THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO needs YOU!

After all the effort and emotion already invested in securing a spot on the FM dial, it's all for nothing if we can't find a site for our antenna in Liverpool. Like someone else from Liverpool once said: Help me if you can I'm feeling down....

MY LAST CHANCE!! (Plus: A NEW wrinkle in WHO NEEDS DANA & CARL? )

Dramatic, innit? Yes, this is my last chance to grovel for your votes in The Syracuse New Times' Best Of Syracuse '16 Readers Poll. Deadline for voting is, like, now, so please consider a vote for Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) for Best Blog. You can vote once per e-mail address, and I humbly beg you to vote for me, and for my friends:

BEST BLOG: Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)
BEST PRESCHOOL PROGRAM: my lovely wife Brenda's school Jowonio School
BEST AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM: Jowonio School
BEST RADIO PERSONALITY: Ronnie Dark
BEST ROCK GROUP: Ronnie's combo Darkroom
BEST BAND NAME: Darkroom
MOST TRUSTED LOCAL POLITICIAN: Al Stirpe
BEST PLACE TO BUY MUSIC: Ronnie's sponsor Music And More
BEST COMICS STORE: Comix Zone
BEST NOT-FOR-PROFIT: Spark Syracuse



Last call! I don't have a prayer, to be honest with ya, but I'm gonna go out swingin'...!

It's still far from your last chance to participate in our Who Needs Dana & Carl? fundraiser on behalf of Spark Syracuse, but let's sweeten the pot and add a little bit of soulful urgency. We already know that generous patrons o' the arts who donate $100 or more at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/ earn the opportunity to program the music for a future episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. BUT THERE'S MORE! Granted, not much more--if we could afford giveaways, we wouldn't need to do a fundraiser--but still, MORE! Everyone who donates at this $100 level will also be entered into a drawing, and one lucky winner will get to program one additional, specific episode of TIRnRR.

Which episode? The winner gets to program our 850th show, in its entirety.

That's right. One of our Guest Programmers, over and above the great show he or she would slap together anyway, will also get to program our big, blowout TIRnRR # 850. Don't let us down! Every $100 donation is worth an entry in this drawing, and the winner will be selected at random next month. Everyone's who's already donated at the $100 level during this campaign will also be entered into the contest. This contest runs through October 22nd, and the winner's name will be drawn on October 23rd. Questions? Talk t'me. The original Who Needs Dana & Carl rules 'n' regs still apply...but now you get a shot at two shows for the price of one. And not just any show! You get to program 850! Let the cash flow freely!

Hey! We're about to hit a whompin', stompin', 30,000 views! Lots more to come...and it won't all be hype. I mean, look at what's developing in the near (or eventual) future on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do):


 



 
     

WHO NEEDS DANA & CARL? Official Rules For THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO's Guest Programmer Promotion

Rock 'n' roll radio fans! WE NEED YA! And, um...bring your wallet.

Our community radio station Spark Syracuse needs to raise a significant amount of tax-deductible donations for its effort to establish and operate a fully-functional, not-for-profit FM radio station in Syracuse. To help raise that cash, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl has revived our popular Guest Programmer promotion. Anyone who donates at least $100 to Spark Syracuse will earn the opportunity to program the music for one near-future edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Donations may be made via PayPal at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/; all donations are welcome, but only donations of $100 or more will qualify for the Guest Programmer option.

(If you have recently donated a lower amount to Spark Syracuse, and are now interested in increasing your donation to qualify as a Guest Programmer, we're really, really cool with that notion--just let us know. If you prefer to donate by check rather than via PayPal, please make your check out to Syracuse Community Radio, and mail it to Carl Cafarelli, 5540 Taormina Drive, Clay, NY 13041. Again, we appreciate all donations, however small or, y'know, huge, but only donations at the $100 level or above can earn the opportunity to Guest Program a show. If you have a friend you want to collaborate with, that works, too! We just need a total donation of at least $100 to program the music for one three-hour show.)

