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

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! Librarians With Hickeys, "Listen, The Snow Is Falling"

Drawn from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Listen, The Snow Is Falling

Written by Yoko Ono

Produced by Mike Crooker

Single [B-side of "Jingle Jangle Heart"], Big Stir Records, 2021

Listen.

Each year, as the calendar turns from November to December, I'm generally not yet ready to play or listen to Christmas music. When holiday music comes on the radio during that (to me) too-early-for-Christmas season, I change the channel. It's just not what I want to hear, not at that moment.

Librarians With Hickeys' wonderful cover of Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" first reached my ears at the dawn of December 2021, right around the time I began to face the certainty that my mom wouldn't be around for much longer. She passed just after that, on December 9th. "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" was one of the songs from which I tried to draw solace.

LWH's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" is the virtual B-side to the group's digital single "Jingle Jangle Heart." From the press release accompanying the single's release: "The flip side is a cover of Yoko Ono’s excellent 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling' which was the B-side of John and Yoko’s 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' single (for those of you keeping score at home). This version is based on a demo that singing Librarian Ray Carmen made in the early 2000s, and comes complete with a keyboard part played on an old 1985 Casio SK-1 toy sampler. Ray recorded new vocals, and producer Mike Crooker gave it a new mix and EQ wax so it shines like new. He also added sleigh bells and a gong. Get it on!"

Prior to falling for the Librarians With Hickeys cover version, I'm not sure that I'd ever heard Yoko's original, even though it was the flip side of one of my very favorite Christmas records. Her original is also wonderful and sublime--Yoko haters need not comment here--but there is something about Librarians With Hickeys' take that reaches inside of my soul as if to say:

"It's okay, Carl."

I have always sought refuge in my music. This song's contemplative feel suited my fragile mood, a comfort and a catharsis, a beautiful ache that keeps inviting me into its comforting embrace. Beautiful ache? Yeah. The soundtrack to beautiful ache.

The calendar's pages sometimes tend to flutter by a bit too quickly for my taste. But that's me. Whether you're lighting your tree, finishing your eight days of candles, celebrating (or preparing to celebrate) whatever other magic you hold dear, or just hitting the pause button until you can catch up, the radio is on. As the snow falls, the music continues. Maybe it's mocking us, but...no. No, it's trying to remind us of all we've ever cherished, all that's ever provided meaning, all we've ever held dear, and all that has ever held us in turn. 

If we had never loved, maybe we would never have been hurt. But if we never love, we never live in the first place. 

Listen.

Another calendar page turns, and will turn again soon, to ash. Matches, candles, the spark's remnants all covered in short order by the snow that falls, the years that pass, the regrets that sting, the promises that slip away unfulfilled. That is the nature of things, no matter how we try to hold on. For now: Just listen. Let's sit together by the fire. Let's listen for as long as we are able.

Snow falls. I can hear it. I can feel it. And it will be all right.

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: 2/21/2025

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 # 1273

JOE GIDDINGS: Tonite Tonite

A few weeks back we played "Adrenalin," an advance track from Star Collector superstar Joe Giddings' then-forthcoming new album Stories With Guitars. Great as that was, I was further blown away when I heard "Tonite Tonite," another track from the same album, kick off a recent edition of The Spoon podcast. Hey HEY! I've since heard the whole album, and I say it's a strong early candidate for one of 2025's best. See, ya learn stuff listening to The Spoon. And we'll put that edumacation to higher-falutin' use with another spin of "Tonite Tonite" on our next show. 

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

This as-yet-unreleased ace new number from Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes is my favorite track of 2025 so far, and I betcha it will still be at least in the running for that designation ten months from now. "Reminisce" will probably be the opening track on Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES, which is set for September release from the visionary angels at Big Stir Records. On the album, "Reminisce" will be joined by two more new Flashcubes tracks and 21 Flashcubes covers as rendered by an all-star array of various TIRnRR Fave Rave artists. The SpongeTones! sparkle*jets u.k.! The Kennedys! Pop Co-Op! Chris von Sneidern! And...er, the identities of other participants are still [REDACTED] at this time.

But not for very much longer. 

THE MIDNIGHT CALLERS: Saturday Night

I will proclaim the power pop bona fides of the Bay City Rollers from here to S! A! T-U-R! D-A-Y! NIGHT! Longer, even. I don't love everything that Scotland's phenomenal pop combo put on wax, but the stuff I do love I love without reservation. You can read more about my own Rollermania here, here, here, here, and here, plus "Rock And Roll Love Letter" earned its own chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

The Midnight Callers are one of the most consistently dynamic rockin' pop combos on the scene today. Their new single covering the Rollers' first US hit "Saturday Night" is a match made in Tartansville, baby, capturing the spirit of Les, Woody, Derek, Eric, and Alan's original version in a new arrangement that is both inventive and respectful. Let's ALL keep on dancing on a Saturday night. Sunday nights, too!

(And I'm contractually forbidden to talk about this Bay City Rollers track without referencing its influence on the American Beatles, the greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time, the Ramones: Blitzkrieg Saturday Night Bop. Let's hear it for a good ol' rock 'n' roll road show.)

SORROWS: Never Mind

Can't get enough of this one. Let's face it, I'm a man of constant Sorrows, and that makes me happy.

I was a relative latecomer to the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of Sorrows. I bought their preceding dba the Poppees' "Jealousy"/"She's Got It" 45 in 1979, but I didn't get to anything bearing the Sorrows brand name until many years after the fact. Rest assured, when I got there, I got there, and I regard the title tune from Sorrows' 1980 album Teenage Heartbreak as an all-time power pop classic.

"Never Mind" is the leadoff track on Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow, a lost album recorded in 1981 and released for the first time right razzafrazzin' now. And take it from this man of constant Sorrows: "Never Mind" is very nearly the equal of "Teenage Heartbreak." Never mind the heartbreak; we're old enough to embrace the sweetness.

(Sorrows will also have at least one NEW track--a cover--out in September. I would tell you more about it, but it's [REDACTED]. So for now: Never mind.)

THE PENROSE WEB: I Dreamt I Woke Up Dead

The music of the Penrose Web comes to us courtesy of a tip from every rock 'n' roller's best bud Bill Kelly, host of the irresistible Bill Kelly's Blackhole Bandstand on SiriusXM's Underground Garage channel. When Bill Kelly talks, people listen, especially if the people happen to be discerning and enthusiastic fans of pop with power. So WE listen--we're fans!--and the buzz of the group's recent EP It's...The Penrose Web is perfectly perfect for the mutant perfection our little radio shindig has in its imperfectly pointed little head. Great stuff--thanks, Bill!

Even beyond our chosen Penrose Web track's inherent zip 'n' zing, I confess I was instantly drawn to "I Dreamt I Woke Up Dead" on the basis of its title, which reminded me of a (fictional) song by the Incredible Hulk's former teen sidekick Rick Jones. After the Hulk went solo--as emerald behemoths will eventually do--Jones became a teen sidekick to Captain America, and later a post-teen sidekick to Marvel Comics' space-born superhero Captain Marvel. Our Rick was also a pop-star folk singer at this time, and in Captain Marvel # 20 (July 1970) we witnessed Mr. Jones on stage at a coffeehouse in Greenwich Village, singing a presumably peppy li'l tune that warned, "One of these mornings you may wake up dead."

 I'm convinced. Penrose Web, ASSEMBLE!

THE SHANG HI LOS: Monsieur Valentine

Granted, a February 16th broadcast was a little bit late to program a Valentine's Day track. In our defense, let me remind you that we're, y'know...guys.

That said, the Shang Hi Los' "Monsieur Valentine" offers a pumpin' pop gem, its candy-hearted devotion to '60s girl groups stapled with care upon its sleeve, revved up like a breedin'-on-Bowery bop between Debbie Harry and Johnny Thunders. Except in New England. Close enough! From the Shang Hi Los' 2023 album Aces Eights & Heartbreaks, and it's an enduring Valentine for all seasons.

Yeah, even guys can see that.

YOKO ONO: Kiss Kiss Kiss

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RUBINOOS: Wouldn't It Be Nice

If I do another Greatest Record Ever Made! book--and I almost certainly will--I have a choice of two songs by the Rubinoos for which I've already written complete chapters. The obvious pick is the Rubinoos' signature tune "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," the one track most Rubes enthusiasts would agree should have been the group's massive, monster, big-big-BIG hit record. You can read an early draft of that chapter here.

But if it's gotta be just one Rubinoos song getting a GREM! spotlight in the next book--using both feels redundant--I'm currently favoring my chapter about "Wouldn't It Be Nice." That was my first favorite Rubinoos track, and what I wrote about it seems to fulfill the book's needs better than the "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" chapter would. 

Ain't no losers in this. 

SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: Pop Radio

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio is a pop radio show. There's a new Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols track called "Pop Radio?" We're playin' it. And we're playing it again on Sunday. It's what a good pop radio show does.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

We're working on it. These things don't just happen overnight.

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: 12/25/2024

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

       

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1265: The 26th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show.

JOHN AND YOKO: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

From a previous post:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was my favorite rock 'n' roll Christmas song for a long, long time, and it's still pretty far up there in my holiday music pantheon. I know that some folks don't like it or are sick of it, and that some even prefer that dishwater Paul McCartney thing (aka "The Cringe That Stole Christmas") when 'tis the season. 

I don't get that. Dig what you dig, of course, but man...I don't get that. To my ears, John and Yoko's Christmas single remains a stirring and engaging plea for peace on Earth, good will toward all. An obvious sentiment? I'm not looking for Proust here. "Happy Xmas" supplies the feels I want in my holiday music, its childlike hope (and children's chorus) never falling prey to the cynical or the overly earnest. It added an aching, awful sense of melancholy forty-four years ago this month. But I never get tired of hearing it.

I'm not one of those who blithely bash Paul McCartney, either. Seeing Macca perform live in 2017 was the highlight of my concert-goin' career, I listen to solo Paul more often than I listen to solo John, and they were equal partners in the greatest rock 'n' roll band this world will ever experience. Nonetheless: I can't stand "Wonderful Christmastime." I absolutely adore "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."

(For my further thoughts on this subject, see my piece Yoko For Christmas.)

MIKE BROWNING: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

We debuted our pal Mike Browning's most wonderful new cover of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" on last week's show, and we use it again this week (after our John and Yoko intro) to open The 26th Annual THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Christmas Show. This year, I'm especially grateful to Mike for his invaluable assistance in advising, amending, and improving my 2024 book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1); our Mike's efforts on behalf of that project should secure him a permanent berth on Santa's NICE! list. Thanks again, Mike! Wonderful is as wonderful does.

(And speakin' of wonderful: We'll hear Mike Browning again on our Countdown show this coming Sunday night.)

THE GRIP WEEDS: Christmas, Bring Us [acoustic]

We'll also hear the Grip Weeds again on the Countdown show--the Grip Weeds are a fairly safe bet to appear on our Countdown in any given year--but this Christmas show spin of "Christmas, Bring Us" serves the additional Oh HELL Yeah! of promoting The Very Best Of Hi-Fi Christmas Party. We ARE Santa's elves! This new digital compilation comes to us from the visionary Keith Klingensmith's Futureman Records label, and it gathers the best from our man Dan Pavelich's Yuletide essential various-artists Hi-Fi Christmas Party discs. 

The Grip Weeds' "Christmas, Bring Us" was on 2006's Hi-Fi Christmas Party Volume 2 (and on the group's on 2011 collection Under The Influence Of Christmas), but I think--I think--this acoustic take is new to the Hi-Fi Christmas Party universe, and otherwise only available on the expanded deluxe edition of Under The Influence Of Christmas. I'd verify that, but c'mon--who has time to check stuff this time of year? Unique or not, your stocking ain't properly stuffed without The Very Best Of Hi-Fi Christmas Party. 

THE FLESHTONES: Hurray For Santa Claus

For Pia Zadora, wherever she is. 

And anyone who sez Santa Claus Conquers The Martians is one of the all-time worst films deserves nuttin' for Christmas--not even coal. Call the big guy! 

We spell it S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S, hurray for Santy Claus! 

I figure the difference between spelling and pronunciation can be attributed to Martian accents.

DAVID WOODARD: Around The Power Pop Tree

The title track from David Woodard's 2024 Kool Kat Musik album Around The Power Pop Tree celebrates the enduring kvell of discovering the gift of music stacked under the ol' trimmed 'n' tricked out Tannenbaum. As someone whose own prevailing and pervasive love of the Kinks began with a Christmas 1976 present of a 2-LP British Invasion compilation, I can relate and affirm with wide eyes and raised fist.

In 2017, I wrote about the ongoing glow of the memories of past Christmas gifts:

"Christmas still inspires a warm and comfy feeling in my mind. There have been Yuletime moments that were less than glittery--developing car trouble on a snowy trek to Missouri in 1970, spending Christmas alone with a stack of old comic books and a bottle of Jack Daniels in 1982, suddenly having to fly to Ohio for a funeral in the early '90s, stuck home with chicken pox at the age of 36 in 1996, the first Christmas after a devastating family tragedy in 2008, and after my Dad died in 2012--yet I retain an instinct to associate Christmas with a feeling of happiness. The sadness is there, too; I see the empty chairs at the dinner table, I feel the drag of sand falling in the hourglass, I sense the finite nature of all we love. This Christmas has offered its own unique set of challenges. Sometimes it seems as if there are challenges poised to attack from all directions.

"And nonetheless: I love Christmas. I hope I always will. I hope yours is merry and bright. The challenges will wait for us, at least for a little, little bit. A spin of Nat King Cole. A sip of eggnog. A tree that casts its glow into our hearts. Presents to exchange, fleeting moments to share, food to savor, company to enjoy. It will not last forever.

"Except that it does. I can still be seven years old, if only for one day. Maybe you can be, too."

Since the above was written, I've lost my Mom and my oldest brother. My daughter got married--that's a happy memory--and there was, y'know, a pandemic. I have aged more than the mere seven years that the calendar pages indicate. But I'm okay. I still know delight, I still know joy, and I still feel the gratitude for the good things I've enjoyed. I still love. I am still loved.

So let's all gather around the power pop tree. David Woodard will lead us in song. (And we'll hear him again on the Countdown show, too. Another chance to gather 'round.)

THE IDEA: It's About That Time

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE RAMONES: Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)

From a previous post:

The Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)" is almost totally devoid of irony. It feels earnest, sincere. Honest. It really is a straightforward love song, Ramonesified by its pace and the deliberate quirk of its lyrical queries about the whereabouts of Santa, his sleigh, and his errant reindeer. Where is Rudolph, where is Blitzen, baby?

Merry Christmas. Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas.

No relationship is free of discord. Lovers, friends, siblings, other family members. Disagreements and arguments will occur, and no amount of love can alter that truth. Some relationships aren't worth saving. 

Some are.

I love you, and you love me
And that's the way it's got to be
I loved you from the start
'Cause Christmas ain't the time for breaking each other's heart.

No matter what Her Majesty's Ramones the Beatles insisted, it is not true that all you need is love. Nor is it a fact that love conquers all. But mutual love? Respect? Consideration? My friends, that can accomplish a lot. Love can change the world. It can't do it alone...but it can do it if love accompanies love. Love with love, together, side by side? 

It can happen.

It has to happen. 

Peace on Earth. Good will toward all. It's an elusive goal. 

But it's our only hope. 

Hope begins with love. Maybe the Ramones are unlikely avatars of hope and love. On "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," they nail it nonetheless.

Merry Christmas. We don't want to fight tonight. As tonight becomes tomorrow, as tomorrow becomes today, we could do worse than listening to the Ramones. 

Like swords into ploughshares: Anyone up for decorating a baseball bat?

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Listen, The Snow Is Falling

Another act we'll be hearing on the Countdown show, Librarians With Hickeys merit extra gravitas for forcing me to appreciate the splendor of Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling." Yoko's original version was the B-side of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," but I'm not sure I ever heard any version of it prior to Librarians With Hickeys' mesmerizing 2016 cover. The Librarians' cover was itself a B-side (of the group's original "Jingle Jangle Heart"); the A-side is terrific--a Grade-A prime example of why we adore Librarians With Hickeys--but we can't resist "Listen, The Snow Is Falling." It's become a TIRnRR Christmas season prerequisite, and it prompted me to seek out Yoko's also-mesmerizing rendition. Worth a listen, again and again.

(And yes, there will be original Librarians With Hickeys music on the Countdown show, but we're also really, really looking forward to hearing a new cover they're recording for a 2025 project. The hype for that project will fall like Syracuse snow when its own season arrives.)

THE MONKEES: Riu Chiu

From a previous post:

The Christmas episode of The Monkees aired at the end of 1967, a big year for the Monkees. Their biggest year, actually; they probably outsold the Beatles. Michael Nesmith once suggested that the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in '67, and later claimed that he was joking, and testing to see if anyone would take the claim seriously. But whether he made it up or whether it's true, it's plausible. The Monkees were really, really popular in 1967. It was all going to go away in 1968.

But when they did the Christmas episode, the Monkees--Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork--were on top of the world. They had proven themselves to anyone willing to be sufficiently open-minded to accept, y'know, evidence. Granted, even as they started to play some of their own music, they were still managed, still part of a corporate machinery. But they had a hand in what they were doing.

In the Christmas episode, near the end of the show, the Monkees come on, just the four of them--Micky, Davy, Michael, and Peter--and do an a cappella performance of a 16th century Spanish folk song called "Riu Chiu." It's stunning. If you haven't seen it, you must. Talentless? Boy band? That's absurd. Watch the video. If you don't agree there's talent there, you aren't paying attention.

I'm a believer. Monkees fans are believers by definition. As we listen to the Monkees sing at Christmas, we acknowledge that Christmas itself invites belief. I am not religious by any stretch of the imagination. I don't belong to any church, and I'm not part of any organized faith. But I believe in the Golden Rule. I believe that we can be good, that we can be better than we are. That we can improve, and become the sort of souls we wish we could be. I believe that such belief transcends creed.

Belief is its own reward. Join us.

Believe.

GEORGE HARRISON: Ding Dong, Ding Dong

Ring out the old, ring in the new. But don't discard anything more than what should be consigned to the dustbin. There are good things, great things, we must retain and maintain, But we must remain open to new things, in hope that they can eventually become good old things for us to retain and maintain.

Here's to the old, and here's to the new. Happy Holidays from Dana and Carl.

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.