10 SONGS (plus a three-song bonus): 6/27/2026--GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!!

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 # 1341: GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!!

CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land

This week's show ties into the publication of my new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies. The book is a work of fiction, but we're celebrating its intrinsic mojo by stringing together an irresistible array of rockin' pop music by a few of the many real-life musicmakers mentioned alongside imaginary characters I created for the book's stories. And we'll get to the music in just a sec, right after these important words from our sponsor:

Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies gathers tales of a foul-mouthed rock 'n' roll guitarist hijacked into space, an Old West gunslinger, a film noir gun moll who longs to be in a musical, a humorous fill-in superhero suddenly called to greatness, a former boy band star turned record company fix-it man, a would-be painter, an obsessed collector, a fated swordswoman, a fallen giant, a frustrated time traveler, a condemned sinner guiding tourists in Hell, a departed soul interviewing for a spot in Heaven, a 1976 Beatles reunion concert, and other untruths detailing love, loss, disappointment, miscellaneous hijinks, a fascination with shiny objects, and—occasionally--a juvenile sense of humor. 

CARL'S BOOKS:

Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies (2026): $15
The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) (2024): $30
Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones (2023): $25

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The first story in the book is the first short story I ever sold, 2019's "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," a foul-mouthed farce about a rock band from Earth playing gigs on other planets. Chuck Berry was the first among many actual musicians name-checked in this and subsequent stories. After all, NASA's inclusion of "Johnny B. Goode" on the gold record sent into space with Voyager 1 and 2 is what built the extraterrestrial market for rock 'n' roll in the first place. As Rocky, the leader of the book's titular planet-hopping combo Guitars Vs. Rayguns relates:

"Tonight's gig's been going well. Just one fight so far, and the drummer was only wounded; he's out for the night, but we'll get by with just two guitars and a bass if we gotta. Some Big Star, some Everly Brothers, Prince, Grip Weeds, Supremes, Pop Co-Op, Small Faces, and always, always some Chuck Berry. We're about midway through 'Promised Land' when an asshole in the audience tries to interrupt us...."

And that leads into more of the miscellaneous hijinks the book's back cover blurb promises. Take us to the Promised Land. Chuck.

THE CYNZ: Love's So Lovely

The Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! book presents a total of 27 short stories, including five stories starring the irrepressible space-traveling bar band from whom the book takes its title. There is also a sixth story centered around one of the band's members. The other 21 tales are unrelated to the adventures of this band called Guitars Vs. Rayguns. 

A few of the book's non-GvsR! stories are centered around music. "Home Of The Hits" sticks strictly to characters of my creation, with no references to real-life musicians. "Open Letter To An Imaginary Rock Band" finds its narrator listing a bunch of acts (KISS, the Stylistics, the Sex Pistols, Motörhead, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Talking Heads, the Isley Brothers) he prefers to his younger brother's favorite band (the fictional Pants-On Flyers). "I'm At Bat!" name-checks OIivia Newton-John, the Kinks, Nelson Riddle, the Jam, the Marketts, and Neil Hefti. Both "Time, And The Junk Food Of Your Life" and "Pop Friction" mention the Beatles, and the Fab Four also star in their own story about a 1976 reunion concert. The volume of real-life music-makin' names cited within that Beatles short story may rival the cumulative number of bands referenced in all five (or six) of the GvsR! chapters.

But yeah, the dedicated GvsR! band stories provide a pervasive supply of pop music name-dropping threaded throughout the book. The vast majority of them are passing references, and that status includes this line invoking the name of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio fave raves the Cynz:

"...The setlist was still peppered with covers, everything from the Buzzcocks and the Selecter to the Cynz and Etta James. But we were doing more and more originals, and our drunken and violently irascible audiences were responding. Favorably. Fuck, we had a gig last week out near Sirius, and only one raygun fight broke out. One! Unheard of in our experience. Suddenly, the ETs far and wide were dancing and listening. We were heading to the toppermost of the motherfucking poppermost...."

