NEED SOME EXTRA CASH AND WANT TO HELP OUT THE RETRO ATTIC? TAKE SURVEYS WITH PRIME OPINION!

 As most of you already know, The Retro Attic is a listener-supported station. I usually don't get enough donations every month to cover my server, player/playlist widgets, and licensing bills, so I have signed up with several online survey companies to help offset these costs. I'm enjoying Prime Opinion more than the rest, and I would like to tell you about them so that you may consider coming aboard with them and help my station out if you're not a fan of donations.

Prime Opinion won't make you rich overnight, but if you're willing to stick with it and are looking to take your family out to dinner or buy yourself some clothing, then it can be worthwhile. They are the only survey company I've seen so far that issues various bonuses (obtained after accumulating specific numbers of points, specific numbers of surveys completed, etc.). They are also one of the precious few survey companies that will frequently give you a couple of reward points for your troubles if one of their clients screens you out of a survey.

I can warn you that most surveys will ask for some demographic information that some people may not be comfortable giving, such as age, ethnicity, and five-digit zip code. I have only run across one survey so far that was looking for more personal information, such as mailing address and e-mail address, but all you have to do is just exit the survey. There are no pop-ups or intrusive ads. I recommend paying attention to the survey ratings, as they will be a good indicator of whether you will be screened out of a survey or not.

There are various ways to redeem your points, including PayPal, prepaid cards, and over a hundred gift card choices. If you are interested in signing up, please feel free to use your bonus code within 24 hours after signing up through the link below; you will then receive a 10% bonus on all surveys you do during the following 24 hours.

If you have any questions or need some information clarified first, then please let me know. I think it's enjoyable for the most part, and you shouldn't have a problem finding a topic that's near and dear to your heart.

Speaking of a bonus code, please use my code JJ7LDI after you sign up and are ready to redeem it. Best of luck to you, and thank you in advance for your help! My Prime Opinion Referral Link

SERVER DOWN

 The server has been down since around noon. I have a Facebook friend who is affiliated with the hosting company of the server, and he has been made aware of the situation. It involves a datacenter network outage, and all I've been told at this point is that it "should be fixed anytime now." Your patience is greatly appreciated.

TODAY'S "FIVE FRESH FISH" - AUGUST 17TH

 Here are today's "Five Fresh Fish," also known as new rotation adds:

1. Pete Drake And His Talking Steel Guitar - Forever - top 25 in '64

2. Popcorn Rebellion - Sugar Lady - '69 - if you are a fan of Tommy Roe's late 60's hits, then this one will be right up your alley...and it doesn't stick to most dental work.

3. The Surprise Package - East Side, West Side - '68 - sometimes the flip sides are just as good

4. Eruption - I Can't Stand The Rain - '78 - single edit

5. The Woolies - Who Do You Love - '67 - originally released in '66, scraped the Hot 100 in early '67

What obscurities do you want to hear? Feel free to let me know and please remember that contributions to our "tip jar" are always appreciated (they go toward producing special content like countdown shows and a Featured Artist or Genre Of The Month)!

THE RETRO ATTIC NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER!

 As most of you already know, I had a major health scare recently with my heart, and my recovery will take quite a while. I lost my main freelance gig shortly after coming home from the hospital without any explanation, even though I always delivered high-quality work and could work as little or as much as I wanted. Running my stations costs over $200.00 every month, and I will be unable to cover the costs until an equally attractive freelance gig comes along.

I am asking for your help with keeping this station going. For a nominal $30.00 PayPal donation, I will let you have a half-hour showcase of your requests three times a week for the next month. The requests should be hit or lost singles from the 50's through the 70's with as varied an artist roster as possible (I am not allowed to do a showcase on one specific artist). I will allow one album track in your showcase as long as it isn't full of profanity or controversy. Using the PayPal button, filling out a contact form, leaving a chat message, and asking any general questions can be done through this webpage. Thank you in advance!

NEW TITLES BEING ADDED TONIGHT!

 New stuff for your ears starting tonight:

  1. Bill Anderson - "I Can't Wait Any Longer" - '78 - Full single version

  2. David Bowie - "Rebel Rebel" - '74 - The seldom-heard U.S. single mix

  3. Carpenters - "Ticket To Ride" - '70 - The original mix, not the re-recording that came out in '73

  4. Joe Cocker - "You Are So Beautiful" - '75 - Being a "Walking Dead" fan finally made me add this

  5. The Five Americans - "I See The Light" - '66 - Mono single mix

  6. The Glass Prism - "The Raven" - '69 - Edgar Allan Poe set to psych/organ-filled bliss

  7. The Gun - "Race With The Devil" - '68 - Mono single mix

  8. Mary Hopkin - "Those Were The Days" - '68

  9. Led Zeppelin - "D'yer Mak'er" - '73

10. Herbie Mann - "Hijack" - '75

11. The Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner" - '76 - Recorded in '72 - For those in love with Massachusetts

12. The Paradons - "Diamonds And Pearls" - '60 - Stereo

13. Graham Parker And The Rumour - "Hold Back The Night" - '77

14. Ramones - "Do You Wanna Dance" - '78

15. Sonny And Cher - "All I Ever Need Is You" - '71

16. Bruce Springsteen - "Prove It All Night" - '78

17. The Tams - "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" - '64 - Mono single mix

18. The Toys - "A Lover's Concerto" - '65 - Yeah I know, about time!

19. Link Wray And His Ray Men - "Rumble" - '58

20. The Zombies - "She's Coming Home" - '65

I hope everyone has a happy holiday season! See you in '24!

NEW WIDGETS FOR CURRENTLY PLAYING AND PLAYLIST HISTORY

 I'm just letting my listeners know that the "Now Playing" and "Recently Played" widgets on the station's webpage have been updated to newer versions, mainly because I had no choice. The old versions are being phased out to the point where artist images were completely eliminated, and I don't even have the ability to custom-upload my own image choices on them.

The new versions have a fairly reliable stock library of artist images, and I can upload my own when necessary; obviously, the more obscure the artist is, the less likely the stock library will have something. I can't stop you from mentioning that an artist's image is missing or could be better, but trust me, I am well aware of the issues and will strive to perfect them the best I can. 

Most artist images will have biographies attached to them on the "Now Playing" widget, and all tracks on that widget have a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down feature. The "Now Playing" widget has a player attached to the top of it if you don't want to click on the blue "Listen Now" button above it(which leads to a more robust player, but that's just my opinion). Gone are the Wikipedia, "Tweet Song" and Amazon purchase links; the widget developers probably don't think they're relevant anymore, and they're probably right. Everyone knows how to use Wikipedia and Mr. Musk made it financially impossible for anyone to autopost on X/Twitter anymore.

The "Recently Played" widget shows a history of the last 100 tracks played. It refreshes at a rate of every 90 seconds, and I can't do much more than that without the distinct possibility of the widget missing a track. Be aware that the refresh isn't instantaneous due to the sheer volume of tracks in the history. 100 tracks is the maximum capability, so please don't ask me if it can show the last three days, the last week, etc.

I apologize if I don't sound overly positive about these changes. Maybe I'm in the minority, but it seems to me that these days the phrase "New And Improved," whether it refers to technology or the foods we eat, isn't worth a hill of beans anymore. I MISS THE OLD, and that especially means the pre-2016 days of internet radio. I'll let Satchmo conclude this post: "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..."

UPDATE: After hearing such phrases as "craptastic" and "amateurish," I have reverted back to the old widgets. Hopefully, the company I deal with will at the very least let me upload my own artist images to them if they do in fact no longer have access to the old third party image provider.

NEW ROTATION ADD: MICKY DOLENZ - DON'T DO IT - 1967(ORIGINALLY RECORDED IN 1965)

 Just before going through an agent and answering the casting call for a new Screen Gems TV show called "The Monkees," Micky Dolenz was fronting two nightclub acts in California: Micky And The One-Nighters and The Missing Links. Someone apparently saw The Missing Links and asked Micky if he would be interested in laying down a couple of tracks for Challenge Records(home of The Knickerbockers, one of my favorite 60's acts). Micky's group didn't sound professional enough, so members of The Wrecking Crew were called in to help(including Glen Campbell on guitar).

The two tracks that were recorded were today's featured number, the playfully suggestive garage rocker "Don't Do It," and "Huff Puff," which sounded like a somewhat angry and snarly Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs. Even though recorded in 1965, they remained unreleased until 1967. A little phenomenon called Monkeemania was happening then, and at the time it seemed like anything that had The Monkees' name on it stood a great chance at being a smash. Challenge Records tried to cash in on the phenomenon and put out "Don't Do It" first; even though it went top 10 on radio station surveys in Hawaii and Kentucky, it only managed a #75 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 on 4/1/67. "Huff Puff" came out a little later with the same picture sleeve in a different color, and let's just say that it didn't even come close to blowing up on the charts.

This will be part of The Retro Attic's rotation today along with 12 other oldies from the 50's through the 70's. Thanks for listening and showing your support! 

 Micky Dolenz - Don't Do It