The Hopelessly Poppy Tune of the Week started as a contest of sorts between me and my friend Lisa, who did the show before Spin Control on Friday nights (she now hosts the James Dean Death Car Experience on Saturdays), to see who could come up with the cheesiest song to start our respective shows. (I won't say who "won" most often, but I did have the advantage of coming on after her, so...) After Lisa left town for a few years, I still maintained the tradition for the first Spin Control song, though it morphed into allowing some not-so-cheesy hit songs (such as this one, Donovan's first top 40 hit), hence the title Hopeless Poppy Tune of the Week. What can I say - old habits die hard.
I always tried to fill the first set of Spin Control with uptempo songs that met my definition of "poppy" - songs that you could tap you toes to, or bop along to the melody, or sing along with even if it's not familiar to you. That's my definition and I'm sticking to it.
The second set ventured into louder, harder, faster songs that still retain a "poppy" sensibility to them, even if their performers don't want to admit to it. "Pop" is a four letter word for some, but not for me. Sometimes you just gotta rock out a bit.
I could have easily turned this set of songs from Boston-based bands into two, three, or more sets, if only I'd have had access to the WMBR record library and music archives, which is full of all sorts of local gems, many of which were never formally released. If I ever do another one of these in-exile pre-recorded from home shows, I'll have to ask some of the other WMBR DJs who have far more extensive music collections than I do, to see if they have some songs I remember well but can't find online anywhere.
A cover of a song originally written and recorded by the band listed below, over 30 years ago. I'm pretty sure the song is older than any of the members of this band - which is actually not a bad thing at all.
This set (and the final song of the show) are all songs that came out in the years since the last Spin Control show. Some of them are somewhat better known than others, but I don't hold that against them.
Many thanks to Jon (Breakfast of Champions), Sue (Aural Fixation), and other WMBR DJs who helped introduce me to the rich lode of music from New Zealand, which includes the songs and artists in this set.
Bands with songs that were played on Spin Control "back in the day", and then an album (or two or three) later wound up having a big hit song (or two or three), with no help or fault of our own.
The original Spin Control ran from 10:30 to 12:30 Friday night, which meant that an hour and a half into the show was midnight. So the Midnight Set was always the time that the tempo would slow down and the songs became a bit more mellow, but still melodic. It may not be midnight now, but we'll still stick with the tradition at an hour and a half in to this episode.
WMBR has been my "home away from home" for the better part of two-thirds of my life now (!). Being away from all of my friends there for several months has been very difficult, and I'm sure it's even more so for those who do regular shows there. Thanks to everyone involved in finding a way for the station to continue running in this remote mode of operation - this show is dedicated to all of you. For anyone who's made it this far, if you'd like to let me know what you liked (or didn't) about this show, email me at mamros@mit.edu . Who knows - maybe I'll even find time to do another one.
