Friday, October 05, 2018

Self Help Radio 100518: Anniversary Pre-Game

(I found this image here.)

Self Help Radio first went on the air on October 9, 2002, a Wednesday, at 2pm.  At the time, I was also overseeing a program called "The Pilot Show," where new trainees at the station would get an hour to show us what they would play & say if they got a show.  There was no "pilot" that day, so I did two hours: one, a "hello" show, telling whomever might be listening hello, & the second, a show about war, since, at that time, it was being made very clear that soon the United States would be going to war with Iraq because - well, I'm not sure there was any real reason except somebody in power wanted it.

Sadly, I don't have copies of those shows digitized.  Let me rephrase that: gratefully, I don't have copies of those shows digitized.

In those days, I had no idea how long I'd be doing Self Help Radio.  Certainly not more than ten years!  I didn't really have any plans, but celebrating anniversaries seemed somewhat stupid up until I was certain that I might be doing the show for some time.  This happened in 2008, when I decided to revisit an old theme around the date when I first did Self Help Radio, & this became a tradition.

Here for your listening pleasure (?) or just for archaeological reasons, are the first four anniversary shows I did.   There are links to the original & anniversary shows so you can compare & contrast playlists.  & there are notes about the show as well.

Remember!  You'll need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen!

Here they are:

Sixth Anniversary Show, 10/19/08
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
This show may sound strange, & it is: it's a show I did when I was in-between stations.  I had left KOOP in anticipation of leaving Austin, & WMUL was in my future.  I sound a little down, actually, in the first airbreak - I didn't listen to it after that.  But I remember that the theme was one of the first that I got feedback from on the original show - someone called & told me they were going to leave the house but the show made them afraid something would break.
Listen to part I & part II

Seventh Anniversary Show, 10/14/09:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
I always liked this idea.  Each song contains a reference to a nationality.  This was recorded at WMUL in Huntington, West Virginia, before I became disillusioned with the station & the town.  The station was mostly focused on sports - more often than not, I was the only person in the studio before & after my show.
Listen to part I & part II

Eighth Anniversary Show, 10/12/10:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
Another theme I liked: a series of songs that have the counting numbers in them, so 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.  Like the other themes I revisit, I long felt I didn't do this theme justice, possibly because I was still putting the show together (in the early days) the night before.  Long-term planning didn't happen for years.  This is also notable as one of my first WRFL shows - I had just been in Lexington since August, & I believe I am doing this around 5 in the morning.
Listen to part I & part II

Ninth Anniversary Show, 10/10/11:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
Another theme I felt I wasted.  My first "space junk" show - inspired by an article about how many old & non-functioning human-made objects we have orbiting the earth - didn't even feature "Telstar"!  I needed to correct that!  I was doing the show on Monday mornings at this time on WRFL from 7:30 to 9am.  I was having lots of fun.
Listen to part I & part II

Should I put up more anniversary shows?  Would you like that?  Let me know!

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