: 3/24/2022

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 # 1121.

THE FLASHCUBES: Taking Inventory

Last week was not a good week. Let's leave at that. Instead, let's focus on the delights that distract us. My most delightful current distraction is Flashcubes On Fire, a killer new set preserving an absolutely ace live show by my favorite power pop group, the Flashcubes, performing at the Firebarn in Syracuse on May 26th, 1979. I wrote the liner notes, and the disc itself fully lives up to my memory and to my ongoing conviction that the Flashcubes were as kickass a live act as anyone ever. I'm thrilled, thrilled, that more people now have this chance to hear a hint of what permanenty turned my then-teen head in the late '70s. Ducky Carlisle introduces the 'Cubes--Some day, very soon from now, you people are going to be able to say, "I saw this band before they were famous"--and there's no question the Flashcubes shoulda hit big. The live version of guitarist Arty Lenin's "Taking Inventory" smokes in a way the studio demo can't dream of matching. You had to see the Flashcubes play live; you had to. I'm so grateful I had that chance to do so. I wish I'd had even more chances. 

DOLLY PARTON: Don't Drop Out

The legendary Dolly Parton is one of this month's pop culture heroes for her statement wishing to be removed from consideration for induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. It's a symbolic gesture--ballots have already been distributed, and I'm sure some voting members have already already cast their lot with the gal from Tennessee--but it speaks to Parton's poise and class nonetheless. We can bicker about whether or not Dolly Parton's body of work in country music qualifies her for rock 'n' roll recognition, and I'm not sure which side I'd take (though I have no objection to her nomination, nor to Eminem's nomination). But I hope she does make that rock 'n' roll album she's now promised to do.

And I couldn't resist taking this opportunity to slip Dolly's fantastic 1966 girl-group single "Don't Drop Out" into the TIRnRR mix, and to bellow on air, "Don't drop out, Dolly! DON'T DROP OUT...!"

THE ROMANTICS: National Breakout

The Flashcubes shared a bill with Detroit's phenomenal pop combo the Romantics on a few occasions, and although that group's indie singles made me a Romantics fan even before their first album further demonstrated what I like about them--HEY!!--logistics forced me to miss every damned one of their Syracuse appearances in the '70s. What a perfect double bill! The title tune from the Romantics' second album National Breakout has long been one of my fave raves, and I'll be talking a bit more about it when my long-dormant 5 Above blog series returns with a piece about my top five Romantics tracks.

THE HOODOO GURUS: Carry On

Speaking of classic pop bands from previous decades, the Hoodoo Gurus--yes, the freakin' HOODOO GURUS!--have just released a new album, Chariot Of The Gods. We played advance single "Get Out Of Dodge" a bit in 2021, but the go-to track now is the roof-rattling "Carry On." It's back on the radio again next Sunday night. We play the hits.

THE FLASHCUBES: You're Not The Police

'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay's "You're Not The Police" was among the highlights of their 1979 live sets, a boppin' li'l number about a possessive girlfriend. If I wanted the cops, I'd be watchin' TV. In A Brighter Light In My Mind, my what-if fantasy about a world where the Flashcubes achieved the fame and acclaim that was their due, "You're Not The Police" was a # 7 smash hit. I sometimes like my made-up world considerably more than I like this dumb ol' real world. Stupid real world.

THE FLASHCUBES: Face In The Crowd

In the above-mentioned Flashcubes fantasy piece, guitarist Paul Armstrong's "Face In The Crowd" was the title tune from a fictional Top Ten Flashcubes album, an album that (in that world) also contained "You're Not The Police" and Frenay's # 1 smash "My Little Angel." Yeah, again--much better, brighter world over there. Back to reality, the live "Face In The Crowd" previously appeared on the bonus disc originally included with our own 2013 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3. "Face In The Crowd" and the live "Got No Mind" (which was on the Flashcubes anthology Bright Lights) are the only Firebarn '79 'Cubes tracks to see release prior to Flashcubes On Fire.

CRABBY APPLETON: Go Back

Writer and noted good guy Bill Holmes sent us a note complimenting this week's TIRnRR  playlist, with specific praise for our spin of Crabby Appleton's 1970 woulda-coulda-shoulda gem "Go Back." Bill wrote, "This week's double secret probation points awarded for recognizing (what should have been) a top ten hit as well as one of the greatest dashboard drumming songs ever recorded. Whole album is killer; Michael Fennelly's vocals were vastly underrated."

THE RUNAWAYS: Hollywood

Up top, I mentioned that I wish I'd been able to see the Flashcubes perform live even more often than I actually did. Because I was a college student at the time, I was only back home in Syracuse during school breaks. But I tell ya, I am very blessed to have had the chances I did have, and I've seen the Flashcubes on more occasions than I've seen any other act. That distinction in my virtual ticket stub gallery will never, ever be challenged.

My first Flashcubes show was positively seismic in its effect on me. A few months later, I saw the 'Cubes open for the Runaways and the Ramones, and that night was even more epic. There would be many more epic nights to follow. I was 18 years old then, and 19 when the 'Cubes played the 1979 gig we hear on Flashcubes On Fire. Seismic? Brothers and sisters, "seismic" ain't even the half of it.

Prior to this week, I don't think TIRnRR had ever played "Hollywood" (from the Runaways' second album, 1977's Queen Of Noise). It was a track I played many a time as a teen, but the radio show's preferred Runaways fare has generally been "Cherry Bomb," "School Days," and their (definitive) cover of the Velvet Underground's "Rock And Roll," and a few scattered others. I think we may delve a bit deeper into the Runaways' catalog on some near-future shows.

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING SHOES: Tomorrow Night

While the release of Flashcubes On Fire conjures these fond and vibrant memories of the Flashcubes on stage in the '70s, it's important to remember that the mighty 'Cubes are still recording new tracks, too. Beginning in 2021, the irresistible Big Stir Records label has been the vehicle for a series of newly-recorded Flashcubes digital singles, each one a cover of something from power pop's long and storied past. Credit TIRnRR with the assist in helping to get the 'Cubes and Big Stir together (a public service which will shave eons off our post-mortality sentence in Purgatory). 

There was a cover of Pezband's "Baby It's Cold Outside," which the Flashcubes recorded with the song's author Mimi Betinis. There was a cover of the Dwight Twilley Band's "Alone In My Room." Currently, there is this fabulous cover of Shoes' "Tomorrow Night," recorded with members of Shoes, and tearin' up the airwaves at better radio shows around the world. 

And there's more yet to come. Decades later, it's clear that the Flashcubes are still on fire.

THE MONKEES: I Was There (And I'm Told I Had A Good Time)

"I Was There (And I'm Told I Had A Good Time)" was the closing track on the Monkees' triumphant 2016 album Good Times! The song was inspired by Micky Dolenz's oft-told reminiscence of partying with the Beatles circa 1967. It was chosen deliberately as the coda for this week's show, following the 'Cubes' Flashcubes On Fire cover of the Who's "I Can't Explain." I was there. And I know I had a good time.

I don't mean to say that I was at the Firebarn on May 26th, 1979, when Flashcubes On Fire was recorded. I might have been there. I might not have been there. But I'll testify to this: I was at a lot of Flashcubes shows in '78 and '79, shows at the Firebarn and the Slide-Inn and the Jab, at Uncle Sam's and the Brookside, at the Orange, at Stage East, at the razzafrazzin' Grape 'n' Grog, at Gildersleeves on Bowery in NYC. I saw them with the Ramones and the Runaways, with David Johansen, 999, Artful Dodger, the Fast, Joe Jackson, New Math. After the group reunited in the '90s (sometimes with deputy drummers sitting in for percussive powderkeg Tommy Allen), I saw them at Styleen's, the Lost Horizon, Syracuse's Inner Harbor, the Palace Theater, the Civic Center, Onondaga Lake Park, the Empire Room at the New York State Fairgrounds, Funk N' Waffles, Bop Shop Records in Rochester, and maybe some place else my brain won't surrender. I missed them at the Landmark Theater--outta town commitment that night--and I was never able to see them at CBGB's or International Pop Overthrow. I'll see the Flashcubes whenever and wherever fortunes places me there.

And I saw the Flashcubes play in Dave Glavin's garage on July 1st, 1979, the evening of a very, very bad day for me. Even then, the Flashcubes were able to provide delightful distraction amidst the slings and arrows of bad days, bad weeks. Then and now, loud and proud, a single finger held up against trouble and woe.  

A good time in bad times. I wish I'd seen them more often. I cherish every time I did see them. Yeah, I was there. Here's to the good times.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 10/7/2021

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous 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 # 1097.

THE RAMONES: I Just Want To Have Something To Do

Well. Don't we all? Watch this space. Take it, C.J.!

THE CRUSHING VIOLETS: A Groovy Kind Of Love

We are a DIY radio show. We operate on a not-for-profit community radio station, broadcasting on low-power FM in the Syracuse market and webcasting to the four corners of the globe. The latter exercise continues to puzzle us, as we do realize that globes don't have corners. Nonetheless: onward! We pick our own playlists, concoct our own hype, and hope that only the music explodes, and not the equipment.

Each week, Dana and I sift through past favorites, recent acquisitions (both fresh and vintage), and sparklin' NEW releases to slap a show together. The process is as benevolent as an evil agenda can be.

Antanina Brooks has been following TIRnRR for a little bit, and she reached out to us to see if we might be interested in playing something by her own combo, the Crushing Violets. Okeydokey! Antanina sent us the latest Crushing Violets EP A Dream Without Color, and we picked their cover of the Mindbenders' "A Groovy Kind Of Love" to introduce the Crushing Violets to our little PlayTone Galaxy O' Stars. We'll aim to include one of the group's original songs in next week's show. 

