10 SONGS: 7/27/2024

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 # 1243.

THE MAVERICKS: True Love Ways

THE VILLAS: Someone To Hold On To

THE HALF CUBES: The Girl

July 21st. 

This week's show fell on the 40th anniversary of the day Brenda and I got married. We are still together, and together will shall remain. Happy Anniversary, Brenda!

Our wedding song was the lovely Buddy Holly ballad "True Love Ways." So we open this week's rockin' pop proceedings with the Mavericks' ace cover of "True Love Ways," segued into "Someone To Hold On To," the Villas' irresistible ode to finding the love of one's life (as heard on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5), and wrappin' up our opening true-love tribute trifecta with the Half Cubes' remake of the Rubinoos' "The Girl," a track which recruits Rubinoos Jon Rubin and Tommy Dunbar to assist in establishing a beach head to hold on to true love ways. The girl. As a boy, that's all I ever want. My girl is Brenda.

It just so happens that Sunday was also Half Cubes singer and bassist Gary Frenay's 40th anniversary. HuzZAH, Gary and Jackie! See, now I understand why Brenda and I couldn't hire Gary to play at our wedding in '84. Priorities. I can dig that. And Dana and I will open our next TIRnRR with a brand-new single by the Half Cubes.

Meanwhile....

THE RUBINOOS: Nowhereseville

By the time you read this, I expect to be enjoying the afterbuzz of my first-ever Rubinoos show. I've been a fan since I was 17; 47 years is a long time to wait to see one of my favorite bands, but I betcha it was well worth the wait.

On this week's TIRnRR, I wanted to prep for last night's Rubinoos club show by playing some Rubinoos, and supplementing with a number of other tracks featuring Rubes guitarist Tommy Dunbar. The latter category included the Half Cubes number in our opening set, plus tracks by Duncan Faure, Vox Pop, Ken Sharp, Marty Rudnick, Scott McCarl, Kyle Vincent, and Suzy and Los Quattro. 

And for the evening's first Rubinoos spin, we opted for "Nowheresville," the track the Rubinoos allowed us to use on our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. Here's what I wrote about "Nowhereseville" at the time:

...The music we listen to as teens can resonate throughout our lives, etched in memory alongside every eternal snub and accolade. In 1977, I was a seventeen-year-old senior at a high school in Syracuse's northern suburbs. I liked oldies better than most then-current music--the Beatles, the Monkees, the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, and my recent discovery, the Kinks--but I was also looking for new. I liked KISS. I liked "Cherry Baby" by Starz, and "Isn't It Time" by the Babys, "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas, Boston's debut LP, Sweet's Desolation Boulevard, and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Spurred by intriguing things I read in Phonograph Record Magazine, I would become a fan of the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and Blondie before the end of the year, as this high school senior transformed into college freshman. But before the Ramones, or the Pistols, or my nascent hormonal devotion to Blondie's Debbie Harry, one group stood as the great teen hope. That group was the Rubinoos.

The Rubinoos were young, not much older than I was. They were on the radio, with a hit cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now," and (on freer-form WOUR-FM) with a delectable album track called "Wouldn't It Be Nice." They were on TV, lip-syncing "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Rock And Roll Is Dead" on American Bandstand. They were revered in the pages of Phonograph Record Magazine, and they were one of the subjects of My First Rock Journalism. Their eponymous debut album was an absolutely essential purchase for me. God, I loved this band. That has never changed over the ensuing crashing and passing of four freakin' decades. I love the Rubinoos. I will always love the Rubinoos...

...[For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4], we initially selected a track called "This Is Good," a frothy li'l pop tune whose title provides its own spot-on review. But another song on the [This Is The Rubinoos] EP kept haunting the ol' consciousness. "Nowheresville" can best be described as pop noir, a shotgun marriage--well, more like a .45 automatic marriage--between a hardboiled crime paperback and Tiger Beat, Mickey Spillane meets Shaun Cassidy. And even that sells it short. It is a fully-realized slice of pure pulp, made pretty in spite of itself by the talent of the Rubinoos. Jon Rubin's unmistakable, irresistible voice soars, Tommy Dunbar's guitar twirls tastefully, while the lyrics could serve as a summary of something published by Gold Medal Books in the '50s or Hard Case Crime today. The one they call Honey was slurring her words/"Oh, why should we have to cut this thing in thirds?/I know the perfect patsy/Yeah, a pretty little bird/Who better to take the fall in Nowheresville?" Man, I would read that book, battered cover to battered cover, right now.

