POP-A-LOOZA: Personal Questions

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 good-naturedly silly little trifle called "Personal Questions."

My first-ever successes as a writer were humor pieces for my high school literary magazine The NorthCaster circa 1975 or '76. What they lacked in sophistication they...well, maybe they lacked everything. But some of my classmates thought they were funny, and that meager success, that connection with an audience, led to more. A series called The Maltese Padlock was a deadpan Dragnet parody told in the first person by its trigger-happy protagonist Mayday. I may dig those out and preserve them here someday. The only NorthCaster humor I've ever put on the blog were a couple of rejected, previously-unpublished  emeritus contributions I did when I was a freshman in college: "NorthCaster Reviews" and a NorthCaster commercial. None of this is exactly Swift, nor even Henny Youngman. But it was me at 17.

Decades later, my first-ever fiction sale was a comedy short story called "Guitars Vs. Rayguns," written and sold in 2019, published in Billionaire Island # 5 in 2020. I have not yet made that story available anywhere outside of its officially published appearance, but you can read the circumstances of its creation here. You can also see the This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist it inspired, and then see one reader's enthusiastic reaction to the story here.

I don't write very many humor pieces nowadays. The reason why not is very simple: 'cuz. One well-received exception was 2017's "I WAS THERE! A First-Person Account Of The Bowling Green Massacre." I've written a few others here and there, including "Conversation Stoppers," "WITCH HUNT!," and "Florida Man Follies." Otherwise, well, I guess I'm just a serious guy by nature.

For a more straightforward parallel to "Personal Questions," I direct you to "The Everlasting First: Sidebar Edition, Part 1" and "The Everlasting First: Sidebar Edition, Part 2." But for a smirk, I offer "Personal Questions" as the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

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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

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 3/23/2021

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 draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1069.

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: All Strung Out Over You

The Chambers Brothers are one-hit wonders, but man, what a hit that was. Their 1968 smash "Time Has Come Today" is a freakin' wall of rock and soul, and I'm probably going to add it to my ever-forthcoming book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I haven't listened to the full eleven-minute version in far too long, but I owe myself that pleasure in the near future. Even the single version is a bit lengthy at nearly five minutes, but it's five minutes well spent. TIME!! The Ramones did an incredible cover of the song in the early '80s; even they couldn't improve on the original.

As is often the case with one-hit wonders, The Chambers Brothers cut more good stuff beyond the solitary Chosen One everyone knows. I've begun a casual dive into some of that recently, picking up both a CD best-of set and an expanded CD reissue of the group's The Time Has Come album. "All Strung Out Over You" was a single off that LP, a great track that only charted regionally. It deserved better.

THE CLICK BEETLES: If Not Now Then When 

The Click Beetles' "If Not Now Then When" made its CD and digital debut on the 2019 compilation Waterloo Sunset-Benefit For TIR'N'RR, and subsequently appeared on the combo's groovyfine 2020 album Pop Fossil. Click Beetles CEO Dan Pavelich is a long-time friend of TIRnRR, and Dana and I are fans. Dan also runs the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza.

And he's a cartoonist and graphic artist of some note; he designed the eye-catching look of Allan Kaplon's new CD Notes On A Napkin, a release you'll hear on next week's exciting edition of our little mutant radio show. Dan is currently offering to craft an individual caricature for folks interested in glitzin' up the ol' on-line avatar, all for a mere five bucks. Good deal, I'm doing it, and you should oughtta do it, too: DRAW!!! If not now, then when?

DAWN: Candida

I have often mentioned that the summer and fall of 1970 was when I really began listening to AM Top 40 radio in earnest. Well, actually it was in my bedroom, which I guess we could name "Earnest" to simplify the narrative. Earnest and I may (or may not) have missed Dawn's first big hit "Candida" that summer; we certainly heard follow-up hit "Knock Three Times," and were duly smitten. More than five decades later, I still love both "Candida" and "Knock Three Times," and they are the only Dawn tracks that mean anything to me.

(I can't speak for Earnest's opinion of Dawn at this late date. He never writes, he never calls....)

ARETHA FRANKLIN: Chain Of Fools

I'm looking forward to seeing National Geographic's new four-part biopic of Aretha Franklin, but I'd actually forgotten about that when Dana and I were hammerin' out this week's playlist. It wasn't even a case of Because my iPod said so!, a process which influences many of my song choices (because what could be more pleasantly powerful than the music you hear while you're driving?). No, "Chain Of Fools" just popped into my head, I realized it had been quite a while since it last appeared on the show, so, inevitably, Chain-chain-chaaaaaain!

GOSPEL SWAMPS: Great Distances

Ooo--a MYSTERY band! Like Jack, Doc, and Reggie before me, I love a mystery. You can read the story so far (and buy the single) here. But even if we solve the puzzle, nothing can be revealed until April. It's okay. It will be worth the wait.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Day Job

"Don't quit your day job."

It's good, practical advice. As one pursues creative vision and dreams, it's important to have food to eat, a place to sleep, and sufficient reading light. Plus, y'know, decent internet.

But the dull phrase Don't quit your day job is usually tossed around as a put-down by simpletons who don't want you to dream. They don't want you to sing. They don't want you to act. They don't want you to do, to write, or paint, or attempt anything larger than the stuffy limitations of their stunted imaginations, their 2D world view. Swine. They deserve a variety of two-word replies each time they utter their witless witticism.

"Day Job" by The Great Outdoors offers what may be the first positive use of the phrase. (Early '80s Syracuse pop icons The Tearjerkers had a song called "Don't Quit Your Day Job," and I betcha that was aces, too, but I only heard it once in a bar, and you know what a great combination beer and memory make.) The Great Outdoors includes bassist and longtime TIRnRR Fave Rave Teresa Cowles, the song has a cool video, and it's as catchy as cooties, in a good way. And its implied message is self-effacing but affirming: don't quit your day job, fine, but keep on doing. The future is as wide as the great outdoors.

KID GULLIVER: Forget About Him

A spin of Kid Gulliver's fabulous "Forget About Him" on this week's show marks the 19th consecutive TIRnRR to include at least one track with a lead vocal by Simone Berk. It's not a TIRnRR record or anything--one presumes Ray Davies, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Joey Ramone could edge it--but it is evidence of our ongoing Berkmania. Simone made her TIRnRR debut on July 5th of 2020, fronting WhistleStop Rock's "Queen Of The Drive-In." We played that and a bit of Kid Gulliver over the course of subsequent weeks. But it was Kid Gulliver's "Forget About Him" that kicked off this current streak on November 15th, a Berk barrage also maintained by Kid Gulliver's recent single "Beauty School Dropout," WhistleStop Rock, Sugar Snow, and Berek/Lehane. "Forget About Him:" is our favorite. Berkmania! Let's make it 20 in a row next week.

Carl's back!

THE MONKEES: When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)

Our immersion in the music we love builds ongoing reference points that (happily!) linger on and on. If the radio plays a song we remember from some cherished, decades-old mixtape, our brains momentarily fool us into expecting the next song on the radio to be whatever followed on that long-gone cassette. The connection is intrinsic, instinctive, and intimate. They're not just songs; they're parts of our lives.

When I hear The Monkees' "When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)." I expect the track to skip. All apologies to Carly Simon, but that's the way I've always heard it should be. My brother's copy of More Of The Monkees had a persistent whoopsie! in that song's first verse, causing our starry-eyed singer Davy Jones to render the line So little girl now don't you run and hide as So little girl now don't you ru-ide. 

"When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)" was written by Neil Sedaka and Carole Bayer, and while it's not anywhere near one of my top 25 Monkees tracks, it is by default my favorite Sedaka song. I was never much into Sedaka; with the exception of his Elton John collaboration "Bad Blood," I didn't like most of Sedaka's mid '70s comeback hits, and I didn't like The Captain And Tennille's ubiquitous Sedaka-penned "Love Will Keep Us Together." I kinda liked "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" as a '60s oldie, but despised Sedaka's mature cocktail-lounge hit remake. Yeah, when it comes to skipping records, I would rather skip that one entirely. 

But The Monkees? We never skip The Monkees. No need to ru-ide. I've got quarters to set atop the stylus, and the will to use them.

TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You

From the Todd Rundgren/"Couldn't I Just Tell You" chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

"This is an example of the latest musical trend. It's called power pop.

"It was 1978. The band Utopia was appearing on The Mike Douglas Show. The song that Utopia's front man Todd Rundgren introduced as "the latest musical trend" was practically a golden oldie, a track Rundgren had recorded and released much earlier in the decade, on his 1972 album Something/Anything? The song "Couldn't I Just Tell You had not been a hit, its 1972 single release barely making it into the Hot 100, peaking at # 93 with an anchor. For Rundgren to refer to this six-year-old song as the latest...anything could have only been an example of the prickly performer sneering haughtily at trendy hipsters, hip trendsters, and, one supposes, anyone who liked pop music. Yeah, screw them.

"Wait, wait! 'Anyone who liked pop music?' That's me he was sneering at, damn it! Oh, the humanity...!

"But I didn't care. God, it was such a great song. Seeing it performed on TV asserted the song's hold on me, a hold that was already there, but which tightened its grip securely and permanently with this televised faux embrace of the latest musical trend. Power pop. Suits me just fine...."

THE TEMPTATIONS: My Girl

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlists are constructed in large part on impulse. Feel. What songs feels right after the song we just played? It's informed alchemy in action, and it may not make sense on paper; a set that opens with the engaging homespun pop of Mike Browning, segues into the Central New York Americana of Harmonic Dirt, and follows with the essential Motown sound of The Temptations, the alt-rock of Hole, and a 1-2 shot of power pop from The Bay City Rollers and The Flashcubes might suggest we're messin' with you. 

But we're not. It's ALL pop music. This stuff sounds wonderful together. And one never needs to justify playing The Temptations.

From a previous post about definitive jukebox singles: "'My Girl' is immortal, and perhaps the definitive Motown single. It's furthermore the sort of pervasive classic that is always lying somewhere near the surface of your subconscious, a tune you might not think anyone ever actually wrote, but which must instead have been passed down from generation to generation."

The folks songs of our native land. Sunshine on a cloudy day. So much honey the bees envy me. It's all pop music. That's why we love 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

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

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1069

It's been just over a year now since the world went all kerblooey on us. This is what I posted on my blog on March 19th of 2020:

"I can't speak for you, but I don't have any previous practice in what to do during a pandemic.

"I am not in a position to complain. Unlike so many others, I'm still working, my regular daily schedule so far unaffected by the repercussions of COVID-19. [2021 note: I was furloughed from work two days after that, but back to work full-time within a few months.] The only effects I've encountered are the minor inconveniences, the shortages of supplies at the grocery store, the cutback (and now elimination) of social gatherings, the shuttering of venues, dining rooms, and theaters. These are little annoyances in my life, minuscule in scale compared to those whose livelihoods have been disrupted, who aren't sure if they'll have a way to pay their bills and feed their families. And that's not even considering those directly impacted by the virus itself. No, I am not in a position to complain.

"Both my wife and my daughter work jobs where their near-future paychecks may not be guaranteed. And if the needs of public health demand that more businesses must temporarily close in order to flatten the curve, to contain the spread of these damned infectious cooties, then my retail job is at risk, too. The shopping malls in the Syracuse area have already closed until further notice, and the time may be coming very soon for mom-and-pop stores to follow suit. But I am not in a position to complain.

"A friend of mine, a co-worker, is of an age and physical condition that makes him extremely vulnerable to what this virus can do; he is self-quarantined. Another friend of mine is sick, and awaiting test results, while we all pray for the best. Nursing homes are closed to visitors, so my Mom is separated from family for the foreseeable future. And me? I'm 60 years old, I've had a nagging cough for nearly a month, but no other symptoms. I'm not in a position to complain.

"Like all of us (or at least I hope so), I'm doing the best I can to be responsible. I've always been diligent about washing my hands, so that's nothing new. I Dracula-cough into my sleeve, wash my hands, avoid direct contact, wash my hands, hydrate, wash my hands, wash my hands, wash my hands. By the way, if you like to sing as you soap up, AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" works as a perfectly acceptable alternative to "Happy Birthday." No reason to complain.

"My cupboards at home are adequately stocked. I have toilet paper, Zinc tablets, orange juice, food, drink. Beer. I patronize the stores that are open, order take-out meals when I can. I do not hoard. I allow space for people around me. I may have mentioned that I wash my hands, constantly. I don't have time to complain.

"I've seen online posts from pals with opposing viewpoints, one stressing the need for everyone to just stay home for the greater good, the other warning that our freedoms are being taken from us. I'm sympathetic to the former, dismissive of the latter, but choosing a middle ground for now. I have a commitment and expectation to go to work each day, for as long as I'm healthy and for as long as I have a job to go to. While I'm out, I try to inject my tiny bit of spending money into the local economy, buying my comic books, grabbing drive-thru, whatever. I'm trying to do the right thing. Whatever that is. I can't complain.

"I have a naive confidence that this will pass, none too soon, but eventually. I acknowledge that it will almost certainly get worse before it gets better. But it will get better. We just have to get through it, responsibly, as members of a community, as good people that care for one another. Good people outnumber bad people. And we have God on our side. Doing the right thing is its own reward. No complaints there."

A year later, we still look toward a return to stability. I shouldn't--and can't--complain. Dana's been vaccinated. My wife has been vaccinated. My daughter and I have received our initial shots, with sequels scheduled. We're hearing from listeners who have begun and/or completed their immunizations. The wide and wonderful world is out there waiting for us, ready for love and music, camaraderie. Life. We'll get back to it. And we're getting there. 

And we've got a radio show for you. One year post-kerblooey, 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 # 1069: 3/21/2021

TIRnRR 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)

--

BILL BERRY: 1-800-Colonoscopy (Kool Kat Musik, VA: For The Record--A Tribute To John Wicks)

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Day Job (single)

ARETHA FRANKLIN: Chain Of Fools (Atlantic, The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970)

THE GO-BETWEENS: Bye Bye Pride (Festival, Bellavista Terrace)

DAWN: Candida (Bell, single)

THE CURE: Friday I'm In Love (Fiction, Galore: Singles 1987-1997)

--

THE REDUCERS: Nothing Cool (Rave On, Live: New York City 2005)

THE CLICK BEETLES: If Not Now, Then When (Futureman, Pop Fossil)

THE ROLLING STONES: Paint It, Black (Abkco, Singles Collection: The London Years)

COTTON MATHER: My Before And After (Copper, Kontiki)

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: Homeward Bound (Columbia, Old Friends)

TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You (Rhino, Something/Anything?)

--

MIKE BROWNING: Another Bite At The Apple (mikebrowning.bandcamp.com, single)

HARMONIC DIRT: Blue Moon Atlas (harmonicdirt.com, Rhode Island Street)

THE TEMPTATIONS: My Girl (Motown, VA: Hitsville USA)

HOLE: Heaven Tonight (DGC, Celebtrity Skin)

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Who'll Be My Keeper (7T's, Elevator)

THE FLASHCUBES: It's You Tonight (Northside, Bright Lights)

--

GOSPEL SWAMPS: Great Distances (Big Stir, single)

KELLEY RYAN: The Church Of Laundry (single)

TEENAGE FANCLUB: Ain't That Enough (Jetset, Four Thousand Seven Hundred And Sixty-Six Seconds)

THE BEAT: Rock N Roll Girl (Wagon Wheel, The Beat)

POP CO-OP: Kissing Katy (Futureman, Factory Settings)

THE ROOKS: Reasons (Not Lame, Encore Echoes)

--

THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Should Have Been Mine (JSP, Rock N' Roll School For Girls)

THE PRETENDERS: Message Of Love (Sire, The Singles)

THE LEGAL MATTERS: Light Up The Sky (Futureman, Chapter Three)

STARZ: Cherry Baby (Renaissance, Brightest Starz)

SWEET: Fox On The Run (Capitol, The Best Of Sweet)

--

DOLPH CHANEY: My Good Twin (Big Stir, This Is Dolph Chaney)

KID GULLIVER: Forget About Him (Red On Red, single)

PHIL OCHS: Chords Of Fame (Rhino, Farewells & Fantasies)

