10 SONGS: 7/19/2025

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1294.

THE SPONGETONES: Help Me Janie

Dana and I were latecomers to the magic of the Spongetones, but we've made up for lost time with a proud and efficient gusto, and it would be accurate to list the Spongetones as one of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's long and hook-infatuated history. We jumped immediately on to the splendor of the Spongetones' recent single "Lulu's In Love," and we approached brand-new single "Help Me Janie" with the very same enthusiastic approach of We have to play this NOW!!!!

"Lulu's In Love," "Help Me Janie," and another soon-to-be-released new Spongetones single will also appear as studio bonus tracks on the Spongetones' forthcoming live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond, brought to you by the visionaries at Big Stir Records. We opened this week's show with "Help Me Janie." This Sunday, we'll play "Help Me Janie" again, and we'll hear a little bit of 40th Anniversary Concert live Spongetones, too. One of the defining artists of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Of course we play them. It's what we do.

VAN HALEN: You Really Got Me

In early 1978, I was a second-semester freshman in college when Van Halen released their insistently unsubtle cover of the Kinks' British Invasion classic "You Really Got Me." I loved the Kinks' version, and I detested--detested!!--Eddie 'n' Alex 'n' Michael 'n' David Lee's meatball bludgeoning. I subsequently opened my mind to allow occasional tolerance (and even appreciation) of some individual Van Halen tracks (particularly the great "Dance The Night Away"), but my fortified opposition to the very idea of Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" remained entrenched and unassailable.

On the other hand, our pal Dave Murray is fond of the VH version, and he had a birthday this week. So what the hell; I bought the track and we played it on the show. ("Bought the track?" Yeah. I really got it.)

I will concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is miles better than the "You Really Got Me" I attempted for this year's annual Dave Murray birthday video. And I also have to concede that Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" is fine, the lingering disdain expressed by my eighteen-year-old self notwithstanding. It's not the equal of the Kinks--let's not veer too close to the loopy here--but it inhabits its skin as it oughta, and I'm starting to understand its appeal. 

THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight

THE WIGS: Tell It All

REDD KROSS: Ballad Of A Love Doll

One track apiece from each of the three discs in a fabulous new compilation called I Wanna Be A Teen Again (North American Power Pop 1980-1989). I Wanna Be A Teen Again was curated by Australian publicist and music guy David Laing, a friend to TIRnRR and a friend to all who cherish the pop with the power. The esteemed Mr. Laing's own Grown Up Wrong! label is responsible for my go-to Flamin' Groovies compilation Between The Lines: The Complete Jordan/Wilson Songbook '71-81, and David has likewise done stellar work assembling I Wanna Be A Teen Again for the UK's mighty Cherry Red Records.

The presence of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes makes I Wanna Be A Teen Again a compulsory purchase for me--I buy every project that includes the Flashcubes--but man, I would have wanted this set with a Badfinger-approved no matter what. You got your big names, you got your relative obscurities, and you have all star positions in between. On this week's show, we repped I Wanna Be A Teen Again with spins of the Flashcubes' basement tape of "It's You Tonight" (which was later re-recorded in the '90s for Jordan Oakes' first Yellow Pills compilation), the Wigs' ace "Tell It All," and MTV 120 Minutes superstars Redd Kross with "Ballad Of A Love Doll," and circled back for NRBQ's "You Can't Hide" at the end of the show. Is it power pop? Don't ask. Just dig.

If you're stranded in the British Isles (and I, for one, would be deeply jealous), you can order I Wanna Be A Teen Again directly from Cherry Red. If you're back in the USA, I recommend purchase through Kool Kat Musik. Either way, in the words of the late Bob Segarini: Gotta have pop!

