10 SONGS: 12/14/2024

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1263.

20/20: Spark

Any serious list of power pop's all-time definitive groups will include 20/20. Their 1979 track "Yellow Pills" is a recognized classic, and it inspired writer Jordan Oakes to start a cool power pop publication (and an essential subsequent series of various-artists pop anthologies) named after the song. In my exhausting...er, exhaustive history of power pop, I wrote of 20/20:

"20/20 was formed by guitarist Steve Allen and bassist Ron Flynt, both Tulsa natives who subsequently moved to L.A. They befriended fellow Tulsa expatriate Phil Seymour, and played on the demos that helped Seymour get his own record deal. Bomp! magazine’s Gary Sperrazza! recommended drummer Mike Gallo to the group, completing 20/20's initial configuration.

"The first 20/20 release was the Bomp! single 'Giving It All,' which was actually a Steve Allen solo track that predated the group. Guitarist Chris Silagyi joined 20/20 in time for the group’s eponymous debut album, released by Portrait in 1979.

"Though perhaps a bit too dominated by new wave synthesizer styles in spots, the 20/20 album was still a triumphant melange of catchy music with an occasional dark edge. The single 'Cheri' was pretty good, but 'Yellow Pills' and 'Remember The Lightning' were the real standouts. The album got no higher than # 138 on the Billboard chart, but it remains a pop classic.

"Mike Gallo had left the group by the time of 1981’s Look Out!, replaced on drums by Joel Turrisi. Look Out! was not quite the equal of the debut, but it came very close (and charted slightly higher at # 127). The leadoff track, 'Nuclear Boy,' offered a signal that the band was delving further into the dark side hinted at on the first album, while 'The Night I Heard A Scream' deftly mixed its downbeat tale with a gorgeous, buoyant melody.

"20/20 was dropped by Portrait after Look Out!, and released a final record, Sex Trap, on the Mainway label in 1982. Although the group itself faded away, its legacy didn’t...."

And now, 20/20's legacy includes a forthcoming new album, Back To California, brought to you by the combined rockin' pop forces of Big Stir Records and SpyderPop Records. The legacy stands, and I'm kinda tickled that its release date coincides with my latest in a long line of birthdays on January 17th.

We've already played the title track from Back To California a couple of times as an advance single, and we'll have much further airplay from this album as 2025 barges its way into being. This week, we couldn't resist opening the show with a new 20/20 track that shares its name with our own beloved radio station. Here on Spark Syracuse, we are delighted to present new music from 20/20. Legacies begin with a spark. Sometimes, legacies can continue with a spark as well.

SPARKS: The Decline And Fall Of Me

Also couldn't resist following a song called "Spark" with a track by Sparks. Humor ain't exactly rocket surgery, man. 

THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS: The Eraser

YouTube sensation Matthew Street recently granted a big ol' video thumbs-up to my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), so I figured we'd say Thanks, Matt! by spinning a little spin of one of Matt's favorite groups on the whole friggin' planet, the Midnight Callers. Matt, in turn, was so pleased with the reciprocal shout-out that he posted another video extolling the virtues of TIRnRR. Mutual admiration society here!

Our Matt requested another Midnight Callers gem for our next show. We'd already planned to repeat play of their single "The Eraser," but what the hell--TWO Midnight Callers tracks on the radio in Syracuse this coming Sunday night. It's the least we can do for a YouTube sensation.

THE CYNZ: Room Without A View

We've been playing the Cynz a lot this year, and I am dead certain they will have at least one track in our year-end countdown of TIRnRR's most-played tracks in 2024. We like the Cynz.

But somehow we never got around to playing this fantastic track from the group's current album Little Miss Lost until now. The precipitating event moving this onto our playlist was hearing Rich Firestone program it on Radio Deer Camp, right here on SPARK! I didn't even recognize that it was a song originally done by the Smithereens, 'Reens guitarist Jim Babjak's involvement in the remake notwithstanding. My brain no am function goodly. Thanks to Reechie for inspiring its play here, thanks to Dave Murray for pointing out That's a superb cover of A SMITHEREENS SONG, YOU DOLT!, and thanks to the Cynz and the Smithereens for being the Cynz and the Smithereens.