All funds raised will go toward Spark Syracuse, WSPJ 93.5 and 103.3 FM in Syracuse, which will soon be the terrestrial radio home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and other Westcott Radio programs. Westcott Radio's webcast will continue as before. Well, one hopes with fewer technical glitches. This is our one, best shot to get our programming on the radio in Syracuse! This is what this whole project has been building toward since TIRnRR first sprawled across your inbox at the end of 1998. This is it.

DETAILS:  Each qualifying Guest Programmer will have the opportunity to program all of the songs for a future installment of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.  If you will be in the Syracuse area and would like to join us and physically co-host your show in person, we'd love to have ya!  Otherwise, you can send us the list of songs you want us to play, and we'll play 'em for you. 

THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS AND CONDITIONS THAT APPLY.  We presume anyone interested in doing this thing would also want to stay within TIRnRR's vague, broadly-defined power pop format, but this is not a requirement; if you win and you wanna play polka, disco, prog, or opera, we'll think you've got the wrong show, but we'll gladly take your money and play your songs anyway.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GUEST PROGRAMMERS:  All song selections must be FCC-friendly, so no cussing or hate speech. Absolutely NO politics. In order to play a song, we have to actually have it; you are responsible for either bringing your selections to our studio in person, or for supplying your tracks to Dana & Carl in advance.  Your show MUST include at least TWO different artists, and cannot include any albums in their entirety.  We have (perhaps unwisely) removed our previous edict excluding Bob Seger songs, but come on--do you really want to play Bob Seger songs on TIRnRR? Really? Sigh...it's your dime. We reserve the right to reject any programming we deem inappropriate, but we're gonna work with you to resolve any potential issues. Trust us. We're DJs.

TIRnRR's format calls for sets consisting of six songs each, usually with a longer set at the end of the show, followed by a closing instrumental. You are welcome to choose specific sequencing, or you can leave that up to us, whichever you prefer. Your show must fit within our approximate three-hour time slot, including between-set banter; that's usually about two hours and 35 minutes, give or take, plus the instrumental.  Choose wisely!

There may be other common-sense or outta-left-field conditions to be named later, but that oughtta cover it for now.  Got a question?  Don't be shy!

And now it's YOUR turn to determine what rock 'n' roll radio will sound like on a future Sunday night in Syracuse.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl streams live every Sunday night from 9 to Midnight Eastern, exclusively at www.westcottradio.org.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 839: RADIO WORTH PAYING FOR

Why do we do this?

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl has been a Sunday night fixture since the end of 1998. Even before that, the first Dana & Carl shows date back to January of 1992. Any way you look at it, that's a long time to spend playing records and trying to do sight gags on the radio. The voices must get tired. The aging bodies surely ache by the late hour of midnight. Our audience is dedicated and enthusiastic, but small.  How can we keep doing this, week after week after week?

Why wouldn't we do this?

We have a three-hour weekly forum to play what we want. We chose a nominal power pop format, but a power pop format that erases the imaginary line between power pop stalwarts like The Raspberries and The Kinks and acts like The O'Jays, The Drifters, Television, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Adam Ant, and The Juliana Hatfield Three; a format that revels in the old, and delights in the new; a format that embraces its own description as a rockin' pop/punk/soul/bubblegum Shangri-La. Just as The Ramones once believed they were like The Bay City Rollers, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio believes it's an AM Top 40 show; it just reflects a timeless Top 40 that may only exist within our fevered, fannish imaginations. But it's as real as any fantastic notion, once it's been spoken out loud. Our audience is small, but dedicated and enthusiastic. As each Sunday comes and goes, we still look forward to the next one, week after week after week.

