This Week In Self Help (April 19, 21, + 23 2024)

Up there is the picture I used for this week's show announcement, I manipulated it & added the SHR logo, trying to make the image one of delirium. It caused someone on the KBOO web page to say, "That image is visually painful."

Delirium was the theme of this week's Self Help Radio. I was probably too delirious during that show. Here's a direct link to the episode. You will need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access.

If you'd rather listen to the show on the KBOO website, here is that link. No passwords needed.

The KBOO link also includes this week's episode of Corporate Standardized Programming (which follows Self Help Radio). On that show, I continued the theme of "delirium" with mostly instrumental pieces that I had collected for the show. If you'd prefer to listen to that show on the Self Help Radio website (please remember the username/password combination above), here is the link for that.

The Sunday before all that was The Dickenbock Report, a show celebrating libraries on Thank You For Libraries Day. The show is also on the Self Help Radio web page linked here, or if you'd like you can listen at the XRAY web page.

But even before that - a week ago! - I subbed the KBOO show The Songcircle & played ninety minutes of new releases. You can find it both on the Self Help Radio page & on the KBOO page.

That was a busy week. Maybe you can find something you'd like. Thank you for listening!

Delirious Films

(image from the IMDb)

This week's episode of Self Help Radio had the theme "delirium" & our resident cinephile Chuck stopped by to chat about a few films in which delirium is featured. You can listen to that show at the Self Help Radio website! (You can also listen at the KBOO website too.)

Chuck has prepared some supplemental links - much more in-depth than his brief appearance on the show. To wit:

The Letterboxd list of movies he watched for the show.

The YouTube playlist of films & trailers.

The IMDb keyword search page.
& the IMDb list of films available to stream for free elsewhere. Chuck has a caveat: "There is duplication with of some on YouTube but quality is usually better, & their availability may be for limited time."

Chuck posts about the films on his social media sites: Twitter,  Bluesky, & Substack. If you follow him, he'll almost certainly follow back.

Did that make you delirious? Maybe sit down & have some water?

Self Help Radio 042324: Delirium

Among the things that can cause delirium are: sleep deprivation, drugs & alcohol, pain, mental illness, & radio shows. Radio shows?!? But we're just exploring delirium! Damn you Web MD!

It was a delirious show & there was so much music (including some delirium-inspired instrumentals) that they bled into the third hour I was on the air. That's on the website as this week's Corporate Standardized Programming.

Okay. Listen if you're feeling stable at the Self Help Radio website. (You'll need the username SHR & the password selfhelp.) Or if you'd like, you can listen to all three hours over on the KBOO website. Everything that happens on the show is below. Please enjoy.

& if you can help KBOO out during our Spring Membership Drive!

Self Help Radio Delirium Show

"Recitar! Mentre Preso Dal Delirio... Vesti La Giubba (From I Pagliacci)" Enrico Caruso _Historical Recordings 1906-1914_

"Delightful Delirium (vocals, Helen Forrest)" Artie Shaw & His Orchestra _1939_

"Tu Mi Delirio" Astrud Gilberto & Walter Wanderley _A Certain Smile A Certain Sadness_

introduction & definitions

"Delirium Tremens" Christy Moore _Christy Moore_

"Delirium" Gaye Bykers On Acid _The Nosedive EP_

"Delirious Night (Rough Mix) (Vocal)" The Cure _Disintegration_

"Delirious" The Brilliant Corners _What's In A Word_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by!

"Delirium" An April March _Woke Up Smiling_

"Aerodeliria" The Loud Family _Plants & Birds & Rocks & Things_

"Drug-Induced Delirium" The Cannanes _The Cannanes_

"Lager Delirium" Bad Manners _Heavy Petting_

interview with Carla Davidson, who has an interesting relationship to Prince's song "Delirious"

"Delirious" Guy Forsyth _Do Me Baby! Austin Does Prince_

"Delirium" Case / Lang / Veirs _Case / Lang / Veirs_

"Delirium" Minnie Birch _Delirium_

"Delirious" Sunspire _Delirious_

interview with candymaker Cordelio Delgado

"Delirious" Cindy Wilson _Realms_

"My Delirium" Ladyhawke _Ladyhawke_

"City Delirious" Lionrock _City Delirious_

"Avante Delirio" Saulo Duarte _Avante Delirio_

interview with Delirium Auditorium proprietor Cedric Dial

"Delirious" At The Spine _Vita_

"Delerium" Paul Benoit _Beautiful Lies_

"Delirium Passes" Anand Wilder _I Don't Know My Words_

"Delirious" No & The Maybes _No & The Maybes_

conclusion & goodbye

"Delirious" The Church _Further/Deeper_

"Flash Delirium" MGMT _Congratulations_

Whither Delirium?

(image from here)

Look at that brain up there! Delirium is a complicated thing! Surely that's enough to have the subject deserve a radio show!

But perhaps you expect more from me. I'm sure you don't, but play along. I was listening to Adam Ant a few weeks back. I was kinda charmed by the rhyme from the song "Desperate But Not Serious." He rhymes "serious" with "delirious" - "your kisses drive me delirious," is the line. I started thinking about the word - the adjective, not the noun - which led me to the Prince song. Having recently had to deal with issues with old family members with dementia, I found I had associated the word "delirious" with mostly unromantic - mostly unhealthy - moments in life.

When I find myself thinking of something too much, it's very likely that I'll find a radio show in there somewhere. I started looking around for songs about delirium & feeling delirious. What I've found will be on tonight's radio show.

Which is on KBOO - 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere - from midnight to 2am. I haven't had much sleep today so I might be a bit delirious myself. In its unhealthy meaning.

Preface To Delirium: Oh You Just Know I Gotta Talk About The Endless

(from Sandman # 63)

It had been many years since I'd read a comic when a girl I was seeing in the mid-90s turned me on to the new Sandman. I knew Wesley Dodds. But this was different. & fun.

Especially the concept of The Endless. Though I just went to find the link there I tried not to see all their names - can I remember them? Dream, Death, Desire, Destiny, Destruction, Despair, & of course Delirium. Delirium used to be Delight!

This is not something I'll have occasion to mention on the radio, so I'm mentioning it here. It has been years since I've read the original Sandman comics but I have read a few more recent ones & still find the mythology rich & delightful. It doesn't make me delirious tho.

Did Delirium show up on the Netflix series? I don't think so. I liked that a lot too - it took a few episodes though. Death was great.

Anyway, I don't have much to say. I'm an admirer. But the comic wasn't the inspiration for the show. You'll have to come back tomorrow to find out how that came about.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Thank You For Libraries Day!

That picture above, captured from Goober Malps, is a picture of my childhood library. It wasn't my first library - I'm sure that that was in my elementary school, & I loved it lots - but it was the one in my neighborhood from around the time I was ten years old, & it was within walking distance of where I lived. I have memories of carrying books to & from there. & I could walk into it now & find my favorite things.

Except it's closed. It was called the Ridgewood Branch Library of the Nicholson Memorial Library System of Garland, Texas, & it closed permanently in 2009. I hadn't visited it since I was in high school.

But libraries remain important to me & to everyone at the Dickenbock Report so it's our pleasure to note that April 21 is Thank You For Libraries Day. Which is our top report of the show tomorrow.

Yes! Tomorrow morning, Sunday April the 21st, on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm.

Lots of gratitude for libraries tomorrow!

This Week In Self Help (April 14 + 16 2024)

One website calls this building - the Textron Tower in Providence RI - the ugliest skyscraper in the state.

But it wasn't mentioned on this week's Self Help Radio, which had the theme "providence" which included lots of references to the city & guests who purported to be from there. Here's a direct link to that show. You will need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access.

If you'd rather listen to the show on the KBOO website, here is that link.

The KBOO link also includes this week's episode of Corporate Standardized Programming (which follows Self Help Radio). On that show, I played an hour of new releases. If you'd prefer to listen to that show on the Self Help Radio website (please remember the username/password combination above), here is the link for that.

Chronologically first tho was The Dickenbock Report, this week a Spring Fund Drive show about Perfume Day. If you have a little to spare & want to help out you can do so here. If you just wanna listen to the frickin' show there are two options: the Self Help Radio web page or the XRAY web page.

As always - thank you for listening!

Self Help Radio 041624: Providence

(original image of Providence by David Wilson here)

This week's show - which has the theme "providence" - turned out to be more about the town of Providence, Rhode Island, rather than the "providence" that means "divine guidance & care." But of course the founders of Providence, Rhode Island, named it because they felt settling their was part of their god's "merciful providence." Could it be that both meanings apply? Is a show about providence which features mostly songs about Providence still about providence since it was named for that kind of providence?

Does it matter? Naw. It's just something to write about because I got space to fill. I was thinking of counting which songs were about the town & which were about the supernatural stuff. But I didn't. Maybe you can make a game of it?

Listen to the show when you want at the Self Help Radio website. Make sure you use the combo SHR/selfhelp to access. Or you can listen on the KBOO website. Your choice. It's a couple hours long, you can see all the songs & interviews below.

Now I need to go visit Providence again!

Self Help Radio Providence Show

"Providence" King Crimson _Red_

introduction & definitions

"Providence Help The Poor People (with Henry Townsend)" Big Joe Williams _Big Joe Williams & The Stars Of Mississippi Blues_

"Lake Providence Blues" The Harlem Hamfats _Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Vol. 1_

"A Letter To The People Of Providence (1648)" Wallace House _The Patriot Plan: Growth Of Human Rights In Colonial America_

"Providence" Sonic Youth _Daydream Nation_

"Providence" Morphine _Postcards From America (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)_

interview with Providence mayor Rene Ingersoll

"Providence" Jack Frost _Jack Frost_

"Providence" The Rosemarys _Providence_

"Providence" The Love Language _The Love Language_

"Providence & Bourbon" Girl Haggard _Country & Eastern_

interview with president of the Providence Chamber Of Commerce Robert Insley

"Providence Girls" The RI Love Song Warriors _Rhode Island Girls_

"East Providence Girls" The RI Love Song Warriors _Rhode Island Girls_

"Providence" Buddha On The Moon _The Last Autumn Day_

"Providence" Snoozer _Winter Stops All Sound EP_

"Providence" Earth Heart _Homesick_

interview with Father Richard Icke of the Providence diocese

"Providence" Duchess _Duchess_

"Providence" The Manhattan Love Suicides _The Manhattan Love Suicides_

"Providence" Pujol _United States Of Being_

"Full Faith In Providence" Villagers _Fever Dreams_

interview with my friend Reggie Innes, who's never visited Providence

"Providence, RI" Nickel Eye _The Time Of The Assassins_

"Providence" Cheerleader _Almost Forever_

"Ghost Of Providence Pt. 1" Bike Thief _Ghost Of Providence_

"Providence Portal" Annie Hamilton _The Future Is Here But It Feels Kinda Like The Past_

conclusion & goodbye

"Providence" Harpeth Rising _Shifted_

"Providence" Purple Ivy Shadows _White Electric_

Whither Providence?

(In Providence, they like to set the water on fire. Image from here.)

One of the things I'm very happy about is that no one - seriously no one - cares enough about this show to ask me, "Say, why is that your theme this week?" Even the folks with whom I make the fake interviews, who improvise based on the theme, wonder to me, "Why is the theme this week that?"

Please don't think I'm accusing anyone of being incurious or apathetic - I'm certain outside of a listener accidentally tuning in or my funny friends being funny, & with them even barely that, there are vanishingly few people besides me who even think of Self Help Radio. 

& most certainly I am not complaining. I do my level best to make as good a show as I can every week & if the best attention or interest my best efforts can garner is virtually no one thinking or caring about the show, what else can I do? Luckily I make the show mostly for me.

But also luckily it means that when there are times when I have a theme - like providence - & don't entirely remember why I chose the theme, I know it will frustrate no one because, as I've said, no one really cares. Did I pick a theme because of a city I visited? Or because of the challenge - are there two hours worth of songs I like about providence? Or something else? I simply don't know. & am not worried about saying so because, after all, who gives a shit? Nobody!

& that's about the number of folks who'll tune in tonight from midnight to 3am on 90.7fm in Portland & at kboo dot fm everywhere, even Providence, Rhode Island, where the river is on fire!

Preface To Providence: Hey, I've Been To Providence!

