Here's The Playlist From The Last Ever 'Rodney On The Roq' Broadcast

As noted last week, KROQ's “Rodney on the Roq" show has rode off into the setting sun. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, famous for being one of L.A.'s biggest music fanboys and a peripheral celebrity, said that the show was dropped after a 40-year run because CBS in New York (they own the station) had planned for "a cutback."

The final show aired on Sunday at midnight (technically Monday morning), and was treated to an extended four-hour timeslot. As noted at The Press-Telegram, Bingenheimer seemed to be in good spirits, and took the time to reflect on a career than spanned four decades. “I want to say thank you to all of my listeners,” said Bingenheimer. “People who have been with me at KROQ - all the DJs and interns here at KROQ - who have been nice to me, and my listeners that stayed up all night to hear my show.”

Susanna Hoffs and Annette Zilinskas of the The Bangles called in live. But it seemed that, for other guests, Sunday at midnight was an inopportune time. Instead, they did the second best thing with pre-recorded messages—both Deborah Harry and Joan Jett left audio missives that talked about how vital Bingenheimer was to their careers.

It was the playlist, perhaps, that generated the most intrigue. Any adherent of Rob Gordon and High Fidelity should know that the playlist (not just the selected tracks, but the order in which they play) is a make-or-break situation. Per usual, Bingenheimer touched on the past and present in his track listing, not only culling from standbys like Blondie and Black Flag, but also from present-day acts like The Fontaines. The most hilarious selection might be Al Jardine's "P.T. Cruiser"—the much reviled car is, perhaps, the most precise analogy of a post-Brian Wilson, "Kokomo"-era Beach Boys. And the final track? It's the Monkees' “Porpoise Song,” which includes a chant of "goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," and may take you by surprise if you only know the band from "Daydream Believer." The track is atmospheric, and equal parts despairing and hopeful.

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Here's the entire track listing from the L.A. Times:

Tigers Jaw, “Follows”
The Woolly Bandits, “Hard to Forget You”
The Fontaines, “Mercury”
Lola Blanc, “Real Boy”
Honeychain, “Going Through Your Purse”
The Dollyrots, “Dance Like a Maniac”
The Pandoras, “I Want My Caveman”
Van Halen interview
Van Halen, “Running With the Devil”
The Suburbs, “Hey Muse”
Single by Sunday, “It Is What It Is”
The Vaccines, “Teenage Icon”
The Ramones, “Blitzkrieg Bop”
Black Flag, “TV Party”
Blondie, “My Monster”
Beck Black with Tony Valentino, "You’re Never Gonna Stop Me”
Skating Polly, “Louder in Outer Space”
Slotface, “Magazine”
The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Just Like Honey”
The Bangles, “Getting Out of Hand”
Dog Party, “Round N Round”
The Go-Go’s, “The Whole World Lost Its Head”
The Regrettes, "Lacey Loo”
Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Hong Kong Garden”
The Regrettes, "Teenager In Love”
The Tearaways, “Name That Tune”
The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Surfin' USA”
Travis, “Coming Around”
The Moon Kids, “Something Spectacular”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, “Bad Reputation”
The Roxy Suicide, “Radio Lies”
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, “Sloop John B”
Fire in the Radio, “New Air”
Rev Horton Heat, “Let Me Teach You How to Eat”
The Routes, “No Permanence”
Elvis Costello interview
Elvis Costello, “Watching the Detectives”
Hear Kitty Kitty, “Liftoff”
Satellite Sky, “Who Do You Love?”
Fiona Silver, “Housewife”
The Postmarks, “7-11”
Betty Black, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
The Atomics, “Voulez Vous”
Ninet, “Superstar”
The Donnas, “School's Out”
The Atomics, “Let’s Live for Today”
Art Break, “Will to Survive”
Roxy Music, “Virginia Plain”
St. Tropez, “I Wanna Live in St. Tropez”
Cotton Mather, “Girl With a Blue Guitar”
The Jigsaw Seen, “The Best Is Yet to Come”
Al Jardine, “PT Cruiser”
All We Are, “Human”
Death Valley Girls, “Love Spell”
Fuzzy, “Girl Don’t Tell Me”
The Fontaines, “Mercury”
The Monkees, "Porpoise Song”