Self Help Radio 110524: A Mental Health Day

(original image here*)

This isn't an episode of Self Help Radio but I'm in the habit of letting you know what I am doing on Tuesdays so what the hell. Here's one of those blog potsts.

As I've explained, I was too preoccupied with the impending death of my country to focus on making an episode of Self Help Radio this week. I just couldn't get my act together. My brain kept telling me to "take a mental health day" - something I've never done. Instead of an episode of Self Help Radio, I just played a lot of music that I might not ever really play on Self Help Radio - electronica, jazz, experimental. All taken from new releases I've listened to over the past few months. As I played them, I do think I was distracted a bit from the coming shitstorm.

Maybe it'll help you too. You can listen at the KBOO web page. Or you can listen at the Self Help Radio web page. (If the latter, username SHR + password selfhelp.) It's very little me, very much lots of I think interesting toons. See you on the other side.

Self Help Radio Mental Health Day Playlist

"A Problem With The Stars" Eldritch Priest _Dormitive Virtue_ (Halocline Trance, 2024)

"Melt All The Guns II" Devin Gray _Melt All The Guns II_ (Rataplan, 2024)

"What Nature Does" BK-One _A Blackbox Recovery_ (Self-Released, 2024)

"Vocoder (Club Mix)" Floating Points _Cascade_ (Ninja Tune, 2024)

"Reverie" Airflow _Head In The Clouds_ (Self-Released, 2024)

"Morsure Profonde" Soft Violet _Sterner Stuff_ (Alien Transistor, 2024)

"Sorrowful Bouquet" Alex Henry Foster _A Measure Of Shape & Sounds_ (Hopeful Tragedy, 2024)

"Destitute For Dreaming (Single Version)" Lisa Cuthbert _Destitute For Dreaming EP_ (Self-Released, 2024)

"It Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago" Woody Jackson _Cowboy Yoga_ (ElectroVox, 2024)

"The Droopy" Max Jaffe _Reduction Of Man_ (Whited Sepuchre, 2024)

"Broken (Alternate Version)" Hidden Orchestra _Broken EP_ (Lone Figures, 2024)

"Clemency" Uniform _Nightmare City_ (Sacred Bones, 2024)

"Slow, Simple" Tim Brady / Instruments Of Happiness _Imagine Many Guitars_ (Redshift, 2024)

"Dylar" Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr _Breezy_ (Sonic Transmissions, 2024)

"Erase" Umberto _Black Bile: Variations_ (Thrill Jockey, 2024)

"Soft/Focus" Mark Templeton _Two Verses_ (Faitiche, 2024)

"Une Nuit Devant Soi" Orson Claeys _Odyssey To Self_ (Sdban Ultra, 2024)

"Calm Shores" Carl Lord _Sacred_

* A note about the image manipulated: the license is Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic. It has been manipulated by adding the Self Help Radio logo.

Whither A Mental Health Day?

(Image from the Wikipedia)

Like lots of folks, this election has caused me a great deal of anxiety. Not the candidates I support - but the fact that so many in our country seem to support the candidate that will do the most destruction. It hasn't been a healthy time for me & I found myself this week unable to put my all into Self Help Radio. So. I decided it was best to take a mental health day.

But I couldn't leave you with a repeat or some other programming, so tonight at midnight, in place of Self Help Radio, I'll just play some music. I listen to a lot of music. Some of it would never find its way onto an episode of Self Help Radio because it wouldn't fit one of my dumb themes. So I'll shall some of that tonight.

& hopefully next week, when the dust clears, if we're all okay, if the country isn't on fire, we can return to whatever dumb theme I was going to explore - oh yeah, shotgun. That's the theme! Maybe because we'll need one next week to fight in the second Civil War.

A radio show. Just not Self Help Radio. On KBOO tonight midnight to 2am. 90.7fm kboo dot fm.

Preface To This Week's Show: What's A Mental Health Day?

(Original image here)

Here's what very well mind dot com says a "mental health day" is: "A mental health day is a day you take off from work or school, & minimize any commitments or responsibilities. You can use this time to focus on relieving stress, relaxing, having fun, & preventing burnout."

