THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO # 1196

Over a span of more than three decades, the various Dana & Carl radio shows have fought to secure whatever available platform we could bend to our will. Anything to accomplish our goal of spinnin' our rockin' pop records for the curious many and the discerning few. Our first series We're Your Friends For Now could only be heard as the soundtrack for community bulletins shown on cable TV in the city of Syracuse. Ah, the big time! Most of our 1990s efforts were masterworks recorded on cassette for play in local businesses; some of 'em somehow wound up being played overseas, in England and in Russia. (It's a long story.)

When This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio commenced in December of 1998, we had a not-terribly-strong FM signal beaming from Fenner, a rural area southeast of Syracuse. I'm told the cows in Fenner weren't all that impressed with us, but we carried on (and on) as if they were. We eventually added a webcast, eventually lost our FM signal, eventually lost our webcast, eventually regained our webcast, and even eventually secured a stronger FM signal in Syracuse. Intrepid? Yep! Loud, too.

Now, the FM signal remains, and the webcast is in a temporary time-out. It will return, and it should be back pretty soon. Meanwhile, you can listen to us on the air in Syracuse, and you can download shows from our archive no matter where you are.

As I told a friend recently: If life's a piñata, we're only gonna get to enjoy the treats if we take a swing at it. 

Keep swingin', baby. Keep swingin'. 

NEXT WEEK!! On Sunday, September 3rd, it's high time for The 12th Annual DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT! Get set to sweat. IN FOUR WEEKS: Our 1200th SHOW! And this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.

This week's episode is available as a podcast.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio

You can read 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

Volume 5: CD or download

HEY! Looking for something to read? Check out Carl's book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones You can also follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/ If you would like to receive links to each day's blog, please reply to this email.

TIRnRR # 1196: 8/27/2023

TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold

THE ANDERSON COUNCIL: This Is Where I Belong (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies)

DERRICK ANDERSON: When I Was Your Man (Omnivore, A World Of My Own)

GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Pouring It All Out (Spectrum, The Very Best Of Graham Parker & the Rumour)

GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS: Wicked Wit (Big Stir, Last Chance To Learn The Twist)

BLONDIE: I'm Gonna Love You Too (Chrysalis, The Platinum Collection)

THE CLASH: English Civil War (Epic, Give 'Em Enough Rope)

--

THE RAMONES: It's Not My Place (In The 9 To 5 World) (Rhino, Pleasant Dreams)

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

WENDI DUNLAP: Season Of Loss (Futureman, Looking For Buildings)

CLOCKWORK FLOWERS: Rainbow Trees [acoustic demo] (n/a, 2023 Demos)

THE BANDWAGON: People Got To Be Free (Kent, Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache

THE CREATION: How Does It Feel To Feel (Rhino, VA: Nuggets II)

--

TAMAR BERK: Walking Hurricane (tamarberk.bsandcamp.com, Tiny Injuries)

CRICKLE: Tell Me That You're Mine (crickle.bandcamp.com, Have You Heard The Word?)

TAMMY & THE LORDS OF MISRULE: Wig-Wam Bam (Not Lame, VA: Right To Chews--Bubblegum Classics Revisited)

DAVE EDMUNDS: Trouble Boys (Rhino, The Dave Edmunds Anthology)

LULU: I'll Come Running (Rhino, VA: One Kiss Can Lead To Another)

PETE TOWNSHEND: Rough Boys (Atco, Empty Glass)

--

BOBBY SUTLIFF: Same Way Tomorrow (Jem, Only Ghosts Remain +)

THE PRETENDERS: Don't Get Me Wrong (Sire, The Singles)

THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL: She Is Still A Mystery (Buddha, Greatest Hits)

THE PRIMITIVES: Spacehead (RCA, Lovely)

STEVE STOECKEL: Mod Girl (Big Stir, The Power Of And)

THE QUICK: Hillary (Rev-Ola, Untold Rock Stories)

--

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You (Big Stir, Pop Masters)

THE HALF CUBES: Love's Melody (unreleased)

CHEAP TRICK: I Know What I Want (Epic, Dream Police)

R.E.M.: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (Warner Brothers, Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011)

CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land (MCA, The Anthology)

THE REBUTLES: Hah Hah (Big Stir, Nick Frater Presents...)

