10 SONGS: 2/28/2026

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 # 1325, celebrating Black History Month

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

Rihanna's "Shut Up And Drive" is a stupid song about sex. But it's a great stupid song about sex, probably the best-ever stupid song about sex, and a legit contender for my all-time Hot 200. Yeah, even among songs that may or may not be stupid and may or may not be about sex.

"Shut Up And Drive" strikes me as a sort-of equivalent to "Heavy Music" by Bob Seger and the Last Heard, a track I initially dismissed as a stupid song about sex before realizing it was--you guessed it!--a great stupid song about sex. Rihanna's song is greater. We'll hear it again on the radio in Syracuse this Sunday night. Drive, baby. Drive.

CHUCK BERRY: Come On

Chuck Berry's 1961 single "Come On" was not a hit in the USA, but it did make the British Top 40 (# 38). One presumes that's where the boys who would soon become the Rolling Stones heard it, and their subsequent cover of "Come On" served as the A-side of the debut Stones single in 1963. Chuck Berry led the way.

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

Pop perfection, with an aching plea for harmony that resonates and reinforces our hopes for something better than the hateful tsuris surrounding us. Slyboots' 2024 single "If We Could Let Go" is just unforgettable, endlessly enriching, and for damned certain on the best new tracks of the decade to date.

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity

From a previous 10 Songs:

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.

DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love

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

1977 had the potential to be a year of musical revolution. When we say that, most of us are talking about punk, about the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Clash. Maybe we're not thinking as much about disco, and maybe that's fair. But if we want to consider the potential of pop music's revolution in '77, our discussions of "God Save The Queen," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," and "White Riot" had better allow some room on the dancefloor for "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer.

In the late '70s, disco and punk were supposed to be at war with each other. As a self-professed punk rocker in that era, I can attest that, yeah, punks didn't like disco, and the bumpin'-n-hustlin' set was appalled by the loud and fast noise my people favored. Hatfields and Capulets, meet McCoys and Montagues. Never mind the fact that the mainstream rock crowd held both punk and disco in nearly equal disdain; this was war!

Except that it wasn't. I'm skeptical of the notion that many of the Saturday Night Fevered ever took much interest in the Damned or the Dead Boys, but some among the new wave brigade did eventually allow their ears and minds to be a bit more open to non-pogo dance music, to the beat of dat ole debbil disco. Maybe it was just me, but I was a pop fan anyway; my intense dislike of disco music evolved into occasional tolerance, and tolerance evolved into a sporadic realization that some of the records weren't bad. 

Plus: Donna Summer. Donna Summer was gorgeous. I feel love.

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

WILSON PICKETT: Land Of 1000 Dances

"Land Of 1000 Dance." Our National Anthem. Well, it should be our National Anthem. And with no disrespect intended toward the 1962 original by Chris Kenner nor the hit 1965 remake by Cannibal and the Headhunters (whose fine version was the first to add the familiar na nana na na, nana na na na na na na na na, nana na naaaaaaa), I say folks attending baseball games across this occasionally (if not lately)-great land of ours should all rise for the wicked Wilson Pickett's evocation of doin' the Pony like Bony Maronie. Na nana na na, nana na na na na na na na na, nana na naaaaaaa. Batter up!

LL COOL J: Mama Said Knock You Out

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE BELLRAYS: One More Night

Like LeMoyne Alexander, the BellRays are another supercool act introduced to my eager ears via the Only Three Lads podcast. See? Ya learn stuff listening to O3L! You can catch up with your BellRays acclimation via their two-part O3L appearance in 2024: Part 1 and Part 2. To supplement your essential BellRays 101, let's review how the mighty Brett Vargo hyped their O3L spot:

"We're havin' a party this week! Joining us for a lively, laugh-filled exploration of 1973 albums is the heart and soul of the BellRays, singer Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum, who have been gloriously blending high octane punk, powerful soul music, deep blues, gritty garage rock, and whatever else they want to throw into the stew, since 1990. This is a band that defies expectations or pre-conceived notions and transcends any one genre or scene. Their music is all about energy and feel, and that makes them authentic no matter what the style is. To quote their 2020 compilation, It’s Never To Late To Fall In Love With...The BellRays."

NEVER too late! I can't explain why it took me so long to purchase some BellRays music and get it on the radio where it belongs. In that never-too-late spirit, the BellRays finally make their long-overdue TIRnRR debut with this killer track from their 2024 album Heavy Steady Go! They'll be back. We have a lot of time to overcompensate for, one more night at a time.

BOOKER T AND THE MG'S: Green Onions

Dana's pick for what oughta be our National Anthem. Booker T and the MG's with "Green Onions' or Wilson Pickett with "Land Of 1000 Dances?" Can't go wrong either way.

THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There

Reach out. The bad guys have the power. We have the numbers. Reach out, my friends. Reach out.

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: 12/20/2025

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 # 1315

SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man

The passing of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper compelled us to attempt a modest tribute to Cropper's legacy, and the show itself opened with Cropper's immortal guitar work on Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man." Play it, Steve.

From the "Soul Man" chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"It ain't braggin' if you can do it.

"Like many others among my generation of pop fans, my introduction to the music of Sam and Dave was ass-backwards. I have no recollection whatsoever of Sam and Dave's music from when I was a kid in the '60s, nor did I develop any awareness of them as an oldies-obsessed adolescent and teen in the '70s. I'm embarrassed to admit that I first heard the song 'Soul Man' via Saturday Night Live, when John Belushi and Dan Akroyd performed it on the show in their incarnation as Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers.

"I didn't care much about the Blues Brothers on SNL, but the Blues Brothers' subsequent recorded version sizzled, thanks largely to the irresistible guitar work of Stax Records legend Steve Cropper. Cropper and bassist Duck Dunn had also played on the original Sam and Dave recording of 'Soul Man,' and Jake and Elwood's faux soul revival eventually led me to the real deal. Gotta give Belushi and Akroyd some respect for knowing who to hang with. But once I did hear Sam and Dave's 'Soul Man' and 'Hold On, I'm Coming,' I would have neither time nor inclination to ever listen to the Blues Brothers again.

"The song itself is an extended boast. But it's a boast backed up by its collective prowess. Responding to Sam and Dave's command Play it, Steve!, Cropper's guitar work cuts and advances like an agile offensive line, its easygoing sway belying the force and efficiency of its piledriving advance. The Memphis Horns add bounce to spare. Resistance is futile...."

THE LITTLE GIRLS: How To Pick Up Girls

It has been a very, very long time since we've played anything by the Little Girls, a fab 1980s SoCal pop combo fronted by sisters Caron Maso and Michele Maso. Their track "Earthquake Song" scored at least one TIRnRR spin some time back in the way back; a recent message from Caron prompted me to snap up a digital copy of their Thank Heaven For Valley Pop compilation, with an eye and ear toward renewed Little Girls airplay. I was immediately struck by the snarky pop perfection of "How To Pick Up Girls," and PRESTO! The Little Girls have at long last returned to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. Betcha we'll be hearing 'em again as we pick up 2026. Thank heaven!

JIM BASNIGHT: Get It Out

This week's TIRnRR was our last regular show of 2025, as the rest of December is taken up by The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show this coming Sunday and then the year-end Countdown show on December 28th. The Christmas show has already been recorded, and we submitted an advance copy of that playlist to our stats man Fritz Van Leaven. He, in turn, has provided us with the rankings of our 50 most-played tracks this year.

This week's show included 13 of the tracks that will be in our Top 50 Countdown. Jim Basnight's "Get It Out" happens to be one of 'em. I have seen the Countdown and it is good!

OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Also in tribute to the song's producer and co-author Steve Cropper, and also from The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

 "Far from home, with nothing to do. Nothing worth doing, anyway.

"But who can say what might have been?

"Soul singer Otis Redding's only crossover pop hit was '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay,' an incredible mix of pride and resignation, a swagger reduced to a shrug. It was a posthumous # 1, ascending the charts after Redding perished in a plane crash in 1967. 

"But there was more to the story. There was much, much more to that story.

"Redding was a huge, huge star on the R & B charts. Rock promoter Bill Graham referred to Redding as "the black Elvis," an electrifying showman with a nigh-unique potential to unite black and white audiences under one big soulful pop rock 'n' roll tent. He wasn't a crossover artist, not in the same sense as the Motown acts selling 45s by the truckload to young America. Redding was the single greatest voice of Stax/Volt Records, a Memphis label that was pure soul. Crossover? Let the white kids cross over to us, man. If anyone could achieve that specific level of destiny in the '60s, it was gonna be Otis Redding.

"Except that it wasn't...."

WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

PERILOUS: Can't Stand The Holidaze

JAMIE HOOVER: Surfin' With Santa

THE KRAYOLAS: Maria Believes In Christmas Again

OTIS REDDING: Merry Christmas Baby

As each December comes rollin' around, we're reluctant to start programming much (if any) Christmas music, generally preferring to save the Yuletunes for the Christmas show itself. We did include "Carol Of The Guitars" by the Spongetones in the post-tag spot at the very end of last week's show. Otherwise? Deck your own halls if you wish. We weren't ready yet.

Knowing how difficult it is to squeeze all the seasonal sides we wanna play into the always-crowded playlist for the actual Christmas show, I wanted to mix some of our new 2025 holiday-centric acquisitions into this week's pre-Christmas show extravaganza. Our pals Perilous bring us the gift of cantankerousness with their new single "Can't Stand The Holidaze," Spongetones guitarist Jamie Hoover (working with TIRnRR stalwart Rich Rossi) bails entirely on the silly concept of winter wonderland with his new single "Surfin' With Santa," and the Krayolas fire up replenished faith in something brighter with "Maria Believes In Chjristmas Again." All great, all well worthy of airplay, and the Krayolas' track has the potential to be an evergreen on future This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Christmas shows. (We weren't able to find room this week for a track from Blaine Campbell and the California Sound's Holidays EP, but one will appear in the Christmas show.)

Dovetailing our Steve Cropper feature with our late-December concession that Christmas is indeed coming, we also played Otis Redding's version of "Merry Christmas Baby." The song was first recorded in 1947 by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers--someone send a thank-you eggnog to Wikipedia!--and my first recollection of the tune was when the 1987 various-artists Special Olympics benefit album A Very Special Christmas included a live rendition performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Boss provided me with a fine introduction to the song; it's also been recorded by Ike and Tina Turner, King Elvis I, Chuck Berry, the Monkees, and a sleigh-full of other artists.

Otis Redding's version is definitive.

BOOKER T AND THE MG'S: Jingle Bells

As we get ready for The 27th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show, our celebrative dash through the snow is once again accompanied by the guitar sound of Steve Cropper. Godspeed to the axe of Stax.  

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: 3/3/2022

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 # 1118.

EYTAN MIRSKY: Conversation

As we were preparing this week's show, we heard the sad news that drummer Chris Garges had passed. We didn't know Chris personally, but our hearts and condolences go out to his family and friends, especially to some of our friends who did know Chris, and for whom this is a personal loss. We hear Chris' voice in nearly every weekly edition of TIRnRR, speaking with his fellow members of the Spongetones in the superswell show ID bumper they recorded for us. You'll likely continue to hear that for as long as we have a radio show.

Dana and I had already set this week's playlist before we learned of Chris' passing. But we felt it was important to open the show with at least some brief tribute to him, and it was fairly simple to swap out and rearrange a few tracks and sets to accomplish that. We figured we'd reach back to what must have been the first of Chris' work we ever heard: Songs About Girls (And Other Painful Subjects), the 1996 debut album by Eytan Mirsky. Our best wishes and commiseration to all who knew Chris. He sounds like he was a hell of a guy.

ROTARY CONNECTION: Love Me Now

The music of Rotary Connection is still mostly undiscovered to my ears; I know of Rotary Connection more than I know Rotary Connection, and I don't know all that much of them, either, other than the fact that one of the many members over the group's timeline was the late Minnie Riperton. Much of what I have heard is intriguing, reminding me (perhaps incongruously) of a more soulful Renaissance or a more progressive 5th Dimension, though neither impression is accurate. I aim to learn more, much more, and the best way to learn more about Rotary Connection is to hear more Rotary Connection. Stay tuned. 

ANTON BARBEAU: Rain, Rain

The new album from Anton Barbeau is called Power Pop!!!, and I very much dig how the good folks at Big Stir Records hyped its representation on our little mutant radio show this week:

"Anton Barbeau hits the This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist with music that may or may not be power pop (it isn't!) along with the Flashcubes featuring Shoes (both of which are) and Addison Love and Irene Peña (who may vary from track to track)... but like it says, it IS Rock 'N' Roll as only Dana and Carl can bring it to you!" TESTIFY, brothers and sisters!

"Rain, Rain" is the first single off Power Pop!!!, and I would concur that it's not power pop as I envision power pop. But it is a glorious example of catchybuzz--I just made that up--a luxurious blend of psych-tinged, '80s-influenced left-of-the-dial pretty noise. Dana felt compelled to follow it with a track from Let's Active's Big Plans For Everyone, and I felt compelled to turn it all up for maximum boppin' accomplishment. Catchybuzz. We'll have another track from Power Pop next week. It's also not power pop. But we like it anyway.

SCOTT ROBERTSON: Hours Feel Like Minutes

We've played music from the Vapor Trails a time or several on TIRnRR. The fabulous Vapor Trails are piloted by Kevin Robertson, and Kevin's son Scott Robertson has a likewise-fabulous new EP called Physical Education. The EP comes courtesy of Futureman Records, the same visionary label that introduced us to the Vapor Trails. Of course we played it! It's what we do! We'll play it again next week. Nice, nice stuff.

THEE OH SEES: No Spell

Nope; I've never heard of Thee Oh Sees before. I really need to get out more. The almighty Wikipedia says the group has been around since the late '90s, and is currently known by the truncated moniker Osees. All I know is that Dana played Thee Oh Sees' "No Spell" (from the 2013 album Floating Coffin), prompting listener Rich Firestone to comment, "Mind blower of a song playing right now!" We agree, Rich. We agree.

CAROLYNE MAS: In The Rain

Hey, congratulations to the incomparable Carolyne Mas, who's just entered into a deal with the German label MIG Music. The Mas/MIG alliance will bring some of Carolyne's music back within the reach of an eager buying public, and we're in favor of that. "In The Rain" is my favorite Carolyne Mas track, a song I love even more than I love her MTV classic "Quote Goodbye Quote." I have a feeling we're gonna be giving some significant spinnage to "In The Rain" this year. It's all part of our ongoing service to you, the loyal TIRnRR listener. As always: playing pop music is its own reward.

TEGAN AND SARA: Walking With A Ghost

"So I heard a song on the radio...."

That's the first line of a chapter in my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), the beginning of an entry celebrating "Walking With A Ghost" by the Canadian duo Tegan and Sara. "Walking With A Ghost" was indeed a song I heard on the radio, and its wraith-like ambiance hypnotized me on first spin.

"...If I never learned anything else about Tegan and Sara, if I never heard another note of their music, 'Walking With A Ghost' would be enough to haunt me, a spirit to possess me, a reminder of secrets thought to be dead and buried, yet rising from their graves to float beside me. Torments? No...well, sometimes. But always: reminders. Traces of what was and what could have (or should have) been, and the depressing gap between the two.

"The ghosts of our past walk beside us. I know I'm not unique in this. The spirits of past missteps and misdeeds are with us every day, sometimes with greater presence than others. No medium or ghostbreaker can dispel these particular poltergeists. It's not every minute of every day; we can apply context and balance, and we can concede that being human--mortal--comes with the certainty of fallibility, the inevitability of imperfection. But we also have to acknowledge the sins and the regrets, the times we were victim or villain, the aggressor or the aggrieved. I hope lessons were learned along the way. The ghosts remind us how much we still have to learn."

THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: So Much In Love

"So Much In Love" was the B-side of the Flamin' Groovies' cover of Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep Mountain High," both tracks coupled as a non-LP 45 issued in France in 1981. It was, to all intents and purposes, the final release by the Groovies during their initial lifespan, a continuity that stretched back to the '60s and through varying lineups. Original lead singer Roy Loney had split in the very early '70s, and he was replaced by Chris Wilson. Chris himself left somewhere 'roundabout this single's release. Original Groovies Cyril Jordan and George Alexander attempted to soldier on for a bit, but the flame died, and the Groovies were gone, at least for a little while. They would return.

This B-side was something of an orphan track; not exactly lost, but kind of, I dunno...sidelined? Both the A- and B-sides were collected on The Gold Star Tapes, an LP of dubious legitimacy. Or a bootleg. Or a rare import. You bought it, you name it. "River Deep Mountain High" was later included on the wonderful Groovies CD compilation Groovies' Greatest Grooves, while "So Much In Love" remained in the wild. It was given proper reissue as part of Between The Lines, a 2019 CD subtitled The Complete Jordan-Wilson Songbook '71-'81. Between The Lines is my go-to Flamin' Groovies collection.

WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm mulling a plan to renovate my GREM! book, a work that has been in development for years and still hasn't found a path to publication. Even if I do split the book into two parts, my chapter about Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" will almost certainly remain a part of Volume 1. That chapter begins as follows:

"Sometimes even a great record--the greatest record--is taken for granted. For all the classic 45s or album tracks that tackled you and gloriously pinned you to the pavement on first exposure, there are many other shots o' sonic bliss that you just didn't quite get immediately, songs you didn't fully appreciate on first spin, or third spin, or even for a long while after that. Maybe some of these are records you initially deemed merely 'Okay, I guess,' if you gave them any thought at all; perhaps some are little ditties you ignored, or even actively disliked. And then one day or night--preferably night--you hear the song again, and it suddenly clicks, as if you're hearing it for the very first time. And it's like the trite old story of the presumably-mousy secretary whose beauty suddenly reveals itself when she removes her glasses...except that she was always beautiful, with or without the glasses, ya freakin' dimwit. You just didn't notice. 

"But you're paying attention now. And whether it's a girl or a song or some other sublime gem, you've fallen in love. What took you so long?"

THE MIGHTY LEMON DROPS: Inside Out

Gilmore Girls was one of my favorite TV series. The opening scene in its first episode played out to a soundtrack of "There She Goes" by the La's. The final scene of the last episode of its original run used "Inside Out" by the Mighty Lemon Drops. So this one goes out to Lorelai and Luke in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Here's to your little corner of the world.

You can support 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: 9/28/2021

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1096.

THE AMPLIFIER HEADS: GlamOrama

On several previous occasions, I've mentioned a 1970s British TV series called Supersonic. When I was a teenager, WPIX in New York used to show episodes of Supersonic on Saturday afternoons. This would have been, I think, circa 1975-76, when I was 15 or 16 years old. Cable TV in the Syracuse suburbs allowed me access to this signal, giving me an opportunity to see lip-sync performances by acts like Slade, Gary Glitter, the Bay City Rollers, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Sweet, the Hollies, my then-presumed future wife Suzi Quatro, and more. It was all quite cheesy, for sure, but I loved it.

One wonders if the Amplifier Heads might also retain a cherished memory of Supersonic. "GlamOrama," the advance single from the Amplifier Heads' new album SaturnalienS, revels in its own giddy embrace of all things glam/glitter, calling Supersonic to my mind regardless of the group's conscious intent. Stomp your hands, clap your feet. 20th century boys! The man in the back says everyone attack. GlamOrama? I'm just a-waitin' for you. Supersonic, man. Simply Supersonic.

THE BROTHERS STEVE: Next Aquarius

I already rhapsodized over the glory, the splendor, and the wonder of the Brothers Steve in this week's playlist commentary. Lemme just add that the group's new album Dose continues the invigmoratin' we-got-the-hits promise of their debut. And then some! You will be hearing more of this on TIRnRR in the coming weeks.

ALICE COOPER: Reflected

Before this week, I don't think TIRnRR has ever reached back to the '60s for an Alice Cooper track. Hello, hooray! Wait, that's from the '70s. Never mind. "Reflected" comes from Alice Cooper's debut album, 1969's Pretties For You. I had that LP in the early '80s, but I didn't like it at the time, and it was exiled from my collection PDQ. Stupid twentysomething. I heard "Reflected" again last week, and I dig its de facto blueprint for the subsequent Cooper fave "Elected." Yeah, obviously school was out a little too early for my numbskull younger self.

COLIN HAY: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

Credit my high school pal Beth Woodell for the find here. Beth, bless 'er, sent me former Men At Work vegemite-lover Colin Hay's swell new cover of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset." It was just sublime, and it led me to check out more of Mr. Hay's new covers album I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself. The album finds the man at work with his versions of material by Glen Campbell, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Faces, the Beatles, Del Amitri, Jimmy Cliff, and Blind Faith. The title track is my favorite, as Colin Hay takes on the daunting task of covering the incomparable Dusty Springfield, and succeeds. Magic. Thanks, Beth!

THEE HEADCOATEES: Swallow My Pride

Wait, should Thee Headcoatees be alphabetized under "H" or under "T?" Probably the latter, given that "Thee" is more an integral part of the act's official nom du bop than just a lower-case definite article. Man, the things I think about on behalf of you, the loyal Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) reader. Holly Golightly--one of these Headcoatees, and also a long-time TIRnRR Fave Rave as a solo artist--is filed under "G," so I guess this is a rare opportunity to misfile her fine work. We are the world!

And file this under "Duh:" TIRnRR endorses chicks covering the Ramones. Isn't it always this way?

KID GULLIVER: Gimme Some Go!

The public service facilitators at Red On Red Records are preparing for the imminent release of the new Kid Gulliver album Kismet. Kismet's gonna gather your Kid Gulliver essentials all in one place, and Red On Red's a-celebratin' this Friday with a video premiere party for the new Kid Gulliver single "Stupid Little Girl." We started the party a wee bit early ourselves, spinning the title track from Kid Gulliver's recent Gimme Some Go! EP. Fate! Destiny! KISMET!

WILSON PICKETT: Help Me Make It Through The Night

Soul and country sprang from shared roots. The wicked Wilson Pickett was a son of Alabama, and he could sing pretty much anything anyway; whether it was Cannibal and the Headhunters' "Land Of 1000 Dances" or the Archies' "Sugar Sugar," Wilson Pickett could take a song and assume legal right to it. Pickett sings country? His 1973 cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" offers incontrovertible evidence that the wicked one could indeed bend three chords and the truth to his own soulful will. 

PRINCE: Hot Summer

I'm still buzzin' with this idea that there's a new Prince album in 2021, more than five years after His Purple Majesty's departure from this world into the next. We played a track ("Yes") from Prince's Welcome 2 America on last week's show, but I'm really taken with "Hot Summer," a pristine 'n' righteously radio-ready tune that somehow reminds me of Sly and the Family Stone, and maybe a little bit of War.. And it's not because it has "Summer" in the title; Sly's "Hot Fun In The Summertime" isn't the specific vibe I'm thinking, though War's "Summer" isn't far off. Whatever it is, it's damned irresistible, and I may be playing this seasonal song well into the Syracuse winter. It's a little too soon to make the leap of hyperbole, but right now? "Hot Summer" may be one of my Top Ten Prince tracks.

SORROWS: Play This Song (On The Radio)

Play this song on the radio? Yep. It's what we do. Sing it, you Sorrows. Sing.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Rock & Roll

And it was all right.

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

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.

The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:

Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio:  CD or download

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.