This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1061

The late Phil Spector leaves behind a troubled (and troubling) legacy. If we can separate the artist from his art, Spector's work should rightly be acclaimed. His Wall Of Sound production and his painstaking pop vision created classics, classics, that will endure long after we've all lost that lovin' feeling upon this mortal plane. Hell, Spector would be a legend even if The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" had been his only record. From The Crystals to Ike and Tina Turner to The Beatles, John Lennon, The Ramones, and so many more, Phil Spector left a legacy of achievement. We can't even imagine how different, how poorer, the history of rockin' pop music would have been without him.

It's still difficult to mourn Spector. He was a prick. And he was a murderer.

I don't think about that when I hear the music. The pleasure of the records doesn't compensate for the sins of the producer. But the pleasure does exist independently. I won't be an apologist for Phil Spector, and I won't mourn him. Nor can I deny his importance in the history of this music I love. 

After the news broke that this producer and convicted killer had passed, his ex-wife Ronnie Spector wrote:

"It's a sad day for music and a sad day for me.

When I was working with Phil Spector, watching him create in the recording studio, I knew I was working with the very best. He was in complete control, directing everyone. So much to love about those days.

Meeting him and falling in love was like a fairy tale.

The magical music we were able to make together, was inspired by our love. I loved him madly, and gave my heart and soul to him.

As I said many times when he was alive, he was a brilliant producer, but a lousy husband.

Unfortunately, Phil was not able to live and function outside of the studio.

Darkness set in, many lives were damaged.

I still smile whenever I hear the music we made together, and always will. The music will be forever."

We played just a few examples of that music on this week's show. We also celebrated the music of the late Sylvain Sylvain of The New York Dolls, and reveled in the glory of new, recent, and classic tracks by many of our fave raves. Music does not forgive sins. Nor does music itself commit sins. The music is innocent.

Even when its producer is not.

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 all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). 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 165 essays about 165 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, and you can see my weekly GREM! video rants in my Greatest Record Ever Made! YouTube playlist. 

TIRnRR # 1061: 1/24/2021

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Track 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)

--

THE KINKS: Better Things (Velvel, Give The People What They Want)

GEORGE HARRISON: What Is Life (Apple, All Things Must Pass)

THE GOLD NEEDLES: What's Tomorrow Ever Done For You? (Jem, What's Tomorrow Ever Done For You?)

IGGY POP: Pumpin' For Jill (Arista, Party)

AMII STEWART: Knock On Wood [7" edit] (Sanctuary, Knock On Wood: The Anthology)

SYLVAIN SYLVAIN: Teenage News (Wounded Bird, Sylvain Sylvain)

--

KELLEY RYAN: The Church Of Laundry (single)

SPARKS: Lawnmower (BMG, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip)

DANNY WILKERSON & LANNIE FLOWERS WITH ORBIS MAX: One Of Kind (SpyderPop, single)

XTC: Wake Up (Virgin, The Big Express)

THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH: Mama, I Got A Brand New Thing (Gordy, Law Of The Land)

THE RONETTES: Be My Baby (EMI. VA: Wall Of Sound: The Very Best Of Phil Spector 1961-1966)

--

DOLPH CHANEY: Now I Am A Man (Big Stir, single)

THE LA'S: There She Goes (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)

THE 5th DIMENSION: Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In (The Flesh Failures) (Arista, The Ultimate 5th Dimension)

THE CRYSTALS: Then He Kissed Me (EMI. VA: Wall Of Sound: The Very Best Of Phil Spector 1961-1966)

KISS: Then She Kissed Me (Mercury, Love Gun)

IKE & TINA TURNER: River Deep Mountain High (EMI. VA: Wall Of Sound: The Very Best Of Phil Spector 1961-1966)

--

RICH ARITHMETIC [featuring MAURA KENNEDY]: One Thing (Kool Kat Musik, Shiftingears)

SYL SYLVAIN & THE TEARDROPS: It's Love (Wounded Bird, Syl Sylvain & the Teardrops)

DAVID JOHANSEN: Girls (Razor & Tie, David Johansen)

