10 SONGS: 10/25/2025

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 # 1307

THE HALF/CUBES: Hard To Get

Ever since we first heard the entirety of the Half/Cubes' then-unreleased new album Found Pearls this summer, we've been jonesin' for an opportunity to share it with listeners. We started programming its advance single "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight" (with Peter Noone hisself helping the Half/Cubes remake this fab tune Noone first did with the Tremblers) as soon as it was cleared for airplay, and the release of the album prompts us to proclaim the Half/Cubes as this week's Featured Performers. No half measures for us!

We gathered tracks from both of the Half/Cubes' albums (Found Pearls and debut long-player Pop Treasures), added a few single releases, and a full-on Half/Cubes feature was achieved. We even threw in their unreleased cover of the Guess Who's "Hand Me Down World" as a bonus track at show's end. 

Our first Half/Cubes track this week was the Found Pearls gem "Hard To Get," a sublime cover of Starclub's epic 'n' atmospheric  MTV classic. I have worshiped this song for decades, and it is so fulfilling to hear the Half/Cubes deliver the oomph the track requires.

THE COWSILLS: The Next In Line

The general record-buying public has no freakin' clue about the sheer wonder of the Cowsills. Some folks remember the group's big 1960s hits, "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "Indian Lake," and "Hair," some may recall their non-hit but definitive cover of the theme from TV's Love American Style, and some will think of the Cowsills' real-life status as the inspiration for the fictional Partridge Family. A few will be aware of the heartbreak revealed in the sobering documentary Family Band: The Cowsills Story.

But all of the above merely scratches the surface of how much greatness can be found in the Cowsills' catalog. I'm not kidding when I say the Cowsills' 1998 record Global is my favorite album of the '90s. All phases of the Cowsills' long recording career have produced many, many moments of absolute pop magic, from the boppin' garage-folk splendor of 1965 debut single "All I Really Want To Be Is Me" through their 2022 album Rhythm Of The World. 

The visionary Omnivore Recordings label's recent release of the 1978 Cowsills sessions known as The "Cocaine Drain" Album offers another clear glimpse of the durable through-line of the Cowsills' brilliance. I wish I could have heard this in the '70s; I'm grateful and gratified to hear it now. 

RICK SPRINGFIELD: Go All The Way

Rick Springfield's girlfriend tells him to go all the way. I don't know if this was before or after she was Jessie's girl. I feel so dirty when they start talkin' cute.

Our friend Ken Sharp is the primary director of Think Like A Key Music's outstanding new collection Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, and I tell ya, the boy done good. Ken is one of the biggest Raspberries fans I know, and he did his idols justice with this compilation. Rick Springfield's cover of "Go All The Way" opens Play On with nearly nonpareil rockin' pop panache, and the earnest urgency never lets up from that point forward. Great, great tribute to one of power pop's defining groups, and the material Ken has assembled lives up to that legacy. We'll hear another fine example of Play On's exuberant accomplishment on our next show. You need this. You'll love this. You want this.

(In addition to his above-mentioned status as a Raspberries fan, Ken Sharp is also one of the biggest KISS fans I know, maybe THE biggest. Sunday night's TIRnRR will spotlight the late Ace Frehley as our Featured Performer, and that feature will include a track from Ken's 2018 album Beauty In The Backseat, a nugget Ken recorded with Half/Cubes stalwart Fernando Perdomo AND special guest guitarist Ace Frehley. We know some people who know some people.)

CROSSWORD SMILES: Black Cats & Broken Mirrors

It has been our great pleasure to debut a track from Big Stir Records' amazing compilation Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies in each of our last six shows. This week's spin of Crossword Smiles' Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies track "Black Cats & Broken Mirrors" makes seven weeks in a row to serve up at least one previously-unplayed cut from this spookeriffic collection, and we're gonna add two more on our next show. Even as Halloween 2025 folds its candy bags, stashes its costumes, and smashes its pumpkins, don't be surprised if additional Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies treats still turn up on future shows. Seasons change, sure. But candy is perennial!

THE TAMS: I've Been Hurt

I don't have any recollection of any version of the song "I've Been Hurt" from when I was a kid in the '60s. I discovered Bill Deal and the Rhondells' 1969 hit (# 35) rendition waaaay after the fact, when the early '80s merging of my record collection with my then-girlfriend (and eventual wife)'s record collection brought that Rhondells 45 into our community property. 