THE ORGONE BOX: World Revolves (Minus Zero, The Orgone Box)

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

THE SLAPBACKS: Make Something Happen (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)

--

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: All Strung Out Over You (Columbia, The Time Has Come)

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Temptation Inside Your Heart (Polydor, Peel Slowly And See)

THE BREAKUP SOCIETY: The Summer Of Joycelynn May (Get Hip, James At 35)

THE MONKEES: When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door (Rhino, More Of The Monkees)

GALLOWS BIRDS: So Unhappy For You (Rum Bar, Quaranteenage Kicks)

THE BEACH BOYS: I Can Hear Music (Capitol, Friends & 20/20)

--

STAR COLLECTOR: Stranger (Renting Space In My Head) (Clockwise, Game Day)

THE CREATION: Biff Bang Pow! (Retroactive, The Complete Collection)

TOO MUCH JOY: Donna Everywhere (Giant, Mutiny)

BADFINGER: No Matter What (Apple, No Dice)

THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes (Omnivore, Another Night: The Sire Recordings 1979-1981)

THE PLIMSOULS: A Million Miles Away (Rhino, VA: Poptopia! power Pop Classics Of The '80s)

--

KISS: Rock And Roll All Nite [single version] (Mercury, KISS Alive! 1975-2000)

THE BEVIS FROND: I Can't Get Into Your Scene (Rubric, Bevis Through The Looking Glass)

THE KINKS: See My Friends (Sanctuary, Ultimate Collection)

SUGAR: If I Can't Change Your Mind (Rykodisc, Copper Blue)

THE FOUR TOPS: Bernadette (Motown, The Ultimate Collection)

THE BEATLES: Here Comes The Sun (Apple, Abbey Road)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

Well, it's been quite a twelve-month experience, hasn't it? Tonight's show begins with a snarky acknowledgement of what has been, but otherwise looks forward with our prerequisite and invigmoratin' blend of the present and the past. The experience includes NEW MUSIC from The Great Outdoors, Gospel Swamps, Mike Browning, and Star Collector, and mixes it all up with classic essentials, recent fave raves, and random jogs of the ol' memory bank. From The Temptations to Kid Gulliver, The Legal Matters to The Monkees, and solid shots of Aretha Franklin, The Gold Needles, The Velvet Underground, Todd Rundgren, Kelley Ryan, The Pretenders, The Four Tops, The Chambers Brothers, The Click Beetles, and much more, we've got your experience. We've got your experience right here. 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: Captain Marvel Adventures?

With one magic word--SHAZAM!--young Billy Batson is transformed into the World's Mightiest Mortal: CAPTAIN MARVEL!

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 wish for what I'd like to see in comic book (and other) stories starring the original Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Adventures?"

As a comic book fan and a would-be writer, I've often imagined how I might like to see new heroic adventures play out. Some of the notions involved existing characters like Captain Marvel, Batman, Spider-Man, The Green Hornet, The Justice Society of America, and others featured my own creations. Here are a few notions (and one complete Batman story) that made their way to my blog:

Aquaman and Batman by DC Comics great Jim Aparo

BATMAN AND AQUAMAN: The Undersea World Of Mr. Freeze [complete]

BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN: Paradise Does Not Believe In Tears [introductory scene only, without the heroes]

BATMAN MEETS THE MONKEES

SPIDER-MAN: Marvel Comics Try-Out

THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: The Movie

THE GREEN HORNET '66: The Beat And The Sting teaser and introductory pages

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: A 12-issue series of Batman team-ups [teaser and blueprint]

MY FAILED ATTEMPTS TO WRITE FOR DC COMICS

THE TELEPHONE PITCHES: Harvey Comics and The Mighty Crusaders, and The Monkees

And my own people:

The JACK MYSTERY Story

ETERNITY MAN! chapters 1 through 5

The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid

The Copperhead Strikes!

My pulp hero The Copperhead, depicted by artist Shane White

(There's also my secret agent story "The Copperhead Affair," discussed here when it hit comic book stores in 2020. The introductory paragraphs of a follow-up story "Chaos At The Copperhead Club" were posted here.)

And what the hell, some attempts to write and draw:

THE SNOWMAN

AGENT 690: Man Of ACTION!