THE HEARTBREAKERS: Love Comes In Spurts (Cleopatra, Yonkers Demo + Live 1975/1976)

THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Boys Can Cry (JSP, Rock N' Roll School For Girls)

THE RAMONES: Rock 'n' Roll High School (Rhino, End Of The Century)

--

KATRINA: I Want To Love Again (Katrina's Web, Hearts, Loves & Babys)

MARI ELLIOTT: Silly Billy (Castle, X-RAY SPEX: Let's Submerge)

GEOFF PALMER & LUCY ELLIS: I'll Never Fall In Love Again (Rum Bar, Your Face Is Weird)

THE JAM: That's Entertainment (Polydor, Direction Reaction Creation)

LINDA RONSTADT: Heat Wave (Rhino, Greatest Hits I & II)

ROXY MUSIC: Love Is The Drug (Reprise, Street Life)

--

STUPIDITY/KEITH STRENG: Save Me (single)

NIKKI & THE CORVETTES: He's A Mover (Bomp, Nikki & the Corvettes)

SUGAR SNOW: Riven (Sugar Snow Music, Sugar Snow)

THE TOURISTS: Blind Among The Flowers (Camden, Greatest Hits)

THE SLAPBACKS: Tell Me Why (Futureman, VA: Action Now: 20/20 Re-Envisioned)

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: Mary-Ann (Vinyl Japan, Laugh It All Up!)

--

RICHARD TURGEON: Let's Take A Drive (single)

BILLY BREMNER: Loud Music In Cars (Gadfly, Bash!)

POPDUDES: Ridin' In My Car (Big Stir, VA: Big Stir Singles: The Sixth Wave)

DR. FEELGOOD: Roxette (Rhino, I'm A Man)

THE CLICK BEETLES: Hey Renee (Futureman, Pop Fossil)

THE ON AND ONS: 9 Days (theonandons.bandcamp.com, Menacing Smile)

--

EVIE SANDS: Another Night (R-Spot, Get Out Of Your Own Way)

LES HANDCLAPS: Cacti Are Delicious Fruit (Handclaps, Ouh Ouh Ah!)

EARTH, WIND & FIRE: Shining Star [alternate version] (Columbia, The Eternal Dance)

THE WHITE STRIPES: Fell In Love With A Girl (Legacy, Greatest Hits)

SUZI QUATRO: Tear Me Apart (Razor & Tie, The Wild One)

THE MUFFS: Pollyanna (Omnivore, No Holiday)

THE EQUALS: Softly Softly (ICE, First Among Equals)

THE BEATLES: Two Of Us (Apple, Let It Be)

THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis (Mercury, New York Dolls)

JOHN LENNON: Instant Karma! (Capitol, The John Lennon Collection)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

Whether it's hubris or insight, we bill this weekly shindig as The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. This week's pursuit of that hyperbole embraces new music from Kelley Ryan, Dolph Chaney, Rich Arithmetic (featuring Maura Kennedy), Richard Turgeon, and Stupidity (with Keith Streng of The Fleshtones), and slaps 'em together with the essential recent, the enduring classic, and the inspiring unknown. Together, they form the vibrant sound of music: Pop, punk, soul, indie, disco, girl-group, R & B, left-of-the-dial, mainstream, and rock 'n' roll. The best? On the whole friggin' planet...?! Yep. Listen and learn. Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, http://sparksyracuse.org/

POP-A-LOOZA: The Pulps

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is a look back at how I discovered pulp magazines.

This is sort of a sequel to a previous piece called "Superpulp Paperbacks," which reminisced about my embrace of pulp and superhero paperback novels when I was a teen in the '70s. That appeared at Pop-A-Looza one week ago today (as discussed here). That 1/16/2021 post included links to more pulp memories of The Shadow and Doc Savage, and links to some of my attempts to write some pulp of my own. 

It occurs to me that I should have included links to my tentative attempt to write The Green Hornet. Although the Hornet and his enforcer Kato never appeared in pulps, their 1930s and '40s radio exploits were certainly at least an appropriate tangent. I come to the characters via the 1966-67 TV series (as explained here), and my unfinished rock 'n' roll Green Hornet story "The Beat And The Sting" is set in the continuity of the TV show. I got as far as writing a teaser blurb and the first few pages of a comic book script before setting the project aside.

(I also should have included one other completed [but unsold] work: my music industry short story "Home Of The Hits.")

We have a few more pulp- and paperback-related pieces planned to run over at Pop-A-Looza in the very near future. And my discovery of pulp magazines serves as the subject for the latest Boppin' 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

Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, 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). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

MY WEEKLY VIDEO BLOG: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! # 14: Crazy Elephant, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'"

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. I like that idea so much I'm writing a book about it. And I'm promoting that book with a weekly video series, discussing each of the book's chosen tracks one by one.

This week's GREM! video rant discusses the prevailing splendor of "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'," a 1969 hit by a studio group called Crazy Elephant. The group did not exist, but they made a hit record anyway. You know the song; don't even try to tell me you don't know the song. But here it is again, and here's what I have to say about it:

If you dig whatever the hell it is I'm doing in these weekly videos, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. NEXT WEEK: time to get wicked, as the Wicked Wilson Pickett sings "In The Midnight Hour." 

THIS WEEK'S VIDEO: Crazy Elephant, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'"

GREM! # 13: Neil Diamond, "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show"

GREM! # 12: Little Richard, "The Girl Can't Help It"

GREM! # 11: Eytan Mirsky, "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year"

GREM! # 10: The Monkees, "Riu Chiu"

GREM! # 9: Patti Smith, "Gloria"

GREM! # 8: Big Mama Thornton, "Hound Dog"

GREM! # 7: Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"

GREM! # 6: The Sex Pistols,"God Save The Queen"

GREM! # 5: Dusty Springfield,"I Only Want To Be With You"

GREM! # 4: Chuck Berry, "Promised Land"

GREM! # 3: Baron Daemon and the Vampires, "The TransylvaniaTwist"

GREM! # 2: Badfinger, "Baby Blue"

GREM! # 1: The Ramones, "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?"

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

Hey! If you buy from Amazon, consider making your purchases through links at Pop-A-Looza. A portion of your purchase there will go to support Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). Thinking Amazon? Think Pop-A-Looza.

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

Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, 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). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

DEATH RACE 2020 (in 2021's rear-view mirror)

Last spring, I began writing a pissed-off rant about the oral frothings of people eager to deny the grave sobriety of a deadly and raging virus. I got as far as an opening paragraph:

"Chanting feverishly of their rights, their breathless, all-caps FREEDOM!, a vocal minority of Americans are screaming themselves hoarse, demanding that the U S of friggin' A! must immediately re-open for business. Pandemic be damned. Screw public safety! The privileged few need haircuts and manicures. The economy must not suffer. Let other people suffer instead!"

And I stopped there. I was too angry to continue.

But now, we fast-forward. On Wednesday, I watched with joy and gratitude as my TV displayed images of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris taking their oaths of office. I felt some of the anger recede. I felt a positive reassurance, a comforting sense of possibility. 

I felt hope.

The anger is still there, stoked by more than four years of red-hatted misbehavior, culminating in a treasonous attack on our nation's capitol just two weeks ago. But the hope is beginning to reign in the anger. The idea of my country once again having a competent and functioning adult as its leader is reassuring and comforting. President Biden exudes humility and decency, qualities that have been lacking in the White House since January 20th of 2017. 

As I watched President Biden's inaugural address, as I heard Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks lift us with song, and as I joined my fellow Americans in delighted, transcendent fascination in every syllable uttered by Amanda Gorman, I knew: we're gonna be okay. At long last, we're gonna be okay.

I'm still going to get mad sometimes. And I know that it will take more than the flip of a switch to reset all that has gone wrong over these miserable last four years. Things may still get worse before they get better. But they will get better. We have the will. 

And we have the leadership. 

POP-A-LOOZA: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! David Bowie, "Life On Mars?"

Genius fake paperback image by Todd Alcott

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is another chapter from my eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), this time celebrating David Bowie's "Life On Mars?".

