10 SONGS: 7/10/2026

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1344

ACTION SKULLS: Waiting For Day

Action Skulls are John Cowsill, Vicki Peterson, and Bill Mumy, and "Waiting For Day" is a Vicki Peterson composition from Action Skulls' 2023 album From A Running Horse. The song made its TIRnRR debut a couple of shows ago, as part of our spotlight on the music of Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill on June 21st. Great song, and since then the mighty Micky Dolenz has announced he'll be releasing his own version of "Waiting For Day" on his forthcoming six-song EP Timeless, due out in September. Micky has taste! We're very much looking forward to Micky's take on "Waiting For Day," and the news inspires an encore spin of the Action Skulls original this week. No need to wait. No need to wait at all.

BEN VAUGHN: Don't Say You Don't Wanna

While a couple of friends of this show (TIRnRR Fave Raves Dolph Chaney and Eytan Mirsky) have appeared as contestants on Jeopardy!, this is the first instance of a friend of the show being the proper response to a clue on Jeopardy! Under the category It's Silent, G, the game show's June 18th episode presented the clue, "Musician Ben or actor Vince," prompting me to yell from my couch, WHO IS VAUGHN?

I know who the actor is (though I don't know if I've ever seen any of his movies), and I for damned sure know the music of Ben Vaughn. Ben's syndicated radio show The Many Moods Of Ben Vaughn airs in Syracuse on SPARK WSPJ, the very same station that brings you the weekly rock 'n' roll adventures of Dana & Carl. We've been playing Ben's music for decades, going back to our pre-TIRnRR mid-1990s series Radio Peace. It was a kick to see the esteemed Mr. Vaughn receive a shoutout on the Alex Trebek stage.

As a freelance writer, I interviewed Ben Vaughn for Goldmine magazine in the '90s. Brett Vargo, co-host of the essential weekly classic alternative podcast Only Three Lads, has asked me to dig out and blog-post the Goldmine article I wrote from that interview. Good idea, Brett! It may not be soon, but it will be. I can't say I don't wanna.

BANDA AL9: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

Speaking of Only Three Lads, the assembled lads are planning a rare live O3L podcast on Sunday, July 19th, welcoming as their special guests Brazil's phenomenal pop combo Banda AL9. Let's have the lads tell you all about it:

"Join the Only Three Lads podcast for a special LIVE event featuring Brazil’s sensational pop combo Banda AL9! Celebrate the release of their new album, Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9, on Wicked Cool Records with a live Q&A, fun, games, and prizes.

"Known for their dazzling harmonies, retro-inspired style, and infectious melodies, Banda AL9 have quickly become one of the most exciting new acts in modern pop. Now, the Lads are bringing the Bandamania straight to you for an interactive event packed with music talk, behind-the-scenes stories, and plenty of laughs.

"Fans will get the chance to chat live with the band, test their pop culture knowledge in O3L-style games, and celebrate the launch of one of the year’s most buzzworthy releases. Whether you’re already a devoted AL9 fan or just discovering their music, this is your chance to experience the excitement firsthand.

"Don’t miss this unforgettable morning of music, mayhem, and pure BANDAMANIA!"

"Bandamania?" It's BANDAMONIUM!! In a good way. The O3L/Banda AL 9 team-up occurs July 19th at 10 AM Pacific time, aka 1:00 PM for us ahead-of-our-time New Yorkers, and is scheduled to bop its winningly boppin' way for about two hours. Details are here. Meanwhile, here's another spin of Banda AL9's supercool cover of the Rubinoos' power pop touchstone "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." HEY! HEY! YOU! YOU! A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

BETH PEABODY: Get It Out

Last week's show debuted "Out And About," one of two tracks occupying the virtual sides of a new digital single by Beth Peabody. Both "Out And About" and "Get It Out" were written and previously recorded by the great Jim Basnight--Beth is a member of Jim's band--and we also played Jim's original "Get It Out" last week. This week, we encored Beth's "Out And About" and debuted her take on "Get It Out," and we rejoiced in the power of pop. We'll hear one of these songs again this Sunday night. Which one? We'll get it out and about at the proper time.

TRIP WIRE: Katie Says

THE WELL WISHERS: Dangerous

We got two in a row from musician Jeff Shelton! See, THAT's why this is The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet! In case you were, y'know...wondering. We've been playing Jeff's fine music since the early days of TIRnRR, starting with his work with Spinning Jennies. The Well Wishers! Trip Wire! Deadlights! When Jeff Shelton hits us with a rockin' pop dba, we play that rockin' pop dba!

We debuted "Dangerous" (from the new Well Wishers album Expected Outcomes) on last week's show, and I already intended to give it another spin this week. Dana's independent pick of Trip Wire's 2020 single "Katie Says" served up the perfect spot to reprise "Dangerous." 

Because all rockin' pop radio shows should occasionally offer two in a row from Jeff Shelton. GET WITH IT, you programmers! The act of doing so provides its own reward.

ANNETTE FUNICELLO WITH THE BEACH BOYS: The Monkey's Uncle

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Touring

The summer's here. The time is right. Let's hit the road with the Ramones.

MICHAEL SIMMONS: America

I programmed this beautiful cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "America" (as heard on Michael Simmons's superb 2025 covers album Fun Where You Can Find It) without really thinking about the fact that this week's show would air the day after July 4th. I confess I haven't felt even the merest investment in our country's 250th anniversary, simply because I don't see the current state of our union as something worth celebrating.

But I still believe in the American dream, or at least I believe in its possibility. We can be better. We can regain our commitment to being a beacon for the world, even though lately we've become more like a razzafrazzin' bug-zapper. For all who are willing to walk off to look for America--the real America--we're walking right with you. 

I'm empty and aching and I don't know why.

Sometimes I lose hope of finding it. But it's out there, waiting to be restored. Truth. Justice. No kings (other than Elvis). 

The American way. Sing it, Michael.

VICKI PETERSON AND JOHN COWSILL: Don't Look Back

Good advice. Onward.

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 of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous 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.

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. 

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: 5/22/2026

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1337

THE LEMON TWIGS: 2 Or 3

We are big fans of rockin' pop music, and we are delighted when the music we love is able to connect with a larger audience. The Lemon Twigs have garnered some buzz within our power pop world, and while they may not secure a TODAY'S HITS! radio berth alongside Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, we hope they do. Hell, we hope they record a track with Taylor and/or Sabrina. It's pop music. It's supposed to be popular.

Our own little mutant radio program has not given the Lemon Twigs a ton of airplay; believe it or not, I think we may have played Taylor Swift more often than we've played the Lemon Twigs, though that would be just a function of our short attention span (and my determination to demonstrate that some of Swift's stuff can fit in just swell alongside the Ramones, the Four Tops, and the Muffs in our chosen format--it's ALL pop music). We're going to try to program the Lemon Twigs more often; it's a bandwagon well worth hoppin' on for the ride.

No better place to start than the Lemon Twigs' latest album Look For Your Mind! Our friends at The Spoon podcast recently hooked me on the exquisite Look For Your Mind! gem "2 Or 3," compelling us to open our own show with that track. We'll hear the new album's title tune on Sunday night. Let's get this bandwagon movin'!

MARSHALL CRENSHAW: What Time Is It

The Jive Five's 1962 doo-wop classic "What Time Is It?" is one of my all-time favorite individual tracks, and it earned a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I was introduced to the song via Marshall Crenshaw's sublime 'n' dreamy cover version, heard on MC's 1983 album Field Day. Crenshaw's rendition held me in instant thrall from the second I heard it, and if my heart's desire migrated to the Jive Five, I never stopped loving the version I heard first.

This week, Dana's spin of the Distractions' "Time Goes By So Slow" prompted me to follow with "What Time Is It?" I had the Jive Five in mind, but then reconsidered and programmed Marshall Crenshaw's (punctuation-free) cover instead. Couldn't go wrong either way.

(Later, when annotating track credits for the posted playlist, I realized this was the first-ever TIRnRR spin for Marshall Crenshaw's "What Time Is It." As The Spoon's Robbie Rist recently reminded me, time takes time. Tick, tock.)

GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS: Black Lincoln Continental

Another advance peek at Quality Footware: Live At The Brook, the forthcoming new live album from the elemental forces of Graham Parker and the Goldtops. "Black Lincoln Continental" is already available as a single, as is "Soul Shoes," which we played a couple of weeks back. On our next show, we'll treat you to the Quality Footware live cut of the first Graham Parker song I heard (back when I was an impressionable teen surgically affixed to my radio). Grab your soul shoes and hop in your black Lincoln Continental; on Sunday night, we've got a date with a hotel chambermaid.

THE JIVE FIVE: My True Story

Having given the Jive Five's first-set spot to Marshall Crenshaw's "What Time Is It," it was only fair to give the doo-woppers their due with an airing of their only big hit, 1961's # 3 smash "My True Story." This solution spared us from having to cry CRY cry whoa-oh-oh our blues away. This story's ended. It was no lie!

BLONDIE: Little Girl Lies

My next book is a short story collection called Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. It's my first full-length foray into fiction, following two nonfiction books about music, and it does incorporate a lot of musical influences into its gathering of deliberate lies. The book takes its title from a series of short stories I wrote about a group of rock 'n' roll musicians from Earth playing gigs on other planets, and it name-checks (mostly in passing) a whole bunch of artists, from Enrico Caruso to LL Cool J. I'll post a list of the book's musical name-checks in the very near future.

I don't think I got around to name-checking Blondie, but I do mention one of the group's individual members. Not the gorgeous one you'd automatically expect me to mention! Blondie's powerhouse drummer Clem Burke is cited in this sequence from a story that appears late in the book, as uttered by planet-hopping Guitar Vs. Rayguns drummer Leiko:

Leiko leaned in for emphasis. "I'm Keith fucking Moon. I'm Marky fucking Ramone. I'm Clem fucking Burke. I'm Dennis fucking Diken from the Smithereens, Tommy fucking Allen from the Flashcubes, Ringo fucking Starr if I wanna be Ringo fucking Starr.

"I'm fucking LEIKO, bitches!"

I'm...convinced. Also frightened.

Leiko's a big girl, and she's neither cryin' nor lyin'. As I prepare the publication of my new book of little boy lies, TIRnRR offers this celebratory spin of Blondie's "Little Girl Lies." We hope Leiko would approve. If it pisses her off, I'm pretty sure she won't allow her status as, y'know, fictional to prevent her from kicking our asses.

THE WELL WISHERS: Pox On Everything

Nowadays, "pox on everything" may serve as go-to mantra. It also serves as the title of a new treat from TIRnRR Fave Raves the Well Wishers. Along with "Back Of The Line," "Pox On Everything" is one of two advance tracks from the next Well Wishers album Expected Outcomes. The album is due in June, we played both of the advance tracks this week, and we're playing "Pox On Everything" again on our next show. Think of us as pox protection! Apply the pox only where it's warranted. No shortage of options there...

TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

MOTÖRHEAD: Motörhead

On our May 10th show, the weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! spot was occupied by "Please Don't Touch," an invigmoratin' 1981 cover of a Johnny Kidd and the Pirates classic, executed by Headgirl. Headgirl were the combined metal might of the boys in Motörhead and the girls in Girlschool, and that week's extravaganza also featured a spin of Girlschool's oomph-driven cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy." We figured we owed Motörhead their own reciprocal playlist representation this week. Hey, howzabout the first Motörhead track I ever heard? The eponymous li'l number "Motörhead" was on an absolutely ace 1977 various-artists borgasmord called Geef Voor New Wave, a record I snagged as a teen punk and proceeded to play over und over with the manic obsession (and commensurate volume) one should expect a proper teen punk would bring to such a thing. MOTÖRHEAD!

SPECTRAFLAME: Yesterday (Jane)

A couple of weeks ago, we offered our first spin of Spectraflame's nifty single "Yesterday (Jane)," but we played the wrong mix, an earlier version not considered the definitive version. This is because we're inept. Luckily, we have tenure, and we played the correct mix this week, righting (our own) wrongs and making the world safe for pop music. POP MUSIC IS SAVED! Just doin' our job.

THE BEATLES: Do You Want To Know A Secret

No secret: My book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies includes a short story about a fictional 1976 Beatles reunion. While nearly all of the musical performers referenced in the book are just mentioned in passing, the Beatles appear as characters in their own story. Elsewhere in the book, one other real-life performer does actively participate in a very brief cameo role.

Which real-life performer? That's still a secret, told in a story that I have not yet shared with anyone. Leiko knows who the performer is, even though [redacted] isn't known as a drummer. But Leiko knows. 

And she approves. The book should be out in early June.

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: 1/31/2025

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 # 1270

STEVE CONTE: Shoot Out The Stars

Guitarist Steve Conte first entered TIRnRR's sovereign airspace as a member of the latter-day incarnation of the New York Dolls, and again when he augmented our power pop heroes the Flashcubes on their invigmoratin' 2022 cover of the Slade classic "Gudbuy T' Jane." Rock AND roll!

Now, Steve has a new album called The Concrete Jungle, and of course we're playing it. Hell, we played the advance single "Fourth Of July" in August of 2023, and we played "Motor City Love Machine" on last week's show. When I was previewing the album, "Shoot Out The Stars" struck me as a track constructed from the same essential rockin' pop DNA as this little mutant radio show. We have the stars in our crosshairs. Ready, aim.... 

SORROWS: Out Of My Head

Second week in a row TIRnRR airplay for "Out Of My Head," the teaser single for Sorrows' forthcoming album Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow. Recorded in 1981, unreleased until right about NOW!, Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow is immediately, jaw-droppingly irresistible. We'll move on to another one of the album's tracks Sunday night, and the damned thing deserves--and gets--our highest recommendation. The single is great; the album as a whole is even greater.

THE WELL WISHERS: All My Friends

The Well Wishers (and Jeff Shelton's other gotta-play-this dbas) are perennial picks t' click on our show. So it was a given that we would immediately start programming tracks from the Well Wishers' new all-covers collection Covered 2. Fortune favors the bold, but fans often favor the familiar, and I confess we were orginally set to play the Covered 2 version of Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News," a song I've loved since I was a senior in high school (contemporary to the reign of Rumours).

Upon further review, I was drawn instead to the Well Wishers' Covered 2 interpretation of "All My Friends," a song previously done by the Primitons. I had no previous awareness of the Primitons' original--nor, in fact, any real previous awareness of the Primitons themselves--but I do know a radio-ready record when I hear it. And we'll hear the Well Wishers' "All My Friends" again next week.

THE FOUR TOPS: If I Were A Carpenter

I consider the Four Tops' interpretation of "If I Were A Carpenter" definitive. Its spin this week gave me an opportunity to re-visit my own alternate-lyrics take. With apologies to the late Tim Hardin, I present "If I Were The Carpenters:"

If I were the Carpenters
And you were Pink Lady
Would Chuck Berry play anyway?
Or would we have the Babys?

If I think of Rain Parade

Would Cowsills find me?

"Carrie Annie," the Hollies brayed

How ELO reminds me

Shave Mike Love for orneriness

Replace Mike Love with Sorrows

Mike gave Beach Boys severance checks

Wondermints, tomorrow!

If I were Steve Miller

With Detroit Wheels grinding

Would you miss the Orgone Box

And Yusef's shrewd whining?

If I were a band, Roy Wood

Would Move still shun me?

If I could join Yes, I would

What would U2 think of me?

If I were the Carpenters

And you were Pink Lady

Would Chuck Berry play anyway?

Or would we have the Babys?

Would Chuck Berry play anyway?

Or would we have the Babys?

The late Tim Hardin looks on in stunned, horrified silence

THE PLIMSOULS: A Million Miles Away

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part 1)

Well, given that Buffalo Bills fans always play a slight rewrite of the classic "Shout"--The Bills make wanna SHOUT!--whenever the Bills score a touchdown, I was really hoping this week's spin of the Isley Brothers' original would play in a happier context. It was not to be. But let's go, Buffalo--we'll get 'em next year.

(And I say we start by tackling the razzafrazzin' refs.)

THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park

POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happening

Four as-yet-unreleased tracks, each a cover of a song written by one or another member of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes, and all four of them created for a forthcoming project we've been referring to as [REDACTED].

Yeah, one needn't be a rocket surgeon to figure what the [REDACTED] project has gotta be, especially if it brings together these specific ace recordings by the SpongeTones, the Kennedys, Pop Co-Op, and sparkle*jets u.k. We will remain coy about it for just a few more days.

On this coming Sunday night's show, we will finally reveal the actual title of [REDACTED]. And we'll do so with a spin of a [REDACTED] track we ain't played yet: A brand new original recording by the Flashcubes themselves. Brighter lights await. Stay tuned.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. 

My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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

10 SONGS: 10/27/2022

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 # 1152.

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

It's. A. HIT!! The Smithereens' "Face The World With Pride" (from the recent archival release The Lost Album) marks its fifth consecutive week on the TIRnRR playlist, and its second week in a row at the top of the show. SPOILER ALERT: we're playing it again next week. It's a hit. That's what you do with hits. 

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

Man, this is such an exhilarating track, and we're lucky to have it on our new compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5. The force of rockin' pop nature called Perilous combines the lead vocals from Pauline and the Perils with the guitar from Hurtin' Units, the bass from Screaming Meemies, and the pummelin' drums from Syracuse sensations the Trend, and makes 'em all even louder and catchier. Sing, you Perilous peeps. Sing.

THE CYNZ: Narrow Hips

I believe that Perilous would get along smashingly with the Cynz. Furthermore, the Cynz's new single "Narrow Hips" suggests to me that Cynz lead singer Cyndi Dawson would herself dig a rock & roll kiss, presuming it's delivered by the narrow-hipped guy she's singin' about. Hey, it's rockin' pop Tinder! We're told that the Cynz are hard at work on their first album for the mighty Jem Records, and I betcha we'll dig that, too.

CHARLIE: She Loves To Be In Love

May of 1978 gave me my first opportunity to see the Kinks in concert (a story told here). A British band called Charlie was the opening act, and they did not interest me at all. They were slick, they were smug, and they were boring. Dana was also at that show (though this was nearly a decade before we met), and recalled Charlie as a band that couldn't decide if they wanted to be Cheap Trick or if they wanted to be Yes. Charlie did not succeed with either goal. Honestly, their most notable attribute was a generic ability to put out LPs with pretty women on the cover.

But there was this one song. There often is one song, even with an artist you would otherwise dismiss outright. "She Loves To Be In Love" (from Charlie's 1978 album Lines) is also slick, and maybe it's smug, but it ain't boring. It's POP, in a way that the other Charlie tracks I (almost) remember were not. I'll take the one song. Sometimes one song is all you need.

THE BABLERS: You Are The One For Me

Some years back, a fan familiar with This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio commented that Little Steven at the very least owes us a beer. The format of Little Steven's Underground Garage (both the syndicated show itself and the fab satellite radio channel that followed) is similar to TIRnRR's approach, and if I understand the math, our December 1998 debut predates the April 2002 launch of the original Underground Garage by...I can't count that high. But, like, by more than a few weeks. Or months. Or years.

Which is not to suggest that Little Steven stole the idea from us. That's possible, in the same sense that it's possible the Beatles could have reunited to play at CBGB's in 1977, but it's not terribly plausible. We weren't all that well-known, and there were other great shows who came even before us anyway, mixing old and new rock 'n' roll and pop music much like Dana and I and Little Steven and company do, and we didn't copy them either. Great ideas aren't always unique. They're still great ideas, and we're all lucky to have so many resources available to us if we wanna hear the Ramones, the Supremes, and the Shang Hi Los on the same radio show.

That said, we're tickled by the notion that the Bablers' wonderful single "You Are The One For Me" was last week's honoree as The Underground Garage's Coolest Song In The World. We love the song, and we've been playing it quite a bit since its release at the end of April. The track is an absolute lock for the year-end countdown of our most-played tracks in 2022, and we're glad Underground Garage agrees with us: Coolest song in the world!

THE WELL WISHERS: Figure It Out Myself

DEADLIGHTS: Pretend To Pretend

I tell ya, if you're in need of a pumpin', radio-ready pop tune, the Well Wishers will never let you down. "Figure It Out Myself" is the advance single from the Well Wishers' forthcoming album Blue Sky Sun, and it provides further evidence of Jeff Shelton's ability to bend the airwaves at will. You can't go wrong with the Well Wishers.

That rockin' pop guarantee also applies to Jeff's work under the Deadlights dba. A few paragraphs up we mentioned our delight in having Perilous' "Rock & Roll Kiss" on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5, and the same most assuredly goes for Deadlights' awesome "Pretend To Pretend." I'm still caught up in the rush of it all, but every track on TIRnRR Vol. 5 is a stunner. We're blessed. No pretense in that.

BARON DAEMON AND THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

POPULAR CREEPS: Gone By 45

Our cherished pop music comes in many flavors, some sweet, some bitter. For every giddy love song or invigorating dance tune, there are so many records with a deep sense of loss embedded at the heart. That's true of a lot of our stories, whether set to music or set down in prose, and it's certainly true of a lot of my own chronicled memories. There are some things we don't ever quite get over. We can learn to adjust, and move on to the extent we're able to move on. We don't forget the loss, not ever. 

And we shouldn't forget. The loss is part of us, and remembering the good parts that preceded a loss can remind us of better things. We are the sum of all of our things, both better and less so.

Popular Creeps understand loss. Their new single "Gone By 45" reflects on short lives, on a friend leaving this world far too soon. One supposes there are lessons to be learned, and a day to be seized, even as we turn the record up and let the sound commiserate with us.

But the ache lingers, as it must, as it should. That's the nature of loss. 

AMY RIGBY: Tom Petty Karaoke

The divine Amy Rigby also understands loss, and articulates its sting with clarity, insight, and cathartic deliverance. When Dana and I appeared with Michael Mitsch on WMSC-FM's Back To The Future on Sunday, we waxed rhapsodic over Amy's talents. I mentioned that "Dancing With Joey Ramone" has long been my favorite Amy Rigby track (and it earns a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), but that her TIRnRR Vol. 5 contribution "Tom Petty Karaoke" was poised to take over that # 1 spot. 

"Tom Petty Karaoke" is sublime. It's sad, it's touching, it's uplifting, it's resigned, it's determined, and it's grandiose yet almost defiantly unpretentious. It hurts, and it heals, a bracing balm for the gnawing we may feel within. We cannot thank Amy enough for letting us use this wonderful, wonderful track on our CD.

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