--

CHUBBY CHECKER & DEE DEE SHARP: Slow Twistin' (Abkco, CHUBBY CHECKER: Dancin' Party: The Chubby Checker Collection [1960-1966])

THE RECORDS: Girl (Virgin, Smashes, Crashes And Near-Misses)

THE CONDORS: Matter Of Fact (Big Stir, Joie De Vivre)

THE REPLACEMENTS: Left Of The Dial (Sire, Tim)

THE CHELSEA CURVE: How Can I (Resist You)? (Red On Red, single)

THE REZILLOS: (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (Cherry Red, Flying Saucer Attack: The Complete Recordings 1977-1979)

--

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE BEATLES: Revolution [promo video version]

RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS: Love Comes In Spurts (Sire, Blank Generation)

THE KINKS: Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (Sanctuary, The Anthology 1964-1971)

ROBERT GORDON & CHRIS SPEDDING: Suspicion (Sunset Blvd, Tear Up The House)

ELVIS PRESLEY: Suspicious Minds (RCA, The Top Ten Hits)

ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE EGYPTIANS: Balloon Man (A & M, Globe Of Frogs)

--

DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT PRESHOW!

EARTH, WIND & FIRE: September (Epic, The Eternal Dance)

EDDIE FLOYD: 634-5789 (Rhino, The Platinum Collection)

MICKEY & SYLVIA: Love Is Strange (Rainbow, Presenting Mickey & Sylvia)

ERMA FRANKLIN: Abracadabra (Collectables, Golden Classics)

THE REVELATIONS: Why When Love Is Gone (Decision, The Cost Of Living)

HOWLIN' WOLF: Rockin' Daddy (Chess, The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions)

SHIRLEY & LEE: I Feel Good (Rhino, VA: Loud, Fast & Out Of Control)

FATS DOMINO: I'm Ready (EMI, The Very Best Of Fats Domino)

AMOS MILBURN: Chicken Shack (Rhino, VA: Loud, Fast & Out Of Control)

MAJOR LANCE: Hey Little Girl (Epic, Everybody Loves A Good Time! The Best Of MajorLance)

THE FOUR TOPS: If I Were A Carpenter (Motown, 50th Anniversary--The Singles Collection)

THE SOUL CHILDREN: Finders Keepers (Legacy, VA: Lost Soul: Rhythm And Soul)

--

RICK JAMES: Below The Funk (Pass The J) (Gordy, Street Songs)

KING CURTIS: Soul Twist [excerpt] 

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

 

It's SCIENCE! Or maybe the lack of science is our problem. As webcast woes continue to deny our sacred right to stream The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet, we're still gonna go ahead and do The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet anyway. We're on the radio at 9 pm Eastern, and the show is available as a podcast right now. We are charmingly stubborn, AND stubbornly charming. We've got new music from THE ANDERSON COUNCIL, TAMAR BERK, and GRAHAM PARKER AND THE GOLDTOPS, a minty-fresh reissue from BOBBY SUTLIFF, and a righteous romp through more from DERRICK ANDERSON, BLONDIE, THE FLASHCUBES, CLOCKWORK FLOWERS, THE RAMONES, THE PRETENDERS, THE BANDWAGON, TAMMY AND THE LORDS OF MISRULE, STEVE STOECKEL, CHUCK BERRY, THE REPLACEMENTS, THE CONDORS, THE CHELSEA CURVE, and whatever else our science dictates. PLUS: an announcement about next week's blowout Labor Day weekend show! Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern. If you're in Syracuse, you can tune in at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM. If you're elsewhere, well, move here! We got a MALL! But for now, you outlanders can keep listen to the podcast at this convenient link. Why? Because the weekend stops HERE!

TV: The Binge Is Back

As noted in this recent post, I am currently binge-watching the 1957-1961 Zorro TV series. I have completed the first season, and I will soon begin digging into the second season. 

I've been thinking about what other TV series I've already binged. Limiting the consideration to on-line binge resources, I won't count series like Star Trek, The Monkees, The Green Hornet, The Adventures Of Superman, St. Elsewhere, or The West Wing, all of which I caught up with via reruns or home video. Within those parameters, I'm pretty sure my modern binge-watching began with Buffy The Vampire Slayer in or around the year 2011.

