Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Kris Kristofferson's Birthday

(image from Discogs)

Singer, songwriter, & actor Kris Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas. He left our world last year. We at the Dickenbock Report would like to spend what would have been his 89th birthday listening to many of his songs as interpreted by artists who admired & were influenced by him. A little musical wisdom might be helpful in our perilous times.

That's Sunday, June 22, from noon to 1pm, on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm in town, xray dot fm everywhere.

This Week In Self Help: June 13 15 + 17

(image from the Wikipedia)

Here's what I've been doing the radio this past week.

On Friday the 13th (a week ago) I subbed an evening show on KBOO & played lots of new stuff. KBOO doesn't archive its fill-in shows but I put it over on the Self Help Radio website if you wanna listen.

On Sunday the 15th I was on the Dickenbock Report playing songs about prunes on National Prune Day. You can listen to it on the XRAY website or on the Self Help Radio website.

On Tuesday the 17th I played a lot more Howard Gently appearances on Self Help Radio. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website or on the Self Help Radio website.

Finally, the last hour of that show on the KBOO link above is an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming in which I played artists we lost in January of this year. You can also listen to that show on its own on the Self Help Radio website.

My usual note: if you're listening on the Self Help Radio website, you may need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access the file. Sorry for the inconvenience. Have some prunes.

Self Help Radio 061725: Howard Gently Year Four Continued

Here it is, the ninth collection of appearances of Howard Gently on Self Help Radio. It takes place in the middle of 2017 & includes the one-hundredth appearance of Howard Gently on the show.

Howard Gently was performed by my dear friend Russell who died two years ago today. I have been playing his appearances in chronological order in shows about every three months. He was a very funny person & I miss him too much. But I am glad I have these recordings. Just so they're not all talk talk talk I play a song from the show - the songs & bits are based on the show's theme - before the interview. I tried to pick a song I knew Russ would like &/or one I thought he might like.

There's a need for an apology - I was very tired during this show so I am a little low energy. I'm also trying not to be too sad - which can be, as you probably know, exhausting.

Listen now or whenever you need a fake spiritual mentor at either the KBOO web page or at the Self Help Radio web page. You might need the username SHR & password selfhelp to access at the latter. What happens on the show is below.

If I were funny as Russell was I'd have a spiritual-sounding but incredibly silly word or phrase to end this post. I'm not, you know, so I don't.

Self Help Radio Howard Gently Year Four Continued Show

"Do The Oswald" Russell Miles _Do The Oswald_

"Question The Answer" Sheila Chandra _Nada Brahma_

Howard Gently on the theme "Questions"

"Closing Time" Leonard Cohen _The Future_

Howard Gently on the theme "Bars"

"Rise" Public Image Ltd. _Compact Disc_

Howard Gently on the theme "Rise"

"You Are In My Vision" Tubeway Army _Replicas_

Howard Gently on the theme "Visions"

"Venus" Television _Marquee Moon_

Howard Gently on the theme "Venus"

"Warning Sign" Talking Heads _More Songs About Buildings & Food_

Howard Gently on the theme "Warnings"

"Rubberband Girl" Kate Bush _The Red Shoes_

Howard Gently on the theme "Rubber (Sort Of Not Really)"

"The Pencil Broke (& That's All She Wrote)" Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra _The Lionel Hampton Story_

Howard Gently on the theme "Pencils"

"Crooked" Kristin Hersh _Crooked_

Howard Gently on the theme "Crooked"

"Only Seventeen" Beatle-Ettes _Girls With Guitars_

Howard Gently on the theme "Seventeen"

"Uncontrollable Urge" Devo _Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!_

Howard Gently on the theme "Control"

Howard Gently on the theme "Machines"

Whither Howard Gently Year Four Continued?

(a Howard Gently side-hustle?)

Tonight on Self Help Radio, I continue to play, in chronological order, improvised comedic bits made by my dear friend Russell. He played on the show my "spiritual mentor" the Reverend Doctor Howard Gently, a kind of new age huckster, & Russell found ever-more outlandish things for Dr. Gently to be involved in. It was a thrill to relive these appearances on the show - all from 2017 - & I hope you'll find them as funny & creative as I do.

That'll be tonight, from midnight to 2am, on 90.7fm in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. As Howard Gently often ended his interviews, I say in conclusion, "Blessed be."

Preface To Howard Gently Year Four Continued: Memorial Middle School

(image from here)

This week on the show I play more improvised funnies I made with my friend Russell, who died very unexpectedly two years ago. He portrayed my spiritual mentor the Rev Dr Howard Gently for many years starting in 2014. The recordings I'll share this week will be from 2017, the fourth year he appeared on the show.

We met at the place above. In or around 1981 I believe. It was then called Memorial Middle School. It's now called Memorial Pathway Academy. I really need to dig into my old yearbooks & scan better photos but this is all I got at the moment. Where you see the last letters of "academy" is the big gym. I suffered many phys ed classes in there. Did many awkward calisthenics. Russell was a year ahead of me so we never had to spend unpleasant times in p.e. together. He was a bit scrawny. I was a fat kid.

The first time I became aware of Russ was in a Beta Club meeting at the end of my sixth grade year. I guess he was in seventh grade. Beta Club was or is some kind of precursor to the National Honor Society. I watched him being funny & wanted to be his friend. At some Beta Club gathering at someone's house we found ourselves in a bedroom talking about the Beatles. It was the first time I had met someone my age as obsessed with the Beatles as I was.

One thing's for sure, I don't believe either of us believed we'd stay friends for decades. Russell had so many qualities I admired - he was funny, he was a musician, he was creative. I was kind of a blob, amorphous, unformed, seeking out things I liked but not really thinking I could be a part of those worlds. Russell formed a band & wrote songs. I kinda scribbled & drew comics but never really finished anything. So you may say I was in awe of him.

Sometimes I wonder what he would think of me replaying all his bits. I think he might say, "Maybe don't air that one again. It's not that good." He could be very self-critical. But then as now I knew what I'd like & I would plow ahead - "I think it's funny!" I'd say - & he'd let me do it. Okay it seems I know what he'd think. But also I know he'd let me do it if I thought it was funny.

This is how I give myself permission to share these recordings with you.