10 SONGS: 10/29/2025

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 # 1308

KISS: Talk To Me

Of the four founding members of KISS, late guitarist Ace Frehley would seem the least pop of the bunch. Guitarist Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons were big fans of the Beatles, and also fans of power pop stalwarts the Raspberries, and those interests are evident within the flash and thunder of some of KISS's work. Drummer Peter Criss crooned the hit KISS ballad "Beth" and the Rod Stewart homage "Hard Luck Woman." Ace's style was emphatically that of a Big Rock guitarist, and maybe hooks and 45 rpm aspirations might not be the first things one would look for within the Space Ace's ouvre.

But the pop element is there, at least sometimes, and not just in his pop guitar power embellishing Simmons and Stanley on "Strutter," "Shout It Out Loud," "Rock And Roll All Nite," et al. It's certainly in evidence on the effervescent "Talk To Me," a Frehley-written and Frehley-sung track from KISS's 1980 album Unmasked. 

ACE FREHLEY: Hide Your Heart

When we decided to play several tracks in memory of Ace Frehley, this track from his 1989 album Trouble Walkin' was one of the first possibilities that came to mind. Frehley was looooong outta KISS by '89, but the song was written by his former bandmate Paul Stanley (with Desmond Child and Holly Knight), and the Ace-free KISS included it on their album Hot In The Shade, also in '89. It's said that Stanley and Simmons adamantly did not want Frehley to record and release a competing version of "Hide Your Heart"--hey, dueling KISSes!--and if that's true, Frehley was equally adamant that he was going to do whatever the hell he wanted to do. I like the KISS version just fine, and I saw Gene and Paul perform it in concert (in the Hot In The Shade KISS line-up with drummer Eric Carr and guitarist Bruce Kulick), but I do like Ace's version even more.

KISS: Rock And Roll All Nite [live]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities

My big project this year was Big Stir Records' various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. As I began the process of recruiting acts and matching them with appropriate songs written by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes, I was immediately certain that I wanted rockin' pop wunderkind (und wonderboy) Robbie Rist specifically to sing one of my many favorite 'Cubes songs, "Five Personalities." Under his nom de bop Ballzy Tomorrow, our Robbie rose to that task. The members of the Flashcubes now prefer his version over their own!

Robbie's also a KISS fan, so it was a deliberate choice to include his "Five Personalities" in the same set as our Greatest Record Ever Made! spin of the live "Rock And Roll All Nite." You wanted the best. You GOT the best! And as Robbie's podcast The Spoon approaches its 600th episode, the GREM! spot in our next show will be a li'l something by another '70s rock act Robbie's mentioned on The Spoon a time or several. All right, all right, all right, all right....

KEN SHARP: Rock Show

Our long-time pal Ken Sharp is a writer and musician, the driving force behind Think Like A Key Music's superb new compilation Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, and quite possibly the biggest KISS fan I know. For his 2018 album Beauty In The Backseat, Ken enlisted none other than Ace Frehley hisself as guest guitarist on opening track "Rock Show." Impressive! And I tell ya, it was a match made in Cobo Hall. We know some people who know some people, man. Well done, Ken!

ACE FREHLEY: New York Groove

In 1978, the business of KISS was sufficiently huge to hatch an audacious plan for a simultaneous release of a quartet of solo albums. It probably wasn't a good idea at all, but it sure seemed impressive, right? I can't remember anything at all about the Peter Criss album (beyond thinking that I would never remember anything about it, and thinking that even when I was listening to it). Paul Stanley included the absolutely dynamic, Raspberries-influenced "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me," and Gene Simmons gave us a simply wonderful gem called "See You Tonite," which would have been worthy of Big Star. Gene also had a minor hit (# 47) with a song called "Radioactive."

But of the four, only Ace Frehley produced a genuine hit single, a cover of the British group Hello's 1975 UK hit "New York Groove." Ace's version said hello to the # 13 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, making it the fifth highest-charting single in the KISS canon (behind "Beth" [# 7], "Forever" [# 8 in 1989], "I Was Made For Loving You" [# 11], and the live "Rock And Roll All Nite" [# 12]). Guess whoever called him "Ace" was onto something.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Eyeball Eater (From Outer Space)

DOLPH CHANEY FEATURING THE SPEED OF SOUND: Zombie Century

We've been serving up tricky treats from Big Stir Records' epic Halloween compilation Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies for as long as Rutles guitarist Stig O'Hara has been dead--for ages, honestly--and there's for damned sure no need to stop as All Hallows Eve approaches. This week's show included two more debut spins from this horrific-in-a-GOOD-way set, with sparkle*jets u.k.'s righteously boppin' novelty tune "Eyeball Eater (From Outer Space)" and Dolph Chaney Featuring The Speed Of Sound's atmospheric "Zombie Century." And even as we chill, thrill, and haunt our way past October 31st, we'll have another track from Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies on our next show.

BARON DAEMON AND THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist

Syracuse's gift to Halloween, and to all seasons, courtesy of the best vampire ever. And like "Rock And Roll All Nite," it's also The Greatest Record Ever Made! Happy Halloween from This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl.

KISS: Shout It Out Loud [live]

And it wouldn't be Halloween without KISS. Godspeed, Ace

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: 9/13/2025

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 # 1301.

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

There was an unconscious symmetry in play when we invited the mighty sparkle*jets u.k. to join in on the new Big Stir Records various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. I mean, we wanted them because they're freakin' fantastic, and their most recent album Box Of Letters was one of THE best releases of 2024. In pursuit of a better tribute album, of course we needed sparkle*jets u.k. with us on this.

Although Make Something Happen! was my idea, and I was its (I guess) project manager, I wanted the Flashcubes involved in the process. Over and above granting use of their original songs so all of these other fine artists could cover them, Gary, Paul, Arty, and Tommy offered input on song selections and wish lists for potential performers, and they personally recruited some of the acts who agreed to contribute. Furthermore, it was important that the album include at least one new recording by the Flashcubes; they gave me three new tracks, and they're all fabulous. 

Some have commented (positively, I think) about how unusual it is for a band to appear on its own tribute album. I say sparkle*jets u.k. established a precedent in 2000 by assembling I ♥ sparkle*jets u.k. Yep, they piloted the creation of their own tribute album, group members Michael Simmons and Susan West participated on some of the tracks, and it was glorious. They made something happen!

They're still doing that. For our newly-released Flashcubes tribute, sparkle*jets u.k. executed a stunning rendition of the title track, and Michael Simmons mastered the entire album to irresistible result. Symmetry. That happened, and it is something.

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity

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. It plays on this week's show. And it's secured a spot on our next show. 

THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands

The third single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. And perhaps not the final single off Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Stay tuned.

THE VERBS: I Need Glue

From Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Hey, there's a video to go with it!

THE ROLLING STONES: One Hit (To The Body)

A single from the Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work, "One Hit (To The Body)" is my favorite Stones track of the '80s, my favorite since at least 1978's "Shattered," and possibly my favorite since 1972's "Happy." I'm a little surprised that this is the first time the song has ever appeared on a TIRnRR playlist. Our goal is to PLAY the hits! And this is one hit well worth playing.

THE RAMONES: Judy Is A Punk

On this little mutant radio show, we like to refer to the Ramones as "the American Beatles." This week, let's call 'em the American Herman's Hermits, if only for the familiar Second verse, same as the verse! that Joey Ramone employs as a call to arms for his band o' brudders on "Judy Is A Punk." Hermits singer Peter Noone will be the Featured Performer on our next show, and we'll supplement that feature with another spin of the Ramones' "Judy Is A Punk."

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

Good advice. From a previous 10 Songs:

I remember hearing Rihanna's hit "Umbrella" in 2007, and not being especially taken with it. In 2008, the updated version of her Good Girl Gone Bad (Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) landed into my consciousness via my then-teen daughter, whose interest in "Take A Bow" and "Disturbia" brought those songs to my attention as well. I was a little surprised to discover I liked them (especially "Disturbia"), but I did indeed like them.

I missed out on the track "Shut Up And Drive." I've heard it, but I never noticed it until a random search for playlist ideas brought me to it earlier this month. It was like a brand new song to me, and I loved it.

(How did I know I loved it? The fact that I played it on obsessive repeat would be a pretty clear clue to that.)

Wikipedia describes "Shut Up And Drive" as a new wave song--no, really!--based on "Blue Monday" by New Order. No offense to the mopey British guys, but I prefer it the way Rihanna did it.

THE HIT SQUAD: Best Of Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE PEPPER'S GHOST PLAYERS: Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Ghoul You Want

Make Something Happen! isn't Big Stir Records' only new various-artists blockbuster. For Halloween, the friendly spirits at Big Stir offer Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies, a collection pre-equipped with a self-descriptive title that sums itself up so I don't have to.

I'm knocked by this album's sheer audacity, and the collective ability of its participants to make it so. The collection has an old soul, and I mean that in the best way: It effortlessly mixes spoken-word introductions with season-appropriate music that revels in ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night, and it effectively channels the ambition of every 1970s artist who attempted to pull off a concept album of any kind. And, unlike many who made the attempt back then, Big Stir's people do pull it off. Chilling! Thrilling! The Haunted! part is a bonus.

For on-the-air Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies this week, we chose the album's two opening tracks, the Pepper's Ghost Players' spoken introduction "Chilling, Thrilling Tales: The Eldritch LP" and Librarians With Hickeys' "Ghoul You Want," which is my first immediate favorite from the album's accumulated tricks and treats.

Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies is a holiday blessing, even if it is for a holiday not traditionally associated with blessings. We'll have another track from the album on our next show. This bubbling cauldron can use a big stir. 

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: 8/30/2025

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 # 1300.

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

Hitting a milestone like a 1300th show invites a celebration. For us, it seemed appropriate to mark this festive occasion of TIRnRR # 1300 with some specific examples of the sort of rockin' pop mojo that brought us this far. Every track on this show is something we've played before, most of them with some frequency. 

With the imminent release of the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, I wanted to open this milestone mutha with "Reminisce," the first of the three new singles that Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse did in conjunction with their own tribute album. The Flashcubes have meant an awful lot to me, and to this show. "Reminisce" is the perfect song to kick off a celebration, looking back while facing front at the same damned time.

We also felt compelled to program the Flashcubes' other two fabulous Make Something Happen! singles--"The Sweet Spot" and "If These Hands"--at subsequent points in our 1300th show, setting up one other Flashcubes song to kick off the show's final set. We'll return to that subject in a few minutes. Now? All I wanna do is reminisce with you. 

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

My favorite individual track of 2024, "If We Could Let Go" by Slyboots is heartbreaking in all the best ways, a song full of hope and ache, empowered with an awareness of how far we fall short in pursuit of peace, love, and understanding, and driven by determination to overcome that gap and collectively become the better people a burning world needs us to be. Not merely my favorite track from last year; it's a legit contender for my all-time Hot 100. 

SOLOMON BURKE: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

Starting waaaaay back in the earliest Dana and Carl shows (1992's TIRnRR precursor We're Your Friends For Now), Dana and I have occasionally been known to come up with some unexpected song segues. Our pal Dave Murray called these Neck-Snappin' Segues™, where, y'know, one of these things is not like the other, at least on paper. We never mean it as an intentional shock-value jump cut; we always figure our seemingly outta-left-field pick of an unexpected Song B is the appropriate follow-up to Song A, even if no one else sees it that way. To paraphrase the Batman describing the Joker's thought process: Dana and Carl's motives make sense to us alone.

Our first Neck-Snappin' Segue™ occurred on the very first We're Your Friends For Now, Phil Ochs ("I Ain't Marching Anymore") into the Ohio Express ("Yummy, Yummy, Yummy"). In the early days of TIRnRR, I recall back-to-backs of Little Richard ("The Girl Can't Help It") into Pink Floyd ("See Emily Play") and Sugar ("If I Can't Change Your Mind") into the Partridge Family ("I Woke Up In Love This Morning"), both of which were seamless and perfect. 

My favorite Neck-Snappin' Segue™ memory is from one Sunday evening in 1999, 2000, whatever it was. Dana played the Nails' left-of-the-dial stalwart "88 Lines About 44 Women." As I mulled options for the right follow-up song, I was struck by the sudden realization--nay, the sudden conviction!--that if I didn't play Solomon Burke's soul classic "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" faster'n immediately, an otherwise-benevolent deity would smite me where I sat. Fairly certain that I had the track with me, I rummaged through my CD case, searching intently as the Nails racked up increasingly larger numbers of lines about their 44 women. I found the right CD, handed it to Dana, and he had it set to play just as the Nails completed a couplet about their 44th subject. 

Disaster averted. SING it, King Sol! Just another night here at The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet.

THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me

How in the world did we rate getting a track from the Cowsills for our compilation album This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 2? I can't answer that, beyond noting that the Cowsills are really, really nice people. They're also really, really talented people; "She Said To Me" was on their stunning 1998 album Global, and it merited an enthusiastic chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Global has since been reissued by Omnivore Recordings. Omnivore also released the Cowsills' wonderful 2022 album Rhythm Of The World, and the label will soon offer the first-ever legitimate physical release of the Cowsills 1978 lost album The Cocaine Drain. The Cowsills' hits were great; their later stuff is also great, and well, well worth your time and attention. 

sparkle*jets u.k.: 10 Inches

From their 1998 debut album In, Through, And Beyond, the track "10 Inches" served as our introduction to the way fab music of sparkle*jets u.k. More recently, their 2024 album Box Of Letters was one of last year's very best albums, and really a serious contender for the best. Even more recently, the group's Michael Simmons was in charge of making all of the tracks gathered for our Flashcubes tribute album Make Something Happen! play nice and sound terrific together, and sparkle*jets u.k. themselves executed an absolutely stunning rendition of the tribute album's title tune. We're fans! For our 1300th show, it was time for a reprise of where it all started for us. sparkle*jets u.k. are GO!

THE GRIP WEEDS: Strange Bird

The Grip Weeds have been fixtures on TIRnRR for the entirety of our mutant radio lifetime. We wouldn't have it any other way, and that status will not change. I've been able to see them perform on three separate occasions so far, and they're as dynamic and exciting live as they are on record. And vice versa! Their current album Soul Bender continues the Grip Weeds' record of excellence. TIRnRR superstars!

THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FLASHCUBES: Carl (You Da Man)

I don't know how deep I got into the planning for the Flashcubes tribute album before I realized that the last original 'Cubes composition recorded and released by the band was a song about us. 

The Flashcubes recorded "Carl (You Da Man)" for our first compilation album, 2005's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 1. "Carl (You Da Man)" came after the Flashcubes' 2003 album Brilliant (which featured just one cover, of Eddie and the Hot Rods' "Do Anything You Wanna Do") and before a string of accomplished covers the 'Cubes did over the ensuing decades: The Roy Wood tribute album Sportin' Wood, a two-sided single of Chris Spedding covers, contributions to various-artists Monkees and Bay City Rollers tribute albums, and a string of digital singles heralding the triumph of 2023's Pop Masters album. 

As flattering as it was (and remains) for the Flashcubes to write a song naming Dana and me "the kings of power pop," the world needed more new material from the Flashcubes. That need was answered this year by "Reminisce," "The Sweet Spot," and "If This Hands," and embellished by the act of other bands finally paying proper tribute to the Flashcubes on Make Something Happen!.

After playing all three of the Flashcubes' 2025 singles within our 1300th show playlist, it felt right to begin the celebration's closing set with the original song the Flashcubes gave to us twenty years ago. The weekend stops here. The music keeps playing still.

THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop

The American Beatles. The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time, and a damned near religious inspiration for me. I don't ever get to the opportunity to co-host a radio show, let alone co-hosting a radio show for such an ungodly long period of time, without the Ramones nudging me toward an ideal of rock 'n' roll radio. I don't get to the Flashcubes without the Ramones. I don't get to writing about pop music without the Ramones. I certainly don't get to writing books without the Ramones, and that would be true even if my first book didn't happen to be a book about the Ramones. 

Only the Beatles could claim greater importance in my life as a music fan, and the Ramones are closer to the toppermost of my poppermost than an unbeliever might expect. Beatles. Ramones. Flashcubes. Hey-ho, let's go.

THE STALLIONS: Why

We couldn't do a milestone show without another spin of the Stallions' cover of the Dirty Wurds' 1966 garage obscurity "Why." "Why" by the Stallions was far and away our most-played track during our first year, as well as during our second year, and although it ceded that position to "Highway Lines" by Mannix in Year # 3, "Why" remained our all-time most-played track for years thereafter. Its reign was finally brought to an end by Big Star's "September Gurls." Even though we don't play "Why" very often any more, it racked up sufficient spins in those early years to still remain the second most-played track over the course of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's long and storied history.

A long and storied history that continues! Why? Because we like it.

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: 3/28/2025

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 # 1278

SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes

I'm digging the process of putting together this tribute album celebrating Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes. Make Something Happen! A Tribute To A DIY Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES is due in September from the irresistible Big Stir Records label, and we've already previewed a few of its Cubic covers courtesy of sparkle*jets u.k., the Kennedys, the Spongetones, and Pop Co-Op, as well as its opening track "Reminisce" by the Flashcubes themselves. This week's TIRnRR kicks off with the everywhere-wide radio debut of another treat from Make Something Happen!, as the combined rockin' pop forces of Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols turn in their own super-yummy take on the Flashcubes' "When We Close Our Eyes." Brilliant!

A brief bit of behind-the-scenes kudos to Super 8's Trip Ryan and his collaborator Lisa: "When We Close Our Eyes" was written by Flashcubes guitarist Arty Lenin, and it may be my favorite from Arty's songbook, rivaled only by "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" (which the Spongetones have done a superb job of covering for this tribute album). Given my affection for the song, it was important for me to see it included on Make Something Happen! It had been assigned to another artist, but alas, that didn't work out. Trip 'n' Lisa stepped in to save us, and they did so pretty late in the game. YAY, Trip and Lisa! The Cubic legion salutes you!

Next week's show will offer another spin of the great current Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols single "Pop Radio," part of a stealth programming move to play a bunch of unrelated tracks by artists who will be represented on Make Something Happen!, mixing them in alongside a number of other acts, both classic and current (from the Beatles, the Ramones and the Rubinoos to Airport 77's, Amy Rigby, and Chris Church), who won't be on the tribute. We like to keep you guessing. We like to keep us guessing. With open eyes, and radio turned UP. 

THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce

Speaking of that opening track from Make Something Happen!, 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong's "Reminisce" is so far my favorite individual track of 2025, and it's gonna be a tough one to challenge. The song was first written in the '90s and (I think) only performed once before being filed away and mostly forgotten. (I remember it, of course, but I'm, y'know...me.)

If I understand the subsequent story correctly, several months back PA reconstructed the song from memory, moving what had been a somewhat perfunctory number into the magic realm of rock 'n' roll transcendence, toasting the past but raising the roof in the here and now, even adding a Ramones quote that nails a demonstration of the essential truth that what's cool once is cool forever. The present is built upon the past. We can still jump up, down, and all around to its sound. 

And we will!

sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen

On Make Something Happen!, "Reminisce" will segue into sparkle*jets u.k.'s luscious cover of the album's title tune, which was written by 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay. It's a song I wanted the Monkees to record for their 2016 triumph Good Times! (and I'd still like to hear a version with a Micky Dolenz lead vocal), and I'm delighted with how wonderful the song sounds now in the always-capable hands of sparkle*jets u.k.

(On our next show, a track from sparkle*jets u.k.'s most recent album Box Of Letters will play its part in our unspoken salute to the performers on Make Something Happen! Box Of Letters was absolutely one of the best albums of 2024, maybe the single best album in a year of a lot of really, really good albums. I'm so grateful they also agreed to take part in the Flashcubes tribute album.)

THE RUBINOOS: Rock 'n' Roll Is Dead

"Rock 'n' roll is dead?" No. It's. NOT! Come on, Rubinoos! You know better than that! Hell, this very song proves its title was, like, ironic or something. 

My Rubinoos fandom is detailed here. What a great, great band, then and now. Just don't believe them when they kid you about the death of rock 'n' roll. Pranksters. Pranksters, the lot of them.

DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love

The year of 1977--the same year when I first became a fan of the Rubinoos-- also provided me with the first Donna Summer song I ever loved. "I Feel Love" was the second Donna Summer song I heard, but 1975's "Love To Love You Baby" never meant anything to me (its implied 'n' earthy sense of bouncy-bouncy notwithstanding). By contrast, the new wave cool of "I Feel Love" was so monolithic and precise that even my practiced teen anti-disco stance couldn't hope to resist its sway. I feel it. As I wrote in 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...."

THE MONKEES: For Pete's Sake

THE MONKEES: You Just May Be The One

Collectively, The Greatest Record Ever Made!

CHUBBY CHECKER: The Twist

I have not been shy in proclaiming that the ongoing failure of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to induct the Monkees is that institution's single most egregious omission among a big ol' stack of egregious omissions. #inductthemonkees awready!

Chubby Checker is likely my pick for the Hall's second-biggest snub to date. His 1960 hit "The Twist" is one of the most impactful singles of the rock 'n' roll roll era, and while it's good and proper that Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (who recorded the original version of "The Twist") are in the Hall, it was Chubby Checker's mass hit version that made history, broke barriers, changed the course of mighty rivers, bent steel in its bare hands, et cetera. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's wish to punish Chubby Checker for the mortal sin of not being Hank Ballard is--how shall I phrase this delicately?--fucking brain-dead stupid. At long last, Chubby Checker has been nominated FOR THE FIRST TIME [?!], and I pray he finally gets in this year.

(How seismic was Chubby Checker's "The Twist?" It is easily one of the all-time Top Five most impactful 45s, and you could make a case for it in the Top Three. "Heartbreak Hotel" by King Elvis I is # 1, and I don't consider that point subject to debate. Bill Haley and his Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" has to at least be in the discussion, just by virtue of being rock 'n' roll's first # 1 hit. And Beatlemania, of course, with either "She Loves You" in the UK or "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in America. I think those are the four, and I don't even have a ready candidate for a fifth 45. Impact. That's all I'm talking about here. There are records I like even more than I like these, but I can't think of any other picks that could rival their importance and effect upon the rock and pop world.)

JOE GIDDINGS: Tonite Tonite

Stories With Guitars is the excellent current album from Joe Giddings, and we've been playing its magnificent radio-ready track "Tonite Tonite" with all of the dizzyingly manic fervor people expect from obsessive pop fans like Dana and Carl. It's what we do!

We're playing our man Joe again on our next show, but we're giving "Tonite Tonite" the week off. What gift from Giddings are we programming in its stead? Joe Giddings IS one of the fine acts on this Flashcubes tribute album. So! Let's open this coming Sunday night's radio record party with Joe Giddings covering the Flashcubes. Set bright lights to stun. You won't want to miss this.

IRENE PEÑA: Come And Get It

Pop music. If you want it, here it is. You know what to do.

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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.