We would like to continue. We could use a little help.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, along with other Westcott Radio internet shows, will be establishing a second home on terrestrial radio in Syracuse shortly: the all-new Spark Syracuse WSPJ 93.5 and 103.3 FM. Great news, right? But even free radio ain't free, so we need to raise money--a lot of money--in a very tight time frame. TIRnRR fans have always been generous and supportive, and you lot are the only reason we've been able to keep on keepin' on. You are kind, philanthropic, and irresistibly hot-lookin'. We've let our tin-plated beggin' cup gather dust for a while, but the time has come once again: in the words of Spinal Tap, just gimme some money.

Your tax-deductible donation to Spark Syracuse at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/ funds our efforts to get The Legal Matters, Trolley, Cocktail Slippers, and Michael Carpenter and the Cuban Heels on the radio in Syracuse. Even if you're not in the ol' 315, and may never hear Dana & Carl on the FM dial, your support helps to prop up this whole rickety operation, allowing us to continue webcasting while seeking to expand our reach. You like pop music? You think pop music should be on the radio, where it belongs? Here's your chance to play a part.

Donations in any amount are welcome indeed; you can donate via PayPal at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/; if you wish to donate by check, please make that out to Syracuse Community Radio, and mail it to Carl Cafarelli, 5540 Taormina Drive, Clay, NY 13041.  There is an official fundraising campaign coming, but we need to start rackin' up some coin now. Anyone who donates at least $100 or more will have the opportunity to program the music for a future three-hour episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Yes, you can be like Dana & Carl, except presumably better-dressed. Significant restrictions will apply, so hit me with any questions you have; the Guest Programmer gimmick has been enormously successful and a lot of fun for all parties in the past. Let's keep that party going.

And let's keep this party going. This week's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio was designed as a demonstration of Radio Worth Paying For. We did our part; here's your chance to do yours. Listen: January will be the 25th anniversary of the first Dana & Carl radio show. It's not too early to get your Silver Anniversary gifts in now.

NEXT WEEK:  50 YEARS OF THE MONKEES! And this is what rock 'n' roll radio--radio worth paying for--sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl streams live every Sunday night from 9 to Midnight Eastern, exclusively at www.westcottradio.org...but coming soon to WSPJ-FM.

TIRnRR # 839: 9/4/16  Radio Worth Paying For!