LOLAS: Underneath The Waves

Speaking of Kool Kat Musik, one of the label's own fresh releases is a new album from long-time TIRnRR Fave Raves Lolas. Lolas' debut album Ballerina Breakout was a fixture on this show upon its release in 1999 (our first full year on the air); we know 'em, we love 'em, we can't live without 'em. And the latest Lolas long-player Big Hits And Freak Disasters lives up to the legacy, as Lolas keep on keepin' on with the sound that suits The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. From Big Hits And Freak Disasters, "Underneath The Waves" debuts on this week's show, and will return to the airwaves this Sunday.

AMY RIGBY: Heart Is A Muscle

We have heard that Amy Rigby wasn't all that enthused about her song "Heart Is A Muscle," that maybe she almost chose not to record it, and that she probably wasn't sure about releasing it once she did record it.

Well.

For whatever it's worth, this track from Amy's oh-so-nice 2024 album Hang In There With Me was one of TIRnRR's most-played tracks last year, and it has already secured a berth on 2025's year-end countdown show. Gotta keep the ol' heart exercised.

OSCAR TONEY, JR.: Ain't That True Love

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police

The forthcoming various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes has been a long-percolatin' labor of love, and the project is barreling with giddy determination toward its September 12th street date. Hey, look! WE MADE SOMETHING HAPPEN!

Over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to view (and wholeheartedly approve) Margie Finer's design for the album's graphics, and finally bask in the glow of a job well done. On this week's show, we reprised Make Something Happen! delights by Ballzy Tomorrow, sparkle*jets u.k., and the Kennedys, and we were pleased to present the premiere of the Armoires' uberpop Beatles-Byrds-Cheap Trick interpretation of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police." Send out an APB: The Armoires' "You're Not The Police" provides further brilliant evidence of the sheer arresting (HAR!) nature of this collection.

On Sunday, the Armoires' "You're Not The Police" will return to the scene of the crime, alongside further spins of Cubic covers by Ballzy Tomorrow and Librarians With Hickeys, plus another spin of the Flashcubes' own new single from Make Something Happen! Wanna make something out of it? Well, we're glad to have ya with us. Set bright lights to stun.

THE BEACH BOYS: That's Why God Made The Radio

Asked and answered. We rest our case.

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.

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: 9/21/2024

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 # 1251.

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS: Queen Of Hearts

We've been playing a couple of advance singles--"Unsubscribe" and "Alleyways"--from the new Hayley and the Crushers album Unsubscribe From The Underground. The album's out now, so we gave another spin to "Alleyways" in this week's opening set, and kicked off Set # 2 with Hayley and the Crushers' aggressive cover of Hank DeVito's "Queen Of Hearts." The song was first recorded by the ever-solid Dave Edmunds, and became a huge pop hit for Juice Newton. I may be alone among my peers in believing the definitive "Queen Of Hearts" belongs to Juice rather than Dave, but both versions are sublime, and the Crushers also turn in their own cool 'n' spunky rendition. 

Does this mean Hayley Cain is now the reigning Queen of Hearts? The cards say yes. There she is, Miss Queen of Hearts....

DAVE EDMUNDS: Girls Talk

Dana followed my spin of Hayley and the Crushers' "Queen Of Hearts" with Dave Edmunds' ace rendition of Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk." The song has also been recorded by its author, and covered with confidence by the Knack and Linda Ronstadt (among others), but Edmunds absolutely owns this one. My favorite Dave Edmunds track.

DENNIS SCHOCKET AND CLIFF HILLIS: The Girls Are Back In Town

Credit the discovery here to The Spoon podcast with Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers. We had already played "Here Comes Joanna," a mighty fine track from the new Dennis Schocket and Cliff Hillis EP Pop, Girls, Etc., and that track has scored berths on two previous TIRnRR playlists. All good, and I betcha there woulda been more spins to come.

But when Cliff hisself was a recent guest on The Spoon, an in-show play of the Pop, Girls, Etc. track "The Girls Are Back In Town" prompted me to shout out loud: WHY AREN'T WE PLAYING THIS SONG...?! 

Well. Now we ARE. It will spin again this Sunday night. All credit to The Spoon. The girls are back in town? The Spoon says HELLO!

THE ARMOIRES: Ridley & Me After The Apocalypse

We've been hammerin' all available podiums on behalf of Octoberland, the forthcoming new album from SoCal/Appalachukrainia's phenomenal pop combo the Armoires. As we near its imminent release in...um, October, we have this opportunity to play one final teaser single. "Ridley & Me After The Apocalypse" demonstrates a sun still shining brightly after presumed Armageddon, and it adds to the mountain of evidence showing us that Octoberland is one of the very best albums of 2024. We'll hear yet another fab cut from Octoberland on our next show.

THE RUBINOOS: Government Center

THE GREG KIHN BAND: Roadrunner 

JONATHAN RICHMAN AND THE MODERN LOVERS: Back In The U.S.A.

The Rubinoos covering Jonathan Richman! The Greg Kihn Band covering Jonathan Richman! Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers covering Chuck Berry! See? We play the HITS!!

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Money Honey

As noted here, it was my great pleasure to appear last week as a guest DJ on Dedication--Fans Remember The Bay City Rollers on Scotland's TD1 Radio. You can hear my guest spot at this Tartan-festooned link, and it was great fun to talk with the show's hosts Laura Brady and Suz Rostron about the Bay City Rollers and reveal (and play!) my ten favorite Rollers tracks.

"Money Honey" wasn't on my Top Ten Rollers Songs list, but it was a runner-up, and I know it's a beguilin' li'l pop treat favored by Dedication's intrepid hosts. So! "Money Honey" returns to the TIRnRR airwaves, a dedication to Laura and Suz. Money in the bank.

VAN HALEN: Dance The Night Away

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Rockaway Beach

A few days after my appearance on the Bay City Rollers show, Dana and I were guests on Only Three Lads, the invigmoratin' weekly classic alternate podcast hosted by Uncle Gregg and Brett Vargo. Whatta freakin' BLAST!! For those of you who miss the frantic banter of the pre-pandemic TIRnRR live shows, man, have we got a podcast for you: Two hours' worth of four music fans talking about music: Only Three Lads Episode 235.

Although our discussion was vast 'n' wide-rangin'--and included copious plugs for my books The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) and Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones--the main topic was the Ramones. The American Beatles! The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time! Each of us detailed our Top 5 Ramones tracks, and there was considerable crossover between the lists, but with enough individual variation to underscore the transcendent wonder of the Ramones.

"Rockaway Beach" was among the songs mentioned, the Ramones' highest-charting (# 66) single. It was a near-miss for my list--it would have been my # 6--but I'm happy that it did get mentioned. I tell ya, listening back to this podcast was a life-affirming experience. Not because Dana and Carl were on it, but because it was yet another delighted opportunity to immerse myself in the magic of the Ramones: The magic of the Ramones' music, and the magic of its ongoing impact upon my life.

Photo by John Tierney

Chewin' out a rhythm on my bubblegum. I listed my top 25 Ramones tracks last year. I sang "Rockaway Beach" with 1.4.5. at my Ramones book release party. TIRnRR doesn't will itself into existence if not for the Ramones. Not hard, not far to reach. Hitch a ride. We'll blast out the Ramones on the radio.

(And thanks again to Brett and Uncle Gregg. Riff Randell would be proud of you.)

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; you can see details here. My 2023 book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is also still available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. 

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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: Dance The Night Away

This was prepared (using material from a previous post) as a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), but is not part of that book's current blueprint.

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

VAN HALEN: Dance The Night Away

Written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and David Lee Roth

Produced by Ted Templeman

Single from the album Van Halen II, Warner Brothers Records, 1979

The death of a popular performer can strike one in surprising ways. This can be true even when it's a performer you were never really into to begin with. Sudden, overdue perspective can strike from anywhere.

I was not a Van Halen fan. I mean no disrespect to VH fans when I say that, especially in the wake of the unexpected passing of Eddie Van Halen in 2020. When a performer dies, too many thoughtless would-be pundits are quick to puff and proclaim that they never understood what the fuss was about; that's rude, and I hope I'm not guilty of such boorish behavior. 

