This Week In Self Help: October 4 6 + 8

You can tell by the unopened packages of individually sliced vegan cheeses that it's time for me to tell you the dumb radio I made this past week. Why are they stored by the window tho?

Sunday 10/4 Dickenbock Report XRAY. National Vodka Day. Listen here.

Tuesday 10/6 Self Help Radio KBOO. Anniversary show! The theme "cheese" revisited. Listen here. Or you can download the show here.

Tuesday 10/6 Corporate Standardized Programming KBOO. New releases. Listen here (after Self Help Radio). Or you can download the show here.

Thursday 10/8 Welcome To Your Good Day XRAY. A sub show. Listen here.

Maybe I'm trying to see if vegan cheese can melt?

Self Help Radio 100626: Cheese Revisited - The 24th Anniversary Show

24 years! That's a lot of cheese.

Luckily I keep myself very busy or else it might be weird to ponder twenty-four years of this nonsense. When I was a kid, I could never finish anything - I had dozens of home-made comics I started but never go to the end - & these were just four pages! (One piece of paper folder in half.) (I liked making the cover most of all.) So doing this one thing for 24 years - who the hell knows how many episodes - it's something like an achievement I guess.

Anyway, if you wanna listen to this show you can visit the show's page at KBOO or download the file by clicking here. Most everything that happened on the show is below.

Fingers crossed I won't be doing this twenty-four more years. Eeek.

Self Help Radio Cheese Anniversary Show

"I Like Stinky Cheese" Dick 'Two Ton' Baker _The Music Maker Of Chicago_

"(I Got A Disease) I'm Addicted To Cheese" Evaporators _Ripple Rock_

"I Like Cheese" The Cheese Band _Party Fun With Recorders Volume 1_

introduction & old audio clip - featuring Kim & Phillip

"The Cheese Song" Kirk Moore _Top Hits_

"Cheese" Cyril Ornadel & Hal Shaper _Treasure Island_

"The Cheese Song" Mick Kolassa _Americana Essentials_

"Cheese Shop" Monty Python _The Monty Python Matching Tie & Handkerchief_

"Cheese & Crackers" The Two Man Gentlemen Band _Two At A Time_

"Cheese & Crackers" Rosco Gordon _Rosco's Rhythm_

interview with Maxine & Stewart, former Cheese Kids

"Limburger Lover" Leona Anderson _Music To Suffer By_

"The Cheese Song" Bubboon's Tunes _The Kids Corner: 20th Anniversary Celebration_

"Cheese, Peas, Pickles, & Bananas" Nora O'Connor & Steve Frisbie _The Bottle Let Me Down (Songs For Bumpy Wagon Rides)_

"Bunnyrabbits, Satan, Cheese, & Milk" Stark Effect _Mic In Track_

"(Ooey Gooey) Green Cheese" Freddie Montell _Destination Forbidden Planet (37 Outer Space Shock Treatments)_

"Green Cheese" Merle Travis _Guitar Rags & A Too Fast Past_

our favorite librarian Carole stops by!

"The Cheese Boogie Deluxe" The Oosik Music Company _Slow Musicians Playing_

"Cheese & Wine" Waste Of Aces _Perfect Day_

"Cheese & Onions" Galaxie 500 _Rutles Highway Revisited (A Tribute To The Rutles)_

"The Cheese Alarm" Robyn Hitchcock _Jewels For Sophia_

"Grilled Cheese" Cherry Glazerr _Haxel Princess_

"Crackers & Cheese" The Jangleberries _Top Of The Pops With Murray Walker_

interview with farmer Don Conelly

"Rats Been On My Cheese" Walter Vincson _Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order (1928-1941)_

"Cheese All Week Long" Oscar Boyd _Cheese All Week Long_

"Welfare Cheese" Emanual Laskey _Shakin' Fit_

"Cheesies & Gum" Martha & The Muffins _Metro Music_

"Cheese" Jim Gaffigan _The Last Supper_

"American Cheese" Electric Six _Zodiac_

conclusion & goodbye

"Cheese & Toast" BMX Bandits _My Chain_

"Chips & Cheese, Pint Of Wine" MJ Hibbett _A Million Ukeleles_

"People Are Asleep, Dreaming Of Cheese" Cornell Hurd Band _A Stagecoach Named Desire_

"All-American Cheesecake" Super _Seven Summers (International Pop Volume Two)_

Whither Cheese Revisited (The 24th Anniversary Show)?

The answer to the question "why is this week's theme 'cheese'?" is answered in the parenthetical remark: it's an anniversary show.