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
--
SPINAL TAP: Gimme Some Money (Polydor, Spinal Tap)
THE BEATLES: Money (Capitol, The Beatles' Second Album)
WRECKLESS ERIC: Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.) (Stiff, Wreckless Eric)
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: Radio, Radio (Rykodisc, This Year's Model)
THE O'JAYS: For The Love Of Money (Sony, VA: A Tribute To Black Entertainers)
TELEVISION: See No Evil (ROIR, The Blow-Up)
--
MICHAEL CARPENTER & THE CUBAN HEELS: You're Givin' Love A Good Name (Big Radio, Ain't Nothing Left To Say)
STEVE EARLE: Guitar Town (MCA, Guitar Town)
THE JULIANA HATFIELD THREE: My Sister (Mammoth, Become What You Are)
THROWING MUSES: Dizzy (Warner Brothers, Hunkpapa)
TEXAS TORNADOS: Adios Mexico (Reprise, Texas Tornados)
THE STRANGLERS: 96 Tears (Capitol, Peaches)
--
LET'S ACTIVE: Every Dog Has His Day (IRS, Every Dog Has His Day)
R.E.M.: Radio Free Europe (IRS, And I Feel Fine...)
THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway (Atlantic, 1959-1965 All-Time Greatest Hits & More)
SWEET: Fox On The Run [UK version] (RCA, Desolation Boulevard)
THE SMITHEREENS: Green Thoughts (Capitol, Green Thoughts)
THE NERVES: One Way Ticket (Alive, One Way Ticket)
--
THE LEGAL MATTERS: She Called Me To Say (Omnivore, Conrad)
TROLLEY: Caught In The Darkness (Easter, Caught In The Darkness)
GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: I've Got To Use My Imagination (Funky Town Grooves, Imagination)
COURTNEY BARNETT: Elevator Operator (Mom + Pop, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit)
ADAM ANT: Wonderful (Epic, The Essential Adam Ant)
THE CURE: In Between Days (Elektra, Staring At The Sea)
--
THE STOOGES: 1969 (Virgin, IGGY POP: A Million In Prizes)
MR. ENCRYPTO: Rock And Roll Is Killing Me (Loudly) (Silent Bugler, Secret Identity Crisis)
THE BEACH BOYS: Wild Honey (Capitol, Smiley Smile -Wild Honey)
GANG OF FOUR: At Home He's A Tourist (Warner Brothers, A Brief History Of The Twentieth Century)
CONWAY TWITTY: It's Only Make Believe (Mercury, The Best Of Conway Twitty)
NEIL YOUNG: Cinnamon Girl (Reprise, Greatest Hits)
--
THE REDUCERS: Let's Go (Rave On, Redux)
THE BUZZCOCKS: What Do I Get? (IRS, Singles Going Steady)
KYLE VINCENT: Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For) (Carport, Kyle Vincent)
XTC: Making Plans For Nigel (Virgin, Upsy Daisy Assortment)
KARA'S FLOWERS: Oliver (Reprise, The Fourth World)
THE MUFFS: Rock And Roll Girl (Caroline, VA: Freedom Of Choice)
--
THE JEREMY BAND: Let Me In Your Heart (JAM, Hit You With A Flower)
THE BEVIS FROND: I Can't Get Into Your Scene (Reckless, Bevis Through The Looking Glass)
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Wouldn't You Like It (Bell, Wouldn't You Like It)
THE FACES: Shake, Shutter, Shiver (Warner Brothers, Stay With Me)
COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre (Wicked Cool, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre)
THE GO-GO'S: Turn To You (IRS, Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go's)
MARSHALL CRENSHAW: Cynical Girl (Rhino, This Is Easy)
MATTHEW SWEET: Girlfriend (Volcano, Girlfriend)
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way (Philadelphia International, single)
STATUS QUO: Make Me Stay A Little Bit Longer (Castle, At Their Best)
THE RASPBERRIES: Go All The Way (RPM, Power Pop Volume One)
BIG STAR: September Gurls (Big Beat, VA: Thank You, Friends)
THE MONKEES: Pleasant Valley Sunday (Rhino, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.)
THE KINKS: Better Things (Velvel, Give The People What They Want)
THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop (Rhino, Ramones)
THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight (Northside, Bright Lights)
THE VENTURES: Hawaii Five-O (EMI, Walk--Don't Run)

Screen Test, The Syracuse New Times, Spark Syracuse, And The Shapeless Things To Come

TONIGHT!  On Friday, September 2nd, Syracuse's nonpareil pop trio Screen Test will perform from 8 to 11:30 pm at Vendetti's Soft Rock And Good Time Grill, 2026 Teall Avenue in Syracuse, NY (the town so nice they named it). We've covered Screen Test's history in a long previous post called Inspired Humans Making Noise, but it's worth adding that an evening of Screen Test music is a surefire rockin' pop kvellarama; if you don't grok the Yiddish, it just means that a Screen Test show will inject a healthy dose of local pride and boundless joy into that earnest lover's heart you like to wear on your sleeve. Gary Frenay, Arty Lenin, and Tommy Allen (all veterans of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse The Flashcubes) come to each gig armed with a ready supply of irresistible original pop tunes, plus great taste in cover tunes from Badfinger, The Raspberries, and other unassailable pop touchstones. The covers are great; the originals are even better. Nothing really matters when you're young, so grow up (too fast) to the sound of the radio tonight at Venditti's. You can't go wrong with me! Stop by 'n' say hi to your friendly neighborhood blogger.



Speaking of me, I continue to grovel for your votes in The Syracuse New Times' Best Of Syracuse '16 Readers Poll. You can vote once per e-mail address, so please consider votes for:

BEST BLOG: Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)
BEST PRESCHOOL PROGRAM: my lovely wife Brenda's school Jowonio School
BEST AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM: Jowonio School
BEST RADIO PERSONALITY: Ronnie Dark
BEST ROCK GROUP: Ronnie's combo Darkroom
BEST BAND NAME: Darkroom
MOST TRUSTED LOCAL POLITICIAN: Al Stirpe
BEST PLACE TO BUY MUSIC: Ronnie's sponsor Music And More
BEST COMICS STORE: Comix Zone
BEST NOT-FOR-PROFIT: Spark Syracuse

Vote early! Vote often! Vote Boppin'!



The above-mentioned not-for-profit Spark Syracuse is the planned FM radio home of our self-described Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. Our fundraising efforts for Spark WSPJ 93.5 and 103.3 FM are set to kick into high gear with the return of our popular shilling-for-dollars Guest Programmer promotion WHO NEEDS DANA & CARL? How's that work? If you donate at least $100 to Spark Syracuse, you earn an opportunity to program the music for one future three-hour chunk o' time on Westcott Radio and/or WSPJ. We're still working out specifics, and significant restrictions and guidelines will apply, but feel free to hit me with any questions. If you're ready to donate right now, head over to http://sparksyracuse.org/support/. If donating $100, select the "any amount" option to give via PayPal, and be sure to specify that you want to participate in the Guest Programmer promotion. Those who wish to donate by check should e-mail me at ccdatsme@aol.com. We thanks ya!

(Oh, and this coming Sunday's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is billed as Radio Worth Paying For, a li'l three-hour demonstration of why we're worth all of this: Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, exclusively at www.westcottradio.org.)



Comin' up in the short term on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), we'll conclude our reassessment of The Monkees' recorded legacy with a hypothetical single-disc compilation called Hall Of Fame. You can also catch up on the three previous installments: Rows Of Houses That Are All The Same [4 CDs], Only True In Fairy Tales [3 CDs], and Walking Down The Street [2 CDs]. I hope to have one more major Monkees piece finished in time to post within the next week or so, just in time for The Monkees' 50th anniversary on September 12th. In the same vein, the September 11th This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio will be devoted to 50 YEARS OF THE MONKEES!

I've also planned a recap of the swirl of emotion surrounding this past Monday's Brian Wilson show at the New York State Fair; The Everlasting First, my alphabetical reminiscences about first exposures to various singers and superheroes, will continue soon with E is for THE EASYBEATS and E-MAN. And there's still lots more to come after that. A post a day, every day--for hip folks, that's the Boppin' way.

Perfect Pop Radio

  
 


FAIR WARNING:  This may look like a blog post...well, actually it is a blog post.  But it's also an appeal for donations to SPARK SYRACUSE, the near-future FM radio home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.  Spark Syracuse will be the culmination of Syracuse Community Radio's decades of efforts to get a community radio station on the FM dial in Syracuse.  The FCC has approved the station, which will broadcast as WSPJ 93.5 and 103.3 FM.  The station is listener supported, and will need a big ol' passel o' tax-deductible donations to get on the air and stay there.  Say!  You look like a debonair patron of the arts!  You smell good, too!  Please consider a generous tithe to this worthy cause at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/.  While you're on the Spark web site, you can read all about the project that will bring This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio to terrestrial radios throughout the Syracuse area.  Tell 'em Dana & Carl sent you!

Honestly, I don't know when it started.  The feeling probably doesn't date back as far as it seems; it likely didn't really begin until I was a teenager in the '70s, and may not even have fully gelled until I was a freshman in college and fell hard for punk rock.  But it does seem like the feeling has always been there. And from the flashpoint at which it took hold, whenever that was, it has never left me:

I know what perfect pop radio should sound like.  I know.

I won't ask forgiveness for the sin of hubris.  You may well have your own competing vision of pop radio's ideal, and you may have equal confidence in that vision.  This blog ain't about you, wonderful (and attractive, and well-groomed) as you may be.  It's not even really about me, though; it's about my opinions, sure, with my ruminations on rock 'n' roll records, Plastic Man comic books, The Monkees, writing, growing up (whenever I do get around to growing up), and Suzi Quatro.  But the intent, whether realized or not, is to pursue an ideal, a vision, and to convey the value of that vision.

(Wait.  I guess all that means is I'm trying to convince you my opinions can beat up your opinions. Maybe it is all about me.  Doesn't mean the ongoing debate can't be fun.)

And that ideal is easy to imagine:  a radio format devoted to hit singles--or, rather, to tracks that sound like they should be hit singles, regardless of format or actual, y'know, popularity.  My preferred shorthand is "radio-ready," and it encompasses a variety of rockin' pop records from across decades, even occasionally (if infrequently) including records that predate the rock 'n' roll era (like, f'rexample, Amos Milburn's "Down The Road Apiece," which can sound pretty damned good within a six-song set of Ramones, Kinks, Prince, Chuck Berry, and KISS, or Wanda Jackson, The Sex Pistols, The Monkees, OutKast, and P.P. Arnold).  It's all pop music.

Our show, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, is described as a power pop format.  But, over the course of more than 800 shows, a quick scan of nearly any one of our playlists indicates that we clearly are not really a power pop show.  We just aren't, and we don't want to be.  Now, I love power pop--it's my favorite genre--but I have a very specific idea of what power pop is, and I don't think The Velvet Underground and Wilson Pickett and ABBA fall into that category.  But, used as a broader buzz-phrase, "power pop" does kinda fit whatever it is we're trying to do on TIRnRR, that pursuit of Perfect Pop Radio, which includes actual power pop from The Raspberries and The Flashcubes, plus irresistible nuggets from Paul Revere & the Raiders, Warren Zevon, Little Richard, The Archies, Tavares, Bowie, and a plethora of other artists, past and present, famous and obscure.

I think this is a commercial radio format. But I'm crazy, I guess.  The fine folks who run American radio certainly think this is a silly, silly notion.  That's why we do our show on the internet, and take pains not to sully the precious airwaves with our amateur, unprocessed notions.

But you know what?  I'm starting to think it's time we took the damned radio back.

Dana and I have been involved with local community radio projects in Syracuse since January of 1992.  We were founding members of Syracuse Community Radio, which used to broadcast on a piddling little almost-frequency in the tiny town of Fenner.  Hoping to reach an audience somewhat larger than a couple of cows in the farms of Fenner, SCR began a webcast, which eventually went off on its own to become Westcott Radio. But the dream has always been to get Westcott Radio programming on the terrestrial airwaves as well.  With the new WSPJ Spark Syracuse, that dream is now within reach.

We're gonna need some money for that.

Donations to Spark Syracuse are tax-deductible, and that's what will fund this mission to diversify the airwaves in Syracuse.  Listen:  there are a lot of good, talented, dedicated people working in commercial radio in Syracuse right now, and they're doing all they can within the framework they're allowed.  But there is only so much they can do.  Spark Syracuse wants to help, because building better radio helps everyone.  Different music, across genres, with TIRnRR's Perfect Pop Radio but one tile in a mosaic of sound.  Different viewpoints. A community radio station gives a voice to the unheard, and the ripple effect of viable alternative media can even help commercial entities broaden their own scope.  If that can happen in Syracuse, then it can happen anywhere. With your help, it can start by happening here.

I'll be posting more appeals for a piece of your hard-earned cash in due time, but here's your chance to beat the crowd.  It's the philanthropic equivalent of "I saw this band before they were famous."  Perfect pop radio depends on you.  Operators are standing by....