Show #24 YEAR-END DEDICATION SPECIAL December 26, 2009

Happy New Year to All Kindsa Girls!

All Kindsa Girls- The Real Kids Real Kids
Lori- Travoltas Endless Summer
Maureen- Fountains Of Wayne Out-Of-State Plates

M.A.U.R.E.E.N.- Dogs Legendary Lovers
Rosemary- The Dickies Stukas Over Disneyland
Rosemary- The Smirks Most Fun You Can Have with Your Clothes On: Beserkley Story
Elizabeth Smiles- The Dreamdayers All Things Come
Elizabeth Einstein- Adam Schmitt World So Bright
Barbra- Modernettes Teen City E.P. 12"
Barbara- Jim Freeman & the Golden Gate Jumpers Romantic
Wendy- The Descendents Enjoy!
Beverly- The Flashcubes Bright Lights
Beverley- The Flys See For Miles (1978-1980)
*Veronica- Honeyrider All Systems Go
*Veronica- Wreckless Eric Big Smash
*Veronica- Sloppy Seconds Destroyed
*Veronica- Elvis Costello Spike
Stacey- The Lyres 12 Classic 45s
Stacy's Mom- Fountains Of Wayne Welcome Interstate Managers
Diana Diana- Hubble Bubble Faking
Valeri- The Monkees The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees
Louise- Satans Rats You Make Me Sick 7"
Jennifer- The Rubinoos Everything You Always Wanted To Know About
Loretta- Nervous Eaters DIY: Mass. Ave. - The Boston Scene (1975-83)
Monica- Richard X. Heyman Hey Man!
Monica- The Kinks The Village Green Preservation Society
Jamie- Weezer Weezer (Blue Album)
Gabrielle- The Boys Boys Only
Denise- Fountains Of Wayne Utopia Parkway
Cold Ethyl- Alice Cooper Welcome To My Nightmare
Kerri- Robert Johnson Close Personal Friend
Suzanne- Paul Warren & Explorer One Of The Kids
Mary Christmas- Redd Kross Santa Claus & The Power Pop Criminals
52 Girls- The B-52's The B-52's

*SacroSet: Veronica Songs

I can't say I'm sorry to see 2009 go. In fact I'm tempted to whip out my Comic Book Guy impression ("Worst.... Year..... Ever....."). Yet, why tempt fate, or as my friend Jeff Dreyer put it, "throw a glove down to the Gods." A year like 2009 does help keep things in perspective, though. Despite economic anxieties, my family is great; we are healthy and we live in a very cool town. Some day I hope to look back on 2009 and... I don't know what, really, but I hope it will be one of those bittersweet rememberences, like Middle School or the Reagan administration, that, though trying, was only a hitch on the way to a brighter future.

I saw/heard/read a lot of cool stuff this year (see the list at (http://ricktop5lists.blogspot.com/) but I think the thing I'll remember most about 2009 is All Kindsa Girls. I'd often thought about doing a radio show again, in those vague "someday" terms, but it wasn't until Joe Koch asked me to alternate Saturday nights with him on KSVY (http://thmm.com/ksvy/) that I got off my butt and did something about it. He had already submitted a proposal for his show, Contact Buzz (http://contactbuzz913.blogspot.com/), so coming up on the one year anniversary of All Kindsa Girls, I once again thank Joe for helping get me back on the air.

One of my favorite things about the show is finding a fresh dedication each week. While a theme set, now called the SacroSet, was an idea from the beginning, the dedication idea came to me when I was putting Show #2 together. I was previewing The Travolta's awesome Endless Summer album, which Cousin Rich had "lent" me the previous summer, and when I heard "Lori" it hit me- every show would be dedicated to women who share the same name. One of the rules I set for myself is to only use songs whose titles are limited to the woman's name. I did pretty well last year, only breaking the rule on a few shows, two of which were the Halloween ("Cold Ethyl") and Christmas ("Mary Christmas") Specials, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. Who knows how long it will last, but I'm going to try my best each week.

As seen on this playlist, a few times I've had my pick of dedication songs and none more so than Show #9 and "Veronica." I've always been partial to the name; it has such a musical resonance. I'm not alone in this opinion judging from numerous "Veronica" songs over the years (there are a lot more than the four I played tonight). There's even an Australian pop duo called The Veronicas. Truth be told I can trace some of the name's appeal to my sister Sarah's Archie Comics when I was six or seven years old. I was a fan of The Incredible Hulk and publicly denounced Archie as "girl comics." Yet, in private I read everything I could about Veronica Lodge. She seemed like the coolest girl- no superhero powers, but VERY compelling nonetheless. It wasn't anything overtly sexual, I just had a crush on this girl with black hair named Veronica.

Years later, when girlfriends, including my wife Jaime, would broach the "minefield" topic of baby names, rather than change the subject, I would always proffer "Veronica." I was as commitment averse as the next dude, but as far off in the future as it seemed then, I could always picture a baby girl named "Veronica." The wish came true one December afternoon in 1998 and, needless to say, when I hear the name today, it's no longer Veronica Lodge I think of.

You can download Hour 1 of the Year-End Dedication Special here:
http://thmm.com/ksvy/showarchive/public/2009-12-26__20_59_57.mp3

And here's Hour 2: http://thmm.com/ksvy/showarchive/public/2009-12-26__21_59_57.mp3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!