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Long before this Bowie piece was intended as a chapter in GREM!--indeed, long before I had written any chapters in that series, and long before I decided to turn the series into a book--it began as commentary written to accompany the emailed playlist for the January 17th, 2016 episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. Bowie's death the previous week hit me harder than I would have deemed plausible beforehand. Timing, I guess. My daughter Meghan had recently begun a college semester in London, and it would be the longest I would go without being able to see her. I felt untethered, emotional. I needed to do something.

I needed to write.

I had been a hobbyist freelance writer for about 22 years, 1984-2006, but I lost interest and ceased pursuing it. I never quite stopped writing, but I wasn't committed to anything, and largely refrained from trying. On 1/18/2016, I looked at what I'd just written, this open letter to a departed rock star, and decided it needed an audience beyond the folks who read the TIRnRR playlists. That need resulted in the rash decision to begin a daily blog, initially called CC Says, changed within a few days to Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). My open letter to David Bowie inaugurated this blog on January 18th of 2016, five years ago this week. I haven't missed a day since. This is Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) # 1936.

Reaction prompts action. Spurred by whatever it was that spurred me, I've written more over the last five years than I wrote in any five-year period prior to this. I even sold some fiction, for the first time ever. I have goals, some of which may elude my grasp. But I'm active and engaged. 

And I'm writing a book.

For the Bowie chapter in The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I took my open letter to David Bowie and added a discussion of the circumstances that made me write it. It appears near the end of the book, its sentiment and personal emotion connected informally to chapters about The Grateful Dead, Stevie Wonder, and Eytan Mirsky, among others. It's the culmination of a process that began when I saw that planet Earth was blue...and there was something I could do.

That process continues. I invite you to read about its origin. A Greatest Record Ever Made! tribute to David Bowie and "Life On Mars?" is the latest Boppin' 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

Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, 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). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.

10 SONGS: 1/19/2021

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 is drawn exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1060.

THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Someone New

I saw the video for The Catholic Girls' early '80s single "Boys Can Cry" on MTV, probably just once; I didn't have cable at the time, and just happened to catch it when I was staying at my parents' house for a visit. I liked the song, but it was my only exposure to the group until many years later. 

Some time in (I think) the '90s, I picked up a used copy of Catholic Girls, the LP that gave the world "Boys Can Cry," and discovered that I liked its lead-off track "Someone New" even more than I liked "Boys Can Cry." I don't remember if I got the album in time to play a track on any of the pre-This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Dana & Carl radio shows 1992-95 or so. But The Catholic Girls certainly became a presence on TIRnRR. I began corresponding with the group's guitarist Gail Petersen around 1999 (when that debut album was reissued on CD), and we ran with it, and with their sublime 21st century recordings, too. They even let us use "Should Have Been Mine" (from their 2005 album Meet The Catholic Girls) on our 2013 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3. Heaven, here we come!

And now, The Catholic Girls have a new two-CD archival set, Rock N' Roll School For Girls, which tethers together one disc of demos and alternate takes with a disc of The Best Of The Catholic Girls. Bless us. We played the demo version of "Someone New" on this week's show.

THE COASTERS: Yakety Yak

Is "Yakety Yak" by The Coasters the single best-ever song about the generation gap? Yes. Unequivocally. You can argue on behalf of The Who's "My Generation," but that track falls short of The Coasters' wiseass pinnacle. Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" is a very close second, but even You can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick can't quite match Tell your hoodlum friends outside you ain't got time to take no ride. "Yakety Yak." Don't talk back.

(And, in a minor bit of pop culture serendipity, this week's playlist was settled and the show recorded prior to the Friday premiere of the new Marvel Comics TV show WandaVision on Disney+. The first episode of WandaVision makes specific and effective use of "Yakety Yak," and if we were doing live shows instead of prerecorded remote shows, the song's appearance on WandaVision would have probably influenced me to include it on our show, too. Happy coincidence.)

THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise

In January of 1978--43 years ago this month--The Flashcubes for the first time. Guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay, and drummer Tommy Allen created a Wall Of Noise that captured my attention at first pummel. They've been one of my all-time favorite groups ever since. My eventual book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) includes a chapter about The Flashcubes' most extraordinary shoulda-been-a-hit gem, "No Promise:"

The Flashcubes. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse. I saw my first Flashcubes show in January of 1978. That night ranks with seeing The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night at the drive-in in 1964 and the first time I heard The Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" in 1977 to form my Holy Trinity of rock 'n' roll epiphanies.