Bill Deal's "I've Been Hurt" was resolutely adequate, but belated exposure to the 1965 original by Southern soul combo the Tams rendered all subsequent cover versions irrelevant. I insist that 1965 was pop music's best year ever. The Tams' "I've Been Hurt" is yet another piece of compelling evidence on behalf of that belief.

MONOGROOVE: Take You Anywhere

Our go-to selection from Monogroove's current album Popsicle Drivethru has been "That Girl," an amiably radio-ready that seems pretty damned likely to score a berth on our 2025 year-end countdown show. Diversifying our good-natured sense of manic obsession, the same album also gives us the equally nifty "Take You Anywhere," so...let's play that one, too! See? It turns out you CAN take us anywhere.

THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise [4-track]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You

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

"This is an example of the latest musical trend. It's called power pop.

It was 1978. The band Utopia was appearing on The Mike Douglas Show. The song that Utopia's front man Todd Rundgren introduced as 'the latest musical trend' was practically a golden oldie, a track Rundgren had recorded and released much earlier in the decade, on his 1972 album Something/Anything? The song 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' had not been a hit, its 1972 single release barely making it into the Hot 100, peaking at # 93 with an anchor. For Rundgren to refer to this six-year-old song as the latest...anything could have only been an example of the prickly performer sneering haughtily at trendy hipsters, hip trendsters, and, one supposes, anyone who liked pop music. Yeah, screw them.

Wait, wait! 'Anyone who liked pop music?' That's me he was sneering at, damn it! Oh, the humanity...!

But I didn't care. God, it was such a great song. Seeing it performed on TV asserted the song's hold on me, a hold that was already there, but which tightened its grip securely and permanently with this televised faux embrace of the latest musical trend. Power pop. Suits me just fine...."

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

YEAH! Big thanks to fabulous Underground Garage DJ Palmyra Delran for spinning "I Need Glue," the Verbs' essential contribution to the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. And not only did Palmyra afford spinnage to "I Need Glue" on her superlative satellite radio show Palmyra's Trash Pop Shindig, she named it as her pick for the week's official Tomorrow's Treasure Today. HuzZAH! 

THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight

The first single from Found Pearls. The second single is their ace cover of Crabby Appleton's "Go Back." We also played that one this week, and we'll play it again on Sunday night. A true pearl. It's well worth going back to that.

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: 9/26/2025

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 # 1303.

THE TURTLES: Love In The City

A lot of music lovers may not realize how successful the Turtles were in the '60s. Everyone knows the group's huge # 1 smash "Happy Together," and many recall "Elenore," "You Showed Me," and "She'd Rather Be With Me," if not quite in the sheer numbers of those who remember "Happy Together."

Still, four big hits is already a pretty good pop c.v. The Turtles had eight Billboard Top 20 singles, and each of 'em is good to flat-out great: A cover of Bashful Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" (# 8, 1965), "You Baby" (# 20, 1966), "Happy Together" (# 1, 1967), "She'd Rather Be With Me" (# 3, 1967), "You Know What I Mean" (# 12, 1967), "She's My Girl" (# 14, 1967), "Elenore" (# 6, 1968), "You Showed Me" (# 6, 1969)--plus a # 29 showing for 1965's fantastic "Let Me Be." Hell, the Turtles played at the White House in 1969--Presidential daughter Tricia Nixon was a fan--and while a POTUS gig doesn't exactly enhance a rock band's street cred, it does illustrate that the Turtles were a big deal. I wish more people appreciated that fact. I wish the Philistines in charge of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame would acknowledge it.

Former Turtles singer Mark Volman passed away this month. The Turtles were the Featured Performers on an episode of TIRnRR many years ago, and this week we wanted to expand that feature to also include post-Turtles work by Flo & Eddie (Volman and his long-time musical collaborator and fellow Turtle Howard Kaylan, a partnership that predates their status as Turtles). We programmed four tracks by Flo & Eddie, a number of tracks they did backing other artists, and four tracks by the Turtles.

We did not play any of the Turtles' eight Top 20 hits, nor the # 29 "Let Me Be."

This decision was not born out of some smug hipsterism--the hits are wonderful, and should be played--but out of a desire to go a little further into the Turtles library. Maybe one of the four (the Turtles' version of "It Was A Very Good Year," which predates Sinatra's well-known take) could be called a deep cut. I wanted to play the Battle Of The Bands album cut "Surfer Dan," but time restraints forced us to use the slightly shorter "It Was A Very Good Year" instead. 

Our other three Turtles tunes were "Love In The City," "Grim Reaper Of Love," and Warren Zevon's "Outside Chance," and they can generally be found on any decent Turtles best-of set. They are my three favorite Turtles tracks.

We opened with my # 1 Turtles pick, "Love In The City." It comes from 1969's Ray Davies-produced Turtle Soup, the final Turtles album. The song was released as a single, barely charted at # 91, but I love it without reservation. 

(This week's playlist commentary contains almost all of a reminiscence I wrote several years about my origin as a Turtles fan. You can read the entire original post here.)

TOMMY BOYCE AND BOBBY HART: I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight

The spotlight on Flo & Eddie didn't leave us sufficient time to salute the late performer and songwriter Bobby Hart. Hart was best-known for his work with the late Tommy Boyce, primarily as songwriters but also as a performing duo who made the rounds of 1960s TV sitcoms Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie. "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" was a # 8 hit in 1968, far and away their highest-charting single as a recording act, but acts like the Monkees and Jay and the Americans had substantial success with gems from the Boyce and Hart songbook. We'll hear a few of those on our next show, as Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart will be our Featured Performers and our Featured Songwriters.

ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Good Hair Day

Friends of TIRnRR Rob Moss and Skin-Tight have undertaken a series of split-single partnerships with a select group of other performers, with Moss and company recording a cover of one of the guest artist's song, and the guest artist diving into the Rob Moss Songbook. A split-single with Shake Some! A split single with the Amplifier Heads! A split single with Arthur Alexander! And now, a split single with Brother Eytan Mirsky.

After playing a familiar favorite ("My Little Tricycle") from Eytan's own new album All Over The Map in our first set, we opened this week's second set with Rob Moss and his lads covering Eytan's "Good Hair Day." And we played Eytan's version of the Rob Moss classic "What Happened (To The Rock 'n' Roll)?" to kick off our sixth set. 

SPLITSVILLE: I Was A Teenage Frankenstein

Why it CAN be: The return of Splitsville with their ace 2025 album Mobtown has been all hit and no split, and they postscript the triumph of Mobtown with a better-than-the-original remake of their own neckbolt-outta-the-blue "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein." It's ALIVE! Well, it's studio, but never mind that, 'cuz it's SWELL! And it comes to us as part of Big Stir Records' epic various-artists Halloween blowout Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies, so Frankie say Hey, cool! More of the chilling, the thrilling, and the haunted on our next show, courtesy of North Carolina's phenomenal pop combo the Spongetones.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

Speaking of epic various-artists sets from the Big Stir label, let's treat you to another airing of Meegan Voss, Steve Jordan, and their rockin' pop dba the Verbs' cover of the Flashcubes' "I Need Glue." It's all part of Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and we encourage you to buy multiple copies of that album right here.

THE GROOVIE GHOULIES: (She's My) Vampire Girlfriend

Love bites.

SLYBOOTS:  If We Could Let Go

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Chop Suey

Flo & Eddie provided backing vocals for two tracks by the Ramones. We played "Poison Heart" (from the Ramones' 1991 album Mondo Bizarro) earlier in the show, and returned to the scene of the lobotomy in our next-to-last set for a spin of "Chop Suey." "Chop Suey" comes from the soundtrack of the 1983 movie Get Crazy. In the 1994 interviews that eventually became my book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, both Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone remembered the song. Johnny's recollection of "Chop Suey" was not fond:

Before the next album, the Ramones contributed a track called “Chop Suey” to the soundtrack of a movie called Get Crazy. The track was produced by Busta Jones.

JOHNNY: Oh, horrible track. I don’t even know if I’m on it anymore. I don’t hear me on it. I played, but I don’t hear it. I don’t know whose harebrained idea that was—probably [Ramones manager Gary Kurfirst]’s [laughs]. Bad idea.

JOEY: [Rock 'n' Roll High director Allan Arkush]’s next film was Get Crazy. I had written a song called “Chop Suey.” Originally, I had got the B-52's to sing on it, and there was some kind of a problem. And then Flo and Eddie sang on it [instead]. So, eventually maybe we can put out that [original] record.

There was a report around that time that you were going to be doing an album with Busta Jones.

JOEY: I don’t think it was really true. Around that period, I was hangin’ out with Busta Jones and Jerry Harrison. I was hanging out at Electric Lady with them, and the B-52's, and he was working with them. He mentioned about, you know, doing a song with us, and that’s really how [“Chop Suey”] came about. And initially the B-52's were singing background on those parts, the “Chop Suey” parts.