At some point, when it became obvious I might be doing Self Help Radio for a while, I decided to revisit themes on my anniversary shows. My first anniversary show - meaning, the first show where I revisited a theme, not the show's first anniversary - happened in 2008, when the show was but six years old. I guess I had really wanted to revisit a theme. Or commemorate the show somehow - after all, I did not know I would still be doing it after even six years.

This year I decided to revisit a theme I explored in April of 2008. It was the first of the last four shows I did on KOOP, the station where the show originated. Though I did in fact stay in Austin for another year due to a change of plans, I didn't return to KOOP that last year. I did the show as a "podcast" which no one really listened to. The show wouldn't return to the air until the summer of 2009 when it premiered on WMUL in Huntington, Virginia.

Back in 2008, I did eat cheese made from dairy. I no longer do that. I am very lucky to live in Portland where non-dairy cheeses can be found almost everywhere - especially on pizza. The pizza game in Portland is strong. I don't feel weird about doing a show that is mostly about something I no longer eat because I have very fond memories of cheese. I don't miss it - I don't have to! - but I do know when I did the show in 2008 my diet was probably 65% cheese.

& yes, the first Self Help Radio aired around this time in Austin in 2002. So it is indeed the 24th anniversary show. Maybe I'm hoping for pictures? & someone will tell me, "Say cheese!"

It happens tonight on KBOO from midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. Come for the cheese, stay for the music.

Preface To Cheese Revisited (The 24th Anniversary Show): Swissland Cheese Co.

On September 20, 2015 - almost exactly eleven years ago - we were driving home from Fort Wayne, Indiana (home then was Lexington, Kentucky) down state highway 27 - I wanted to see more of the state, so we didn't go back the way we came, up I-75 in Ohio - & I snapped this picture. We didn't stop because I'm certain the Swissland Cheese Co. had only dairy cheeses, & neither me or my wife ate those anymore.

On April 4, 2008, from 4:30 to 6pm, I was on the air on KOOP in Austin, hosting the the fourth-to-the-last episode of Self Help Radio that would air on the station - the station where it originated almost six years earlier. At the time, I thought I'd be leaving Austin in mere months - it turns out it took a little longer.

Self Help Radio premiered on October 9, 2002. Almost exactly twenty-four years ago. I have written about how I didn't know I'd still be doing the show so many years later. My only previous radio experience on KVRX lasted barely five years. But though I left Austin in 2009, I brought Self Help Radio with me, & of course I still do it here in Portland duh,

On my anniversary shows, I like to repeat old themes. On April 4, 2008, the theme was "cheese." It seemed a nice idea to return to that theme. & so I shall.

Some more thoughts on anniversaries & the like tomorrow.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Vodka Day

October 4 is National Vodka Day. While The Dickenbock Report does not encourage drinking, & in fact will show you are the horrific facts of how alcohol ruins lives, we also have an obligation to report the news. So don't blame us for anything bad happening relating to vodka, okay? You didn't blame Walter Cronkite for the Vietnam War, did you? Sheesh.

It's happening Sunday, October 4, from 11am to 1pm on XRAY - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. Please. Listen responsibly.

This Week In Self Help: September 27 + 29 & October 1

Not sure where I found that photo - reverse image search is not being helpful - but there's some information about the Globe Of Death motorcycle act here. Here's what my radio week was like:

September 27 was National Scarf Day. I did a show about scarves on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY. You can listen to that show here.

September 29 on Self Help Radio I did a show with the theme "globes" on KBOO. You can listen to that show here. Or you can listen to that show here.

Also on September 29 on KBOO I had an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming featuring artists we lost in April of this year. You can listen to that show here (after Self Help Radio). Or you can listen to that show here.

Finally, on October 1 I subbed Welcome To Your Good Day on XRAY. You can listen to that show here.

Anyway, if you need me, I'll probably be spinning round the globe of death.

Self Help Radio 092926: Globes

In a radio show about globes, there's lots of music plus silly interviews. It's an episode of Self Help Radio. I found that globe one day on someone's lawn. & took a picture of it. Now I wish I had turned it over or something but at the time I liked that it had Antarctica at the top. The Self Help Radio logo is covering a hole, so it obviously was once on the bottom. There's sure a lot of water on this planet of ours.

You can listen while spinning your own globe now at either the KBOO web page or the Self Help Radio web page. Everything that happened on the show is listed below. Or mostly everything.

Guess I don't have much more to say about globes!