In my case, the relieving stress part seems paramount. I am incredibly stressed out by the upcoming election. I think I had a panic attack on Election Night 2020. It has made the past few days difficult for me. I am finding it hard to concentrate. I get genuinely anxious when I see anything on the news.

Usually Sundays & Mondays are days I work on Self Help Radio. I hope you don't think the interviews on the show are real - they are really improvised, but I usually do that with the funny people who act as the interviewees during the previous week. I managed to scrape together an episode of The Dickenbock Report today but have not done any work for SHR today. & I can't imagine tomorrow will be any better.

Last night I was up late looking over the mayoral & city council candidates for Portland. It was pretty taxing & stressful. Voting for President was not but it's not my vote I'm worried about - it's the rest of this country.

So I believe I'll take a mental health day tomorrow & forego an episode of Self Help Radio. I'll have some music programmed & there'll be a new episode of Corporate Standardized Programming but no theme, no interviews, no lame attempts at me being funny. I just don't have it in me.

& yeah, I stole the above image for World Mental Health Day & removed the World. Sue me.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Sandwich Day

Never before has it felt more fortuitous for a program to be on during the noontime hour!

November 3 is National Sandwich Day & that's what we'll do doing - not just eating lots of sandwiches - which we always do during our show - it's lunchtime! - we'll also be reporting on & playing musical reports about sandwiches.

That's tomorrow - Sunday - from 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, & online everywhere at xray dot fm. Bring the chips, will ya?

This Week In Self Help (Oct 25 27 29 + 31)

On Friday last week I caught a cold. It happens. It wasn't covid thankfully! But I was laid out for most of Saturday having sudafed lunches with nyquil chasers.

However I got the cold, I was not sick when I subbed KBOO's The Songcircle last Friday. It was a lot of new releases. For some reason the show did not end up on the KBOO website. Luckily I recorded it & put it on the Self Help Radio website. Remember: you might need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

Sunday morning I was convinced the worst was behind me. It wasn't true but I foolishly made my way up to XRAY for this week's The Dickenbock Report. That show was sort of a Halloween show because it was National Black Cat Day. You can listen to that show on the XRAY website. Or you can listen on the Self Help Radio website. Remember: you might need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

My wife made me promise to rest & get better & not go up to KBOO on Monday night & infect everyone there. So I made the Halloween show - about scarecrows - from home. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website. Or you can listen on the Self Help Radio website. Remember: you might need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

The KBOO show contains an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming but it's a repeat of last week's episode. I just wasn't well enough to make another show. My apologies.

& Halloween is over, but I did manage to make a one-hour Halloween special - it's about zombies - for KBOO on Halloween night. You can listen to all five hours - 7pm to midnight - on the KBOO website. My hour aired from 9-10pm, & tho I haven't added the playlist to my website yet, you can can still download the show from there if you'd like. Remember: you might need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

That was fun to make. & I'm feeling a lot better now!

Scarecrow Movies

(image from Letterboxd)

Our resident cinephile Chuck came to the show this week to talk all about films tagged with "scarecrow" on the IMDb. You can listen to that show at selfhelpradio dot net if you haven't already & once you've heard Chuck's segment, check out these handy links which will enhance the experience:

YouTube playlists of films and trailers.

Here is Chuck's Letterboxd list. Here are his Letterboxd reviews.

(Chuck puts the links to available videos in the notes for the films plus where they are available to stream for free.)

Here is the IMDb keyword search list.

Chuck has a Twitter account & a Bluesky account where he has posted about some of the films. If you like what you see, follow him! He usually follows you back.

Keep an eye on those scarecrows in the field or decorating people's lawns on Halloween night - I wouldn't trust them.

Self Help Radio 102924: Halloween 2024 - Scarecrows!

As far as I know, no scarecrows sneaked out of the fields last night to murder unsuspecting families on their isolated farms. Could it be they were enchanted by an entire radio show about them? You're welcome!

