10 SONGS: 1/17/2026

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 # 1319

THE BARRACUDAS: I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again

I love 1965. I regard '65 as pop music's best year ever: The best stuff was popular and the popular stuff was best. I don't actually wish it could be 1965 again--if nothing else, I'd rather consume hemlock or even Diet Pepsi than have to relive the random tsuris experienced over the course of six subsequent decades--but certainly the miserable state of current events feeds a longing for a return to better times.

Nostalgia is tricky. Still, as long as we're able to recognize that rose-colored glasses (and, I guess, rose-filtered headphones) can taint the accuracy of what we think we remember, recollections of cherished moments lend strength and conviction to steps we take on the path before us. Catch us if you can.

Moving ahead on the ol' timeline, Drop Out With The Barracudas was and remains my favorite album of the 1980s. The album's own sense of nostalgia is tempered by snark and self-awareness, a fun-in-the-sun jaunt that understands mortality and impermanence yet chooses to barrel through anyway, whether by stubborn determination or death wish. The album closes with "I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again," a full-throttle evocation of the legend (or myth) of my favorite year.

From the dystopian POV of our far-future world of 2026, Drop Out With The Barracudas is considerably farther away in time than 1965 was from the album's release in 1981. The legend perseveres. Drop out? Fall in. Those who forget the past are condemned to the Orwellian all-of-this of all of...this. We can do better. Doing better starts with a wish.

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

From a previous 10 Songs, celebrating this eventual addition to the annals of The Greatest Record Ever Made!:

"I remember hearing Rihanna's hit 'Umbrella' in 2007, and not being especially taken with it. In 2008, the updated version of her Good Girl Gone Bad (Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) landed into my consciousness via my then-teen daughter, whose interest in 'Take A Bow' and 'Disturbia' brought those songs to my attention as well. I was a little surprised to discover I liked them (especially 'Disturbia'), but I did indeed like them.

"I missed out on the track 'Shut Up And Drive.' I've heard it, but I never noticed it until a random search for playlist ideas brought me to it again. It was like a brand new song to me, and I loved it.

"(How did I know I loved it? The fact that I played it on obsessive repeat would be a pretty clear clue to that.)

"Wikipedia describes 'Shut Up And Drive' as a new wave song--no, really!--based on 'Blue Monday' by New Order. No offense to the mopey British guys, but I prefer it the way Rihanna did it."

GLENN ERB: Fine Day

"Fine Day" is a very fine new single from North Carolina popmeister Glenn Erb, and it's a righteously radio-ready shot of sure-footed swagger. Ooh, and it's produced by long-time TIRnRR Fave Rave Jamie Hoover, adding even more READY! to its established radio-ready status. This radio show is ready to play it again this Sunday. Nothing could be finer.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE: Mirror Man

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES: Reflections

In the radio biz, sometimes the segues just write themselves.

SPECTRAFLAME: Love Don't Live Here No More

Second week in a row for a spin of Spectraflame's ace current single "Love Don't Live Here No More," and the first time it's listed correctly on the posted playlist; last week's playlist claimed the song's title was "Love Don't Lived Here Any More." And I ain't even no grammarian. Of course, I screwed up the title again in my on-air announcements, but I finally--FINALLY--get it right in time for the track's third TIRnRR spin this coming Sunday night. See? I actually CAN learn from my mistakes!

Sometimes.

THE LITTLE GIRLS: I Really Want To Be With You

What do 1980s SoCal rockin' poppers the Little Girls have in common with the Beatles, the Ramones, the Cynz, the Grip Weeds, Mike Browning, Monogroove, and the above-cited Spectraflame? Counting our next program, all of these fine acts have graced each of TIRnRR's first three shows this year. I see no reason to stop now, and I've really been digging the Little Girls' Thank Heaven For ValleyPop compilation. More to come. If the Little Girls really wanna be with you, we are only too happy to provide the means.

ELVIS PRESLEY: Kentucky Rain

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MONOGROOVE: Back To School

We mentioned Monogroove a couple of spots north of here. I've been a fan of Monogroove's Rin Lennon since hearing her former group On The Air's contribution to the 1984 Rhino Records (then-) contemporary girl group compilation The Girls Can't Help It. My pal Andrea Ogarrio included an On The Air track in a mixtape she sent me in the early '90s, and I snagged my very own copy of On The Air's 1987 eponymous six-song EP during a Florida vacation in 1994. More recently, we've been delighted to add Monogroove to our little Play-Tone galaxy o' stars, and "That Girl" (from Monogroove's recent album Popsicle Drivethru) was TIRnRR's # 35 most-played track in 2025. Yep: ON THE AIR! It's what we do.

In 2026, our on-the-air Monogroove presence has been established by the group's recent single "Back To School," and that's been a perfectly peppy rah rah siss boom bop in its own right. Pencils? Books? Teacher's dirty looks? It's all writ in # 2 graphite. "Back To School" pushes against the scornful demands of high school's cliques and ninnies, on behalf of all of us who lurked in the nooks and crannies instead. School is in.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

I'm looking at today's date. And once again I say:

Don't wanna. Won't need to. Ain't gonna.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP

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: 10/10/2025

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 # 1305.

STEVE STOECKEL: I Wanna Be A Vampire

It's important to have goals. Be the vampire you wish to be!

My book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) includes a chapter about "The Transylvania Twist," a terrific 1963 single credited to Baron Daemon and the Vampires. Baron Daemon (played by the late, great Mike Price) was Syracuse's local TV vampire when I was a kid in the '60s. As I wrote in the book: To any kid living in Syracuse at that time, Baron Daemon was as big as the Beatles.

Friend of TIRnRR Steve Stoeckel is best-known as singer/songwriter/bassist with North Carolina's phenomenal pop combo the Spongetones. Our Steve was not a Syracuse kid in the 1960s, and any familiarity he might have with Baron Daemon probably came from, y'know, reading my book (a book that also contains a chapter about the Spongetones). But Steve effectively channels the Dracula Beat on "I Wanna Be A Vampire," his contribution to Big Stir Records' epic new Halloween compilation Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies.

The music of the night! And a vampire song that does not suck. We'll switch from vampires to witches for a spin of another track from Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies on our next show.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

Grow up...?! As if.

(But speaking of the Ramones--the American Beatles, the greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time--lemme take this opportunity to thank my friends at Rare Bird Books, the publisher of my 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones. The book was featured in this week's edition of Rare Bird's newsletter The Bird's Eye View, and I am very grateful for the mention.

Grateful. Still not grown up, mind you, but grateful.)

THE WEEKLINGS: Diamond Dogs

From the wonderful current compilation Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie, here's the Weeklings' cool take on Bowie's "Diamond Dogs." We offer it here as a dedication to the coaching staff (plus Higgins) of UFC Richmond. Hey guys! Looking forward to seeing you again this summer.

THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

From her secret origin as Maura Boudreau in North Syracuse, Maura Kennedy has always been one of us, a native daughter made good. Her husband Pete Kennedy isn't from around here, but he is likewise one of us, and Central New Yorkers proudly consider Maura and Pete's internationally-renowned coffeehouse pop combo the Kennedys to be local heroes, their downstate base of operations notwithstanding. It's a legit homecoming whenever the Kennedys play in Syracuse, and their latest homecoming occurs this Saturday, October 11th, at The 443 Social Club & Lounge. Tickets for the show? Glad you asked! Grab 'em with delirious glee right here.

Adding to the homecoming vibe, the Kennedys recently participated in Big Stir Records' various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, recording a sublimely aching cover of the Flashcubes' lovely "Walking Through The Park." Here's hopin' the Kennedys' homecoming includes a live performance of "Walking Through The Park" at the 443 on Saturday.

VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH: She's An Intellectual

Calling all intellectuals! Long-time TIRnRR Fave Raves Vegas With Randolph have released Drops Of Gold: The Best Of Vegas With Randolph, an absolutely primo retrospective set that oughta be an automatic purchase for all of us who adore music of the rockin' pop persuasion. And the lads of VWR are promoting Drops Of Gold with an absolutely primo new video for their past TIRnRR Pick T' Click "She's An Intellectual." Even better, it's an animated video inspired by the style of classic DC Comics cartoons. HEY! They're playing directly to MY demographic! And they're playing to win. It's Vegas, baby.

SLYBOOTS: Silent Storm

New single from Slyboots! Their 2024 single "If We Could Let Go" was my # 1 favorite new track last year, and "Silent Storm" continues that world-weary but determined sense of reaching for a better world. 

And I think we could all use a better world at this point.

TINA TURNER: The Acid Queen

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SUPREMES: All I Want

Like the rest of the group's post-Diana Ross output, the Supremes' 1972 cover of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" is woefully, criminally underrated. It's too much of a hot take to say the Supremes records after Ross left are a better group o' tunes than the familiar hits with Ross, but I admit the hyperbole is tempting. Not true, I guess. But tempting. 

Either way, if you can find it, a two-disc Supremes compilation called The '70s Anthology is well worth seeking and acquiring. Will it be all the Supremes you want? No, probably not. Will it be worthwhile in its own right? Damned right it will.

SHOES: Tomorrow Night

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

In the late '70s, power pop was a niche genre that did not wish to be a niche genre. It wanted fame, fortune. It wanted action. It for damned sure wanted the girl, right now. If not tonight, then tomorrow night...

...Shoes was one of the most notable (and durable) among '70s power pop groups, an exquisite four-man band from Zion, Illinois. Shoes took their first step with an album that was literally homemade, recorded in guitarist Jeff Murphy’s living room and released on the group’s own Black Vinyl label in 1977.  

That album, Black Vinyl Shoes, was an instant pop classic, bursting with understated gems, songs simultaneously Beatlesque yet not strictly derivative of anything. Black Vinyl Shoes brought the group to the attention of Bomp Records/Bomp! magazine visionary Greg Shaw. Bomp released a non-LP 45 of  “Tomorrow Night”/”Okay,” which still ranks as the best 1-2 punch of Shoes’ always-distinguished recording career. 

"Tomorrow Night" is nearly textbook power pop, a pretty ditty that combines yearning and lust, its façade suggesting an equal measure of the two, but really looking for a steamy tomorrow-night stand. What the track lacks in explosiveness á la the Who or Raspberries is more than compensated by its confidence and posture, the music leaning forward with single-minded precision. It's catchy and aggressive, its dreamy, breathy vocals piloting a rockin' sound with one Beatle boot perched in the British Invasion and one ragged Converse stepping on a back-breaking crack in the New Wave of post-punk rock 'n' roll....

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part 1)

The perils of prerecording a radio show: On Sunday night, my back-announcement of spinning the Isley Brothers' "Shout (Part 1)" was accompanied by my prerequisite cry of Let's GO, Buffalo! That moment aired shortly after the previously-unbeaten Buffalo Bills had been defeated by themselv...er, by the Patriots. Nonetheless: Let's GO, Buffalo! I retain my hope of seeing Bad Bunny perform a Halftime show during a Bills game on TV this February.

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: 10/13/2023

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 # 1202. This show is available as a podcast.

THE OHMS: License To Kill

Much of this week's show was offered as a tribute to the late Ducky Carlisle. Before his GRAMMYs and his well-earned acclaim as a music producer and engineer, fans here in Syracuse first knew Ducky as a drummer. That started for us in the late '70s, when Ducky was in the Ohms.

The Ohms were a great, GREAT group, an invincible rock 'n' roll trio fronted by guitarist/singer/songwriter Zenny Caucasian with Rick Suburban on bass (later replaced by Keith Korvair) and the Duckster hisself poundin' them Pagan skins. I curse the cruel timing that only allowed me to witness 'em in person once--ONCE!!--but I know most folks didn't even get a chance to do that much. I wish we'd all seen the Ohms multiple times over a span of years, of decades...but that ain't what happened. Like Del Paxton told us: You can't keep a band together. The Ohms were no exception. 

The group's 1979 single "Teenage Alcoholic"/"Chain Letter" remains the only Ohms music to ever see release, and those two tracks have been out of print since the Carter Administration. They recorded more fantastic stuff--"Hollywood Baby," "Boppin' At The USO," "High-Top Sneakers," "You're So Surreal," and my favorite, "License To Kill"--but none of it has ever seen legit release. This looks like a job for Kool Kat Musik, Big Stir, Propeller, Futureman, Jem Records...somebody!

This week, we played both sides of that 45 from 1979. And we opened the show with the unreleased "License To Kill." We raised a glass, and we raised a fist. Gotta keep movin' you can't sit still. Here's to ya, Ducky.

1.4.5.: Let's Groove

Hey, we're 1.4.5.!

And I'm Paul!

I'm Dave!

I'm Duck!

LET'S GROOVE!

Ducky was also a founding member of 1.4.5., with bassist Dave Anderson and guitarist Paul Armstrong. They debuted live in 1980, and released their first EP Pink Invasion in 1981 (still available as part of the 1.4.5. anthology 3 Chords & A Cloud Of Dust). Given my deathless devotion to PA's once and future group the Flashcubes, it was natural for me to become a big 1.4.5. fan. Still am! 1.4.5. went through a number of varying line-ups; Paul's the only original player still with the group (which now includes guitarist Bob Cat, bassist Tommy O'Riley, and drummer Judd Williams). Nonetheless, they friggin' rock. It's what they do!

NEW MATH: Die Trying

Over to our west in Rochester, commencing in the same approximate time frame as the Syracuse Bright Lights scene that gave us the Ohms, the Flashcubes, and 1.4.5., there was another fabulous combo called New Math. New Math survived into the '80s, and I was able to see them a few times, in Syracuse (at the Firebarn), in Brockport (in the ballroom on my former college campus), and in Rochester (at the legendary Scorgie's). New Math eventually morphed into the Jet Black Berries, but that's another thread for another day.

Back to New Math. This year saw the long overdue release of a New Math CD anthology, Die Trying & Other Hot Sounds (1979-1983), courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings. A current version of New Math has been playing a handful of shows, culminating in a farewell show this Saturday, October 14th, at Abilene Bar and Lounge in Rochester. Billed as The Final Nail In The Coffin Show!, New Math's sayonara show also includes the Presstones (who played with New Math [and the Cliches] on that Brockport bill I just mentioned) and the mighty 1.4.5. (who played the release party for my Ramones book, and whom I've seen a ton of times--but never enough times).

I'm goin' to this show. If not, man, I'll at least die trying.

(I'm also looking to catch 1.4.5. again in Syracuse near the end of this month. On October 27th, Syracuse's home for rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon will welcome the Grip Weeds for their first-ever Syracuse show, with 1.4.5., Preacher, and Keene Highland Airforce. Be there or be missing.)

MICHAEL OLIVER AND THE SACRED BAND FEATURING DAVE MERRITT: You Won't Do

Ducky Carlisle had significant impact on our own 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. Ducky played on the magnificent 1.4.5. track "Your Own World," which went on to be TIRnRR's single most-played track in 2017 (in memory of its late lead singer Norm Mattice). Ducky also applied the considerable magic of his considerable studio mojo to clean up the four-track demo of the Flashcubes' "No Promise." All Ducky, all of the time!

And Ducky likewise lent his above-cited magical mojo to "You Won't Do," a track by Michael Oliver and the Sacred Band featuring Dave Merritt. In the extended supplemental liner notes for this compilation, I recalled contacting Michael to secure his contribution:

"[Michael] replied that yeah, he did have a couple of tracks he was working on, and he could get us something within a few weeks.

"He sent us a song the next day.

"He sent us a song the next day, and it was produced by Ducky Carlisle.