All politics is local. The same could be said of musical combos, the local rock group down the street that's trying hard to learn their song. In the garages, in the clubs, in practice spaces, school dances, rec hall hops, coffeehouses, open fields, and cellars full of noise, plugged in or unplugged, sparks ignite when someone says Let's put on a show! Aping Chuck Berry or Chuck D, Joan Jett or Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones or The Banana Splits, mighty things can happen when a musician near you starts to play.

In Zion, Illinois. In Minneapolis. Fort Worth. Nashville. Arlington. Bethesda, Maryland. Springfield, Missouri. Toronto. Liverpool. Osaka. Don't forget the Motor City. The beat goes on, and renews itself everywhere. Sweat and adrenaline, soft drinks or beer, virtue and vice, the love of a sound, an urge to participate. Band, meet audience. Audience, meet the band.

A lot of the great local acts across the decades, across the country, and across the globe should have become household names. Most remained obscure. In the eyes of their fans, though, they were stars. Stars.

Just like The Flashcubes are stars to me...

...The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones channeled Chuck Berry to build something new. The Ramones took inspiration from The Beach Boys to make glue-sniffing into potential AM radio fare. Gary Frenay took the inspiration of Raspberries' Best--the horny singles ("Go All The Way," "I Wanna Be With You," "Tonight," and "Ecstasy") written by The Raspberries' Eric Carmen--and wrote "No Promise." 

How do you see me?

Do you trust what you see?

Don't you know it's not easy

Being what I'm trying to be?

Guess I'm just a romantic

I only wanna fall in love

But you do something to me that I never thought I'd feel

And it makes it harder to say

No promise

No guarantee

No promise, baby

You'll never get one from me

Pure pop, earnest in its goals and earthy in its desires, a bruised heart stapled to a torn sleeve. The guitars from Armstrong and Lenin cut, slice, and soar above love and lust, Tommy Allen's propulsive drumming could drive a freakin' rocket to the moon, Frenay's deep bass lines and sweet vocals agree to disagree on their differences, and everyone rocks the house with the seismic authority of the San Andreas Fault. The shimmering, incandescent result embodies the Bomp! magazine power pop ideal: power pop means pop with power, not some whimpering simp in a Beatles haircut...

Yeah. I do like The Flashcubes.

NEIL HEFTI: The Batman Theme

The Batman TV series debuted 55 years ago this month, and six-year-old me had his life changed by that colorful explosion of POP and POW! in short order. Although the CD collection The Music Of DC Comics: Volume 2 credits this version of "The Batman Theme" to the song's author Neil Hefti (who did record it), it is actually the TV version, performed by Nelson Riddle and his orchestra. This is the version I consider definitive, and it's the one discussed in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

I grew up in a time when TV theme songs routinely entered the public consciousness. The catchy ditties that opened shows like Gilligan's Island, F Troop, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Patty Duke Show, and Car 54, Where Are You? weren't hit records in the usual sense, but within our shared pop culture they were nonetheless as big as any 45 spinning on the radio. 

Many theme songs were sufficiently hook-laden to prompt release as a single, sometimes by the original artist and sometimes in cover versions, and sometimes to chart success. The Cowsills' swell cover of "Love American Style" wasn't a hit, but it should have been, and it remains a staple of their live act. The Ventures, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, and Johnny Rivers all made the Top 40 with their respective renditions of themes from Hawaii Five-0, Here Come The Brides, Peter Gunn, and Secret Agent Man. Television tunes continued to maintain a radio presence throughout the '70s and '80s. In June of 1995, The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There For You," the theme from the NBC sitcom Friends, was the # 1 song on radio the week my daughter was born. I thought that was appropriate, and pretty cool.

