My Actual All-Time Hot 100 in 1985

In the midst of my current series attempting to approximate what might have been my all-time Hot 100 favorite songs when I was 16, 17, and 18, (with lists for 19 and 20 on their way), here's my earliest real-life attempt at a Hot 100. This was done on 2/10/85, a few weeks after my 25th birthday. My friend Fritz Van Leaven used to update his own Hot 100 every year, and he encouraged me to take a stab at one. So I did, along with a list of my top 25 albums.



CC'S ALL-TIME TOP 100!

They're now, they're what's happening--the hottest of the hot and the coolest of the cool!
Stardate: 02/10/85

All Around The World The Jam
All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks
American Beat '84 The Fleshtones
Any Way You Want It The Dave Clark Five
Baby Blue Badfinger
Blitzkrieg Bop The Ramones
California Sun The Ramones
Chinese Rocks The Heartbreakers
Couldn't I Just Tell You Todd Rundgren
Day After Day Badfinger
Death Of A Clown The Kinks
Die Trying New Math
Do Anything You Wanna Do Eddie & the Hot Rods
Do You Love Me? The Contours
Do You Wanna Dance The Ramones
Don't Talk To Strangers The Beau Brummels
Everywhere That I'm Not Translator
The First Cut Is The Deepest Cat Stevens
Fortune Teller The Rolling Stones
Girls Talk Dave Edmunds
Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five
God Save The Queen The Sex Pistols
A Hard Day's Night The Beatles
Heart Full Of Soul The Yardbirds
His Last Summer The Barracudas
House Of The Rising Sun The Animals
I Can Only Give You Everything The Chesterfield Kings
I Can't Explain The Who
I Fought The Law The Bobby Fuller Four
I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night The Electric Prunes
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again The Barracudas
I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear Blondie
I'm Down The Beatles
I'm Not Like Everybody Else The Kinks
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone The Monkees
In The Midnight Hour Wilson Pickett
It's Alright Adam Faith & the Roulettes
It's Cold Outside Stiv Bators
It's My Life The Animals
It's The Same Old Song The Four Tops
Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry
Just Like Me Paul Revere & the Raiders
Kicks Paul Revere & the Raiders
Last Train To Clarksville The Monkees
Laugh, Laugh The Beau Brummels
Liar, Liar The Castaways
Lies The Knickerbockers
Louie Louie The Kingsmen
Love Hurts Nazareth
A Million Miles Away The Plimsouls
No Milk Today Herman's Hermits
Not Fade Away The Rolling Stones
One Track Mind The Heartbreakers
Peggy Sue Buddy Holly
Personality Crisis The New York Dolls
Pleasant Valley Sunday The Monkees
Please Please Me The Beatles
Porpoise Song (Theme From Head) The Monkees
Radio Free Europe R.E.M.
Rain The Beatles
Red, Red Wine UB40
Rock And Roll All Nite KISS
September Gurls Big Star
Shake Some Action The Flamin' Groovies
Shakin' Street The MC5
Shangri-La The Kinks
She Ain't No Use To Me The Ugly Ducklings
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker The Ramones
She's Leaving The Flashcubes
Shout It Out Loud KISS
Sold Your Heart The Flashcubes
Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White The Standells
Starry Eyes The Records
Summertime Blues Eddie Cochran
Surrender Cheap Trick
Sweet Little Sixteen Chuck Berry
Syracuse Summer The Tearjerkers
Taking Inventory The Flashcubes
The Tears Of A Clown Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
There She Goes Again The Velvet Underground
They Walk Among You New Math
Till The End Of The Day The Kinks
Tired Of Waiting For You The Kinks
Tomorrow Night Shoes
Train Kept A-Rollin' The Yardbirds
The Village Green Preservation Society The Kinks
Walk Away, Renee The Left Banke
Walk--Don't Run The Ventures
Waterloo Sunset The Kinks
We Got The Beat The Go-Go's
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals
We Love You The Rolling Stones
Well...All Right Buddy Holly
What I Like About You The Romantics
Who Listens To The Radio? The Sports
Words Of Love The Beatles
Working Girl The Members
You Really Got Me The Kinks



ALL-TIME TOP 25 ALBUMS

All Over The Place The Bangles
Aftermath The Rolling Stones
Bad Reputation Joan Jett
Beatles '65 The Beatles
Beatles VI The Beatles
Blondie Blondie
David Johansen David Johansen
Drop Out With The Barracudas The Barracudas
Having A Rave-Up With The Yardbirds The Yardbirds
Head The Monkees
It's Alive! The Ramones
Leave Home The Ramones
New York Dolls The New York Dolls
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. The Monkees
The Right To Be Italian Holly & the Italians
Rocket To Russia The Ramones
Rubber Soul The Beatles
Shake Some Action The Flamin' Groovies
Something Else The Kinks
Subterranean Jungle The Ramones
Tell America Fools Face
Too Much, Too Soon The New York Dolls
The Undertones The Undertones
The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground
The Village Green Preservation Society The Kinks



Looking back on this now, I'm surprised that I preferred The Ramones' Subterranean Jungle to Road To Ruin, and that I skipped The Beatles' Revolver. Where's Pet Sounds? Although I did own a copy of that LP, I wouldn't appreciate it that album's majesty until the early '90s. The Flashcubes tracks listed on the Hot 100 all came from a cassette of an unreleased 1978 Flashcubes live show, the only long-form Flashcubes document I had in 1985.

I still have a number of the subsequent Hot 100s that I updated over the next few years, and I may wind up committing to the overkill of sharing them here. It's pop music. We're fans. We're supposed to be obsessive about it. It's what we do--and ain't it fun?




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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. 

18 (And I Like It): My [simulated] All-Time Hot 100 circa 1978

I've been looking back at the music I loved when I was a teenager, trying to imagine what I would have named as my All-Time Hot 100 songs when I was a nascent rock 'n' roll fan. We've seen what I liked when I was 16 (going on 17) in 1976, and how it evolved one year later when I was 17. Now, let's resume the story over Thanksgiving break in my freshman year at college in 1977, and see what 1978 could bring. Eighteen? I liked it.


Explosion.

No other single word could describe my rockin' pop world at the end of 1977 through the early fall of 1978. It was an explosion of discovery, building on what I'd learned over the previous year and sending it all up in a rocket to the stars. Or a rocket to Russia--whichever came first.

There were three main precipitating incidents that contributed to this combustion. Over Thanksgiving break in 1977, I heard The Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" for the first time, and its immediate and prevailing effects upon me were positively seismic. In January of 1978, not long after my 18th birthday, I saw my first rock 'n' roll club show, performed with irresistible intensity by a local Syracuse group called The Flashcubes. Shortly thereafter, a rock magazine called Bomp! taught me that the music I loved the most was called power pop, a description that linked The Kinks and The Raspberries to The Ramones and The Flashcubes. I've written about each of these elsewhere--"Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," my first Flashcubes show, and the power pop issue of Bomp!--so we'll press on without repeating those stories here. We need only pause here long enough to reiterate that those three events share equal footing with seeing The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night at the drive-in in 1964 and reading about punk rock in Phonograph Record Magazine in 1977 as the key flashpoints in my life as a rockin' pop fan. (The Monkees TV series was also important, but its effect was spread out over the years rather than tethered to a specific single moment in time.)

That Christmas break '77-'78 also brought my first attempt at rock journalism: "Groovin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)," an emeritus contribution to my high school literary magazine The NorthCaster. That piece's title reminds me of something similar I've used recently. "Groovin' (Like The Hip Folks Do)" was published in the spring of '78, and it ranted dutifully and insistently about the virtues of punk rock, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Rubinoos, Blondie, and KISS, expressed indifference toward Talking Heads, disappointment in Richard Hell & the VoidOids, and outright hostility toward The Eagles. At a club show the following summer, I ran into a former classmate who berated me for digging punk rock and dissing Hotel California. You know you've succeeded as a writer when you discover you pissed someone off.

Music wasn't the only thing in my life. No, really. I had a girlfriend at college, and it wasn't her fault that we had so little in common. It certainly wasn't her fault that I wound up in the arms of a different girl. I really wish I had been more mature at 17 and 18. I burned bridges with both girls; there was another girl back home, a girl I cared about, and I scorched the innocent earth between us. Yay, me. As 17 became 18, it became clear that I was no longer getting along with my roommate at school, in much the same way that Hatfields don't get along with McCoys.

So yeah, the music's a happier memory. I saw Elvis Costello & the Attractions at college with one of my ex-girlfriends. I saw The Ramones and The Runaways. I saw The Kinks. In the summer of '78, I saw Herman's Hermits (sans Peter Noone) at a club show (where the above-mentioned guy from my high school expressed his disagreement with my published pro-punk stance), and I saw The Flashcubes every chance I had. I got a part-time job at Sears, and that put money in my pocket, cash for records and beer. I bought both, in abundance. I listened to oldies at The Tip-A-Few on James Street in Eastwood. I gave shelter to an AWOL Marine buddy and a teenaged runaway (at different times). I played my LPs and 45s. I was living loud.

And I wanted another girlfriend. I was determined that, given another chance, I could be a better boyfriend than I had been in my previous attempts.

Back to Brockport for the fall semester of my sophomore year in '78. In October, I bought myself a copy of The Jam's This Is The Modern World album, and went back to my dorm to play it at extremely high volume. The girl in the next room objected, and pounded on our mutual wall to get me to shuddup awready. Grumble.

The girl's name was Brenda. That's still her name. We would meet shortly after that, on October 19th, 1978. The story will resume there next time. For now, turn it up! These were my all-time favorite songs when I was 18.



Alison Elvis Costello
All Around The World The Jam
All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks
Any Way You Want It The Dave Clark Five [NOTE: I also played KISS' version a lot]
Baby Blue Badfinger
Babysitter The Ramones
Beat On The Brat The Ramones
Because The Night Patti Smith Group
Blitzkrieg Bop The Ramones
Calling Dr. Love KISS
Catch Us If You Can The Dave Clark Five
Celluloid Heroes The Kinks
Christi Girl The Flashcubes
Christine Sixteen KISS
Citadel The Rolling Stones
Couldn't I Just Tell You Todd Rundgren
Daily Nightly The Monkees
Detroit Rock City KISS
Do Anything You Wanna Do Eddie & the Hot Rods
Do You Love Me The Dave Clark Five
Do You Wanna Dance The Ramones
Eight Miles High The Byrds
Every Little Thing The Beatles
The First Cut Is The Deepest Cat Stevens
Five O'Clock World The Vogues
Friday On My Mind The Easybeats
Go All The Way The Raspberries
God Save The Queen The Sex Pistols
Good Lovin' The Young Rascals
Got No Mind The Flashcubes
Heart Full Of Soul The Yardbirds
Heart Of The City Nick Lowe
Hey Deanie Shaun Cassidy
I Can't Explain The Who
I Fought The Law The Bobby Fuller Four
I Need To Know Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
I Need You (For Someone) The Jam
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I'm Down The Beatles
In The City The Jam
It Hurts To Be In Love Gene Pitney
It's My Life The Animals
Joanne Michael Nesmith & the First National Band
Juke Box Music The Kinks
Just What I Needed The Cars
The Kids Are Alright The Who
La-La-La Lies The Who
The Last Time The Rolling Stones
Laugh, Laugh The Beau Brunmmels
Less Than Zero Elvis Costello
Let Me! Paul Revere & the Raiders
Let Me Be The Turtles
Lies The Knickerbockers
Listen To Her Heart Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Little White Lies The Romantics
Lola The Kinks
London's Burning The Clash
Love Is Only Sleeping The Monkees
The Modern World The Jam
Move It On Over George Thorogood & the Destroyers
My Girl The Temptations
A Must To Avoid Herman's Hermits
No Feelings The Sex Pistols
No More Looking Back The Kinks
No Reply The Beatles
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue The Ramones
Oh Boy Buddy Holly
Ouch! The Rutles
Porpoise Song (Theme From Head) The Monkees
Pretty Vacant The Sex Pistols
Pushin' Too Hard The Seeds
Ready Steady Go Generation X
Rich Kids The Rich Kids
Rock And Roll Love Letter The Bay City Rollers
Rockaway Beach The Ramones
School Days The Runaways
Shattered The Rolling Stones
She Is Still A Mystery The Lovin' Spoonful
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker The Ramones
Sloop John B The Beach Boys
So It Goes Nick Lowe
Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White The Standells
Suffragette City David Bowie
Take Me For What It's Worth The Searchers
Tear Me Apart Suzi Quatro
Tell Me What You See The Beatles
Thank You, Girl The Beatles
Then She Kissed Me KISS
Till The End Of The Day The Kinks
Tired Of Waiting For You The Kinks
Wasted The Runaways
Watching The Detectives Elvis Costello
Waterloo Sunset The Kinks
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals
When You Find Out The Nerves
Where Have All The Good Times Gone The Kinks
Words The Monkees
X-Offender Blondie
You Really Got Me The Kinks
Your Generation Generation X

NOTE: If The Flashcubes had released more than just the "Christi Girl" 45 in this time frame, there woulda been a lot more 'Cubes tracks on this Hot 100. Live Flashcubes fave raves included "Face To Face" (my first favorite Flashcubes song), "On The Run," "Student Rape," "Social Mobility," and many more.



WHEN WE RETURN: Hey 19!



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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. 

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 942

When presented with an opportunity to play new music from The Grip Weeds, the superior rockin' pop radio show's path is suddenly set and secure. We love The Grip Weeds, so it's really sayin' something when we say Trip Around The Sun may be their very best long-player to date. The album is due October 19th from the mighty 'n' legendary Jem Records, and it's available for preorder right now from your favorite songsellers. In hyping it for Amazon, intrepid TIRnRR listener Rich Firestone wrote this fluent sellspeak:

New Jersey's The Grip Weeds release their seventh studio album Trip Around The Sun, their second for Jem Records, and the follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 release How I Won The War. The Grip Weeds turn in the most varied collection of songs in their decades-long history. Echoes of sunshine pop ( Vibrations ), psychedelic garage rock ( Mr. Nervous ), biting social commentary ( Casual Observer (To A Crime) ), vintage folk rock ( Truth Behind The Lie ), and the riff-driven rock of the epic title cut, all with The Grip Weeds trademark melodic songwriting, powerful guitars and rhythm, and close harmony vocals. A fine place for new fans to discover what longtime fans have always known: The Grip Weeds are a timeless band with a new album made for these times.

Reechie TESTIFIES! Dana & Carl can only add: GET IT, you lot!

To build a better radio show, we supplemented minty-fresh Grip Weeds with new music from Eric Stracener & the Frustrations and from Dana Countryman featuring Scott McPherson, and our prerequisite slam-bang-WOW from across the decades of rockin' pop music. What path shall the superior rockin' pop radio take? Just follow us, man--we know the way. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse on The Spark WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/

Spark Syracuse is supported by listeners like you. Tax-deductible donations are welcome at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/

You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at 
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/

Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christia-n Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it at https://tinyurl.com/ycnly8oz

TIRnRR # 942: 9/23/18

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
--
THE GRIP WEEDS: Vibrations (Jem, Trip Around The Sun)
HARMONIC DIRT: Maybe (n/a, Anthracite)
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: Hot Fun In The Summertime (Epic, Greatest Hits)
SLY JOHNSON: Take Me To The River (EMI, VA: Soul Classics Vol. 6)
THE STEVE DEATON THREE: Tall Dark Stranger (Plowhandle, The Steve Deaton Three)
THE CRYAN' SHAMES: If I Needed Someone (Sony, Sugar And Spice)
--
ERIC STRACENER & THE FRUSTRATIONS: Levee (ericstracener.bandcamp.com, Levee)
DAVE BERRY: Don't Give Me No Lip Child (Decca, The Collection)
PATTI SMITH: Gloria (Arista, Horses)
THE WHO: The Good's Gone (MCA, My Generation)
FOOLS FACE: Stand Up (Talk, Tell America)
THE SMITHEREENS: Strangers When We Meet (Capitol, Blown To Smithereens)
--
PAUL McCARTNEY: Get Started (Capitol, Egypt Station)
THE POSIES: I'm Looking Through You (MOJO, VA: Beatlemania Volume 1)
THE RUTLES: It's Looking Good (Rhino, The Rutles)
THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR: Vanishing Girl (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)
SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown (Motown, VA: Hitsville USA)
THE MONKEES: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Rhino, 50)
--
DANA COUNTRYMAN FEATURING SCOTT McPHERSON: You're Still Number One (danacountryman.com, single)
THE BUZZCOCKS: Ever Fallen In Love (IRS, Singles Going Steady)
LYRES: Help You, Ann (Matador, On Fyre)
THE EXPLODING HEARTS: (Making) Teenage Faces (Dirtnap, Shattered)
THE GRIP WEEDS: Strange Bird (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
THE GRIP WEEDS: After The Sunrise (Jem, Trip Around The Sun)
--
PoP: Warhol's Promise (p-o-p.bandcamp.com, 3)
THE OUTLETS: Knock Me Down (Rhino, VA: DIY: Mass Ave)
CHUCK BERRY: Carol (MCA, The Anthology)
THE RONETTES: Be My Baby (Sony, Playlist)
BUCK OWENS & HIS BUCKAROOS: Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass (Rhino, 21 # 1 Hits)
THE ROLLING STONES: Get Off Of My Cloud (Virgin, Forty Licks)
--
THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ? (Capitol, single)
THE BEVIS FROND: Lights Are Changing (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)
JOHNNY JOHNSON & THE BANDWAGON: Blame It On The Pony Express (Varese Sarabande, VA: Soulful Pop)
EDISON LIGHTHOUSE: Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) (Varese Sarabande, VA: 25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits)
THE RAMONES: Teenage Lobotomy (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)
HOLE: Heaven Tonight (Geffen, Celebrity Skin)
--
IRENE PEÑA: Must've Been Good (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
MARY LOU LORD: Aim Low (Kill Rock Stars, Mary Lou Lord/Sean Na Na)
ATHANOR: Magic In Me (Kool Kat Musik, Hills Of The Universe)
THE MERRYMAKERS: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Not Lame, VA: Full Circle)
EYDIE GORME: Blame It On The Bossa Nova (Real Gone Music, Blame It On The Bossa Nova)
THE GROOVIE GHOULIES: Carly Simon (Lookout, VA: Lookout! Freakout!)
--
THE GRIP WEEDS: She Tries (Jem, Trip Around The Sun)
KENNY HOWES & THE YEAH!: Sheila, She (Tall Boy, Until Dawn)
PAUL McCARTNEY: Who Cares (Capitol, Egypt Station)
THE ORGONE BOX: World Revolves (Minus Zero, The Orgone Box)
P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest (Immediate, The First Cut)
AMY RIGBY: Dancing With Joey Ramone (Signature Sounds, Little Fugitive)
THE KINKS: All Day And All Of The Night (Sanctuary, The Ultimate Collection)
ASTROPUPPES: Over Her Head (Manateem Little Chick Tsunami)
THE BEACH BOYS: Pet Sounds (Capitol, Pet Sounds)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

New music from The Grip Weeds. If you need more motivation than that, then maybe we're not the radio show for you. HOWEVER! If you like The Kinks, Sly & the Family Stone, The Ramones, P. P. Arnold, Chuck Berry, and all rock that pops 'n' jangles, then maybe we are the radio show for you. And maybe new music from The Grip Weeds is exactly what you need. Happy to help! Sunday night 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at Spark! WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ And let's repeat one important point: NEW MUSIC FROM THE GRIP WEEDS!!

WHEN I WAS 17: My [simulated] All-Time Hot 100 circa 1977

Having already hypothesized my All-Time Hot 100 for when I was 16 (going on 17) in late 1976, we pick up that thread about a year later. Let's see how things changed.



In retrospect, I realize that my path through 1977 was paved with dominoes, each falling in its proper place. The path began in December of 1976, when I saw my first rock concert: KISS with Uriah Heep at the Onondaga County War Memorial. It wound its way through Christmas gifts that deepened my appreciation of the mid '60s British Invasion, through increased attention to freer-form FM radio as I left AM Top 40 (partially) behind, through a tabloid rock rag that introduced me to something called punk rock, and a friend in high school who intensified my appreciation of The Monkees. Each domino fell with its own melodious thud. I turned 17 in January. I would graduate from high school in June, and begin college in late August. 1977. The dominoes never knew what hit them.

My Christmas gifts in 1976 included a pair of double-LP sets, The Best Of The Animals and The History Of British Rock, Vol. 2. I was already a fan of The Animals, so the former just reaffirmed preexisting obsessions; the latter made me a fan of The Kinks. I've told that story elsewhere; for now, suffice it to say that I quickly went from being a kid who loved The Kinks' single "Lola" into a full-on dedicated follower of well-respected men. The set included "All Day And All Of The Night," my sister pointed me toward "You Really Got Me," and WOUR-FM gave me "Tired Of Waiting For You" and "No More Looking Back" (and more!).

WOUR was a key contributor to my burgeoning rockin' pop interests. The station introduced me to The Rubinoos, Graham Parker, Greg Kihn, and Nick Lowe, and it had a simply amazing Friday night oldies show. WOUR sponsored the free local distribution of Phonograph Record Magazine, which hooked me on the notion of punk rock well before I actually heard any punk rock. Finally, OUR did play my first punk record in the summer of '77, with a spin of a brand-new single called "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols. I was instantly fascinated. It's not music, I wrote, but it's exciting--I like it! My understanding of the parameters of what was or wasn't music would soon evolve, and the newly-mapped boundaries would most certainly include The Sex Pistols.

My LP acquisitions began to grow at a more rapid pace: sometimes new, more often used from the flea market and used record stores in North Syracuse and in Cleveland Heights, where my sister lived. My sister gave me KISS' Rock And Roll Over album as a graduation gift, and three girls I knew combined resources to get me The Beatles' White Album; I also got Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band somewhere in this period. Linda, one of the girls who had chipped in for my copy of The White Album, also let me borrow her copies of some old Monkees albums, including Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones. Ltd. and Head; I'd never heard either of those albums before, and both of 'em just blew my mind. I was already a Monkees fan, but Head and Pisces shifted that into freakin' overdrive.

Off to college at Brockport in the fall, where campus radio station WBSU-AM offered more opportunity to hear the acts I'd read about in Phonograph Record Magazine, including Blondie and The Ramones. I tried to immerse myself in music, old and new. My girlfriend hated most of it. The majority of my college peers hated all of it. Every word they uttered against The Ramones made me dig in my heels, and deepened my growing disdain for The Eagles and The Grateful Dead, my confidence that I was the only one who knew what music was right for me. Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine. By the time I got to Thanksgiving break, I had expanded my mental library of favored sounds in less than one year's time. Everything would just explode after that, from the moment I first heard my new 45 of The Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker." You can read that story here; when we return, we'll resume this narrative in late '77 through late '78. No future for me? Oh, I'd say there was, man. I'd say there was.



After The Gold Rush Neil Young
All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks
Any Way You Want It The Dave Clark Five
Baby Blue Badfinger
Ballroom Blitz Sweet
Beat On The Brat The Ramones
Blinded By The Light Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Both Sides Now Judy Collins
Bottle Of Wine The Fireballs
Calling Dr. Love KISS
Carrie Anne The Hollies
Carry On Wayward Son Kansas
Catch Us If You Can The Dave Clark Five
Cherry Bomb The Runaways
Cry Baby Cry The Beatles
Daddy's Song The Monkees
Daily Nightly The Monkees
Day After Day Badfinger
A Day In The Life The Beatles
Do You Love Me The Dave Clark Five
Don't Be Taken In The Dave Clark Five
The Door Into Summer The Monkees
Ecstasy The Raspberries
Eight Miles High The Byrds
Elevation Television
Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey) The Beatles
Gary Gilmore's Eyes The Adverts
Get Off Of My Cloud The Rolling Stones
Getting Better The Beatles
Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' Crazy Elephant
Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five
Gloria Patti Smith
Go All The Way The Raspberries
Go Your Own Way Fleetwood Mac
God Save The Queen The Sex Pistols
Gold Dust Woman Fleetwood Mac
Good Lovin' The Young Rascals
Having A Wild Weekend The Dave Clark Five
Heart Full Of Soul The Yardbirds
How Can I Be Sure The Young Rascals
I Can't Control Myself The Troggs
I Can't Explain The Who
I Never Thought It Peculiar The Monkees
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I Want You (She's So Heavy) The Beatles
I'm Down The Beatles
I'm Telling You Now Freddie & the Dreamers
If I Needed Someone The Beatles
Isn't It Time The Babys
It Won't Be Long The Beatles
It's My Life The Animals
Judy In Disguise John Fred & his Playboy Band
Jukebox Music The Kinks
Jumpin' Jack Flash The Rolling Stones
Kicks Paul Revere & the Raiders
Knowing Me, Knowing You ABBA
The Last Time The Rolling Stones
Lazy Sunday The Small Faces
Laugh, Laugh The Beau Brummels
Let Me! Paul Revere & the Raiders
Lies The Knickerbockers
Lola The Kinks
Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress The Hollies
Love Is A Rose Linda Ronstadt
Love Is Only Sleeping The Monkees
Maybe I'm Amazed Paul McCartney
Mr. Soul Buffalo Springfield
Mother's Little Helper The Rolling Stones
Needles And Pins The Searchers
The Night Before The Beatles
No Matter What Badfinger
No More Looking Back The Kinks
No Reply The Beatles
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue The Ramones
On Broadway The Dave Clark Five
Peace Of Mind Boston
Porpoise Song (Theme From Head) The Monkees
Rebel Rebel The Bay City Rollers
Rock And Roll Is Dead The Rubinoos
Rock And Roll Love Letter The Bay City Rollers
She Is Still A Mystery The Lovin' Spoonful
She's Not There The Zombies
So It Goes Nick Lowe
So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star The Byrds
Stop, Stop, Stop The Hollies
Summer In The City The Lovin' Spoonful
Thank You, Girl The Beatles
This Ain't The Summer Of Love Blue Oyster Cult
Tired Of Waiting For You The Kinks
We Are The Champions Queen
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals
We Will Rock You Queen
What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round The Monkees
White Rabbit Jefferson Airplane
Will You Love Me Tomorrow The Shirelles
Words The Monkees
Wouldn't It Be Nice The Rubinoos
X-Offender Blondie
You Really Got Me The Kinks
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away The Beatles



WHEN WE RETURN: 18 (And I Like It!)



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I WAS 16 (Going On 17): My [simulated] Hot 100 circa 1976

By the age of 16, a boy starts to become a man, while often still remaining a boy for quite some time thereafter (decades thereafter in my case). For boys and girls alike, this age can also be a period of transition for one's taste in music. It was for me, anyway.

I was born on January 17th of 1960, so I was 16 for most of 1976. And it was indeed the start of a metamorphosis in the music I liked most, as I began to broaden my pure pop scope beyond then-recent Top 40 and the stuff I remembered from earlier years into attempts at deeper discovery. My interest would expand dramatically in 1977, and stumble toward a more clearly-defined understanding of the music that moved me in 1978. Ultimately, my music is just...well, my music.

Yeah Yeah Yeah. When I was 16, The Beatles still dominated my view of the top of the pops; that needle's never really moved much, and it likely never will. I liked oldies. I liked Top 40 AM radio, but I was starting to feel increasingly estranged from much of what I heard on Syracuse's WOLF-AM, particularly the early disco (or perhaps proto-disco) and mellower sounds. I was not yet listening to much, if any, FM radio; by the end of '76, WOUR-FM was my radio station.

So this is an attempt to create a list of what I might have thought were The Greatest Records Ever Made when I was 16 going on 17 in late 1976. I was in the fall semester of my senior year in high school, and there were a whole lot of changes lurking just around the bend. December would bring my first rock concert. Christmas break would usher in...well, that's a tale for next time. All day and all of the night.

An attempt like this cannot possibly succeed; forty-two years after the fact, there's just no way I can recall with precise accuracy what music I thought was the bee's knees (that was popular slang in '76, right?). I can't say for certain which then-obsessions Carl '76 would have declared an all-time classic, nor which that awkward teen just happened to dig a lot in the moment, but wouldn't have proclaimed as Beatles-caliber. I'm positive that I've cruelly forgotten about some records I considered absolutely essential at the time. But I think it's a decent approximation, and a fair portrait of my soundtrack in 1976.

In the fall of 1976, I had my first job (though it would last less than a month). I was growing closer to a friend's younger sister, and we'd eventually start having lengthy telephone conversations every night. In the popular parlance of '76, I had begun to party. I was writing more and more. We'll come back soon to examine how the soundtrack changed and/or remained the same one year later.




Alice's Restaurant Massacree Arlo Guthrie
Baby Blue Badfinger
Ballroom Blitz Sweet
Bell Bottom Blues Derek & the Dominoes
Born To Be Wild Steppenwolf
Both Sides Now Judy Collins
Come And Get It Badfinger
Come Together The Beatles
Changes David Bowie
Day After Day Badfinger
A Day In The Life The Beatles
Different Drum The Stone Poneys
Dizzy Tommy Roe
Do Ya Electric Light Orchestra
Don't Fear The Reaper Blue Oyster Cult
Eight Miles High The Byrds
Every Little Thing The Beatles
Feelin' Stronger Every Day Chicago
Fire The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
Get Off Of My Cloud The Rolling Stones
Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five
Go All The Way The Raspberries
Go Now! The Moody Blues
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John
Gudbuy T' Jane Slade
Happy Together The Turtles
Help! The Beatles 
Helter Skelter The Beatles
Hey Jude The Beatles
Highway Star Deep Purple
Homeward Bound Simon & Garfunkel
House Of The Rising Sun The Animals
Hush Deep Purple
I Am A Rock Simon & Garfunkel
I Am The Walrus The Beatles
I Can See Clearly Now Johnny Nash
I Think We're Alone Now Tommy James & the Shondells
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I'm Into Something Good Herman's Hermits
I'm Looking Through You The Beatles
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone The Monkees
If I Fell The Beatles
It Won't Be Long The Beatles
It's My Life The Animals
Jet Paul McCartney & Wings
Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry
Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) Melanie
Layla Derek & the Dominoes
Let It Be The Beatles
Let's Spend The Night Together The Rolling Stones
Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan
Lola The Kinks
The Long And Winding Road The Beatles
Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress The Hollies
Long Long Time Linda Ronstadt
Love Hurts Nazareth
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds The Beatles
Magic Man Heart
More Than A Feeling Boston
Midnight Confessions The Grass Roots
My Little Town Simon & Garfunkel
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam
New York Mining Disaster 1941 The Bee Gees
The Night Before The Beatles
No Matter What Badfinger
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) The Beatles
Nowhere Man The Beatles
Peace Of Mind Boston
Pleasant Valley Sunday The Monkees
Revolution The Beatles
Ride Captain Ride Blues Image
Rock And Roll Love Letter The Bay City Rollers
Ruby Tuesday The Rolling Stones
Runaround Sue Dion
Runaway Del Shannon
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Elton John
School's Out Alice Cooper
She Said She Said The Beatles
She'd Rather Be with Me The Turtles
Slow Down The Beatles
Smoke On The Water Deep Purple
The Sounds Of Silence Simon & Garfunkel
The Story In Your Eyes The Moody Blues
Summer In The City The Lovin' Spoonful
Tangled Up In Blue Bob Dylan
The Tears Of A Clown Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Temptation Eyes The Grass Roots
Thick As A Brick Jethro Tull
Twist And Shout The Beatles
Uneasy Rider The Charlie Daniels Band
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals
When Will I Be Loved Linda Ronstadt
White Rabbit Jefferson Airplane
Why Can't We Be Friends War
Yesterday The Beatles
You Don't Own Me Lesley Gore
You're No Good Linda Ronstadt
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away The Beatles
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling The Righteous Brothers
Zor And Zam The Monkees



NEXT TIME: WHEN I WAS 17 




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100-Page FAKES! presents: SUPER-HERO GRAB BAG # 1 (with THE SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY)

100-Page FAKES! imagines mid-1970s DC 100-Page Super Spectaculars that never were...but should have been!

I am fully aware of the fact that I was never Nick Cardy or Neal Adams, thanks.

Well, it took over 45 years, but I've finally returned to my very first 100-Page FAKE!

I drew this mock-up of a cover for an ideal DC 100-Page Super Spectacular somewhere in early 1973, when I was thirteen. The real Super Specs had just returned to newsstands, and I was stoked, because once again I'd be getting 96 pages (plus covers) of vintage DC superhero action for a mere fifty cents. Each of the Super Specs was designed to showcase one particular lead feature--Superman, The Batman, Superboy, The Flash, Justice League of America--supported by other characters in back-up strips. Me, I still missed the free-for-all aspect of the "World's Greatest Super-Heroes!" format of the first Super Spec I ever saw, way back when I was eleven in '71. When 100-Page Super Spectacular # 18 published a letter from Richard H. Morrissey suggesting a "grab bag" Super Spec, perhaps headlining The Seven Soldiers of Victory, I was on that idea faster'n a speeding bullet.



(Incidentally, I still agree with DC's reasons for not reprinting "Captain Marvel And The Monster Society Of Evil.")

Inspired by Richard's suggestion, I drew this cover. In 2018, I decided to make it (sort of) real.

The Seven Soldiers of Victory had fascinated me for years. I first heard of this 1940s super-group in a text page that DC had run in its comics in the late '60s, and in a gorgeous portrait of the group, drawn by Murphy Anderson and published in a Justice League Of America Giant. The group returned in a memorable three-part serial in Justice League Of America # 100-102 in 1972, and that tale by Len Wein remains my all-time favorite JLA story.

Thirteen-year-old me had no idea how long a book-length adventure from the Golden Age of Comics would be, so I blithely slapped together a poor imitation of a Nick Cardy Super Spec cover, with our Soldiers supported by Wonder Woman, The Golden Age Flash, The Golden Age Atom, and The Marvel Family. And I betcha I figured there'd still be room for Spy Smasher or Kid Eternity.

But lo and behold, as I pursued the goal of assembling a 96-page package of stories that would match what I conjured so fancifully near the beginning of Richard Nixon's second, truncated term, I found that everything filled the space exactly as it should. I had to use one of the shorter Marvel Family stories, but it all fit. It...it...

It worked!!

I'll be 59 in January. I still read comic books. I still listen to rockin' pop music that some might dismiss as juvenile. I don't care. I like what I like, and I can articulate why I like what I like (though it's really more fun to just tell naysayers to go climb their thumbs anyway). And I can't deny that I feel a tingle of satisfaction from at long last completing this silly little notion I began in 1973.

The Seven Soldiers Of Victory (untitled), Leading Comics # 1 (Winter 1941-42)
Wonder Woman in "The Secret Of The Amazing Bracelets!," Sensation Comics # 86 (February 1949)
The Golden-Age Flash in "Haunted Halloween!," Flash Comics # 78 (December 1946)
The Golden-Age Atom in "The Atom Vs. Nick Crock," All-American Comics # 57 (April 1944)
The Marvel Family "The Land That Never Was," The Marvel Family # 57 (March 1951)

All contents are copyright DC Comics Inc., and can only be depicted here with a few representative pages. I share the whole 96-page package with my paid subscribers. And now, Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) is proud to present a 100-Page FAKE! more than forty-five years in the making. Was it worth the wait? I believe it really was.

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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. 

COVER GALLERY