Self Help Radio 062326: Beyond

Self Help Radio went beyond this week! Not really. Just played a lot of songs with "beyond" in the title. You can't say Self Help Radio is a creative show but you can agree we're literal!

There's also interview with a couple who say they're evolved beyond human & a dodgy dude who runs a place called Above & Beyond, plus our favorite cinephile returns to the show after being away for a year! So you'll have fun. I hope. I think. Maybe?

Listen to the show on the KBOO web page or on the Self Help Radio web page. Most everything I did on the show is noted below.

See you when you're back from beyond!

Self Help Radio Beyond Show

"Beyond Belief" Elvis Costello & The Attractions _Imperial Bedroom_

"One Step Beyond..." Madness _One Step Beyond..._

"Beyond & Back" X _Wild Gift_

introduction & definitions

"The World Beyond" Swamp Dogg _Total Destruction To Your Mind_

"Beyond The Rising Sun" Tyrannosaurus Rex _Strange Orchestra_

"Beyond The Autumn" De Tian _Messthetics # 8: UK '77-82 D.I.Y. Bands: 'D'_

"The Point Beyond Which Something Will Happen" Single Gun Theory _Flow, River Of My Soul_

"She Is Beyond Good & Evil" The Pop Group _Y_

interview with Marty & Tina

"On Beyond Zagnut" Silly Pillows _New Affection_

"Beyond The Sea" Glo-Worm _Glimmer_

"Beyond Their Law" Robert Forster _Calling From A Country Phone_

"Beyond The Door" Dump _I Can Hear Music_

"Beyond Comprehension" Gang Starr _Step In The Arena_

our favorite cinephile Chuck stops by!

"Beyond The Reef" The Autocollants _Why Couldn't Things Just Stay The Same?_

"1914 & Beyond" Cats On Fire _All Blackshirts To Me_

"Beyond The River" The Cansecos _Little Darla Has A Treat For You (Indian Summer 2004 Vol. 22)_

"Bored Beyond Oblivion" Monster Movie _Everyone Is A Ghost_

"Music Is The Voice From Beyond" Electronic Corporation _Construction Deconstruction_

interview with George Daly

"The Walls Beyond Abandon" The Chills _Scatterbrain_

"The Land Beyond" British Sea Power _Open Season_

"Beyond Good & Evil" Crime & The City Solution _American Twilight_

"Beyond Metropolis" Shriekback _Without Real String Or Fish_

conclusion & goodbye

"Beyond Control" The Dream Syndicate _Ultraviolet Battle Hymns & True Confessions_

Whither Beyond?

Yes, I know that's another terrible picture of the moon I've taken. I don't really have lots of pictures of whatever "beyond" means. Beyond is mainly a preposition. Although I guess people do talk about The Great Beyond. But I don't have any pictures of that, either. You can't take cameras there. I'm assuming.

This show was a request. Someone texted me not too long ago & said they liked songs with the word beyond in them. Beyond Belief & One Step Beyond were two they mentioned. I said okay, I'll make a show with beyond as a theme. See how easy that is? & I only get like one or two requests for a theme a year! You people I swear.

Midnight to 2am. KBOO 90.7fm in Portland, kboo dot fm everywhere. Except in the Great Beyond. If they don't let you have cameras there, they're not going to let you have radios.

Preface To Beyond: Death & Beyond

(image from Reddit)

The student asked, "Is this all there is?"
The teacher said, "What?"
"This life," said the student, "is this all there is?"

The teacher looked perturbed. "Well," she said, "what else would there be?"
The student, trying not to be a bother said, "I guess I think there might something beyond life?"
"Beyond life?" the teacher responded, in a kind of loud & offended tone.

"Sorry," said the student sheepishly.
"No, no," the teacher said sarcastically, "tell me, what could possibly be beyond this life?"
The student had fear in her eyes. She said, "Um, heaven?"

"Heaven!" the teacher said. "Heaven!" she said again as if to make some kind of point.

"Okay, I get it," the student said.
"What do you get?" the teacher retorted brusquely.
"I get," said the student, "that this is not the sort of school where open-ended philosophical questions are welcomed as a sign of free inquiry, that the teachers here are more likely to hew to close-minded ways of thinking which perhaps they might find threatening or offensive."

The teacher rolled her eyes. "You know," she said, "this is a massage school, right?"

The student looked a bit sheepish. "I have lots of questions," she said.

"Jesus fucking Christ," the teacher said. "Can we talk about muscles or something instead?"
The student got weirdly wide-eyed. "What if," she said, "there is something beyond muscles?"
The teacher put her head in her hands & wept silently.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Arizona Day

(image found here)

June 21st is National Arizona Day! So let's go to Arizona on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. But let's not really go to Arizona. It's already unbearably hot there. We'll stay in comfortable Portland & talk about Arizona & play musical reports about Arizona but we don't really need to go there.

That's tomorrow, Sunday, June 21st, from 11am to 1pm on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm in town & xray dot fm everywhere - even in Arizona, where it's so hot radios actually melt.

This Week In Self Help: June 14 + 16

Did I take that picture of cacti in the desert? Let's pretend I did. This is what I did this week.

June 14th was Flag Day. I played flag songs & talked about Flag Day on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. You can listen to that show here.

On June 16th, there was an episode of Self Help Radio on KBOO with the theme "The Desert." You can listen to that show here. Or you can listen to that show here.

Also on June 16th, there was an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO in which I continued Self Help Radio's theme by playing instrumental songs about the desert. You can listen to that show here (after Self Help Radio). Or you can listen to that show here.

That's that!

Self Help Radio 061626: The Desert

These was a heat advisory in Portland this weekend - it got hotter than usual - & it was totally a coincidence that Self Help Radio had the theme "the desert." In case anyone thought I was summoning that hot weather. Nope! I did my time in Texas. I want to live where it's mostly chilly most of the time from now on!

It was fine to spend two hours in the desert tho. You can too! You can listen to the show over at the KBOO website & also at the Self Help Radio website. Most everything that happened on the show is listed below. Just be safe out there. It's the desert after all!

Self Help Radio Desert Show

"Sleepy Desert" Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles _Gastonia Gallop: Cotton Mill Songs & Hillbilly Blues_

"California Desert Blues" Lane Hardin _The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes Of Country Blues_

"The Desert Song" Kitty Carlisle & Wilbur Evans _The Desert Song_

introduction & definitions

"Lonesome Desert (with The Flairs)" Young Jessie _Don't Happen No More_

"Desert Pete" The Kingston Trio _Sunny Side_

"Night Time On The Desert" Marty Robbins _The Chronogical Classics 1965-1966_

"Desert Rain" Jim Pipkin _Time Is Talking_

"Queen Of The Desert" Jenny Don't & The Spurs _Fire On The Ridge_

interview with survivalist Sam Withers

"Uncle Willie's Desert Museum" Russell Miles _Uncle Willie's Desert Museum_

"The Desert" Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers _It's Time For_

"Time In The Desert" The Go-Betweens _Tallulah_

"Desert Blues" Barrence Whitfield with Tom Russell _Cowboy Mambo_

"Desert Kisses" Siouxsie & The Banshees _Kaleidoscope_

interview with celebrity chef Curt Alderman

"Soul Desert" Can _The Singles_

"Burning In The Desert Burning" The Mekons _Natural_

"Soul Desert" Julian Cope _Jehovahkill_

"Desert Shore" Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time _Runout Groove_

"Desert Bundles" The Bundles _The Bundles_

our favorite librarian Carole stops by

"Desert" Novella _Change Of State_

"Desert Wildflowers" Squirrel Flower _Planet (I)_

"Fire In Desert" Anna Westin _Lev_

"Desert Nights" Sofia Talvik _Center Of The Universe_

conclusion & goodbye

"My Desert" The Jazz Butcher _A Scandal In Bohemia_

"Desert Fun" The Mayfair Set _The Mayfair Set_

Whither The Desert?

That picture above is from Utah. It was taken a little over seven years ago, as we moved from Texas to Oregon, in May of 2019. I shared it on Facebook around that time & of course it came back to me recently as a Facebook memory & I got to thinking about Utah. A goodly portion of Utah is desert & in fact I've camped there, almost thirty years ago, in both Arches & Canyonlands National Parks. I have spent the night in the desert! & it got very cold.

Looking at those pictures - & digging up some others - made me think I should do a show about the desert. & now, about a month later, I guess I'm ready. Ready to spend two more hours in the desert in the middle of the night. I think I'll dress better this time around.

Self Help Radio's show about the desert is on KBOO tonight from midnight to 2am. Listen in Portland at 90.7fm & listen everywhere - maybe even in the desert - at kboo dot fm.

PS Our membership drive continues! If you can help, visit here.

Preface To The Desert: Do I Have Any Pictures Of The Desert?

No, but I have a picture of a palm tree. I know, they're not unique to deserts. But I guess I don't go to many deserts. So why do a show about deserts? I'll tell you tomorrow.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Flag Day

Sunday, June 14, is Flag Day in the United States. But did you know other nations have flags? It's true! Therefore on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM, we'll talk about & play musical reports about - well, mainly the American flag, but also all kinds of flags.

Remember! The Dickenbock Report airs now from 11am to 1pm only on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere.

Dick Dickenbock wants you to hear his idea for the tagline for the show this week:
Rally round the Dickenbock Report on Flag Day this year!

This Week In Self Help: June 7 9 + 11

Look! The moon has a halo! I talked about this on one of my radio shows. Which one? Here's what I di this past week, you can guess.

On June 7 the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM has a show about volcanoes. Why? Listen to the show to find out! Listen at the XRAY website.

On June 9 Self Help Radio on KBOO had a show with the theme "haloes." Listen at the KBOO website. Or listen at the Self Help Radio website.

Also on June 9 Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO played lots of new releases. Listen at the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio). Or listen at the Self Help Radio website.

On June 11on XRAY I subbed the show Welcome To Your Good Day & played lots of stuff. Listen at the XRAY website.

The moon is in the waning crescent phase right now so there are no haloes to see. But maybe I'll sneak out in the early morning to catch a glimpse. But probably not.

Self Help Radio 060926: Haloes

Gosh, I don't know what else I can say about haloes that I haven't already said. I had waaay too many songs about haloes & lots of them were a little longish. But that didn't stop me from playing my faves! I also talked to people who can see halos, to an artist who paints halos on things he's not supposed to, & to a friend who claims he likes the video game Halo.

All that's left to say is that you can listen to the show on the KBOO website & also on the Self Help Radio website. & that most of the stuff you will hear is listed below.

Also, my wife doesn't like stories about haloes. She is mean about it, too.

Self Help Radio Haloes Show

"Is That Your Halo" The Rock Shop _Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 4: Experiment In Color_

"Halos Are For Angels" Blanche Carter _The Wigan Casino Story Volume Three (The Final Chapter)_

"Rusty Old Halo" Hodges, James, & Smith _Power In Your Love_

introduction & definitions

"Halo Fading" The Chills _Soft Bomb_

"Haloes" House Of Love _Audience With The Mind_

"Halo" Mad Scene _A Trip Thru Monsterland_

"Shallow Then Halo" Cocteau Twins _Garlands_

interview with Brother Matthew & Sister Jane

"Halo Flaming Lead" Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel _Sink_

"Hammer The Halo" The Wolfgang Press _Standing Up Straight_

"Halo Bender" The Halo Benders _Don't Tell Me Now_

"Halo Of Fire" Lydia Ainsworth _Sparkles & Debris_

interview with my friend Jarvis

"Halo Mary" Robyn Hitchcock _There Goes The Ice_

"Smoke Ring For My Halo" Kurt Vile _Smoke Ring For My Halo_

"Halo" Starstreamer _Going Against Maz's Advice_

"Chrome Halo" Shiva Burlesque _Mercury Blues_

"Halo" Texas _White On Blonde_

interview with street artist Spanksy

"Halo Coming Down" Walker Kong _Transparent Life_

"Broken Halo" Dot Dash _Half-Remembered Dream_

"Heroes & Halos" The High Violets _Heroes & Halos_

"Black Halo" Black Pistol Fire _Look Alive_

"Halo" Alice Phoebe Lou _Shelter_

conclusion & goodbye

"Halo" Kicking Giant _Halo_

"The Golden Halo" Cloud Nothings _Final Summer_

Whither Haloes?

(image from here)

You might think that the idea for a radio show about haloes came from wandering around the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam & seeing lots of paintings of Jesus & other folks - like the one above, although that one is not in the Rijksmuseum - sporting all kinds of haloes. You would be mistaken.