(a snapshot of Providence from Gurgle Merps)

It's true! In the fall of 1997, I accompanied two folks from KVRX to Providence for the NACB conference there. I believe it was November. It was snowing in Providence. We didn't do much sightseeing. I think we walked over to Brown University - it was closed but what were we going to do, sit in on a class?

We were a little bored so I paid for the three of us to go up to Boston to meet some people I knew from a Usenet group. It was cold in Boston but no snow. I enjoyed the train ride up there, & seeing Harvard, but remember virtually nothing about the experience. Here's a picture of me in Boston:

Look at me, clean shaven (ish) with cigarette in hand!

One nice memory of Providence was, the first night there, bar-hopping near the hotel & the places being packed. & asking someone where we could get something to eat & being told there was a late-night pizza place across the highway, which we went to.

A colleague of my wife lived in Province & hated it. But I'd kinda like to go back.

Is that the reason for the show, though? A memory from 27 years ago? Nope!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Perfume Day!

(found many moons ago on a Tumblr blog somewhere...)

April 14 is "Perfume Day" so tune into the Dickenbock Report on XRAY for information as well as musical reports about those odiferous concoctions.

It's also the XRAY Spring Fund Drive  so expect some reporting about that as well as pleas for financial support. Should you want the Dickenbock Report to remain a trusted independent source for Sunday morning news, you can donate here.

Again, that is tomorrow morning - Sunday April the 14th - on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm.

Unfortunately there is no evidence that listening to this show will make you smell better.

This Week In Self Help (April 7 + 9 2024)

(comic from lolein.com)

Here's a brief summary of what I did on the radio this week. It may be helpful with the authorities in coming prosecutions. I'll cop to it! I did it all!

Self Help Radio had the theme "can't wait." The show aired Tuesday morning from midnight to 2am. Here's a direct link to that show. You will need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access.

If you'd rather listen on the KBOO website, here is that link.

The KBOO link also includes this week's episode of Corporate Standardized Programming (which follows Self Help Radio). On that show, I played an hour of new releases. If you'd prefer to listen to that show on the Self Help Radio website (please remember the username/password combination above), here is the link for that.

Finally - but chronologically first - The Dickenbock Report this week reported on the awkwardly named International Snail Papers Day. I would have preferred it be called International Newspapers Day as what I played was songs about newspapers. Also, no one uses the phrase "snail papers." No one. You can listen to it on the Self Help Radio web page here or if you'd prefer to listen to the XRAY web page, here is the link for that.

Thank you for listening!

Self Help Radio 040924: Can't Wait

The title of the image above, to which I added the Self Help Radio bear, is called "Can't Wait To See What You Turn Out To Be." It seemed appropriate to use for this show.

This show! So many things people can't wait for! In addition to all the songs, I also spoke with four people who told me what they can't wait for. To say that I was expecting something different would be an understatement. People who want to be on the radio are odd.

Listen to the show now or whenever - no need to wait - at the Self Help Radio website or at the KBOO website. You'll need a username & password to listen. Try SHR & selfhelp. Everything that happened on the show is listed below. I can't wait to hear what you think! Actually, I can. Let's just never speak of this show again.

Self Help Radio Can't Wait Show

"Can't You Wait Till You Get Home" Frankie 'Half Pint' Jaxon _The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records 1917-1927, Volume 1_

"I Can't Wait" Ray Stanley _The Chess Rockabilly Story_

"Love Can't Wait" Kim Roberts _Let's Go - Joe Meek's Girls!_

"I Can't Wait" Painted Faces _Anxious Color_

introduction & definitions

"I Can't Wait ('Till I Grow Up)" The Boyd Sisters _Girls Will Be Girls Volume 1_

"I Can't Wait To Love You" Jan & Dean _All The Hits: From Surf City To Drag City_

"I Can't Wait" The Mamas & The Papas _The Mamas & The Papas_

"I Can't Wait" Willy McDougal _Don't Turn Away_

"I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face" Dusty Springfield _Where Am I Going_

what Abel can't wait for

"Can't Wait To See You" Arthur Adams _The Complete Motown Singles, Vol, 10: 1970_

"I Can't Wait Till Summer Comes" Martha Reeves & The Vandellas _50th Anniversary - The Singles Collection 1962-1972_

"I Just Can't Wait To Hold You" Petula Clark _Warm & Tender_

"Can't Wait To See You Again" The Buckeye Politicians _Look At Me Now_

"Memories Can't Wait" Talking Heads _Fear Of Music_

what Chad can't wait for

"I Just Can't Wait" Leon Rosselson & Roy Bailey _That's Not The Way It's Got To Be!_

"I Can't Wait Too Long" Barrington Levy _Poorman Style_

"Just Can't Wait" The J. Geils Band _Flashback: The Best Of J. Geils Band_

"Can't Wait For September" Erl Dalby & Pyramid _Their Music Goes 'Round Our Heads_

what Barb can't wait for

"I Can't Wait That Long" The Brilliant Corners _Somebody Up There Likes Me_

"I Can't Wait" Luna _Lunapark_

"Can't Wait For Summer" The Best Wishes _Shoebox Full Of Love EP_

"I Can't Wait" The Sundays _Static & Silence_

"I Can't Wait" Brassy _Got It Made_

what Dale can't wait for

"I Can't Wait" Johnny Tucker _Seven Day Blues_

"Can't Wait For War" Brodka _Clashes_

"Why Can't It Wait" Lou Barlow _Reason To Live_

"I Can't Wait" Ceramic Animal _Sweet Unknown_

"I Can't Wait" Miesha & The Spanks _Unconditional Love In Hi-Fi_

conclusion & goodbye

"Just Can't Wait (feat. Lumi HD)" Sam Redmore _Universal Vibrations_

"I Can't Wait" Ric Ocasek _Beatitude_

"Methu Aros Tan Haf (Can't Wait Til Summer)" Gorky's Zygotic Mynci _Introducing Gorky's Zygotic Mynci_

"Love I Can't Wait" The Sponsors _Sponsors_

Whither Can't Wait?

(One of my favorite Maakies strips - scanned from a book.)

It bears reminding that I've been doing this dumb radio show for over twenty years now. While I don't have an actual count, I think it's safe to say I explore maybe forty or so new themes a year. That means I've explored at least 800 different themes. Probably more. But let's be conservative.

At some point I realized I might get a little bored if the themes I chose were all nouns - trains, weather, whiskey, kisses. Not that I would always prefer difficult or obscure themes - but that I might not want to limit myself in that way. & at some point, I began to have themes that were phrases. Phrases like "can't wait."

You might think this was a conscious thing, a way to open up the possibilities for the show but not really. It just sorta happened. I don't know when. But it seems like it was early on.

A few weeks ago I was at a place waiting to pick up some food & there was a person outside who was on the phone - I assume they were on the phone, you know, nowadays folks don't hold the phone to their head, they just talk so the person might have been hallucinating or something - but the person kept responding to the caller (or the voice only they could hear) "Can't wait!" They must've said "can't wait" a dozen times. When I came home, I found myself responding to things my wife said with, "Can't wait!" She did not seem to notice that was a weird way to comment in conversation.

& then it became an idea for a radio show. Which will become an actual radio show tonight.

Midnight to 2am on 90.7fm KBOO here in Portland, kboo.fm everywhere.

Preface To Can't Wait: Oh, I Can Wait

(from this Twitter account)

The expression "can't wait" - I guess it's an idiom - according to the Collins Dictionary means - well they put it in a sentence - "If you say that you can't wait to do something or can hardly wait to do it, you are emphasizing that you are very excited about it & eager to do it."

As I thought about writing this, I wondered what there was that I can't wait for. At the moment my wife is out of the country, so I think I can't wait for her to get back. But since she's usually here, I don't often feel that way. I don't think I am often in a situation where I can't wait for something.

You might ask, "Don't you get excited about radio shows?" I do, I get nervous even, but I know they're in my future & I know there's a bit of work that is required for them, so I can wait because I need the time.

Is this something that happens when one gets older? One loses the magic of anticipation? As I kid I couldn't wait for some classes to end, for some movies to come out, for summer to come, for the weekend to come so I didn't have to go to school or wake up early. Except for situations like my wife being away like she is now, I honestly don't think there's anything I can't wait for. I can wait.

Waiting is something that one grows used to, really. Maybe not comfortable with, nor happy with. But it's built in to so many experiences that over time one simply accepts that there's waiting involved.

Wow that's depressing. I won't talk about this during the show. Yikes.