THE HUMBUGS: She's Not Sad

THE HUMBUGS: Be Careful What You Wish For

Two in a row by the Humbugs. The Humbugs THEN...and the Humbugs NOW!! "She's Not Sad" is an all-time TIRnRR classic, one of the defining tracks of this little mutant radio show's long and storied history, a gem introduced to eager listeners via the group's 2006 album Twist The Truth. LEGACY! 

Ah, but now the Humbugs have a new album, AM Operetta, and we've been playing its lead-off track "Be Careful What You Wish For." This calls for a two-fer! Then, now, always. Don't be sad. Your wish is granted with care.

JOAN ARMATRADING: Eating The Bear

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

ELENA ROGERS: Mercy Mountain

Like the Cynz, Elena Rogers seems a lock for an appearance on TIRnRR's year-end countdown. Also like the Cynz, it seemed high time to play something else beyond what we've already been playing. From Elena's current album Prelude To Whatever, "Mercy Mountain" is as audacious and accomplished as anything in pop music, stunning in both its inventive intricacy and its delightful accessibility. Yeah, just like the rest of Elena Rogers' work. Yet another example of the best of 2024.

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

THE best track of 2024. My favorite anyway. Buy it here.

THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight

At the top of this week's 10 Songs, we celebrated the ongoing and expanding legacy of power pop heroes 20/20. We are so fortunate to have so many of our rockin' pop idols still active, still vital, still doing. In July, I finally got to witness a performance by the Rubinoos--dream come true! Paul Collins' 2024 album Stand Back And Take A Good Look is one of this year's best, the SpongeTones are working on new recordings, and for all of my fellow long-time fans of pop with power, our gods are in their Heaven and all is right with the world.

Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses the Flashcubes have always been at the toppermost of my poppermost, and they're still with us, too. Their 2023 all-covers album Pop Masters was my # 1 for that year, spinoff group the Half/Cubes (with 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay and 'Cubes drummer/producer Tommy Allen) have their own exquisite 2024 covers collection Pop Treasures, and the Flashcubes (Gary, Tommy, and guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin) have a few new tracks in the works. I've heard early mixes of two of those tracks, and I can't wait to share the finished versions on the radio in 2025.

I'm writing a book about the Flashcubes, Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. Similar in format to my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, my Flashcubes book will be an oral history of the group, as recalled by the 'Cubes themselves and a few others who were there to witness and/or participate. There is yet another 'Cubes-related project percolatin' in the background. We'll hear more about that when we arrive at the right time to make something happen.

In the mean time, this week's radio rendezvous looks back to the spark--that word again--of the Flashcubes' resurgence. The Flashcubes formed in 1977, but the original line-up splintered in 1979 and the remaining 'Cubes retired the brand name in 1980. They came back in the '90s, all four of the founding members, and they've been with us ever since.

The first latter-day original Flashcubes recording was "It's You Tonight," a Gary Frenay song that dates back to the old days, but given a completely fresh full studio version circa 1993. The new recording was done at the request of Jordan Oakes for his first Yellow Pills compilation.

See how these power pop legacies interconnect?

From small things, Mama. We look back, we look forward, and we look at the splendor of all that dances around us in the here and now. Great records don't care what year it is. There's always room for something new. And there's always time to revisit a memory. It happens to me every time we meet. Legacy is its own reward.

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.

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: 9/22/2023

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 # 1199. This show is available as a podcast.

CARLA OLSON [FEATURING ERIC JOHNSON]: Face To Face

I don't know what benevolent sequence of events brought a new track by Carla Olson into our eager possession--a submission with the implicit instruction PLAY THIS ON YOUR RADIO SHOW!--but I'm grateful. Carla's seen some TIRnRR airplay over the years, primarily with her old group the Textones (who did the original version of "Vacation," later revamped and remodeled by the Go-Go's), but also solo, and with the legendary Gene Clark of the Byrds.

We're stoked and then some to be able to open this week's radio extravaganza with new music from Carla Olson. "Face To Face" is the advance single from her forthcoming album Have Harmony, Will Travel 3, and it finds our Carla playing with Eric Johnson in service of a pop twang and a country-fried jangle, all made pretty as can be. Music worth facing.