HERO

ADVENTURE!! And my idea of the Captain Marvel adventures I'd like to see provides the subject for the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

CAPTAIN MARVEL SAVES THE DAY! Art by Alex Ross

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

BOPPIN' (LIKE THE HIP FOLKS DO) # 2000: Where I Think I Am, What This Place Looks Like Today

“The explanations a writer gives himself for having written any particular book are often not the real reasons why that book has been written. Honesty is not the issue.  Understanding is.  A man does not write one novel at a time or one play at a time or even one quatrain at a time.  He is engaged in the long process of putting his whole life on paper.  He is on a journey, and he is reporting in: ‘This is where I think I am and this is what this place looks like today.’” 

This is where I think I am and this is what this place looks like today.

The quote comes from writer Irwin Shaw, though I first saw it in the '70s, cited by my writing idol Harlan Ellison; the section cut-n-pasted above is from R. K. Troughton's 2014 interview with Ellison (as seen here). Whether the words came from Shaw or Ellison, they reached me in my 1970s teen doldrums, and showed me a light as bright as a burning bush. It was the writer's commandment: to document where I think I am and what this place looks like today. A simple assignment. 

Start writing.

I was a teenage misfit, a square peg who wanted to reinvent himself. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted that even more than I wanted to be popular, or rich, or famous, or able to sing or play guitar. Though I'm sure I also thought that becoming a writer would help me to become popular, rich, and famous. Also, maybe it would make me attractive to girls. The guitar thing was a lost cause. I couldn't play, my rhythm was suspect, my voice unappealing. But I could write. I knew I could write.

I had a little bit of small-scale, very modest success. I sold some nonfiction, freelanced from 1984 to 2006. I abruptly withdrew from freelancing when I realized it was no longer enough fun to make up for the lack of money, and it didn't pay well enough to compensate for the lack of fun. I never stopped writing...but I kinda did stop writing. A writer writes. You're not a writer if you don't write.

I started this daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) in 2016, when the death of David Bowie shocked me into action. I needed to be a writer again, and I needed to be a writer like I was when I was a teenager. It was imperative that I get back to writing, not occasionally, but every damned day. No excuses. Where I think I am? Write it down. What this place looks like today? Post it. A daily blog means a daily blog, you middle-aged poseur. Keep writing. Keep. Writing.

The commitment forced me to produce, and it forced me to improve. I started trying to write fiction again. Mirabile dictu, I sold five short stories, my first-ever fiction sales. I started working on a book of personal pop music essays, The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). I secured services of a literary agent to try to sell that book to a deep-pocketed publisher. Where I think I am. Looks good...!

And then...well, 2020. We've all seen where we think we are, so I don't need to tell you what the place looks like. In that dismal milieu, the book project isn't quite dead, but it is on life support, and barely that. Another book project that I wanted to be a part of is moving ahead without me, and I was crushed that I wasn't invited to participate. Furthermore, I haven't completed any new short stories in over a year. What does this place look like? I haven't summoned the will to see any of my cluttered ideas through. It's been a hard, hard year. That's where I think I am.

For all that, the blog continues. Every day. Death, taxes, road construction, and Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). You can count on us, man. And the act of writing feeds more writing. As the immediate prospects for The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) seem less promising, I've initiated direct contact with a publisher regarding a different book. Maybe nothing will come of that either, or maybe both books will find a path to print. Gotta keep writing. A blog post each day commits me to writing at least that much. Where I think I am, what I think I see. One piece leads to another.

I'm tired. I'm cranky. I'm discouraged. But god damn it, I'm still here. I'm still writing. A writer writes. I'm a writer. It is the only talent I have ever had, the only thing I've ever been able to do well. I will show you where I think I am. I will make you see what this place looks like today.

Today? This place looks like my 2000th blog post. There are many more to come, each and every day of the year. And there are still books to write, stories to tell, worlds to imagine or identify, fiction or nonfiction. Locations to determine, with surroundings to describe. Where I think I am, what this place looks like today. I hear you, Harlan. I believe you, Mr. Shaw. No fame, no fortune, but the assignment remains:

Write.

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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.

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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