10 SONGS: 10/28/2021

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 is the second of two editions of 10 Songs this week. Its predecessor drew exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1100. This one does not. Instead, each of these ten songs was almost included in our 1100th show, and each was in the playlist at some point as Dana and I compiled it.

THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Someone New

"Boys Don't Cry" was the first Catholic Girls track I ever heard, courtesy of dat ole debbil MTV. The group's video for "Boys Can Cry" may have been my sole communion with the Catholic Girls' music in the early '80s, though I eventually scarfed up a copy of their eponymous 1982 LP. "Someone New" off that album was definitely my favorite, and it later became the first Catholic Girls track ever played on TIRnRR. (I suspect we may have played the Catholic Girls on our pre-TIRnRR series We're Your Friends For Now in '92, but we have no written records of the playlists for those shows.)

We began corresponding with the Catholic Girls' Gail Peterson in 1992, our first full year on the air and also the year that Renaissance Records reissued the above-cited Catholic Girls album on CD. New Catholic Girls music followed, and we were all in. "Niagara Falls." "Make Me Believe." "Somebody In The USA." "Rock'n America." And of course, our latter-day favorite "Should Have Been Mine," from the Catholic Girls' 2005 album Meet The Catholic Girls. We played 'em all, and more.

Our second This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation CD was supposed to include a Catholic Girls track, but a behind-the-scenes issue (beyond our control, and not the Catholic Girls' fault) prevented that from happening. They forgave us, and let us use "Should Have Been Mine" on 2013's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3, the first compilation over which Dana and I had total control of the content.

For TIRnRR # 1100, we opted to go back to that 1982 debut for another spin of "Someone New," but we weren't able to squeeze it in. Damn these unbreakable laws of time and physics. You'll hear it on TIRnRR # 1101 this coming Sunday night.

DOUG DEREK AND THE HOAX: Bobby's Gotta Get Back To Boston [1981 version]

I determined weeks ago that I wanted to open TIRnRR # 1100 with the Brothers Steve's direct statement of intent "We Got The Hits." The track is on the group's Big Stir Records release # 1, and its use at the top of the show prompted Dana to suggest we devote the first set to a few of the labels that have been so good to us. There were more than a mere six likely labels to honor, but we settled on Big Stir, Red On Red, Rainbow Quartz, Rum Bar, Kool Kat Musik, and Jem. Futureman and JAM Recordings were represented elsewhere on the playlist. I regret we didn't get to SpyderPop and Not Lame (among others), but both labels supplied tracks that will be heard on next week's show (the former in its current partnership with Big Stir).

Kool Kat Musik was also a presence throughout our 1100th show, with tracks from our 2017 collection This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. But we wanted to play at least one Kool Kat track not directly affiliated with us, and I chose Doug Derek and the Hoax with "Bobby's Gotta Bet Back To Boston [1981 version]," from Kool Kat's Doug Derek retrospective Who The Hell Is Doug Derek? "Bobby's Gotta Get Back To Boston" is a fantastic track, but in recording the show, I felt Bill Berry's "1-800-Colonoscopy" (from Kool Kat's 2020 John Wicks tribute album For The Record) was an imperative. It was our # 2 most-played track last year (surpassed only by the Muffs' "On My Own"), we dubbed it "The Love Theme From 2020," and it needed to be represented on TIRnRR # 1100. Yeah, not the first time a colonoscopy disrupted someone's plans.

THE GRIP WEEDS: Rainbow Quartz

Really wanted to include the Grip Weeds in TIRnRR # 1100. New Jersey's phenomenal pop combo has been among our go-to acts here for decades, and they've appeared on two of our TIRnRR compilations ("Out Of Today" on TIRnRR Vol. 2 and "Strange Bird" on TIRnRR Vol. 4). Grip Weeds drummer and lead singer Kurt Reil does appear on our 1100th show playlist as a member of the BAR (with Danny Adlerman and Jim Babjak), but the group's own song "Rainbow Quartz" almost made it in, too. The Grip Weeds have a new all-covers album, DiG, due imminently from the good folks at Jem Records. We'll hear a song from DiG this Sunday night.

MAD MONSTER PARTY: Can't Stop Loving You

For a little mutant radio show, we've done a fair job of providing public services to the rockin' pop public. One of these services was the first (and still only) CD appearance of music by Mad Monster Party, an absolutely incredible but frustratingly obscure all-female SoCal group from the '80s. Mad Monster Party included the fabulous 'n' foxy Gwynne Kahn, ex of the Pandoras, and their then-unreleased tracks are among THE best stuff recorded by anyone in that decade. There was a digital release of the tracks in 2013 (the same year we used "Can't Stop Loving You" on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3), but I think even the download option may have faded from the marketplace since then. Mad Monster Party's humble li'l catalog is, in '80s speak, totally awesome, and way, way overdue for physical release. NOW, dammit!! Calling Big Stir! We got a job for you!

THE PARTIES: Cryin' Shame

Here's one of two cases where I picked one song to represent an artist on this week's playlist and then changed to a different song by the same artist. I was taken with the Parties' first album Can't Come Down back in 2008, and granted well-deserved airplay to a song called "Damned By The Sunshine." I was well and truly blown away away by the title track of the group's 2009 Cryin' Shame EP, and this week I picked that song to represent the Rainbow Quartz label in our opening set. But as I thought more about it, "Let's Call It Love" (from the Parties' 2010 album Coast Garde, the group's most recent release as far as I know) was the Parties' biggest hit with TIRnRR listeners. Couldn't go wrong with any of those choices.

POP CO-OP: You Don't Love Me Anymore

And here's the other case of me switching a band's designated song after tentatively settling on a different song. The lads in Pop Co-Op--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, and Stacy Carson--give partial credit to TIRnRR for their existence, which makes us as proud as any Frankenstein you're ever likely to meet. 2017 gave us Pop Co-Op's debut album Four State Solution, and it also brought us "You Don't Love Me Anymore," which the band let us use for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. "You Don't Love Me Anymore" reminds me a little bit of both Gerry and the Pacemakers and Chad and Jeremy, but it's accomplished with a trifle more essential oomph than either of those British Invasion stalwarts were generally known to...um, oomphify. Perfect track for TIRnRR # 1100! 

But y'know what? "It Ain't Easy Being A Boy" (from Four State Solution) is also a perfect track for TIRnRR # 1100. So we went that one instead. IT'S ALIVE! POP CO-OP IS ALIVE...!!

THE PRIMITIVES: Crash

Prerecording shows offers the advantage of shuffling choices around to make 'em fit as best they can. Each week, Dana and I set a playlist of seven six-song sets, a final set of eight songs, and another eight bonus tracks that can serve as an add-on eighth set before the final (ninth) set, if there's time. Very often, there isn't time, so the eighth set either shrinks to six songs, or disappears entirely as some of its tracks merge into that final set instead. Show # 1100 didn't have time for the bonus set, so that eighth set of eight songs dropped four songs and folded into what had been the ninth set, creating a set of twelve songs to close the program.

The Primitives' rockin' pop classic "Crash" was one of the casualties. But rest assured: we'll play it again eventually. As we should.

THE SMALL FACES: You Need Loving

"You Need Loving" by the Small Faces was another of the tracks cut in the smooshing together of our two final sets this week. Yeah, this sounds amazingly similar to Led Zeppelin's subsequent monolith "Whole Lotta Love," and both of these tracks sound amazingly similar to Muddy Waters' "You Need Love," which was written by Willie Dixon and well predates your diminutive visages and metallic dirigibles. The Small Faces' track never got much traction, so Willie Dixon knew who was the best target for litigation when he went after Led Zeppelin instead. Gentlemen, start your lawyers!

THE SKELETONS: Trans Am

They were America's coolest band. The Skeletons were something else, especially as a live act, and I regard "Trans Am" as their signature tune. Another one of the four songs cut when the original eighth set combined with the original ninth set. (I don't remember exactly what song was the fourth; I think it was just one of the tracks that got moved around in planning, so either the Catholic Girls or the Grip Weeds).

THE TWEAKERS: Super Secret Mystery Track

In college basketball March Madness parlance, the Tweakers were the last team out. "Super Secret Mystery Track" would have been the final track on this week's playlist, after the farewell and after the Poptarts' "I Won't Let You Let Me Go" (the first track ever played on TIRnRR) and Dana & Carl (with Dave Murray)'s "The Ballad Of Jah Clampett" (from This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1). We ran outta time. And no, I'm still not gonna tell you anything about the Tweakers. Can't you read? It's a super secret MYSTERY track! Go buy Futureman's digital download of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3 and hear for yourself. And come on back Sunday night for TIRnRR # 1101. Gotta keep buildin' to our next milestone. Tweak. Tweak. Tweak.