BONEY M: Gotta Go Home

My first awareness of the German disco-soul group Boney M was in print only; I don't recall hearing their only U.S. hit (a cover of the Melodians' reggae classic "Rivers Of Babylon") in 1978, but I did see them mentioned in the music press here and there. The mentions weren't necessarily positive; I think a review in The Syracuse New Times awarded their album Night Flight To Venus a mere one star. The Rezillos also received the same single-sun rating in those same local tabloid pages; I loved The Syracuse New Times (and much, much later did some SNT freelancing myself), but I say both Night Flight To Venus and Can't Stand The Rezillos deserved a few more stars than what SNT said.

No idea when I finally did hear Boney M's music. In the '80s? Probably not. More likely it was in the '90s or even in the Naughty Aughties, but I was instantly taken with their Eurodisco cover of U.K. psychedelic pop group the Smoke's '60s nugget "My Friend Jack." In an unfinished chapter I considered for my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I wrote of Boney M and "Painter Man:"

"My relationship with disco is complicated. I hated it during its heyday, but began to re-think my position as it became clear that some (not all) of the Disco Sucks movement was built upon a foundation of tacit racism and homophobia. I further realized that a lot of the disco LP-burnin' Fascists hated my preferred punk and power pop almost as much as they hated dat ole debbil disco, so...enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"But never mind the shifting parameters of my complicated relationship with disco. Eurodisco group Boney M was a breed apart anyway, willfully weird but extremely pop."

I have a single-disc Boney M best-of CD that satisfies my occasional Boney M jones. It's provided us with previous TIRnRR spins of "My Friend Jack," "Rivers Of Babylon," and Boney M's cover of the Creation's "Painter Man." That's...man, that's some eclectic fodder for Eurodisco. One friggin' star? I protest. Now, we add "Gotta Go Home" to the TIRnRR archives.

THE FLASHCUBES: Nothing To Do

Given my repeated and well-hammered insistence that my all-time rockin' pop Trinity is the Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes, it's well and proper that TIRnRR continues to pummel the ol' console on behalf of the Flashcubes' irresistible new all-covers album Pop Masters. We have three hours to kill each week. May as well murder that time with something good.

Each of the twelve superswell tracks on Pop Masters has scored at least one TIRnRR spin, and most have racked up multiple spins. There ain't an amateur track among this stack of Masters. Let 'em play. Let 'em ALL play!

Lately, I've been particularly obsessed with the album's current single, a cover of the Motors' "Forget About You," and we've been programming that track with carpet-bombing efficiency. Still, it seemed like we were overdue to return to one of the other fine Pop Masters tracks, maybe give "Forget About You" a well-deserved week off.

We turned to "Nothing To Do," the Flashcubes' version of a li'l ditty originally done by Sparks. I confess I wasn't all that familiar with the Sparks record--I like Sparks a lot, but Dana's generally the one more apt to squeeze Sparks into our playlist--but when I found out last year that the 'Cubes were going to cover "Nothing To Do," I made a point of including Sparks' original in our 6/13/2022 playlist.  The Cubic interpretation of "Nothing To Do" made its TIRnRR debut in April of this year. Both versions are very nice indeed.

And this week, the Flashcubes' rendition of a Sparks song had something to do: It proved we can play Pop Masters material other than just "Forget About You."

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

And then, of course, I turned right around and opened the very next set with another spin of "Forget About You" anyway. We play the hits, my friends. We play the hits.

SPARKS: The Decline And Fall Of Me

And Dana followed the Flashcubes with SPARKS! I love this show!

R. DEAN TAYLOR: Indiana Wants Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE CHARADES: Who Wanna Dance Now

THE RAMONES: Do You Wanna Dance

Asked and answered! Sort of. I don't know much about the Charades, except that they were a dynamic, mostly female combo, that they were apparently from Madrid, and that their 2006 album When Shining Blue is an explosion of catchy, high-octane pop music. Shining blue? The Charades shine red hot if ya ask me. I was beyond delighted when Dana programmed my Fave Rave Charades cut "Who Wanna Dance Now," and I felt compelled to follow with the Ramones. Higher calling. EVERYbody dance!

MICKY DOLENZ: Shiny Happy People

I'm a proud first-generation fan of the Monkees, and I think Micky Dolenz is one of the most underrated lead singers of the rock 'n' roll era. The outta-nowhere recent notion of Dolenz doing an EP of R.E.M. covers went from presumed hoax to verified news to the public airing (and a video!) of one of its tracks in record time. What, a week and a half? Two weeks tops? My first reaction to the early Is-this-true? reports was to ask if Christian Nesmith was involved in recording the tracks. Christian IS involved? Hey hey, I'M A BELIEVER! Sign me up as one of those shiny happy people.

Christian Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Circe Link

It's funny: In the early 1990s, I was corresponding with a number of Monkees fans on Prodigy, including a woman named Jennifer. Jennifer was in college at the time, making her one of the younger Monkees fans. She also liked R.E.M., and she mentioned that she thought the Monkees and R.E.M. shared some similarities in their sound.

I agreed. I could have imagined the Monkees covering, say, "Driver 8," or R.E.M. doing "The Girl I Knew Somewhere." Hell, the Monkees' vintage live version of the latter (heard on the Live 1967 album) sounded a lot like R.E.M. to me. We CAN get there from here!

Bopper meets Believer, 1987

I'm still in occasional contact with Jennifer on Facebook. When she heard about the upcoming release of Dolenz Sings R.E.M., she posted two immediate thoughts:

"1. This is everything I love all in one bowl, like a delicious hot fudge brownie sundae with whipped cream and a cherry.

"2. I am nearly certain that I called this, like, thirty years ago."

You sure did, Jennifer! And this first teaser track from Dolenz Sings R.E.M. is just sublime; I can't wait to hear the other three tracks.

THE STALLIONS: Why

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio debuted on the last Sunday of 1998, so '99 was really our first full year on the air. In 1999, Dana started playing a track or two from a Junk Records compilation CD called Goin' After Pussy--Teasers & Tidbits. Why a compilation CD was hunting kitty-cats, I have no idea. From that album, Boris the Sprinkler's "Kill The Ramones" got some airplay on TIRnRR. From that same album, the Stallions' cover of the obscure '60s garage punk nugget "Why" (originally recorded by the Dirty Wurds) also scored a few spins on TIRnRR.

It scored a lot of spins on TIRnRR.

The Stallions' "Why" was our # 1 most-played track in 1999. It was also our # 1 most-played track in 2000, and although it never again reached the tippy-top of any more of our year-end countdowns, it remained our all-time most-played track for a very long time thereafter. Big Star's "September Gurls" took away that most-played title a few years back, but "Why" by the Stallions will alway loom large in whatever it is that passes for our legend.

This coming Sunday, September 24th, brings us to the unlikely milestone of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1200. After the tag at the end of this week's TIRnRR # 1199, it seemed appropriate to whoop it up on behalf of our imminent celebration of 1200 SHOWS!!! with a teasin' tidbit of the song that was absolutely synonymous with this little mutant radio show during our early years.

And it has to open This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1200. Best be back here on Sunday night, hear? WHY, baby? 'Cuz we like you. 

And you have our dirty wurd: no felines will be harmed. Go after something else, you ruffians.

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.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 12/15/2020

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 # 1055.

KING MIXER: Talking Down To Me

Man, this radio gig has some fab perks. I don't believe King Mixer has released any music to the public yet, so this track comes to us courtesy of our mutual pal Steve Stoeckel. Now, Steve's a TIRnRR legend. The Spongetones! Jamie & Steve! The THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO All-Stars! I probably forgot one of Steve's essential credits, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn he was also the fifth Beatle, the finest swordsmen in all of France, and the only person who knows to whom the voice of the invisible Shadow belongs. Nice guy, too. Hella talented. Reportedly a better'n decent cook. Can't rap to save his life, but nobody's perfect.

Anyroad. King Mixer is piloted by a band o' brothers, Danny Stevenson and Bruce Stevenson, and they're working on a CD. They let Steve have a listen, and the song "Talking Down To Me" caught his fancy. Steve added some sublimely Spongetoney bass to the track, and presto: Instant hit! And because we just so happen to play the hits, Steve forwarded us the track for immediate broadcast. We will hear more from King Mixer. Even if it costs us a fortune in Breach of Promise cases, we're dead pleased. 'Ello, Grandfather! The perks of radio, my friends. The perks of radio.

THE MONKEES: Love Is Only Sleeping

In 1967, "Love Is Only Sleeping" was almost released as The Monkees'  fourth single, a plan nixed when some label or network stiff realized the potential scandal of suggesting that love = sleeping (i.e., bouncin' with frisk-filled intent). It would have been the first Monkees 45 cut with lead vocals by Michael Nesmith instead of Micky Dolenz or Davy Jones. Peter Tork never got anywhere near singing lead on a Monkees A-side. The song is a highlight of my favorite Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., and this is what I said about it in a blog piece about my Top 25 Monkees tracks:

I've written elsewhere of my discovery of the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Head albums as a high school senior in the Spring of 1977. I had already heard "Love Is Only Sleeping" in TV reruns, but it really hit me for the first time in '77. Lyrically, this Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil song may be about female sexual dysfunction (more so than Sandie Shaw's deceptively-titled "Girl Don't Come" anyway), but it's so much more than that. It's a tale of hope. It's a tale of frustration and despair conquered by passion and persistence, sweet deliverance earned and embraced. Chip Douglas' bass and Nesmith's guitar slice, as Michael's lead vocal shimmers with cool, calm confidence, all made breathier and more inviting by harmony from Dolenz. Love is only sleeping. Try it! It can work for you, too!

When speaking to my peers in '77, "Love Is Only Sleeping" was Exhibit A in pleading my case on behalf of The Monkees. Teenagers in the '70s deemed The Monkees uncool. I knew better. This track helped me prove it.

ORBIS MAX WITH LISA MYCHOLS: Ooh Baby Baby

The combined talents of Orbis Max and Lisa Mychols bring us this dreamy cover of The Miracles' classic "Ooh Baby Baby," a song which I first knew from Linda Ronstadt's hit cover in 1978. This new version made its SPARK! Syracuse debut Sunday afternoon on Rich Firestone's essential Radio Deer Camp show. We played it again on TIRnRR Sunday night, and our Lisa's silky-smooth and swoon-worthy delivery prompted loyal RDC and TIRnRR listener Joel Tinnel to quip, "I don't smoke, but after hearing that twice, I feel like I need a cigarette." Swoon away.

IRENE PEÑA: Ridiculous

Attempts at branding are part and parcel of my silly ambition to pretend TIRnRR is a force in pop culture. Humor me; I'm harmless. So we become The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, preaching The Joy Of Radio, noting that Radio's Job Is To Sell Records. The Kinks become The House Band. The Ramones are The American Beatles, The Greatest American Rock 'n' Roll Band Of All Time. And Irene Peña is America's Sweetheart.

Because she is. Here's further proof. Sometimes branding gets it exactly right.

POP CO-OP: Persistence Of Memory

Hey, it's that Steve Stoeckel guy again! Oh yeah, that's the Stoeckel group I forgot to mention: POP CO-OP! Our above-mentioned branding initiative lists Pop Co-Op's Factory Settings as Your Favorite Album Of 2020, and who are we to argue with that? 

SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. From my eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

I've written extensively about how important AM Top 40 radio was to me when I was (in theory) growing up. In the period from, say, 1970 to 1975, maybe 1976, my ears were surgically attached to WOLF-AM and WNDR-AM in Syracuse, the soundtrack of my sentence as an adolescent and teen. The giddy thrill of enjoying pop songs on the radio--the very place where pop songs were most meant to be enjoyed--shaped me in ways I had no idea about at the time. Amidst the splendor of Badfinger and Johnny Nash and Gladys Knight & the Pips, Alice Cooper, The Raspberries, Isley Brothers, Sweet, a Chuck Berry oldie, and some guys who used to be in The Beatles, AM radio gave me the gift of Motown's greatest miracle: the gift of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

"The Tears Of A Clown" was a song out of time. It had been an album track on the Miracles' 1967 LP Make It Happen, but it was not originally released as a single; "More Love" and "The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage" were the chosen 45s off Make It Happen. A year passed. Two years, three years, a freaking eternity in the ephemeral world at the top of the pops. In 1970, this by-now-ancient track was exhumed and dusted off as a single release in England, and it cried all the way home to a UK # 1. British success prompted an American single release, which also hit # 1, the only Smokey Robinson & the Miracles single ever to top Billboard's Hot 100.

The motif of the clown who cries is held in disdain as trite, hoary. I remember once seeing a TV movie scene that took place in a writers' workshop. The scene contrasted the approaches of two would-be writers: a pretty young woman (our heroine) whose elegant and aching study in quiet desperation depicted her protagonist's nearly-empty refrigerator as a long-term effort to slowly commit suicide by starvation; and a middle-aged hack in the making, writing cloyingly about the tears of a clown. The former creative effort could be art; the latter could only be rubbish.

But we forgive and embrace the use of this motif when it transcends itself, in Pagliacci, and in the careful grace of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Robinson had touched on the allusion previously in The Miracles' 1965 gem "The Tracks Of My Tears," with its couplet "People say I'm the life of the party 'cause I tell a joke or two/Although I might be laughing loud and hearty, deep inside I'm blue." Robinson used the lines "Just like Pagliacci did/I'll keep my sadness hid" in "My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down)," a song he co-wrote and produced for Carolyn Crawford in 1964. It's familiar, it's pat, but it works just fine as a pop lyric. Hell, in the right context, it approaches genius as a pop lyric....

SPARKS: Lawnmower

I was a relative latecomer to the music of Sparks. I betcha I heard them at some point in the '70s; it seems likely that Utica's WOUR-FM must have played somethin' Sparky during that 1976-78 time frame when I was moving from AM Top 40 to freer-form FM. But the closest memory I can conjure would be the similar sound of The Quick's 1976 cover of The Beatles' "It Won't Be Long." I did see an ace New York City group called The Fast on a bill with The Flashcubes in 1978, and The Fast were also a little influenced by Sparks. 

Other than that, Sparks was just an act I read about in the rock press. My first conscious exposure to the sound of Sparks was "Tips For Teens," a track I heard and loved via a 1981 budget compilation LP called Blitz. '81 was also the year I was introduced to the 1979 Sparks song "Beat The Clock," albeit by the incongruous second-hand means of Stars On 45's hit disco medley. I discovered more Sparks over time (including the actual "Beat The Clock," which I specifically associate with a memory of crossing the bridge to Canada on an early '90s visit to Montreal). "Tips For Teens" remains my favorite Sparks track. You never forget your first kiss.

And decades later, I'm delighted that Sparks is still with us, and still making new tunes that are quirky, engaging, and fun. "Lawnmower" comes from Sparks' 2020 album A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, and it continues the proud Sparks legacy of peerless, percolatin' pop music.

VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH FEATURING KEN STRINGFELLOW: Howl At The Moon

When the mighty Vegas With Randolph joined forces with the likewise-mighty Lannie Flowers for the 2017 track "The Weekend's Coming" (heard on our CD and digital compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4), I wrote:

As a life-long fan of comic books, I very much appreciate the idea of two separate favorites joining forces as one. Superman and Batman! Spider-Man and Red Sonja! Wonder Woman and Jerry Lewis! The list goes on and on, from Mary Marvel and Bulletgirl to KISS and Vampirella, Archie and The Ramones. Your two fave raves in one adventure--who can resist that?

So Dana and I feel like the power pop equivalent of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as we announce this epic team-up of Vegas With Randolph and Lannie Flowers. Face front, True Believers--this one's got it all!

The above applies equally to "Howl At The Moon," a new super team-up uniting VWR with Ken Stringfellow of The Posies and Big Star. So...go ahead and howl. Heroically!

WAR: Low Rider

Has anyone ever used the word "imperious" to describe the rhythm of War's 1975 hit "Low Rider?" I'd presume it hasn't been done, and it may be a stretch to use it now. But GodDAYum, that regal riddum rules by divine and absolute right. Imperious War!

THE YES IT IS!: The Night I Heard A Scream

Well, make that the YEAR I heard a scream. Nonetheless, great cover of 20/20's fab original, done now by a jingle-jangle bubbletoon group called The YES IT IS! Yep, The YES IT IS! is a contemporary Saturday morning TV cartoon combo lacking only a Saturday morning TV cartoon show to accompany them. You can read their story and buy their digital single (complete with its virtual B-side cover of XTC's "Senses Working Overtime") right here. I'm grabbin' a bowl of cereal, then I'll meet you on the dancefloor.

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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.