Whither Confessions?

First of all, it says "Confess!" on the website, but I have always meant the theme to be "confessions."  I don't know why I wrote "confess!" on the website.  I think I am guilty about something.

I don't know how many confessions you will hear, but I have at least one song that talks about confessing to the cops, & more about confessing to one's priest.  It'll happen tonight at 10pm on 88.1 fm in Lexington & online at wrfl.fm.  Please to listen & feel free to add your own confessions.

Preface To Confessions: That's Not Funny, That's Sick!

I was a child in the 1970s, & had two older brothers who lived with us in their teenage years & whose cultural detritus littered my life.  Mostly I read their comic books, but increasingly I was exposed to their music & some of the other stuff (like drug paraphernalia & girlie mags) they left around or kept in their room where I & my little brother would break into & explore when they were off doing stuff.  (Remind me to tell you of the time I ate a lot of strawberry-flavored rolling papers because I thought they were supposed to be a treat.)  (Oh, wait, I just told you.)

One of the more enduring records they left lying about was this National Lampoon record, released in 1977 & featuring people like Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, & Larraine Newman.  I listened to this record a million times - & frankly I didn't understand much of it.  I just liked the way it sounded.  I didn't get that Mr. Rogers was portrayed as a pedophile, I definitely didn't get the Jewish humor, & I have never really heard a call-in show like the one Richard Belzer is making fun of.  But probably by the age of ten I had good chunks of it memorized.

I didn't know what a Catholic was when I was ten, & I barely knew anything about sex, not to mention euphemisms for our naughty parts.  So I had no context for this amazing (& short) sketch between Bill Murray & his brother Brian Doyle-Murray, with the latter playing a priest & the former a fellow in the confessional.  Have a listen courtesy of Youtube, but be warned - there are lots of bad words here:



It's really funny when you understand the set-up - a guy says a bad word in the confessional, the priest says "I've heard it all before," & then the two banter horrible indecencies back & forth.  Imagine a nine or ten-year-old who had barely been to a protestant church trying to make sense of them.  Never mind the outright dirty phrases - I wouldn't get "Madame Ovary" until I was in my late teens!

I do remember repeating the "afterbirth on toast - that's pizza" to a friend who found it very funny, but even then I didn't know what the hell afterbirth was.

It was fun learning the context of the sketch & revisiting the record years later.  I played that record so much that it came to skip on certain tracks - the curse of the cheap turntable - & I eventually just put it back in my brothers' record collection & hoped they never noticed it.  If they did, they never told me.

I am thinking about this because I would love love love to play this on WRFL tomorrow for my confession show, but the station's policy on indecency makes it impossible - & editing it would take all the funny out of it.  But I can post it here!

Happy New Year!

2014 will be a strange & ridiculous year for Self Help Radio.  In the next few days, you'll see why.

I made the wife a margarita & talked to one of my oldest friends on the phone on New Year's Eve.  Meanwhile, at the beginning of the year, Lexingtonians fired off lots of fireworks & made a lot of noise.  Strangely, it seemed more quiet than in previous years - but maybe my neighborhood went to bed early (or went to more happening places for parties).

Now it's the new year, & I guess I don't feel any different.  It may snow tomorrow.  I have a show on Friday.  My neck kind of hurts.  I need to watch "Orange Is The New Black."  Does that sound any different than 2013?

I know, we need rituals.  I should've been involved in a ritual.  What makes me think I'm better than any ritual?  Silly me!

Self Help Radio 122713: Indiepop A To Z # 42

Eeek!  I've soldiered through the letter H & now have begun the letter I.  I am glad no one has recommended me to the funny farm yet.

It's the end of the year, but the show's on the same old website: self help radio dot net.  It's also in two easy-to-download parts: part the one & part the two.  Alphabetical list of songs below.

Happy new year!

(part one)
"Too Young To Be In Love" Hunx & His Punx _Too Young To Be In Love_
"Fluoro" Huon _Library Records 1998 - 2003_
"The Sun Shines Here" Hurrah! _The Sun Shines Here 7"_

"Step Into My World" Hurricane # 1 _Hurricane # 1_
"Not That Easy" The Hurries _EardrumsPop 100_
"Saturday" Hushpad _From Here To There_
"Flower Of The Hour" Lida Husik _Joyride_
"When Time Was On Their Side" Husky Rescue _Ship Of Light_

"Sometimes You're Incredible" Hyacinth Girls _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Vol. 6_
"See Me Through" The Hybirds _The Hybirds_
"Questions I Can't Answer" Hydroplane (Darla 100)
"Car & Kettle" Hyper Kinako _Hyper Kinako_
"No Te Sientas Mal" Hypnomango _Ashell IV_

"Me To Be" I Am The World Trade Center _Out Of The Loop_

(part two)

"Charlemagne" The I Live The Life Of A Movie Star Hideout _Moshi Moshi (Pop International Style)_
"Preposterous Tales" I, Ludicrous _It's Like Everything Else_
"Norman Bleik" I Was A King _I Was A King_
"Lemonade & Somersaults" The Icicles _Pure Sugar EP_

"Poor Dumb Bird" Ida _Ten Small Paces_
"The Knack & How To Get It" The Idea _Sideways Smile_
"High Over Hollywood" Idha _Melody Inn_
"Loaded" Idle Hands _The Heart We Broke On The Way To The Show_

"Five Hours" Igloo _Pop American Style_
"Johnny Be Tristan" Iji _Unltd. Cool Drinks_
"We're From Barcelona" I'm From Barcelona _Sing!! With I'm From Barcelona_
"Brighton Beach Postcard" The Imaginary Friend _Letters Home_

"Pop Girl" The Immediates _A Chance To Shine - Dorian Records Compilation_
"The Things You Love" Impossible Tymes _Try A Little Sunshine: A Greek Indiepop Compilation_
"Baby, Baby" The Impossible Years _Baby, Baby_