The juxtaposition of these extremes is somehow natural and flawless. How did the Rubinoos pull this off? In the words of Mike Hammer in Spillane's I, The Jury: It was easy.... 

KISS: Calling Dr. Love

Speaking of how the music we listen to as teens can resonate throughout our lives....

GLENN ERB: I Never Said Goodbye

The new Glenn Erb album Category Four comes to us courtesy of Friend To The Show Rich Rossi, who worked on the record and co-wrote all of the originals (not counting the cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter"). The album was produced by Jamie Hoover--THERE'S your pop pedigree!--and Rich thought we might wanna consider its opening track "Baby Is A Hurricane" for airplay on our little mutant radio show.

Instead, I was drawn to the closing track, "I Never Said Goodbye," a solid tale of a relationship reaching the end of its road. It makes its TIRnRR debut this week. It spins again on our next show. Say hello to Glenn Erb.

DEADLIGHTS: For Free

New single from Deadlights? Instant airplay, guaranteed. Good stuff, as always.

THE RUBINOOS: Wouldn't It Be Nice

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RUBINOOS: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

ALSO The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE GRIP WEEDS: Lady Friend [vocals only mix]

Wow. Rubinoos playing in Rochester this week, the Grip Weeds in Syracuse last week. People should envy us. I envy us. The Grip Weeds put on a fantastic show at the Lost Horizon, and their cover of the Byrds' "Lady Friend" has become a perennial TIRnRR Fave Rave.

The Grip Weeds' full recording of "Lady Friend" is on their sublime 2021 covers album DiG. This lovely a cappella mix can be found on A Deeper DiG, the bonus third disc packaged with the DiG Super Deluxe Edition. That is, of course, the edition any self-respecting Grip Weeds fan will get.

So: Respect yourself! Here it comes again. Dig?

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available for order; 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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 11/10/2022

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 # 1154. The show is available as a podcast.

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING RANDY KLAWON: Get The Message

This week's playlist commentary already found me waxing rhapsoderific about the fab new single by the Flashcubes. For "Get The Message," the 'Cubes unite with 1960s Cleveland guitar stalwart Randy Klawon to cover this 1968 number, written by Eric Carmen and originally released by Carmen's then-combo Cyrus Erie. The Flashcubes are one of my all-time favorite groups--seriously, Beatles, Ramones, Flashcubes--and I've loved every one of their recent singles for Big Stir Records. "Get The Message" may be the best one yet. Extra credit to Flashcubes drummer Tommy Allen, whose poundin' production delivers the message with authority.

Ya wanna know who else digs this version of "Get The Message?" The song's author. Eric Carmen hisself says, "The Flashcubes have done a terrific new take on 'Get The Message,' giving it a sonic upgrade while staying true to the original vibe. The first time I heard it, I actually thought it was Cyrus Erie for the first fifteen seconds! Excellent job, boys! Rock on!"

Get the message? 

MAURA AND THE BRIGHT LIGHTS: Perfect Girl

Each of the three members of the Flashcubes' front line--guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay--is a talented rockin' pop songwriter, and I wish more performers would cover stuff from the greater Cubic songbook. Since we opened this week's program with the Flashcubes covering Cyrus Erie, we followed that with a Frenay original played by Maura and the Bright Lights. Perfect! You can own your own copy of this perfect pop gem when you buy our new compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. GO!! This ongoing radio alchemy doesn't just pay for itself, people.

