This Week In Self Help (March 30 + April 1)

(image from the Wikipedia)

A reg'lar ol' week for me, with so many songs for Self Help Radio it expanded into Corporate Standardized Programming so it might as well have been just two shows. Anyway here they are:

The Dickenbock Report on XRAY was a show for National Pencil Day.
Listen on the XRAY website. Listen at Self Help Radio dot net.

Self Help Radio was an April Fools' Day show.
Listen on the KBOO website. Listen at Self Help Radio dot net.

Corporate Standardized Programming continued the April Foolery.

It's on the KBOO file above. Or listen by itself at Self Help Radio dot net.

That's all. That's all I did this week.

Oh. Did I mention if you listen to a file at the Self Help Radio website you might need a username & password? If you do, use SHR & selfhelp.

Now that's all.

Self Help Radio 040125: April Fools' Day

Happy April Fools' Day!

If you'll note the playlist below - & if you read the previous blog posts where I complained about how many songs that feature the word "fool" just in their title there are - you may note my solution to the problem was to play an hour of songs about April Fools' Day & then an hour where all the songs (but one) have the title "Fool" or "The Fool." What a fool I surely am.

Listen to the show because it's April Fools' Day at either the KBOO website or the Self Help Radio website. You'd be a fool not to know to use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio site. Lots of stuff happens on the show - most of it is listed below.

By the way I played another hour of songs just called "Fool" on the show after this one, which is part of the KBOO link above, & also on the Self Help Radio website. So there were actually three hours of April Fools' content.

Which almost feels like an April Fools' Day prank.

Self Help Radio April Fools' Day Show

"April, April Fool" The McGuire Sisters _Children's Holiday_

"April Fool" Audrey Morris _Bistro Ballads Sung By Audrey Morris_

"April Fool" Matt Monro _Love Is The Same Anywhere_

"April Fool's Day" Marty Robbins _Country 1960-1966_

"The April Fools" Dionne Warwick _The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits_

"April Fool" Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane _Rough Mix_

"April's Fool" Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell Present Kort _Invariable Heartache_

"April Fool" Readeez _Songeez_

"April Fool" Brave Combo _Holidays!_

Carla tells us about April Fools' Day at a retirement village

"April Fool" Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally _House & Garden_

"April Fool" Patti Smith _Banga_

"April Fools" The Fresh & Onlys _House Of Spirits_

"April Fool" Duncan Reid & The Big Heads _Little Big Head_

"April Fools (Live)" Al Madrigal _Live From D.C._

"April Fool's Day" Moonchild Sanelly _Phases_

Mr. Kershaw tells us about April Fools' Day among third graders

"Fool" Johnny Kendall & The Heralds _On The Move_

"Fool" The Stingrays Of Newburgh _Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 3: Stay Out Of My World_

"Fool" Blue Cheer _Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970_

"Fool" Trees _Anthems In Eden (An Anthology Of British & Irish Folk 1955-1978)_

"Occupation: Foole" George Carlin _Occupation: Foole_

"The Fool" Ludus _Pickpocket/Danger Came Smiling_

Cyrus tells us about an April Fools' Day prank

"Fool" All _Allroy's Revenge_

"Fool" The Bloody Marys _Sixteen Hail Marys: The Best Of The Bloody Marys 1985-2004_

"Fool" Blur _Leisure_

"The Fool" The Hit Parade _The Sound Of The Hit Parade_

"The Fool" Call & Response _Call & Response_

"Fool" Cat Power _You Are Free_

conclusion & goodbye

"The Fool" Richard Thompson _1000 Years Of Popular Music_

"The Fool" Ghost Society _The Back Of His Hands, Then The Palms_

Whither Fool?

(image from here)

Holy wow I think this is the first time in over 22 years that there's been an episode of Self Help Radio on April 1st! I've done radio shows on this day, but not Self Help Radio. What are the odds?

Also I have done a radio show with the theme "fool." It was in the show's first year. On April 2. So it didn't make a lot of sense.

It seemed the right idea to revisit the theme on this April 1 because I hadn't done a show for April Fool's Day in decades but as I mentioned yesterday I have hundreds of songs whose titles mention the word "fool." As a noun. Excluding verb & adjective uses. & there was no real way I could listen to all those songs & it would've felt weird to just pick out my favorites & ones I was very familiar with - which would've meant a lot from the 2003 show. So. I've divided the show in two. The first hour will feature songs about April Fool's Day. The second will feature songs with the title "Fool" or "The Fool." There are so many of those they'll doubtless bleed into the show Corporate Standardized Programming.

Three hours of fool-ishness. Midnight to 3am. Tonight (or tomorrow, which is April Fool's Day). On 90.7fm in Portland, & online at KBOO dot fm.