Is this man a Tweaker, or is he the host of Radio Deer Camp on SPARK Syracuse? Or is he...BOTH?!

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You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

POP-A-LOOZA: LOST IN THE GROOVES: Fools Face, TELL AMERICA

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is my celebration of the album Tell America by Fools Face.

Both this piece and the recent post about The Ramones' Subterranean Jungle album were originally written for the 2005 book Lost In The Groove. While those were my only two pieces in the book, I did write a third entry, which the editors declined. We'll see that piece reprised next week.

Like The Skeletons, Fools Face were from Springfield, Missouri, a fact which enhanced my interest in those groups. My mother was born and raised in Southwest Missouri, and summer visits to the area were an essential part of my youth. The bus or plane from Syracuse brought us as far as Springfield, and my grandparents would pick us up there and bring us back to their home in Verona or (later on) Aurora. We occasionally made it back to Springfield's Battlefield Mall, where my cousin and I could see a movie (What's Up, Doc? was a favorite), and buy books or records. I never got to see any rock bands, mind you, but the idea of such utterly cool bands as The Skeletons and Fools Face coming out of that region always pleased me. I much, much later got to see The Skeletons a couple of times at shows in Syracuse; I regret I never had an opportunity to see Fools Face. But I have the records! And I still cherish them. 

Speaking of the Springfield sound, this paragraph from a previous blog post bears a repeat appearance here:

"Man, if you have a chance, check out the documentary The Center Of Nowhere: The Spirit And Sounds Of Springfield, Missouri. It's a fascinating account of Springfield's rich and essential music history, and while I regret that Missouri's phenomenal pop combo Fools Face didn't rate at least a passing mention, the film rightly focuses in large part on the late Lou Whitney, producer and bassist for The Skeletons. The Skeletons were one of the best live acts I ever saw, and I wish I'd had more opportunities to do so (and to see related bands The Symptoms and The Morells). Holy guacamole, these guys were good. I chatted very briefly with Whitney at a Syracuse club date in the '90s, and later did a telephone interview with him, as well. The interview was conducted for DISCoveries magazine, but circumstances moved it to publication in Goldmine instead. You can read that story and interview here."

I never lived in Missouri, and it's likely I'll never find myself back there again. But I have roots there. And I dig some of the music that came out of Springfield. Tell America, a fantastic album by a fantastic Springfield group called Fools Face, is the subject of the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

10 SONGS: 1/15/2021

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 # 1059.

THE BEATLES: Leave My Kitten Alone

When I wrote a piece imagining an album collecting the best cover songs recorded by The Beatles, I knew I wanted to call this make-believe album Leave My Kitten Alone! The Fabs' 1964 cover of Titus Tee Turner's "Leave My Kitten Alone" was originally unreleased, and (I think) not even heard on bootlegs until the '80s. It was planned as a single off 1984's Sessions, a proposed and nearly-released official collection of previously-unissued Beatles cuts; EMI yielded to objections from Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko, and both album and single were shelved. The track finally hit retail outlets legally with 1995's Anthology 1. 

PETULA CLARK: You're The One

Although she surged to popularity in the U.S. as at least a tangent to the youth-driven British Invasion in 1964, Petula Clark was already 32 years old when "Downtown" became her first Billboard # 1 hit. Unlike her younger moptopped brethren, Clark had been performing for decades, starting as a child singer during World War II. She'd logged mainstream pop hit records in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe well before anyone had ever heard of Merseybeat or the Tottenham Sound. But Beatlemania and Britmania helped to make her a bigger star. She had fifteen American Top 40 hits from 1964 to 1968, and she still performs in this newfangled 21st century.

"You're The One" was not one of those American hits, at least not for Petula Clark. She recorded the original version, but it wasn't released as a single in the States. A 1965 cover by the American group The Vogues reached # 4 in Billboard, giving The Vogues their first big record. I prefer The Vogues' take, but only slightly; both versions are fantastic.

THE FLASHCUBES: Hey Miss Betty

Although their abundant supply of way-fab original songs is a big reason why Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse The Flashcubes are one of my all-time biggest toppermost-of-the-poppermost Fave Raves, the group also had fantastic taste in covers. And it was through live interpretations by the 'Cubes that I first heard the music of The New York Dolls, Big Star, and Chris Spedding (among others). My first awareness of Spedding came via Phonograph Record Magazine's capsule review (by Flo & Eddie, ex of The Turtles) of the Chris Spedding and the Vibrators single "Pogo Dancing" in 1977. My first exposure to a Spedding song was The Flashcubes covering "Boogie City." My second exposure was Flashcubes offshoot The Most covering "Motorbikin'." I finally heard Spedding himself in there somewhere, and saw him play guitar with The Necessaries when they opened for The Pretenders in 1980.

Got Spedding's autograph, too.

Just a few years back, The Flashcubes released a single of two Spedding covers, "Boogie City" and "Hey Miss Betty" (the latter also a song I knew primarily through the 'Cubes). "Hey Miss Betty" is a tribute to '50s pinup queen Bettie Page. Hey, Miss Bettie!

THE HONEYBEES: You Need Us

In memory of actress Dawn Wells, who played the lovely Mary Ann on TV's Gilligan's Island, TIRnRR is proud to present Ginger, Mary Ann, and Lovey--The Honeybees--and their Gilligan's Island Pick Hit "You Need Us." Here's a brief annotation I wrote about the track for a proposed (but ultimately unreleased) compilation that hoped to include "You Need Us:"

America’s sweethearts, Ginger, Mary Ann, and Lovey, three castaways in no danger of ever being voted off any island. The Gilligan’s Island girls sang this song to convince the ersatz rock group The Mosquitoes to bring them back to civilization and inevitable rock 'n' roll success. Like all of the castaways’ efforts to be rescued, the plan ultimately failed--The Mosquitoes were afraid that The Honeybees would be too much competition for ‘em, the bastards. If nothing else, however, The Honeybees left their mark on a nation of young boys, who discovered the secret allure of gurls just by watching Ginger writhe seductively as she sang “Mmmmm, mmmmm!”  Mmmmm, mmmmm, indeed.

And ditto for Mary Ann. While this radio show currently recognizes singer-songwriter Irene Peña as America's Sweetheart in the 21st century, one must salute the unforgettable original. Rest in peace, Ms. Wells.

THE KINKS: You Can't Stop The Music

God save The Kinks! From a previously-posted piece about my five favorite 1970s Kinks songs:

Other than Schoolboys In Disgrace, I mostly missed out on The Kinks' concept album phase. I saw Preservation Act 1, Preservation Act 2, and The Kinks Present A Soap Opera in the bins at Gerber Music, but I didn't hear any of that until many years later. And while I appreciate them and dig each of them in its own right, I can't rank them alongside The Kinks' 1960s album masterpieces like Face To Face, The Village Green Preservation Society, or Arthur. 

With that said, "You Can't Stop The Music" is (along with "[A] Face In The Crowd") one of a couple of standout selections on Soap Opera. It serves as a de facto statement of intent, and a reminder of the resilience of the sounds we adore.

LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

In 1956, The Girl Can't Help It became the first great rock 'n' roll movie, and it's still one of the greatest rock 'n' roll movies of all time. It has comedy and chops far beyond the reach of any quickie jukebox flick, sex appeal courtesy of the gorgeous bombshell Jayne Mansfield, and a steady barrage of rock 'n' roll luminaries (Eddie Cochran! Fats Domino! Gene freakin' Vincent! The Platters! Julie London...?!). It's highlighted by simply incandescent turns by the right Reverend Richard Penniman, the one and only Little Richard. The sight of Little Richard belting out the title tune during the film's opening sequence is nothing short of rock 'n' roll history boppin' on before your very eyes (and tappin' feet).

Stranded in this conservative, straight-laced world of the 1950s, Little Richard was The Georgia Peach, a wild and effeminate black man, flamboyant, a strange visitor from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. His performances were electrifying, pounding, an irresistible symphony of WOOOOO! A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom. In the late '50s, only Jerry Lee Lewis could match the sheer fervor of Little Richard. Little Richard was as bright a star as this dull world had ever seen.

And he was certain that he was going to Hell.

Richard was raised by the Gospel, a believer in The Good Book and its spiritual music. The God that made him made him different. He liked flash. He liked attention. He was drawn to sing what would be called The Devil's Music. And he was drawn to other men. Salvation. Sin. This was the tug of war that would play out in his consciousness, his conscience: a gay rock 'n' roll star who believed in the promise of a Heaven for the righteous, but who knew (or thought he knew) that who he was and what he did would condemn him to the pits for all eternity.

He did it anyway. The boy couldn't help it. Damned. Torpedoed. Full speed ahead....

LINDA RONSTADT: I Can't Let Go

Timing and context can have an enormous impact upon our perception of individual pop songs. When Linda Ronstadt covered "I Can't Let Go" as a single from her Mad Love album in 1980, it was not a rendition that timing or context would allow me to appreciate in the moment.

That moment passed, of course. But in 1980, "I Can't Let Go" was a song I knew from The Hollies' sterling 1966 recording. It was first done by the great Evie Sands in 1965, but I wouldn't hear that forgotten original until decades later. To my ears, Ronstadt could not match the sheer power-pop exuberance of The Hollies, rendering a version that was inherently tamer, more reserved. I was into power pop and punk rock; I had little patience for anything tamer or more reserved. 

I've been revisiting some of Ronstadt's work. As I've aged (but not matured), I've begun to open up a little bit to some of the sounds I once disdained. I don't hate Pink Floyd anymore. I understand the appeal of The Eagles, even if that appeal still mostly doesn't apply to me. I never disdained Ronstadt--I'd loved some of her earlier hits in the '70s, and always recognized her talent--but in the US VS THEM! milieu of new wave music colliding with the mainstream in the post-punk era, Ronstadt seemed to be part of the enemy camp. From that ubiquitous GREM! book:

...But my embrace of punk made her seem, I dunno...suddenly uncool. Schisms were forming, turfs were declared, and the fact that none of that nonsense of picking sides in pop music made a damned bit of rational sense couldn't stop zealots like me from planting our flags and screeching. 

Linda aligned herself with the other side, with the likes of The Eagles. She told Rolling Stone about seeing The Ramones play live, and hating it, describing the sound as so constricted it could only be called hemorrhoid music; The Ramones later commented that she had left the show holding her ears. Flag planted.

Sure, this all seems stupid now. But it was dead serious at the time. Even Linda's decision to cover a few songs written by angry young man Elvis Costello was viewed with suspicion and loathing (and that's just from Costello himself). Her 1980 album Mad Love wasn't really her new wave album, but that's how a few people perceived it. I lumped it in with Billy Joel's Glass Houses as examples of boring old farts trying to catch a new wave to be sittin' on top of a trend. I like both albums a lot more now than I did then.

And I appreciate Linda Ronstadt a lot more now, as well....

In programming TIRnRR's 1/10/2021 playlist, I listened again to Linda Ronstadt's "I Can't Let Go" and--for the first time--I found myself digging it. The record didn't change. I changed. I still like The Hollies' version best. But now I love Linda's version, too. I tried and I tried, but I can't say goodbye.

THE SKELETONS: Mad Old Lady

Man, if you have a chance, check out the documentary The Center Of Nowhere: The Spirit And Sounds Of Springfield, Missouri. It's a fascinating account of Springfield's rich and essential music history, and while I regret that Missouri's phenomenal pop combo Fools Face didn't rate at least a passing mention, the film rightly focuses in large part on the late Lou Whitney, producer and bassist for The Skeletons. The Skeletons were one of the best live acts I ever saw, and I wish I'd had more opportunities to do so (and to see related bands The Symptoms and The Morells). Holy guacamole, these guys were good. I chatted very briefly with Whitney at a Syracuse club date in the '90s, and later did a telephone interview with him, as well. The interview was conducted for DISCoveries magazine, but circumstances moved it to publication in Goldmine instead. You can read that story and interview here.

"Mad Old Lady" is a track from The Skeletons' 1997 album Nothing To Lose. I confess I'd forgotten all about the song until hearing it again as it played in The Center Of Nowhere. That was sufficient motivation to place "Mad Old Lady" on this week's TIRnRR playlist.

STEVIE WONDER: Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

Sometimes we play songs with an unspoken intent, an implied meaning. One might think that to be the case for this week's spin of Stevie Wonder's classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," opening our radio show the Sunday night after Congress certified the Electoral College win of our President-Elect, Joe Biden. But, believe it or not, it was another example of me playing a song just because my iPod said so; the Wonder track come on during a recent commute, and I knew I wanted to play it again on TIRnRR.

That does not mean that I was unaware of the context. And January 20th can't come quickly enough to suit me.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

I play The Ramones' confident cover of the Tom Waits-Kathleen Brennan song "I Don't Want To Grow Up" every January, usually more than once. Usually a lot more than once. It is, after all, The Greatest Record Ever Made!

And, as I've said a time or two before: Don't want to. Won't have to. Ain't gonna.

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You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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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
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

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). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.