THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1): Another expanded and updated Table of Contents

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.

Here's the current Table of Contents for my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I know myself well enough to refrain from saying this will be the book's final line-up--I tweak, therefore I am--but it feels like it's getting closer. Let's see what we have here:



TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD
DISCLAIMERS AND DECLARATIONS (A User's Guide To The Greatest Record Ever Made!)
OVERTURE A Fistful Of 45s

1. BADFINGER: Baby Blue

2. CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land
3. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You
4. THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
5. ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel
BONUS TRACK: WILLIE MAE "BIG MAMA" THORNTON: Hound Dog
6. PATTI SMITH: Gloria
7. LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It
8. NEIL DIAMOND: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
9. CRAZY ELEPHANT: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' 
10. WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour
11. THE HOLLIES: I Can't Let Go
BONUS TRACK THE SHANGRI-LAS: Leader Of The Pack
12. THE SHIRELLES: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
13. THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
INTERLUDE I Dream Of Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy (and occasionally Marky, Richie, C.J., and/or new recruits)
BONUS TRACK PINK FLOYD: Wish You Were Here
14. BUDDY HOLLY: Peggy Sue/Everyday
15. JOHNNY NASH: I Can See Clearly Now
16. SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young
17. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: Midnight Train To Georgia
18. THE RARE BREED: Beg, Borrow And Steal
19. THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me
20. THE ROLLING STONES: Get Off Of My Cloud
21. PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Just Like Me
22. PRINCE: When You Were Mine
23. LESLEY GORE: You Don't Own Me
24. TRANSLATOR: Everywhere That I'm Not
25. THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law
BONUS TRACK MERLE HAGGARD: Mama Tried
26. THE WHO: I Can't Explain
27. TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You
28. THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise
29. SHOES: Tomorrow Night
30. SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown
31. THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis
32. THE EASYBEATS: Friday On My Mind
33.  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes
34. THE RONETTES: Be My Baby
BONUS TRACK RONNIE SPECTOR & THE E STREET BAND: Say Goodbye To Hollywood
35. OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
36. ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
37. THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)
INTERLUDE The Night I Met Peter Tork
38. BARON DAEMON & THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist
BONUS TRACK NELSON RIDDLE: The Batman Theme
39. KISS: Shout It Out Loud
40. THE LEFT BANKE: Walk Away, Renee
41. THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter
42. THE KNICKERBOCKERS: Lies
BONUS TRACK TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: Pressure Drop
43. THE GO-GO'S: We Got The Beat
44. JAMES BROWN: Please, Please, Please
45. GRAND FUNK: We're An American Band
46. SAMMY AMBROSE: This Diamond Ring
47. THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby
48. THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze
49. THE RUBINOOS: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
50. BIG STAR: September Gurls
BONUS TRACK MARVIN GAYE: I Heard It Through The Grapevine
BONUS TRACK RAY CHARLES: What'd I Say
BONUS TRACK P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
ENTR'ACTE THE BEATLES: Yesterday
BONUS TRACK THE MUFFS: Saying Goodbye
BONUS TRACK BOB DYLAN: Like A Rolling Stone
BONUS TRACK THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET: Take Five
51. THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
52. MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress
53. THE JACKSON FIVE: I'll Be There
54. DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back
55. THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes
56. THE FLIRTATIONS: Nothing But A Heartache
57. THE SPINNERS: I'll Be Around
58. ALICE COOPER: School's Out
59. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Everybody Is A Star
60. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
BONUS TRACK RICK JAMES: Super Freak (Part 1)
61. LED ZEPPELIN: Communication Breakdown
62. THE BANDWAGON: Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache
INTERLUDE Old Time Time Rock & Roll
63. THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ?
64. BEN E. KING: Stand By Me
65. BLONDIE: (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear
BONUS TRACK DON HENLEY: The Boys Of Summer
66. THE BYRDS: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
67. THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone
68. THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
69. GENE PITNEY: Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
70. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: I'll Be Your Mirror
BONUS TRACK THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It?
71. FREDDIE & THE DREAMERS: Do The Freddie
72. THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway
73. SAM & DAVE: Soul Man
74. THE SPONGETONES: (My Girl) Maryanne
75. THE TRAMMPS: Disco Inferno
76. HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way
BONUS TRACK GRANDMASTER & MELLE MEL: White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
77. T. REX: 20th Century Boy
78. THE RUNAWAYS: Cherry Bomb
79. THE KINKS: You Really Got Me
80. THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset
BONUS TRACK HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: Time Will Tell
81. THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep
82. THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me
83. FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold
84. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
85. THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There
86. RUFUS: Tell Me Something Good
87. PAUL COLLINS: Walking Out On Love
BONUS TRACK THE CONTOURS: Do You Love Me
INTERLUDE The Tottenham Sound Of...The Beatles?!
88. THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Any Way You Want It
89. WHAM!: Freedom