Because I always loved "Dance The Night Away." 

Yeah, I thought Van Halen butchered the cantankerous perfection of the Kinks' original "You Really Got Me," singer David Lee Roth tended to get on my nerves, and even Eddie Van Halen's note-heavy guitar style wasn't my cuppa. But I could see why folks liked them. Both "Jamie's Cryin'" and "Runnin' With The Devil" were first-rate rock tracks. A bit later, I was also okay with "Panama" and their appealingly meatball take on Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," found their version of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" more palatable than their previous Kinks cover, and liked "Jump" the first half dozen times I heard it (if not the subsequent seventeen billion times). Oh! And a girl I knew told me she thought I looked like drummer Alex Van Halen. I thought that was ridiculous, but a smart teenage boy knows better than to disagree with a pretty teenage girl paying him a compliment. 

Alex Van Halen; some young future blogger who is not Alex Van Halen

And I was old enough to dance the night away.

"Dance The Night Away" transcends the discussion. When it was released in '79, my punk/power pop personality had already decided that Van Halen didn't fit into my rockin' pop cosmology. So I had to bend my rules to allow myself to dig "Dance The Night Away" anyway. It's no more silly in retrospect than it was in real time...because it was plenty silly in real time. I made excuses, and stumbled across the (true) notion that even the band you hate can be capable of one great song. I hated Styx, but I loved "Lorelei." I hated REO Speedwagon, but I love...liked "Tough Guys." I hated the Eagles, but...er, okay, bad example. (NO! I KID! I'm a kidder.)

But in this case, the premise is flawed. I never hated Van Halen. I wasn't into them, except when I was. As I've presumably matured, much of what I actually did hate--Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, some disco, even a little bit of Eagles--has grown on me. I doubt I'll ever care for Van Halen's "You Really Got Me," but maybe the rest of their stuff is due for reappraisal. 

I don't need to reappraise "Dance The Night Away." It was a fabulous track when I was 19, it's still a fabulous track now that I'm in my sixties, and the through-line from then to now is steady and true. Prior to Eddie Van Halen's death, I had already been thinking for a little while about adding Van Halen to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's Play-Tone Galaxy O' Stars. What song? It could have been "Jamie's Cryin'," and it could have been "Runnin' With The Devil." It could have been. But really, it had to be "Dance The Night Away." What a great, great record.

Before leaving the subject,  I want to tell you a brief story I heard more than 35 years ago. In 1985, I was working at a record store in downtown Buffalo. Security at the store was provided by off-duty cops, and one day our security guy told us about some of his fellow officers working security at a recent Van Halen concert. The story included references to the prerequisite hedonism of a hard rock show, but one part of the narrative always stood out for me:

The cops were standing guard outside the tour bus. One member of the band (you know which member) acted like a preening jerk. But Eddie Van Halen came over to the cops, chatted with them for a bit, found out they were hungry, and then turned around and brought them all sandwiches and beer. A wink and a smile. Runnin' with the devil. There ya go, guys!

He didn't have to do that. He did it anyway. In 2020, this story was the first thing I thought of when I heard that Eddie Van Halen had died. And in that moment, I felt a sense of the loss that fans of Van Halen--the band and the man--were experiencing.

Let the feeling stand. The music will follow. With respect. With love. With understanding. The fans deserve nothing less. 

Dance.

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

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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 6/22/2021

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1082.

MIKE BROWNING: Picture Book

Clever lads and lasses know the way to TIRnRR's heart: play a song by our house band, the Kinks. That's not a fool-proof plan, though; screwin' up a Kinks song wouldn't make you any friends (Van Halen's popular but yechhh bludgeoning of "You Really Got Me" notwithstanding), so dedicated followers of fashion must understand that success walks hand-in-hand with failure along dead end streets and Waterloo sunsets.

But Mike Browning knows what he's doing. His cover of "Picture Book" was done for a music production class taught by the one 'n' only Jamie Hoover, who really wanted the class to do this song. Good choice, Jamie! Jamie also plays the drums here, and the result is worthy of attention from all of us in the Village Green. Look to the big sky for Class Act, a forthcoming album collecting Mike Browning's recordings for Mr. Hoover's class. Mike, the well-respected men salute you.

THE DIODES: Tired Of Waking Up Tired

Speaking of the house band, during one of the back-announces this week I started to call this song "Tired Of Waiting For You," but I corrected myself and we all shared a jolly laugh at my error. HA! HahaHA! 

But the Diodes' "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" is a power pop classic. I'm delighted to say that I first heard it on the radio, which is where one should be introduced to great songs. This was senior year in college, 1979-80, and it was on either Rochester's WCMF-FM or Toronto's CFNY-FM, probably the former. I had read about the Diodes in Bomp! magazine and/or Trouser Press; I'd previously heard the group's punk-influenced cover of the Cyrkle's "Red Rubber Ball," but none of that prepared me--at all--for how freakin' amazing "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" is. Classic. Classic, classic, classic.

THE FLASHCUBES: I Can't Explain

As mentioned last week, I'm writing the liner notes to Flashcubes On Fire, a CD preserving a kickass 1979 live show by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. The 'Cubes were an absolutely stunning live band, and Flashcubes On Fire captures them at the oomphiest of their considerable oomph. 

The Flashcubes established themselves in large part on the strength of original tunes written by bassist Gary Frenay and guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, all of it propelled by drummer Tommy Allen. But, like all the best groups, the 'Cubes are also rock 'n' roll fans, first and foremost, and they had (and have) terrific taste in covers. Flashcubes On Fire provides ample evidence of that, with the Flashcubes' ace takes on material previously recorded by the Kinks, Big Star, the Raspberries, Eddie Cochran, Link Wray, Arthur Alexander, and Larry Williams (the latter two via indoctrination by the Beatles). And really, every power pop group should be expected to cover the Who. "I Can't Explain" has always been my favorite Who song, and the mighty Flashcubes do it justice. Swift, efficient justice. Justice on FIRE!

THE GRIP WEEDS: You're So Good To Me

When TIRnRR started doing whatever the hell it is we do way back at the end of 1998, tribute albums were simultaneously all the rage and universally despised. That's a paradox, likely a function of perception rather than of fact. 

For our part, Dana and I tended to disdain big-label tribute albums, and to embrace tribute albums done right. The Not Lame label (run by the visionary Bruce Brodeen) was our prime example of a resource for engaging and entertaining tribute discs--Not Lame's Gene Clark tribute Full Circle still makes occasional appearances on TIRnRR playlists--and Jem Records is a contemporary example of an imprint upholding that fine tradition today. Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon was way cool, and the upcoming Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson looks to be a similarly smile-worthy font of good vibrations. Our friends the Grip Weeds provide the first taste of this sweet summer release, with their winning reading of the Beach Boys' "You're So Good To Me."

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Twist And Shout

A group called the Top Notes did it first, in 1961, though their forgotten original is but a footnote in pop history. A then-unknown (but soon to be very well-known) beat group from Liverpool, England did a screaming, raw-throated cover to close their debut LP Please Please Me in 1963, the start of their own ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhhhh-wow-shake-it-up-baby! shot heard 'round the world. 

And the Beatles copied the Isley Brothers' arrangement of "Twist And Shout." In the hands of the Isleys, "Twist And Shout" moved from the pleasant but unremarkable jump of the Top Notes to a swaggering juggernaut well on its way to becoming legend. 

KID GULLIVER: I Started A Joke

It did not start as a joke, nor did it ever become a joke. It started, in fact, because we loved the sound of Simone Berk singing. It continued because we love the sound of Simone Berk singing.

