We open with a RAMONES track we've somehow never gotten around to playing before. We back up that introductory 1-2-3-4! flourish with new music from THE LEGAL MATTERS, GIRL WITH A HAWK, THE JACK RUBIES, ANTON BARBEAU, THE HIGH FREQUENCIES, and new RASPBERRIES tribute album treats by SHOES and KEN SHARP. We mix in recent favorites by JIM BASNIGHT, THE CHELSEA CURVE, SLYBOOTS, THE HALF/CUBES FEATURING PETER NOONE, MIKE BROWNING, THE FLASHCUBES, THE SPONGETONES, ROME 56, and SORROWS, and embellish with THE BUSBOYS, HOLLY BETH VINCENT, OUTKAST, THE BELLE STARS, FREDDY CANNON, THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES, DEE DEE WARWICK, THE MONKEES, THE PANDORAS, ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS, KYLE VINCENT, MARSHALL CRENSHAW, and more. Take it, Dee Dee. Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming via https://sparksyracuse.org/, https://ec3.yesstreaming.net:4280/api/links/?t=web&l=ne&c=1, and as WESTCOTT RADIO on the Radio Garden app. The weekend stops HERE!
My thoughts on pop music and pop culture, plus the weekly playlists from THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO with Dana and Carl (Sunday nights 9 to Midnight Eastern, SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM in Syracuse, sparksyracuse.org). You can support this blog on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2449453 Twitter @CafarelliCarl All editorial content on this blog Copyright Carl Cafarelli (except where noted). All images copyright the respective owners TIP JAR at https://www.paypal.me/CarlCafarelli
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Saturday, November 22, 2025
10 SONGS: 11/22/2025
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 # 1311
From a previous 10 Songs regarding "Goodbye Girl" by Squeeze:
"My favorite Squeeze song. Although I was a relative latecomer to Squeeze fandom, I fell hard for 'Pulling Mussels (From The Shell),' and also liked 'Annie Get Your Gun.' Then they broke up. Then they got back together! I didn't own any of Squeeze's stuff until the late '80s, when Singles--45's And Under became one of my early CD purchases. More purchases would follow. I now have many favorite Squeeze songs. 'Goodbye Girl' remains my # 1."
With the passing of former Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis, it seemed imperative for a pop-obsessed radio show like ours to attempt some sort of proper salute and appreciation. We figured our best way to do that was to open the show with three Squeeze classics in a row, then circle back to one more Squeeze perennial near the end of the show.
And I wanted to start with "Goodbye Girl," not just because it's my top Squeeze track, but because Lavis's distinctive arrangement of the song's percussion stands as testimony to his talent and ingenuity. Squeezing our way forward, the 1980 Argybargy album track "Vicky Verky" has been a frequent fixture on TIRnRR playlists, and "If It's Love" (from 1989's Frank.) finally makes its long-overdue TIRnRR debut this week, as This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio remembers Gilson Lavis.
THE PEPPERMINT KICKS: Number One Record
"Number One Record?" Hey! We PLAY the hits! "Number One Records" is the latest single from the Peppermint Kicks' exquisite new album Pop Rocks In My Chewing Gum, and it's an exercise in needle-to-groove exuberance directed by a benevolent deity toward eager disciples of rock 'n' roll radio. Since this IS rock 'n' roll radio, it's our Heavenly obligation to play the Peppermint Kicks. Writhe with the tithe, baby. Like the Rutles before them, the Peppermint Kicks are number one, number one.
THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police
It was my great, great pleasure to curate the 2025 various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. The album was released by our friends at Big Stir Records, and I'll piddle all over the sin of false modesty and tell you it's really, really good. As further evidence of the set's essential 'n' undeniable awesomeness, we offer another spin of Big Stir's de facto house band the Armoires and their irresistible channeling of Cheap Trick and the Byrds for this epic cover of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police."
THE LEMON TWIGS: Play On
My pal Ken Sharp is to the ace compilation Play On: A Raspberries Tribute as I am to Make Something Happen!, a passionate rockin' pop advocate eager to proclaim and celebrate the legacy of an all-time favorite combo. Among the many 'Berries-flavored treats Ken assembled for Play On, he recruited current pop buzzsters the Lemon Twigs to contribute a sublime rendition of the album's title track, a song which also happens to be one of my own top Raspberries tunes. We'll hear two more tracks from Play On: A Raspberries Tribute on our next show, including a Raspberries rocker by Ken Sharp hisself. Play on? Damned straight we will.