90. THE SUPREMES: You Keep Me Hangin' On 

91. THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows
92. LULU: To Sir, With Love (Museum Outings Montage)
93. THE SELECTER: On My Radio
BONUS TRACK MANNIX: Highway Lines
94. SOLOMON BURKE: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
95. CHEAP TRICK Surrender
96. DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars?
97. THE O'JAYS: Put Your Hands Together
98. THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band
99. EDDIE & THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do
100. STEVIE WONDER: I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
ENCORE! EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year
ENCORE!! THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
An Infinite Number
INTERLUDE Underrating The Beatles
THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! THE BEATLES: Rain
LAST CALL! THE T-BONES: No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)
CODA Cruisin' Music
MORE BONUS TRACKS/AFTERWORD  

As noted previously, I've decided to expand the book's coverage from a total of 113 songs to a total of 125 songs. The twelve new additions are by Big Mama Thornton, The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes, Ronnie Spector & the E Street Band, Toots & the Maytals, Ray Charles, The Muffs, The Dave Brubeck Quartet ("Take Five" has been in and out of the book several times), The Jackson Five, Blondie, Holly Golightly, and The Contours. Tracks by Boney M ("My Friend Jack"), The Pretenders ("Back On The Chain Gang"), The Toys ("May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone"), and The Bevis Frond ("He'd Be A Diamond") were in the mix during this most recent tweak, but they didn't seem to fit at this time. Also as previously noted, I am deliberately excluding some of my own all-time Fave Raves (by the likes of The Animals, The Jam, The Plimsouls, The Yardbirds, and The Vogues) to pursue a larger discussion of this infinite concept of the greatest record ever made.

I am 28 chapters shy of a complete first draft. All of the supplemental material is done, and (lessee now, doin' the math, this minus that means) 97 of the 125 song entries are done. I still need to finish the Big Mama Thornton, Neil Diamond, Shangri-Las, Pink Floyd, Merle Haggard, Shoes, Ronettes, Ronnie Spector & the E Street Band, Otis Redding, Toots & the Maytals, Ray Charles, P. P. Arnold, Muffs, Bob Dylan, Brubeck, David Ruffin, Blondie, Don Henley, Holly Golightly, Cowsills, Rufus, Contours, Supremes, Lulu, Mannix, Cheap Trick, O'Jays, and Eddie & the Hot Rods chapters. 

Work to do! But the result has been satisfying so far. I even have the idea for my preferred front cover graphic. That will remain a secret for a little bit longer. More updates to come.



ABOUT THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1):

I’m pleased to send you the proposal for THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1), a collection of personal essays by writer and radio host Carl Cafarelli.

Our favorite records don’t live in isolation. Each one has a story. Insisting that an infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made (as long as they take turns), Cafarelli ties together threads connecting classic rock, soul, pop, punk, and bubblegum across decades of hits, misses, critics’ darlings, one-hit wonders, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, and complete unknowns. The result reads like an irresistible mix tape in book form, compelling the reader to follow its flow from song to song and chapter to chapter as if it were a novel.

As an experienced pop historian and journalist, Cafarelli knows the importance of recording facts and figures accurately. But passion is of equal importance. We don’t crank the volume for fave rave sounds as academics; we listen as fans, as people living our complicated lives with music as not merely its soundtrack, but as its heartbeat. Records reflect our hopes, our disappointments, our successes, our mourning, our love, our bitterness, our fear, and our will to dance in spite of it all.