The campy 1966 Batman TV series had a seismic effect on me when I was six. No other television program could ever equal Batman's lasting impact on impressionable li'l me, creating a life-long interest in comic books and superheroes in general, and in the Caped Crusader specifically. I didn't understand that the show kinda poked fun at the character, because actor Adam West played the title role straight, and to perfection. As West said decades later in a guest appearance on The Big Bang Theory: "I never had to say 'I'M BATMAN!' When I showed up, people knew who the hell I was...."

One evening in 2016, when I was chatting with actor/comic/voice artist/singer/swell person Tom Kenny, he told me about the time he introduced Neil Hefti to the great voice actor Gary Owens, which is a tough story to top in casual conversation. Best I could manage was, "I once got a phone call from Joey Ramone!" It's the only item on my standing-next-to-greatness resumé, so Tom politely let me have the imaginary win. Like I said: swell person.

THE KINKS: All Day And All Of The Night

It's important to note the significance of "All Day And All Of The Night" in the story of how I became a fan of The Kinks. "Lola" was the first Kinks song I ever knew. My sister's copy of The Live Kinks was the first Kinks album I ever saw. But "All Day And All Of The Night" was the first Kinks track I ever owned, contained on the 2-LP compilation History Of British Rock Vol. 2 I received as a Christmas present in 1976, less than a month prior to my 17th birthday. Essential. And loud! The track was also on my first Kinks LP, Kinks-Size, purchased early in '77. I've accumulated a few more Kinks tracks since then.

PAUL McCARTNEY: Another Day

A previous post about my all-time top 25 favorite post-Beatles Paul McCartney songs included "Another Day" in its roll of honor: 

When your first band is the greatest rock 'n' roll group of all time...man, how do you follow that? Paul McCartney was about 28 years old when The Beatles rolled up their Long And Winding Road and filed it away. What now? 28 is an awfully early age to start your twilight years, to just do nothing, no matter how much money you've made. So McCartney re-invented himself. It wasn't a radical re-invention; he was still the Cute One who'd sung "Blackbird" and "Yesterday," the pop balladeer with a wink and a smile. But he was also the keen songwriter who'd chronicled a disintegrating love affair with such devastating precision in "For No One" on Revolver. The 1971 non-LP single "Another Day" is a spiritual descendant of "For No One," similarly telling a sad, so sad story of a lonely life yearning for meaning and connection.

MELANIE AND THE EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS: Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)

Why am I suddenly obsessed with this song? Part of the answer is its newly-minted availability to me: it was on a CD-R I received in December from Radio Deer Camp host Rich Firestone, and a spin of that rekindled my interest in a song I always loved. It also reminded me that I had a little crush on Melanie when I was a pre-teen, and it immersed me in a belated realization of how friggin' transcendent The Edwin Hawkins Singers are as they back up Ms. Safka on a simply incredible, transcendent recording. There's a great YouTube clip of them performing the song together on a TV show in The Netherlands, I will not deny my obsession, and the track is gonna be in my GREM! book. Lay down already.

POP CO-OP: You Don't Love Me Anymore

We love Pop Co-Op, as evidenced by how much airplay we eagerly gave to their two albums (so far), 2017's Four State Solution and 2020's Factory Settings. I have a lot of Pop Co-Op fave raves, but it occurs to me that "You Don't Love Me Anymore" is my fave among faves. The lads gave us use of the track for 2017's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, and there's something about it that resonates. I know I'm generally an uptempo rockin' pop guy, but I'm also a sucker for songs of regret, songs that effectively convey the ache of love slipping away, chances slipping away. The Factory Settings track "Persistence Of Memory" has that ache in spades, and so does "You Don't Love Me Anymore." It's like Chad and Jeremy playing with The Smithereens, and--as another versatile pop group noted elsewhere--you know that can't be bad.

KID GULLIVER: Forget About Him

Wednesday at Noon Eastern. At long last.

STEVIE WONDER: Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

That's this Wednesday at Noon. Time to make America good again.

TIP THE BLOGGER: CC's Tip Jar!

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

Hey! If you buy from Amazon, consider making your purchases through links at Pop-A-Looza. A portion of your purchase there will go to support Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). Thinking Amazon? Think Pop-A-Looza.

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

Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, 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). My weekly Greatest Record Ever Made! video rants can be seen in my GREM! YouTube playlist. And I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl.