This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1132

Hey Mr. DJ, play me some songs.

Like Sesame Street before us, this week's episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio is brought to you by a number. That number is 5. Specifically, the number 5 brings you our third set in this playlist, a nine-song extravaganza that teases the opening of a secret project we've codenamed Something Else! We will not be using that code name much longer.

Nine songs, with more to follow in sequence. But the number is 5. 5 is a good number.

It speaks volumes.

This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week. Something else, man. Something else.

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). 

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TIRnRR # 1132: 6/5/2022

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)

--

IN DEED: Don't Kill The Babe (Big Stir, single)

THE GRIP WEEDS: You're So Good To Me (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson)

EYTAN MIRSKY: Watching From The Balcony (M-Squared, Lord, Have Mirsky!)

THE ON AND ONS: Vanishing Act (Citadel, Back For More)

RONNIE SPECTOR: Something's Gonna Happen (Bad Girl Sounds, Something's Gonna Happen)

AMY RIGBY: All I Want (Koch, Middlescence)

--

POP CO-OP: Always In The Past (Futureman, Suspension)

THE ZOMBIES: What More Can I Do (Big Beat, Zombie Heaven)

THE EVERYDAY THINGS: I've Got My Eye On You (Not Lame, Lighten Up, Francis)

THE BEATLES: Baby You're A Rich Man [German stereo mix]

THE KINKS: The Hard Way (Velvel, Schoolboys In Disgrace)

MAE YOUNG: The Man Puts Sugar In My Soul (Numero Group, VA: Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label)

--

The SOMETHING ELSE! Set:

MEGHAN JEAN CAFARELLI: Still At It [redacted]

LAURIE BIAGINI: Hey Mr. DJ (single)

THE MAYFLOWERS: Sunflower Girl (Lowlife, single)

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss (single)

POP CO-OP: Extra Beat In My Heart [redacted]

MAURA & THE BRIGHT LIGHTS: Perfect Girl (Northside, single)

HOOVER & MARTINEZ: What The Heart Wants (Loaded Goat, The 3P)

CAROLYNE MAS: In The Rain [redacted]

JEFF SHELTON: See On The Radio [TIRnRR ID] [redacted]

DEADLIGHTS: Pretend To Pretend (single)

IRENE PEÑA: In This Room (Big Stir, single)

--

MIKE BROWNING: A Girl From Somewhere (n/a, Another Bite At The Apple)

THE MIKE COTTON SOUND: Harlem Shuffle (Cherry Red, VA: Halcyon Days)

ALLAN KAPLON: Every Single Day (n/a, Notes On A Napkin)

MERRELL & THE 'XILES: Tomorrow's Girl (Grapefruit, VA: Heroes & Villains)

THE FLASHCUBES WITH THE SPONGETONES: Have You Ever Been Torn Apart? (Big Stir, single)

BIG STAR: Back Of A Car (Ardent, # 1 Record/Radio City)

--

SPYGENIUS: Sky-Pie, Century 21 (Big Stir, Jobbernowl)

THE FUZZTONES: Bad News Travels Fast (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)

THE 5TH DIMENSION: Carpet Man (Arista, The Ultimate 5th Dimension)

THE RONETTES: Be My Baby (Sony, VA: Wall Of Sound)

THE CHELSEA CURVE: Jamie C'mon (Red On Red, All The Things)

KID GULLIVER: I Started A Joke (Red On Red, Kismet)

--

SETH TIMBS: Young Lovers (Kool Kat Musik, Easy Answers)

FANNY: Let's Spend The Night Together (Cherry Red, Rock And Roll Survivors)

THE BEAU BRUMMELS: Only Dreaming Now (Collectors' Choice Music, Triangle)

THE MILKSHAKES: Cadillac (Damaged Goods, Talkin' 'Bout...Milkshakes!/After School Session)

THE WALKER BRIGADE: Shake Shimmy (Big Stir, If Only)

THE TONY JACKSON GROUP: Fortune Teller (MOJO, VA: Mod Club Party)

--

THE RARE BREED: Beg, Borrow And Steal (Rhino, VA: Nuggets)

THE PRIMITIVES: Run Baby Run (Castle, Buzz Buzz Buzz)

THE MONKEES: For Pete's Sake (Rhino, Headquarters)

X-RAY SPEX: Age (Castle, Let's Submerge)

TAMAR BERK: Real Bad Day (n/a, Start At The End)

THE MUFFS: Everywhere I Go (Warner Brothers, The Muffs)

--

ORBIS MAX WITH TOM IZZARD: Back On The Shelf (single)

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: The Laws Have Changed (Matador, Electric Version)

TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: 54 46, That's My Number (Island, Time Tough)

PAUL McCARTNEY: Dance Tonight (Capitol, Memory Almost Full)

THE RAMONES: Do You Wanna Dance (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)

THE MOTORS: Dancing The Night Away (Rhino, VA: DIY: Teenage Kicks)

--

THE FLASHCUBES: Gone Too Far (Northside, Flashcubes On Fire)

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: You Belong To Me (Cherry Red, VA: Harmony In My Head)

FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold (Rhino, VA: Can You Dig It?)

THE FLATMATES: I Could Be In Heaven (Cherry Red, Potpourri)

KISS: Shout It Out Loud (Mercury, Destroyer)

THE GREAT SOCIETY: Someone To Love (Sundazed, Born To Be Burned)

KEVIN ROBERTSON: Tough Times (Feel Like That) (Futureman, Teaspoon Of Time)

ROCK ROLL: Bedrock Twitch (from The Flintstones)

--

SCOTTY GRAND, JACOB YOFFEE & ROAHN HYLTON: All I Know (The Wonder Years Theme) (single)

Tonight On THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO

 

Our third set this week is devoted to a tease of a secret project we've codenamed "Something Else." We also have fab new stuff from IN DEED, POP CO-OP, MIKE BROWNING, SPYGENIUS, SETH TIMBS, and ORBIS MAX WITH TOM IZZARD, perched amongst a plethora of prime pop plucked across a span of decades. From THE 5TH DIMENSION, THE ZOMBIES, and THE MONKEES through FANNY, FREDA PAYNE, THE FUZZTONES, THE KINKS, THE RAMONES, THE GRIP WEEDS, RONNIE SPECTOR, recent faves by EYTAN MIRSKY, TAMAR BERK, THE CHELSEA CURVE, ALLAN KAPLON, THE FLASHCUBES WITH THE SPONGETONES, THE WALKER BRIGADE, and KEVIN ROBERTSON, and our relentless pursuit of MORE!, we do absolutely offer you something else. But pay careful attention to that third set. Nine songs. Something Else? Oh yes. Something else. Sunday night, 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/, and via the TuneIn Radio and Radio Garden apps as Westcott Radio. Something else!

POP-A-LOOZA: VIRTUAL TICKET STUB GALLERY Snapshots: Opening Acts, Part 1

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 collection of short Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery live concert memories, spotlighting opening acts.

It occurs to me that I haven't seen an opening act since August of 2019, when I witnessed a rockin' performance by Dog Party in the support slot before a C. J. Ramone show. The pre-COVID live shows I saw after that didn't have opening acts, nor have the live shows I've seen since the world began clawing its way back toward the light. I hope to remedy that eventually. 

But today we look back to a few times when I saw a special-guest group play right before I saw a bigger-name group play. Some were great. Some were not. Collectively, they provide the subject for the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza. 

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.

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

Only The Beginnings [New Stories Have To Start Somewhere]

I think I was still in middle school, in the early 1970s, when I decided I wanted to be a writer. I started making up stories as a kid in the '60s, but made a conscious decision to follow that path circa '72 or '73. I never achieved any notable success as a writer of...well, anything, but I did sell a bunch of nonfiction (mostly about rock 'n' roll) as a freelancer. As a practicing late bloomer, I finally made my first fiction sales in 2019. I've sold seven short stories (and spent every dime of what I earned concocting 'em), with an eighth short currently pending. Five of those seven short stories can also hang together as the rough start of a novel. Six other stories that didn't sell may yet find their way into a self-published anthology. Maybe. But I'm still writing.

I always have a number of drafts at some stage of nowhere-near-done-yet. Today's post sews together the opening bits from a number of different short stories in progress. Only the beginnings. New stories have to start somewhere. Some of these will remain unfinished. Some may grow into something.

So! Let's begin....

He wasn't really used to big cities. But being in a teeming metropolis didn't bother him. The twenty years he'd spent on the run from the law taught him to adapt, to find his place in whatever place he found himself. Places were temporary. As a fugitive, he usually wouldn't stick around long enough to care all that much about where he was.

The ghost of Quisling knocked back a drink. The liquor had no effect on him. Souls damned to spend eternity in Hell felt no buzz from alcohol, no fulfillment from food, no relief from any resource, no matter how much they consumed. Quisling drank anyway, out of habit. He downed another shot before rising to greet the tourists that had entered his dismal office.

"Vidkun Quisling at your service," he purred, his cheery facade unconvincing to anyone who bothered to pay attention. The indifference of his guests rendered the point moot. "I shall be your tour guide on your visit to Hell."

Type casting? Not Exactly.

Darren was 13 years old, and his parents had just divorced.

My Mom used to joke that she was gay, but that she wasn't very good at it. If a pretty boy's face caught her fancy, she would turn hetero for a night or a weekend. But she always, always returned to her one true love.  

Captain Whirlwind surveyed the battlefield around him. His usual smile was not in evidence, his cheerful demeanor displaced by a sober, somber visage. He knew all was lost. It was an unfamiliar feeling. He didn't have any experience in how he should react to that dull certainty.

There had been a Rapture. But it was fleeting, temporary, not eternal. 

I was dreaming. In the dream, I was still a little girl, five years old.

I knew it was a dream. I'm a grown woman, a widow, an occasional writer, and an occasional insomniac. When I did sleep, I didn't dream. But I was dreaming now.

I was dreaming that it was 1965. The year my parents divorced. The year my Aunt Ellis died. The dream wasn't about any of that.

The dream was about television.

Time travel carries certain inherent restrictions. You can't change the past, of course; you can't prevent 9/11, bet on stocks, or facilitate a second season of Freaks And Geeks. You can't hook up with your college crush, nor interact in any way with anyone in a previous time. You are there to observe, not participate. The temporal natives won't even notice you're there.

All of the restrictions were okay with Scott. All he wanted was a Club Burger. 

Those are my assembled openings. One of them already has several additional paragraphs written, and most have only gotten as far as you see them here. There are a number of other stories with just a title and nothing more. Guess I have some work to do.

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.

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: 6/2/2022

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 # 1131.

POP CO-OP: Suspension

Over the course of four consecutive weeks, it was our great honor and privilege to open each fresh broadcast with the debut of an exclusive new track from Suspension, the ultrafab new album from ultrafab pop guys Pop Co-Op. Now, they belong to the world. Lucky world! For our final act before ceding bragging rights, we served up the title tune, and reveled in the self-rewarding act of playing records. We were exclusive; now, we welcome all of you to the club.

And on Friday, June 3rd--TOMORROW!--Pop Co-Op is throwing a virtual Suspension release party, and you're invited. Music! Chatter! Prizes! FUN! And we have been personally promised that there is no danger of us learning anything substantive while we're at it. It all sprawls forth from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Pop Co-Op Time, and YOU, mis amigos y amigas, really oughtta haveta. 

(Oh, and what the hell--we'll play yet another new track from Suspension on next week's show. All radio shows should do that.)

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: September

Back in the fall of 1978, when the darlin' I now refer to as my lovely wife Brenda was still billed as my lovely new girlfriend Brenda, our individual musical tastes appeared...well, if not incompatible, at least divergent. I favored rock 'n' roll, punk, power pop, the Sex Pistols and the Jam, and Brenda preferred a mix of pop, soul, disco, and soft rock, Santana and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Never the twain shall meet? Don't be silly. As Hoover and Martinez have been telling us in a recent TIRnRR Pick T'Click, the heart wants what the heart wants. The rest can be sorted over time.

And sort we did. Before very long, Brenda was writing Ramones lyrics in the margins of her notebook, and I was playing Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight" (by my own choice) at a party in my dorm suite. Over the course of ensuing decades, Brenda and I have enjoyed dates to see performances by Carole King, KISS, Chicago, the above-mentioned Ramones, the above-mentioned Earth, Wind and Fire, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Peter, Paul and Mary, Cheap Trick, Billy Joel, David Bowie, and preexisting mutual interests from the Monkees to Paul McCartney. And more! Prince. Talking Heads. David Johansen. Harmony bridges artificial chasms. Turn it up, cross over...and dance.

When we met in '78, two of Brenda's favorite songs were Rose Royce's "I'm Wishing On A Star" and EWF's "September." I didn't appreciate either of them at the time. I do now. We're going to be seeing Earth, Wind and Fire again this summer, on a bill with Santana. Evolution is revolution. And the records keep going 'round.

Some years back, I gave Brenda an Earth, Wind and Fire boxed set for Christmas. Nowadays, I think I play it more often than she does. Love has changed the minds of pretenders, while chasing the clouds away.

THE FLASHCUBE WITH THE SPONGETONES: Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?

In announcing this epic summit meeting between the Flashcubes and the Spongetones, the good folks at Big Stir Records credited This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl for connecting the 'Cubes and Big Stir in the first place. Well, we're eager to accept that credit! I mean, I can't sing or play guitar, so I'll take whatever meager little musical claim t' fame I can scrounge up. 

But, while we can pad our c.v. with whatever role we played in introducing artist to label, Dana and I were only talking about Big Stir releasing a single from the Flashcubes' live album Flashcubes On Fire. Instead, the 'Cubes came up with "Baby It's Cold Outside," their ace collaboration with Mimi Betinis of Pezband, and this series of Cubic covers for Big Stir was off and piledriving. See, the artists create. We are but humble servants.

Um...sort of humble. Let's not get crazy with the humility here.

PERILOUS: Rock & Roll Kiss

We've been dropping a few teases here and there about a new Dana & Carl project we cryptically refer to as Something Else! That is not the project's name. Many of you can probably guess what project it is. We'll have a whole set of Something Else! on our June 5th show, and that set will include "Rock & Roll Kiss" by Perilous, one of my favorite new tracks of 2022. Suffice it to say that "Rock & Roll Kiss" is indeed Something Else!

LAURIE BIAGINI: Imposter Syndrome Burn

We've had the pleasure of playing a few tracks from singer-songwriter and international treasure Laurie Biagini's forthcoming new album Stranger In The Mirror, so of course we jumped on her latest teaser track "Imposter Syndrome Burn" as soon as it became available. We're fans! (And incidentally, it's worth noting that an earlier track from Laurie's Stranger In The Mirror is also Something Else!)

KELLEY RYAN: The Church Of Laundry

Ah, long-time TIRnRR Fave Rave Kelley Ryan! Kelley's fab single "The Church Of Laundry" was this show's most-played track in 2021, and let us assure you, the tally wasn't at all close. And we're still playing it, 'cuz it's GREAT! And, although "The Church Of Laundry" won't appear on next week's playlist, let us further assure that it is--you guessed it!--Something Else!

DEADLIGHTS: Pretend To Pretend

While "Pretend To Pretend," the incomparable current hit from Jeff Shelton under his rockin' pop dba Deadlights, is absolutely positively Something Else!, it's more important to note that the song is available right now as a digital single, and its proceeds directly benefit humanitarian aid in Ukraine. What are we saying? GO BUY IT!

THE MONKEES: Birth Of An Accidental Hipster

This. Six years ago, when the Monkees were about to release their stunning, triumphant comeback album Good Times!, its advance singles "She Makes Me Laugh," "You Bring The Summer," and especially "Me & Magdalena" had already primed us to expect magnificence. The album track "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" sealed the deal. The release of Good Times! prompted me to write my first review since I ended my two-decade freelancing stint for Goldmine in 2006. It was my favorite album of 2016. And if I were to rank my preferences among the thirteen official studio albums released under the Monkees' name, Good Times! might place as high as # 3 (behind Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Headquarters), and no lower than # 5 (depending upon if I put the Head LP at # 4 or # 5). I like Good Times! even more than the two Don Kirshner-era albums (The Monkees and More Of The Monkees) and The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees. "Birth Of An Accidental Hipster" is the tipping point. The greatest comeback album ever made.

THE BUZZCOCKS: Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shoudn't've)

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

SPYGENIUS: So You Say You Lost Your Baby

On last week's exciting episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, we played "Son Of The Morning, Go Man Go!," the advance single from Spygenius' forthcoming (and, at the time, secret) new album Jobbernowl. This week, well, we didn't yet have Jobbernowl in hand when we did the programmin' the playlist thing, but we went waaaaaaay back to those quaint olde days of 2021 for a track from the previous Spygenius masterwork Spygenius Blow Their Covers. Virtually no thought went into this choice. Just felt like playing this very swell version of Gene Clark's "So You Say You Lost Your Baby;" we never need an excuse to play varied and sundry versions of Gene Clark tunes. Hey! We now have Jobbernowl in our possession! We'll hear a track from that on next week's show. Man, this radio gig is fun! Pop music on the radio. We are honored and privileged. 

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.

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

POP-A-LOOZA: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! The Legion Of Super-Heroes

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 my Everlasting First account of how I first learned about DC Comics' 30th century super team the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Was the Legion my introduction to high adventure set in the far future? It's...possible, though lemme think about this for a sec. As the Pop-A-Looza piece details, I first heard of the Legion in passing, in a text page in Superboy # 129 in 1966. That probably doesn't count, so we mark my first real (though still second-hand) exposure to the Legion to at least 1967, and then reading my first actual Legion story in 1968. The above-cited 1967 story that referenced the Legion did make it clear that these heroes were doing their colorful crusading a thousand years from now, making it evident that  '67 is my 30th century entry point. 

So: had I experienced future-set fiction prior to 1967?

I'm writing as I ponder the question, and I'm still not exactly sure. Let's check out some things I did read or see before that:

SUPERMAN 

The Man of Steel was either my first or second superhero, virtually tied with Popeye. I saw the late, great George Reeves in TV reruns of The Adventures Of Superman, and a 1965 Lois Lane 80-Page Giant is the earliest comic book I remember. But I don't recall seeing any stories set in the future. 

My first issue of World's Finest Comics (# 162), starring Superman and Batman, was a 1967 issue preceding my first view of the Legion, and it was a time travel story! But it was travel to the past, to the days of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. I don't think Superman provided me with my first fanciful peek at tomorrow.

FLASH GORDON

My first awareness of defender of the universe Flash Gordon was roughly contemporaneous to my indoctrination into Superman and Popeye. Reruns of chapters from the 1930s Flash Gordon movie serials were a fixture on Baron Daemon's weekday afternoon TV show in Syracuse; everyone in my neighborhood watched the Baron, so everyone in my neighborhood knew Flash Gordon. However, although Flash's exploits were certainly futuristic, they were set in the present day. (Flash Gordon's inspiration Buck Rogers was set centuries from now, but I didn't discover Buck Rogers In The 25th Century until the '70s.)

STAR TREK

Star Trek obviously took place in the future. But, although I was aware of Star Trek during is 1966-68 run, and I recall friends making references to phasers, I didn't really watch Star Trek until the '70s. I'm pretty sure I saw an episode or two during its network run, but probably after I'd read about the Legion of Super-Heroes.

TOM SWIFT

Nope. I started to read one Tom Swift novel--Tom Swift And His Outpost In Space--in the '60s, but didn't find it as interesting as my Nancy Drew books and put it aside. I guess the titular lead was Tom Swift, Jr., following in his pappy's spacebootprints, and they were probably set in the present day. My truncated Tom Swift experience occurred in the late '60s, after I was already reading about the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics.

LOST IN SPACE

Bingo! Or at least a view of tomorrow that preceded my introduction to the Legion. At the time I was watching Lost In Space circa 1965-68, I don't think I quite grasped the concept that it took place in the far-future world of the late 1990s. I was a fan, though, and I resisted the idea of switching the channel from our local CBS affiliate Channel 5 to the ABC affiliate Channel 9 when the new Batman series became the Big Buzz show across the country. Batman aired twice a week, and its Wednesday installment was scheduled directly opposite Lost In Space. In fact, I recall wailing in protest when my brother insisted we were going to watch Batman instead of Lost In Space.

I, um, got over it. And adjusted. And then some...!

ASTRO BOY

Baron Daemon also showed Astro Boy cartoons, a Japanese import that I just adored. More than I liked Flash Gordon, and I liked Flash Gordon just fine. I don't remember whether or not these cartoons were supposed to take place in the future; I'll Google that in a moment. If so, Astro Boy was likely my doorway to the world to come; if not, it was riveting and futuristic nonetheless. Now! Let's go the Google....

ANSWER: The original Astro Boy series was set in 2013, which is now the past, but was off in the future when Baron Daemon showed me those cartoons. We have a winner!

THE JETSONS

Wait, except for The Jetsons. Duh. Completely forgot about George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife, robot domestic Rosie, crusty skinflint boss Mr. Spacely, and trusty canine companion Astro (née Tralfaz). But yeah, before the Legion, Lost In Space, or even Astro Boy, the future started with The Jetsons. For me, anyway.

There were more views of the future awaiting me, of course, from Magnus: Robot Fighter to some episodes of This Is Us. That's the very nature of the future: more to come! One of my favorite futures involved a group of super-powered teens battling evil in the 30th century. My introduction to the Legion of Super-Heroes is the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

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.

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