The idea for this show came from a sketch or something comedic I was thinking about, about a "street artist" who wants to paint haloes on famous paintings, both in public & in museums. He wants to keep his identity a secret, & pretends it's a secret, but he tries to paint a halo on the Mona Lisa & gets arrested so everyone knows who he really is. The sketch idea went nowhere (like most of my ideas) but it did encourage me to do a show about haloes. & who knows? That street artist may even turn up on the show!

It happens midnight to 2am on KBOO - which is at 90.7fm on the dial in Portland, & all over the world online at kboo dot fm.

It's also our Spring/Summer Membership Drive so if you can help, we would greatly appreciate it. Go to this page to become a member of KBOO!

Preface To Haloes: A Childhood Memory

(comic by Easterby)

This is a story I'm sure I've told before but since almost noone reads this blog it's fine if I tell it again. But first I want to tell you that it's been a constant in my life that the things that I have wanted to believe have butted up against the things that are. This is not much of a problem for many people, who are able to contextualize their experiences so reality corresponds with what they believe - whether they've chosen to believe it, or whether it was indoctrinated in them somehow. No judgements - I'm almost certain they're happier than I am.

When I was six, my mother - who was German - took me, my little brother, & I believe one of my older brothers, Ralph, to Germany. It was an experience for which I was wholly unprepared. I mean, I was six. Another country? What the fuck?

For example, I remember being fucking terrified at seeing men walking around with military-grade weapons - I guess whatever the equivalent of AK-47s was at the time - at the airport. It is a memory that came back to me when, just two weeks ago, I arrived at the Berlin airport on my way home to see soldiers patrolling the space with such weaponry just as they did fifty-some-odd years ago.

One thing I was excited about was the flight. If there was one thing I was almost certain I knew, it was that angels lived on top of the clouds. You couldn't see them from down below - of course not! don't be stupid! - they were on top of the clouds. I felt, at age six, I had seen so many pictures of angels on clouds (probably not photos but, again, I was six years old) that they must be there. I pictured not whole cities of angels - although why not? - but rather the occasional angel here & there, plying their wares. I don't know if I imagined harps or other such things, but I knew I would know them by their wings - & white robes - & their haloes.

Because angels had haloes. I am fifty-two years removed from that little dumbass so I can't explain what I might have been thinking but I do have a memory of looking out of the window of the plane - my mother had the window seat, I think, so I had to clamber over her - & saw clouds as far as the eye could see - all strikingly bereft of angels. Did I check now & again to see if maybe angels congregated in other spaces? I don't recall. But it was perhaps one of the first times - if not the first - the world took something I thought was almost certainly true & said back to me, "Nope."

For many people at age six, a question to an adult might have resolved the issue: "No, dear, angels are in heaven not on tops of clouds." But I didn't confide in anyone my disappointment because my family had a way of making me feel stupid when I was wrong ("You thought what? Are you fucking stupid?"). Therefore I kept these observations & revelations to myself. But I'm pretty sure from that point forward I came to think there were no such things as angels.

& maybe haloes too?

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Volcanoes!

(image from the Wikipedia)

Starting on June 7, 1991, at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, "the first magmatic eruptions took place with the formation of a lava dome at the summit of the volcano" (according to the Wikipedia). Thus began the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. To commemorate that event 35 years later, the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM will report on volcanoes.

Remember! The Report is now inexplicably two hours long! Listen from 11am to 1pm on XRAY - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere.

Dick Dickenbock wants me to tell you, "It'll be a blast!" I told him I would not say that.

This Week In Self Help: May 29 + 31 & June 2

That's a picture from a long time ago. I think during the early days of the pandemic. A house in our neighborhood that was being renovated. They had just replaced the windows. So I titled the image "replaced the windows." It was one of the few images I had that I might use for a radio show with the theme "replacement." I didn't use it until now. What was this all about? Oh yeah the radio shows I did this past week.

A week ago, May 29, I was on The Songcircle on KBOO with a show featuring lots of new releases. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website.

On May 31st, it was the first two-hour episode of The Dickenbock Report on XRAY in its current timeslot. We reported on National Smile Day. You can listen to that show on the XRAY website.

On June 2nd, Self Help Radio on KBOO had a show with the theme "replacement." You can listen to that show on the Self Help Radio website or on the KBOO website.

Also on June 2nd, Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO played music by artists we lost in January of 2026. You can listen to that show on the Self Help Radio website or on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio).

That's that!