Why did The Monkees go from the top of the pops in 1967 to seeming has-been status in 1968? How did James Brown respond to the British Invasion? What minefields of racism, sexism, homophobia, ambition, frustration, depression, or loss were navigated by Little Richard, Dusty Springfield, The Go-Go's, Elvis, Sly and the Family Stone, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, and Material Issue's Jim Ellison? Were The Ramones as much a bubblegum band as they were a punk band? When does a group succeed or fail in its quixotic quest to be the next Beatles? 

And why does listening to pop music sometimes make us want to cry?

Carl Cafarelli has written for Goldmine, DISCoveries, The Syracuse New Times, Feral House, Routledge, Visible Ink Press, AHOY Comics, and Rhino Records. Since 1998, he has been the co-host (with Dana Bonn) of the internationally-renowned weekly broadcast and internet radio show This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, and he is the author of the daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) mixes history lessons, artist appreciation, and the ways in which the records we love can deeply affect our personal lives.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) is unlike any other rock or pop book you’ve ever seen. I look forward to discussing it with you.

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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

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

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1). 

POP-A-LOOZA!

Faithful listeners of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl know Dan Pavelich as a member of The Click Beetles, whose way fab tune "If Not Now Then When" made our 2019 year-end countdown last month, and whose "Shut The TV Down" was included on our 2013 compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3. Others may know him as the creator and auteur of the comic strip Just Say Uncle, or from his other group The Bradburys, or his curatorship of the Vandalay Records label, which has released CDs by Lisa Mychols, Jamie Hoover, and Dan's own groups, plus the magnificent holiday compilation Christmas Without Cancer. If you don't know Dan, well, get to know Dan.




Dan recently started a new pop culture blog, Pop-A-Looza. Pop-A-Looza offers music reviews, movie reviews, YouTube reviews, comics (including Just Say Uncle, of course), videos, and an accumulated mojo against the dark arts. Dan asked me to contribute to Pop-A-Looza, and I am delighted to participate.

Starting tomorrow, a weekly showcase for the paucity of my wit and wisdom will occupy a regular berth at Pop-A-Looza. The current plan is for my stuff to post there every Friday until Dan gets sick of me. I figure I'm good for at least a couple of weeks, right? My posts will generally be cherry-picked treasures from the vast Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archive, though I'll probably eventually craft a new Pop-A-Looza post to run on Dan's blog before it runs here. I like to keep me guessing.

But don't wait until Fridays! Pop-A-Looza has fresh content every day, all poised and waiting for your curious clicks. The Pop-A-Looza revolution starts NOW!

POP-A-LOOZA!



TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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

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

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1). 

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1): Lack of progress report

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.

As the proposal for my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) makes its plodding way through the labyrinth of indifference and distraction, I continue to try to make it into something, as in something special and somethin' else. I completed another chapter yesterday, bringing me within 28 chapters of a complete first draft.

I mentioned recently that I had decided to expand the book's focus from 113 songs to 125 songs. I had intended to post the updated Table of Contents today, but I'm still re-thinking some of my choices. The tweak goes on. Barring an edict from a potential publisher (or another whim by this mercurial author), I think the number is finally set at 125. I'm comfortable with that number: a Hot 100, supplemented by twenty Bonus Tracks, an Entr'acte, two Encores, and a Last Call! (each on equal footing in its spurious claim as The Greatest Record Ever Made!), plus one song I would crown as my choice for GREM! if it really did have to be just one song. Shine. The weather's fine.

Somewhere earlier in the process, I made a decision to deliberately exclude a few of my very favorite tracks: "It's My Life" by The Animals, "A Million Miles Away" by The Plimsouls, "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues, and "In The City" by The Jam, among others. I don't make any false claim of objectivity in this book--it's pop music, fercryinoutloud, so we're supposed to play favorites--but I do want to consciously step away from the notion that this book is just a collection of essays about my all-time fave raves. It's intended instead as a celebration of that immediate rush we feel when we hear a great song. This book exults in the infinite, and uses 125 songs as examples of that never-ending jangle 'n' buzz.

The most recently-completed chapter covers "I'll Be There" by The Jackson Five, a song that did not appear in any of my previously-posted Tables of Contents. I'm juggling a number of other possibilities, from Toots & the Maytals to The Shangri-Las to The Muffs. I may post an updated Table of Contents later this week.

I won't pretend I'm not discouraged by the book's lack of traction so far. Finding a publisher is a long and dreary process. But every time I look back at the work I've already done, whenever I read a sequence of completed chapters, my faith in the project is renewed. This is a book. It's a pretty good book. With a lot of luck and a lot of grit, I hope to get to a point where you'll be able to see that book, and judge for yourself. Once more into the infinite....



TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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

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

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1). 

10 SONGS: 1/21/2020

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



This week's edition of 10 Songs includes nine tracks played on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1009, and one track I almost played but didn't. 

ANTON BARBEAU: Jingle Jangle



Jingle jangle, jingle jangle, I've got a crush on your hand. Well, that implies a fun date, doesn't it? I hear it as a cautionary tale of the recording industry, where treacherous record label weasels will stroke you then discard you when you're no longer makin' with the hits. As Hunter S. Thompson warned us, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.” My interpretation may or may not have anything to do with Anton Barbeau's actual intent. The ears hear what the ears hear. From Anton Barbeau's new album Kenny Vs. Thrust, on Big Stir Records.

CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode



I am so fortunate that AM Top 40 radio mixed incredible oldies like "Johnny B. Goode" into its playlists when I was a young listener in the early '70s. Hearing Chuck Berry alongside then-contemporary fare like Badfinger and Sweet instilled an inherent appreciation of the democracy of the pop airwaves, and demonstrated to me that essential records from different eras sound best when mixed up and played together. It remains one of my ongoing, oft-repeated mottoes: Great records don't care what year it is. Go, Johnny, go go go!

PAUL COLLINS: Glittering Gold



The new collection For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks (available from Kool Kat Musik) knocked me out on first listen. It's a phenomenal and sincere various-artists salute to the late John Wicks, former frontman for fabulous late '70s British power-pop stars The Records. Every track on this set is stellar, and we played a bunch of them on this week's show. I'm particularly taken with contributions from Ray Paul, Bill Berry, and producer Jamie Hoover, but each track is top-notch, and I've gotta give extra-special honors to "Glittering Gold" by Paul Collins. Specific context enhances this track for Dana and me. When Collins and Wicks were touring together in 2009, they made an in-person stop at This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, participating in a live TIRnRR interview interspersed with performances of a few of their songs. They were so nice to us, and it was such a thrill to meet these guys whose work we'd adored since we were teens. Paul's recording of "Glittering Gold" opens with a spoken bit by John himself introducing the song in a live setting, leaving not a dry eye in the house here in 2020. 

But you know what's even more wonderful about this track? Over and above all of its context and meaning to us, "Glittering Gold" is among the best things Paul Collins has done since those original, heady late '70s/early '80s days of his old combo The Beat. Given how much we love the latter-day Paul Collins songbook and cavalcade o' pop treasures, that is not faint praise. Three weeks into this newfangled new year, For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks already joins 3 by The Weeklings as an early shoo-in for the year-end list of the best of 2020.

THE CONTOURS: It's So Hard Being A Loser


Most of us only know The Contours from their classic 1962 smash "Do You Love Me," and that single side is indeed sufficient to secure pop immortality for The Contours. It was the group's only Top 40 hit, though R & B chart hits like "Shake Sherry" and "First I Look At The Purse" deserved similar crossover acclaim. After "Do You Love Me," though, my second-favorite Contours track is this swaying little number from March of 1967, a soulful woe-is-me lament that would have sounded fantastic on pop radio, mingling with "Penny Lane" and "Ruby Tuesday" during that magic spring before the Summer of Love.

ROB MARTINEZ: All I Ever Wanted


Our friend Adam Marsland's Karma Frog label recently released Maybe Miss America, the latest album from Rob Martinez. It's another pure pop winner from Martinez, and this sublime slice of heavenly hooks and harmonies freely issues wings and halos to all starry-eyed, angelic lovers yearning to fly free.

THE MUFFS: On My Own



We don't do a lot of actual planning on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio; that sense of spontaneity would be a large part of our charm, if we had any charm. I was thinking of playing this track from The Muffs' final album No Holiday (released in 2019 shortly after leader Kim Shattuck's death) on TIRnRR this week, but I held off when Dana played "Big Mouth" from The Muffs' eponymous debut album. Logistics, balance, flow, yadda yadda. "On My Own" has been buzzing in my head a lot lately, so it will be returning to the playlist soon. This is my favorite track on No Holiday, and it's becoming one of my top Muffs tracks.

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up


AKA The Greatest Record Ever Made! Last Friday was my 60th birthday. For all of my commutes that day, I locked my iPod into a single-song loop of The Ramones' transcendent, raised-fist cover of this Tom Waits song, and I listened to it over and over, wailin' along with Joey all the while. 60? My intent remains unchanged.

KEN SHARP: Break Down The Walls


My former Goldmine colleague Ken Sharp recently did an enhanced and beefed-up 25th anniversary reissue of his debut album 1301 Highland Avenue. The CD was originally only available in Japan, so this first domestic release is quite welcome and long overdue. "Break Down The Walls" was also included on the first Yellow Pills compilation in 1993, earning a rightful berth alongside pop luminaries like The Flashcubes, The Cowsills, Shoes, Dwight Twilley, 20/20, The Spongetones, The Rubinoos, Enuff Z'nuff, Tommy Keene, Chris von Sneidern, and more. It's ALL pop!

X-RAY SPEX: Oh Bondage! Up Yours!



Dana dedicated his spin of this punk classic to The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in recognition of that glorified Hard Rock Cafe's pathetic and persistent shortcomings in inducting deserving female artists. Oh Rock Hall, up yours!

THE ZOMBIES: This Will Be Our Year



Yep. This year for sure. It goes hand-in-hand with my determination to not grow up. 

And lemme tell ya: 60 won't even know what hit it.



TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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

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

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1009

L-R: John Wicks, Carl Cafarelli, Paul Collins, Dana Bonn at This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, 6/11/09

I don't want to grow up.

We're told we have no choice in this matter. That is not entirely true. Sure, we have responsibilities, bills to pay, promises to keep. We get sick. We age. The precedent set by humans throughout recorded history strongly suggests we will die. Someday. No one gets out of life alive.

But growing up? Not in the contract. Not if we don't want it there.

As I write this on another Sunday night in the studio, I am 60 years and two days old. I don't want to grow up. For whatever empirical chronology the calendar claims with smug impunity, whatever nagging aches my bones endure, my mind insists I'm still that kid I'll always be: plucking new comic books off the spinner rack, singing along with frothy, catchy pop music on the radio, reading pulp fiction, head in the clouds, imagining, dreaming, stars in my eyes at the sight of the girl I love. I'm not gonna suddenly change now, no matter how many decades I've accumulated.

I mean, could you imagine trying to do This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio if I were a...[shudder] GROWN-UP? Nope. Ain't happenin'. Turn your transistor up, loud and distorted. We got a radio show to do here.

And this week's radio show is dedicated to the memory of John Wicks, the wonderful artist we lost over a year ago. John established his pop legend as lead singer with the unforgettable British groups Kursaal Flyers and The Records in the '70s; he was a stellar guy, loved by all who knew him. A superb new compilation called For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks gathers twelve songs John had written or co-written but not finished recording before his death in 2018. The world needed to hear these songs, so John's friend (and ours) Rich Rossi called on some of John's other friends to make it so. Produced by Jamie Hoover, the result is one of the best tributes I've ever heard, one of the most sincere rock 'n' roll love letters ever crafted. It's a pure thrill to listen, a pure thrill to play. That thrill will never grow old.

And it sure as hell isn't going to grow up. Neither am I. 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 airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here. TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.

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

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

PS: SEND MONEY!!!! We need tech upgrades like Elvis needs boats. 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/

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 125 essays about 125 songs, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of songs can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here.

TIRnRR # 1009: 1/19/2020
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio FRESH SPINS! (tracks we think we ain't played before) are listed in bold

THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
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THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up (Radioactive, Adios Amigos!)
EDDIE & THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do (Rhino, Classic Punk)
THE GRIP WEEDS: Give Me Some Of Your Ways [loud version] (Ground Up, Giant On The Beach)
JUPITER AFFECT: Loved One's Lies (eggBERT, Instructions For The Two Ways Of Becoming Alice)
RAY PAUL: The Sun Sets Over London Town (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
THE BEVIS FROND: Gig Bag (Fire, We're Your Friends, Man)
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PAUL COLLINS: Glittering Gold (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
THE HOLLIES: King Midas In Reverse (Epic, Epic Anthology)
ANTON BARBEAU: Jingle Jangle (Big Stir, Kenny Vs. Thrust)
THE WHO: I Can't Explain (MCA, My Generation)
THE CONTOURS: It's So Hard Being A Loser (Motown, The Very Best Of The Contours)
NIRVANA: Molly's Lips (DGC, Incesticide)
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KEN SHARP: Break Down The Walls (Jefighter, 1301 Highland Avenue)
MARY LOU LORD: His Lamest Flame (Rubric, Live City Sounds)
DON DIXON: Money & A Fu Manchu (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
AMY RIGBY: From philiproth@gmail To rzimmerman@aol.com (Southern Domestic, The Old Guys)
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: Stand! (Epic, Greatest Hits)
BASH & POP: Anything Could Happen (Fat Possum, Anything Could Happen)
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THE RECORDS: Starry Eyes (Virgin, Smashes, Crashes And Near Misses)
KURSAAL FLYERS: Television Generation (Rhino, VA: DIY: Teenage Kicks)
JOHN WICKS & THE RECORDS: Edges Of A Dream (JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 2)
JOHNNY THUNDERS & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Chinese Rocks (Jungle, L.A.M.F.)
PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Kicks (Sundazed, Midnight Ride)
THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (Rhino, More Of The Monkees)
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JAMIE HOOVER: Repo Man (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
THE BENT BACKED TULIPS: I Think (eggBERT, Looking Through...)
THE WEEKLINGS: 3 (Jem, 3)
THE CLASH: Train In Vain (Epic, Clash On Broadway)
THE BEACH BOYS: Sail On Sailor (Capitol, Good Vibrations)
THE MUFFS: Big Mouth (Warner Brothers, The Muffs)
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ROB MARTINEZ: All I Ever Wanted (Karma Frog, Maybe Miss America)
THE VASELINES: Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam (Sub Pop, Enter The Vaselines)
BILL BERRY: 1-800-Colonoscopy (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
HINDU LOVE GODS: Raspberry Beret (Rhino, WARREN ZEVON: Genius)
THE ZOMBIES: This Will Be Our Year (Varese Sarabande, Odessey And Oracle)
THE LEFT BANKE: Pretty Ballerina (Mercury, There's Gonna Be A Storm)
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JOHN WICKS [FEATURING DAVE NACHMANOFF]: She's All I Need (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
THE CATS: Sure He's A Cat (Lovin' You Like You Wouldn't Believe) (Teensville, VA: Men Of The Moment)
THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise (Northside, Bright Lights)
THE RASPBERRIES: I Wanna Be With You (Big Beat, VA: Come On Let's Go!)
CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode (MCA, The Anthology)
DAVID BOWIE: London Bye Ta Ta (Virgin, Bowie At The Beeb)
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PETER CASE: In & Out Motel (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
ANY TROUBLE: Second Choice (Salvo, VA: Born Stiff)
CARLA OLSON: (The Sordid Tale Of) Elvis Strange (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)
CHES BONETREES: Everybody Oughtta Meet My Baby (Teensville, VA: Men Of The Moment)
THE RECORDS: Rock And Roll Love Letter (Virgin, Smashes, Crashes And Near Misses)
X-RAY SPEX: Oh Bondage! Up Yours! (Sanctuary, Germfree Adolescents)
PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Melody For An Unknown Girl (Sundazed, Midnight Ride)