Some believe the average scarecrow is mostly good & helpful, & that's what we explored in music & in interviews on this show early this morning. Perhaps it might be good to listen to the show on Halloween night when the kids have finished trick or treating & it's time for some shut-eye - after all, don't you have a little scarecrow decoration in your front yard? Maybe in the house? & it sometimes makes you feel uncomfortable? Hm?

You can listen to this show now or any time at either the KBOO web page or the Self Help Radio web page. If you choose the latter, you may need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access. In any event - be careful!

Everything that happened on the show is below. Happy Halloween!

Self Help Radio 241029 Halloween 2024 - Scarecrows!

"Scarecrow" Paul Robeson _The Complete EMI Sessions (1928-1939)_

"Scarecrow" Lazy Smoke _Corridor Of Faces_

"Scarecrow" Pink Floyd _The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn_

introduction & definitions

"Scarecrow's Love Affair" Blues Magoos _Basic Blues Magoos_

"Scarecrow" Blakewood Castle _The Best Of Franklin Records_

"The Scarecrow" June Tabor _Abyssinians_

"Scarecrow" James _Stutter_

interview with Scarecrow Killer survivor Leona Quinn

"Scarecrow" Siouxsie & The Banshees _Peepshow_

"Scarecrow" Eddi Reader _Eddi Reader_

"Rather Be A Scarecrow" Marbles _Pyramid Landing & Other Favorites_

"Scarecrow" Jumprope _From The Bullpen (...A Hey Buddy Compilation)_

"Scarecrow People" XTC _Oranges & Lemons_

interview with human scarecrow Liam Quarterman

"Scarecrow Man" Misfits _Famous Monsters_

"The Scarecrow" Circulus _The Lick On The Tip Of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent_

"Scarecrow" Hello, Blue Roses _The Portrait Is Finished & I Have Failed To Capture Your Beauty_

"Life Of The Fields" Momus _Otto Spooky_

interview with phobias specialist Dr. Louis Quayles

"Scarecrow" Emi Sunshine & The Rain _Family Wars_

"Scarecrow" The Scarecrows _The Scarecrows_

"I'm Building A Scarecrow" Hollow Horse _Leave Without Saying Goodbye_

"Scared Scare Crow" Caspar Babypants _Hot Dog!_

interview with activist Larry Queen, who seeks to ban scarecrows

"Scarecrow" Firehorse _Pills From Strangers_

"The Scarecrow" The Residents _Intruders_

"Scarecrow Hair & Saucer-Eyed" Martin Newell _Martin Newell's Jumble Sale_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by +
conclusion & goodbye

"Scarecrow Man" David Olney _When The Deal Goes Down_

Whither Scarecrows (Halloween 2024)?

That image above - is it a scarecrow? - from a display in the window of a neighborhood salon, Dye Dye My Darling. My wife insisted I take a picture to share with you for this show. I guess it's a scarecrow. It seems a mixture of alien & scarecrow. Which is a movie I'd like to see!

Yes, tonight is Self Help Radio's annual Halloween show & this year it's about scarecrows. I've tried to pick the spookier songs about scarecrows I can find but the subject matter lends itself often more toward the sad - a scarecrow is a pathetic figure, wearing cast-off clothes, standing forever alone in a field. Its one job to keep living things away from itself. Until it climbs down & murder everyone! & who can blame it?

That's tonight, midnight to 2am, on 90.7fm in Portland, online everywhere at kboo dot fm. That's right, it starts at the witching hour! I hope you're safe in your homes....

Preface To Scarecrows: Halloween Theme Dilemma

Self Help Radio has been on the air for over 22 years now. Every Halloween (except one) there's been a Halloween show. It's not that I love Halloween - I'm not really the "dressing up" kind - but I know you love Halloween. & there are lots of songs that fit into the Halloween framework. But because this is Self Help Radio & I'm me, I can't just do a general Halloween show every year. It has to be about something specific. & after two decades, I am probably running out of ideas. Yes, I've complained about this before.

To recap:
The first Self Help Radio in 2002 was a general Halloween show. I wasn't sure how long I'd be doing the show at that point & it hadn't quite come together anyway.

The next six shows (2003-2009, excluding 2004) were pretty straightforward Halloween subjects: ghosts, vampires, monsters, zombies, witches, & werewolves.
What happened in 2004? I think there was a band in town & I wanted to play them instead of doing a Halloween show.

I had to get a little creative from then on out.

2010-2013 was haunted houses, graveyards, nightmares, & hell.

2014 was mummies. I kinda saved that theme until I had run out of ideas. But had I?

No!

2015-2018 was clowns, death, black cats, & voodoo.

2019 was an entire show about Frankenstein's monster there was some related content in the monsters show from 2006.

2020 was called "attack of the self help radio" & featured lots of creatures as from science fiction movies using the phrase "attack of the..."
2021 I had a show about pumpkins. Not very scary, but Halloween-ish.

2022 I revisited a theme that should've been a Halloween show but now was: spiders.

& last year I came up with ghost towns but also not very scary.

This year it's scarecrows. I think it's a good idea. But I thought that about ghost towns. So. We'll see.

The lesson is, it always feels like I'm running out of ideas, until such time as I actually will.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Black Cat Day

How maligned are our dear friends, the black cats? How they fear Halloween & the constant insults, affronts, & calumnies thrown their way! It turns out that these wonderful creatures have their own national day, & while that is a small stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of returning them to the god-like status they enjoyed in ancient Egypt, it's ain't nothing!

Tune in tomorrow to the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM for a celebration of the black cat. It'll also double as a Halloween show! 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm.

If you feel at all like supporting the station that airs the Dickenbock Report while also showing your appreciation for hard-hitting news team, you can do so on this XRAY Pledge Drive Page!

This Week In Self Help (Oct 18 20 + 22)

It was a busy week. Let's see what happened.

Oh yeah. I subbed a show last Friday night. It's called Youth Randomonium & they let me even tho I am not a youth. Luckily I am random. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

The Dickenbock Report reported on International Chef Day. You can listen to that show on the XRAY website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

Self Help Radio this week was about kaleidoscopes. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

The last hour of the show was an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming. I played lots of new releases. It's included in the KBOO link above, but if you'd like to listen to the show on it's on, you can do so on the Self Help Radio website. One last time I tell you that you'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

& that was it? & it was too much? Oh dear.

Self Help Radio 10224: Kaleidoscopes

It's true, yesterday I bought a kaleidoscope. I bought if from here. It's a D-I-Y device, it has a little plastic end that's removable so you can put things there - glitter, pebbles, beads, etc. - to make your own kaleidoscopic images. Instead I just pointed it at things - like the Self Help Radio logo. Which is where the image above comes from.

The show was kaleidoscoptic though, man! Lots of tunes with a psychedelic edge. I also got to talk to some oddballs. But I did spend most of the show playing with my new kaleidoscope.

You can play too but listen along at the KBOO web page or at the Self Help Radio web page. If you use the latter, remember the username SHR + password selfhelp. Lots of songs played & lots of stuff happening during the show. Most of it is listed below.

Most of it? Yeah! Like a kaleidoscope this show has some surprises!

Self Help Radio Kaleidoscopes show

"Kaleidoscope" Kaleidoscope _Tangerine Dream_

"Kaleidoscope" Procol Harum _Procol Harum_

"Kaleidoscope" Factree _A Lethal Dose Of Hard Psych (Authentic Way Cool Sixties Artefacts)_

"Kaleidoscope" The Litter _$100 Fine_

introduction & definitions

"Kaleidoscoptic" Shiva's Headband _Take Me To The Mountains_

"Kaleidoscope" Glenn Yarbrough _Bend Down & Touch Me_

"Carousels, Calliopes, Kaleidoscopes, & Clowns" Him He & Me _Him He & Me_

"Kaleidoscope" The Marmalade _Reflections Of The Marmalade_

"Kaleidoscope" Simple Minds _Celebration_

interview with toymaker & innovator Yvan Goode

"Kaleidoscope" Rain Parade _Emergency Third Rail Power Trip_

"Kaleidoscope World" The Chills _Kaleidoscope World_

"Sad Kaleidoscope" Razorcuts _R Is For... Razorcuts_

"Kaleidoscope" Yellow Sunshine Explosion _Yellow Sunshine Explosion_

"Kaleidoscope" Ride _Nowhere_

interview with Officer Yale Gentle

"Kaleidoskop" Fliehende Stürme _Ziellose Wege (Singles & Samplerbeiträge 1989-1998)

"Kaleidoscope" Teenage Filmstars _Star_

"Kaleidoscope" Pink Noise Test _Plasticized_

"I Was A Kaleidoscope" Death Cab For Cutie _The Photo Album_

"Kaleidoscope" Ringo Deathstarr _Colour Trip_

interview with Kaleidoscope director Yvette Grayson

"Kaleidoscope Eyes" Fireflies _Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Moon_

"Kaleidoscope" Jill Cunniff _City Beach_

"Kaleidoscopes" Teenage Joans _The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest_

"Kaleidoscope" Sam Morton _Daffodils & Dirt_

"Kaleidoscope Eyes" Burnt Ones _Black Teeth & Golden Tongues_

conclusion & goodbye

"Kaleidoscope" The Boo Radleys _Learning To Walk_

"Kaleidoscope" Jellybeat _Don't Let Us Be Misunderstood_

"Kaleidoscopic Lovers" The Avalanches _Wildflower_

Whither Kaleidoscopes?

It seems like I used to have a few kaleidoscopes. In the 1990s, there was a toy store near campus, & at least three times someone gifted me a kaleidoscope. I found a kaleidoscope once in the halls of my high school. I just took it, I never told anyone. I kept it next to my stereo in my room. I seem to remember bringing it to college in 1986. But did I?

Like everyone else, I have several drawers in several places where stuff goes - stuff you thought you were storing, but you probably will never use again. There's one right next to me in my room. I'll bet there's a kaleidoscope in there. Maybe two. But it was a kaleidoscope I saw but didn't take home (I'm a better person now) at one of my radio stations that made me remember the kaleidoscopes I used to have. & it made me think, "Have a done a show about kaleidoscopes?" & also, "If I haven't, should I do a show about kaleidoscopes?"

That show happens tonight! From midnight to 2pm on 90.7fm in Portland & online at kboo dot fm. So many songs & some interviews involving kaleidoscopes. Like we do.

Preface To Kaleidoscopes: That Familiar Feeling

(This is a kaleidoscope? From here.)

It may seem like I keep detailed records for this show - this show that has been on for twenty-two years - & in fact I do keep a web page - this one here - where I list all the themes I've explored - on Self Help Radio & on the Dickenbock Report. I don't, but I do have some resources. Despite that, I sometimes plan & plan & plan for a theme & it turns out I've already explored it.

That brings us to kaleidoscopes. If you had asked me a year if I had done a Self Help Radio episode about kaleidoscopes, I would have said maybe? Or probably? Or I think so? With the question marks in the answers! But I can't find any record that I actually spent an entire show on kaleidoscopes. I have played the sixties bands Kaleidoscope & Kaleidoscope. I have played music from the Siouxsie & The Banshees record Kaleidoscope. & I have played (& will play on this show) the Chills' song "Kaleidoscope World." But none of my records suggest I have done a show with the theme "kaleidoscopes."

& yet I can't help feeling that I have. It's a weird thing. & no, I'm not going to compare it to a kaleidoscope, that's not what this is leading up to. Did you think I set this whole thing up to say something about "multiple reflections" or "fragments of thought being mixed up"? Shame on you! I wouldn't waste your time with such trite writing. I mean, isn't it obvious I put very little thought into these things I write?

Having said all that - I guess I have never done a show about kaleidoscopes. But I will! This Tuesday!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: International Chef Day

(comic from warandpeas.com)

October 20 is International Chef Day. Tomorrow on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM we'll talk about being a chef & play musical reports about chefs & cooking. We're also supposed to make Dick Dickenbock a seven-course meal but you don't need to know about that. It's pretty humiliating in fact.

Listen to the other stuff tho from noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm. Seriously, don't mention that stuff about trained journalists having to cook for their boss. We'd appreciate it.