THE MORNING LINE: Junebugs In April

"Junebugs In April" is the advance single from the Morning Line's new Red On Red Records album Scene. It's an appropriately radio-ready invitation to sway with abandon, so of course we were ready to put it on the radio. It's what we do! I've since heard the album, it's fabulous, and I might believe another of its tracks is likewise ready for MORE!! We'll put that to the test on next week's show.

THE PATTI SMITH GROUP: Ask The Angels

THE ANGELS: My Boyfriend's Back

A great radio show needs to forge its own path, but it's important to read the room and pay attention to what's going on. Here, the Patti Smith Group directed us to ask the Angels. So we did. Hey, Angels!, we said. Wanna sing a song? And so they did. That's how ya build a playlists. It's WILD! WILD! WILD! WILD!, and the perfect soundtrack to a permanent vacation. Hey-la-day-la.

THE VILLAS: Someone To Hold On To

Another incredible selection from This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. I don't think even the Villas themselves appreciate how special, how transcendent, this track is. We remain honored to have given it its CD debut.

CISSY HOUSTON: Down In The Boondocks

In a previous 10 Songs, I wrote that as much as I love Cissy Houston's soulful cover of Billy Joe Royal's 1965 hit "Down In The Boondocks," I wasn't quite prepared to surrender my lifetime allegiance to Royal's version (which was one of my many favorite records when I was [theoretically] growing up). 

I'm prepared now. No offense to the still-great Billy Joe Royal rendition, but Cissy Houston rules on this one.

THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There

From the Four Tops' entry in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), regarding "Reach Out I'll Be There":

"Motown's absolute zenith, with one of the greatest vocal groups of all time giving their all-time best performance on their best-ever song.  And, considering the dauntingly high standards set by the rest of the Four Tops' cavalcade of hits, the designation "Best-Ever Four Tops Song" is akin to a coronation."

Reach out.

RITA MORENO, GEORGE CHAKIRIS, SHARKS AND GIRLS: America

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

CHARLIE RICH: Philadelphia Baby

It wasn't to be this year. I'm more of a New York Yankees fan (to the extent I follow baseball), but I was rooting for the Phillies in the World Series. Congratulation to Houston. We'll see you next year.

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: 10/14/2022

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 # 1150.

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

Our 1150th show coincides with the release of our new compilation album This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. HuzZAH! You can read about the album here, and then select your choice of CD or digital download to purchase for your music library. We'll be glad you did!

We opened TIRnRR # 1150 with the last track on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5: "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" by Brother Eytan Mirsky. This fantastic, fantastic song is one of the defining tracks of TIRnRR's long and storied history. It earns its own chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), and it is one of my all-time favorite tracks by anyone at any time.

There was never any doubt that Eytan's "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" was going to be on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. In fact, we built the compilation with the conscious intent that all of its songs in sequence would lead into "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" at album's end. Because after all trials and tribulations, steps forward and back, triumphs, tragedies, and even the mere treading of water, we all try to somehow just keep doing, to the best of our mortal ability. The goal is elusive, maybe illusionary, but always in our eyesight: This year, man. This year.

(We also served up fabulous Volume 5 tracks by Irene Peña and Kelley Ryan, plus one more track we'll discuss shortly.)

TIR'N'RR ALLSTARS: Waterloo Sunset

In addition to the five This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilations, we must also mention 2019's Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a collection put together on our behalf by some of our talented friends. The project was spearheaded by Steve Stoeckel of the Spongetones and Keith Klingensmith of the Legal Matters (and of Futureman Records, which handled the release). We had nothing whatsoever to do with its creation, and didn't even know about it until it was a fait accompli. It ain't actually possible to make us feel humble about anything, but this touching gesture may have accomplished it anyway. Thank you, friends.

The title tune, a cover of the Kinks' classic, was performed by Steve Stoeckel, Keith Klingensmith, Bruce Gordon, Eytan Mirsky, America's Sweetheart Irene Peña, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, and Rich Firestone. It's such a commanding performance, and such a moving gesture. Damn it. Maybe we can feel humble after all.

(This week's playlist also included two more tracks from Waterloo Sunset, performed by the Click Beetles and Gretchen's Wheel. Futureman's original digital-only release of Waterloo Sunset remains available and recommended, and you can also still get Kool Kat Musik's CD version.)

PATTI SMITH GROUP: Ask The Angels

Penthouse magazine was the perhaps-unlikely platform for my introduction to Patti Smith. Journalist Nick Tosches interviewed Smith for the April 1976 issue of Penthouse, and ya know what? Even as a 16-year-old, while it woulda been a fib to say I only read Penthouse and Playboy for the articles, I did indeed read a lot of the articles. Nick's Penthouse chat with Patti was my first-ever peripheral exposure to what would later be called punk rock. My accounts of that experience can be found here and here.

My first actual exposure to this music came about a year later, after reading Phonograph Record Magazine had primed my radar for punk. Before I heard the Sex Pistols on the radio in the summer of '77, the Patti Smith Group appeared on TV's The Mike Douglas Show, singing "Ask The Angels."

I hated it.

That opinion evolved. And how! I was a Patti Smith fan by year's end. Ask the angels, and the devils, too. And it's wild, wild, wild, wild!

THE FINKERS: Last Thing On My Mind

For our 1150th show, we wanted to include four tracks apiece from each of our five This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilations. Our inaugural CD was This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1, released by JAM Recordings in...I forget. 2005 sounds right. For obsessive rockin' pop fans like your Dana and your Carl, the prospect of slapping together our own CD successor to the K-Tel and Ronco various-artists LPs of our misspent youth made us giddy, delirious, and...yeah, we're like that anyway. But this was giddiness with a PURPOSE...!

JAM's Jeremy Morris made it all happen. Among the treats on Volume 1 was "Last Thing On My Mind," a full-throttle irresistible from Australian combo the Finkers. We'd been corresponding with the Finkers' drummer Mickster, and we'd been programming our fair share of Finkers material. But this track absolutely knocked me out on first spin, prompting me to declare on air that "Last Thing On My Mind" was exactly the sort of song that always made me wish I had a radio show, just so I could play songs like "Last Thing On My Mind" on my radio show.

I also wrote the liner notes for Whole Lotta Fun, a Finkers best-of issued in 2002 by the Japanese label Wizzard-In-Vinyl. Yep, an American writer preachin' on behalf of an Australian band for a Japanese label. We are the world. The Finkers may have been our introduction to their lead singer Michael Carpenter, who has accumulated a ton of TIRnRR airplay as a solo artist.

(Other This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1 tracks heard on TIRnRR # 1150 were by Popdudes, the Jellybricks, and the Lolas. The original CD is long, long out of print, but remains available as a download from Futureman Records. We really oughtta look into a CD reissue of Volume 1 some day.)

ANNY CELSI: Empty Hangers

Oh God, I love this song, from songer-songwriter Anny Celsi's 2003 album Little Black Dress & Other Stories. It's like a pop record written by Mickey Spillane, and it was my introduction to Celsi's magic talent. It was predestined that "Emptry Hangers" would find its way ontoThis Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3 in 2013.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3 was our first with Ray Gianchetti's label Kool Kat Musik. Ray gave us carte blanche to assemble Volume 3 and its successors, and we took that as license to stuff the disc with Fave Raves by Mannix, the Tearjerkers, Blotto, Hawaii Mud Bombers, and the Catholic Girls. And Anny Celsi! "Empty Hangers" is absolutely one of the defining tracks of TIRnRR.

(The other This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3 tracks we played this week were by Steve Stoeckel and his This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio All-Stars, Mannix, and Hawaii Mud Bombers. We also played Michael Carpenter's "I've Been Loving You" from his 2015 album The Big Radio; that track first appeared on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3. Like Volume 1, the CD of Volume 3 is out of print, but remains available as a Futureman Records digital album.)

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING THE PALEY BROTHERS: Come Out And Play

The mighty Big Stir Records label has become a playlist perennial here, placing at least one track (and usually more) in almost every one of our weekly shows. That's been the case since even before Big Stir started releasing singles by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. But, y'know, releasing Flashcubes singles doesn't exactly hurt, dig?