Self Help Radio Globes Show

"The Globe" Big Audio Dynamite II _The Globe_

"Mental Floss For The Globe" Urban Dance Squad _Mental Floss For The Globe_

"Digital Globe" Richard H. Kirk _Earlier/Later (Unreleased Projects Anthology 74-89)_

introduction & definitions

"Dark Globe" Syd Barrett _The Madcap Laughs_

"Globe Of Frogs" Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians _Luminous Groove_

"Roads Girdle The Globe" XTC _Drums & Wires_

"The Inflatable Globe" Theodore Spencer _An Album Of Modern Poetry British & American: An Anthology Read By The Poets_

"Sheet Metal Globe Stand" Nel Aspinal _The Romans' Map To Heaven_

interview with geomancer Chase Lassiter

"Travelling The Face Of The Globe" Oi Va Voi _Travelling The Face Of The Globe_

"Globetrotter" Kiala & The Afroblaster _Money_

"Roun' The Globe" Nappy Roots _Wooden Leather_

"One Of The Fairest Portions Of The Globe" Adam Arkin _Lewis & Clark: The Journey Of The Corps Of Discovery (Original Soundtrack Recording)_

"Bright Green Globe" Down By Law _Punkrockacademyfightsong_ 

interview with globetrotter Trick Hooper

"Snow Globe" Crayon _Brick Factory_

"Snowglobe" Secret Shine _There Is Only Now_

"Snow Globe World" Spinning Cat & Anthony Fonseca _Random Acts: Poems & Musical Interludes_

"Snowglobe" Ada Lea _When I Paint My Masterpiece_

"Snow Globes" Black Country, New Road _Ants From Up There_

interview with globemaker Noah Cruise

"Glimmer Globe" Shampoo _We Are Shampoo_

"Globe Alone" Blur _The Great Escape_

"Holding All The Globes" Boat _50 Sweaty Boat Fans Can't Be Wrong: The Early Recordings Volume 1_

"Queen Of Globes & Mirrors" Sharp Pins _Balloon Balloon Balloon_

"Globe Spinning" The Church _Further/Deeper_

conclusion/goodbye

"You're My Globe" Colleen & Paul _Colleen & Paul_

"The Globe" Ben Sollee _Inclusions_

"The Globe" Ruby Goon _Brand New Power_

Whither Globes?

(image by Marc Johns)

A show about globes was in the works for a while (I was actually mainly thinking of the word "global"), but it was given a push by the recent death of Tim Curry. On a dog walk after his death, I asked my wife if she had ever seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theater with the audience participating. I described some of the things one might expect - approaching someone who had never been there & when they admitted it, calling them "virgin!"; the "say it!" when Frank N. Furter is saying "anticipation"; "Damn it, Janet, you're a slut!"; & one of the most charming things I saw when I first watched the movie in the theater when I was all of 17 years old - the bit at the beginning with the globe where members of the audience in unison help start the globe moving on the screen.

If you've seen it, you know what I mean, & if you haven't, & I am describing it poorly, it doesn't matter. There's a globe in the movie, it spins, it caused me to think about doing a show about globes, & that's how tonight's show came about.

There'll probably be no mention of Rocky Horror tho. Tune in tonight at midnight as Self Help Radio explores the theme "globes." It's on 12-2am on 90.7fm in Portland & everywhere at kboo dot fm. Tell me where, I'll find you on a globe.

Also RIP Tim Curry. What a talent.

Preface To Globes: The Pleasure Of Globes

A confession: I do not know where that image comes from. I downloaded it probably on Tumblr many moons ago. I do know it was taken by George W. Gardner & was apparently in a documentary at some point. But looking at that picture made me remember being a child & loving to look at globes.

Mainly in the library at school - we didn't have a globe at home. Staring at the globe, spinning it, tracing a line - an arc I guess - from where I was in Texas down past the equator to end up - where? Africa? The middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Australia? Then back up to China!

It's probably obvious I was a pretty dumb kid but I did love to pretend & even now my brain can't wrap itself around the idea we're on a round planet that rotates & as it does circles a star that's so huge but so far away it doesn't appear huge to us. A globe helps my brain. That's why they're such a joy.

& why don't I have a globe as big as the one in that picture? I don't have any room to put it in my house but boy do I want a globe that large!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Scarf Day

September 27 is National Scarf Day & not a moment too soon! It's getting cold in Portland & you're not allowed to wear scarves around here under after National Scarf Day. & just speaking for the Dickenbock Report staff, there was been some very cold necks these past few weeks - especially those of us who ride our bikes to work! Brrrr!

Listen to musical reports & more about scarves tomorrow, Sunday, September 27, from 11am to 1pm on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. & then go wild with the scarves!

This Week In Self Help: September 18 20 + 22

Above is the collage of releases I played on the Songcircle last week. I didn't get it made in time for the show. I seem to be constantly falling behind these days.

But the past week?