"Lemme give you a baseball analogy: I felt like a major league pitcher, with a batting average of .006, stepping to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and hitting a grand slam. Rounding third he was headin' for home, he was a brown-eyed handsome man.

"Ducky Carlisle is The Mark Of Quality to us, from his days as drummer for local heroes the Ohms, through his sterling work as producer and occasional deputy member of the Flashcubes, and his ongoing mastery of studio wizardry on roughly a gazillion fine pop albums. This song came with a pedigree! An unexpected pedigree, even.

"But Ducky's participation wasn't the best part. My jaw dropped the first time I listened to this new song called 'You Won't Do.' Oh. My. God! As great as Michael's previous work had been, 'You Won't Do' reached a whole new level of sheer pop transcendence. This was a hit single. If no else ever heard it, it would be a crime, but it would still sound like a big hit single. I contacted Dana and Kool Kat Musik's Ray Gianchetti and effectively said, Fellas, we just received a track that single-handedly justifies the existence of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4.

"I was not exaggerating. I meant every syllable, and I still do."

THE FLASHCUBES: All Over The World

The Flashcubes will always, always be one of my all-time favorite groups. Beatles, Ramones, Flashcubes. Paul Armstrong, drummer Tommy Allen, bassist Gary Frenay, and guitarist Arty Lenin. The original 'Cubes splintered in 1979, and finally retired the Cubic billing in 1980. Other than maybe some reunion gigs, there was no reason to believe they would ever be the Flashcubes again.

That began to change in the early '90s. The reunion shows became more fully-realized, and there was talk of new Flashcubes recordings. Talk was followed by action. At some point, we stopped calling it a reunion. The Flashcubes were back. Their current Big Stir Records release Pop Masters is my album of the year for 2023. I can call that race early. Nothing else is gonna compete.

Tommy was unavailable to participate in some of the Flashcubes' live shows, so Ducky stepped in on more than a few occasions. Ducky's studio prowess was, of course, directly employed for many/most of the new 'Cubes recordings as well.

And for the Flashcubes' first couple of new tracks--covers of the Paul Collins Beat's "All Over The World" and the Raspberries' "Don't Want To Say Goodbye"--logistics prevented Tommy from providin' prerequisite Cubic pounding. Oh, DUCKY...! The esteemed Mr. Carlisle kept the beat in Tommy's stead. Deputy Flashcube to the rescue. The Flashcubes' studio resurgence was on its way, with Tommy in his proper percussive place from "It's You Tonight" on.

GAME THEORY: She'll Be A Verb

THE SUPREMES: Stop! In The Name Of Love

Simple sequence here: Game Theory tell us that she'll be a verb (whoever she is); the Supremes supply that verb. STOP!! In the name of love...!

GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS: Wicked Wit

At my first Flashcubes show in January of 1978, I was less than two weeks past my eighteenth birthday. Lack of a crystal ball didn't prevent me from immediately seeing a brightly-lit future as a Flashcubes fan, but I couldn't foresee the Flashcubes someday being on the same record label as Graham Parker. In addition to the 'Cubes' Pop Masters and a slew of other fantastic releases this year, Big Stir is the label of record for Parker's current album Last Chance To Learn The Twist. The Flashcubes! Graham Parker and the Goldtops! If it ain't Big Stir it ain't worth a...never mind.

And in 1978, I certainly didn't foresee Graham Parker recording a bumper ID for a radio show co-hosted by the meager likes of me. This is Graham Parker. You're listening to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl on SPARK Syracuse!

I...what? Yeah. Even with a crystal ball, I wouldn'ta seen that one comin'.

JOAN JETT: Bad Reputation

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

Congratulations, Meghan and Austin!

THE MOST: Take A Chance

In 1979, when the Ohms were still together, Ducky and Zenny joined forces with the one 'n' only PA to record a single backing Dian Zain. That single, "Take A Chance"/"Do The Jumping Jack," was originally to be credited to Dian as a solo artist, amended to her new group the Most by the time of its release. 