Although the Buffy series ran from 1997 to 2003, I never watched a single episode until 2011. Contemporary to the show's original airing, I remember reading comments pointing out similarities between elements in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and stuff occurring in the then-current Supergirl comic books written by Peter David. The occasional shared vibes and/or plot devices were purely coincidence--the prep time it takes to create, develop, and produce either a TV show or a comic book meant neither could be in a position to copy the other--but I was a fan of David's Supergirl and figured I could likewise get into another property that sorta mined a similar vein. Heh. VEIN! Get it? 'Cuz Buffy fought vampires! I slay me...SLAY! Ha! I got a million of 'em.

At the time, though, it didn't seem like I could really jump into a Buffy TV series already well in progress, and there didn't seem to be a ready option to watch the series from its beginning. I moved on instead.

2011 was not a great year for me. I needed some distraction, and I needed a little bit of escape. I had Netflix for DVD rentals, but I wasn't doing any streaming or on-demand viewing. Some now-forgotten nudge pushed me to discover that I could stream Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its companion series Angel; I found a guide to the proper order to watch episodes of the two interconnected series, figured out how to stream on an iPad and a Wii, and started following the televised path of The Chosen One. I loved this series.

It took me a while to watch all seven seasons of Buffy and all five seasons of Angel. Once I had done so,I think my binge was either the wonderful Firefly series or the first season of Dollhouse. Yeah, before Joss Whedon earned his current status as a pariah, he had a few good TV series on his résumé. 

After that, I left Whedon's works behind me and found my way to Veronica Mars. I had seen one single episode during its 2004-2007 broadcast run, and it didn't make an impression at the time. Trying the series again via streaming, I was 100% hooked from the first episode. It instantly became one of my all-time favorite series.

Since the Buffy through Veronica sequence detailed above, there have been a number of series I've watched in bingeable blocks, some on my own, some with my wife. This was particularly true early in the pandemic, when many of us were desperate for entertainment. Sometimes I/we picked up on older shows--we re-watched Gilmore Girls, for example--sometimes we found new streaming series, and on several occasions we belatedly discovered current shows that had already been running for a while, but which had previously escaped our notice. Looking at you there, This Is Us.

So below we have a (presumably) complete list of every TV series I've ever binged. It omits series I started but bailed on, though it does include my (so far) single-season binges of Dollhouse, Pennyworth, and Zorro. It doesn't include any series I/we watched only in an episodic approach, though it does include series introduced in a bingeable initial drop shipment. I'm arbitrarily excluding the Marvel Comics series on Disney +, but trust me: I've seen 'em all. More shows await. The binge is back, baby.

Angel

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Being Erica

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Bunheads

Daisy Jones And The Six

Daredevil

The Defenders

Dollhouse [Season One]

Firefly

Firefly Lane

Freaks And Geeks

High Fidelity

Iron Fist

Jessica Jones

Luke Cage

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Mrs. America

Pennyworth [Season One]

Powerless

The Queen's Gambit

This Is Us

Unorthodox

Veronica Mars

Younger

Zorro [Season One]

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

10 SONGS: 8/25/2023

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

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1195. This show is available as a podcast.

TAMAR BERK: Sunday Driving

The commentary accompanying this week's posted playlist waxes rhapsodic over Tiny Injuries, the new album from Tamar Berk. We've been playing Tamar's music for a few years now, beginning with "Skipping The Cracks" in 2021. Her song "Real Bad Day" was one of our most-played tracks in 2022, placing at # 16 on our year-end countdown. Tamar has a new album out? Well, yeah, of course we're gonna play it. It's what we do. And we'll hear another track from Tiny Injuries on our next show.

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

The word's getting out about Pop Masters, the fabulous new all-covers album by Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses the Flashcubes. Now, no one should expect me to be unbiased about this; the 'Cubes have meant a great deal to me for a very long time, and, as I've said in other context elsewhere, why in the world would anyone ever want to be objective about pop music? That's no friggin' fun at all, my friends. Staple heart to sleeve. Testify. Believe.

I will direct you to someone else's testimony on behalf of Pop Masters: YouTuber Matthew Street, who preaches about Pop Masters in this video. Matt also spoke at length with 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong here, and this proudly biased 'Cubes fan appreciates it. Go, Matthew! Go, FLASHCUBES!!