& you know this is not an April Fool because I am writing it on March 31st duh.

Preface To Fools: Uh Oh

Image of course by the excellent Poorly Drawn Lines.

Listen. I just discovered I have over one hundred songs to listen to for this show.

That's a day's worth of songs.

Seems like I'm gonna be busy.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Pencil Day

(image by Proidemtes)

March 30 is National Pencil Day. Wow, it's been a while since I used a pencil. I probably should find a pencil to use for this show. Where in the world would there be a pencil in this house? Do I need to go buy a pencil? I should go buy a pencil. I'll have a pencil for the show. I have it behind my ear the entire time. I promise.

That's tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, from noon to 1pm, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm. Yeah, I'll need to go buy a pencil, I can't find any around here.

This Week In Self Help (March 21 23 + 25)

So I typed "silhouette" into my search window & this is one of the images it came up with. A creepy dark silhouette series of - what? The answer is - people gathered for a fireworks show in my Fort Worth neighborhood in 2017. It was dark, we could barely see anything, & my camera always sucks. My wife hated it so we didn't stick around but I did try to take some pictures - like the one above.

My week in radio starts a week ago. Do I need to remind you if you go to a link on the show's webpage, selfhelpradio dot net, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp? No? Just in case, it's there if you need it.

The Songcircle I subbed a week ago. Here it on the KBOO website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

The Dickenbock Report reported on Near Miss Day. Here it is on the XRAY website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Self Help Radio had the theme "silhouettes." Here it is on the KBOO website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Corporate Standardized Programming played lots of new releases. It is part of the Self Help Radio link on KBOO above, but if you'd like to listen to it alone, here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Finally, I helped a fellow deejay, DJ Shoeless Joe Jackson, make a special show for Freeform Portland during their fundraiser - click here to help. You can listen to the show on the Spinitron website for at least two weeks, or you can listen on the Self Help Radio website.

Seriously, though, I really am trying to not bother you so much on the radio. Really.

Self Help Radio 032525: Silhouettes

That silhouette up there - of the cat, not the Self Help Radio logo which has rudely attached itself to the other silhouette - is named Aubrey. Somewhere in the show is a story about her. I'm not going to tell you where. Because I am a little embarrassed about the stuff I create for the show & don't want to draw attention to it.

Also the show includes technical difficulties. This has happened on my last two KBOO programs. I keep forgetting to mention it to people at the station who might be able to fix it. But oh well. I don't know if it hurts the listening enjoyment, mainly because I'm not sure if anyone actually enjoys listening to my show.

The show! Oh yeah! You can listen to it at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Everything that happens on the show is below. Except the story about Aubrey The Silhouette. Although I'll tell you now. It's after the Call & Response song.

& now to the playlist.

Self Help Radio Silhouettes Show

"Silhouetted In The Moonlight (vocal, Martha Tilton)" Benny Goodman Trio _The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings_

"A Cigarette & A Silhouette (with Red Norvo & His Orchestra)" Mildred Bailey _The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Mildred Bailey_

"Miss Silhouette" The Volumes _The Golden Era Of Doowops: The Groups Of Chex Records_

introduction & definitions

"Dancing Silhouettes" Thurston Harris _Little Bitty Pretty One: Complete Early Recordings_

"Silhouette Of My Dream" Ricky Morvan & The Fens _The Story Of Ricky Morvan & The Fens_

"Silhouettes" Andy Griffith _The Wit & Wisdom Of Andy Griffith_

"Heartbreak In Silhouette" Jim Reeves _Chronological Classics 1962-1963_

"Silhouette" Marlo & Lutia Lauzon _Marlo & Lutia Lauzon_

interview with author Roderick Nelson

"Silhouette" Razorcuts _Storyteller_

"Silhouette Town" East River Pipe _Goodbye California_

"Silhouette" Call & Response _Winds Take No Shape_

"Silhouette" Nasmak _Silhouette_

"We Will Become Silhouettes" Postal Service _Give Up_

interview with director Matt Sherman

"The Moon Turns Branches To Silhouettes" Trembling Blue Stars _Little Darla Has A Treat For You Volume 25: Endless Summer 2007-08_

"Just A Silhouette" Exlovers _You Forget So Easily_

"Silhouette" Julia Holter _Have You In My Wilderness_

"Silhouette" Le Couleur _Concorde_

"Silhouette City (ft. Andreas Gregor)" Datafreq _Fun For The Whole Family_

silhouette making workshop Ned Dry & McCheese interrupt

"Moonlit Silhouette" Henry & The Bleeders _This Is Psychobilly (25 Years Of Rockin' & Wreckin')_

"Silhouette" Ceremony _Rocket Fire_

"Silhouettes" Viet Cong _Viet Cong_

"The Sea In Silhouette" Roselit Bone _Ofrenda_

"Silhouettes (feat. Veronique Vincent)" Aksak Maboul _Figures_

conclusion & goodbye

"Pseudo Silhouette" Placebo _England's Trance_

Whither Silhouettes?

(image from here)

Tonight's Self Help Radio has the theme "silhouettes." You probably know what a silhouette is. It's an image. What comes from the radio is sound. Sometimes that sound includes voices which talk about images. In that case you have to use your brain to create the images in your mind.

Nothing I am saying right now is new, of course. But I saw a series of silhouettes in someone's backyard a month or two ago & my brain started thinking about songs about silhouettes. It seemed like such an interesting thing to use words & music about a subject matter that was so specifically visual. In a sense, letting you hear a silhouette.

That led to tonight's show. Which is on midnight to 2am on 90.7fm here in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. If you're around. & wanna listen.

Preface To Silhouettes: Silhouette Spring

That picture above was taken with a pretty cheap & terrible digital camera on April 9, 2015. Nearly ten years ago. How different my life was then! I mean, I was doing Self Help Radio, & I was married to the love of my life, & I was surrounded by wonderful animals I loved too much. But.

Ten years later, I've lost half of those animals. I have three left, & they're oldies now. I'm doing Self Help Radio but twenty-five hundred miles to the west. The only constant is the love of my life, & she's the reason I have all the animals - she helps me care for them - & why I no longer live where that picture was taken.

Sometimes I think the dumb pictures I take are a little like diary entries but that picture above brings back no memories - I have no idea where in Lexington, Kentucky, where I was living at the time, it was taken. Just that it was taken at a lovely time of year - spring. My favorite time in Lexington!

The tree is in silhouette, it's true, not the blossoming leaves tho. But the picture is not called "Silhouette Tree." It's called "Silhouette Spring." It's poetical. Or pretentious, anyway.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Near Miss Day

(image from here)

March 23 is Near Miss Day - according to National Today dot com, "People around the world celebrate this day to be grateful that [an] asteroid didn't wipe us out!"

Perhaps that was written before the current political situation, but even if that's the case, we at the Dickenbock Report still feel we can report dispassionately about asteroids & meteors coming at us, threatening our destruction.

So we shall, tomorrow, noon to 1pm, on 91.1+ 107.1fm in Portland, online at xray dot fm.

Although if I were an asteroid, landing on Earth on Near Miss Day would be pretty cool.

This Week In Self Help (March 16 18 + 20)

A dumb announcement. I was on the radio a bit more than regularly this week. What happened? I'll tell you. But remember: if you click on any link for the Self Help Radio website, you may be asked for a username & password - try SHR & selfhelp.

The Dickenbock Report reported on Lips Appreciation Day. Listen on XRAY. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Self Help Radio was my eighth episode of the chronological appearances of Howard Gently on the show. Listen on KBOO. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Corporate Standardized Programming featured more artists we lost. It's on the KBOO file above. Listen to the show by itself at Self Help Radio.

Finally yesterday I helped my pal DJ Pete Rose (Not That Pete Rose) do a show on Freeform. Eclectic like they do. Listen over at Spinitron (for a couple weeks). Listen at Self Help Radio.

& I'll be hosting the Songcircle today but I'll post that next week.

Current radio fundraisers:
KBOO's All Thrills No Frills 4   +   Freeform Portland's Spring Fundraiser

Please help if you can.

Self Help Radio 031825: Howard Gently Year Four

Here it is, the eighth collection of improvised radio interviews performed by my friend Russell as "the Rev Dr Howard Gently" & me as "the mark." It's a very strange experience listening to these because I haven't since pretty much we recorded them - eight years ago! - & because of course I am hearing the voice of a friend I miss very much. Over & over I am impressed with how quick Russ is on his feet - when I bring up a collections agency calling me, he does not miss a beat - he confirms he's hired someone to collect my delinquent "donations." He was magnificent.

We had a lot of fun with what a weasel Howard Gently was. When he talks up a "Fates Ahoy!" cruise, I keep bringing it up in subsequent weeks, & his story changes every time. Poor me! I am trying to book a room on the cruise & the dates change even within the same conversation. I actually sound disappointed when he tells me I missed the cruise!

As you can see below, the segments are from 2017. I paired a song from the original show with the interview so it wouldn't be too talky. & I tried myself to talk as little as possible in-between. I am sad that one day I'll run out of these interviews. But I am glad we have a few more years to cover before that happens.

Listen to the show at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. For the latter, username SHR & password selfhelp may be helpful. The list of songs + bits is below. I truly hope you find this as funny & brilliant as I do.