THE DIXIE CUPS: Iko Iko

A sneak peek behind the curtain of TIRnRR's programming: this track was not originally in this week's playlist, at least not as Dana and I set it up on Tuesday. Prerecording the shows allows the luxury of occasionally changing my mind about one of my selections. I had another song in this spot--a popular hit record from the '70s, and a fine tune its own right--but it just didn't fit the flow of the playlist. Feel is a huge part of this little mutant radio program, and the feel wasn't there in this case. The Dixie Cups were available to come off the bench instead. The show is saved!

THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR: Vanishing Girl

XTC, calling themselves the Dukes of Stratosphear, sounding like the Hollies, but in reality still XTC. I'm resilient when it comes to pop music, so none of that makes my head hurt. There are days when this is my favorite XTC track.

KID GULLIVER: Stupid Little Girl

Kid Gulliver has become a TIRnRR Fave Rave over the last, I dunno, year and a half or something. Sometimes a specific song--in this case, Kid Gulliver's fabulous "Forget About Him"--just sticks, and we wind up playing it a lot, a go-to track that defines whatever it is we do on this show. This feeds an interest in playing more of the artist's work. We generally play each Kid Gulliver single as soon as it's released.

"Stupid Little Girl" is the latest single, originally part of the group's 2021 EP Gimme Some Go! It was the only Gimme Some Go! cut we hadn't gotten around to playing--primarily because..hey, SQUIRREL!--but we've now remedied that with deliberate dispatch. We're not, y'know, stupid. It's also a video, and it's part of Kid Gulliver's first-ever full-length album, the just-released Kismet. Kismet collects all of your Kid Gulliver go-tos in one irresistible package, from "Boy In A Bubble" and "Beauty School Dropout" through TIRnRR Pick Hit "Forget Abou Him" and their cover of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke." Your helpful radio hosts suggest you buy it awready. Fave Raves need love, too.

THE ON AND ONS: Better Every Day

The On And Ons' 2020 EP Menacing Smile scored some significant burn on the ol' playlists, particularly with the ace track "9 Days." And you'd best prepare for additional scorch marks, because the On and Ons are BACK FOR MORE! Yes, as in Back For More, which is the title of their brand-new album. I am so clever it itches. But man, is this ever good stuff. Haven't decided yet whether we'll skip around the record for additional tracks, or if we'll just keep on (and on) pounding "Better Every Day." We win either way. And so do you!

IRENE PEÑA: In This Room

As much as I hate being late to a party, a great party can embrace the tardy and make us feel as welcome as its first revelers. It's been ten years since the release of Nothing To Do With You, the debut album from Irene Peña. We didn't hear about Irene until late 2016 (a story told here), and we've been playing catch-up ever since. 

And Irene's made it easy for everyone to catch up, as she continues the tenth-anniversary celebration of Nothing To Do With You by issuing each of its eleven tracks as individual digital singles, one single per month. We're up to track/single/divine gift # 8 with "In This Room," another luxurious sample of the sublime songcraft of Irene Peña. Late to the party? Yeah, that's me. Sorry about that! But I'm glad to be here now.

PRINCE: Hot Summer

"Hot Summer," from Prince's 2021 release Welcome 2 America, has become such a welcome earworm that I don't care that I'm still playing a summer song as the leaves fall and the temperature drops. I don't even care that I despise hot weather anyway. This song shines. Hot summer, yeah!

THE ROMANTICS: National Breakout

I never owned very many prerecorded cassettes. There were a few I recall--the soundtrack to Billy Jack, the New York Dolls' Too Much Too Soon, the Pretenders' Learning To Crawl, a fantastic Kinks collection called Golden Hour Of The Kinks, a various-artist gem called Garage Sale, a couple of budget Beatles albums, tapes by various local and/or indie acts, and a few others--but cassettes were mere conveniences for me. I'd occasionally pick up a cassette if the, y'know, real album--the LP--wasn't available.

I don't know why an LP of the Romantics' second album,1980's National Breakout, wouldn't have been available when I was in the market for or it; for whatever forgotten reason, I wound up with the tape instead. And I loved the title tune, which remains one of my top Romantics tracks. It should have been their national breakout, but the Romantics were still waiting for that grand success in 1980. Yeah, "What I Like About You" was on their debut album, but it wasn't a hit at the time; it became familiar after the fact, courtesy of MTV, but it never breached the Top 40. Nor did anything from National Breakout, nor from their heavier follow-up Strictly Personal. 1983's In Heat, with its hit singles "Talking In Your Sleep" and "One In A Million," was what finally gave the Romantics the national breakout they deserved.

I have the National Breakout album on CD now. I still have the cassette, too. I never did own it on vinyl.

THE NUTLEY BRASS: I Wanna Be Sedated

Well. Don't we all?

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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.

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