A spin of this sprightly reimagination of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke" (from the new Kid Gulliver EP Gimme Some Go!) marks the 32nd consecutive week that a TIRnRR playlist has included at least one track featuring the voice of Kid Gulliver's CEO Simone Berk. We've played Simone with Kid Gulliver, Sugar Snow, Berk/Lehane, and WhistleStop Rock, and Kid Gulliver's irresistible "Forget About Him" is now recognized as an all-time TIRnRR Fave Rave. Rightly so.

Alas, all good things must eventually come to a pause for sodas at the side of the road. With special programming plans in place for the July 4th TIRnRR, the Simone Berk streak will end after next week's show, having accumulated an impressive 33 notches on the ol' tote board. That's far and away the longest current streak of any performer on this show, and probably one of our longest unbroken streaks ever. We'll celebrate that streak in style next week, with more Kid Gulliver, and more Sugar Snow, as Simone Berk will be our Featured Performer on June 27th. 

No joke.

BRENT SEAVERS: I Wrote A Song

I wrote a song that goes la la lala laaaa....

We introduced this track from the new Brent Seavers album BS Stands For Brent Seavers with a reference to my favorite movie That Thing You Do!, claiming that "I Wrote A Song" sounds like it was commissioned by Andrew White for Play-Tone Records in 1964: I want something snappy! It's a big, big compliment in our pop world, reserved for a pop confection that delivers all of the catchy exuberance the pursuit of snappy! requires.

THE SHIRELLES: Will You Love Me Tomorrow

From my proposed (but possibly imaginary) book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"It might be difficult to reach a consensus on which set of singing females was the definitive representative of the early '60s girl group sound. One could make a credible case on behalf of those bad girls the Shangri-Las, who made their name by being tougher than the rest, hangin' out with bikers, doin' it on the beach, and regretting such transgressions a year later while [REMEMBER!] walking in the sand. We have to consider Phil Spector's wall-of-sound studio masterpieces with the Ronettes and the Crystals as emblematic of what the girl-group sound should be. The Angels. The Marvelettes. The Dixie Cups. The Toys, whose "May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone" is such a magnificently over-the-top gush of hormonal, adolescent pinky-swears that it deserves its own genre. I don't think the Supremes are as integral to this conversation, but I'm sure some believe otherwise. Even solo singers like Lesley Gore were a part of this overall sound, this swell of sweet vocals and harmonies soaring above dramatic and catchy pop music crafted by God himself for an AM radio near you. The girl group sound was vast and mighty.

"And the Shirelles were its most undeniable avatars...."

TRACEY ULLMAN: Terry

I think my first exposure to the divine sound of Kirsty MacColl was vicarious, via an AM radio playing Tracey Ullman's hit cover of Kirsty's wonderful song "They Don't Know." It turned out to be not solely a vicarious introduction, as Ms. MacColl is herself present and accounted for on the Ullman single, singing back-up and (I believe) providing the goosepimple-baiting moment of a transcendent cry of BAYbeee! The thrill is still there, with each and every spin.

Kirsty MacColl

I may not have heard any of Kirsty MacColl's own records until late in the '80s. I don't think I heard the 1983 cut "Terry" until the '90s (or later!), and I was surprised to read just now that MacColl and Gavin Povey originally wrote the song for Ullman to record. Both Kirsty's version and Tracey's version are sublime, and ya can't go wrong either way. I remain mystified by the lack of a comprehensive collection of MacColl's work for Stiff Records.

VAN HALEN: Runnin' With The Devil

Van Halen's above-dissed mishandling of "You Really Got Me" was the first VH track I ever heard. I hated it immediately, and it made the group suspect in my ears from that point forward. 

Still, I occasionally allowed myself to be open to some of VH's music. I mean, they weren't the worst thing on the radio at the time, and it's not like I could get away from 'em anyway. Like Chickenman and Savoir-Faire, they were everywhere. I grew to secretly like (even love) "Dance The Night Away," and I developed some interest in "Jamie's Crying" and "Runnin' With The Devil."

I still can't stand their meatball take on "You Really Got Me." The devil can have that one. 

Betcha he don't want it, either.

The only "You Really Got Me" that matters

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

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Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.