JOHNNY: The song sucked, right [laughs]?

[One other little oddball ricochet relating to the Ramones and Flo & Eddie, and it's something I didn't know when I interviewed the Ramones in 1994: Bruce Springsteen had originally intended to give his song "Hungry Heart" to the Ramones. It is, frankly, a song I've never liked, and I can't even imagine how a Ramones version would sound. Didn't matter; Broooce kept the song for himself, and it became his first legit hit single in 1980. Flo & Eddie sang back up on Springsteen's version.]

THE MOTHERS: Happy Together

Our plan to avoid the Turtles' biggest numbers didn't preclude playing this live version of "Happy Together." When the Turtles broke up in 1970, Volman and Kaylon joined Frank Zappa's group the Mothers of Invention. It was as duly-appointed Mothers that Mark & Howard began billing themselves as Flo & Eddie, originally the Phlorescent Leech & Eddie. Turtles bassist Jim Pons also joined the Mothers, so we got your Turtles rock band street cred right here, pal. A 1971 recording of the Mothers at Fillmore East preserves an exuberant performance of Flo & Eddie singin' the Turtles signature tune. 

THE CROSSFIRES: Fiberglass Jungle

Before becoming Flo & Eddie or fronting the Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were presumably happy together in an early '60s surf instrumental combo called the Crossfires. I think I first heard the Crossfires on a Rhino Records surf instrumental compilation in the '80s, I somehow heard their unique take on "The William Tell Overture" some time after that, and "Fiberglass Jungle" is on the Ace Records set The Birth Of Surf, a CD which held a permanent berth in my CD carrying case during the pre-pandemic days when TIRnRR was a live studio broadcast.

We've played "Fiberglass Jungle" at least once before. This week, we play it again as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio salutes Flo & Eddie.

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: 9/13/2025

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 # 1301.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

There was an unconscious symmetry in play when we invited the mighty sparkle*jets u.k. to join in on the new Big Stir Records various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. I mean, we wanted them because they're freakin' fantastic, and their most recent album Box Of Letters was one of THE best releases of 2024. In pursuit of a better tribute album, of course we needed sparkle*jets u.k. with us on this.

Although Make Something Happen! was my idea, and I was its (I guess) project manager, I wanted the Flashcubes involved in the process. Over and above granting use of their original songs so all of these other fine artists could cover them, Gary, Paul, Arty, and Tommy offered input on song selections and wish lists for potential performers, and they personally recruited some of the acts who agreed to contribute. Furthermore, it was important that the album include at least one new recording by the Flashcubes; they gave me three new tracks, and they're all fabulous. 

Some have commented (positively, I think) about how unusual it is for a band to appear on its own tribute album. I say sparkle*jets u.k. established a precedent in 2000 by assembling I ♥ sparkle*jets u.k. Yep, they piloted the creation of their own tribute album, group members Michael Simmons and Susan West participated on some of the tracks, and it was glorious. They made something happen!

They're still doing that. For our newly-released Flashcubes tribute, sparkle*jets u.k. executed a stunning rendition of the title track, and Michael Simmons mastered the entire album to irresistible result. Symmetry. That happened, and it is something.

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity

I often mention that there is so much more great music out there that most of us don't get around to hearing. Credit our friends Brett Vargo and Uncle Gregg at the essential weekly podcast Only Three Lads for my recent belated discovery of LeMoyne Alexander. Mr. Alexander is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer with a long list of credits in hip-hop and R & B, and his recent guest appearance on O3L not only introduced me to LeMoyne Alexander, but specifically to his extraordinary 2024 single "Insecurity." Whoa! I'm retroactively declaring "Insecurity" to be one of my top tracks of '24. 

There's so much out there that we don't know, that we don't get an opportunity to know. With LeMoyne Alexander's superb rockin' pop track "Insecurity," we'll try to make up a little bit of lost time. It plays on this week's show. And it's secured a spot on our next show. 

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

The third single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. And perhaps not the final single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Stay tuned.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

From Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Hey, there's a video to go with it!

THE ROLLING STONES: One Hit (To The Body)

A single from the Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work, "One Hit (To The Body)" is my favorite Stones track of the '80s, my favorite since at least 1978's "Shattered," and possibly my favorite since 1972's "Happy." I'm a little surprised that this is the first time the song has ever appeared on a TIRnRR playlist. Our goal is to PLAY the hits! And this is one hit well worth playing.

THE RAMONES: Judy Is A Punk

On this little mutant radio show, we like to refer to the Ramones as "the American Beatles." This week, let's call 'em the American Herman's Hermits, if only for the familiar Second verse, same as the verse! that Joey Ramone employs as a call to arms for his band o' brudders on "Judy Is A Punk." Hermits singer Peter Noone will be the Featured Performer on our next show, and we'll supplement that feature with another spin of the Ramones' "Judy Is A Punk."

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

Good advice. From a previous 10 Songs:

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 earlier this month. 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.

THE HIT SQUAD: Best Of Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE PEPPER'S GHOST PLAYERS: Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Ghoul You Want

Make Something Happen! isn't Big Stir Records' only new various-artists blockbuster. For Halloween, the friendly spirits at Big Stir offer Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies, a collection pre-equipped with a self-descriptive title that sums itself up so I don't have to.

I'm knocked by this album's sheer audacity, and the collective ability of its participants to make it so. The collection has an old soul, and I mean that in the best way: It effortlessly mixes spoken-word introductions with season-appropriate music that revels in ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night, and it effectively channels the ambition of every 1970s artist who attempted to pull off a concept album of any kind. And, unlike many who made the attempt back then, Big Stir's people do pull it off. Chilling! Thrilling! The Haunted! part is a bonus.

For on-the-air Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies this week, we chose the album's two opening tracks, the Pepper's Ghost Players' spoken introduction "Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP" and Librarians With Hickeys' "Ghoul You Want," which is my first immediate favorite from the album's accumulated tricks and treats.

Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies is a holiday blessing, even if it is for a holiday not traditionally associated with blessings. We'll have another track from the album on our next show. This bubbling cauldron can use a big stir. 

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: 8/22/2025

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 # 1299.

JIM BASNIGHT: See It In Your Eyes

The music of Jim Basnight has found a welcoming berth on many a TIRnRR playlist over the years. Mr. Basnight's frequent rocker miles on this program include credits as a solo artist and with the Moberlys, the Meyce, the Jim Basnight Thing, and the Rockinghams, and the flight continues with this debut spin of his ace new digital single "See It In Your Eyes." As it oughta! We're gonna dip back into the archives for a slightly older Basnight track this Sunday, as part of the epic celebration of...wait, is this right? THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO # 1300...?! Jeez, we better turn things up a bit. And you can best be assured that ritual raising of the roof will include a Jim Basnight TIRnRR Fave Rave. As it oughta. As it oughta.

DIONNE WARWICK: Trains And Boats And Planes

I did a fair bit of traveling as a kid. My maternal grandparents lived in Southwest Missouri, so most summers found Mom and I leaving our suburban Syracuse home behind us and taking trains or buses or planes (never a boat, for some reason) to the Ozark region. There was also a 1966 family day trip to Ontario to see my sister's marching band, a Vermont vacation in 1967 (where my dad took me out fishing in a row boat--finally, a use for watercraft!), a car trip from Missouri to California and back in 1968 (as recounted as part of this autobiography of my life in the 1960s), and a visit to the Florida panhandle in 1970. All of these modest treks were accomplished before I entered sixth grade. As an adult, I've visited England, Belgium, and Spain, with very brief stopovers for dinners in France and Morocco. Plus, y'know, Jersey. And Disney World! I hope my future will include more opportunities for travel in this great big world of wonder.

For those of us who live in Syracuse, a visit to the great New York State Fair doesn't quite qualify as a travel plan. I was looking forward to seeing Dionne Warwick perform at the Fair on Labor Day this year, but alas, a scheduling conflict scotches that particular flight plan. Neither trains nor boats nor planes nor even a tricycle can get me to two places at once. 

And that's okay. We do what we can, and we acknowledge that we can't do everything. For now, we'll play Dionne Warwick singing somberly of modes of transportation as they pass her (and us) by. It be that sometimes. 

JOE JACKSON: Enough Is Not Enough

Pretty much all TIRnRR spins of Joe Jackson are offered as long-distance dedications to my dear pal Beth Woodell. I've known Beth since...er, she doesn't want me to complete that sentence. Suffice it to say we were teenagers when we met, and empirical evidence suggests we are not teenagers at this current point in time. I mean, if you're the sort of sucker who believes in math....

Today, Beth is celebrating her 23rd birthday. No, it's not the first (nor even just the fortieth) time she's observed her 23rd. Why limit such celebrations to a mere once? Happy Birthday, Beth! Birthday candles give off less heat when we limit 'em to 23. That's SCIENCE! If we can't believe math, man, let's at least follow the science!

THE TREMBLERS: I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight

In the early '80s, former Herman's Hermits lead singer Peter Noone was trying to distance himself from his cute 'n' cuddly British Invasion image and establish a more mature rock 'n' roller persona. Toward that end, he formed a crack new wave pop combo called the Tremblers. The Tremblers recorded a very cool album called Twice Nightly, did a little TV (I recall catching them on The Midnight Special), and toured. I saw the Tremblers perform at a Rochester club show, and I can testify firsthand that this combo cooked. No Herman's Hermits songs! Just material from Twice Nightly, actually, including their cover of Elvis Costello's "Green Shirt." Herman had grown up!

But the Tremblers experiment was short-lived. If I have the chronology right, the Tremblers ended when Noone followed an opportunity to star in a production of The Pirates Of Penzance. As years may come and years may go, the lure of the oldies circuit proved more agreeable after Noone regained the right to bill himself as Herman's Hermits. Peter Noone is very, very good as this 'Erman fellow, and we're lucky to have him.

Still, some of us wish Noone could find room in his current second verse/same as the first repertoire for a nod to the Tremblers. Twice Nightly was wonderful, and "I'll Be Taking Her Out Tonight" in particular would have made a worthy big hit record. It's too bad Peter Noone hasn't seemed interested in revisiting that compelling portion of his career.

Hasn’t seemed.

Past tense. Phrased deliberately. 

I can say no more. Stay tuned. Maybe--just maybe--Peter will be taking her out tonight...again.

THE SPONGETONES: Honest Work

Second week in a row for TIRnRR airplay of "Honest Work," the third bonus studio single released in conjunction with the Spongetones' new live album The 40th Anniversary Concert...And Beyond. The Spongetones have certainly loomed large in this radio show's legend, so of course we'll be playing them again this Sunday on our 1300th show. Gotta go with one of the classics. Hey! Howzabout a LIVE version of a Spongetones classic for TIRnRR # 1300? As we try to get in as many songs as we possibly can, you'll understand why we've simply gotta include the Spongetones as part of Sunday's victory lap. YES!

THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Scarlet Begonias

And yeah, second week in a row of airplay for something from the Grateful Dead catalog. Across the veil of time, my late 1970s/early '80s self is seriously disgusted with me. I blame the local combination Delta Sonic/Tim Hortons, who lodged this Dead song "Scarlet Begonias" deep into my cranium by playing it over the sound system during two of my recent gasoline 'n' coffee acquisition safaris. It's...arghh, it's a really good pop track. I'm way more open to the Dead now than I was at 18-21 years of age. Hey, Beth! What would your 23-year-old self say? 

I...can't repeat that on the radio, Beth.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

I continue to be knocked out by how radically the Verbs were able to revamp, restructure, and reimagine the Flashcubes' early punk stomper "I Need Glue" while still retaining a line of sight with the original's intent. One of my (many!) favorite tracks on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes.

THE CYNZ: Can't Help Thinking About Me

I'm looking forward to hearing the entirety of the new tribute album Jem Records Celebrates David Bowie. I love what I've heard so far from Paul Collins ("Hang On To Yourself") and the High Frequencies ("Modern Love"), and I've been especially taken with this high-octane reading of early Bowie nugget "Can’t Help Thinking About Me" as performed by the Cynz. We're playing it again on the 1300th show this Sunday.

FONTELLA BASS: Rescue Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

The culmination of a metric ton of work behind the scenes, the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes will finally see divine release on September 12th. Read about it here, buy it here. And stay close to the radio on Sunday night, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's 1300th show spins all three of the new Flashcubes singles attached to this project, programs non-Make Something Happen! treats by four of the Flashcubes tribute album's other participants, throws in a reprise of another group's 2017 cover of the album's title tune, and digs out a fab Flashcubes gem that was the most recent original song recorded and released by the Flashcubes prior to the trio of current Cubic singles. TIRnRR is synonymous with the Flashcubes. I'm a Cicero boy, and my friend Dana rocks. We're the kings of power pop! Join us Sunday as we proudly present exhibit # 1300 in support of that argument.

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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.