MATERIAL ISSUE: I'd Wait A Million Years
Material Issue's cover of the Grass Roots' hit "I'd Wait A Million Years" comes to us via Yellow Pills Volume 4, the beyond-fab 1997 chapter in Jordan Oakes's essential series of power pop compilations. I'm a little surprised to see we've never played it before, but its presumed million-year wait for TIRnRR airplay ends now, thanks to Dean Brownrout.
Dean was the co-owner of the Big Deal Records label, which was the home of the Yellow Pills CDs and to a big, big stack o' worthies by a big, big roster of TIRnRR Fave Raves. Dean has been promoting his new book No Big Deal (subtitled "Chasing the indie music dream in the last days of the record business"), and that promotion brought him to an appearance on the 1000 Greatest Misses podcast. You can hear that episode right here. The music on this very special Big Deal edition of 1000 Greatest Misses included Material Issue's "I'd Wait A Million Years" (alongside worthies by Wondermints, Adam Schmitt, Splitsville, and the Sighs), and we couldn't miss this inspiration and opportunity to program a Material Issue track we ain't played before. Worth the wait!
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD: Sit Down I Think I Love You
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce
Also from Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, one of three new nonpareil tracks by the Flashcubes. 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong's "Reminisce" serves as the album's opening salvo, it was the first advance single, and it is without question my top track of 2025. Reminiscing AND looking forward. It's all I want to do.
SQUEEZE: Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
My first favorite Squeeze song. "Goodbye Girl" more or less supplanted it over time, but it's still just fantastic, and you can't go wrong with the best of Squeeze. Godspeed, Gilson Lavis.
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.
I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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. You can read about our history here.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: MORE songs that became obsessions
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.
Yeah, I just did a playlist of songs that became obsessions. But no one can do just one. It's the Lay's Potato Chips of playlist subjects! So here's another, and the probable possibility of more to follow. Obsession is half the fun.
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.
Fake TIRnRR Playlist: MORE songs that became obsessions
Thursday, November 20, 2025
This week's Wednesday
Wednesday is my day off from retail work, which makes it my designated day to record my parts for each week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and to try to get around to doing whatever else needs doing. I always run out out of Wednesday before I run out of Wednesday things to do.
This week's Wednesday earns me a merit badge in BE PREPARED! Knowing that my Wednesday schedule was gonna been an eensy li'l bit packed this time around, I moved all of the prep and most of the execution for our next radio show out of Wednesday's domain entirely. Dana and I set up the playlist Monday night, I finalized it, and dragged the individual tracks into a show folder, awaiting only the back announcements. I recorded back announcements during a break at work on Tuesday. Efficiency! I also completed individual track annotations for the eventual posted playlist. Tuesday night didn't allow me quite enough time to check the spoken-word segments, but it was good to have the rest of the rock 'em-sock 'em process completed before Wednesday.
I had a rough night Tuesday. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t get comfortable. I think I must have dozed some, but not much. I was out of bed before my 6:00 alarm sounded. I had a doctor's visit scheduled Wednesday morning at the unholy hour of 7:30. I was not aware that it was even legal to draw blood that early, and I want to go on record with my opposition to the practice. I also want to go record with my opposition to the concept of The Bachelor, but that's a rant for another day.
Before leaving home for my appointment, I had just enough time to update my online banking and check the spoken files for the radio show. Of fourteen back announcements recorded, three would need to be redone to correct a little too much crunch in the consonants. I'd correct those later. Off to the doctor!
Fasting bloodwork means no breakfast; that's fine, but it also means only black coffee, and I like my coffee like I like my women: Pale and saccharine. NO! I KID! I'm a kidder. This slight variation on the old joke (about the presumedly muy macho playa who prefers both his java and his female companion du soir to be blonde and sweet) must defer to an occasional interest in drinks 'n' dames best described as dark and bitter. Hell, as long as they're hot and caffeinated, the proper kicks are in their appointed place. Feel free to sub in the beverage, gender, and labored analogy that suits you.
Of course, the doctor doesn't see anyone until 8:00, and all of the staff were puzzled and apologetic about the practice's portal insisting--INSISTING!!--that I had to be there by 7:30. Not their fault, and no big deal, really. My first visit to a new primary doctor and his staff, and I have no complaints. My appointment was without incident, and I was out of there by 8:40. Back in my parked car, I took the opportunity to record the revised back announcements. I was home again just after 9:00.
Brenda also had a GP appointment scheduled, and I had offered to drive. Her appointment wasn't until 11:30. I nuked a big mug of water to supplement the previous dark and bitter brew with the instant-gratification version of pale and saccharine Café Bustelo espresso. I added the corrected back announcements to the radio show folder, and forwarded the completed file to Dana so's he could do that alchemic magic of converting the whole mess into another exciting episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. I ate a bagel as a late breakfast, and whisked Brenda off to her doctor.
Her appointment was also routine. We went from her doctor's office to Comix Zone, because four out of five doctors agree that we should whomp the livin' chicklets out of any fifth doctor that doesn't dig comic books. We then made a stop to join a local senior center, all while maintaining my long-stated insistence that I may have to grow older, but there's no way in hell I'm ever growing up. Hey, I have the newly-purchased superhero comic books to prove it.
We still had some shopping to do, but lunch was the more immediate priority. As we passed Masala Heaven in Cicero, Brenda suggested that a benevolent diety would want us to enjoy some Indian buffet. That's...not precisely what she said, but you get the gist. Good choice, too. We love Indian food, and we left Masala Heaven well satisfied.
After shopping was done, we returned home. We studied our new senior center's newsletter, and I took care of a couple of computer-related tasks, one relating to my day job and one for the blog. I received a text from Gary Frenay updating me on a few matters relating to the Flashcubes and my forthcoming book Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES. I've continued to edit the book's initial interviews, and I'm getting ready to start scheduling additional interviews. It's still my hope to complete this book in time for Summer 2026 publication: One year after the original target date, one year before the Flashcubes' fiftieth anniversary. Think of it as a 49th anniversary commemoration of Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse.
As late afternoon became later afternoon, I took a break to lay down. Didn't really need or want a nap; just had to re-charge a little. About a half hour later, I joined Brenda for a dinner of ice cream and cookies--see above comments regarding my adamant refusal to grow up--and we watched some television.
In between the latest episodes of Bridge Street and Jeopardy!, the feature attraction on this week's Wednesday was the concluding segment of the fascinating two-part HBO Max documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Each part runs about two and a half hours, and although we'd heard good things about this project, it's a challenge for us to set aside that much time to watch something on TV. Nonetheless, we got around to watching Part One in its entirety on Saturday, and we had time to watch Part Two on Wednesday. Such a moving, informative, and enriching document, delving into subjects like creativity, ambition, talent, family, love, loyalty, betrayal, purpose, determination, abandonment, parenthood, addiction, depression, responsibility, Jewish identity, the Holocaust, rock critics, pop music, rock music, classical music, the record business, and more. It was five hours well spent, and watching it reminded me that I'm long overdue to write a Greatest Record Ever Made! essay about Joel's "An Innocent Man." Brenda remarked that she didn't think she could pick just one favorite Billy Joel song.
When Brenda went to bed, I returned to the computer to continue editing Flashcubes book interviews. And I looked again at this blog's stats, as I continue to obsessively check its cumulative view count. Two weeks ago, I wrote that Boppin' had accrued 1,900,000th views, and that I hoped it would reach its two millionth click in time for its tenth anniversary on January 18th. That seems likely; at this writing, the stats count totals 1,961,894, racking up more than 60,000 views in two weeks.
For now, even Wednesdays must end, and this one ended with an achy left arm. I got my COVID and flu shots in September, but this week's doctor visit added two more shots, and still no evidence of any of the damned needles giving me super powers. You can see why I have so little interest in growing up.
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.
I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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. You can read about our history here
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Fake THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO Playlist: Songs that became obsessions
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.
A recent random thought of how much I adored the Police's "Roxanne" single at the time of its chart ascension prompts this imaginary playlist of songs that became obsessions for me. Each of these tracks is something that just ruled my rockin' pop consciousness at some point, however brief or however enduring.
This is NOT a comprehensive list. Obsession don't need no justification, and it spurns attempts to contain its parameters. Turn it up. And obsess away.
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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
COMIC BOOK COVER GALLERY: Multi-part stories I enjoyed in the '60s and '70s
Fresh off celebrations of some of my favorite individual comic book issues and some cherished two-part stories, we turn to longer-form storytelling, epics running three chapters or more.
For this exercise, I tried to differentiate between specific stories related in serial form and overall continuities and threads that continue from issue to issue. This gallery is concerned only with the former category. I am not under oath at any point in these proceedings.
And there were a lot of fine serials to choose from. I made a point to conclude with writer Steve Englehart's 1970s run on Detective Comics, an eight-part adventure that is not only my all-time favorite Batman tale, but my top pick among any comics storyline I've ever read.
We'll be sticking exclusively to the '60s-'80s era of acquisition I've established for these galleries. Today's selection includes books I bought new, back issues I acquired after the fact (but within the timeline), and B-stock contraband originally purchased without their covers. As always: These aren't actual photos of comics in my collection. But I did have each and every one of 'em at some point in time.
I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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. You can read about our history here.