That trend will continue. Looking ahead to next week's show, I see three Big Stir tracks firmly perched within the playlist, including one brand-new track, one other track from earlier this year, and--obviously!--this fab current single by the Flashcubes featuring the Paley Brothers. We thank our friends at Big Stir for their role in getting us new music to play from my favorite group. 

MR. ENCRYPTO: The Last Time [a cappella]

I have mixed feelings about 2006's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 2. It has a lot of great stuff, and it features an absolutely incredible '90s track by the Cowsills. I mean, whatever else we do or don't do with this little mutant radio show, Dana and I can puff with pride at the memory of the Cowsills letting us use one of their greatest songs on one of our CDs.

But whatever fond recollections I have of Volume 2 come equipped with an asterisk. It did not turn out like what we envisioned; there were disagreements with the label, nothing earth-shattering, but enough to change the result. Let’s let it go at that. I still have a big box of unsold Volume 2 CDs in my garage, and we wound up parting company (amicably) with JAM Recordings after its release. Dana may not share my disappointment with Volume 2, and the CD does have a bunch of very cool tracks contained within its digital grooves. Honestly, Volume 2 deserves better appreciation than what I'm saying about it now. Mixed feelings. Mixed feelings.

For TIRnRR # 1150, we programmed Volume 2 treats by the Spongetones, the Fire Apes, the B.A.R., and Tim Anthony. And we played a non-album expanded mix of Mr. Encrypto's amazing Volume 2 cut "The Last Time [a cappella]," a stunning vocals-only recording that still gives me chills to experience.

(The This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 2 CD is officially out of print, but you can buy it from me on eBay. C'mon! Help me clean out my garage! You can also, of course, get the Futureman download.)

THE WONDERS: That Thing You Do!

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RUBINOOS: Nowheresville

Over the course of a whole lot of years doing this, TIRnRR has given us an extraordinary opportunity to connect with so many great artists whom we've admired for an even greater number of years. Our five TIRnRR comps have included contributions from the likes of the Cowsills, the Spongetones, Paul Collins' Beat, the Smithereens, John Wicks and the Records, Carolyne Mas, the Catholic Girls, the Grip Weeds, the Rooks, P. Hux, and Amy Rigby, as well as work from members of the Pandoras, Blondie, the Bee Gees, the Stems, and a big ol' list of more. We have been very lucky, and we are well aware of our good fortune.

I've been a fan of the Rubinoos since I was a senior in high school, during that same Spring '77 timeshot when I saw the Patti Smith Group on The Mike Douglas Show. I heard the Rubinoos on the radio (AM and FM), saw them on American Bandstand, and purchased their debut album. And their second album. And more after that.

Flash-forward: many years later, I wrote the entry for the Rubinoos' induction into The Power Pop Hall Of Fame. I've corresponded a little with Tommy Dunbar and Al Chan; Tommy saw that we were playing Beserkley Records-era Rubinoos material from a source he felt was substandard, so he upgraded us to the boxed set Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Rubinoos. Well...all right!

And, best of all, the Rubinoos let us use their luxurious pop pulp noir track "Nowheresville" on 2017's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. That story is told here. And we remain grateful for this ongoing opportunity. With such continued good fortune, that's how we do it here in Somewheresville.

(This week's playlist also included Volume 4 tracks by Circe Link and Christian Nesmith, the Slapbacks, and the Hit Squad. Both the CD and the download can still be grabbed and loved by discerning rockin' pop fans.)

THE VILLAS: Someone To Hold On To

One more from This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. The Villas' previously-unreleased masterpiece "Someone To Hold On To" is not only a gorgeous and endlessly inviting pop number, it also served a specific purpose for Volume 5's concept. 

Volume 5's sequence and flow was inspired in part by a song cycle I did several years ago. I like the idea of assembling songs from different artists, and letting the songs chat with one another. A girl speaks. A boy speaks. A girl speaks. A boy speaks. And a story unfolds.

As This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5 plays, the girls and boys take turns relating where they think they are and what this place looks like today. And then, a girl and a boy speak together: Angie and Bill Villa. At last, after all was said and done, they had found someone to hold on to. As the Villas dance off together, our Volume 5 concludes with the wistful determination of Amy Rigby's "Tom Petty Karaoke" and, of course, Brother Eytan Mirsky. 

There is something to hold on to. Maybe we never thought we'd find it. Maybe it's still out there (as Ballzy Tomorrow's Volume 5 track suggests), awaiting discovery. But it exists. Hold on. We'll get to it yet.

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: 7/28/2022

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 # 1139.

JAMIE HOOVER [with MICHAEL RUIZ and ELENA ROGERS]: Kim Kardashian

I am not putting a picture of K** K********* on my blog. No way. No how.

But we will play this new song about she-who-will-not-be-named (or at least she who's not named beyond noting this track's title). I mean, ya can't go wrong playing Jamie Hoover, Jamie can't go wrong enlisting assistance from Michael Ruiz and Elena Rogers, and we all do right by supporting Pop Aid, the 3-CD Ukraine benefit compilation where you'll find this track. I betcha even K** K********* herself would approve. Hell, I don't know her; maybe she's swell at heart, and has been judged unfairly by pop culture at large. It's possible that K** really isn't as bad as her empty, famous-for-being-famous image implies.

Still not putting a picture of her on my blog, though.

HONEY CONE: One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Part 1)

From a previous 10 Songs entry about Honey Cone's biggest hit "Want Ads:" 

"Bubblesoul. Honey Cone's 1971 # 1 smash 'Want Ads' is one of the definitive examples of that late '60s/early '70s hybrid of pure, bouncy AM radio sugar performed by black artists. Think early Jackson Five and Freda Payne's 'Band Of Gold,' or the shoulda-been-hit-singles by Josie and the Pussycats (with the incredible Patrice Holloway on lead vocals) as reference points. 'Bubblesoul.' Nothing else describes it better, except maybe YEAH!"

The visceral appeal of "Want Ads"--WANTED! YOUNG MAN, SINGLE AND FREE!--is undeniable; if Plato had returned in the 1970s to apply his concept of forms to my concept of bubblesoul, he'da proclaimed "Want Ads" as form-ready bubblesoul. That Plato--he was something. 

For all that, though, I may still prefer Honey Cone's # 15 hit "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," also from 1971. When Honey Cone's lead singer Edna Wright died in 2020, I wrote this about the latter song:

"I don't know if pundits consider bubblesoul to be a proper sub-genre. Unlike power pop, I do think bubblesoul is tied to a specific timeframe: late '60s/early '70s, AM radio music, performed (mostly) by black artists but with an unabashed ambition for crossover success...

"...Honey Cone's lead singer Edna Wright passed away recently. We played the group's biggest hit 'Want Ads' not long ago, and we chose to pay tribute to Wright this week with a spin of the lesser hit 'One Monkey Don't Stop No Show,' an effervescent number with both bubble and soul to spare."

The show must go on! And I still owe myself a deeper dive into the Honey Cone catalog.

HAYLEY MARY: Like A Woman Should

As I've mentioned here a time or several (hundred), many of my playlist selections are inspired by whatever random tracks my iPod shuffles through during my daily commutes. Music in the car, man; you can't beat music in the car. Hayley Mary's absolutely awesome 2020 single "Like A Woman Should" was first suggested to us by intrepid TIRnRR listener Dave Murray late last year, and I believe it made its way to our show just once, on 11/14/2021. Even though I adored the track on first spin, the combined distractions of time, choice, and short attention span prevented its return to the ol' playlist until now.

I know I drone on at length about my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I'd apologize for that...but I'm not gonna. One should not regret enthusiasm, and GREM! is built almost entirely from my own giddy enthusiasm for rockin' pop music. My enthusiasm for Hayley Mary's "Like A Woman Should" was sufficient to make me consider adding a chapter about the song in my book. That would have made it the most recent track discussed there; Eytan Mirsky's 2012 "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" and First Aid Kit's 2014 "America" are otherwise the newest things included. 

Even though I elected not to include Hayley Mary in the GREM! book, by God, it certainly qualifies. An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Give Hayley Mary one of those infinite turns. Credit Dave Murray for bringing this wonderful record to our attention. And thank my iPod for getting it back on the TIRnRR playlist, where it also belongs. Thanks, iPod. Another job well done.

NICK FRATER: Stuck In My Ways

PREVIOUSLY ON THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO WITH DANA & CARL: On last week's pulse-poundin' episode, we debuted "The Love Songs Of Simon Love," the non-album virtual B-side from the new Nick Frater single "Dancing With A Gertrude." Our promise to follow that with more new Nick Frater music on this week's show may have led you to believe we were finally going to play "Dancing With A Gertrude." Reasonable expectation, right? 

But NO! Plot twist! With Nick's new album Aerodrome Motel now available for preorder from our friends at Big Stir Records, we circled around dear Gertrude and went straight for an album track instead. We did this because...look, I have no idea why we do anything. We're just here to play records. "Stuck In My Ways" sounds like a single, too, so it was a natural fit for whatever the hell it is we do on TIRnRR. 

With that said, we're not necessarily all that stuck in our ways. Worry not, Gertrude; you're on our dance card for next week. And we hear you cut a really mean rug. Stay tuned.

DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE & HART: It Always Hurts The Most In The Morning

To fans of the Monkees, the folks at London's 7a Records label are the good guys, heroes rescuing lost, forgotten, out-of-print, and otherwise unavailable solo projects by Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith. 7a was also the home to Dolenz's fabulous 2021 album Dolenz Sings Nesmith (and its 2022 EP sequel). MonkeeMen, AWAY!

And now, 7a has given us this new 2-CD set Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, preserving the entire officially-released works of the mid-'70s partnership of Micky and Davy with Monkees songwriters and producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, combining the guys who sang 'em and the guys who wrote 'em. The 7a package includes the group's eponymous 1976 album and the subsequent live document Concert In Japan. The latter serves up on-stage performances of various Monkees classics, Boyce and Hart's own hit "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," and a medley of Boyce and/or Hart songs that were hits for other artists.

The Concert In Japan disc also gives us live renditions of four songs from the DJB&H studio album. And honestly, the studio album is the main reason I bought this package. It's not that the album itself is the equal of the Monkees' best material--it is not--but it's an essential almost, the closest thing to a Monkees reunion album after the group's 1970 farewell Changes (which was just Micky and Davy by then) and until 1987's Micky-Davy-Peter effort Pool It! The 1996 all-four-Monkees album Justus included the Monkees' remake of the DJB&H track "You And I." Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart ain't exactly Headquarters or Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., but it has its moments, and I'm delighted that it's available again.

I have my original copies of both DJB&H LPs, but I'm generally more likely to play the studio stuff. Having it all on CD makes it easier to program into TIRnRR playlists. We've played the album's single "I Remember The Feeling" a time or three in the past, and we've played the "Steppin' Stone"-inspired LP cut "You Didn't Feel That Way Last Night (Don't You Remember)" more than a few times. This week, armed with my copy of 7a's new double-disc edition of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, we played "It Always Hurts The Most In The Morning." And what the hell, we'll get to one of the live tracks next week. We appreciate the efforts of our heroes. To the good guys at 7a: we Monkees fans thank you for your service.

THE VILLAS: Someone To Hold On To

Aw, this is such a nice little pop song. We've been playing Allentown, PA's phenomenal pop combo the Villas since their debut album Secrets in 2000, with a particular emphasis on its irresistible track "Pull You Back." Along the way, I became especially taken with "Someone To Hold On To," this as-yet-unreleased gem produced by the legendary Ed Stasium and featuring alternating lead vocals from Bill and Angie Villa. Goosebumps! When it was time to start slappin' together our own forthcoming Kool Kat Musik compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, the Villas' "Someone To Hold On To" was an automatic selection. Bringing this fine song to retail is our public service. Hold on to it.

THE FLASHCUBES: Christi Girl [live at the Firebarn, May 26 1979]

This week's playlist commentary detailed my history with the Flashcubes' first single "Christi Girl" in 1978, and pounded the console on behalf of this great new Big Stir single of "Christi Girl," recorded live at my favorite Syracuse nightclub in 1979. Today's "Christi Girl" entry in 10 Songs serves as another urgent reminder to buy the damned single awready. If you never had the honor of witnessing the Flashcubes perform, this single (and the Flashcubes On Fire album from which it's taken) offer you a next-best chance to compensate. And if you were there, this is a souvenir you should not resist.

OFF BROADWAY USA: Stay In Time

As the pop world mourns the loss of Off Broadway USA singer Cliff Johnson, I recall that I came to his group's wonderful body of work well after the fact. Off Broadway's debut album On was released in 1979, but I don't think I had even heard of them prior to the early '90s. If memory serves (as it occasionally does), I first heard of the group via a Goldmine reader named Anthony Gliozzo, who enjoyed my 1993 GM piece about the Flamin' Groovies and attendant interview with the Groovies' Cyril Jordan. Anthony got in touch with me, and we talked about pop music. His enthusiastic recommendation of Off Broadway provided my first conscious awareness of the group.

That same year, Off Broadway's "Stay In Time" was included on Shake It Up!, the second of two American power pop compilations in Rhino Records' superswell DIY series; its companion volume Come Out And Play provided the Flashcubes' first-ever appearance on CD. A spin of "Stay In Time" confirmed that Mr. Gliozzo was justified in his praise of Off Broadway USA, and I dutifully tracked down On and its 1980 follow-up Quick Turns.

Before forming Off Broadway, Cliff Johnson had been a member of the mighty Pezband, though he left that group before their 1977 debut album; Pezband bassist Mike Gorman joined Off Broadway in time for Quick Turns, and Pezband's frontman Mimi Betinis pitched in for 1997's Fallin' In, Off Broadway's third and final studio album.

Fallin' In is a very good album, and we'll hear one of its tracks on next week's show. But this week, as we remember the life and work of Cliff Johnson, we play Off Broadway's signature tune from '79, the hit that almost was, peaking at # 51 on the Hot 100. Shoulda been Top Ten. Stay in time, boy, don't get out of line, boy. Rest in peace, Cliff. Now and forever: it's On.

LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE MONKEES: Birth Of An Accidental Hipster

This week's show was already programmed and prerecorded well before the news broke that director and producer Bob Rafelson had passed. Beyond Rafelson's accomplishment in the world of film, he really looms largest in TIRnRR's legend as the co-creator (with Bert Schneider) of The Monkees.

Some may consider The Monkees a footnote in Rafelson's long and celebrated career, a novelty worthy of passing note in charting his path to direct, write, and/or produce Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and The Last Picture Show, among others. But the Monkees--the TV show, the band, the brand, all of it--impacted me to a degree that far exceeds my ability to measure it. Like my friend Rich Firestone says, the Monkees have been good to me. And the Monkees wouldn't have happened if the Raybert duo of Rafelson and Schneider didn't create them.

We play the Monkees pretty often on TIRnRR. They're one of our all-time most-played acts, and the stack of TIRnRR playlists that include at least one Monkees track is way, way taller than the stack of Monkees-free TIRnRR playlists. 

I dig the unintended Oh, but of course...! that the Monkees track we played the night after Bob Rafelson died was "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster." Not that there was anything accidental (nor remotely--ugh--hipster) about Rafelson himself; he seemed to always know what he was doing, or if he didn't know, he could figure out what to do next. But I do believe the Monkees' prevailing relevance, decades after the fact, surpassed Bert and Bob's expectations. From the Monkees' triumphant 2016 album Good Times!, "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" had nothing whatsoever to do with Raybert. But it was nonetheless part of the end result of the maverick creative fire they sparked so many years ago. High on a roof top, singing a song, choirs of angels all sing along. Accidents will happen. Brilliance is deliberate. And here it comes, walkin' down the street. Godspeed, Raybert.

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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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl