Show #106 August 24, 2013

For my daughter Nica and the Class of 2017!

Veronica- Wreckless Eric Big Smash
High School Never Ends- Bowling For Soup The Great Burrito Extortion Case
Try Again- Rock City Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack
Babe- Jack Green Humanesque
Another Boy- The Boyfriends Lost Treasures 
Like I Do- Sugar Stems Can't Wait
Out Of My Head- 20/20 Look Out!
Rockstar- Librarians The Pathetic Aesthetic 
^High School Nights- Dave Edmunds High School Nights 
I Didn't Mean That- Someloves Something Or Other 
Only At Night- The Fastbacks ...And His Orchestra 
Revolution of the Mind- The dB's Revolution of the Mind 
Ecstasy- The Paley Brothers Ecstasy 
Put You In Exile- Jo Broadbery & The Standouts Jo Broadbery and The Standouts 
*High School- Hanoi Rocks Two Steps From The Move
*High School- Superchick Last One Picked 
*High School- Little Murders Stop Plus Singles 1978-1986 
*High School- The Brat Attitudes EP
*High School- Nerf Herder My E.P. 
Mad at the World- The Probers Mad At The World 
Trampoline- Greenberry Woods Rapple Dapple 
If You Can't See My Mirrors- The New Pornographers Together 
Chicago And Miss Jovan's Land-O-Mat- The Loud Family Yellow Pills Vol 4
All Night Long- Starz Violation 
The Young Idea- Squire Big Smashes
>High School- MC5 Back In The U.S.A. 
All That Stuff- The Windbreakers Time Machine (1982-2002) 
Neptune Ave. (Ortho Hi Rise)- Sammy Tales Of Great Neck Glory 
My Lifes A Jigsaw- Purple Hearts My Life's A Jigsaw 7" 
Rock 'N' Roll High School- The Ramones Road To Ruin 
Teenage Dirtbag- Wheatus Wheatus 

^Power Pop Peak:  #91 Billboard Hot 100 4/20/85

*SacroSet:  High School Songs

>Power Pop Prototype:  1970

I was a shy kid growing up and the social aspects of school were always a challenge.  Bullies could see this a mile away so I was often an easy target for their douche baggery.  In most cases I could stay out of their way by walking to and from classes by a different route.  When I was in high school I had my tormentor's class schedule memorized as well as my own yet that didn't stop him from randomly shoving me up against some lockers or punching me whenever he could.  He even pointed a home made, and according to him loaded, zip gun at my head one day while I was standing at my locker.  Good times.  My wife Jaime asked me why I never told an adult, but that's the thing about bullying- it shames the victim, not the perpetrator.  Back then teachers ascribed it to "boys will be boys" and some male teachers seemed to get a perverse kick out of it.  As for my family, just the thought of my father finding out (I couldn't imagine ever telling him), well that is a nightmare that even now makes me feel like throwing up.  Anyway, it's no wonder that to this day I have an Eminem-level hatred of bullies.

I was rarely physically abused by the jocks in my high school, though their verbal abuse could be pretty devastating.  Not that being called "F***in' Devo" (damn you "Whip It," damn you to hell) was in itself especially harsh but when delivered in front of a bevy of hot jock girlfriends it definitely stung.  This could go two ways, either the girlfriends would laugh along or they would make a big show of sticking up for me while still laughing at my expense, which was somehow even worse.  In any case, I grew to be as wary of the jocks as I was of the other bullies.  To be fair, I should point out that my use of "jock" in this case refers almost exclusively to our school's football players- loud, aggressive, beer swilling- you know the type.  These

The REAL Deltas

were the guys who called everyone "faggot" but always seemed to be dressing up like cheerleaders with huge breasts at our mandatory pep rallies (which always left me feeling vulnerable and exposed- not at all "peppy").  For the record, I don't recall ever being sh*t on by soccer players, basketball players or any other athletes.  The funny thing is, our school always did much better in soccer than in football, yet it seemed to me that the football players ruled the school.  They called themselves "The Deltas" after the fraternity from National Lampoon's Animal House.  I found this almost head-explodingly ironic because The Deltas in the movie are the outcast rejects from all the other fraternities at Faber College.  Sure Otter and Boon are cool, but Pinto, Flounder, D-Day, Bluto and the rest are complete social misfits.  I totally identified with Tom Hulce's character Pinto in that movie so it was rough watching the jocks in my high school appropriate the "Delta" identity for themselves.

The Omegas

Come on!  These jocks were clearly evil Omegas and the fact that they called themselves Deltas (something I'd never have the guts to do) was infuriating!

The jocks (I refuse to call them "Deltas") all hung around together and walked down the center of the hallway so the rest of us had to get out of the way.  Like the Omegas pictured above they had letterman jackets, green with the big white D on the front, that made them easier to spot and get out of the way.  The D on those letterman jackets was for Duxbury of course, but, in a tidy piece of alliteration, it also stood for Dragons, our team mascot.  By junior year I had finally managed to come

Current Duxbury Dragons mascot
(In the 80's it had more of an Olde English
look but this is all I could find)

together with a group of fellow fringe dwellers like myself, bonding over our shared love of punk and new wave music.  My friends and I reviled the whole Dragon concept.  (I wrote a poem with the line "big white D in a sea of bile" that thankfully I never showed anyone.  What?  You think your 11th grade poetry was any better?  I'm telling you right now it wasn't.)  Senior year I kicked it up a notch and published a vicious polemic in our English class newspaper, subtly titled "Athletics=Mush," about how the athletic programs were destroying young people by crushing any hint of their individuality.  You know, a "think piece."  The football players all made a big show at lunch that day of saying they were going to "end me" but nothing came of it.  I was loving being a hero to my small circle of friends too much to be scared of payback.  In fact, one football player took me aside after class the next day and told me he thought I was right!  My screed started with the sarcastic line "George Orwell would be proud..."  In a rebuttal the following week one of my classmates started with "Yes, George Orwell would be proud..." and went on to make far better use of the 1984 reference than I had.  It really bugged me that she understood Orwell better than I did because, you guessed it, she was a school athlete. 

Sonoma Valley High School mascot
(at least it's facing a different direction than Duxbury's)

Thirty plus years later it feels like everything has come full circle.  My daughter Veronica just started at Sonoma Valley High School and made the freshman volleyball team.  This makes her.... a Sonoma Dragon!  That's right- Sonoma has the same school colors and the same mascot as my high school.  It started last summer when Nica joined a travel softball team run by the varsity coach called the Sonoma Lady Dragons.  I bought a hat to cheer them on;  it features a "big white 'S' in a sea of bile" rather than a "big white 'D' in a sea of bile" but the concept is the same.  This week Jaime and I drove down to Terra Linda High in San Rafael to watch Nica's team win their first volleyball match.  Seeing the team bus in the parking lot, I realized this is the first time my daughter has ever ridden a big yellow school bus.  She loved every minute of it- the bus ride, the game, doing homework in the bleachers while cheering on the JV and the varsity teams.  I've got to say it was great seeing her have such a wonderful time.  One week in her high school experience is already 180 degrees different from mine and that's just what I want for her.

One thing is sure- the high school years are a rich time in our lives and, good or bad, a time we'll never forget.  Whole years in the late 80's are a blur but high school memories are as vivid now as they were back then.  It's also funny how many of the social constructs and rules established in high school never seem to go away.  Like the Bowling For Soup song I played tonight says:  "High School Never Ends:"

Four years you think for sure
That’s all you’ve got to endure
All the total dicks
All the stuck up chicks
So superficial, so immature
Then when you graduate
You take a look around and you say HEY WAIT
This is the same as where I just came from
I thought it was over
(Aw that’s just great)

The whole damn world is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who‘s having sex,
Who‘s got the money, who gets the honeys,
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess
And you still don’t have the right look
And you don’t have the right friends
Nothing changes but the faces, the names, and the trends
High school never ends

Check out the popular kids
You’ll never guess what Jessica did
How did Mary Kate lose all that weight
And Katie had a baby so I guess Tom’s straight
And the only thing that matters
Is climbing up that social ladder
Still care about your hair and the car you drive
Doesn’t matter if you’re sixteen or thirty-five

Reese Witherspoon,
She’s the prom queen
Bill Gates,
Captain of the chess team
Jack Black, the clown
Brad Pitt, the quarterback
I’ve seen it all before
I want my money back

The whole damn world is just as obsessed
With who’s the best dressed and who’s having sex,
Who’s in the clubs and who’s on the drugs,
Who’s throwing up before they digest
And you still don’t have the right look
And you don’t have the right friends
And you’re still listen to the same sh*t you did back then
High school never ends

High school never ends

The whole damn world is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who‘s having sex,
Who‘s got the money, who gets the honeys,
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess
And I still don’t have the right look
And I still have the same three friends
And I’m pretty much the same as I was back then
High school never ends

High school never ends

High school never ends

Here we go again

In the past I've jokingly said "if you loved high school you flamed out early" but that's just jealousy talking.  Jaime loved high school- she was a cheerleader, in marching band, drama, etc. and has a group of four high school girlfriends who still meet up in some sunny locale every couple of years. (They called themselves the "Rowdy Mothers" back then- how sweet is that?)  Sounds like a lot of fun hearing her talk about those years.  When I was searching for images of Duxbury and Sonoma Dragons I was struck by the similarities:  tons of teenagers dressed in green smiling and having a good time doing something they love.  DHS isn't the Death Star any more than SVHS is Naboo- it's only my perceptions that make them seem that way.  I had a tough time in high school- it would have been nice to feel safer and less fearful- but it helped make me the person I am today.  I'm sure Nica will face her share of challenges but like they say, it's how you respond to adversity that shows what kind of person you are or will become. Best of luck to the Class of 2017 and GO DRAGONS! (both kinds).

Download links for tonight's show are below (if the download "sticks" just pause and un-pause)
Hour 1
Hour 2

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!!!

Show #9 May 16, 2009

For all Veronicas, but especially MY Veronica...

Veronica- Honeyrider All Systems Go
The Punk- Cherry Vanilla Bad Girl
Kind Of A Girl- Tinted Windows Tinted Windows
Whatever Happened To Fun- Candy Whatever Happened To Fun
Kicks & Tips- Pictures Kicks & Tips 7"
^And We Danced- The Hooters Nervous Night
Never Come Back- Dogs Legendary Lovers
Face To Face- Code Blue Code Blue
*I Found Her- Boys Life Two Doors Down 45
*Radio- Sass Radio 45
*Prettiest Girl- The Neighborhoods 12 Classic 45s
*Magic In Her Eyes- The Trademarks Magic In Her Eyes 45
Always The Last To Know- The Yum Yums Sweet As Candy
Grounded-Twist And Shout Interpolation The A's The A's
Fast Food- The Blisters Fast Food 45

^Power Pop Peak: #21 Billboard Hot 100 8/10/85

*SacroSet: My Hometown- Boston, Mass

FINALLY found a suitable Veronica song. Almost went with Wreckless Eric's, but since it's a letter to a girlfriend from a soldier going off to war, I went with Honeyrider instead. You can't beat the first line in the song: "Veronica makes me smile when I'm feeling down and out..." I couldn't agree more.

I hardly ever have brand new music to play so it was pretty exciting tonight to debut Tinted Windows "Kind Of A Girl." The band has the ultimate Power Pop Pedigree: bass player/songwriter Adam Schlesinger is in Fountains of Wayne, singer Taylor Hanson has grown up quite a bit since he and his brothers gave us "MMMBop" in 1997, James Iha was in Smashing Pumpkins, and behind the drums is the legendary Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. Very cool song- I'm looking forward to hearing more.

Tonight's Power Pop Peak is "And We Danced" by Philly band The Hooters. Still haven't heard whether or not the boobs n' burgers restaurant chain had to pony up for rights to the name, but I like to think the band got a HUGE payout.


Since I grew up on Boston Rock and Roll, it's a little surprising it took me nine shows to feature it in a SacroSet. The first song, Boys Life's "I Found Her," has a special place in my heart. Back in my dating days, when choosing "our song" with whatever lady friend I was with at the time, it never occurred to me to pick something from the radio or at least a well known album. Witness "I Found Her," which was my dating song with Jaime (who is now my wife- our wedding song is "You're Just The One I've Been Looking For" by Johnnie Taylor, another mega hit). The lyrics of "I Found Her" really fit the "best friends for a year who attack each other one night after a sweaty Zulus show at The Rat" trajectory of our relationship though, so the song earned its position in our lives. So much so that on our wedding day Jaime presented me with the groom's cake pictured above. How cool is that! A cake shaped like a Power Pop single! No wonder we've been together almost 20 years.

One fun postscript to tonight's SacroSet... In the Spring of 1980 I had a rare burst of school spirit and joined the Duxbury High School Prom Committee. I had a girlfriend (finally!) and was going to the prom so I thought I should at least try to help get a good band. My persistance paid off and thanks to the help of sympathetic popular girl and committee chair Lauren Spendley we got Boston Power Pop band The Trademarks to play our prom at Christos Restaurant in Brockton. They absolutely rocked in matching suits and ties with incredibly catchy originals, including "Magic In Her Eyes," and some great 60's covers. I'll never forget seeing seeing Paul Hansen and Mo Donelly jumping up and down in front of the stage because I was right there with them. There were a few people who weren't dancing though and when my girlfriend Gina asked them why, they replied "we hate them they're PUNK!" To these folks any band that didn't have long hair, beards, leather vests and/or denim jackets might as well have been the Sex Pistols. Still makes me laugh to think about it. One of the bright spots in four lackluster years of high school...

Click the link below to stream tonight's show or to download, right click and "Save Link As:"
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #9