Whither Indiepop A To Z # 41

I feel weird.  Normally, at least for the past few months, at 7:30 pm on a Friday, my show has been off for ninety minutes & I've only begun to drink enough to move beyond the inevitable crushing disappointment I feel after trying to make a decent radio show & failing miserably.  But now - holy smokes! - my show is about two & a half hours away from being on.

I think I'll go for a dog walk.

Meanwhile, if you're a fan of the indiepop, or a completist, or have been following my ridiculous "Indiepop A To Z" series (you can listen to virtually all the previous episodes on the Self Help Radio archive page), or happen to be listening to the radio on a Friday night, then you can hear tonight's show from ten to midnight on 88.1 fm in Lexington &/or (I ain't picky) wrfl dot fm.

We're at the very end of the indiepop h set.  We might finish them tonight!  Okay, we won't finish them tonight.

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 41: Did I Mention Self Help Radio Has Moved?

Yeah, the show moved.  In time, on the same radio station.  It didn't move to Phoenix or anyplace like that.  Still in Lexingtown.  You can look at the new schedule over at the WRFL website.  You can find Self Help Radio now after the excellent Uncle Bill Show at 10pm.

Why move?  I guess the show, like its host, suffers from a kind of inferiority complex, & felt a better show should have the drive-time slot.  So Matt Clarke's WRFL Surf show will air from 5 to 6, with Matt doing general format for an hour before that.  It'll be more consistent than Self Help Radio - & frankly, more fun.

I also like the idea of being up at the station when no-one else is.  Night time is usually deserted.  & since it's Friday, if anyone's listening, they'll be listening in their car going from place to place - they won't be paying much attention.  Attention means people ask questions like, "Why is this show on drive time?"

The same will probably be asked about the ten to midnight slot, though.  Maybe I've been doing this ridiculous program too long.

Will you still listen?  If you ever listened, I mean?

What's Everybody Talking About?

Hey, everybody seems a little upset about something.  What's everyone talking about?  Is the country going to become involved in another in an endless series of overseas conflicts that only benefit the political ruling class & corporations, with the burden of payment on the average citizen?  Or was it some pop culture thing planned by other (or the same?) corporations to generate outrage that succeeded, like it always does, even though it's not any more brazen than the last pop culture thing?

I have spent a lot of time attending & listening to talks & speeches by prominent progressive thinkers who tell me that Americans are actually quite intelligent, & I have read lots of positive books from very smart people who say things like, "Don't underestimate the brilliance of the American people."  & I want to believe that because most of my friends (& acquaintances) are actually bright, thoughtful people, but even they cluck cluck when the next carefully orchestrated "affront" happens, often arguing that it's helpful to pay attention to such things because it's helpful to know what "everyone" is paying attention to.

I guess I'm saying that, instead of believing that I am becoming cynical, I am letting the overwhelming evidence sway me, as it should, into thinking that no, Americans aren't terribly smart.  I used to hate the judgmental quality of songs like the Housemartins' "Sheep" or the Dead Milkmen's "You'll Dance To Anything", probably because the attitude is somewhat superior, condescending, & designed to make the listener, feel like he or she isn't the sheep, or the robot who'll dance to whatever.

I've no interest in pretending I'm any better than anyone else.  I'm overwhelmed & saddened by the fact that everyone lost their shit because a corporate pop star at a corporate awards show did something vaguely scandalous just like the corporate pop star before her, & the one before that, & the one before that.  & it's not even that we should instead be talking about whether the country should be bombing the fuck out of some new place instead - we obviously should not.

It's just that we shouldn't be talking about something a corporation dreamed up to shock us.  We just shouldn't care.  We should be smarter than that.  We probably shouldn't be listening to music made by corporations anyway.

But we care, a lot.  We listen to corporate music, a lot.  & it turns out we're not smarter than that.  & we probably never were.

On Edge

Self Help Radio attempts to be edgy by doing a show about edges.  Because if there's one thing Self Help Radio does, it's take things literally.  It's very much like an not-very-smart animal.  That thinks it's pretty smart.

The entire show about edges is not on the edges of the Self Help Radio website but in fact floating in the middle of the page like most of the other content.  But if you want to go directly to the files, you don't even have to edge over there, just click here for part one & here for part two.  The list of edgesongs is at the end of this note.

As always, thanks for listening!

(part one)

"Edge Of Nowhere" The Sunday Group _Scarey Business_
"At The River's Edge" Wet Paint _Just For Kicks Vol. 1_
"Falling Off The Edge Of The World" The Easybeats _Gonna Have A Good Time: The Complete US & UK Singles Collection_
"Razor Edge" Ranee & Raj _Piccadilly Sunshine, Vol. 12_

"Darkness On The Edge Of Town" Bruce Springsteen _Darkness On The Edge Of Town_
"Over The Edge" The Wipers _Over The Edge_
"Cutting Edge" Nails _Hotel For Women_
"At The Edge Of The Sea" The Wedding Present _Tommy_

"The Cutting Edge" Frank Tovey _Snakes & Ladders_
"Picnic On The Edge" Hector In Paris _Silent Radio_
"Cliff Edge" The Bats _The Law Of Things_
"From The Edge Of The Deep Blue Sea" The Cure _Wish_

"Over The Edge! (Excerpt)" The Firesign Theatre _Pink Hotel Burns Down_

(part two)

"The Edges Are No Longer Parallel" Morrissey _Maladjusted_
"Edge Of The Ocean" Ivy _Long Distance_
"Over The Edge" Fuzzy _Hurray For Everything_

"Losing My Edge" LCD Soundsystem _LCD Soundsystem_
"Sur Les Bords De La Seine" Marina Celeste _Acidule_
"On Edge" Piano Magic _Ovations_

"7 Strokes To Heaven's Edge" Guided By Voices _Hardcore UFOs: Delicious Pie & Thank You For Calling_
"Water's Edge" Secret Shine _The Beginning & The End_
"I Sat On The Edge Of My Bed & I Sang You Velvet Underground Songs" Catnaps _Why Don't You Whisper?_
"Edges & Corners" Standard Fare _The Noyelle Beat_
"River's Edge" Talk Normal _Sugarland_

"Walking On The Edge" Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate _Adrian Sherwood Presents The Master Recordings, Vol. 2_