9/18 The Songcircle on KBOO. Lots of new releases. Listen here.

9/20 The Dickenbock Report on XRAY. National Punch Day. Listen here.

9/22 Self Help Radio on KBOO. The theme was "masterpiece." Listen here. Or listen here.

9/22 Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO. Lots more new releases. Listen here (after Self Help Radio). Or listen here.

Hope I can catch up someday. Know I won't. But hope I can.

Self Help Radio 092226: Masterpiece

(clip art frame found here)

When is a radio show with the theme "masterpiece" almost certain not to be a masterpiece? Why, when that show is Self Help Radio of course!

To be fair, a song about a masterpiece is not necessarily a masterpiece. Although I suppose someone did try that once with a television show featuring plays, so....

You can listen to the show at the KBOO website & at the Self Help Radio website. Nearly everything that happened at the show is listed below.

I think I am done realizing I will never make a masterpiece now. Stupid show themes!

Self Help Radio Masterpiece Show

"Masterpiece" The Temptations _Masterpiece_

introduction & definitions

"Meister's Musical Masterpiece" Len Spencer _Greatest Hits_

"The Devil Made A Masterpiece" Johnny Horton _The Fantastic Johnny Horton_

"The Masterpiece" Johnny Cash _From Sea To Shining Sea_

"When I Paint My Masterpiece (Demo)" Bob Dylan _Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)_

"Masterpiece" Big Thief _Masterpiece_

interview with blogger Walter Cunningham

"Everbody's A Masterpiece" Rasputin Stash _Hidden Stash_

"Masterpiece" Leda Grace _Amazing_

"Portrait Of A Master Piece" The D.O.C. _No One Can Do It Better_

"The Masterpiece (Trailer)" David F. Friedman _The Best Of David F. Friedman_

"A Masterpiece" Stephen Tin Tin Duffy _The Ups & Downs_

interview with director Margo Powers & actor Jeff Heck

"Masterpiece" Jon Langford _Four Lost Souls_

"I Am A Masterpiece" James Vincent McMorrow _The Less I Knew_

"Masterpiece" Ben Harper _Wide Open Light_

"Masterpiece" Old 97's _American Primitive_

"Masterpiece" Janiva Magness _Back For Me_

interview with my art teacher Mr. Krueger

"Little Masterpiece" Mitch Friedman _Game Show Teeth_

"Pop Magic Fantastical Masterpiece" Canadian Invasion _Three Cheers For The Invisible_

"Genetic Masterpiece" Roland Blinn _Chocolates In The Box_

"Speedline Miracle Masterpiece" Tunde Adebimpe _Welcome To Los Santos_

"No Masterpiece Policy" Adam Green _Aladdin_

"They Provide The Paint For The Picture-Perfect Masterpiece That You Will Paint On The Insides Of Your Eyelids" Streetlight Manifesto _99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume One_

conclusion & goodbye

"Olav Heggland's Masterpiece (with Hallvard T. Bjorgum)" David Lindley & Henry Kaiser _The Sweet Sunny North_

"No True Masterpiece Will Ever Be Complete" Kaki King _Glow_

"Masterpiece" Flap _World Of Visions_

Whither Masterpiece?

(image found here)

At the risk of being boring (I know, too late!), I remind you that most of the ideas for themes for Self Help Radio come because I am always listening to music. Different kinds of music. Sometimes I want to relisten to something I haven't heard for a while. Sometimes something I read or see online sends me down a rabbit hole. This show starts with this album:

(image found at Discogs)

The album Masterpiece by The Temptations. I don't think I had listened to it all the way through before. & I thought as I listened to the almost fourteen-minute-long (!) title track, "Might there be lots of songs called or using the word 'masterpiece'?"

The answer to that is tonight's show. & yeah, I'll play that Temptations song in its entirety.

One this is sure tho - the show won't be a masterpiece. It'll just be another episode of Self Help Radio. Happening at midnight tonight on 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

Preface To Masterpiece: A Peanuts Cartoon

When I thought about the theme "masterpiece," I had a vague recollection of this Peanuts strip from December 11, 1955. It took some time to find it! It was scanned by me from the Fantagraphics collection. I think you can find the colored version here. Please enjoy.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Punch Day

(image found here)

September 20 is National Punch Day. Not that the United States has a "national punch." Perhaps it's best understood as a "National Day Of Punch." You get to choose the punch you want to consume on this day. & to spike it if you so choose. & with whatever delicious spirit as well.

Certainly we'll all be a little punchy tomorrow, Sunday. from 11am to 1pm. That's on XRAY FM, which is on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, online everywhere at xray dot fm.

Let's hope Dick Dickenbock made enough for everyone!