THE NUMBERS: Can't Sleep At Night

Matthew Street also digs the Numbers, and he's right on that count as well. The Numbers were an early '80s combo whose lone album Anthology '64-'67 presented them as if they were a long-lost band from the '60s rather than Reagan-era garage pop kings besotted with the sounds that flourished a decade and a half before them. The LP's liner notes even claim that the Numbers passed on the opportunity to star as the Monkees, leaving the prospect of televised Monkeeshines for, y'know, the actual Monkees. All in good (clean) fun. Anyone who refers to this as a hoax isn't paying attention. It's not a hoax if the intended audience is fully aware of the put on.

Anthology '64-'67 includes covers of the Easybeats' "You Said That," the Tremeloes' "Here Comes My Baby," and--of course!--the Monkees' "Take A Giant Step," plus a passel o' like-minded originals. Album opener "Can't Sleep At Night" is nothing short of magnificent. This album is long, long overdue for a reissue.

JOSIE COTTON: Here Comes My Baby

Hey, speakin' of "Here Comes My Baby," apparently the Tremeloes and the Numbers weren't the only ones to turn in able covers of this Cat Stevens composition. Josie Cotton's version comes from her originally-unreleased 1986 album Everything Is Oh Yeah. That album was finally released in 2010, and it's been a frequent 'n' lovable playlist resource for TIRnRR. Look! Here she comes NOW!

LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: I Better Get Home

It's the HEY!, man. Seriously. Never underestimate the power of HEY!

THE PATTI SMITH GROUP: So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star

True story: When country superstar Garth Brooks did his brief conceptual rocker turn under the alias Chris Gaines in 1999, I summoned all my practiced snark with an intention to open that week's TIRnRR with a spin of the Patti Smith Group's cover of the Byrds' "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star," dedicated to ol' Chris. Clever? That's me! BUT! We didn't have a digital copy of the track handy, and the studio's turntable was unreliable. We let the notion slide and moved on with something else.

Nowadays, I'm more appreciative of Brooks as a person, even if his music ain't quite my cuppa. What was the recent meme? In a world full of Jason Aldeans, be more like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Garth Brooks. Something like that. In this context, Dolly, Willie, and Garth are rock stars. Hell, I may even track down the Chris Gaines thing, just to see if I might like it. Ya never know until you try that, in any size town.

As for "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star," I think I prefer the Byrds to Patti Smith here, but it's pretty damned close between 'em. The great Syracuse new wave combo the Most used to include it in their live sets, hewing closely to Smith's arrangement. The money. The fame. The public acclaim. Don't forget who you are...

...no. Screw being what others expect you to be. Be who you wanna be. Come back, Chris. All is forgiven.

ARTHUR CONLEY: Sweet Soul Music

Sweet soul music. TIRnRR will be returning to this subject in force very, very soon.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

KISS: Anything For My Baby

I've started writing a 5 Above blog post about my five favorite KISS tracks. You wanted the best? You got...well, me, but I work cheap. Four out of my five KISS picks are obvious big crowd-pleasers among the band's fans; "Anything For My Baby" is the exception, an LP track from KISS' third album, 1975's Dressed To Kill. Yeah, the album that introduced the world to a li'l sumpin called "Rock And Roll All Nite," which [SPOILER ALERT!] is also part of my 5 Above KISS piece. You wanted the best....

And "Anything For My Baby" is absolutely among the best of KISS. Shoulda been a single. Shoulda been a hit.

THE MONKEES: She's Moving In With Rico

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. And as our Patti Smith entry a few paragraphs north of here proved: There has never been a joke so banal or obvious I wouldn't use it anyway. In the immortal words of Davy Jones as she moves in with Rico, "What can I say? This is the end."

Beginning of the end, anyway. At least I hope it is.

For dramatic purposes, the role of our accused RICO offender will be played by famous criminal mastermind Lex Luthor...although Luthor is way, WAY smarter than that

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

CHUBBY CHECKER

Chubby Checker is not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I'm reasonably certain that Chubby Checker has never even been nominated for induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

That's insane. 

I'm aware (or at least think I'm aware) of the myopic, chuckleheaded attitude that has prevented the Hall from giving Checker his just due. And I'm aware that Checker's version of "The Twist" was recognized in 2018 as one of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Singles. The larger issue remains: Chubby Checker himself is way, way overdue for specific recognition. Come on, baby!

I'm going to circle back at some point to write a fuller appreciation of Chubby Checker, perhaps as a Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery piece or as another exciting entry in the infinite saga of The Greatest Record Ever Made! I'll probably repeat some or all of the above when I finally do get around to writing that piece.

But for today, I'm gonna let the idea simmer for a little bit. I have a brand new CD copy of Checker's Dancin' Party collection to provide a fresh soundtrack to the Twist, the Pony, the Hucklebuck, the Limbo, the Fly, and more (though, alas, not the Freddie). We'll hear a track from this fine set on Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. 

And I have finally added Chubby Checker to the ranks of my above-mentioned Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery, thanks to a bravura live performance by Chubby Checker and the Wildcats at The New York State Fair on Wednesday. It was a great show, and it offers further illustration of the sheer idiocy of the razzafrazzin' Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's continued snub of Chubby Checker.

Checker will be 83 in October. He's still amazing. I'm so glad I finally had this chance to see him perform. I will slow-twist my way back to this subject of the mighty Chubby Checker in a near-future post.

Meanwhile: Let's twist again!

#inductchubbychecker

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/

If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.

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.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl

Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: Definitive Versions

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl is simply too large a concept to be neatly contained within a mere three-hour weekly time slot. Hence these occasional fake TIRnRR playlists, detailing shows we're never really going to do...but could.

When Dana and I were planning our recent real-world all-covers edition of TIRnRR, our friend Dave Murray suggested we consider also doing a show devoted to the definitive versions of individual songs. You know, ignoring whether a track is a cover or an original, a hit or an obscurity, and picking the version that oughta stand alone as THE version.

It's a great idea. And while there's no plausible way we could pull it off as an actual TIRnRR, it provides ideal fodder for another imaginary playlist.

A previous fake TIRnRR playlist took a stab at picking definitive covers; today's exercise folds in some originals, too. There's a lot of overlap between this last and that list. If you compare the two, you'll see I've changed my mind about which act executed the definitive "Eight Miles High," though it remains a close call in my mind. Your own definitive mileage may vary, but these are the versions that define each song for me.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl--y'know, the real one--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

***And NOW AVAILABLE! This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 5!***

     CD or download

Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!!

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

FAKE TIRnRR PLAYLIST: Definitive Versions

THE KINKS: You Really Got Me

BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY: Piece Of My Heart

BIG MAMA THORNTON: Hound Dog

THE FLASHCUBES: Forget About You

THE SPINNERS: My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)

MARVIN GAYE: I Heard It Through The Grapevine

--

P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter

JUICE NEWTON: Queen Of Hearts

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?

DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back

THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes

--

THE BYRDS: Eight Miles High

STIV BATORS: It's Cold Outside

SAMMY AMBROSE: This Diamond Ring

THE RAMONES: Do You Wanna Dance

THE BANGLES: Hazy Shade Of Winter

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze

--

THE FOUR TOPS: If I Were A Carpenter

EDDIE COCHRAN: Summertime Blues

THE HOLLIES: I Can't Let Go

LINDA RONSTADT: You're No Good

NAZARETH: Love Hurts

ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect

--

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You

PATTI SMITH GROUP: Because The Night

THE HEARTBREAKERS: Chinese Rocks

HEADGIRL: Please Don't Touch

TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: Pressure Drop

MILLIE SMALL: Killer Joe

--

HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way

JUDY COLLINS: Both Sides Now

SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown

WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour

WILSON PICKET: Sugar, Sugar

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Any Way You Want It

--

THE KINGSMEN: Louie Louie

THE ROLLING STONES: I Wanna Be Your Man

RITCHIE VALENS: La Bamba

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: If Not For You

RONNIE SPECTOR & THE E STREET BAND: Say Goodbye To Hollywood

THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre

--

THE BEATLES: Rock And Roll Music

CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode

NELSON RIDDLE: Batman Theme [TV version]

THE COWSILLS: Hair

THE VELVELETTES: He Was Really Sayin' Something

THE BEACH BOYS: I Can Hear Music

TAVARES: Free Ride

THE ANIMALS: House Of The Rising Sun

--

THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone

THELMA HOUSTON: I've Got The Music In Me

THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway

GEORGE JONES: You're Still On My Mind

THE BOX TOPS: The Letter

THE STONE PONEYS: Different Drum

THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up

THE FLASHCUBES: Do Anything You Wanna Do

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BIG STAR: September Gurls

THE STALLIONS: Why