As a writer and a music fan (and, y'know, a DJ), my mind is always occupied with dozens of random notions and dozens of irresistible song choices. Always. I wanted Guitars Vs. Rayguns' repertoire to reflect that. And I specifically wanted to mention the Cynz because lead singer Cyndi Dawson has been so supportive of all of my books. Cyndi: THANK YOU!

(And in the real world, "Love's So Lovely" [from the current Cynz album Confess] has already secured a berth on TIRnRR's year-end countdown show. And I wouldn't be surprised if it makes our Top Ten. Hey, Cynz! The guitars and the rayguns salute you.)

THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone

One of the (theoretical) growing-up experiences that impacted my development as a pop pundit, music journalist, and writer of stuff was the act of standing my ground whenever anyone told me I shouldn't like something. Over time, I learned to shrug off naysayers, and to keep right on digging what I dig. Comic book superheroes. Punk rock. Pulp fiction.

The Monkees.

The more some folks tried to convinced me that the Monkees were worthless, the more they deepened my conviction that they didn't know what they were talking about. I'd seen the TV show, I'd heard the records. I know what I like. I loved the Monkees, and I still do.

The Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! book includes three separate references to the Monkees. In my Beatles reunion story, when John, Paul, George, and Ringo have an informal get-together to reacclimate to playing as a band, they perform a presumably-jokey (but not disrespectful) jam of the familiar "(Theme From) The Monkees." Later in the book, when Guitars Vs. Rayguns are auditioning a new member, the Monkees' "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is one of a slew of covers the potential group is unable to nail.

My favorite Monkees moment in Guitars Vs. Rayguns! occurs still later in the book, when the members of my raygun-target rock group find themselves in danger, and they steal a plot element directly from The Monkees TV series to escape their predicament. The idea's inspiration is given full and proper in-story credit. Saved by the Monkees! I believe the fans will be pleased.

But I would have that faith, wouldn't I? After all, I'm a believer.

THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise

Big Stir Records recording artists the Flashcubes loom large in my legend. You can be assured that in the GvsR! chronicles, the Flashcubes are represented and appreciated by rock 'n' roll fans across the planets and across the galaxies.

Guitars Vs. Rayguns drummer Leiko is certainly a Flashcubes fan, especially of 'Cubes drummer Tommy Allen (alongside Keith Moon, Marky Ramone, Clem Burke, Dennis Diiken, and Ringo Starr. Here's evidence of that:

"...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!...' "

So noted. In the universe of GvsR!, the Flashcubes are stars, as big as any other stars in any galaxy. 

I like that universe.

WONDERBOY: Girl Songs

Robbie Rist is a long-time friend of this show, and Dana and I have twice been guests on The Spoon, the essential podcast our Robbie co-hosts with Chris Jackson and Thom Bowers. As a tip of the hat, I wanted to add Robbie's old SoCal pop band Wonderboy to the long list of acts that Guitars Vs. Rayguns covers in their phaser-blasted live sets. And given clear evidence within the narrative that Guitars Vs. Rayguns guitarist Rocky really likes the ladies--really, really likes the ladies--Wonderboy's pop gem "Girl Songs" is a perfect match. 

P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop

C'mon--it wouldn't be one of my books if it didn't reference the Ramones. In one of the book's non-GvsR! stories, a character mentions driving through a blizzard as his iPod treats him to neck-snappin' segues from the Ramones to Dizzy Gillespie to the Girls From Petticoat Junction. In "Jack Mystery (some truths and some white lies)," the actor auditioning for the lead role in a comic book movie wears a Ramones t-shirt. Within the five (or six) GvsR! stories, a character uses the expression "I swear to Joey Ramone," the bassist expresses a desire to channel Brian Wilson, James Jamerson, and Dee Dee Ramone, and we've already seen that drummer Leiko intends to be Marky fucking Ramone (among others). The Ramones. The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time. Hey-ho. Let's go!

JOAN JETT: Bad Reputation

From my short story "Lone Star Falling," which I think is among the best things I've ever written:

"...But Marie looked up at Faye. The eyes could not see. Nonetheless, Marie said out loud, 'LaFayette?'

"Faye had not heard anyone call her by her full first name in...well, she couldn't remember how long it had been. 'Yes, Mom! It's LaFayette.' Usually unflappable, Faye's nerves were on Def Con 1. 'How are you, Mom?'

" 'George!,' Marie called out. 'LaFayette's here for a visit. Come see your daughter.'

" 'No, Mom. Let's not bother Daddy right now.' Faye's father George had died in a car accident decades ago, when Faye was in seventh grade. Faye saw no reason to correct her mother's illusion. 'Let's just have a chat for a second, just you and me, Mom.'

" 'Fifi...?'

Faye froze. Her mother hadn't called her by that name since she was a little girl. 'Fifi? Is that you?' Before Faye could muster a reply, Marie's mind switched again. 'LaFayette! Turn off that noise and set the table for dinner!'

" 'It's not noise, Mom,' said Faye, recalling the exact conversation she had with Marie all those years ago. 'It's Joan Jett. Come on, Mom. Dance with me!'

"Marie smiled as Faye began to dance by the creeping phlox. Marie also started to dance, or rather to mimic the act of dancing while still confined to her wheelchair. 'Such language,' Marie said. 'Couldn't this Joan Jett say she doesn't give a darn about her reputation?'

" 'Works better this way, Mom. It's kickass!'

" 'LaFayette!'

" 'It's okay, Mom. Doesn't this music make you feel alive?'

"Marie was silent, but the glow of her smile continued...."

YOKO ONO: Move On Fast

I have a lot of respect for Yoko Ono, but most of her music falls outside of my chosen pop parameters. Dana's a fan. That said, there are three Yoko tracks I like very much: Her 1980 B-side "Kiss Kiss Kiss" earned a chapter in my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! [Volume 1]), her 1971 seasonal treat "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" is luscious and sublime, and "Move On Fast," a pumpin' track from her 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe, rocks. Yoko haters need not apply.

My first awareness and appreciation of "Move On Fast" was provided courtesy of the weekly classic alternative podcast Only Three Lads. Like Dana, O3L co-host Brett Vargo is big on Yoko, and while he hasn't yet managed to convert his partner Uncle Gregg to the cause, Brett insists Gregg will come around eventually. Me? I'm grateful to Brett for hooking me on this track.

Yoko Ono appears as a supporting character in my 1976 Beatles reunion fantasy piece. I think she comes off quite well, and I hope Brett will approve of her depiction. Dear Yoko: The world of Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! holds nothing but love for you.

THE BEATLES: Paperback Writer

Why, yes--I am a paperback writer. Dear sir or madam, will you read my book?

ENCORE! THREE MORE SONGS!!

MOTÖRHEAD: Ace Of Spades

SLADE: Gudbuy T' Jane

LL COOL J: Mama Said Knock You Out 

These songs are mentioned together in sequence late in the book, when Guitars Vs. Rayguns are jamming with a famous real-life rock 'n' roll superstar, and he sings these three song choices with them. And the band is beyond thrilled when HE expresses gratitude to THEM...!

Thenkyew. Thenkyewverymuch.

Unlikely song choices in this context? Man, I can hear them, in my crowded head. And besides: The King can do what the King can do. That's why he's the King.

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: 3/22/2025

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1277

THE RAMONES: What's Your Game

I love the Ramones. My first book was about the Ramones, I co-host a radio show that takes its title from a line in a Ramones song, and I regard "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" as the record that changed my life. I'm a fan, and I'm proud to be a fan. My three favorite bands are always going to be the Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes. Ain't gonna change at this age.

For all that, there are still some Ramones tracks that have yet to be played on TIRnRR. But I was a little surprised to discover we'd never played "What's Your Game" before. It's from their second album, 1977's incredible Leave Home, and I just figured we must have played everything from the first four Ramones albums by now. Better late than never! It's all in the game.

SORROWS: Somethin' Else

THE ARTWOODS: Day Tripper

Given that Sorrows guitarist Arthur Alexander has expressed his affection for the  music of mid '60s rockin' Mods the Artwoods, our recent playlists have taken to playing the two acts in close proximity. We're breaking that trend on our next show--my fault!--but I betcha we'll get back to it in short order.

Meanwhile, both of these fine acts are represented this week by covers. The Artwoods' BBC radio performance of the Beatles' "Day Tripper" is influenced less by Her Majesty's Fab Ramones and more by Otis Redding's own soulful version. It jumps, it swaggers, and it doesn't take the easy way out as it tries to please us. Got a good reason!

Sorrows' righteously boppin' run-through of Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else" comes to us from their current record Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow, an archival release that rescues an irresistible previously-unreleased Sorrows album from more'n four decades ago, and serves now as Sorrows' farewell work. The Artwoods are taking next week off, but we will hear another track from Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow.

In our Ramones entry up above, I mentioned that Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes mingle all celestial-like with the Beatles and Ramones as the Trinity in my rock 'n' roll cosmology. I think my first exposure to Cochran's power pop prototype "Somethin' Else" was provided by the Flashcubes, who used to include the song in their live sets circa 1979; pretty sure I heard the 'Cubes play it before I heard the Sex Pistols' cover, and a couple of years before I heard Cochran's original. So, nice connection here between the Flashcubes and Sorrows.

(Connections between the Flashcubes and Sorrows.... Do we want to get into spoilers? Most of you already know about a forthcoming project we've been teasing for a bit. More details yet to come. A connection between the Flashcubes and Sorrows? On the radio, pop music is their religion....)

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Ship To Shore

This little mutant radio show is wholeheartedly and enthusiastically in favor of Librarians With Hickeys. That's the band Librarians With Hickeys, though I guess we're not opposed to nibbling playfully on Marian the Librarian's neck if she were open to the notion. There were bells on a hill, but we never heard them ringing....

Where were we? Ah, right...pop music. Librarians With Hickeys' current album How To Make Friends By Telephone is a ripe 'n' ready resource for rockin' pop radio picks, and we move now to the latest single "Ship To Shore." Hailing frequencies open, and message received. 

(We've also just heard a great new, currently unreleased track from Librarians With Hickeys. Do we want to get into spoilers? Maybe not yet. In saying even that much, I hope we haven't gone too far.)

THE SPONGETONES: Words And Music

No spoiler here: We've been playing the SpongeTones' cover of the Flashcubes' "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young," loving it, and we'll for damned sure be playing it again (and again) in the future. As other tracks from this various-artists project shift from secret to spoiler to HERE IT IS!!, the SpongeTones' "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" has already secured a guaranteed berth on the year-end Countdown show of our most-played tracks in 2025. And we're not even done with March yet!

This week, we wanted to reach back for a spin of one of the 'Tones' own tunes: "Words And Music," from their 1991 album Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah! was my first SpongeTones album; I was smitten, I caught up with its predecessors in the SpongeTones library PDQ, and I've been on board ever since. Words AND music. I'm sold!

P. HUX: Better Than Good

As referenced at the tippy-top of today's rant, my first book was 2023's Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, coming soon to a remainder table near you. My second book was 2024's The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), dedicated to the notion that an infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.

If/when I do a GREM! Volume 2 book, that volume will include a celebration of "Double Our Numbers," a sublime song from Parthenon Huxley's 1988 album Sunny Nights.  You can read that GREM! chapter here.

Speaking of books, Mr. Huxley has his own new tome. Parthenon's memoir Electric Light Odyssey is subtitled "My Zigzag Life And The Iconic Band That Changed Everything," and it chronicles his personal and professional history, including his dbas under his own name and fronting his combo P. Hux, and his tenure with the Orchestra, the current incarnation representing the legacy of the Electric Light Orchestra. A book by Parthenon Huixley covering all of that? To paraphrase Lenny Haise, the great philosopher who used to play guitar in Erie, PA's phenomenal pop combo the Wonders: I bought it, you're buyin' it, we're ALL buyin' it. Do so here.

Some years back, Parthenon allowed us the use of his P. Hux track "Better Than Good" on our compilation album This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. Thanks again, Parthenon! It seemed high time for a repeat spin, and that is indeed the better-than-good option we chose this week. Better and better!

(Do we want to get into spoilers? That would be premature in this case anyway. I guess we will have to wait another night.)

BADFINGER: Day After Day

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: Pop Radio

The assembled forces of Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols have crafted this lovely statement of intent "Pop Radio," a delicious ditty which serves as manifesto for TIRnRR in all our imaginary glory. We've been playing "Pop Radio" a lot, and we have an even newer track from Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols set to open our next show.

(As for the identity of this new new Super 8/Lisa Mychols track: Do we want to get into spoilers? We DO! And this will be revealed at the top of this coming Sunday night's show, when we close our eyes.)

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

Do we want to get into spoilers? Even if we don't wanna do that, this isn't a spoiler at all. The Flashcubes' absolutely ace new number "Reminisce" will be one of three new Flashcubes tracks appearing alongside 21 other artists covering various Flashcubes originals on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. The album is due from our friends at Big Stir Records in September, and "Reminisce" will be the opening track. "Reminisce" will lead into sparkle*jets u.k.'s cover of "Make Something Happen," which will flow into...

...Heh. No more spoilers for now. Stay tuned. Things are about to get brilliantly Cubic around here.

WONDERBOY: Girl Songs

Listen: They're ALL girl songs, man. Our boy Robbie Rist understands. Oh! One spoilery question for Robbie: Is one of the girls named Sybil? Something about a girl with more than one personality...?

And with that, 10 Songs takes five.

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: 1/15/2025

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 # 1268

THE NON-PROPHETS: Alibi

We're as punched as pleased to welcome the Non-Prophets back to the TIRnRR playlist. The Non-Prophets are the dba of our bud Allan Kaplon, who scored some significant airplay here with his solo album Notes On A Napkin. Our Allan returns to the collective Non-Prophets billing for "Alibi." For this track, the Non-Prophets also include Stacy Carson and Bruce Gordon (half of TIRnRR Fave Raves Pop Co-Op), it's produced by Don Dixon, and it's a match made in Heaven's boppin' li'l nightspot. "Alibi" opens this week's show, and it will be back next week. We believe this particular "Alibi."

THE OSMONDS: Crazy Horses

WONDERBOY: Down By The Lazy River

The passing of Wayne Osmond prompted us to program a few tracks by the Osmonds. I wasn't much of an Osmonds fan during my prime AM Top 40 era in the early- to mid-'70s, but I later came to appreciate some of the group's harder rock efforts.

It's no joke to combine "the Osmonds" and "harder rock efforts" in the same sentence. The title tune from the group's 1972 Crazy Horses proved that Led Zeppelin had nothing on them Osmonds. We've played "Crazy Horses" before, and we've played similarly head-bangin' Osmonds nuggets like "Yo Yo" and "Hold Her Tight." This week, it felt imperative to bang the noggin once again to the sturm und drang of "Crazy Horses," as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio remembers Wayne Osmond.

(The Osmonds also opened our second set this week, with a spin of "One Way Ticket To Anywhere" from their 1973--ahem--CONCEPT ALBUM The Plan. We circled back to the Osmonds in the show's last hour, when we finally got around to one of their biggest hits, the superswell bubblesoul classic "One Bad Apple [Don't Spoil The Whole Bunch]." Oddly enough, of our three Osmonds selections this week, "One Bad Apple"--the best-known of that whole bunch, girl--is the only one we had never played before.)

One Osmonds hit that I did enjoy contemporary to its chart life was 1971's "Down By The Lazy River." I was eleven years old, and it may have been the first instance of me realizing that I liked a song or group that wasn't considered cool, but I didn't care--I liked it anyway. There's your blueprint for my life, right there, the precursor of when I was in college a few years later, with a Bay City Rollers poster tacked on my dorm room wall as a conscious act of defiance (and of many decades proudly sneering in the face of any sucker who tried to tell me I couldn't love the Monkees). Get thee behind me, hipsters!

"Down By The Lazy River" is represented on the playlist by a faithful, rollickin' cover performed by TIRnRR superstars Wonderboy. Wonderboy's ace rendition appeared on the fantastic 2002 various-artists set Right To Chews: Bubblegum Classic Revisited, and it's also available as a digital single.

THE COOLIES: Pathetica

THE FLASHCUBES: Pathetic

As experienced rockin' pop radio programmers, Dana and I know better than to shy away from a good segue, no matter how obvious the segue is. Sometimes the obvious choice is the unerringly proper choice. We pursued that notion in this week's show with a four-play of tambourine-related ditties by the Tambourine People, Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, the Lemon Pipers, and ABBA, and again a bit later in the playlist, as Dana's selection of Amy Rigby's coiffure-related cut "Bangs" compelled me to follow with the Cowsills' follicly-focused gem "Hair." We are SO damned clever.

By the same literal-minded token, it seemed imperative to tailgate the paradoxically righteous self-doubt of the Coolies' "Pathetica" with the Flashcubes' disdainful dismissal "Pathetic." The former was written by the late, great Kim Shattuck, and is native to the Coolies' certified great EP Uh-Oh! It's...The Coolies, the latter penned by 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong and featured on the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. Opposing POVs, but they go great together.

(Speaking of the Flashcubes' "Pathetic:" A persistent rumor--if not quite the Rumour--suggests we can look forward to a newly-recorded cover of "Pathetic," courtesy of a British singer, songwriter, and performer of some note. We must note that rumour...er, rumor is not yet confirmed.) 

ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

As debuted on last week's show: The SpongeTones cover the Flashcubes. This track is not yet available to the general public. The same can be said of as-yet-unreleased Flashcubes covers by sparkle*jets u.k., the Kennedys, and Pop Co-Op, each of which we've already played here, and forthcoming dives into the Cubic songbook courtesy of such fabulous acts as...well, that would be telling. For now: [REDACTED]. But perhaps not redacted for very much longer. At some point, you've just gotta make something happen.

THE ON AND ONS: Been There

The On and Ons' new album Come On In is officially released this Friday, January 17th. Hey, Happy Birthday to ME!! I celebrate with pop music. And pop music from the On and Ons is for damned sure worth celebrating. Nonetheless: Get off my lawn, you kids. 

20/20: King Of The Whole Wide World

20/20's new album Back To California is officially released this Friday, January 17th. Hey, another Happy Birthday to me! I am indeed worth it. The celebration continues. Hell, I guess the kids can stay on my lawn if they really want to.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

As I near the completion of my 65th solar orbit, my thoughts on the strange concept of Growing up...?! remain resolute and unchanged:

Don't want to. 

Won't need to. 

Ain't gonna.

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.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: 1/11/2025

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 # 1267

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

THE ZOMBIES: This Will Be Our Year

THE SMITHEREENS: Face The World With Pride

TIRnRR kicked off the new year with a hopeful spin of Brother Eytan Mirsky's "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year," followed by its benevolent forebear "This Will Be Our Year" by the Zombies. "Hopeful?" Maybe naive or even delusional would be closer to reality, but we're not quite ready to surrender just yet.

And so we followed that opening salvo with the Smithereens' "Face The World With Pride." I'll be returning to the subject of this fantastic track in the very near future. For now, we offer it alongside Eytan and Zombies alike: As manifesto, as line in the sand, as statement of stubborn, defiant intent. Hell, throw in a little Twisted Sister and O'Jays for good measure. Face front, true believers. With pride on our side, let's keep on kickin'.

SUGAR PIE DeSANTO: Soulful Dress

The ongoing reality of time elapsing and shadows growing longer brings a never-ending supply of goodbyes. Soul singer Sugar Pie DeSanto passed in December, and while she never became the household name she deserved to be, her music has been an occasional fixture of this little mutant radio show. I've gotta admit that, if not for Dana, I wouldn't be at all familiar with Sugar Pie DeSanto, but when he's played her, I've listened and enjoyed. I need to do a deep, deep dive into the DeSanto oeuvre, so I deferred to Dana as he made the essential Sugar Pie selections for our miniature tribute. 

"Soulful Dress" was the first track we played after the three-song opening HOPE?! barrage detailed above, and we circled back later in the show for DeSanto's "Witch For A Night" and "In The Basement (Part 1)," the latter side a collaboration with Etta James. Our encore spot presented two additional slices of Sugar Pie, "It Won't Be Long" and "Mr And Mrs." Sugar Pie DeSanto was a giant talent; more folks need to hear her stuff, just so they can fall in love with it like I fell in love with it.

THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young

As we stumble forth into the potential morass of 2025, we do look forward to the September release of [REDACTED]. What, exactly, is [REDACTED]? If we could tell you, it wouldn't be [REDACTED]. It won't be [REDACTED] for much longer.

In the meantime....

"Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" is a song by Arty Lenin, guitarist and founding member of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. It was first performed by the Flashcubes in 1979, demoed by the 'Cubes, subsequently recorded and released by Flashcubes offshoot Screen Test, and eventually redone in this brightly-lit new century for the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant. The song's lyrics are among the most effective expressions of teen alienation I've ever heard, a clique-inflicted miasma buoyed and ameliorated by the transcendence of its pop. Even now, listening to it with senior-citizen ears more years removed from high school than Beatlemania was removed from America's entry into World War I, "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" can still make me feel the snub and the sting of my time serving that sentence in teen purgatory. Yet I love the song. That's the power of art, the power of music.

Power Pop Hall of Famers the SpongeTones have recorded an as-yet-unreleased cover of "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young," and their new rendition lives up to its incredible Cubic legacy. I'm stunned, I'm grateful, and I'm thrilled that Dana and I have the opportunity to play this on the radio. We'll play it again this Sunday night, and we look forward to the day you'll be able to add this great track to your rockin' pop library.

When, where, and how will you be able to snag your own copy of the SpongeTones' "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young?"

Well. That's [REDACTED].

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Shout (Part One)

Our passions help (or try to help) sustain us in troubled times. Our hobbies and interests can provide the distraction or involvement we need to function when we might feel tempted to just shut down. Music, movies, books, gaming, competitive napping, writin' a blog, et al. fall within the broad category of things that ease our efforts to get through the all-of-this of all of this. In the words of a former Beatle: Whatever gets you through the night. 

For me, my night- and day-clearing activities include listening to music, reading comic books and pulp fiction, watching TV, and following a few sports teams. One of those sports teams is the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills have had a pretty good season so far. As the playoffs commence, they have at least an outside shot at getting to the Super Bowl, which means they have a shot at winning the Super Bowl. 

That would be cool. It won't take away any of the tsuris and misery of the real world, it won't heal the sick, feed the hungry, or end the wars. A victory for Buffalo won't extinguish flames in California, nor prevent the national tragedy that will occur on January 20th. In schemes that are grand, the meaning of a sports competition will be small.

But it's something to cheer for. Those inconsequential somethings, however ephemeral, do have meaning in the moment. We take the win or endure the loss, and try to fight on through another day.

When the Buffalo Bills score a touchdown, fans sing along to a variation of the Isley Brothers' R & B touchstone "Shout," reworded The Bills make me wanna SHOUT! We can use some shoutin'. Primal scream! Big, BIG primal scream. Catharsis and comfort serve a purpose. Let's go, Buffalo. Survive and advance. Just like the rest of us.

(NOTE: If you're a Denver fan, it's okay; we can still be friends, win or lose. Cheers.)

20/20: Laurel Canyon

One guaranteed good thing about 2025 is the release of a new album by 20/20. 20/20 is one of power pop's defining acts, and their new stuff is just as compelling as the acknowledged classics they did so many decades ago. We've already played a couple of advance tracks from the group's forthcoming new album Back To California, and we'll have yet another one spinning on our very next show Sunday night. In between, we offer this debut TIRnRR airing of "Laurel Canyon," which is my early choice for the album's top track. 

AMERICA: Sister Golden Hair

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

WONDERBOY: Happy? That's Me!

The lads of Wonderboy react to the news that their splendid Hero Isle album cut "Girl Songs" was TIRnRR's # 1 most-played track in 2024: Happy? That's ME! We're ALL happy, lads. Or at least we're trying to be.

THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop

Happy or not: 1-2-3-4! This malevolent new year for damned sure won't cruise to higher ground if we don't provide a little course correction. Armed with pride, eyes on redemption, this year will be our year, or we will fall fighting back. Hey-ho. Let's go, goddammit. Let's go.

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.

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.