Self Help Radio Howard Gently Year Four

"Human Race" Russell Miles _Human Race_ (Self-Released, 1986)

"Apple Scruffs" George Harrison _All Things Must Pass_ (Apple, 1970)

Howard Gently on the theme "Apples"

"Sweetheart Darling" Rose Batiste _Ladies Of Detroit Sound Vol. 1_ (Bar, 1997)

Howard Gently on the theme "Valentine's Day 2017"

"The Killing Moon" Echo & The Bunnymen _Ocean Rain_ (Sire, 1984)

Howard Gently on the theme "Fate"

"Spirit In The Sky" Norman Greenbaum _Super Hits Of The '70s - Have A Nice Day, Vol. 2_ (Rhino, 1990)

Howard Gently on the theme "In The Sky"

"Maybe You're Right" Cat Stevens _Mona Bone Jakon_ (A&M, 1970)

Howard Gently on the theme "Maybe"

"Ferris Wheel" Barbara Keith _Barbara Keith_ (Verve Forecast, 1969)

Howard Gently on the theme "Ferris Wheels"

"We Had A Really Smashing Time" The Hangovers _Slow Dirty Tears_ (Kill Rock Stars, 1998)

Howard Gently on the theme "Smash"

"Whales Tails" Cocteau Twins _Victorialand_ (4AD, 1986)

Howard Gently on the theme "Tails"

"Future Legend/Diamond Dogs" David Bowie _Diamond Dogs_ (RCA Victor, 1974)

Howard Gently on the theme "Diamonds"

"Bus Stop" The Hollies _Bus Stop_ (Imperial, 1966)

Howard Gently on the theme "Umbrellas"

"Johnny" Suicide _Suicide_ (Red Star, 1977)

Howard Gently on the theme "Johnny"

Howard Gently on the theme "Firsts"

"One Of These Things First" Nick Drake _Bryter Layter_ (Island, 1971)

Whither Howard Gently Year Four?

Tonight on the program I continue a tribute to a dear friend whom we lost almost two years ago. His name was Russell & he was very funny & for years he appeared on Self Help Radio on my "spiritual mentor" the Rev Dr Howard Gently. These bits were improvised around the show's theme, of course, & since Russell's death I've been playing them about every three months in chronological order.

This time around we'll begin with his 79th appearance on the show, which aired February 1, 2017. & I'll play a song from that show as well - one I hope Russell would approve of. & I'll talk a bit & hopefully not start crying & hope instead you'll focus on how funny he was, & how utterly committed he was to the bit.

That's tonight from midnight to 2am on KBOO. Which is on 90.7fm in Portland, & at kboo dot fm everywhere.

Here's a reminder that we're in our fundraising campaign & there are lots of specials so click here to listen to what's already happened & see what's coming up - & to donate of course. Thank you!

Preface To Howard Gently Year Four: Big Country

(image from Discogs)

This week on the show I am continuing my remembrance/celebration of my dear friend Russell whom we lost nearly two years ago. He appeared for years on Self Help Radio in improvised bits as my "spiritual mentor" The Rev Dr Howard Gently. I have almost finished his first three years as the character - he always felt we would run out of funnies with him but we never did.

& it's funny when you think about a person & their obsessions & what delighted them. Russ was utterly blown away by the debut album by Big Country. When it came out he was in his sophomore year in high school & I in my freshman year. & he all but made me go out & buy it. He talked about it endlessly, saw the band when they made it through Dallas, & followed them up until lead singer/songwriter Stuart Adamson's death.

What made me think about them is the song I'll play at the beginning of the show, a Russell original which has a Big Country-like guitar sound. I have so many memories of Russell talking about the album & its songs - there's one song where Adamson sings something like "aay yee yi yo" & Russell would joke about how educational the song was, seeing as it taught you all the vowels, & he would jokingly sing "aay yee yi yo yu sometimes y."

But perhaps the most poignant memory is what he wrote in my high school yearbook that year. I don't have the yearbook in front of me but I can remember it pretty clearly. He probably referred to me as "Dicker-bud," which was a kind of nickname he gave me, but almost certainly he wrote something like, "Remember, in the words of Big Country, 'stay alive.'"

Gosh I miss him so much.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Lips Appreciation Day

(Image by Alastair Philip Wiper from here)

March 16 is Lips Appreciation Day. Many, if not all, XRAY listeners have lips. This seems to be true for a large portion of the United States population as well. We do not have reliable data about the rest of the world.

Since even Dick Dickenbock has lips - at least one functioning lip anyway - we thought it a good idea to report on Lips Appreciation Day on this week's Report.

That's tomorrow, Sunday, March 16, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. As always, kisses will be optional.