There were three distinct live versions of the Most, all fronted by Dian and Paul. Their first edition of the Most included current 1.4.5.-ers Tommy O'Riley and Judd Williams, plus guitarist Derek Knott. When Tommy, Judd, and Derek opted to move on, the Ohms themselves--Ducky, Zenny, and Keith--completed an interim Most, performing an opening set as the Ohms and then joining Dian and PA as the Most. The final versions of the Most found Dian and Paul playing with Dave Anderson and drummer Dick Hummer; when Hummer split to become Machine + Hummer, Ducky returned to the drum kit for the last days of the Most. Then Dian left, and Paul, Dave, and Duck began groovin' as 1.4.5.

The Most recorded some cool demos, which remain unreleased. They contributed a track ("Rockerfeller") to a compilation called From The City That Brought You...Absolutely Nothing. Otherwise? The Most left us just this one 45. Dian, Paul, Zenny, and Ducky. "Take A Chance" opens with PA asking that musical question:

HEY! Ya goin' to the dance tonight?

And Dian immediately provides the only acceptable answer:

Yeah! What else is there?

What else? Indeed. What else?

Screen capture from a video taken by Dana Bonn

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 and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 9/8/2023

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 High School # 1197: The 12th Annual DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT. This show is available as a podcast.

ERMA FRANKLIN: It's Over

"Over...?!" WE JUST STARTED!!

Erma Franklin is no stranger to the Soul Pit, nor a stranger to non-Soul Pit TIRnRR playlists, with her song "I Don't Want No Mama's Boy" and her Forgotten Original of "Piece Of My Heart" scoring the most attention. "It's Over" is my new favorite Erma Franklin work.

Yes, we know about Erma Franklin's little sister Carolyn Franklin; she's also scored some TIRnRR airplay. And everyone knows about their middle sister. But today: a little respect for Big Sister Erma. Respect is never over.

THE SUPREMES: Love, I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good

We've been playing the Supremes a lot this year, specifically music the Supremes did in the '70s after former lead singer whatsername moved on to her solo career. It's an amazing and largely unrecognized body of work, well worthy of obsession and repeat play. A love Supreme. I never knew it could feel so good.

MEL AND TIM: Backfield In Motion

I don't recall Mel and Tim's hit "Backfield In Motion" from its radio heyday in 1969, though I probably heard it. The song entered my collection in 1977 via a used record purchase at Mike's Sound Center in North Syracuse. 

The used record in question was Do It Now: 20 Giant Hits, a various-artists collection issued by cheap-o label Ronco Records in 1970. I had read about the album in one of Harlan Ellison's books of TV criticism, The Glass Teat or The Other Glass Teat. "Backfield In Motion" did not make any immediate impression on me; it was one of the tracks I often skipped en route to the Association and Jefferson Airplane. I like it a lot more now.

Nor was I much of (or any of) a football fan in '77--I like that a lot more now, too--but I did recognize "backfield in motion" as a gridiron term. I even knew gridiron. I tell ya, I was a Renaissance punk. But my primary image for the phrase in the '70s was from an otherwise-forgotten TV comedy sketch about football, with Bob Hope or Dean Martin or whomever referring to some shapely 'n' sporty starlets' curvy backfields being in motion.

Penalty declined.

DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love

Donna Summers' first hit "Love To Love You Bab," was basically an extended orgasm set to a disco beat (which is not necessarily a bad thing). But "I Feel Love" is more interesting; still shimmering and sexy--Donna Summer at that time could have covered the Singing Nun, and still been shimmering and sexy--but its European syncopation makes it even sexier, if not quite as sweaty. Or perhaps not as obviously sweaty.

In 1977, Brian Eno told Bowie that Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was the sound of the future. In that year of potential musical revolution, a year of important and transcendent releases by the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and Television, Eno was still probably right. An amazing single.

RICK JAMES: Super Freak

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE AD LIBS: The Boy From New York City

Various-artists compilations have played an enormous role in introducing me to a wider range of rockin' pop music. We mentioned Ronco's Do It Now a few metric parsecs north of here; from Heavy Metal and History Of British Rock through Nuggets and Yellow Pills, compilations have opened my ears to an endless array of singers, songs, and sounds. Variety. Context. Any record you ain't heard is a new record.

In the summer of '78, I snagged a copy of a 1976 oldies collection called 15 Original Rock N' Roll Biggies Vol. 2, a cheap set I acquired for the specific purpose of replacing my crappy-sounding 45 of the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law." For bonus value, this album introduced me to a couple of great Standells cuts ("Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" and "Why Pick On Me") I didn't know--any record you ain't heard, yadda yadda--and it introduced me to "The Boy From New York City" by the Ad Libs.

Unlike my previous experience of ignoring Mel and Tim on Do It Now, I did take a shine to "The Boy From New York City" and I played it nearly as often as I played its LP brethren Bobby Fuller and the Standells. Come ON, Kitty!

LARRY WILLIAMS: Slow Down

Last year's edition of Dana's Funky Soul Pit was a soul tribute to the Beatles, a fab 'n' funky soulabration of all things Fab. Most of that show consisted of soul and R & B covers of Beatles songs, but with a closing set of some of the classic soul originals--Arthur Alexander's "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues," Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music," the Cookies' "Chains," Richie Barrett's "Some Other Guy," et al.--that the savage young moptops themselves adored. The Beatles wanted to be a soul group. Lemme hear you say YEAH. THREE times!

The Beatles certainly adored Larry Williams, and most of us know Williams more from the Beatles' covers of "Slow Down," "Bad Boy," and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" than we know Williams' versions. These songs became well-known classics because the Beatles did them.

But, even before Liverpool's Finest grabbed these songs and took 'em along on that left turn at Greenland, they were already GREAT songs. The Beatles had impeccable taste. 

Among all songs covered by the Beatles, their take on "Slow Down" edges out their well-known workout of the Isley Brothers' "Twist And Shout" as my favorite. The original's cool, too. The original's fantastic. I want that love to last.

MAJOR LANCE: It's The Beat

It's the BEAT, man, the BEAT! Like '70s Supremes, the mighty Major Lance has also established a presence on TIRnRR playlists. One of my older siblings had the 45 of Lance's 1963 smash "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um," and I'm delighted to say I typed the correct number of titular Ums without checking first. I'm a SUCCESS! 

I liked that record when I was a kid, and i still do. But man, it is so cool to hear deeper tracks from the Major Lance catalogue o' wonder; whenever Dana programs a Major Lance song I don't know, my inner self executes an enthusiastic li'l fist bump. Can't beat that. Keep 'em comin', Dana!

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: All Strung Out Over You

From a previous edition of 10 Songs:

"The Chambers Brothers are one-hit wonders, but man, what a hit that was. Their 1968 smash 'Time Has Come Today' is a freakin' wall of rock and soul, and I'm probably going to add it to my ever-forthcoming book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I haven't listened to the full eleven-minute version in far too long, but I owe myself that pleasure in the near future. Even the single version is a bit lengthy at nearly five minutes, but it's five minutes well spent. TIME!! The Ramones did an incredible cover of the song in the early '80s; even they couldn't improve on the original.

"As is often the case with one-hit wonders, the Chambers Brothers cut more good stuff beyond the solitary Chosen One everyone knows. I've begun a casual dive into some of that recently, picking up both a CD best-of set and an expanded CD reissue of the group's The Time Has Come album. "All Strung Out Over You" was on that LP, a great track that only charted regionally. It deserved better."

To the above, I will add a supplemental Oh YEAH! on behalf of "All Strung Out Over You," and assure all 'n' sundry that, since writing that entry in 2021, I am now fully in the thrall of the longer cut of "Time Has Come Today." My soul has been psychedelicized.

RAY CHARLES: Let's Go Get Stoned

As always, it's important to have goals. Our goal is to hang tight, hang tough, and meet you back here next year for The 13th Annual Dana's Funky Soul Pit. Let's GO!

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, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl